Junto Nakatani continues to plead his case as a pound-for-pound expertise.
The newest show provided by the three-division titlist was a statement-making first-round knockout of the Philippines’ Vincent Astrolabio. A straight left hand to the physique put Astrolabio down to finish the combat at 2:37 of the primary spherical Saturday at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.
With the win, Nakatani (28-0, 21 knockouts) lodged the primary protection of his WBC bantamweight title.
“I assumed this was going to be a protracted combat,” Nakatani admitted by translator Mizuka Koike. “Fortunately I landed that punch early to finish the combat.”
It was a good assumption by the 26-year-old from Kanagawa, Japan. Astrolabio (19-6, 14 KOs) was solely stopped as soon as earlier than in his profession and is mostly constructed to final.
The visiting Filipino, No. 7 at 118 by The Ring, gave Jason Moloney (27-3, 19 KOs) all he may deal with of their WBO title combat final Could in Stockton, California. Moloney, No. 6 at 118, received by majority choice, however Astrolabio rapidly made his approach again to the title image.
Nakatani received the WBC 118-pound title in a sixth-round knockout of Alexandro Santiago on Feb. 24 at Ariake Area in Tokyo. He instantly turned The Ring’s No. 1 rated bantamweight and can also be No. 10 pound-for-pound.
At the least till the following rankings replace.
Nakatani, a 5’8″ southpaw, has brought on type matches for opponents by three weight divisions. He used his top and attain benefit to maintain the 5’5″ Astrolabio in his desired punching vary.
Astrolabio loved transient success with a proper hand early within the bout. Nakatani relied on his lengthy jab to fend off his aggressive challenger. He additionally landed sufficient left fingers to maintain him sincere and arrange his subsequent transfer.
Then got here the sudden ending.
Nakatani positioned Astrolabio close to the ropes earlier than he related with a straight left simply above the beltline. Astrolabio paused earlier than he sank to the canvas. Referee Thomas Taylor issued the necessary eight rely and was ready to permit the bout to proceed. That modified as soon as Astrolabio dropped again right down to the deck, which prompted a right away stoppage.
The win superior Nakatani’s document to 7-0 (6 KOs) in title fights at flyweight, junior bantamweight and bantamweight. Argi Cortes (26-4-2, 10 KOs) is the one boxer to go the gap with Nakatani in a serious title combat.
Astrolabio is now 0-2 in main title fights, each coming inside his final three fights.
Subsequent on the agenda of the red-hot rising star is a unification bout, which he hopes will likely be simple to make. All 4 main bantamweight titlists reside in Japan and characterize The Ring’s high 4 on the weight. Ryosuke Nishida (9-0, 1 KO; No. 2 at 118) holds the IBF belt. Takuma Inoue (20-1, 5 KOs; No. 3) is the WBA titleholder. Yoshiki Takei (9-0, 8 KOs; No. 4) dethroned Moloney in Could to win the WBO belt.
In an ideal world, Nakatani would unify versus Nishida to crown a brand new RING champion. He may additionally face Inoue earlier than or after that combat, which might arrange a dream state of affairs—a superfight with Naoya Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs), Takuma’s older brother and the RING/undisputed 122-pound champ.
“I want to unify the titles or transfer as much as [122] to win the championship there,” acknowledged Nakatani. “The combat with [Naoya] Inoue is the one I actually need. Lots of people are actually anticipating this combat. I’ll proceed to get stronger and will likely be prepared for that combat.”
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