Today at 1:00 p.m. Italian time (a convenient slot also for European boxing fans), The Night of Samurai took place live on DAZN PPV at the Mohammed Abdo Arena. It was The Ring V event, promoted by Riyadh Season, right in Riyadh. A card packed with high-level matchups, including the co-main event featuring Junto “Big Bang” Nakatani (30-0, 24 KOs) against Sebastian “Logan” Hernandez (20-0, 18 KOs) in the super bantamweight division.
Japanese style versus the iconic Mexican style in both main-event bouts. Amid much controversy over an absurd scorecard from one of the judges, the fight between Nakatani and Hernandez ended as expected with a unanimous decision victory (115-113; 115-113; 118-110), but not without serious difficulties for the Japanese fighter. It was anything but an easy fight — a true battle.
The bout opens with Nakatani in a southpaw stance, controlling distance with the jab, while Hernandez waits behind a tight guard, advancing and studying the Japanese fighter, who throws many fast and accurate punches.
In the second round, Nakatani continues to pile on volume, while Hernandez appears decidedly passive, too static, allowing his opponent to hit him from all angles: jabs, hooks, uppercuts — a fine technical arsenal from the Japanese boxer.
In the third round, the Mexican finally revs up the engine and tries to close the distance, constantly moving forward to work the body, but Nakatani’s replies are sharp and immediate.
In the fourth round, Hernandez’s hooks at close range are effective, and although Nakatani tries not to remain stationary in front of his opponent, he appears more static than in the first three rounds. The Mexican’s pressure makes the difference: in the final part of the round, he pins his rival to the ropes and unleashes two-handed combinations.
Fifth round, and Nakatani realizes he must contain the opponent’s pressure. He resumes circling to change angles and come back with sharp combinations, as well as pinpoint single shots that Hernandez manages to absorb, while also landing some telling body shots of his own.
Constant exchanges in the sixth round — a beautiful, gripping stanza — with uppercuts and hooks flying on both sides, a real spectacle at the Abdo Arena. In the final seconds, Nakatani seems to feel a body uppercut, almost on the bell.
Seventh round, and Nakatani goes back to circling his opponent: after the exchanges of the previous round, he rightly changes tactics. Hernandez, however, presses forward with determination and aggression, firing body uppercuts that echo through the arena.
The Mexican’s pressure is relentless even in the eighth round, too much at times even for a champion like Nakatani. He keeps coming forward, constantly targeting the body, never truly taking a step back. The Japanese fighter tries to work behind the jab and straight punches, but Hernandez advances relentlessly, and Nakatani seems to be affected by the suffocating pace.
In the ninth round, a tired Nakatani, heavy on his legs, accepts the exchange while Hernandez is unstoppable. “Big Bang” tries to answer the Mexican’s shots; it becomes a face-to-face war, the fighters glued together. It would be impossible for anyone to keep an exact count of the hooks and uppercuts thrown by both men in this round.
In the tenth round, Nakatani attempts to regain control of the rhythm by slipping out of the Mexican’s attacks, though Hernandez still manages to hit him and push him to the ropes repeatedly. A truly gripping fight.
From the opening moments of the eleventh round, Hernandez seems to load every single punch. A solid fighter, advancing while absorbing the precise shots of his opponent. Nakatani, however, goes back to working behind the jab and tries to counter the Mexican while moving backward and drawing him in.
In the final round, Nakatani’s left eye is visibly swollen, but he is clearly determined to win the last stanza. He seems able to impose his distance and circle as he did in the early rounds, continuing to land with precision. Hernandez, however, does not give up an inch and keeps throwing heavy shots until the very end — truly indomitable. Full credit to him for his performance.
A truly outstanding fight: two unbeaten boxers facing each other, displaying great technical skills and extraordinary mental and physical toughness.
My personal scorecard reads 114-114. A win for Nakatani is understandable — he did put in an excellent performance — but regarding the judge who scored the bout 118-110, I feel compelled to say that he was either watching a completely different fight or perhaps had received some backstage instructions.
Hernandez came painfully close to winning the fight. Personally, I fault him for not accelerating decisively in the third round, which he effectively gave away to the Japanese fighter. A different verdict could have derailed the plans for next year’s scheduled showdown, which is set to pit Nakatani against Inoue in an all-Japanese derby at the very top of the boxing world. And perhaps this factor did play a role in tipping the scales in favor of the otherwise excellent “Big Bang.”