Junto Nakatani Fends Off Argi Cortes
At the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, Junto Nakatani (26-0, 19 KOs) put the WBO junior bantamweight title on the line against Mexico’s Argi Cortes (25-4-2, 10 KOs).
Nakatani came into this contest with a growing reputation from boxing enthusiasts as an emerging force in the lower-weight divisions. A two-division world champion, his most recent outing was a highlight-reel twelfth-round knockout over Andrew Moloney on May 20.
He faced Cortes who was ranked sixth by the WBO at 115lbs. The Mexican challenger is solid as they come, with good boxing skills along with plenty of toughness and heart.
PLENTY OF GOOD ACTION
Cortes applied the pressure from the onset. However, instead of standing there and making it a war, Nakatani used his height and reach advantages to create space to land with jabs and combinations from the outside.
With fifty seconds to go in the fifth, the defending champion put the challenger down with a beautiful straight left hand to the body. Another left-hand body shot from Nakatani put Cortes down for the second time near the end of the round.
The challenger had his share of moments. With a minute left in round six, he stunned Nakatani with a straight right hand. The Japanese fighter wisely moved around the ring to regain his bearings.
Following that brief scare, Nakatani regained control of the action. He put Cortes down for a third time in the contest with yet another left hand to the breadbasket. Nakatani peppered the Mexican with combinations in rounds ten and eleven and went for the knockout in the final round. Regardless, Cortes withstood the punishment and made it to the final bell.
In the end, Nakatani won the fight by a unanimous decision (118-107, 119-106×2). The one-sided scores are misleading because it was an entertaining, hard-fought battle. Up next for Nakatani could be a showdown with countryman and three-division world champion Kosei Tanaka, currently ranked number one by the WBO at super flyweight.
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