Junto Nakatani not only makes weight, but also makes a point of getting under the division limit.
The three-division and reigning WBC bantamweight titleholder weighed in at 117 ¾ pounds during his latest trip to the scale. Nakatani defends his belt against Thailand’s Petch CP Freshmart, who weighed in at 117 ½ pounds.
Their scheduled 12-round headliner an ESPN+ quadruple header, which includes three title fights, on Monday from Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
Nakatani (28-0, 21 knockouts) is fresh off a first-round knockout of the Philippines’ Vincent Astrolabio. Their July 20 headliner at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo topped a lineup similar to this event.
The win over Astrolabio followed Nakatani’s February 24 sixth round knockout of Alexandro Santiago to become a three-division title holder. Monday marks the third fight of the year for Nakatani, all with the WBC bantamweight title on the line.
CP Freshmart (76-1, 53 KOs)—born Tasana Salapat—incredibly enters his first career title fight.
The 30-year-old southpaw has been a pro for over thirteen years. The closest he came to a major belt was a December 2018 loss to Takuma Inoue in their interim WBC bantamweight title fight. CP Freshmart—born Tasana Salapat—has won 28 in a row, but mostly against mediocre competition.
The night’s co-feature is the lone non-title fight of the night. Popular gate attraction Tenshin Nasukawa meets the Philippines’ Gerwin Asilo (9-0, 4 KOs) in a ten-round regional title fight.
Nasukawa (4-0, 2 KOs) weighed in right at the 118-pound division limit. Asilo (9-0, 4 KOs) was slightly lighter at 117 ½ pounds for his first career fight outside the Philippines.
Nasukawa is fresh off his first true knockout win. He knocked out Jonathan Rodriguez (not the greasy one who blew weight against Tanaka) in the third round on the July 20 Nakatani-Astrolabio undercard. He previously also stopped Luis Robles in the third, albeit due to an ankle injury.
The former kickboxing star has gone the distance in each of his first two bouts, but is already being fast-tracked to title contention.
Kosei Tanaka (20-1, 11 KOs) has a fight to look forward to this time around. The four-division and reigning WBO junior bantamweight titleholder faces undefeated visiting South African contender Phumelele Cafu (10-0-3, 8 KOs).
Both fighters made weight, something that was a problem before Tanaka’s canceled title defense on July 20. Tanaka came in right at the 115-pound junior bantamweight mark. Cafu was 114 ¾ pounds for his first career title fight.
Tanaka, No. 4 out of 115would defend his title on the July 20 Nakatani-Astrolabio card. However, challenger Jonathan Rodriguez arrived more than seven pounds over the 115-pound limit and was scratched from the show.
Opening the broadcast, recently crowned WBO flyweight titlist Anthony Olascuaga meets former WBO 108-pound belt holder Jonathan ‘Bomba’ Gonzalez.
Los Angeles’ Olascuaga (7-1, 5 KOs), no. 8 at 112, weighed 111 ¾ pounds for the first defense of the title he won in a third-round knockout of Riku Kano. Puerto Rico’s Gonzalez (28-3-1, 14 KOs) came up to the 112-pound limit in a bid to become a two-division title shot.
The show airs live on ESPN+ and begins at 4:00 a.m. ET. It comes one day after a four-title fight affair Sunday at this very venue. Both meetings are presented by Mr. Honda’s Teiken Promotions in association with Top Rank and All Star Boxing, Inc.
