Naoya Inoue to Make U.S. Debut Against Antonio Nieves in September

Naoya Inoue is considered one of boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighters, though virtually nobody in America known who he is. On Sep. 9, the Japanese knockout artist will get a chance to showcase his immense talents when he makes his U.S. debut against Antonio Nieves.

Inoue (13-0, 11 KOs) captured the WBC light flyweight world championship when he knocked out Adrian Hernandez in the sixth in just his sixth professional bout. He defended that title once before moving up two weight classes to capture the WBO super flyweight strap by torching Omar Narvaez in the second. “Monster” has defended his title four times already and expects to do the same against Nieves.

“I’m very much excited to fight in the U.S. to show my power before American people,” Inoue told an assembled press contingent in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Nieves (17-1-2, 9 KOs) won a regional bantamweight crown last June, but he’s coming off a split decision loss to Nikolai Potapov in March. The Cleveland native has knocked off some solid opposition, but he’s yet to face someone of the caliber of Inoue.

The Inoue-Nieves battle will serve as the opening bout on the card featuring the rematch between WBC super flyweight world champ Wisaksil Wangek and Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez. A WBC eliminator bout between super flyweights Carlos Cuadras and Juan Francisco Estrada will also be televised.

The event will take place at a venue in California to be determined. HBO’s Boxing After Dark will serve as the broadcast outlet for the card.