Naoya Inoue retained the undisputed Super Bantamweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Alan Picasso in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Inoue, 121.5 lbs of Yokohama, JAP won by scores of 120-108, 119-111, and 117-111 and is now 32-0. Picasso, 121.1 lbs of Mexico is 32-1-1.

Nakatani Decisions Hernandez

Junto Nakatani won a 12-round unanimous decision over Sebastian Hernandez in a super bantamweight bout.

Nakatani landed 297 of 837 punches. Hernandez was 273 of 921.

Nakatani, 121.6 lbs of Japan won by scores of 118-110 and 115-113 twice and is snow 32-0. Hernandez of Tijuana, MEX is 20-1.

With the wins by Inoue and Nakatani, it sets up a spring showdown between the two Japanese stars.

Garcia Wins Split Decision over Imanaga

Eridson Garcia won a 10-round split decision over previously undefeated Taiga Imnaga in a lightweight bout,

In round eight, Garcia dropped Imanaga with a crushing right hook to the jaw. That was the difference as Garcia won two cards by 96-93 and 95-94 tallies while Imanaga took a card 95-94.

Garcia landed 116 of 379 punches. Imanaga was 115 of 373,

Garcia, 134.5 lbs of Santo Domingo, DR is now 23-1. Imanaga, 134.1 lbs of Osaka, JAP is 9-1.

Tsutsumi stops Quintana in 4

Reito Tsutsumi stopped Leobardo Quintana in round four of a eight-round junior lightweight fight.

In round three, Tsutsumi was bleeding from the nose. In round four, Tsutsumi landed a big left that was foillowed by two rights to the head that put Quintana down and the fight was over at 1:14.

Tsutsumi, 129.7 lbs of Tokyo is 4-0 with three knockouts. Quintana, 129.8 lbs of Mexicali, MEX is 12-2.

Naoya Inoue and Alan Picasso faced off for the first time this week at Thursday’s Final Press Conference ahead of Saturday’s ‘The Ring 5: Night of the Samurai’ extravaganza in Riyadh.

The event is brought to fight fans on behalf of Riyadh Season by SELA, Matchroom Boxing and The Ring Magazine – broadcast live on DAZN.

Eddie Hearn arrived in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to host today’s presser at the Global Theatre at Riyadh’s spectacular Boulevard World.

‘The Ring V: Night of the Samurai’ will be staged this Saturday at Mohammed Abdu Arena by Emirates NBD in Boulevard City.

The fight card also features former Bantamweight World Champion Junto Nakatani, moving up to Super Bantamweight to make his debut in the division, in a clash with Sebastian Hernandez of Mexico, Kenshiro Teraji defending his status as world champion at Super Flyweight against Mexico’s Wilibaldo Garcia, in addition to Taiga Imanaga facing Dominica’s Eridson Garcia, and Reito Tsutsumi taking on Mexico’s Leobardo Quintana.

Speaking ahead of Friday’s ceremonial weigh-in – which will now take place at 3pm KSA Time – here’s what the fighters had to say at today’s Press Conference:

PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES:

Naoya Inoue
“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 per cent. I promise you that there is no chance that my belts are going back with him [Alan 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 skillset 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.”  

Alan Picasso
“First, I would like to say thank you to [His Excellency] Turki Alalshikh, The Ring Magazine and the promoters. All the people who have made this possible for me, thank you. It is amazing to be here. Of course, I want to share 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.”

Junto Nakatani
“First of all, I want to thank everyone for inviting me to such a big stage. I have been preparing 100 per cent, so you will see the best of me on December 27.”

Sebastian Hernandez
“Junto Nakatani is a really good fighter and I feel really excited for this fight. I have prepared my best, so I will give my absolute best in this fight too. Thank you for everything.”

Willibaldo Garcia
“People are wrong if they think I am going to lose. I am ready to win. I’m ready for war – I am going to win. I am going to finish him and I will deliver a KO.”

Kenshiro Teraji
“I really need to fight well and win what is such a huge match for me. I have to take the next big step [in my career], so I will make sure to win this World Title fight. I’ve always wanted to face [Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez] so I would like to perform well enough to get the chance to do so one day.”

Leobardo Quintana
“I’m ready – and I’ve been ready for the past week. I feel very strong and I am ready for victory.”

Reito Tsutsumi
“I know this is a great chance for me to impress on the big stage this time. That’s why I want to enjoy it on Saturday and have some fun as much as I can.”

Eridson Garcia
“Thank you to Matchroom and Turki Alalshikh for bringing me here. Of course, I am ready to upset everyone else and win the fight on Saturday.”

Taiga Imanaga
“I’m delighted to be here in Riyadh and I want to make sure that my presence is confirmed on such a big stage by trying my best to win, so keep on supporting me.” 

Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Sport Chairman
“Welcome everybody here to Riyadh as we wrap up what has been an incredible year for Riyadh Season and The Ring Magazine. The growth of boxing here in Saudi Arabia and the vision of His Excellency Turki Alalshikh has been inspiring and breathtaking. We have had just about everything in the Kingdom – but we have never had the invasion of the Japanese. Until now. That new force of world boxing, which we see up here today. Of course, this is the ‘Night of the Samurai’. But I am hearing in the room today a strong atmosphere for Mr Picasso and for many of the opposition teams here today and it is very much, ‘Viva Mexico Cabrones!’ We know what the Mexican fighters are coming here to do: they come to fight. And on Saturday, there will be a war going on between Mexico and Japan, in what I think is one of the best cards we have seen here in Saudi Arabia. When you look over the recent times, and of course being shown on the Global Home of Boxing, DAZN, we have seen it all. Previously, we have had the Undisputed Heavyweight World Championship twice and earlier this year, the Light Heavyweight Undisputed Championship with Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, not to mention Canelo Alvarez with the Undisputed Super Middleweight Titles. Plus, we have had for The Ring the two epic Eubank-Benn cards in front of over 70,000 fans. We’ve even closed down Times Square [in New York City]. We have seen it all. Despite having crowned so many Undisputed champions, there is only one reigning male Undisputed Champion and that is the great, Naoya Inoue, who is here as the only reigning male Undisputed champion and ready to defend his belts this weekend. This card, of course, is one of the strongest we have seen. There are so many great fighters. You will not want to blink. It’s incredibly exciting and it is a huge night for boxing.”

Rick Reeno, The Ring Magazine CEO
“I want to thank everyone for attending. Obviously, it is Christmas Day, so I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I told everyone that the day would come eventually, when Eddie Hearn would be my host at a Ring press conference! Eddie always likes to save a couple of quid, so he was all on board to host today. Like Eddie said, this is an unbelievable card. We have some of the very best talent on display, both present and for the future. Everyone is talking already about a potential Japanese mega fight between [Naoya] Inoue and [Junto] Nakatani. But we have two dangerous operators here with [Alan] Picasso and Sebastian Hernandez. These guys have got a legion of fans in attendance, and they are coming to spoil the party. I think we are going to see a lot of fireworks to close out the year. The year is not done yet and we may even get an upset. Anything can happen. We will see the future of Japanese boxing too in the form of Reito and Taiga [Imanaga], showing off their skills. Both of them are taking on a step up in class. They’re not like in some of the other regions where opponents are carefully picked, these guys love to be fast-tracked in Japan. Over there it is sink or swim. Either a guy has got it or he doesn’t have it. The managers and the handlers there are not concerned with putting their guys in the dep end against tough opponents. They like to know sooner rather than later before they invest more money into a fighter – and I respect that because often we see too much careful matchmaking going on, so I think that is what has helped ascend Japanese boxing. They want to make good fights and they’re not scared to make good fights. That’s why over the past few years you have seen so many fight of the year contenders coming out of Japan. You also have Kenshiro [Teraji] who is looking to bounce back and open up an exciting new chapter in his career too. He’s immediately moving up in weight to face a serious operator and a World Champion in the form of Willibaldo Garcia, who has made it clear he is coming for war. I’m really looking forward to it – we are going to see plenty of great action at this event. In fact, I’m looking forward to it so much that I am spending it with my mate, Eddie Hearn.”

This Saturday, December 27, celebrate the holiday season with an exciting boxing event to end DAZN’s historic year: The Ring V: Night of the Samurai. With Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as the backdrop, Japanese native and four-weight world champion Naoya Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs) aims to defend his Undisputed Super Bantamweight Title, where he will face unbeaten Mexican star Alan Picasso (28-0-1, 16 KOs) at Mohammed Abdo Arena. The Ring V: Night of the Samurai airs live on DAZN Pay-Per-View at 4:10 a.m. ET/12:10 a.m KSA worldwide and is included with DAZN’sUltimate Tier subscription at no extra cost. 

This incredible night also features a high-stakes undercard headlined by Junto Nakatani (26-0, 19 KOs) vs. undefeated Sebastan Hernandez (20-0, 18 KOs). Elsewhere, Kenshiro Teraji (23-1, 14 KOs) will face off against Willibaldo Garcia (22-5-2, 13 KOs) for the IBF Super Flyweight world title, while Taiga Imanaga (9-0, 5 KOs) and Armando Martinez (17-0, 15 KOs) go head-to-head in a lightweight clash. Reito Tsutsumi (26-2, 5 KOs) and Leobardo Quintana (12-1, 5 KOs) will also step into the ring in a super featherweight bout. 

The broadcast will begin at 4 a.m. ET/ 12 p.m. KSA, while the main event (Inoue vs. Picasso) ringwalk will start at 7:57 a.m. ET/ 3:57 p.m. KSA. This will be available on Pay-Per-View worldwide on DAZN, including Japan. Fans can tune into all fight week event streams via DAZN’s Boxing channel on YouTube. 

Kicking off DAZN’s loaded 2026 boxing schedule is an early candidate for Fight-of-the-Year as Teofimo Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) puts his WBO and Ring Junior Welterweight title on the line versus Shakur Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) face off in The Ring IV, live on DAZN from The World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden, in New York, NY on Saturday, January 31. Fans can expect The Ring 6 undercard to be announced in the coming weeks. 

Fans can sign up for DAZN’s Ultimate Tier subscription, which includes both Ring V and Ring IV, encompassing a minimum of 12 PPVs a year, on top of the regular 185 fight nights. Signing up allows fans and viewers to watch Ring V and the January Ring VI: Teofimo Lopez vs. Shakur Stevenson without incurring additional pay-per-view costs. DAZN Ultimate also provides fans access to an extensive archive of classic bouts and exclusive behind-the-scenes content, giving them unmatched access to the sport’s biggest moments.

News and Social 

• YES or NO with Naoya Inoue 
• Are we going to see Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani next year? 
• Naoya Inoue has NEVER tasted defeat in his 31 professional boxing fights 
• Alan Picasso is ready to hand Naoya Inoue his first loss in boxing  
• Reito Tsutsumi on sharing a night with Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani 
• Inoue has made FIVE defences as Undisputed champion!  
• Inoue talks P4P king status, now Terence Crawford has retired…
• Inoue stopped Cardenas earlier this year
• A “Nobel Prize” one day…32-0 Alan Picasso hunts undisputed status at super bantamweight

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.

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (July 7, 2023) – The undercard is set for the July 15 Golden Boy Fight Night: Mexico Edition show featuring No. 3 WBC-ranked Alan “Rey David” Picasso (24-0-1, 13 KOs) fighting against Sabelo Ngebinyana (15-6-1, 11 KOs) of Cape Town, South Africa. The 10-round fight is now for the WBC Silver Super Bantamweight Title and will be an eliminator for a world championship. Presented in association with Zanfer Boxing, the event will take place at Restaurante Arroyo, and broadcast on Azteca TV in Mexico and worldwide on DAZN.

In the co-main event, Monterrey, Mexico’s Rafael “El Divino” Espinoza (20-0, 17 KOs) will fight in a 10-round featherweight match against Ally “Gent Mawe” Mwerangi (12-6, 8 KOs) of Morogoro, Tanzania. Espinoza was last seen on March 25 with an impressive third-round knockout over Rafael Rosas Ramirez.

Also representing Monterrey, Aaron Silva (12-0, 9 KOs) will attempt to keep up his knockout streak in an eight-round super middleweight fight against Hassam “La Sombra” Valenzuela (20-4-2, 16 KOs) of Hermosillo, Mexico. Silva was last seen dazzling the crowd with a fourth-round knockout against Jaime Hernandez last March 2023.

In a six-round super bantamweight fight, Gregory “Goyo” Morales (14-1, 8 KOs) of San Antonio, Texas will face Mexico City’s Rodolfo Montoya (30-13-1, 28 KOs). Morales was last seen scoring a unanimous decision win against warrior Diuhl Olguin last December 2022.

Opening the fight card and returning to the ring after a successful debut performance this past May 2023, Santa Ana’s Johnny “Sugarcane” Cañas (1-0) will fight Hugo Vega (1-3-1) of Mexico City. The two will participate in a four-round super lightweight fight.

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Golden Boy Fight Night on DAZN is presented by Golden Boy Promotions. The event will be available worldwide to all subscribers on DAZN, both live and on demand.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and DAZN.com. Follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing and @DAZNBoxing. Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoy and https://www.facebook.com/DAZN. Follow on Instagram @GoldenBoy and @DAZNBoxing. Follow the conversation using #GBFightNight

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (June 28, 2023) – Golden Boy Fight Night: Mexico Edition has been slated for a return on Saturday, July 15 with a spectacular main event featuring No. 3 WBC-ranked Alan “Rey David” Picasso (24-0-1, 13 KOs) fighting in his hometown of Mexico City against Sabelo Ngebinyana (15-6-1, 11 KOs) of Cape Town, South Africa. The 10-round WBC Super Bantamweight Eliminator clash, presented in association with Zanfer Boxing, will be broadcast on Azteca TV in Mexico and worldwide on DAZN. 

Picasso has jumped the ranks in the past three years having defeated strong rivals such as Víctor Proa, Alexander Mejía, Edixon Pérez, Luis Millán and Kevin Villanueva. With a powerful liver hook, a strong left hand and the footwork to match, Picasso is hungry to prove to the world that he is world championship ready.

“I am ready to face the most important fight of my career. Sabelo is a strong, accurate and experienced fighter. But through my 25 fights, I have acquired qualities to be able to take this fight,” said Alan Picasso. “I am happy for the opportunity. Thank you Fernando Beltrán, Oscar De La Hoya and DAZN for placing their trust in me. After July 15, no one will be able to hide that I am the strongest super bantamweight in Mexico, and I will go for the world title. Nery, Inoue and Fulton should take care of themselves, because Picasso is in the division.”

Ngebinyana is familiar with stepping onto rival territory as the underdog and securing a victory. He has faced some of the strongest super bantamweights of his country. He has the endurance, strong chin, and upper left that can potentially prove to be challenging to Picasso. 

“It will be my first time in Mexico and the only thing I think about is that I will be the No. 2 mandatory of the World Boxing Council once again. I respect David a lot, he is a great boxer, complicated and knows how to work round by round, but I am not going to leave anything to the judges,” said Sabelo Ngebinyana. “I don’t know if they are underestimating me, but I come to do my job. I worked very hard and although I have defeats in my record, this will be my greatest victory. Thank Zanfer and Golden Boy for the opportunity, I will not let them down.”

Information on the complete undercard will be announced soon. 

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Golden Boy Fight Night on DAZN is presented by Golden Boy Promotions. The event will be available worldwide to all subscribers on DAZN, both live and on demand.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and DAZN.com. Follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing and @DAZNBoxing. Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoy and https://www.facebook.com/DAZN. Follow on Instagram @GoldenBoy and @DAZNBoxing. Follow the conversation using #GBFightNight