Will Nakatani Continue To Dominate In The Higher Weight Divisions?
It’s been relatively smooth sailing in the career of two-division champion Junto Nakatan (26-0, 19 KOs). But will the fighter from Japan continue to have the same level of success as he moves up in weight?
In October 2023, 3Kings Boxing reported that Nakatani was contemplating vacating the WBO junior bantamweight title and going up to 118 pounds because of increasing difficulty making the 115-pound junior bantamweight limit. That has dissipated from speculation with news that he has officially relinquished the junior bantamweight belt.
Many boxing observers view Nakatani as one of the elite fighters in the lower-weight divisions. After winning the vacant WBO flyweight title in November 2020, he caught the attention of hardcore fans with an eye-opening fourth-round stoppage over one-time junior flyweight champion Angel Acosta in September 2021.
After deciding to vacate the flyweight title, Nakatani captured the then-vacant WBO 115-pound title with a meme-style knockout over Andrew Moloney in May 2023. Fighting on the undercard of Devin Haney – Vasyl Lomachenko, his impressive stoppage had the Japanese fighter trending worldwide over social media. The most recent outing for Nakatani was a dominant unanimous decision win over Argi Cortes in September 2023.
CAN HE BE EFFECTIVE AT A HIGHER WEIGHT?
Standing 5’8” with long arms and heavy hands, Nakatani often intimidated and overwhelmed foes at 112 and 115. The fighter has eyes on eventually fighting at junior featherweight before his career is over.
Some may feel things will be more difficult for Nakatani while going up in weight but with this particular fighter, that may not be case.
Nakatani is a fighter who doesn’t rely on a big punch. From an offensive standpoint, he’s elite. The southpaw is outstanding at dictating and maintaining pace. Defensively, he’s very sound and often uses his length to avoid taking hard punches.
Additionally, he has the physical frame and overall size to add weight and strength without taking his athleticism and quickness away. At only 25 years of age, there’s a strong argument Nakatani is finally fighting at his more natural weight for the first time in his career.
Word on the street is he’s in negotiations to face reigning WBC bantamweight champion Alexandro Santiago, on February 2024 in Japan. Should that potential clash be finalized, and Nakatani disposes of the WBC champion in the same manner as previous opponents, it will prove he’s going to be more dangerous than ever.
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