Japanese star Junto Nakatani returns to action on June 8th in his home country in a bantamweight title unification bout.
Taking on Ryosuke Nishida (10-0), ‘Big Bang’ will look to improve on his 30-0 record, with a potential mega-fight with knockout artist Naoya Inoue in the future.
The WBC World Bantamweight title holder has held belts in three weight classes since making his debut in 2015.
To become a two-division champion, Nakatani had an impressive performance and a highlight reel knockout.
Junto Nakatani knocked out Andrew Maloney for super flyweight world title
After winning the WBO World Flyweight in 2020, Nakatani defended the belt against Angel Acosta and Ryota Yamauchi, as well as earning a win against Francisco Rodriguez Jr.
The wins would see the Japanese fighter with a record of 24-0 as he set his sights on a super flyweight world title.
In Las Vegas on May 20th, 2023, Nakatani and Andrew Maloney would meet for the vacant WBO World Super Flyweight title. The Australian fighter Maloney went into the bout with a 25-2 record, and was on a four-fight winning streak.
There would be some success in the fight for Maloney, however, he would be behind on the scorecards after 11 completed rounds in the title fight. Nakatani also scored a knockdown in the second and 11th rounds.
In the 12th and final round of the bout, it appeared as if Nakatani was on his way to a decision victory in Las Vegas. However, that would change in the final 30 seconds of the fight.
With 21 seconds left on the clock, Nakatani would land a thumping overhand on his opponent. Lying flat on his back, Maloney was counted out of the fight.
The looping left hand would earn the Ring Magazine’s ‘KO of the year’ award for 2023, as Nakatani became a super flyweight champion.
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Junto Nakatani made one defense of his super flyweight world title
Nakatani would make just one defense of his WBO World Super Flyweight title before moving to the bantamweight division.
Four months after defeating Maloney, Nakatani would return to compete in Japan in September.
He would have his WBO title challenged for the first time by Argi Cortes, who had a professional record of 25-3-2.
In what was another impressive performance for the unbeaten star, Nakatani defended his world title in his home country via unanimous decision.
In February 2024, ‘Big Bang’ moved to the bantamweight division.