Boxing

Junto Nakatani To Face Ryosuke Nishida In Unification Bout

Junto Nakatani will square off against Ryosuke Nishida for the IBF and WBC bantamweight titles on June 8.
Nathaniel Marrero|
Junto Nakatani lands a left hand against David Cuellar.
Junto Nakatani lands a left hand against David Cuellar. | IMAGO/AFLOSPORT

One of boxing's top pound-for-pound talents is looking to add to his legacy.

Top Rank announced that undefeated WBC bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani will face fellow undefeated IBF bantamweight champion Ryosuke Nishida on June 8 at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan. The bout will be streamed on ESPN+ in the United States.

BoxingScene's Jake Donovan reported that the Lineal title will also be on the line for Nakatani vs. Nishida.

Nakatani (30-0, 23 KOs) is widely viewed as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world and appears to be on a collision course with "The Monster" Naoya Inoue. The two met at the Japanese Boxing Awards in March in Tokyo and verbally agreed to face each other in 2026 at the Tokyo Dome, which would most likely sell out the 55,000-seat capacity for the biggest boxing match in Japan's history.

Both fighters have matters to take care of first before potentially meeting in one of the best fights that can be made in boxing. Nakatani must first take care of business against Nishida, and Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs), the undisputed junior featherweight champion, returns to the US on May 4 when he faces Ramon Cardenas at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Nakatani, who is the former WBO flyweight and junior bantamweight champion, last fought on Feb. 24, defeating the previously undefeated David Cuellar by third-round knockout. The hard-hitting southpaw has won four straight fights inside the distance.

Nishida (10-0, 2 KOs) last fought on Dec. 15, defeating Donsuna by seventh-round knockout in the first defense of his title. Nishida became the IBF bantamweight champion one fight earlier with a unanimous decision victory over Emmanuel Rodriguez on May 4.

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Nathaniel Marrero
NATHANIEL MARRERO

Nathaniel Marrero is a writer for the Boxing, Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Ravens On SI sites. He's also written for the Orlando Sentinel and MLB.com, and was a part of UCF's sports show, Hitting The Field. He attended UCF and graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism in 2023. Twitter/X: Nate_Marrero

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