WBC bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani (29-0, 22 KOs) will defend his belt against #6 David Cuellar (28-0, 18 KOs) in a 12-round fight on February 24th, live on ESPN+ at the Ariake Arena, in Tokyo, Japan.
Nakatani’s Title Defense
This isn’t the fight that fans wanted to see from Nakatani, 26, because they were hoping he would at least try and unify against one of the other three champions at 118 before moving up to 122 to challenge undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue in 2025.
The southpaw Nakatani’s fight with Mexican native Cuellar, 23, indicates that he’ll soon move up to 122 for the Inoue fight without unifying. This would be disappointing because he has the potential to capture all the belts in this weight class.
Cuellar is a seven-year pro who has mostly fought veterans and second-tier opponents. He recently defeated Jose Velasquez, Luis Conception, Pablo Ariel Gomez, and Marlon Rios Sarinana. He’s beaten some semi-decent fighters during his short pro career, but he’s not been up against anyone remotely aa talented as Junto Nakatani.
Nakatani will be a huge favorite in this fight due to his power and experience advantage, but you can’t rule out an upset. Cuellar has excellent technical skills honed from his years fighting brawlers in Mexico, and he won’t be surprised going up against the big-punching Nakatani.
Still, the Japanese star’s power and southpaw angle will make it tough for Cuellar to win this fight. This match will be staged in Tokyo against one of Japan’s biggest stars, the one expected to replace Inoue in the future.
Undercard fights
Seiya Tsutsumi vs. Daigo Higa – Chief support
Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Jason Moloney
The undercard fights will interest hardcore boxing fans familiar with those guys but not do much to interest the casuals, who have never heard of these fighters and won’t be attracted to tune in to the ESPN+ broadcast to see it, especially if it’s staged early in the morning. There needs to be bigger fighters involving guys that the U.S. and UK fans have heard of and are interested in watching.
