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Ring Ratings Update: Junto Nakatani Moves Up to 9th in P4P Rankings

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Junto Nakatani lands a body blow that crushes Vincent Astrolabio. Photo by Naoki Fukuda

Junto Nakatani has caught the attention of die-hard boxing fans since he started in the flyweight division, but bantamweight looks set to be the best weight class yet for the 26-year-old three-division world titleholder.

Nakatani (28-0, 21 KO) quickly defended his first WBC 118-pound title, defeating experienced fighters Vincent’s Astrolabe body blow in the first round of the main event at the Kokugikan sumo arena in Tokyo on July 20.

The fight aired live on ESPN+ early in the morning in the U.S. The left-handed boxer is no stranger to the platform thanks to his Japanese promoter’s close working relationship with Top Rank, which announced an official co-promotional deal with Nakatani earlier this week.

The oldest promotion company in the U.S. and the sports network giant know a special talent when they see it. And Nakatani, who has trained in Southern California with veteran trainer Rudy Hernandez since he was a teenager, is a talent who can build a fan base in his native Japan and the U.S.

Nakatani’s impressive victories over Angel Acosta (in defense of the WBO flyweight title in September 2021) and Andrew Moloney (KO of the Year 2023 for the WBO 115-pound belt) took place in the USA and was broadcast on ESPN.

Nakatani broke Moloney down with a vicious uppercut. Photo by Naoki Fukuda

His last three fights – a defense of the WBO 115-pound title against Argi Cortes, a knockout in a fight for the WBC bantamweight title Alexandra Santiagoand the first round of Astrolabio – all were broadcast on “The Plus” channel in Japan.

Going forward, U.S. fans can expect to see Nakatani fight in America at least once a year. Wherever he fights, he will be presented as one of the best fighters, pound for pound, in the sport.

As a national level prospect who was just starting out at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Nakatani collected the scalps of two future world champions – Masamichi Yabuki (currently the sixth junior flyweight in The Ring rankings) and Seigo Yuri Akui (Current WBA flyweight title holder and #2 contender in The Ring).

In 2019 and 2020, he scored back-to-back knockouts of seasoned Filipino veterans Milan Melindo and Giemel Magramo – both ranked by The Ring at the time. Magramo’s victory earned Nakatani his first world title, the vacant WBO 112-pound belt, and he has defeated six Ring-ranked fighters in his seventh fight. Astrolabio (19-5, 14 KOs) entered the fight as a bantamweight contender ranked by The Ring as No. 7.

“Nakatani crushed his WBC mandatory challenger (Astrolabio) in the first round,” he said Anson Wainwright“Nakatani threw down the gauntlet to other bantamweight fighters and also gave a sign Naoya Inoue. Can’t wait.

“Move Nakatani overtook Errol Spence in the pound-for-pound rankings.

The Ring Classification Panel unanimously supported Wainwright’s suggestion.

Nakatani needed just one left punch to the midsection of Astrolabio to defend his 118-pound title. Photo by Naoki Fukuda

RING RATINGS UPDATE (as of July 20):

POUND FOR POUNDNakatani moves up to No. 9.

WELTERWEIGHTAlexis Rocha remains in ninth place, having defeated previously undefeated Santiago Dominguez on points in 10 rounds.

ROOSTER WEIGHT – Nakatani remains in 1st place. Astrolabio leaves. Seiya Tsutsumi (11-0-2, 8 KOs) comes in at number 10.

Wainwright suggested former flyweight titleholder Daigo Higa, who has been fighting at 118 pounds since 2020, to sign up with the number 10.

Jake Donovan Tsutsumi suggested.

Added Wasim Mather: “I don’t mind Higa coming in at No. 10 in the bantamweight division, but he’s faced a few Thai fighters recently who, while world-class, are past their prime, like Sirichai Thaiyen and Nawaphon (who lost to Astrolabio). He’s fighting for the WBO bantamweight title in September, so coming in at No. 10 seems about right to me. But is there anyone else we could consider?”

I also played with Tsutsumi,” he said. Wainwright“He and Higa fought to a (10-round) draw (in October 2020). I know what Wasim means when he says the Thais are past their prime, but Higa beat Nawaphon in four rounds, while Astrolabio went 11 rounds and it was not without controversy. So I thought it was a good tie-breaker.”

Added Daisuke Sugiura: “Tsutsumi or Higa is tough. Higa is still the bigger name, but I have nothing against Tsutsumi, who beat two great Japanese players: (Kazuki) Anaguchi and (Riku) Masuda last year.”

your favourite Editor in Chief agreed with Donovan’s suggestion.

JUNIOR BANNER WEIGHTJonathan Rodriguez leaves the rankings after failing to make the weight needed to fight for the title Kosei Tanaka by over six pounds (which prevented him from fighting and kept him from playing sports for over a year). KJ Kataraja (17-0, 13 KOs) comes in at number 10.

“There is no obvious candidate,” it was admitted Wainwright“so I’ll suggest Argi Cortes. He wasn’t up to the task, but he kept up with (Juan Francisco) Estrada and Nakatani.”

Donovan Cataraja suggested (which was also signed by Yours Truly).

I like KJ Cataraja,” he said. “There’s no powerful choice for 10, but I’m not a fan of judging guys based on losing in a competition without qualifying wins.”

HOUSEFLYAnthony Olascuaga enters at number 8 after defeating Riku Kano in three rounds to win the vacant WBO belt.

Anthony Olascuaga earned KO of the Year against Riku Kano. Photo by Naoki Fukuda

Wainwright No. 10 was suggested. Adam Abramowitz No. 9 was suggested. Donovan a maximum of no. 7 was suggested.

JUNIOR WEIGHT FLYCarlos Canizales remains in 5th place after winning a 12-round majority decision over Ivan Balderas.

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Boxing

Tyson’s conqueror, Danny Williams, was “never considered” for Morrison

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Kenzie Morrison Danny Williams

World Boxing News has learned that Danny Williams was never considered for a fight against Tommy Morrison’s son Kenzie on November 9.

WBN has learned from a source that Williams was scheduled to face Morrison next month when he returns to action at Firelake Arena in Shawnee. However, promoter Tony Holden confirmed what WBN initially reported, namely that Williams had been offered for the fight.

BoxRec also briefly placed Williams within Morrison’s record on November 9, before removing the former British champion. Williams famously knocked out Mike Tyson in 2004, but has since lived off his victory despite losing his British license more than a decade ago.

Holden, who represents Morrison and is looking for an opponent for the competition in three weeks, explained the situation exclusively to WBN.

“I never confirmed William’s story and I never considered him,” Holden said. “I said no when a local promoter suggested it.”

Williams, 51, last fought in August 202, losing for the 33rd time in his career. With 88 professional fights under his belt, Williams seems unable to turn down a payday despite his advanced age.

Morrison, a power puncher who has stopped 19 of his 21 wins, will look for his next conquest elsewhere. The fight with Mike Balogun remains on the table for 2025 after it was postponed from its original October date.

Balogun, who knocked out Kenzi’s brother Trey in the first round, claimed Morrison was pulled from the fight to spare him the loss.

Holden denies this view.

“Even though this post isn’t up to my standards, I’m going to write it anyway. Mike Balogun falsely claimed that I pulled Kenzie Morrison out of the fight because I was afraid he would lose. Please allow me to correct you, Mr. Balogun,” he stated.

“The decision was not made by Kenzie. Let’s raise the stakes and make it fascinating. If you emerge victorious this month, Kenzie will fight in November.

“We may decide this early next year. If your confidence remains unshaken, we can place a significant bet. Watch Kenzie take revenge on her brother and end your career.

Balogun, a former San Francisco 49ers linebacker, responded to Holden by increasing his salary for a potential collision next year.

“No matter how fair and honorable your decision was, just remember that ‘yesterday’s price is not today’s price,’” said the 2010 undrafted pick.

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Andrew Moloney is confident that if given the chance, he would have beaten Phumelele Cafu and Kosei Tanaka

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Andrew Moloney (left) attacks Pedro Guevara – photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Few people were more disappointed than Andrew Moloney when Kosei Tanaka lost his WBO super flyweight belt to Phumelele Cafu at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Monday night.

The 33-year-old Australian veteran was hoping to get a shot at beating Tanaka in the lucrative Japanese market.

Those dreams were dashed when South Africa’s Cafu delivered the performance of his life, knocking out Tanaka in the fifth round and finishing the fight strongly, beating the four-weight world champion by split decision.

“The plan was to target the WBO and really chase the Tanaka fight, but it all fell apart on Monday night,” Moloney (26-4-1NC, 16 KO) told The Ring. “I think the WBO is probably still the direction we go, but I’m not sure if they have a rematch clause or if Tanaka will take it. But after watching the fight yesterday, I would be really confident that I could fight one of these guys and win. We would like to follow this path.

“I would love to fight Tanaka in Japan as a four-division world champion. He’s definitely someone I’ve looked up to and wanted to fight for a long time.

“Last night was a little hard to watch. The way he performed, I’m more confident than ever that I have what it takes to beat Tanaka.

I assume there will be a rematch and I hope that Tanaka will regain the belt and I will be able to return to the ring and climb the rankings, and maybe this fight will still happen.

Tanaka entered Moloney’s orbit four years ago when he debuted at 115 pounds. Earlier this year, it looked like they were also on a collision course, with Moloney being number one in the WBO rankings. However, when an offer was made for the vacant IBF lightweight title fight between Vasily Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr. in May in Perth, Western Australia, Moloney felt he couldn’t turn her down.

This decision ended in disaster. Moloney faced Carlos Cuadras, who withdrew from the fight with a ruptured Achilles tendon and was replaced by Pedro Guevara. Moloney entered the fight with a torn bicep and was largely reduced to boxing with one hand, which circumscribed his punching power.

Still, Moloney felt he did more than enough to win, and was shocked when Guevara was declared the winner by split decision. He was so disappointed that he announced immediately after the fight that he was leaving the ring, but a few days later he withdrew these comments.

It was a breakthrough moment in his career.

“Looking back, it’s a wonderful thing, but watching the Tanaka-Cafu fight made me think that maybe I would do a lot of things if I could turn back time a little bit,” Moloney explained.

“Before my last fight, I was number one in the WBO rankings and I rejected the option of waiting to fight Tanaka. But the opportunity arose to fight Guevara in Australia for the interim WBC title on a major card, and to be candid, I kind of regretted that the Tanaka fight was hanging in the balance, but ultimately we decided to stay busy and take the opportunity to fight in Australia.

“Also, the injury before the fight was another thing I thought about: will I undergo surgery, keep the top spot and wait for Tanaka, but I made the decision to go ahead with the fight with Guevara. Looking back now, maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to do. And looking at the way Tanaka fought last night, I thought maybe I should have waited. I’m sure I could beat Tanaka and take the belt away from him.

“So I take some consolation, but unfortunately you can’t turn back time.”

It’s been a frustrating year for Moloney, but he’s still hitting the gym and his team is working to get him another fight. The window of opportunity to box again this year is closing quickly, but he still hopes to return to the ring in December, most likely in his native Australia.

“I really hope so,” he said. “That’s what I’ve been working on. I have been training strenuous at the gym for some time, quite a few months. I hope to return before the end of the year.

“At this stage it will probably be December. I’m trying to block something, but so far no luck. I’m still training away as if the fight was to take place in December, the team is currently working on it and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll be able to finish it.

“I just hope we can get out before the end of the year, get back into the winner’s circle and start climbing the rankings again.”

Moloney, who fought at bantamweight for the first three years of his professional career before dropping down to super flyweight, surprisingly, said he would even consider moving up to another weight class given the right opportunity.

“It’s a tough time in the super flyweight division,” said Moloney, the eighth challenger to The Ring’s 115-pound title. “There’s a lot going on and it’s always strenuous to plan which route to take because everything changes so quickly. I’d pick Bam Rodriguez to beat Guevara, then there’s talk of a rematch between Kazuto Ioka and Fernando Martinez on Up-to-date Year’s Eve. And then there’s talk of Bama, if they win, fighting the winner of that game in unification. The WBO seems to me the fastest way to win the title, so that’s the path we will follow.

“We have also rejected for some time the idea of ​​moving up to flyweight and getting crack there. There’s also some engaging scene going on there right now, but it’s still uncertain. I’d probably feel a little better at super flyweight, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens with Cafu and Tanaka, but like I said, I’d feel comfortable and confident against either of them, so hopefully he can make it it will happen sooner rather than later.”

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Doubts that fuel 19-year-old Benjamin Johnson

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Despite an impressive amateur resume, welterweight Benjamin Johnson of Springdale, Maryland, enters the professional ring with a shoulder injury.

Johnson will face Kevin Pantoja in a four-round fight at Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, Maryland, promoted by his trainer Lamont Roach Snr’s NoXcuses Promotions. The fight will be broadcast on Saturday on ProBox TV.

Johnson, 1-0 (1 KO), spent just 2:23 in the ring in his professional debut, displaying the quick, aggressive hands that won him multiple national titles. However, 19-year-old Johnson feels an advantage, believing he is being overlooked by his NoXcuses Boxing Gym teammates.

Pantoja, 1-1, 27, has never stopped being a professional – Johnson aims to change that.

“People underestimate me,” Johnson said. “It’s been like that since I was an amateur.”

He added that this underestimation increases his motivation in the gym. Johnson is determined to prove his worth not only to himself, but also to those who doubt him or, worse, don’t recognize him. “I never felt like I was recognized as that guy, so I feel like I’m underappreciated,” Johnson said of his amateur and now professional career.

Johnson sees the fight as a key step in his career, compared to feared forward David Benavidez by some teammates and touted by others as one of the most ready-to-fight prospects in the country.

“I train as much as I can,” Johnson said. “It’s about making a statement. The way you win shows people what you’re capable of, and I’m ready to show my best.

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