Naoya Inoue dominated Alan Picasso, winning their 12-round bout by unanimous decision at Mohammed Abdo Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and defending his undisputed world super bantamweight title.
The judges scored it 119-109, 120-108 and 117-111 for “The Monster,’ as the Japanese superstar is known. He improved to 32-0, solidified his status as one of the world’s top pound-for-pound boxers and set up a likely super fight with fellow countryman Junto Nakatani.
Before Inoue beat Picasso, Nakatani improved to 32-0 by beating Sebastian Hernandez in Nakatani’s debut at the super bantamweight division. And so the collision course between the 32-year-old Inoue and 27-year-old Nakatani likely will result in a clash between two of Japan’s premier boxers.
About the only thing Inoue failed to deliver was the knockout. It was the second straight fight in which his opponent took him the distance. Picasso, a 25-year-old from Mexico, suffered his first loss and fell to 32-1-1.
Inoue said his performance ‘was not good enough. I should’ve done better.” But when asked about a possible fight with Nakatani, Inoue said, ‘Both of us had a very good win tonight…”
A ‘very good win” was an apt description for Inoue, who did not drop Picasso but smothered him with punches and evades some of Picasso’s biggest shots.
Naoya Inoue vs Alan Picasso highlights
Naoya Inoue vs. Alan Picasso, for the undisputed super bantamweight world titles
Round 1: Alan Picasso, clearly the taller fighter and throws a left jab. Nothing to fear for Naoya Inoue, responds with his own jab. Picasso active early and fires a couple of shots to Inoue’s body. Inoue now firing away and Picasso answers, showing no fear of The Monster. Inoue looks crisp. Inoue 10, Picasso 9.
Round 2: Inoue erupts as the round begins with a series of combinations. Picasso unloads a couple of shots and Inoue pushes back. He’s blocking most of those shots and pounds Picasso with a hard right. Inoue showing more confidence. Picasso lands a right and Inoue answers with the right, again and again. Inoue lands a hard uppercut, and back comes Picasso. Inoue 20, Picasso 18.
Round 3: Inoue throwing with force and getting through Picasso’s high guard. Not enough guarding for Picasso. But Picasso throws some hard right, evidence he’s still got some confidence. That Inoue will seek to kill. For every punch Picasso throws, he’s taking two or three. Or four. Inoue 30, Picasso 27.
Round 4: Inoue making good use of his jab, then unfurls a right and follows up with a combination. Picasso showing down and Inoue rocks Picasso’s head back. Picasso digs into Inoue’s body with a hard left and he looks alive again while landing some good shots. But Inoue largely dominates the round. Inoue 40, Picasso 36.
Round 5: Picasso looks game. But Inoue looks quick, aggressive and powerful. Oh, nice left from Picasso. Then he pays the price: a flurry from Inoue. Picasso takes his swings again and connects with big right. Inoue finishes strong. Inoue 50, Picasso 45.
Round 6: Inoue applying serious pressure. Picasso fights back with jabs to the body, then lands a double jab. They exchange lively body shots. Inoue digs a left into Picasso’s body. Ouch. Again, Inoue close strong. Inoue 60, Picasso 54.
Round 7: Picasso doesn’t look scared. Or self-assured. Inoue digging in with his jab. Inoue throwing big shots, but hasn’t wobbled Picasso. Yet. But the handspeed is impressive, to say the least. Picasso lands a couple of formidable shots, but not nearly enough to win the round. Inoue 70, Picasso 63.
Round 8: Inoue coming of a unanimous decision. Can Picasso force Inoue to go the distance again? He’s withstanding some big shots. No tension here. Inoue dominating, but we’re still waiting on his signature KO punch. Still waiting. Inoue 80, PIcasso 72.
Round 9: Picasso not cowering. Throws a few nice shots and Inoue pushes back. Textbook boxing from Inoue, who’s displaying elite offense and defense. Inoue 90, Picasso 81.
Round 10: Inoue comes out swinging. Three rounds to end the fight by stoppage. Anything less would constitute a moral victory for Picasso. He’s withstanding the punishment and lands a left to the body, for good measure. But Inoue still in control. Inoue 100, Picasso 90.
Round 11: Picasso emerges with welts on his faces. Courtesy of Inoue’s fists. Picasso shows life again with a couple of body shots. He just can’t maintain anything — with Inoue’s fists flying in his face. Gutsy effort from Picasso. He’s just overrmatched. Inoue 110, Picasso 99.
Round 12: Inoue not coasting to victory. He comes out aggressive. Picasso throws a couple of wicked lefts. Whiffs. Now Picasso connects, but Inoue takes one on the chin and fires back. Picasso aquittign himself well as they men slug it out. Inoue 120, Picasso 108.
Japanese super fight looks likely
Now everything is in place for a megafight between Naoya Inoue and Junto Natakani.
Inoue failed to offer explicit confirmation, saying the premier Japanese fighters would decide next year what to do. But he also added, ‘For the Japanese fans, you can expect something very good.’’
Naoya Inoue reigns supreme
Inoue on Saturday defended his undisputed world super bantamweight title for the fourth time in 2025. That included a fourth-round knockout of Ye Joon Kim in January; an eighth-round TKO of Ramon Cardenas in May; a victory over Murodjon Akhmadaliev by unanimous decision in September; capped by his victory over Picasso four days before the calendar year ends.
“I’m very happy that I could win four matches this year, but actually I’m really tired so I have to rest for a while,’’ Inoue said.
Naoya Inoue vs. Jesse ‘Bam” Rodriguez?
Naoya Inoue indicated he’s open to a fight with Jesse ‘Bam” Rodriguez, the unified super flyweight champion and a consensus Top 5 pound-for-pound fighter. That is, if Rodriguez can move up to the 122-pound super bantamweight division, where Inoue fights, from the 115-pound super flyweight division.
Through a translator, Inoue said he’d ‘love” for Rodriguez to challenge him if Rodriguez can move up in weight.
Naoya Inoue vs Alan Picasso: Time, PPV, streaming for fight
Naoya Inoue will face Alan Picasso on Saturday, Dec. 27, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Date: Saturday, Dec. 27
Time: 5 a.m. ET
Inoue vs Picasso main event ringwalks: 7:57 a.m. ET (estimate)
Stream: DAZN PPV
Watch Inoue vs Picasso on DAZN PPV
Junto Nakatani def. Sebastian Hernandez by unanimous decision
For Junto Nakatani, the path to a potential mega fight against Naoya Inoue was a brutal one.
Nakatani endured a slugfest with Sebastian Hernandez that ended with his right eye swollen shut during the 12-round fight. But the judges were in agreement.
They scored the fight 115-113,115-113, 118-110 in favor of Nakatani, who prevailed in his debut at super bantamweight.
Nakatani had relinquished his IBC and WBC world bantamweight titles before moving to super bantamweight weight division with the clear hope of fighting Inoue. He took a big step toward securing that chance while handing Hernandez his first loss as a pro.
Nakatani, a 27-year-old from Japan, improved to 32-0. Hernandez, a 25-year-old from Mexico, improved to 20-1.
Round 1: Junto Nakatani delivers a solid right uppercut and Sebastian Hernandez plodding as Nakatani lands a few more shots. Hernandez may have just landed his first punch. Weak jabs. Nakatani swings away and shows nice footwork as he connects. Nakatani 10, Hernandez 9.
Round 2: Nakatani opens with two nice left uppercuts to Hernandez’s body. Hernandez stalking and Nakatani looks more than comfortable fighting off his back foot. Starting to use his jab and it sets up a double uppercut. Connects with a big left and Hernandez felt that. Nakatani so nimble as he fires away. Nakatani 20, Hernandez 18.
Round 3: Nakatani, so slick as he sets up the uppecuts. Appears to be in total control until Hernandez wraps him up. But they’re separated and Hernandez gets more active. Hernandez chases after Nakatani and showing more skill as they fight in close quarters. But Nakatani regains control with a series of shots to the body and head. Nakatani 30, Hernandez 27.
Round 4: Hernandez willing to put himself in harm’s way and lands more than a few punches, including a nice left to th head. Nakatani counters as Hernandez stands his ground. Nakatani answers with combinations and more textbook boxing as he escapes a few shots. Hernandez coming on strong. Nakatani 39, Hernandez 37.
Round 5: Nakatani comes out strong with his signature, clean shots. Hernandez still marching forward — right into a flurry of punches. Big uppercut from Nakatani and his punches appear to be landing with more authority than Hernandez’s shots. But Hernandez fires back with a flurry of punches. Nakatani 49, Hernandez 46.
Round 6: Nakatani unloads two left uppercuts. Hernandez still coming forward and he lands some good shots with both hands. But suddenly he’s under attack as Nakatani lands a couple of uppercuts. What looked like a mismatch suddenly looks like a real fight. And Hernandez stuns Nakatani with a right as the round ends. Nakatani 58, Hernandez 56.
Round 7: Hernandez comes out firing. Nakatani answers as the action heats up again. Nakatani trying to maintain some distance, which gives him space to throw the uppercuts. And Hernandez trying to shorten the distance between the two men. Hernandez enjoying a nice stretch of connecting with short shots. Slugfest, but Nakatani connecting with cleaner shots. Nakatani 68, Hernandez 65.
Round 8: It’s more of the same, Hernandez charging forward, Nakatani responding with uppercuts and…would love to see the scorecards now. Nakatani strugling to fight off Hernandez, who keeps swininging away. Neither man backing away. Hernandez absorbing shots but dishing out more than he’s taking. Nakatani 77, Hernandez 75.
Round 9: Nakatani, for all of his talent, kept back up Hernandez. If it’s a test of power, man, not sure Nakatani has enough. Even if he holds off Hernandez, can he possibly beat The Monster. Yeah, getting ahead of ourselves here as the slugging continues. Hernandez lands a hard right as the slugfest borders on a brawl. Hernandez finishes with force. Nakatani 86, Hernandez 85.
Round 10: All gas, no brakes. Incredible turnaround by Hernandez, who is the beast disrupting Nakatani’s beauty. Nonstop slugging here. Nakatani 95, Hernandez 95.
Round 11: Nakatina’s right eye looks in need of a huge bag of ice. Looks like Hernandez’s left-hand shots are landing hard. Just slugging it out, with a modicum of defense at best. Nakatani lands a three-punch combination and Hernandez just keeps firing. Nakatani’s face just took a pounding as the punches fly. Hernandez 105, Nakatani 104.
Round 12: Not sure Nakatani can see a thing out of his swollen right eye. Hernandez smothering Nakatani, who’s throwing punches but taking too many. In fact, Nakatani apperas to be running out of room to work. He’s been backpedaling for a long time now. Too long? Hernandez 115, Nakatani 113.
Reito Tsutsumi def. Leobardo Quintana by TKO
Tsutsumi, with blood gushing from his nose in Round 2, reversed the momentum in emphatic way. He stopped Quintana by TKO in the fourth round of their super featherweight bout.
A 23-year-old top prospect from Japan, Tsutsumi improved to 4-0. It was his third knockout, this one courtesy of a right hook that sent Quintana tumbling to the canvas.
Quintana, a 23-year-old from Mexico, fell to 12-2. He landed a barrage of punches but fatigued early as Tsutsumi pounced.
Round 1: Leobardo Quintana fires first with a left hook. Reito Tsutsumi fires a left and Quintana ducks as the punch flies overhead. Both showing quickness as they trade shots. But Quitana scores with a series of left hooks and taking control. Whoa! A Tsutsumi staggered Quitana with a big left hook. Tsutsumi 10, Quintana 9.
Round 2: Quitana charges out and lands a body shot and follows with a left, as if to show he’s fine despite that hard shot from Tsutsumi in Round 1. Quintana working hard and Tsutsumi’s body the chosen target, and left uppercuts follow. Tsutsumi fights back and lands a hard left, but Quintana in control as Tsutsumi’s nose begins to bleed. Tsutsumi 19, Quintana 19.
Round 3: Quintana letting his fists fly, and now the blood’s flowing from Tsutsumi’s nose. Quintana connects with a left uppercut and he’s dominating from the inside. Nice exchange of uppercuts, but the blood from Tsutsumi’s nose has gone from streaming to pouring. Quintana fell to the canvas. No knockdown, but maybe fatrigue as Tsutsumi came on strong late. Tsutsumi 29, Quintana 28.
Round 4: Quintana drops to his knees a la Jake Paul, an apparently sign of fatigue. Tsutsumi asserting himself and showing power and precision. Down goes Quintana! It’s over! The referee has halted the fight 1:14 into Round 4. It’s Tsutsumi by TKO.
Eridson Garcia def. Taiga Imanaga by split decision
Garcia, trailing midway through the fight, roared back thanks in part to an eighth-round knockdown. He continued to surge through the 10th and final round with powerful lefts against the previously undefeated Imanaga in their lightweight bout.
The judges scored it 96-93, 94-95, 95-94 for Garcia, And 31-year-old Dominican who improved to 23-1.
Imanaga, the 26-year-old from Japan, fell to 9-1.
Round 1: Taiga Imanaga showing aggression early and landing jabs. Eridson Garcia strikes back but without much authority. Imanaga connects with a jab to the body and Garcia felt that. Imanaga’s jab is a serious weapon. Imanaga 10, Garcia 9.
Round 2: Imanaga stalking. Garcia lands a couple of nice body shots and may have grazed Imanaga with a hard overhand left. Imanaga shows no hesistance as he stalks again. Garcia finishes the round strong, but not strong enough: Imanaga 20, Garcia 18.
Round 3: Garcia showing a willingness to close the gap against his taller opponent. But it’s by darting in and backing out. Imanaga continues to connect with his foreful jab. Garcia digs a hard right into Imanaga’s body. Nice round from Garcia. Imanaga 29, Garcia 28.
Round 4: Garcia opens the round with a sizzling punch, and Imanaga responds. Imanaga wielding that crisp jab in tandem with the left and followed by a couple of right hooks. Imanaga revvving up with a variety of punches and exudes poise. Imanaga 39, Garcia 37.
Round 5: Imanaga eats a straight right from Garcia but keeps coming forward. It’s going take more than that to deter him. They exchange body shots, and Imanaga lands a few more. Imanaga 49, Garcia 46.
Round 6: The jab continues to serve Imanaga well. So quick and precise. Then lands a right and a left to the body, showing impressive versatility as he continues to stalk. Garcia looking worn down as Imanaga fires away. Imanaga 59, Garcia 55.
Round 7: Imanaga attacks Garcia’s body with that all-purpose jab. Connects with a combination and Garcia throws a left that grazes Imanaga. Imanaga looks in command. Just like that, Garcia lands a stiff left and moves forward. Now it’s Garcia finally asserting himself. Lands a hard left as the bell rings, and has he turned the tide. Imanaga 68, Garcia 65.
Round 8: Garcia flexing, and lands a big right! Down goes Imanaga! Holy smokes. Imanaga back on his feet, and Garcia swinging for the fences. Garcia unloading and chasing after Imanaga, who’s bleeding from the nose. Imanaga in serious danger as Garcia whales away. Imanaga hanging on. Imanaga ducks about four big shots and survives the round. Imanaga 76, Garcia 75.
Round 9: They’ve got Imanaga cleaned up, but he still looks spent. Garcia comes out the aggressor. Imanaga throwing punches but looking vulnerable. But now he’s coming to life and Garcia grins. They’re mixing it up now. Garcia finishes the round with a flourish. Imanaga 85, Garcia 85.
Round 10: Imanaga showign life again and connects with a hard body shot. He’s stalking Garcia and a impressive exchange ensues. Garcia loading up with the overhand lefts. Garcia strikes again with the left and and he’s still displaying power as the fight comes to a close and draws blood from Imanaga again. Garcia 95, Imanaga 94.
What time is Naoya Inoue vs Alan Picasso fight card?
Inoue vs Picasso starts at 5 a.m. ET with the main card estimated to begin at 7:57 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 27.
When is the Naoya Inoue vs Alan Picasso main event ring walk?
The main card between Inoue and Picasso has an estimated start time of 7:57 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 27.
Inoue vs Picasso price: How much to watch fight
The fight available on DAZN will cost $39.99.
DAZN boxing start time delay
DAZN programming reflects that the Inoue vs. Picasso card will start at 5 a.m. ET rather than the originally scheduled time of 4 a.m. ET. The change in time followed the cancellation of IBF super-flyweight world title fight between Willibaldo Garcia and Kenshiro Teraji. According to The Ring, Garcia fell ill and was admitted to the hospital after the ceremonial weigh-ins. Mike Coppinger of The Ring later reported on the DAZN livestream that Garcia got ill while trying to make a weight cut.
The delay does not appear to have impacted the scheduled time for the Inoue vs. Picasso ring walks.
DAZN did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The Monster gets wrapped
Those aren’t bricks inside Naoya Inoue’s gloves. Just vicious fists expertly wrapped. Take a look as he gets ready for his bout against Alan Picasso.
Naoya Inoue stats
Naoya Inoue is 31-0 with 27 KOs. He has won by knockout in 11 of his past 12 fights.
How much does Naoya Inoue weigh
Naoya Inoue weighed in at 121.1 pounds, under the maximum weight limit of 122 pounds for super bantamweights.
Alan Picasso boxer
Alan Picasso and David Picasso, Naoya Inoue’s opponent, are the same boxer. His full name is Alan David Picasso Romero and he is alternately referred to as Alan Picasso (see DAZN) or David Picasso (see BoxRec).
Naoya Inoue net worth
Naoya Inoue’s estimated net worth is between $7 million and $10 million, according to various reports.
Naoya Inoue among pound-for-pound best
With Terence Crawford retired, Oleksandr Usyk likely will be moving atop the consenus pound-for-pound rankings. And Naoya Inoue figures to moving up right behind at No. 2.
The Monster boxer
Naoya Inoue earned the nickname ‘The Monster’ thanks to his punching power. You can watch some of his most brutal KOs here.
Naoya Inoue vs Alan Picasso fight card, odds:
Naoya Inoue (-5000) vs Alan Picasso (+1000) – Undisputed super bantamweight titles
Junto Nakatani vs. Sebastian Hernandez – super bantamweight bout
Reito Tsutsumi vs. Leobardo Quintana – super featherweight bout
Taiga Imanaga vs. Eridson Garcia – lightweight bout
Kenshiro Teraji vs. Willibaldo Garcia (canceled, due to Garcia illness.)