Naoya Inoue will close out his busiest year in more than a decade with a headline assignment in Saudi Arabia. The undisputed junior featherweight champion meets unbeaten Mexican Alan David Picasso on December 27, topping Ring V: Night of the Samurai at Mohammed Abdo Arena in Riyadh. The six-fight card will stream live on DAZN.
Fresh off a dominant win over Murodjon Akhmadaliev, Inoue (31-0, 27 KOs) now turns to Picasso (32-0-1, 17 KOs), who enters off a majority decision over Kyonosuke Kameda in July. Victory would further cement Inoue’s standing as one of the sport’s top pound-for-pound fighters while setting the stage for a blockbuster all-Japanese clash with Junto Nakatani in early 2026.
The undercard brings depth and intrigue. Former two-weight champion Kenshiro Teraji moves up to 115 lbs after his upset loss to Ricardo Sandoval, challenging IBF titleholder Willibaldo Garcia. Rising lightweight Taiga Imanaga (9-0, 5 KOs) continues his fast climb against heavy-handed Cuban Armando Martinez (16-0, 15 KOs). Meanwhile, the Tsutsumi brothers return: Reito Tsutsumi (3-0, 2 KOs) takes a step up against Leobardo Quintana, and Hayato Tsutsumi (8-0, 5 KOs) faces a dangerous test in interim WBA super featherweight titlist Jazza Dickens.
For Inoue, the Riyadh showcase marks his third fight of 2025 and a chance to finish the year with momentum ahead of Nakatani. For Saudi Arabia, it’s another jewel in a growing boxing calendar.
Fight card:
▪️Naoya Inoue vs. David Picasso, 12 rounds, for Inoue’s IBF, WBC and WBO World super bantamweight titles
▪️Willibaldo Garcia Perez vs. Kenshiro Teraji, 12 rounds, for Teraji’s IBF World super flyweight title
▪️Junto Nakatani vs. Sebastian Hernandez Reyes, rounds TBA, super bantamweight
▪️Hayato Tsutsumi vs. James Dickens, rounds TBA, super featherweight
▪️Taiga Imanaga vs. Armando Martinez Rabi, rounds TBA, lightweight
▪️Reito Tsutsumi vs. Leobardo Quintana Sanchez, rounds TBA, super bantamweight
