A fight, a unification fight that could prove to be something special, has been officially announced for Tokyo on June 8th. Junto Nakatani, the reigning WBC bantamweight champion, will square off with countryman Ryosuke Nishida, who holds the IBF belt at 122 pounds. The fight will take place at the Ariake Colosseum, a report from Kyodo News informs us.

This fight has been in the works for a while now, and it will be a fight all of Japan will watch, while fans around the world who know how good, how special Nakatani is will also be tuning in on the night. Nakatani, is, we hope, edging ever closer to a monster of a fight with Japanese superstar and reigning unified super-bantamweight king Naoya Inoue, the two having agreed to fight one another next year via a handshake deal.

But Nishida is absolutely no slouch, and he will be going into the June fight with Nakatani with full belief that he can and will win, and will thus tear up his rival’s big plans. Both Nakatani and Nishida are unbeaten, the WBC champ currently having a 30-0(23) record, with his IBF counterpart currently being 10-0(2). Nakatani, a southpaw as is his rival, will be making the fourth defence of his belt in the unification clash, while Nishida will be making his second title defence.

So, who wins this one? 27 year old Nakatani seems to be a great fighter who can pretty much do it all, and his speed and power have seen him claim some eye-catching, hugely impressive stoppage wins. Nishida, a year the older man, is no big puncher, but he has shown fine boxing skills and a high ring IQ, and Nishida is actually coming off a stoppage win.

Nakatani, a three-weight world champion who still wants more, is the pick to win here, simply because he seems to have zero flaws or weaknesses. But this could prove to be a testing fight for both men. And a joy for us fans to watch unfold before us.