Junto Nakatani admits he "will feel really sad" if he does not get the chance to face his undefeated compatriot Naoya Inoue for the undisputed junior featherweight titles next.

The multi-weight Japanese champions, who have a combined record of 63-0 with 51 KOs, handled business in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on "The Ring V: Night of the Samurai" card on Saturday.

The pair has long been on a collision course, but the clamour for them to meet was cranked into overdrive with their victories at Mohammed Abdo Arena. Inoue, The Ring and undisputed champion, secured a lopsided points victory over David Picasso in the main event but Nakatani had to dig deep in his 122-pound debut to beat Sebastien Hernandez via unanimous decision.

But having passed his acid test in his new weight class, Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs) feels better placed to take on Inoue (32-0, 27 KOs), who has been campaigning in the division for eight fights.

“My goal is to become No. 1 world champion in the pound-for-pound rankings so that’s the reason I have moved up to this weight class,” Nakatani said.

“If I’m not able to fight Mr. Inoue, I will feel really sad, however my goal and aim will not be swayed by whatever he decides to do.

“I’d like to stay focused on what I want to achieve in my career.”

A May fight between the pair has been mooted and, having ruled out a move to featherweight Inoue confirmed he would be open to defending his belts against Nakatani next.

After squeezing past Hernandez, Nakatani, 27, was able to watch Inoue produce a near punch-perfect performance against Picasso.

On Inoue’s win, Nakatani said: “I was very impressed by his timing, his defence and his movement was quite sharp, too. Also, I felt that Picasso was very brave throughout the fight.”

When asked what he needs to improve to become the first to beat Inoue, the three-weight world champion added: “I fought 12 rounds and it was really tough but I managed to fight throughout the 12 rounds.

“It was my first time up in a heavier class and it was good for my experience and it will be really good for the future of my career. I feel like this is the real fight of this weight class. How much do I have to improve? I have something burning in my heart so you can please wait to see that.

“I felt a lot of endurance from the opponent and if the fight was at bantamweight I could have finished him earlier. That’s how I was feeling during the bout.

“I feel I would be able to adjust my delivery and performance and this has given me an opportunity to overcome certain challenges and shortcomings I need to conquer. This has given me the opportunity to grow accordingly.”