THE RESULT: After showing impressive patience and poise for the first five rounds of his debut at bantamweight, Junto Nakatani exploded in round six, dropping Alexandro Santiago not once but twice en route to winning the WBC belt in Tokyo, Japan. The fight was eventually called off by referee Laurence Cole one minute and 12 seconds into round six.
KEY MOMENTS: Key moments were few and far between until round six, in truth. Up until that point Nakatani had been winning rounds by virtue of his size and both his ability to control the distance and Santiago’s complete inability to close this distance. It was then in round six, however, Nakatani, having got the measure of his man, let fly with a stiff left cross which nailed Santiago and sent him to the canvas for the first time in the fight. It wouldn’t be long before he returned there, either, next time due to a right hook, but it was that first left hand of Nakatani’s that did all the damage.
RECORDS: Nakatani, 26, moves to 27-0 (20), whereas Santiago, 28, drops to 28-4-5 (8).
TALKING POINT: Having won the WBC bantamweight title against Santiago tonight, Nakatani successfully claims a world title in a third weight class. Prior to this victory he had been a champion at super-flyweight, where he held the WBO belt, and flyweight, a division in which he also owned the WBO belt. It remains to be seen how long the Japanese star stays at bantamweight, as well as how successful he is there, but at 5’7 and with a rangy southpaw style unlikely to appeal to many opponents there is every chance Nakatani has now found his proper home.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: Naturally, by moving to bantamweight Nakatani has opened the door to bigger fights against bigger names. His first victim there, Santiago, won his WBC belt when beating one of the biggest names in the lower weight classes, Nonito Donaire, last year, and there will no doubt be fights of similar prestige for Nakatani going forward. A fight against Australia’s Jason Moloney, for example, could be one for the future. Moloney currently holds the WBO belt at bantamweight and his brother, Andrew, was stopped by Nakatani in 12 rounds last May. Then of course there are the Inoues…
