NOW that the madness of the stellar Beterbiev-Bivol II card has concluded, attention can be shifted to East Asia as Japanese phenomenon Junto Nakatani, 29-0 (22 KOs), looks to set up unification showdowns by first disposing of unbeaten Mexican David Cuellar, 28-0 (18 KOs), topping a bill that features countryman and fellow bantamweight world champion, Seiya Tsutsumi, 12-0-2 (8 KOs).
On a high-profile card at the Ariake Arena, national superstar Tenshin Nasukawa, 5-0 (2 KOs), seeks to further climb the world rankings by taking on former WBO bantamweight world champion Jason Moloney, 27-3 (19 KOs).
Debuting off the back of an impeccable kickboxing career, well-supported Nasukawa has risen to #2 in the WBA world rankings and #3 in the ratings with both the WBC and WBO despite just five professional bouts to his name.
Monday sees the 26-year-old take on his toughest challenge yet, as Moloney attempts to utilise his ring experience and end the hype train that surrounds the ‘Prodigy’, crushing the hearts and hopes of Japanese fight fans.
Meanwhile, WBA bantamweight world champion Tsutsumi impressed when he upset the odds to defeat Takuma Inoue in a gruelling and gritty affair in October and has been linked to an all-Japanese world title unification against Nakatani since.
First, Tsutsumi will attempt a first defence of the WBA crown in a rematch against former WBC flyweight title holder Daigo Higa, 21-3-1 (19 KOs), who aims to get back to winning ways after losing a tight decision to Yoshiki Takei in a quest for the WBO title last time out.
When Tsutsumi and Higa last met, a thriller ensued, with Tsutsumi surprisingly being able to avoid defeat in a ten-round majority-decision draw, With two additional rounds to play with and a world title at stake, a similarly exciting contest can be expected, although the improvements of Tsutsumi, who had fought just six times prior to their initial encounter, make him the favourite.
Last but certainly not least, three-division world champion Junto Nakatani headlines the card, attempting a third straight defence of the coveted green and gold strap since claiming it 12 months ago to the day against Alexandro Santiago.
Victory against Santiago marked the first of an ongoing three-fight knockout streak for Nakatani, extended by wins over Vincent Astrolabio and Petch CP Freshmart to cap off an outstanding 2024 for the pound-for-pound sensation, who is all but guaranteed to fight Tsutsumi in a unification bout next if both are successful here.
The man hoping to spoil those plans is David Cuellar Contreras, who debuted as a 15-year-old in Mexico back in 2017 and has been extremely active since, rising to #6 in the WBC rankings.
Nicknamed ‘El General’, this will be 23-year-old Cuellar’s first outing away from Mexico and represents a new challenge for Nakatani, who will be fighting a taller opponent for the first time in his career – Cuellar standing at half an inch more than Nakatani’s usually superior 5’8” frame.
Yet, Cuellar is more than just a lanky puzzle for Nakatani to solve, his enthralling knockout victory of two-division champion Luis Concepción being a testament to that. Instead, Cuellar has that typical aggression that is so closely associated with his homeland but whether he should take the fight to a power-puncher such as Nakatani is a question that he will have been deliberating the answer to.
Nakatani-Cuellar takes place on Monday, February 24 in Tokyo, headlining an event that will be available to watch live on Sky Sports Action, from 08:00am GMT.
