Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – September 18, 2025: HE Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the
General Entertainment Authority, has today announced a ground-breaking Riyadh
Season card for Saturday December 27 that will see some of the biggest fighters from
Japan showcase their talents in the ring at Mohammed Abdo Arena in Riyadh, headlined by undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue and Alan Picasso.
‘Ring V: Night of the Samurai’ will be streamed live worldwide on DAZN, as well as on
Lemino in Japan.
Regarded as Japan’s greatest fighter of all time, Inoue (31-0, 27 KOs), a multi division
world champion, will look to further enhance his impressive record against Mexico’s
Picasso (32-0-1, 17 KOs), the WBC No.1-ranked contender at 122lb.
Last weekend, Inoue successfully defended his status as undisputed world champion
with an emphatic unanimous decision win over Murodjon Akhmadaliev. He will now
compete in his first fight in Saudi Arabia when he faces Picasso, who preserved his
unbeaten record in July courtesy of a majority decision victory over Kyonosuke Kameda.
Junto Nakatani (31-0, 24 KOs), the reigning unified bantamweight champion, will fight at
super bantamweight for the first time when he goes up against the top 10-ranked
Sebastian Hernandez (20-0, 18 KOs) of Mexico.
Nakatani has solidified his status as one of boxing’s elite fighters having held world titles
in three different weight classes and most recently unified the WBC and IBF titles at
118lb with a brutal sixth-round stoppage of Ryosuke Nishida, while Hernandez, rankedNo.9 by The Ring, No.8 by the WBC, and No.10 by the WBO, secured a unanimous decision win against Azat Hovhannisyan in May.
Kenshiro Teraji (25-2, 16 KOs) returns to the ring in his first bout since losing the WBA
and WBC flyweight titles to Ricardo Sandoval via split decision, when he takes on
Mexico’s Willibaldo Garcia Perez (23-6-2, 13 KOs), who claimed the first world title of his career in May with a split decision win against Rene Calixto Bibiano for the vacant IBF super flyweight belt.
Completing this thrilling ‘Ring V: Night of the Samurai’ lineup, Taiga Imanaga (9-0, 5
KOs) takes on WBA lightweight No.4 Armando Martinez (16-0, 15 KOs) from Cuba, while Tsutsumi brothers Reito (3-0, 2 KOs) and Hayato (8-0, 5 KOs) get ready to face Mexico’s Leobardo Quintana (11-1, 5KOs) and British fighter James Dickens (36-5, 15 KOs), respectively.
About Riyadh Season
Saudi Arabia’s capital embraces one of the world’s biggest entertainment events every
year during winter. Since the launch of Riyadh Season in 2019, the festival has welcomed visitors from all over the world to experience thousands of concerts, sporting activities, and other unique cultural events. Most recently, Riyadh Season 2024 reached a major milestone after the number of visitors for the year exceeded 20 million for the first time.
About DAZN
DAZN, the home of European football, women’s football, boxing and MMA, and the NFL (excl. USA), is creating the world’s biggest sports entertainment platform. A leading sports streaming service in Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Portugal, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, the US and UK, its wide range of content covers top-flight football from the world’s most popular competitions. DAZN’s football rights include Bundesliga, English Premier League, J.League, LALIGA, Ligue 1, Serie A, and the UEFA Champions League, making DAZN the largest broadcaster of football in Europe. DAZN is the global home of women’s football, broadcasting the UEFA Women’s Champions League alongside top-tier domestic league and cup competitions. DAZN’s portfolio features the biggest sports and leagues from around the world – Formula 1, NFL, NBA, MotoGP, PGA and the best in boxing and MMA. As the global home of NFL Game Pass, it is the only place for fans outside of the USA to watch every NFL match live. DAZN is building the ultimate sports entertainment service, where fans from across the globe can watch, read, bet, play, share, socialise, buy tickets and merchandise, all in one place, with one account, one wallet and on one app. For more information on DAZN, our products, people, and performance, visit dazngroup.com.
