Narai vs Watanabe

Who won Narai vs Watanabe?

Tsubasa Narai beat Kai Watanabe by split decision in their 10 round contest on Friday, January 24th, 2025, at Ariake Arena, Tokyo.

The scorecards were announced as 96-94, 96-94, 96-94 in favor of winner Tsubasa Narai.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 10 rounds in the Lightweight division, which meant the weight limit was 135 pounds (9.6 stone or 61.2 kg).

This fight appeared on the undercard of Naoya Inoue beating Ye Joon Kim for the IBF World Junior Featherweight, WBC World Super Bantamweight, WBO World Junior Featherweight and WBA Super World Super Bantamweight championship. Also on the undercard Jin Sasaki beat Shoki Sakai.

Narai vs Watanabe stats

Back in January 2025, Tsubasa Narai stepped into the ring with a record of 14 wins, 2 losses, and 0 draws.

Kai Watanabe made his way to the ring with a record of 13 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw.

Tsubasa Narai was the older man by 3 years, at 25 years old.

Watanabe had a height advantage of 5 inches over Narai. That also extended to a 1-inch reach advantage.

Both Tsubasa Narai and Kai Watanabe fought out of an orthodox stance.

Narai was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 1 more fights, and made his debut in 2019, 2 years earlier than Watanabe, whose first professional fight was in 2021. He had fought 4 more professional rounds, totaling 69 compared to Watanabe's 65.

Activity check

What time did Narai vs Watanabe start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 9:00 AM UTC at Ariake Arena, Tokyo, Japan, which was 4:00 AM EST or 1:00 AM PST on the West Coast of America, or 9:00 AM GMT in the UK.

Who broadcast Narai vs Watanabe?

Narai vs Watanabe was broadcast on Sky Sports+ in the UK, while the fight was broadcast in the United States by ESPN+.

What were the odds on Narai vs Watanabe?

Tsubasa Narai was a 4/5 (-130) favorite going into the contest, while Kai Watanabe made his way into the ring at 1/1 (+100) with oddsmakers.