WBC and IBF World Bantamweight Champion Junto Nakatani will appear on the special program "Excite Match SP," which will be broadcast and streamed on WOWOW from 9:00 PM on August 11th. The program will feature Nakatani's commentary on the title unification bout, in which he defeated Nishida Ryosuke by TKO on June 8th. In an interview after the program's recording, Nakatani said, "I'm glad I was able to win because I was able to show what I've been practicing. I feel like this bout has broadened my horizons." He also revealed his intention to relinquish his bantamweight title and move up to the super bantamweight class.
It was rumored that Nakatani had the advantage in the unification match with Nishida, but it was also said that "it could be a tough fight." Nakatani, the WBC champion, was 30-0 (23 KOs), while Nishida, the IBF champion, was undefeated with 10-0 (2 KOs). Nakatani was 173 cm tall with a 174 cm reach, while Nishida was 170 cm tall with a 173 cm reach, so they were almost evenly matched.
The bout between the two southpaws began in front of a crowd of 12,000 people and heated up right away. Nakatani approached his opponent and launched a forceful striking battle. "Even before the match, I was aware that I wanted to go for it from the first round. I think my opponent had some expectations, but I think I exceeded them. I started well," he recalled.
Nishida, who started off slow, fought back with body blows in the third and fourth rounds. Nakatani was pushed back at times, but he said, "I never panicked." At the same time, Nakatani noticed something strange about Nishida. One thing was that the swelling around his right eye was getting worse. Another thing he noticed was, "I think it was around the third or fourth round. The bone in (Nishida's) right shoulder was bulging."
Nakatani said, "My strategy was to inflict damage on his body, so naturally I aimed for his right shoulder. I thought one more push would be enough to knock him down. It was fun fighting." Nishida's camp asked for a withdrawal before the start of the seventh round, and he was awarded the TKO victory at the end of the sixth round. Nakatani won the IBF belt in addition to his WBC title.
One thing to consider is Nakatani's future. With his expected bout with Naoya Inoue scheduled for May next year, he is likely to relinquish his bantamweight title and move up to the super bantamweight division. He himself has revealed, "Right now, I'm training with my sights set on the super bantamweight division." He also plans to travel to Nagoya to watch the four-organization unified world super bantamweight title match between Inoue and Murodjon Akhmadaliev (Uzbekistan) on September 14th.
The special program "Excite Match SP" will be broadcast and streamed on WOWOW Live and WOWOW On Demand from 9:00 PM on August 11th. In addition to the WBC and IBF World Bantamweight Championship unification match between Nakatani and Nishida, it will also feature a 10-round bantamweight bout between Nasukawa Tenshin and Victor Santillan.
