Junto Nakatani celebrates his third world title in a third weight class after stopping the fight-tested Alejandro Santiago. Photo by Naoki Fukuda / Top Rank
Junto Nakatani is a bad, bad man.
In his third fight at 118 pounds, the WBC bantamweight titleholder proved to be too strong, too powerful and simply too smart for Thai veteran Tasana Salapat (AKA Petch CP Freshmart) in their all-southpaw clash at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Monday night.
A veteran of 77 fights with just one loss on his ledger, Salapat had never been stopped before. That changed tonight when he was currently stopped by Nakatani in six rounds rated at no. 9 by The Ring on pound-for-pound.
In his first fight abroad, 30-year-old Salapat knew he was in for a fight from the opening bell when a sweeping left cross from Nakatani pinched his legs in the opening frame.
Like most Thais, Salapat was tough and determined. He pushed the action and tried to drag Nakatani into a firefight. But the wiry five-foot-eight Japanese boxer kept him at bay, encouraging him to come forward so he could walk into counter punches.
A counter left hand from Nakatani in the second round gave Salapat a taste of what was to come.
Nakatani set the pace from distance and increased the pace round after round as he let the Thai catch up as he looked to land a killer blow.
Sensing that he was behind, Salapat picked up his work rate in the fourth. This was good in theory, but it only opened up opportunities for Nakatani to land hard counter shots of his own. The title holder remained calm and economical under the incoming fire, taking out his opponent at will.
Things opened up in the fifth with both boxers exchanging on the inside. Salapat was the busier of the two, but the heavier blows came from the Rudy Hernandez-trained Nakatani, who showed good defense to roll under incoming fire and fire back with hard shots of his own.
In the sixth, Salapat fired. Nakatani stood his ground and weathered the storm. A two-fisted volley from the champion knocked the challenger to the canvas. Salapat beat the score but it was only a matter of time.
A crunching left cross to the jaw crumpled the Thai to the canvas just before the bell. Referee Laurence Cole stopped the match with just one second left in the round.
It was another dominant win for Nakatani, who once again proved why he is rated No.1 by The Ring at bantamweight.
With the win, Nakatani increased his record to 29-0 with 22 knockouts. Salapat drops to 76-2 with 53 strikeouts.
In the semi-main event, former kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa continued his unbeaten run under the Queensberry rules.
Nasukawa, 26, was largely unfazed by 23-year-old Filipino Gerwin Asilo in their 10-round bantamweight bout. The Japanese southpaw suffered a small cut over the left eyebrow but otherwise cruised to victory in his 97-92, 98-91 and 98-91 victory.
The ever-popular Nasukawa raises his ledger to 5-0 with two knockouts, while Asilo sees the first blemish on his resume, dropping to 9-1 with 4 knockouts.
