Brilliant bantamweight Junto Nakatani of Japan is already a feature in some pound-for-pound lists, and rightly so. The unbeaten southpaw who holds the WBC belt at 118 pounds and will attempt to add the IBF strap to his collection this weekend, when he will fight countryman Ryosuke Nishida in Japan’s first-ever bantamweight unification fight, has left fans in awe with his performances.
Superbly skilled and also packing power, 27 year old Nakatani is, some people think, the man to defeat Naoya Inoue. Inoue, who is pound-for-pound top 3, will likely face Nakatani next year some time, this if both men remain unbeaten. Nakatani wants that fight, and he also wants to go as high as he possibly can in the P-4-P charts.
“First-ever Japanese bantamweight unification”—Nakatani’s historic bid
“A unification fight in the bantamweight division between two Japanese fighters, it’s the first time in history,” Nakatani said when speaking with The Ring about his upcoming fight with Nishida. “I want to be able to get a good win and leave a good impression of me in the fight. My life has been all about becoming a world champion and a great fighter and being able to prove I am worthy of being on the pound-for-pound list. I hope to become stronger in the future and climb up that list further.”
Again, Nakatani, 30-0(23) is already on some P-4-P lists, but a win over fellow southpaw Nishida, especially an impressive stoppage win, would likely propel him up such lists and also see him placed on others. And as for what a win over Inoue would do for Nakatani, well, he would be on everybody’s P-4-P list.
Can Nishida spoil the P4P party?
Sunday’s fight (US time) between Nakatani and Nishida, 10-0(2) could prove to be special, but Nakatani, who has yet to be taken the distance in a bantamweight fight, wants that fifth KO win in a row. Nishida has other ideas, and a win for him would perhaps see him break into the pound-for-pound charts.
Currently, Nakatani – a world champion at three weights, flyweight, junior-bantamweight and bantamweight – is ranked NO7 in the Ring Magazine P-4-P list. Inoue, meanwhile resides at NO2.
