Naoya Inoue is back in the ring to face David Picasso in his next fight on December 27 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The contest headlines the fight card, also featuring Junto Nakatani versus Sebastian Hernandez and Willibaldo Garcia against Kenshiro Teraji.
Japanese champion Inoue (31-0, 27 KOs) and Mexican contender Picasso (32-0-1, 17 KOs) were previously expected to square off in June. The fight did not go ahead, and Inoue instead faced and defeated Ramon Cardenas.
In his most recent bout this past Sunday, Naoya Inoue scored a unanimous decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev, making his fifth successful defense of the undisputed super bantamweight title. David Picasso returned to the ring in July, taking a majority decision over Kyonosuke Kameda.
Turki Alalshikh, Saudi Arabia’s Minister and Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, announced the Inoue vs Picasso showdown, along with other matchups, via a post on social media. The event is titled The Ring V: Night of the Samurai.
Japan’s unified IBF and WBC bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani (31-0, 24 KOs) moves up a weight class to face Mexico’s Sebastian Hernandez (20-0, 18 KOs) at super bantamweight. The contest is expected to serve as the co-feature.
Nakatani stopped Ryosuke Nishida in six rounds in June, while Hernandez scored a unanimous decision over Azat Hovhannisyan in May.
Willibaldo Garcia (23-6-2, 13 KOs) of Mexico meets Japan’s Kenshiro Teraji (25-2, 16 KOs) at super flyweight. Garcia puts his IBF title on the line.
Garcia makes the second defense of his belt after taking a split decision against Rene Calixto Bibiano in May. Former unified flyweight champion Teraji is coming off a split decision defeat to Ricardo Sandoval and looks to win a title in his second weight class.
In other bouts:
- Hayato Tsutsumi (8-0, 5 KOs) vs. James Dickens (36-5, 15 KOs), super featherweight
- Taiga Imanaga (9-0, 5 KOs) vs. Armando Martinez Rabi (16-0, 15 KOs), lightweight
- Reito Tsutsumi (3-0, 2 KOs) vs. Leobardo Quintana Sanchez (11-1, 5 KOs), super featherweight