Inoue's Next Match: The Battle Is Locked In!

Naoya Inoue, the absolute world champ in the second lightweight division, is set to duke it out with WBC's mandatory challenger, Luis Neri. Boxing insider Mike Coppinger reports that these two will clash in May 2024 in Tokyo.

It's a notable matchup, especially since Neri, hailing from Mexico, faced a lifetime ban from Japanese boxing rings after his controversial bouts with Shinsuke Yamanaka in 2018. Post his first scrap with Yamanaka, Neri found himself in hot water over banned drug accusations, though the WBC and Mauricio Sulaimán later cleared him. Then, ahead of their rematch, he stirred the pot by missing the weight limit.

But the buzz is that this ban won't put a damper on the upcoming showdown, with Tokyo already locked in as the battleground.