Junto Nakatani (中谷潤人, Nakatani Junto, born 2 January 1998) is a Japanese professional boxer who has held the WBO flyweight title from 2020 to 2022. As of July 2022, he is ranked as the world's best active flyweight by The Ring,[2] second by ESPN[3] and BoxRec,[4] and third by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.[5]
| Junto Nakatani | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | 中谷潤人 |
| Weight(s) | Flyweight |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) |
| Reach | 67 in (170 cm) |
| Born | (1998-01-02) 2 January 1998 (age 24) Inabe, Mie Prefecture, Japan |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Boxing record[1] | |
| Total fights | 24 |
| Wins | 24 |
| Wins by KO | 18 |
Nakatani made his professional debut on 26 April 2015, scoring a first-round technical knockout (TKO) victory over Junichi Itoga at the Industrial Hall in Gifu, Japan.[6] He would go on to amass a 9-0 record, and was ranked in the flyweight rankings by the JBC following his victory over Masamichi Yabuki.[7]
Nakatani was scheduled to fight Atiwit Munyapho on February 19, 2017, in the opening round of the Japanese flyweight Youth Tournament. He won the fight by a second-round technical knockout. He beat Joel Taduran by a fourth-round technical knockout and Yuma Kudo by majority decision over the next two rounds, before facing Seigo Yuri Akui in the tournament finals. He beat Akui by a sixth-round technical knockout. He was further named the tournament MVP.[8]
Nakatani won his next four fights, before being scheduled to fight Naoki Mochizuki for the vacant Japanese flyweight title. He won the fight by a ninth-round technical knockout.[9] He fought Philip Luis Cuerdo on June 1, 2019, and won the fight by a first-round knockout.[10]
On July 23, 2019, Nakatani vacated the Japanese flyweight title.[11]
Nakatani was scheduled to fight the former IBF and IBO light flyweight champion Milan Melindo on October 5, 2019. He beat Melindo by a sixth-round technical knockout.[12]
Nakatani was scheduled to fight Giemel Magramo for the vacant WBO flyweight title on 6 November 2020 at the Korakuen Hall.[13] The bout was originally set for April but due to the COVID-19 pandemic was postponed and rescheduled thrice.[14] Nakatani entered the bout as the favorite to win the title.[15][16] Nakatani dominated the bout, punishing his opponent from range, and landing with more power when Magramo closed in. Nakatani won the fight by an eight-round technical knockout. The referee waved the fight off early on in the round, as Magramo was knocked down with a combination of punches, although Magramo managed to beat the count.[17]
Nakatani was scheduled to make his first title defense against the former WBO light flyweight champion Ángel Acosta on May 29, 2021, in his native Japan.[18] Increasingly strict COVID-19 regulations imposed by the Japanese government and international travel issues forced the postponement of the bout, with Nakatani's management tentatively announcing the fight for late May or early June.[19] On May 26, 2021, WBO scheduled a June 1st purse bid with a minimum offer of $80,000.[20] That purse bid was canceled on June 2, 2021, as an agreement was made that Nakatani’s promoter, Teiken Promotions, would handle the negotiations. The fight was scheduled for September 10, 2021, in Tucson, Arizona.[21] Nakatani won the fight by a fourth-round technical knockout. Nakatani broke Acosta's nose in the opening round of the bout, and both the referee and the ringside physician warned Acosta that the fight would be stopped if his nose suffered more damage. The fight was finally stopped near the end of the fourth round, at the 2:28 minute mark.[22]
Nakatani was booked to make his second WBO flyweight title defense against the reigning WBO Asia Pacific flyweight titleholder Ryota Yamauchi on April 9, 2022. The bout was scheduled for the undercard of the Ryota Murata and Gennadiy Golovkin middleweight unification bout, and took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.[23] He won the fight by an eight-round technical knockout, forcing referee Katsuhiko Nakamura to stop the bout with a flurry of punches at the 2:20 minute mark. Nakatani was leading on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage, with all three judges' having him up 70–63.[24]
Nakatani is going to face the former WBO super flyweight title challenger Francisco Rodríguez Jr. in a super flyweight bout on 1 November 2022. The fight took place on the undercard of the Hiroto Kyoguchi and Kenshiro Teraji title unification bout.[25] Nakatani officially vacated his WBO flyweight title on 27 October.[26] Nakatani won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 98–91, 97–92 and 99–90. Rodríguez Jr. was deducted a point in the seventh round for landing a low blow.[27]
| 24 fights | 24 wins | 0 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 18 | 0 |
| By decision | 6 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Win | 24–0 | Francisco Rodríguez Jr. | UD | 10 | 1 Nov 2022 | Super Arena, Saitama, Japan | |
| 23 | Win | 23–0 | Ryota Yamauchi | TKO | 8 (12), 2:20 | 9 Apr 2022 | Super Arena, Saitama, Japan | Retained WBO flyweight title |
| 22 | Win | 22–0 | Ángel Acosta | TKO | 4 (12), 2:28 | 10 Sep 2021 | Casino del Sol, Tucson, Arizona, U.S. | Retained WBO flyweight title |
| 21 | Win | 21–0 | Giemel Magramo | TKO | 8 (12), 2:10 | 6 Nov 2020 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | Won vacant WBO flyweight title |
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Milan Melindo | TKO | 6 (10), 2:02 | 5 Oct 2019 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | |
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Philip Luis Cuerdo | KO | 1 (10), 1:23 | 1 Jun 2019 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | |
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Naoki Mochizuki | TKO | 9 (10), 0:23 | 2 Feb 2019 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | Won vacant Japanese flyweight title |
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Shun Kosaka | UD | 8 | 6 Oct 2018 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Dexter Alimento | KO | 3 (10), 0:36 | 7 Jul 2018 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Mario Andrade | TD | 8 (10), 0:43 | 15 Apr 2018 | Yokohama Arena, Yokohama, Japan | |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Jeronil Borres | KO | 1 (8), 1:56 | 20 Jan 2018 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Seigo Yuri Akui | TKO | 6 (8), 2:01 | 23 Aug 2017 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | Won inaugural Japanese Youth flyweight title |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Yuma Kudo | MD | 6 | 16 May 2017 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Joel Taduran | TKO | 4 (6), 0:53 | 16 Apr 2017 | Messe Mie, Tsu, Japan | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Atiwit Munyapho | TKO | 2 (6), 0:43 | 19 Feb 2017 | Shinjuku Face, Tokyo, Japan | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Masamichi Yabuki | UD | 4 | 23 Dec 2016 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Daisuke Yamada | TKO | 1 (5), 1:40 | 13 Nov 2016 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Satoshi Tanaka | RTD | 2 (4), 3:00 | 4 Oct 2016 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Shu Muramatsu | TKO | 2 (4), 0:15 | 27 Jul 2016 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Anirut Chomyong | TKO | 1 (4), 1:43 | 28 Apr 2016 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Tetsuya Tomioka | TKO | 3 (4), 2:17 | 28 Jan 2016 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Magnum Nishida | UD | 4 | 22 Nov 2015 | Shinjuku Face, Tokyo, Japan | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Akira Kokubo | TKO | 4 (4), 1:06 | 17 Jul 2015 | Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Junichi Itoga | TKO | 1 (4), 1:33 | 26 Apr 2015 | Industrial Hall, Gifu, Japan | |
| Sporting positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regional boxing titles | ||||
| Vacant Title last held by Masayuki Kuroda |
Japanese flyweight champion 2 February 2019 – 23 July 2019 Vacated |
Vacant Title next held by Seigo Yuri Akui | ||
| World boxing titles | ||||
| Vacant Title last held by Kosei Tanaka |
WBO flyweight champion 6 November 2020 – 27 October 2022 Vacated |
Vacant | ||