Junto Nakatani’s Body Shot Ended Astrolabio’s Title
Junto Nakatani retained the WBC bantamweight championship with a first-round knockout of Vincent Astrolabio in Tokyo on July 20, 2024. A straight left to the body ended the scheduled twelve-round contest at 2:37 of the opening round.
A brief first defense
The main event at Ryogoku Kokugikan was Nakatani’s first defense of the bantamweight belt. His decisive body punch put the Filipino challenger down and brought the contest to an early conclusion.
The result extended Nakatani’s unbeaten record to twenty-eight wins, including twenty-one knockouts. It also gave him seven victories in seven world championship appearances across three weight divisions.
The championship paths that met in Tokyo
Nakatani had entered the bantamweight division after world championship success at flyweight and junior bantamweight. In February 2024, he stopped Alexandro Santiago in six rounds to win the WBC belt and become a three-division champion.
Astrolabio arrived as the mandatory challenger, having stopped Nawaphon Kaikanha in the eleventh round of an eliminator the previous August. The Tokyo assignment offered another opportunity after his majority-decision defeat to Jason Moloney for the vacant WBO bantamweight championship in May 2023.
Against Nakatani, that second world-title bid lasted less than three minutes. The champion’s accurate attack to the body preserved both his title and unbeaten record, while Astrolabio left with nineteen victories and five defeats.
Sources
- World Boxing Council: Nakatani’s first defense and Santiago title victory
- The Philippine Star: official stoppage time and Tokyo result
- World Boxing Council: Astrolabio’s mandatory-challenger route
- World Boxing Council: Astrolabio’s earlier Moloney challenge
- Top Rank: Nakatani’s post-fight and championship records
