Nakatani and Nishida fighting for historic bantamweight pecking-order

Junto Nakatini will make his fourth defense of the WBC bantamweight title against compatriot Ryosuke Nishida, but it won’t be the only title at stake, as Nishida is the IBF champion.

The fight will be on Sunday at the Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo, Japan.
Junto Nakatini became champion on February 24, 2023, when he defeated Alexandro Santiago by TKO in the second round. He has successfully defended his belt against Vincent Astrolabio, Tasana Salapat, and David “General” Cuellar.

Ryosuke Nishida, who has been the IBF champion since May 2024, will seek his second title defense.

Both fighters attended a press conference prior to their exciting fight. This is some of what they said:

“This is the first time in history that a unification fight has been held in the bantamweight division between two Japanese fighters. I want to get a good win and make a good impression in the fight,” Nakatani commented.

“My life has been focused on becoming a world champion and a great warrior. This makes all my training and sacrifices I’ve made over the years pay off. My opponent is a very strategic fighter. I don’t want to fall into his strategy or get involved in his fight. I anticipate a very intense fight because it’s a title unification fight.”

When it was his turn Nishida said:

“After seeing that WBC Green and Gold Belt, I want to become a unified champion even more. We trained very hard for this opportunity and are in supreme physical condition. I’m happy to see my opponent has done the same.

“I’m very happy that this unification is happening. I’m even more eager to beat Nakatani to unify these two titles.”

The event, presented by Teiken and Top Rank Boxing, will be broadcast on ESPN and PRIME VIDEO.