Tsuboi to fight for regional title, Nakatani and Nishida fo fight in world title unification!
49
Earlier today the Tokyo Dome Hotel played host to a big press conference to announce a massive card for June 8th, which will be the next show under Amazon’s impressive “Prime Video Boxing” series, becoming the 13th show under the banner which has been one of the highlights of world boxing in the last few years, and been getting international exposure due to Top Rank and their international connections.
The card had 3 bouts announced for it, with all 3 being major Bantamweight bouts and all 3 being significant in their own way.
One of those 3 will see ultra-prospect Tomoya Tsuboi (1-0, 1) look to claim the WBO Asia Pacific Bantamweight title in just his second bout, as he battles against Vietnam's Van Thao Tran (18-1, 10) for the now vacant belt. Tsuboi, a former amateur sensation who won gold at the World Amateur Championships, made his debut as a professional in in March, when he stopped Boonrueang Phayom in 2 rounds and is not wasting time in racing to title fights, with some suggesting a world title fight might only be another fight or two away for the 29 year old. He explained "I want to aim for the world title in the super flyweight class, but if I'm given the chance, I'll even go for the bantamweight class." and also explained that he’s hoping to go longer rounds here against Tran. A win for him would see him tying the Japanese male record for fewest fights to a title with Mitsuro Brandon Tajima winning Japanese and Korean Heavyweight titles in his second professional bout.
Talking about the contest he explained "I want to dominate every round. My opponent is a bantamweight fighter, so I'm being careful because he's bigger, but I have no intention of losing. I think I can control the pace in the fourth or fifth round, so I'll try various things.". As for Tran, who wasn’t at the press conference, the 32 year old Vietnamese fighter has been a professional since 2015, has international experience with fights in Korea, where he beat Wulan Tuolehazi and Kongfah CP Freshmart, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia and Cambodia, as well as Vietnam, where he also beat Boonrueang Phayom. His one loss came in 2019, up against former world champion Billy Dib, in a bout that he really had no right in and gave away significant weight to Dib, a former Featherweight champion.
With Tsuboi fighting for the WBO Asia Pacific title, it may be wondered what happened to the previous champion, and that’s Tenshin Nasukawa (6-0, 2) [那須川天心] who recent vacated the belt to begin focusing on a world title fight. He will tune up for a potential shot at a world belt on this same show, as he takes on the WBA ranked Dominican southpaw Victor Santillan (14-1, 4) in a very good looking 10 rounder.
Talking about the fight Tenshin explained "Many bantamweight world champions are southpaws. I want to gain a lot of experience before going to the world championships. I've never fought this type before, so I want to learn as I go." Tenshin went on to add "I know that my abilities are competitive on the world stage, and I think the people around me know that too." before saying "Thanks to my own efforts and the support of those around me, I've come this far in the two years since I switched to boxing. The real battle begins now. I'm going to send out a signal in this match as well." He also joked about having trauma of facing skin heads, after his loss in an exhibition to Floyd Mayweather, in 2018, and and playfully stated "Since Santillan is also a skinhead, I want to get rid of that trauma by winning,"
As for Santillan he's returning to Japan for his second bout in the country, with the first being a 2023 loss to Sho Ishida. Since his loss he has fought just once, beating Alfree Ramirez in the Dominican Republic, though his stand out win came back in 2022 when he defeated Puerto Rican puncher Carlos Caraballo. LikeTran he wasn’t at the press conference for the show.
The main event is the big one at Bantamweight, as WBC Bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani (30-0, 23) [中谷 潤人] clashes with IBF champion Ryosuke Nishida (10-0, 2) [西田凌佑] in a very highly anticipated, and much requested, unification bout. Nakatani, who is now a 3 weight world champion and widely regarded as a top 10 pound-for-pound fighter, is fighting for the 31st time as a professional and explained "I'm grateful that I'm getting to have the title unification fight, which I've been talking about since my flyweight days. My opponent is a southpaw like me, with a stylish style and high ability to execute strategies. I think it'll be a technical battle, so I'm looking forward to enjoying the tactics."
Notably Nishida, who had made it very clear he was wanting to fight Nakatani, explained that he had only learned of the bout the day before it had been officially agreed, explained he was willing to give up his IBF title if he had to, saying "While it was either a mandatory bout or a title unification bout, I wanted to fight Nakatani even if it meant giving up my title, so I'm happy that it will be a title unification bout," He then added "My opponent can fight at any distance. His greatest weapon is his punching power. I will carry out the strategy devised by Trainer Takeichi" (referring to Kosuke Takeichi).
Last year Nishida's promoter stated that he thought Nishida should wait to face Nakatani, but at the press conference today he explained "After his first title defense, Nishida said he wanted to fight the champion. He's not the kind of person who expresses his desire to do something on his own, but I think he's serious about wanting to do it. When I consulted with with his trainer, he said, "He might lose if he fights a designated match (mandatory challenger) without motivation.", Edagawa also added “Our gym isn't run for money. Our policy is to give fighters dreams and let them do what they want. He's going to challenge a really strong champion, so I honestly don't know if he'll win or lose. If he wants to do it, it's my job to move towards negotiations," A stark change to some promoters who put the financial well being ahead of the fighters own desires and ambitions.
The plan for Nakatani, if he gets past Nishida, is to face undisputed Super Bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25) [井上尚弥] next spring. He will however need to get past Nishida, and has his focus on this bout, and added "It's been a while since I've had a Japanese showdown, so I want to put my all into it. He's a strong opponent, so I'm going to go all out and challenge him," In fact we need to go back to April 2022 for the last time Nakatani faced a fellow Japanese fighter, when he defended his WBO Flyweight title against Ryota Yamauchi and before that his Japanese title win over Naoki Mochizuki in 2019. Regarding Inoue, Nakatani plans to watch Inoue’s upcoming bout, which will be in the US, in person stating "If the timing is right, I'd like to go and see it."
Although he will be the under-dog Nishida has made his reputation by upsetting the applecart through his career, scoring upset wins against Shohei Omori, Daigo Higa and Emmanuel Rodriguez, and stated "I don't care about the voices around me. I will fight as if this is my last fight. The belt will come with the victory. I will fight without thinking about it."
The event, which will be shown on Amazon Prime in Japan and is expected to get UK and US broadcasters, as well as a Latin American one, will be held a the Ariake Colosseum, and looks to be a mouth watering card, and a real spectacle of the Bantamweight division, showing off two of the best right now, and two of the best for the future.
The card had 3 bouts announced for it, with all 3 being major Bantamweight bouts and all 3 being significant in their own way.
One of those 3 will see ultra-prospect Tomoya Tsuboi (1-0, 1) look to claim the WBO Asia Pacific Bantamweight title in just his second bout, as he battles against Vietnam's Van Thao Tran (18-1, 10) for the now vacant belt. Tsuboi, a former amateur sensation who won gold at the World Amateur Championships, made his debut as a professional in in March, when he stopped Boonrueang Phayom in 2 rounds and is not wasting time in racing to title fights, with some suggesting a world title fight might only be another fight or two away for the 29 year old. He explained "I want to aim for the world title in the super flyweight class, but if I'm given the chance, I'll even go for the bantamweight class." and also explained that he’s hoping to go longer rounds here against Tran. A win for him would see him tying the Japanese male record for fewest fights to a title with Mitsuro Brandon Tajima winning Japanese and Korean Heavyweight titles in his second professional bout.
Talking about the contest he explained "I want to dominate every round. My opponent is a bantamweight fighter, so I'm being careful because he's bigger, but I have no intention of losing. I think I can control the pace in the fourth or fifth round, so I'll try various things.". As for Tran, who wasn’t at the press conference, the 32 year old Vietnamese fighter has been a professional since 2015, has international experience with fights in Korea, where he beat Wulan Tuolehazi and Kongfah CP Freshmart, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia and Cambodia, as well as Vietnam, where he also beat Boonrueang Phayom. His one loss came in 2019, up against former world champion Billy Dib, in a bout that he really had no right in and gave away significant weight to Dib, a former Featherweight champion.
With Tsuboi fighting for the WBO Asia Pacific title, it may be wondered what happened to the previous champion, and that’s Tenshin Nasukawa (6-0, 2) [那須川天心] who recent vacated the belt to begin focusing on a world title fight. He will tune up for a potential shot at a world belt on this same show, as he takes on the WBA ranked Dominican southpaw Victor Santillan (14-1, 4) in a very good looking 10 rounder.
Talking about the fight Tenshin explained "Many bantamweight world champions are southpaws. I want to gain a lot of experience before going to the world championships. I've never fought this type before, so I want to learn as I go." Tenshin went on to add "I know that my abilities are competitive on the world stage, and I think the people around me know that too." before saying "Thanks to my own efforts and the support of those around me, I've come this far in the two years since I switched to boxing. The real battle begins now. I'm going to send out a signal in this match as well." He also joked about having trauma of facing skin heads, after his loss in an exhibition to Floyd Mayweather, in 2018, and and playfully stated "Since Santillan is also a skinhead, I want to get rid of that trauma by winning,"
As for Santillan he's returning to Japan for his second bout in the country, with the first being a 2023 loss to Sho Ishida. Since his loss he has fought just once, beating Alfree Ramirez in the Dominican Republic, though his stand out win came back in 2022 when he defeated Puerto Rican puncher Carlos Caraballo. LikeTran he wasn’t at the press conference for the show.
The main event is the big one at Bantamweight, as WBC Bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani (30-0, 23) [中谷 潤人] clashes with IBF champion Ryosuke Nishida (10-0, 2) [西田凌佑] in a very highly anticipated, and much requested, unification bout. Nakatani, who is now a 3 weight world champion and widely regarded as a top 10 pound-for-pound fighter, is fighting for the 31st time as a professional and explained "I'm grateful that I'm getting to have the title unification fight, which I've been talking about since my flyweight days. My opponent is a southpaw like me, with a stylish style and high ability to execute strategies. I think it'll be a technical battle, so I'm looking forward to enjoying the tactics."
Notably Nishida, who had made it very clear he was wanting to fight Nakatani, explained that he had only learned of the bout the day before it had been officially agreed, explained he was willing to give up his IBF title if he had to, saying "While it was either a mandatory bout or a title unification bout, I wanted to fight Nakatani even if it meant giving up my title, so I'm happy that it will be a title unification bout," He then added "My opponent can fight at any distance. His greatest weapon is his punching power. I will carry out the strategy devised by Trainer Takeichi" (referring to Kosuke Takeichi).
Last year Nishida's promoter stated that he thought Nishida should wait to face Nakatani, but at the press conference today he explained "After his first title defense, Nishida said he wanted to fight the champion. He's not the kind of person who expresses his desire to do something on his own, but I think he's serious about wanting to do it. When I consulted with with his trainer, he said, "He might lose if he fights a designated match (mandatory challenger) without motivation.", Edagawa also added “Our gym isn't run for money. Our policy is to give fighters dreams and let them do what they want. He's going to challenge a really strong champion, so I honestly don't know if he'll win or lose. If he wants to do it, it's my job to move towards negotiations," A stark change to some promoters who put the financial well being ahead of the fighters own desires and ambitions.
The plan for Nakatani, if he gets past Nishida, is to face undisputed Super Bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25) [井上尚弥] next spring. He will however need to get past Nishida, and has his focus on this bout, and added "It's been a while since I've had a Japanese showdown, so I want to put my all into it. He's a strong opponent, so I'm going to go all out and challenge him," In fact we need to go back to April 2022 for the last time Nakatani faced a fellow Japanese fighter, when he defended his WBO Flyweight title against Ryota Yamauchi and before that his Japanese title win over Naoki Mochizuki in 2019. Regarding Inoue, Nakatani plans to watch Inoue’s upcoming bout, which will be in the US, in person stating "If the timing is right, I'd like to go and see it."
Although he will be the under-dog Nishida has made his reputation by upsetting the applecart through his career, scoring upset wins against Shohei Omori, Daigo Higa and Emmanuel Rodriguez, and stated "I don't care about the voices around me. I will fight as if this is my last fight. The belt will come with the victory. I will fight without thinking about it."
The event, which will be shown on Amazon Prime in Japan and is expected to get UK and US broadcasters, as well as a Latin American one, will be held a the Ariake Colosseum, and looks to be a mouth watering card, and a real spectacle of the Bantamweight division, showing off two of the best right now, and two of the best for the future.