Junto Nakatani calmly rested his hands on his hips as he waited for his weight to be read aloud.
The unbeaten three-division and reigning WBC bantamweight titlist checked in at 117.5lbs, once again comfortably inside the 118lbs limit. Natakani will face IBF titleholder Ryosuke Nishida, who weighed 117.7lbs.
Their 12-round IBF/WBC bantamweight unification bout is set for Sunday on Amazon Prime-Japan and ESPN+ from Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan.
Nakatani-Nishida marks just the fourth time that two titlists from Japan meet in a unification clash. It’s already the second this year, coming three months after the terrific Kenshiro Teraji-Seigo Yuri Akui WBA/WBA flyweight title fight. Teraji won via 12th round knockout in their Fight of the Year contender.
Nakatani, 30-0 (23 KOs), will attempt his fourth bantamweight title defense. He has now weighed under the divisional limit in each of his five title fights at the weight.
The 27-year-old southpaw from Sagamihara, Kanagawa, has knocked out each of his previous four bantamweight opponents. In his most recent start, Nakatani tore through unbeaten David Cuellar inside of three rounds on February 24 – one year to the day of his WBC title-winning sixth-round knockout of Alexandro Santiago.
Following his win over Cuellar at nearby Ariake Arena, Nakatani was joined in the ring by Osaka’s Nishida, 10-0 (2 KOs). A two-way challenge was issued and verbally accepted, before the two sides officially and contractually agreed to all terms.
Nishida won the IBF belt in a 12-round unanimous decision win over Emmanuel Rodriguez last in May 2024 in his Osaka hometown. The bout was his 10th in a row to go the distance before he stopped unbeaten Anuchai Donsua in the seventh round last December 15, also in Osaka.
Full weigh-in results:
12 rounds, IBF/WBC bantamweight title fight
Junto Nakatani (117.5lbs) vs. Ryosuke Nishida (117.7lbs)
10 rounds, bantamweight
Tenshin Nasukawa (117.7 lbs) vs. Victor Santillan (118lbs)
10 rounds, bantamweight
Tomoya Tsuboi (117.25 lbs) vs. Van Thao Tran (117.25lbs)
10 rounds, bantamweight
Riku Masuda (117.75lbs) vs. Michell Banquez (118.3lbs)
*Banquez was 0.3lbs over the limit; has two hours to make the contracted weight.
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 .