It took less than three minutes for the powerful Japanese boxer Junto Nakatani (28-0-0, 21 KOs) to defeat Filipino Vincent “Asero” Astrolabio (19-5-0, 14 KOs) and reaffirm his WBC bantamweight world champion status in the main event organized by Akihiko Honda’s Teiken Promotions. The challenger was knocked out by the first truly powerful punch of the match, with just over twenty seconds left in the first round.
Nothing significant happened until a bolt from the blue struck the fight, bringing it to an end. For two and a half minutes, the two fighters merely studied each other, with Astrolabio staying in the center of the ring with a high guard protecting his face, while Nakatani kept a safe distance, limiting himself to light jabs.
Evidently, after closely observing his opponent’s movements and stance, the champion realized that Astrolabio’s high guard left a portion of his abdomen exposed. He then directed his first really violent blow there. The punch landed on the navel area, and a moment later, Astrolabio collapsed to the ground with a grimace of pain. The Filipino managed to get up just before the count ended, but the pain forced him to kneel again immediately after standing, and referee Thomas Taylor had no choice but to stop the fight, declaring a KO.
Although the outcome of the fight seemed predictable, more resistance was expected from the challenger, who had been delivering good performances for several years. Evidently, the talent gap between the two fighters was too great this time, and Nakatani did not want to wait long before sealing the deal in his favor.
Now, three possible paths lie ahead for the superb Japanese athlete. The first would see him fighting against the other bantamweight world champions, who, interestingly, are all Japanese, to become the unified champion of the category. The second path would involve moving up in weight to challenge his compatriot Naoya Inoue in a spectacular All-Japanese Derby. The third would see him welcoming the undefeated American Jesse Rodriguez to the bantamweight division, who might decide to leave the super flyweights in search of glory. All three scenarios are viable and exciting, and Nakatani doesn’t necessarily have to choose just one of these paths.
As for Astrolabio, his defeat was so clear and decisive that it significantly lowered his stock. If the Filipino wants another shot at a world title in the future, he will have to start from the bottom and rebuild his credibility with high-profile victories. He has already managed to recover mentally from a KO once before; we will see if history repeats itself or if this defeat will permanently exclude him from the top rankings.