Today, one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world returns to the ring. Naoya Inoue puts his undisputed super-bantamweight titles on the line, with his next move possibly determined by a key undercard fight, too.
In a main-event bout in Saudi Arabia, Inoue defends his belts against Alan Picasso, who looks to stay unbeaten and hand the Japanese “Monster” his first professional defeat. Inoue will enter the ring with a 31-0 (27 KOs) record, as one of boxing’s smallest but most-consistent knockout artists, while Picasso (who also goes by his middle name, David) is 32-0-1 (17 KOs).
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The card also features a clash between unbeaten pair Junto Nakatani (31-0, 24 KOs) and Sebastian Hernandez Reyes (20-0, 18 KOs), as Nakatani moves up to super-bantamweight – having vacated his bantamweight titles – to move closer to a desired fight with Inoue.
If Inoue and Nakatani win here, it is believed that they will square off in 2026 in a much-anticipated, all-Japanese showdown that might mark the Monster’s toughest-ever test…
Here’s all you need to know ahead of Inoue vs Picasso this weekend.
When is the fight?
Inoue vs Picasso takes place on Saturday 27 December at the Mohammed Abdo Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The show will begin at 9am GMT (1am PT, 3am CT, 4am ET), with main-event ring walks expected at 1pm GMT (5am PT, 7am CT, 8am ET).
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How can I watch it?
The event will stream live on DAZN pay-per-view worldwide. The fight card costs £19.99 in the UK / $69.99 in the US and Canada and comes with a seven-day free trial of the full DAZN platform and access to all live events in your region. You can purchase the event here.
Naoya Inoue celebrates stopping Ramon Cardenas in May, after surviving a shock knockdown (Getty Images)
You can watch the fight via the DAZN App, available on smart TVs, phones, tablets, streaming devices, games consoles and web browsers.
Odds
Inoue – 1/33; Picasso – 10/1; draw – 25/1
Nakatani – 1/12; Reyes – 7/1; draw – 18/1
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Fight card in full
Subject to late changes; ‘C’ denotes champion
Junto Nakatani is a rising star of Japanese – and world – boxing (Getty)
Naoya Inoue (C) vs Alan Picasso (undisputed super-bantamweight titles)
Junto Nakatani vs Sebastian Hernandez Reyes (super-bantamweight)
Willibaldo Garcia (C) vs Kenshiro Teraji (IBF super-flyweight title)
Taiga Imanaga vs Armando Martinez (lightweight)
Reito Tsutsumi vs Leobardo Quintana (super-featherweight)
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