Coach Rudy Hernandez has presided over Junto Nakatani’s entire pro career ever since the Japanese fighter first handed him the training keys in 2013.

Despite all of the accomplishments they've achieved together — titles in three divisions and pound-for-pound ranked status while being named 2024 finalists for fighter and trainer of the year awards — Hernandez admits that Nakatani needs to level up as he prepares to fight Naoya Inoue this spring.

“We have to be way better on fight night when we fight Inoue. There are certain things that we can work on, and hopefully it works in our favor,” Hernandez told The Ring.

“I don't know if people are seeing this as a 50-50, 60-40, 70-30 kind of fight. But we have to be better than Inoue. We have to find a way to beat him. We're not looking to run. We're looking to win.”

Hernandez recently helped lead Nakatani to a unanimous decision against Sebastian Hernandez during his 122-pound debut as part of "The Ring V: Night of the Samurai" card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs) survived the second coming of Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., as labeled by Rudy Hernandez, to secure the hard-fought victory. Although Nakatani endured a severely stiff test to the surprise of some, Hernandez warned not to put too much weight into the performance.

“Sebastian Hernandez and Naoya Inoue are two completely different styles for Junto,” he said. “Inoue is not as big or fresh as Sebastian. But don’t get me wrong — I still think Inoue is the best fighter in the world and the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter. He's still on top of his game. He's one of the most consistent champions in boxing history. He's still making history, and he's not even old yet at 32.”

So how is Nakatani going to topple the toughest test of his career?

“Junto just had the fight of his life," Hernandez laughed. "Inoue is a special fighter, but so is Junto. And in his last fight, Junto showed that he doesn't crumble, and he fights until the end.

“I'm not even thinking about Junto catching Inoue and dropping him so that he can be beaten. We can't be predictable, or else he'll time and catch Junto. And when Inoue hits you, he's a pretty solid puncher.”

Inoue (32-0, 27 KOs) looked like his dominant self yet again by defending his undisputed junior featherweight title against Alan Picasso with a unanimous decision to set up the superfight against Nakatani.

“I don't see the knockout for Junto, but I think we'll beat Inoue by decision,” said Hernandez. “We'll beat Inoue by rounds. Maybe 6 1/2 to 5 1/2. If we happen to win by knockout. Wow, how awesome would it be? I'll keep my fingers crossed for that to happen.”