Nakatani vs Nishida: ‘Big Bang’ Battles To Unify
Junto Nakatani aims to cement his position as the bantamweight division ruler when he collides with fellow Japanese world champion Ryosuke Nishida for their title unification showdown in Tokyo.
‘Big Bang’ has rampantly rallied to a flawless 30-0 record in his already-illustrious career and now looks to collect a second major belt at 118 pounds.
Read on for BOXRAW’s full Nakatani vs Nishida fight preview ahead of the high-stakes clash in Japan.
Nakatani vs Nishida Fight Details
Fight: Junto Nakatani vs Ryosuke Nishida
Titles: Unified bantamweight world titles
Weight: Bantamweight – 118 pounds
Date: Sunday, June 8th
Main Event Time: Approx. 10:30 am BST
Live On: ESPN+
Location: Ariake Coliseum, in Tokyo, Japan
Undercard:
Tenshin Nasukawa vs Victor Santillan
Van Thao Tran vs Tomoya Tsuboi
Riku Masuda vs Michell Banquez
Rukia Okubo vs Takumi Yoneya
Nakatani vs Nishida Fight Preview
With two major belts on the line in this rare all-Japanese unification battle, the eventual victor can assert themselves as the leading force and top operator of the bantamweight division.
Nakatani arrived on the division scene last year and became a three-weight world champion with a sixth-round knockout of Alexandro Santiago in Tokyo.
That destructive trend has continued throughout his reign as champion, with another three consecutive stoppage wins in title defences.
‘Big Bang’ hasn’t been taken beyond six rounds since moving up to bantamweight, having finished all his 118-pound rivals so far, but next up is another undefeated title holder.
Standing in Nakatani’s way of unification history is a fellow southpaw, with Nishida having dropped and outpointed Emmanuel Rodriguez last year to win his current crown.
The 28-year-old followed that impressive performance up with a seventh-round knockout of Anuchai Donsua in December to make his first successful defence.
Nakatani vs Inoue Super-Fight On The Line
While Nakatani has his eyes firmly set on dealing with the threat posed by Nishida, a monumental showdown against undisputed super-bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue has been tipped to take place in early 2026.
“We’re ideally looking at around this time next year to fight Inoue, but a lot of things can happen [between now and then],” admitted Nakatani in the build-up to his next fight.
“For myself, I know that I have to take every fight seriously and keep winning, or else that fight may disappear. So I’m working very hard for each and every one of my fights coming up.
“Becoming a unified champion would improve my stature within the boxing industry and give me more opportunities to be involved in big matchups.”
That would undoubtedly be the biggest fight in the history of Japanese boxing, and one in which Nakatani would be aiming to become a four-weight ruler in his career.
But Nishida is the next obstacle in Nakatani’s path towards greater glories, as ‘Big Bang’ first seeks to become unified champion and confirm his command of the bantamweight division.
Header image: Naoki Fukuda