With the win, Nakatani (28-0, 21 knockouts) lodged the first defense of his WBC bantamweight title. “I thought this was going to be a long fight,” Nakatani admitted through translator Mizuka Koike. Nakatani won the WBC 118-pound title in a sixth-round knockout of Alexandro Santiago on Feb. 24 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Argi Cortes (26-4-2, 10 KOs) is the only boxer to go the distance with Nakatani in a major title fight. All four major bantamweight titlists reside in Japan and represent The Ring’s top four at the weight.

Source: Punch July 21, 2024 06:45 UTC