On the 16th, Naoya Inoue (31, Ohashi), the unified world super bantamweight champion of four boxing organizations, exchanged messages on his X (formerly Twitter) account with WBA world featherweight champion Nick Ball (28) from the UK, with whom he has revealed plans to fight in December, writing in English, "Let's increase each other's value until that day comes."

It all started on the 15th (16th Japan time) in the WBA World Featherweight Championship Match held in Liverpool, England, where champion Nick Ball defeated former IBF World Super Bantamweight champion TJ Doheny (38) of Ireland, ranked 6th in the same class, by TKO at the end of the 10th round, successfully defending his title for the second time. However, the two men had been heating up since the weigh-in the day before, almost to the point of brawling, and they also got heated up in the match. In the first round, after Ball cornered Doheny and the bell rang, he landed a low kick to his lower body as he grappled with him and refused to let go. Although Ball defended his title by forfeiting at the end of the 10th round, the rough fight left a lasting legacy.

In response to this, Naoya updated his X and commented in Japanese, "Ball is interesting. Don't kick it!" While he was complaining about the "barbaric act," he seemed to have shown a renewed interest.

In response, Ball provocatively posted, "Let me know when you're ready to kick at 126 pounds (featherweight)," quoting Naoya's post. Naoya then quoted him and provoked him back in English, saying, "Two fists are enough for me." In response, Ball expressed his desire for a fight, saying, "Let's make it happen and then find out," and Naoya cheered him on, saying, "Until that day comes, let's increase each other's value."

Naoya's fight against Ramon Cardenas (USA) in Las Vegas on May 4th has been officially scheduled. If all goes well, he plans to face Murodjon Akhmadaliev in Japan in September, and then, while retaining the super bantamweight belt, challenge for Ball's featherweight title in Saudi Arabia in December.