Nakatani Defends WBC Bantamweight Title by Knockout

On October 14 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, local WBC bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani (29-0, 22 KOs) defended his title against Thai fighter Tasana Salapat (76-2, 53 KOs).

In July, Nakatani confidently defeated Vincent Astrolabio, knocking out the Filipino in the 1st round. In the same month, Salapat won a unanimous decision over Chinese fighter Gui Ming Li.

The fight ended in the 6th round when Nakatani knocked his opponent down twice—TKO in the 6th.

This marks Nakatani’s third consecutive knockout victory. Salapat last lost in 2018 to Takuma Inoue.

Fight Statistics

According to Compubox statistics, Junto Nakatani threw 286 punches and landed 114 (39.9%). Tasana Salapat threw 265 punches, with 34 landing (12.8%).

The champion landed 51 jabs out of 144 thrown (35.4%), while Salapat landed only 2 jabs out of 121 thrown (1.7%).

In terms of power punches, Nakatani connected with 63 out of 142 thrown (44.4%), while Salapat managed to land 32 out of 144 thrown (22.2%).

Nakatani landed 12 body shots, all of which were power punches. Salapat landed 23 body shots, with 21 of those being power punches.