Nakatani’s Title Defense Announced, Inoue Clash Looms

December 28, 2024
2 months
Nakatani's Title Defense Announced, Inoue Clash Looms

Junto Nakatani defends his WBC Bantamweight Belt against David Cuellar on February 24. 

Nakatani enters the fight with an undefeated 29-0 record. 22 of his wins are by knockout. He defeated Alexandro Santiago in a sixth-round stoppage to win the belt. He then defended it for the first time by stopping Vincent Astrolabio. That was followed up by a sixth-round TKO victory against Tasana Salapat in his last fight. Cuellar is a massive underdog.

Despite being 28-0, with 19 stoppages, this is his first fight outside of his country of Mexico. But he is undefeated in the bantamweight division since moving up to it in 2023, winning all five fights. He has a KO win over ex-world champ Luis Concepcion. Nakatani knows plenty is on the line with suggestions he could fight Naoya Inoue next year. 

Nakatani’s Aim

“A fight with Inoue? I’m not setting any specific timelines—next year, maybe later. I really don’t know. But it’s something I’m looking forward to. It will be a huge fight not just in Japan, but around the world. He [Inoue]’s rated as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters, and along with that I have a lot of respect for him. And I’m influenced by him, I want to improve my rankings in the pound-for-pound as well,” Nakatani said

“I wish to go forward with my next fight in December. I’ve had definitely no damage [in the Doheny fight]. Before he [Nakatani] moves up to fight me, he will have to fight my brother Takuma. That’s not easy because Takuma will be a very tough opponent and a thick wall for Nakatani,” Inoue stated

“I thought (Nakatani) looked terrific [against Tasana Salapat] . He is maturing impressively. If he and (Naoya) Inoue happens, it makes a lot of sense. I could see it happening in 2025,” Todd DuBoef (Top Rank President) stated

Co-Main Event

In chief support, Seiya Tsutsumi will defend his WBA Bantamweight Title against Daigo Higa. Tsutsumi has a 12-0-2 record, with eight wins by knockout. This will be their second fight. Their first bout ended in a majority draw in 2020. Tsutsumi has a win over Takuma Inoue, beating him by a unanimous decision to win the WBA strap. As for Higa, he is 21-3-1. 19 of his wins are by knockout, making him a dangerous puncher. But he enters the bout with a loss against the WBO Bantamweight Champion Yoshiki Takei

Elsewhere, Tenshin Nasukawa will face Jason Moloney. Tenshin turned professional in 2023. He is currently 5-0, with 2 KO wins. Tenshin has won three fights this year, beating Gerwin Asilo in his last fight. He is already ranked in the top ten within three ranking organizations. Moloney enters the bout with a loss against Takei. That cost him his WBO Bantamweight Title. But he earned a lot of plaudits in the fight, hurting Takei in the last round. But it was not enough to pull off a win. The card is stacked as fans can expect a thrilling event. 

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