JUNTO NAKATANI cemented his reputation as one of the best fighters in boxing by crushing Petch Sora Chitpattana in six rounds.

The three-weight world champion dominated the early stages of the fight against his opponent, who was never stopped, before shifting into high gear in search of a third straight stoppage win.

Chitpattana went down for the first time in his career midway through the sixth and appeared to recover well. However, a second before the end of the round, a forceful left hand punch knocked the guy down for the second time, and referee Laurence Cole waved his hand, without counting.

WBC bantamweight champion Nakatani is currently 29-0 with 22 KOs, and as a result of this victory, all three of his 118-pound fights have gone the distance.

Chitpattana’s last visit to Japan was in December 2018, when he was passed by Takuma Inoue in their Tokyo clash for the interim WBC bantamweight title. It was the only defeat in his 77-fight career so far.

However, over the course of six years, he boxed and won 28 times, earning him a shot at Nakatani’s full title.

This was the second defense of the belt, which Nakatani won by sixth-round knockout of Alexandro Santiago in February. It took him just 147 seconds to say goodbye to Vincent Astrolabio in July, but this time it wasn’t so early in the night.

However, he was regularly hurting his challenger in the early rounds and seemed to have no respect for what was coming back.

And Nakatani made his breakthrough midway through the sixth round when Chitpattana succumbed to a ruthless combination that started with a left hook.

He got up in time to defeat the Count, but Nakatani defeated him again. The Thai guy did well to attack under pressure and seemed to be able to stay in the leading position until the end of the round.

But then Nakatani, one of boxing’s most lethal fighters, found the finish, uncorking another crushing left hand that sent Chitpattana to the canvas face first. Cole immediately waved it off, achieving an official time of 2:59.

Junto Nakatani, one of the best fighters in the world, defended his WBC bantamweight crown and remained on track for arguably the biggest fight in Japanese history against Naoyi Inoue after a sixth-round victory over Filipino Petch Sora Chitpattna.

The defending champion from Sagamihara, Kanagawa, won his third quick victory in 2024 and improved his record to 29-0 (22 KO).

The challenger dropped to 76-2 (53 KO).

Both started conservatively, but Chitpattna trembled after bowling left-handed in the first over. Nakatani, often with his hands down, carefully assessed what was in front of him.

In the second second, he also switched Chitpattna to his left arm and stayed away from Chitpattna’s shots.

Nakatani picked up the pace in the third quarter but remained patient and moved well, with Chitpattna often only making contact in the air or on Nakatani’s shoulders.

Junto landed two brief right hooks and a right hand in the fourth, followed moments later by a long left hand.

Chitpattna stubbornly pressed forward in the fifth and sixth periods, gritted his teeth and fired with both hands, but Nakatani was the cleaner and hit Chitpattna with solid punches.

Midway through the sixth puck, Nakatani stunned Chitpattna with a thunderous straight left arm, and the dazed challenger was overwhelmed and floored by subsequent punches.

Chitpattna bravely tried to counterattack, Nakatani again looked to land a large left, he swung and missed dramatically once, but he succeeded in the final moments of the round and Chitpattna hit the deck, fell on his back and the fight was waved off at 2:59 of the sixth .

The fighter ran into the ring at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena and looked relaxed, but the 77-fight veteran – who apparently has the same number of nicknames – was ultimately added to Nakatani’s top knockouts.

Chitpattna was the No. 1 contender in the WBC, but two of his last three fights have been six-rounders, and the only recognizable name on his record is Takuma Inoue, who in 2018 defeated Chitpattna on points over 12 rounds in his only other fight other than Philippines.

It was Nakatani’s third victory this year, following a sixth-round victory over Alexandro Santiago and a first-round stoppage of Vincent Astrolabio.

In the bantamweight division, Tenshin Nasukawa of Tokyo improved to 5-0 (1 KO) with a 10-round decision over Gerwin Asilo of Bohol, Philippines, who is now 9-1 (4 KO).

Nasukawa won my advantage 97-92 and 98-91 (twice).

For Nasukawa, a southpaw who did most of his work without the jab, it was a steady job, whether he was bowling singles, doubles or coming in for them.

Nasukawa also scored with a left to the body and led with a right hook throughout the fifth round, although he countered with a right for his troubles.

Overall, Asilo was too passive. He was knocked off balance and dropped on the ninth kick, although Nasukawa suffered a cut to his left eye on the final headbutt.

Nasukawa, a former kickboxer who took part in a bizarre boxing exhibition with Floyd Mayweather five years ago, was nonetheless in great control and won the WBO Asia-Pacific bantamweight title.

PHUMELELE CAFU stunned four-weight world king Kosei Tanaka to become the fresh WBO super flyweight champion in Tokyo.

Cafu dropped Tanaka tough in the fifth, and at that point the victory was finally secured by the slimmest of margins, with the three judges returning a split decision.

Jesse Reyes led 114-113 against Tanaka, but when both Phil Austin and Waleska Roldan scored Cafu 114-113, a fresh world champion was crowned.

The victory came just days after Cafu’s compatriot Sivenathi Nontshinga lost his world title in Japan, but the Duncan Village fighter was not to be denied a performance at the Ariake Arena.

Cafu said, “I am speechless. This is everything I’ve ever wanted, my whole life, my whole career. Now I finally have it. Thank you to the Japanese fans for welcoming me.”

Tanaka made a keen start against the counter-paced Cafu, slipping in and out of range to score, leaving his opponent chasing shadows early on.

However, the challenger started to make some progress in the second and broke through with a mighty right hand just before the bell to end the round. Tanaka took it well.

This set the tone for an entertaining third installment, with both men having periods of success. Tanaka landed a double left hook jab to the body, but Cafu shot back. There was more high-level action in the fourth quarter and it was Tanaka who enjoyed it the most, but Cafu did great on the counterattack.

And that’s what happened midway through the fifth period, when Tanaka tried to land an uppercut and Cafu landed a tough right hook that knocked the champion down. He landed on his hands and knees, but managed to pull himself up in time to defeat the count. His legs were unsteady, but Cafu was unable to finish in the last 80 seconds of the round.

He improved even more in the sixth round, which was overall a good round for Tanaka, and continued his good form in the seventh round, which was like throwing practice for a champion who was investing heavily in Cafu’s body.

Despite this, Cafu still looked like a striker in the fight and seemed to hurt Tanaka every time he landed his signature counters. it seemed like everything was up for grabs in the championship rounds, but there wasn’t much to choose between the pair as they were both visibly tired by this point. However, Tanaka gained pressure in the final round and was still hesitant when the final bell rang.

However, it wasn’t enough for Tanaka to defend the belt in his first defense, and Cafu was close to making his next decision.

Previously, Anthony Olascuaga did not even make it past the first round in his fight against Gonzalez, three months after lifting weights against Tanaka, due to an unintentional headbutt from the former, which resulted in a no-contest.

The Orthodox champion, who was defending his WBO flyweight title for the first time, accidentally landed his head above Gonzalez’s left eye. And when Robert Hoyle asked if he could see, Gonzalez replied “no,” leaving the referee no choice but to immediately wave his hand. The stoppage time was 2:25 of the first.