Rudy Hernandez discusses the “scary” prospect of Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani sharing a ring

Trainer Rudy Hernandez believes that three-division titleholder Junto Nakatani could one day face undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue, although no timeline has been set, and the thought of the matchup gives him a light-hearted scare. 

In July, Nakatani defended his WBC bantamweight title with a first-round knockout of Vincent Astrolabio in Japan, sparking comparisons to Inoue and leading to speculation about a potential showdown in the future.

Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs) is set to return on September 3 against TJ Doheny at the Ariake Arena in Japan, a bout Inoue is heavily favored in.

Nakatani (28-0, 21 KOs), who has been rising through the ranks with dominant performances, has drawn parallels to Inoue, who had a remarkable run from 2017-2023, decisively outclassing his opponents, and climbing up the pound-for-pound ranks. While Nakatani trains in the Los Angeles area, Inoue has remained in Japan, training under his father, Shingo Inoue.

“That scares me,” Hernandez said with a chuckle, referring to a potential Inoue-Nakatani fight. “Naoya Inoue is one of my favorite fighters; I love that he comes into the ring with no intention to BS.”

Hernandez compared Inoue’s approach to other great modern fighters who might carry a fight longer than necessary before getting a knockout, Inoue is relentless in finishing his opponents when he has the opportunity.

“Noaya Inoue, if he can knock you out in two rounds, he’ll knock you out in two rounds,” Hernandez said. “If he can take you out in five, it’ll be five, but he’s always looking for the knockout. That’s why I consider him my number one pound-for-pound in boxing.”

Although Nakatani currently has no fight scheduled, he has been moving through weight classes, most recently defending his WBC bantamweight title after a brief stint at junior bantamweight where he was a belt holder . A potential matchup with Inoue, both of whom are Japanese-born fighters, could be a significant commercial success in Japan.

“I don’t know,” Hernandez said when asked about the timing of the fight. “I think it could be next year. If everything plays out the way it should, maybe sometime next year. I think that could be a possibility.”