Who Is Junto Nakatani, Japan’s Pound-For-Pound Star Emulating Naoya Inoue?
Junto Nakatani will make the first defense of his WBC bantamweight world title on Saturday at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, where he faces mandatory challenger Vincent Astrolabio.
Nakatani (27-0-0 20 KO) is rapidly developing a reputation as one of the finest and most fearsome fighters in the lighter divisions. Already a three-weight world champion by the age of 26, his career path is very similar to that of Naoya Inoue, his fellow Japanese pound-for-pound star.
So, as Nakatani prepares for his next test, it’s the ideal opportunity to learn more about the southpaw from Inabe, Japan.
Boxing Career Of Nakatani
Nakatani had a short amateur career, which according to the Asian Boxing website, comprised just 16 bouts as a teenager. After winning 14 times and losing only twice, he ended his time in the amateurs at the age of 17, determined to focus on turning pro.
Nakatani made his professional debut as a flyweight in April 2015, three months after his 18th birthday, and secured a first-round stoppage over fellow debutant Junichi Itoga.
He started to rise to prominence from his 10th bout onwards, when he competed in the Japanese flyweight Youth Tournament in 2017. Nakatani claimed wins over Atiwit Munyapho (Round 2 TKO), Joel Taduran (Round 4 TKO), Yuma Kudo (majority decision), and Seigo Yuri Akui, whom he beat in the final via sixth-round stoppage to win the tournament.
Five fights later, in February 2019, Nakatani became the Japanese flyweight champion with a ninth-round stoppage of Naoki Mochizuki. From there, he was soon on the world stage and in November 2020, he won his first world title – the vacant WBC flyweight belt – with an eighth-round knockout of Giemel Magramo.
Nakatani successfully defended the belt twice before making the step up to super-flyweight and became a two-weight world champion by defeating Andrew Moloney on points in Las Vegas in May 2023 for the WBO title.
After one defense – a points win against Argi Cortes five months later – Nakatani went in pursuit of a world title in a third division. He achieved it in his first bout at bantamweight, defeating Alexandro Santiago with a stunning sixth-round TKO to claim the WBC belt in May. Saturday’s fight against Astrolabio will be his first defense of the title.
Fighting Style
Tall and rangy for a fighter from the lighter weights, the 5ft 7.5in Nakatani has carried his power and speed up through the divisions. There were a few pre-fight questions raised about whether that would be the case on his bantamweight debut against WBC champion Sanitago. Less than six rounds later, those questions were emphatically answered.
The southpaw possesses excellent footwork and movement, allowing him to throw constantly from various angles. He’s comfortable targeting both the body and the head, and carries concussive power in his left hand.
Far from a one-track knockout artist, Nakatani, who is listed in the top 10 of most credible pound-for-pound rankings, is an intelligent fighter who judges distance impeccably. As one of the taller fighters, this gives him the massive advantage of controlling fights on the outside, while his power always give him the edge when trading with opponents on the inside.
With power, speed, intelligence, and footwork, not to mention being Japanese, little wonder comparisons with Inoue have been drawn – and rightly so.
What’s Next For Nakatani?
He has a tough title defense against Astrolabio (19-4-0 14 KO) on Saturday. The Filipino, who is promoted by Manny Pacquiao and his team, produced a career-best win against the great, albeit aging, Guillermo Rigondeaux in 2022, and pushed then WBO bantamweight champion Jason Moloney to a majority decision in May last year.
Naktani, however, is expected to come through with his 28th career victory and the hope is that he emulates Inoue in becoming undisputed champion at 118lbs – a division controlled by Japanese fighters.
Ryosuke Nishida (IBF) and Yoshiki Takei (WBO) are two of the other world champions, while the third is Inoue’s younger brother Takuma Inoue (WBA).
The prospect of Nakatani emulating Inoue by winning all four titles at bantamweight by beating his brother before stepping up to 123lbs to face ‘The Monster’, who is undisputed at super-bantamweight, is the sort of fantasy scenario fans hope for.
Whether it ultimately happens remains to be seen, of course, but in Nakatani, Japan have another special fighter who can, like Inoue, establish himself among the very best pound-for-pound stars.
