00:00Welcome back to the Mr. Versace podcast. I'm your host, Mr. Versace himself, and joining me today are two of the best fighters to ever come out of Japan.
00:10Four-Division World Champion, Undisputed Super Bantamweight Champion, Ring Magazine Champion, The Monster, Naoya Inoue.
00:20And to my left, Three-Division World Champion, Ring Magazine Champion, Junto Nakatani, The Big Bang.
00:30Both of these men will be in action this Saturday night, The Ring 5, Night of the Samurai, live and exclusively on DAZN.
00:40Naoya, I'm going to ask you first, you're facing David Allen Picasso, your mandatory challenger.
00:46Have you seen any of Picasso's past fights, and what are your impressions of him as a fighter?
01:00And Junto, you're moving up to a new weight division. What made you make the decision to move up?
01:20And you're facing an undefeated fighter, Sebastian Hernandez. Looks pretty dangerous, a lot of knockouts on his record.
01:33Have you had a chance to study any of his fights?
01:36What are your impressions of him as a fighter from what you've seen?
01:50And I was going to ask, Naoya, what made you gravitate to boxing, and when did you know that this was going to be the career path for you?
02:09And I'm presenting the same question to Junto.
02:27Was it difficult to make the transition from a martial arts into straight boxing?
02:57No, I was just going to kick it off, so it was easy to kick it off.
03:01And Naoya, there's Japanese boxing as a whole is getting a lot more headlines in the press and around the world.
03:09Is Japanese boxing finally starting to get the recognition it always deserved?
03:13Well, I think it's important to know that boxing is a big part of the fans, and I think it's a big part of the fans, and I think it's a big part of the fans, and I think it's a big part of the fans.
03:28I think it's a big part of the fans, and I think it's a big part of the fans, and I think it's a big part of the fans.
03:37Recently you were in the news, you had made a statement that Japanese boxers right now, Japan in general, is producing better boxers than Mexico.
03:49Why do you feel that's the case at this point in time?
03:53And I was going to ask, what is Junto's position on the subject?
04:00And I was going to ask, what is Junto's position on the subject?
04:06Well, I think that in Japan, I think it's a big part of the question.
04:13And I was going to ask, what is Junto's position on the subject?
04:18Well, as I said, Inoue Naoya, I think that in Japan, it's a big part of the boxing tournament.
04:25I think the title of the boxing tournament is a big part of the competition.
04:30I think that's the point in the moment, I think it's a big part of the competition.
04:35Junto, do you feel any pressure, as a younger fighter, to represent the next generation of Japanese fighters when you entered the ring?
04:45Well, I think it's a big part of the competition.
04:50I think it's a big part of the competition.
04:52I think it's a big part of the competition.
04:57I think it's a big part of the competition.
05:02I think it's a big part of the competition.
05:07And Naoya, many people regard you as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.
05:13Do you feel pressure when you enter the ring to uphold that status?
05:17And also, you have an entire country behind you.
05:20Is there any pressure as far as holding the entire country almost on your back when you enter the ring?
05:27I think it's a big part of the competition.
05:28I think it's a big part of the competition.
05:33And I was going to ask you, as far as Junto as a fighter, you study a lot of fighters, you watch their fights.
05:41What are your impressions of him, not even as a future opponent, but as a fellow champion, fellow Japanese fighter that you see as…
05:50You know, some people are starting to think of him as a pound-for-pound guy.
05:53What are your impressions of him when you watch his fights?
05:56Well, I think it's a big part of the competition lately.
05:57I think it's a big part of the competition lately.
05:58I think it's a big part of the competition lately.
05:59And Junto, I was going to ask you, you're now in a new weight division.
06:15You two are now both in the same division.
06:18He has all of the world titles.
06:20Are you now starting to study a lot more of his fights as a potential opponent?
06:35Do you think your style matches up very well with his?
06:39Well, I don't know.
06:40I don't know.
06:41I don't know.
06:44A lot of people are saying, Noya, that if the two of you meet next year, there's a lot of talk about it.
06:51It would be one of the biggest events as far as boxing in Japanese history.
06:57Do you believe that?
06:59Do you believe that?
07:01And Junto, you also think the same.
07:04If the two of you collide next year, as many anticipate,
07:08it will be probably one of the biggest, if not the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history.
07:13Yes.
07:14I think that.
07:15I think that.
07:16I've been able to grow a lot for that.
07:19So I'm very grateful.
07:21Do you think, Noya, that given the level of competition with the two of you,
07:26as far as the two best fighters regarded by many in the weight class,
07:31it's a testament to how good Japanese boxing has become in the last couple of years?
07:37Well, I think that.
07:38That's right.
07:39I think that.
07:40I think that.
07:41I think that.
07:42I think that.
07:43And I want to present the same question to Junto.
07:49And I want to present the same question to Junto.
最初にコメントしましょう