Junto Nakatani traveled through three weight divisions in search of his first unification bout.
The moment was not at all wasted by the rising pound-for-pound entrant.
Sagamihara’s Nakatani forced Osaka’s Ryosuke Nishida to retire on his stool after the sixth round of their WBC/IBF title unification bout. A steady stream of power shots left Nishida with a swollen shut right eye, which prompted a stoppage in between rounds six and seven Sunday evening at Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo, Japan.
Nakatani retained his WBC 118lbs title and won Nishida’s IBF belt in their unification bout between unbeaten Japanese southpaws.
“Ever since I was at flyweight, I wanted to unify the titles,” Nakatani said through translator Mizuka Koike. “Finally at bantamweight, I received my first opportunity and I am very happy with the result.”
Nakatani entered the fight with knockout wins in each of his four bantamweight title fights.
Nishida respected his countryman’s power and skillset but didn’t show any fear of either attribute. The battle of southpaws quickly heated up when Nishida connected with looping left hands to the body. Nakatani briefly doubled over before he regained his composure but was wild in his return attack.
A more disciplined approach was taken by Nakatani in the second. The unbeaten three-division titlist cracked Nishida with a left hand upstairs, which opened the door for his two-fisted attack. Nishida was forced on the defensive as Nakatani threw and often landed lead uppercuts, mixed in with left hands.
Nakatani found success with a body attack of his own in the third. He connected with several left hands downstairs, mixed with straight lefts to the chin.
Nishida stood his ground and returned fire in the fourth as he replicated his early body punching success. However, it came at a cost as his right eye rapidly began to swell.
Momentum quickly shifted back in Nakatani’s favor in the fifth. He went back to his lead uppercut, against which Nishida struggled to defend along with a swarm of incoming left hands.
“I fought aggressively from the first round,” noted Nakatani. “That was our strategy and I believe I was successful.”
Things grew worse for Nishida as Nakatani picked apart his countryman in the sixth. Nishida ran out of answers after his bold decision to stand and fight with Nakatani early in the contest. By the end of the round, he was forced on the defensive and unable to return fire as Nakatani charged forward with power shots.
Nishida was unable to mask his dejection as the decision was made in between rounds to stop the contest.
“I am so happy I was able to win two belts, and defeat a great fighter like Ryosuke Nishida,” said Nakatani, who improved to 31-0 (24 KOs). “This was a true battle between champions and how I wanted to win.”
Nishida, 10-1 (2 KOs), suffered the first defeat of his career, as well as the end of his IBF bantamweight title reign.
He won the belt in a twelve-round decision over Puerto Rico’s Emmanuel Rodriguez last May in his Osaka hometown. One defense followed – a knockout victory, also in Osaka – before he began the path to unification.
Nakatani was joined in the ring by Nishida after his third-round knockout of unbeaten David Cuellar on February 24 at nearby Ariake Arena. The win came one year exactly to the day of Nakatani’s sixth-round knockout of Alexandro Santiago to begin his WBC bantamweight title reign.
After his win over Cuellar, Nakatani was determined for his next bout to come against a fellow divisional titlist. Nishida was there to answer the call and even received permission to side-step a mandatory title defense against Mexico’s Jose Salas for the occasion.
Nakatani has now scored knockout wins in each of his five fights at bantamweight and is a perfect 10-0 in title fights spanning three weight divisions. His win on Sunday came in just the fourth-ever unification bout between reigning titlists from Japan.
While a path to undisputed would be ideal, a major hint was dropped by Nakatani instead for another leap in weight.
The media has made a meal out of the potential super fight on the horizon between Inoue and Nakatani, the nation’s two best fighters. Inoue is on course to next face Murodjon Akhmadaliev, a former unified 122lbs titlist and current WBA mandatory. Their bout is set for September 14 at a location to be determined in Japan.
A request – if not a warning – was offered by Nakatani when asked about when they could meet.
“I am coming, so please stick around for me,” Nakatani stated of his desire for Inoue – the undisputed junior featherweight champion – to remain put.
Nakatani-Nishida aired live on Amazon Prime-Japan and ESPN+.
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on and .