“We acted deliberately”: Junto Nakatani reveals he avoided sparring with Inoue

Japanese boxer Junto Nakatani revealed that his long-time trainer Rudy Hernandez instructed him to avoid sparring sessions with undisputed super-bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue, because he was convinced that the two would one day meet in an official fight.

At the same time, Nakatani did spar with Inoue’s younger brother, WBC bantamweight champion Takuma Inoue.

"Rudy told me not to spar with him. We were conscious of it. I realize that it’s a fight that everybody wants to see and that’s a source of motivation for me.

There’s obviously business that we have to take care of first. We have to win this fight, but one of my goals is to give a performance that will make people more excited about the fight in May." Nakatani said.

On 27 December, Nakatani (31-0, 24 KOs) and Inoue (31-0, 27 KOs) will appear on the same card: Junto will face Sebastian Hernandez Reyes, while Naoya will take on Alan David Picasso.