“I feel that my size and youth needs to be a giant advantage. It gives me an excellent higher probability to win,” said Nakatani to The Ring.
Inoue’s reluctance to leap to 126 lbs at featherweight could be probably the most honest admission of his physical limits.
Inoue has fought guys who rehydrated to be heavy, but Nakatani is tall. At 5’7″ or 5’8″, he has the skeletal leverage of a natural featherweight or super featherweight.
Most of Inoue’s opponents eventually get timed because they must lunge in to hit him. Nakatani can theoretically sit on the surface and pop a jab without putting his chin within the red zone.
The numbers back that belief up on paper. Nakatani will are available in with a three-inch height edge, a slight reach advantage, and a five-year age difference. He also carries natural size from his climb through three weight classes, something he plans to make use of over the complete distance moderately than chase an early finish.
“This fight will one hundred pc be a war, and I believe I’ll win by a choice after I overcome every part Inoue throws my way,” said Nakatani.
In his December win over Sebastian Hernandez, Nakatani was forced right into a high-output fight where each men landed heavily, absorbing 273 punches in a back-and-forth contest that went the gap. It showed durability, but in addition suggested he may be hit when exchanges open up.
It’s less about Inoue being fearful of fighting an even bigger opponent and more about him being a perfectionist who knows that after you lose the physical edge, you’ve to rely entirely on toughness. Nakatani is the primary fighter in an extended time who might actually make Inoue look small within the ring.