(April 18, 2025) — The world’s two best bantamweights are set to battle with two world title belts on the line. WBC champion Junto Nakatani will fight IBF king Ryosuke Nishida in a title unification tilt on Sunday, June 8, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Nakatani-Nishida headlines a bantamweight tripleheader streaming live and exclusively on ESPN+ in the U.S.
Unbeaten former kickboxing prodigy Tenshin Nasukawa (6-0, 2 KOs) takes on Victor Santillan (14-1, 5 KOs) in a 10-rounder, while 2021 World Championships gold medalist Tomoya Tsuboi (1-0, 1 KO) steps up against Vietnam’s Van Thao Tran (18-1, 10 KOs) in a 10-rounder for the WBO Asia Pacific strap.
Nakatani (30-0, 23 KOs) is a three-weight world champion and a consensus top 10-rated pound-for-pound fighter. Following a two-fight championship run at junior bantamweight that included the 2023 Knockout of the Year over Andrew Moloney, Nakatani made a splash in his bantamweight debut with his February 2024 knockout over Alexandro Santiago to win the WBC title. He stopped Vincent Astrolabio and Petch Sor Chitpattana to close out a banner 2024 before making his 2025 debut in February with a devastating third-round knockout over then-unbeaten Mexican standout David Cuellar.
Nishida (10-0, 2 KOs), a one-time high school amateur standout in Japan, turned pro in October 2019 with a first-round knockout. In his fourth pro fight, he won the WBO Asia Pacific regional title with a decision over former world champion Daigo Higa. Last May, he dethroned two-time champion Emmanuel Rodriguez by unanimous decision to capture the IBF title. Nishida made his first title defense in December with a seventh-round TKO over Thailand’s Anuchai Donsua.
