Fighters make weight for world title triple header!
Earlier today we had a stacked card as day 1 of a 2 day event from the Ariake Arena, thanks to Teiken and Amazon Prime. The card contained a genuine FOTY contender and saw 3 new world champions being crowned. Tomorrow we get day 2 of the event, with a further 3 world title fights on it, as well as the first title bout, albeit at regional level, for one of the sports truly elite level prospects.
The show will be headlined by 3-weight world champion Junto Nakatani (28-0, 21) [中谷 潤人] who will be defending his WBC Bantamweight title against experienced Thai challenger Tasana Salapat (76-1, 53), aka Petch CP Freshmart or Petch Sor Chitpattana. On the scales Nakatani was 117.75lbs whilst Salapat was a bit lighter at 117.25lbs. Both men looked in good shape, though it did seem like maybe Nakatani is close to outgrowing the division, and his time at 118lbs could be short-lived, despite how impressive performances at the weigh have been
Whilst Nakatani is a 3-weight world champion, we also have a 4-weight world champion on the card, in the form of reigning WBO Super Flyweight champion Kosei Tanaka (20-1, 11) [田中恒成], who takes on South African challenger Phumelele Cafu (10-0-3, 8). On the scales Tanaka was bang on the 115lb limit whilst Cafu, in his first world title fight and easily the most important bout of his career, was 114.75lbs.
The other world title bout on this card will see Anthony Olascuaga (7-1, 5) making his first defense the WBO Flyweight title as he takes on former WBO Light Flyweight champion Jonathan Gonzalez (28-3-1-1, 14). On the scales the champion was the slightly lighter man, at 111.5lbs whilst the challenger was 111.75lbs, his heaviest since challenging the aforementioned Kosei Tanaka for the WBO Flyweight title in 2019.
The chief support bout is, surprisingly not one of the world title bouts but instead a bout for the vacant WBO Asia Pacific Bantamweight title bout, as the hotly tipped and super charismatic Tenshin Nasukawa (4-0, 2) [那須川天心] takes on unbeaten Filipino Gerwin Asilo (9-0, 4). Nasukawa was bang on the Bantamweight limit, coming in at a career low of 118lbs, whilst Asilo was 117.25lbs
The show will be headlined by 3-weight world champion Junto Nakatani (28-0, 21) [中谷 潤人] who will be defending his WBC Bantamweight title against experienced Thai challenger Tasana Salapat (76-1, 53), aka Petch CP Freshmart or Petch Sor Chitpattana. On the scales Nakatani was 117.75lbs whilst Salapat was a bit lighter at 117.25lbs. Both men looked in good shape, though it did seem like maybe Nakatani is close to outgrowing the division, and his time at 118lbs could be short-lived, despite how impressive performances at the weigh have been
Whilst Nakatani is a 3-weight world champion, we also have a 4-weight world champion on the card, in the form of reigning WBO Super Flyweight champion Kosei Tanaka (20-1, 11) [田中恒成], who takes on South African challenger Phumelele Cafu (10-0-3, 8). On the scales Tanaka was bang on the 115lb limit whilst Cafu, in his first world title fight and easily the most important bout of his career, was 114.75lbs.
The other world title bout on this card will see Anthony Olascuaga (7-1, 5) making his first defense the WBO Flyweight title as he takes on former WBO Light Flyweight champion Jonathan Gonzalez (28-3-1-1, 14). On the scales the champion was the slightly lighter man, at 111.5lbs whilst the challenger was 111.75lbs, his heaviest since challenging the aforementioned Kosei Tanaka for the WBO Flyweight title in 2019.
The chief support bout is, surprisingly not one of the world title bouts but instead a bout for the vacant WBO Asia Pacific Bantamweight title bout, as the hotly tipped and super charismatic Tenshin Nasukawa (4-0, 2) [那須川天心] takes on unbeaten Filipino Gerwin Asilo (9-0, 4). Nasukawa was bang on the Bantamweight limit, coming in at a career low of 118lbs, whilst Asilo was 117.25lbs