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Inoue chooses a quiet night
Inoue (31-0, 27 KO) doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone, and yet here he is, fighting a man whose best win is still up for debate in Mexico. Picasso (32-0-1, 17 KO) looks the part – big featherweight frame, neat release, decent ring IQ – but there has been no moment in his career that suggests he can control Inoue’s pace or timing.
Inoue’s last three fights have told us a lot. He ran through Marlon Tapales, handled Luis Nery’s initial chaos, then dispatched Akhmadaliev cleanly. The only small flaws are age and motivation: he is 32 years old and fighting against a man who cannot push him physically or tactically. Picasso’s main value here is to see if Inoue can remain disciplined when the threat level drops.
If there’s a risk, it’s the one veteran fighters fall into: pace and boredom. Fighters like Inoue, who thrive on danger, sometimes drift when the stakes fall. Picasso’s jab and long reach could steal the early rounds if Inoue decides to roll.
Worse still, a night like this doesn’t build anything. It’s a salary and tune-up disguised as prestige.
What the undercard really tells us
Junto Nakatani vs. Sebastian Hernandez Reyes is the real fight. Nakatani moves up to 122 to see if he can eat shots before chasing Inoue next year. Hernandez? It’s that hammer that flattens guys waiting for a slow fight.
A loss kills the Tokyo Dome dream fight that is already half-promised. Nakatani’s team knows this. This pressure can tighten a fighter’s stance, slow their reaction, and disrupt punch selection. Reyes doesn’t throw much, but every punch means something.
Hayato Tsutsumi vs. Jazza Dickens: Japan pushes Tsutsumi to Dickens before he turns 30 and gets left behind. Dickens is the classic brutal Brit: clumsy, tough, loves to thrash around indoors. Tsutsumi looks sharp on paper but hasn’t yet eaten enough professional leather to handle this mess.
Kenshiro Teraji vs. Willibaldo Garcia looks like matchmaking amnesia. Teraji lost his belt in July after being coached by right hands he never adapted to, but he won a division title. Garcia’s record doesn’t scream danger, but it is active and disjointed. The question: Can Teraji take 115-pound punches after blinking all night against Sandoval? If he can’t, his flyweight elegance won’t matter here.
Taiga Imanaga vs. Armando Martinez and Reito Tsutsumi vs. Quintana Sanchez fill the Riyadh crowd – refined prospects on safe tracks. They will look sharp, do banking rounds and fade from memory by Sunday.
Behind the map: money and maneuver
Turki Alalshikh’s fingerprints are everywhere. The “Ring V” card is not about merit: it aims to keep Riyadh in the heavyweight category. DAZN gets content, Japan gets exposure and fighters get paid.
However, Inoue walks on a knife’s edge. His entire reputation as a “Monster” continues to claim that every opponent is life or death. This one doesn’t. It’s a risk disguised as routine: win comfortably, risk nothing big, but stay active enough for next year’s Tokyo Dome meet.
What happens if it goes wrong
If Inoue slips, cuts himself, or appears disinterested, the aura fades. The “Monster” label does not survive flat performances. It’s not loss, it’s the image of control. Picasso may not beat him, but giving Inoue a human aspect would change his leverage in any future negotiations, especially with Nakatani’s camp waiting.
For Nakatani, a bad night causes Inoue-Nakatani to die before it begins. For Teraji, another knockout would end career whispers for good. For Riyadh, boring fights end the pretense of legitimacy in the lower weight divisions.
It’s an interesting card on paper, but these fights aren’t showcases: They’re minefields for favorites trying to protect the next payday.
Date: Saturday December 27, 2025
Location: Mohammed Abdo Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Start time: 12:00 p.m. KSA / 9:00 a.m. GMT / 4:00 a.m. ET / 2:00 a.m. PT / 6:00 p.m. JST
Main Event Ring Walks: 4:00 p.m. KSA / 1:00 p.m. GMT / 8:00 a.m. ET / 5:00 a.m. PT
