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 battle 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 battle,” Nakatani admitted by translator Mizuka Koike. “Fortunately I landed that punch early to finish the battle.”
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 usually constructed to final.
The visiting Filipino, No. 7 at 118 by The Ring, gave Jason Moloney (27-3, 19 KOs) all he might deal with of their WBO title battle 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 Enviornment in Tokyo. He instantly turned The Ring’s No. 1 rated bantamweight and can be No. 10 pound-for-pound.
Not less than till the subsequent scores replace.
Nakatani, a 5’8″ southpaw, has brought on model 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 trustworthy and arrange his subsequent transfer.
Then got here the sudden ending.
Nakatani positioned Astrolabio close to the ropes earlier than he linked 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 all the way down to the deck, which prompted an instantaneous stoppage.
The win superior Nakatani’s report 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 space with Nakatani in a significant title battle.
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 might be simple to make. All 4 main bantamweight titlists reside in Japan and signify The Ring’s prime 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 might additionally face Inoue earlier than or after that battle, 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 battle with [Naoya] Inoue is the one I really need. Lots of people are actually anticipating this battle. I’ll proceed to get stronger and might be prepared for that battle.”
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