Overview
- The fight headlines Ring V: Night of the Samurai at Mohammed Abdo Arena on December 27, airing on DAZN pay-per-view, with the broadcast starting at 4 a.m. ET and main-event ring walks expected around 7:45–8:00 a.m. ET ($69.99 US, £19.99 UK).
- Inoue enters as a prohibitive betting favorite with sportsbooks such as BetMGM, facing a taller 25-year-old challenger in Picasso, with both fighters unbeaten at 31-0 (27 KOs) and 32-0-1 (17 KOs) respectively.
- Junto Nakatani debuts at 122 pounds on the same card against Sebastian Hernandez Reyes after vacating his WBC and IBF bantamweight titles, with plans for an Inoue–Nakatani superfight contingent on both winning in Riyadh.
- The Japan-versus-Mexico-styled undercard includes Kenshiro Teraji vs. Willibaldo García, Reito Tsutsumi vs. Leobardo Quintana, and Taiga Imanaga vs. Eridson Garcia, with Imanaga’s opponent a late replacement for Armando Martinez Jr.
- Inoue has risen to No. 2 in The Ring’s pound-for-pound rankings following Terence Crawford’s retirement, trailing only Oleksandr Usyk.