Naoya Inoue and David Picasso previewed their bout and faced off at the final press conference on Thursday. The two fighters approach their super bantamweight title clash, live from Mohammed Abdo Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, December 27.
Japanese four-division world champion Inoue (31-0, 27 KOs) is making the sixth defense of his undisputed 122-pound title. The 32-year-old said he is looking to give his all to become the top fighter on the pound-for-pound list.
“This bout is going to be really important for my future – and how I fight it will be crucial to becoming pound-for-pound No. 1. So, I will give 100 percent,” Inoue said. “I promise you that there is no chance that my belts are going back with him [David Picasso] to Mexico. This is a critical fight in the super bantamweight division, which you will see on Saturday. I am ready.”
“All the Japanese fighters here have a high skill set and their mentality is very strong. That is proven, and we will all fight good fights – and we plan to go home [to Japan] with good victories.”
‘It is going to be an Azteca night’
Mexico’s Picasso (32-0-1, 17 KOs) is making his first attempt to become a champion. The 25-year-old thanked the event organizers and vowed to do everything to claim the belts.
“First, I would like to say thank you to [His Excellency] Turki Alalshikh, The Ring Magazine, and the promoters,” Picasso said. “To all the people who have made this possible for me, thank you. It is amazing to be here.”
“Of course, I want to show my respect to Japan and to all of the Japanese fighters. However, on Saturday, it will not be the ‘Night of the Samurai’ – it is going to be an Azteca night. We represent Mexico, and every single fighter who is here fighting for Mexico on this card, we are doing it for our people. We do it because of the blood running inside our bodies.”
“I’ve been working and working so hard for this moment. I have run thousands of kilometres. I am so proud of the job I have done – and bringing those belts to Mexico would make my country so proud, so I will not let them down.”
On Inoue vs Picasso undercard
Also participating in the final press conference were all the fighters featured on the Inoue vs Picasso undercard.
Japanese three-division world champion Junto Nakatani (31-0, 24 KOs) makes his super bantamweight debut against Sebastian Hernandez (20-0, 18 KOs) of Mexico.
Willibaldo Garcia (23-6-2, 13 KOs) of Mexico defends his IBF super flyweight title against Kenshiro Teraji (25-2, 16 KOs) of Japan.
A lightweight bout pits Japan’s Taiga Imanaga (9-0, 5 KOs) against Eridson Garcia (22-1, 14 KOs) of the Dominican Republic.
Additionally, Reito Tsutsumi (3-0, 2 KOs) of Japan clashes with Mexico’s Leobardo Quintana Sanchez (11-1, 5 KOs) at super featherweight.
Inoue vs Picasso airs live on DAZN on December 27 at 4:00 a.m. ET in the U.S., 9:00 a.m. GMT in the UK, and 8:00 p.m. AEDT in Australia.