Junto Nakatani's lethal body shot more proof that Naoya Inoue isn't Japan's only boxing superstar

Japan has long been a boxing hotbed and produced numerous elite boxers. Led by undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue, boxing has reached new heights in Japan in the last several years. Inoue is arguably the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, and has been undisputed champion in two weight classes already.

There are several Japanese boxers, though, who aren't all that far behind him.

WBC bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani is chief among them. He made a loud statement on Saturday in Tokyo when he stopped No. 1 contender Vincent Astrolabio with a vicious straight left hand to the solar plexus. The blistering shot essentially knocked the Filipino down twice. Astrolabio fell to his knees, writhed in pain and then valiantly pulled himself to his feet. As he attempted to straighten his body, he went down again and referee Thomas Taylor waved it off at 2:37 of the first round.

It was an extraordinary performance for Nakatani, who is now 28-0 with 21 knockouts and clearly among the elite fighters in the world.

Nakatani said he wants to unify the bantamweight belts, and called out WBA bantamweight champion Takuma Inoue, the younger brother of Naoya. However, he said he'd consider moving up a division to 122 to face the man many believe is the best fighter in the world.

"I will take it one step at a time," Nakatani said. "I know if I go up one weight division, there is a 'Monster' there waiting for me."

A Naoya Inoue-Nakatani bout would be massive in Japan and it would be a significant fight on the world stage, pitting unbeaten Top 10 pound-for-pound fighters, who both are KO artists, against one another. KevinIole.com has Naoya Inoue third pound-for-pound, behind undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford. Nakatani is ranked ninth.

Astrolabio has now lost two of his last three, but one of those defeats is unlike the other. On May 13, 2023, he dropped a majority decision to Jason Maloney in Stockton, Calif. On Saturday in Tokyo, he was obliterated by one of the greats of the game in less than a round.

Nakatani is a fun fighter to watch who throws a lot of punches and is very accurate. A southpaw, he landed a stiff left only seconds after the opening bell, a punch which set the tone for what was to come. He was regularly beating Astrolabio to the punch, and was landing clean, hard shots throughout.

This was a fight from the beginning and Astrolabio didn't have the weapons to compete on even terms. The body shot was so well placed, Nakatani found himself apologizing to the crowd for ending it too soon.

"I thought maybe this would be a long fight, but luckily, I got that punch and I got the victory," he said. "The fight might have ended too early, and I'm sorry about that. I hope I can show you better fights in the future."

A Naoya Inoue-Nakatani fight would be just fine, thank you.