Junto Nakatani and Ryosuke Nishida battle it out on Sunday, June 8, live from Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. The pair square off in a bantamweight championship unification with two titles at stake.
Three-division world champion Nakatani (30-0, 23 KOs) brings his WBC belt to the ring, making the fourth defense of his title. The 27-year-old southpaw claimed the strap against Alexandro Santiago last February. Nishida (10-0, 2 KOs) puts his IBF title on the line. The 28-year-old southpaw makes his second championship defense.
On the Nakatani vs Nishida undercard, former Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa (6-0, 2 KOs) takes on Dominican Victor Santillan (14-1, 5 KOs) in a 10-rounder at bantamweight. Plus, Tomoya Tsuboi (1-0, 1 KO) of Japan and Tran Van Thao (18-1, 10 KOs) of Vietnam clash in a 10-rounder for the vacant WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight belt.
Additionally, another 10-round bantamweight matchup pits Riku Masuda (7-1, 7 KOs) of Japan against Michell Banquez (23-5, 15 KOs) of Venezuela.
Nakatani vs Nishida airs live on ESPN+. The start time in the U.S. is 4:30 AM ET / 1:30 AM PT. A VPN service, such as ExpressVPN, might be helpful to stream from a different location.
Nakatani vs Nishida live blog
Riku Masuda KO's Michell Banquez in first round
Riku Masuda (8-1, 8 KOs) of Japan defeats Venezuela’s Michell Banquez (23-6, 15 KOs) by knockout in the first round at bantamweight.
Rukia Okubo stops Takumi Yoneya in third round
Rukia Okubo (2-1-1, 2 KOs) stops Takumi Yoneya (0-2) in the third round at minimumweight. The time of the stoppage was 0:52 into the round.
Riku Miyashita defeats Toya Oshima by decision
Riku Miyashita (1-0) makes a successful pro debut, defeating Toya Oshima (0-1) by unanimous decision. After four rounds at super flyweight, the scores were 38-37, 38-37, and 39-36.
Full fight video: Naoya Inoue stops Nonito Donaire in rematch
In the lead-up to tonight’s event in Tokyo, Top Rank released a full fight video featuring Naoya Inoue in his rematch with Nonito Donaire. The pair squared off for the second time in June 2022 in Saitama, battling for the unified title with three belts on the line.
Video: Nakatani vs Nishida final face-off
In case you missed it – at the official weigh-in ceremony, Junto Nakatani and Ryosuke Nishida went face to face for the final time ahead of their bout.
Nakatani vs Nishida: How to watch & start time
Nakatani vs Nishida airs live on ESPN+. The start time in the U.S. is 4:30 AM ET / 1:30 AM PT. A VPN service, such as ExpressVPN, might be helpful to stream from a different location.
Nakatani vs Nishida results
Get Nakatani vs Nishida full fight card and stay tuned for live results below.
Live- Junto Nakatani vs. Ryosuke Nishida
- Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Victor Santillan
- Tomoya Tsuboi vs. Tran Van Thao
- Riku Masuda def. Michell Banquez by KO (R1, 1:27)
- Rukia Okubo def. Takumi Yoneya by TKO (R3, 0:52)
- Riku Miyashita def. Toya Oshima by unanimous decision (38-37, 38-37, 39-36)