Sports
Inoue vs Picasso: Date, fight time, undercard, prediction, ring walks and odds
‘Ring V: Night of the Samurai’ sees the two Japanese superstars continue on their collision course ahead of a likely blockbuster bout in 2026.
First the undefeated Inoue must take care of business against WBC mandatory Picasso as he puts his undisputed super-bantamweight world titles on the line for the sixth time.
It is an incredible 27th consecutive world title contest for ‘The Monster’, a pound-for-pound great and four-division world champion who also previously reigned as undisputed at bantamweight.
He had only failed to win by knockout as a pro three times before that, though in Picasso comes up against a fellow unbeaten fighter – albeit one of a far lower career profile.
The Mexican is currently 32-0-1 and holds the WBC Silver super-bantamweight title, having outpointed Inoue’s compatriot Kyonosuke Kameda over 10 rounds in Las Vegas in July.
Picasso initially rejected a meeting with Inoue earlier this year, but is now willing to take on one of the most daunting challenges in boxing.
Inoue vs Picasso fight date and venue
‘Ring V: Night of the Samurai’ takes place on Saturday December 27, 2025.
The event is being held at the 22,000-capacity Mohammed Abdo Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Inoue vs Picasso fight time and ring walks
Inoue and Picasso are expected to ring walk in Riyadh at the specific time of 12:57pm GMT, which is 3:57pm local time and 9:57pm in Japan. That is 7:57am ET and 4:57am PT in the United States.
How to watch Inoue vs Picasso
TV channel and live stream: The event is being shown live via DAZN pay-per-view at a cost of £19.99 in the UK and $69.99 in the US.
Fans who have bought the fight through DAZN can watch it live online via their website and app, with a seven-day free trial of DAZN included.
A subscription to DAZN currently costs from £14.99 a month in the UK.
Inoue vs Picasso undercard
The chief support act of the night is Nakatani, who will hope to stay on course for that mammoth fight with Inoue next year as he also faces a Mexican opponent in Sebastian Hernandez Reyes.
He has moved up to super-bantamweight in preparation for that showdown, vacating his WBC and IBF bantamweight belts after unifying against Ryosuke Nishida in Tokyo in June.
Willibaldo Garcia defends his WBC super-flyweight title against Kenshiro Teraji in another Mexico vs Japan battle, while Reito Tsutsumi meets Leobardo Quintana and Eridson Garcia steps in for Armando Martinez Jr to face Taiga Imanaga.
Collision course: Junto Nakatani looks set to fight Naoya Inoue in a blockbuster showdown in 2026
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Liverpool’s Jazza Dickens was due to defend his WBA super-featherweight title on this bill for the first time after being promoted to full champion earlier in December after Lamont Roach Jr was stripped, though challenger Hayato Tsutsumi suffered an orbital floor fracture during training and the bout was cancelled.
Naoya Inoue vs Alan Picasso
Junto Nakatani vs Sebastian Hernandez Reyes
Willibaldo Garcia vs Kenshiro Teraji
Reito Tsutsumi vs Leobardo Quintana
Taiga Imanaga vs Eridson Garcia
Inoue vs Picasso prediction
There should be another comfortable night’s work in the offing here for Inoue, as the betting odds certainly reflect.
Picasso may be able to hold his own for a few rounds, but is unlikely to be in the same league as ‘The Monster’, who showed against Akhmadaliev that he can totally outbox opponents as well as viciously knock them out.
Mismatch? Alan Picasso is unlikely to derail Inoue’s plans in Riyadh
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Inoue will leave absolutely nothing to chance as he looks to book that huge clash with Nakatani and we expect a new knockout streak to begin in Riyadh, after a similarly decisive victory for his rival earlier in the night.
Inoue to win by late stoppage.
Inoue vs Picasso latest odds
Inoue to win by decision: 15/2
Inoue to win by knockout or technical knockout: 1/8
Picasso to win by decision: 45/1
Picasso to win by knockout or technical knockout: 14/1
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
