Naoya Inoue is thinking about retirement with Junto Nakatani on the horizon: ‘I absolutely can't afford to lose.’

You can't beat time.

Inoue is 32, and he's already hinting that age might be catching up to him. He's getting set for his Saturday fight against David Picasso in Saudi Arabia, headlining The Ring V: Night of the Samurai on DAZN PPV.

Inoue (31-0, 27 KOs) is still at his best. He's the undisputed junior featherweight champ and one of the best fighters around.

“The Monster” knows he's not going to last forever, just like everyone else. There's also a chance that Nakatani could take his spot if he beats Picasso. They might fight next May.

“I absolutely can't afford to lose,” Inoue said on DAZN's On The Ground series.

“I'm motivated by my position in the division. I've done well. Now that I'm 32, I'm thinking about when I'll retire.

“Because Junto Nakatani is on the same card, fans are already looking forward to our fight next year. So I need to show them I'm still great. We both need to win.”

Nakatani (31-0, 24 KOs), who has won titles in three divisions, is making his 122-pound debut in the co-main event against Sebastian Hernandez.

Nakatani, 27, is seen as the next big thing after Inoue.

Inoue has won titles in four weight classes, starting at 108 pounds. He's been at 122 for over two years. He's 7-0 in that class and has defended his undisputed title five times, most recently against Murodjon Akhmadaliev in September.

That win against Akhmadaliev was only the fourth time in Inoue’s 13-year career that he heard the final bell. Before the Akhmadaliev fight, he was knocked down twice in four fights. People started wondering about his chin and whether he could take punches as he moved up in weight.

As the talk gets louder, Inoue’s father and trainer, Shingo, is talking about retirement too as they get ready for Picasso (32-0-1, 17 KOs).

“He’s not young anymore,” Shingo said. “I don't think he has much time left. I hope he can fight with everything he has in his remaining fights. If he does that, he'll get the results he wants.”

Inoue is fighting for the fourth time this year. From 2021 to 2024, he fought twice each year. But Inoue has said he'll probably only fight twice in 2026, and he's not as interested in moving to 126 pounds since Nakatani is waiting for him.

“I’m not heavy enough for featherweight yet, and I still have some physical concerns,” Inoue said. “I'm both nervous and excited about that, so I want to try it.

“As long as I'm still great, I'll be proud. But if I'm not satisfied, if I don't feel that way anymore, that’s when I'll start to get worse as a fighter.

“Once you stop pushing yourself, it's over.”

Okay, so Frank Sanchez can just chill until 2026 for his next fight.

BoxingScene says the deadline for Sanchez from Cuba and Richard Torrez Jr. from California to agree on an IBF heavyweight title eliminator has been pushed back. They were supposed to have a deal by December 17, but now they have the holidays to sort it out.

If they still can't agree by the new January 6 deadline, the IBF will set a date for a purse bid.

is with Warriors Boxing and Ural Boxing promotions and co-managed by Mike Borao and Lupe Valencia. Torrez Jr. has been with Top Rank ever since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he got a silver medal.

This could be good for Sanchez, 25-1 (18 KOs), even though it means he'll be out of the ring for a year. He last fought in February, a quick two-round win in Tijuana.

Before that, he got stopped by Agit Kabayel last May in Saudi Arabia for the WBC interim title.

He hasn't been able to get a fight because nobody wants to face him in this IBF eliminator. Torrez even turned down the fight before because he already had something lined up.

Torrez, 14-0 (12 KOs), was supposed to fight Tomas Salek on November 15, which he won in the first round in Mexico.

That was only Torrez's second fight this year, but in 2022, 2023, and 2024, he fought four times each.

Sanchez hasn't been so lucky. He's dealt with failed negotiations and cancelled purse bids with a bunch of heavyweights.

Moses Itauma's team didn't go ahead with talks. Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois backed out during the purse bid, and Efe Ajagba bailed even after they agreed to a rematch.

One thing that might help Sanchez is that Torrez's promoter, Top Rank, doesn't have a TV deal right now.

But Sanchez doesn't have it easy either. He used to fight on PBC, but nobody seems to be that interested in him since his two fights in Riyadh.

If Sanchez and Torrez ever actually fight, the winner will have to fight champ Oleksandr Usyk, 24-0 (15 KOs), who also holds the WBA and WBC titles.