Junto Nakatani, many fans feel, is standing outside ‘The Monster’s door. The unbeaten knockout phenom from Mie Prefecture taking on the biggest boxing name in Japan is a dream matchup fans would die to see. But is he really ready to face the P4P best? Nakatani and supporters might have to do some searching for the answers. The three-division champion, in the meantime, has to prepare himself for the first title defense. He faces the steely Filipino Vincent Astrolabio at Tokyo’s Kokugikan Sumo Arena on Saturday, July 20.

Junto Nakatani rides on the back of his 27th career victory. He defeated Alexandro Santiago to become WBC’s bantamweight champion on February 24 this year. Astrolabio, on the other hand, hopes to finally turn around his luck and win the first world title after the setback against Jason Moloney for the vacant WBO title. Apart from the Nakatani-Astrolabio championship fight, the card features two other title bouts.

Junto Nakatani vs. Vincent Astrolabio: Measuring Up: Key Stats and Records

It may not be to precise details, but against the shorter Alexandro Santiago or Argi Cortes, Junto Nakatani is going to face off against a fighter who matches his build. Standing against 5 feet and seven-and-a-half inches or 172 centimeters, the General Santos City-born ‘Asero’ comes in at 5 feet and 5 inches or 165 centimeters.

Then again, the 26-year-old southpaw enjoys a hand reach of 67 inches or 170 centimeters. Astrolabio’s reach, on the other hand, read sixty-five-and-a-half inches, or 166 centimeters. The challenger turned 27 on April 1 this year.

Now onto record. Junto Nakatani, like his top dog colleague Naoya Inoue, remains an unbeaten warrior. His record of 27 fights with 20 knockouts remains intact. The Mexican Argo Cortes managed to take him the distance. But by February, against Santiago, the Japanese champion was back to his trademark style of winning. However, his magic will face a real-time test when it goes against another heavy-hitter like Vincent Astrolabio.

He suffered his fourth defeat last May. But fans shouldn’t forget that it was a close fight that eventually slipped from his hands on the scorecards. However, he was back in the saddle by August and had defeated the Thai fighter Nawaphon Kaikanha. More over his knockout-to-win rate of 73.68% is not a far away from Nakatani’s 74.7%.

Therefore, to many fans, both boxers might appear on an equal footing as far as specifics go. However, with a better record and the high-profile wins that he scored, Junto Nakatani might enjoy an upper hand in the bookkeepers’ rolls.

Junto Nakatani vs. Vincent Astrolabio: Fight prediction: Who will prevail?

Interestingly, for the Nakatani-Astrolabio fight, the hovering discussion is not about who will win. It is rather about when the Japanese phenom will pack up the Filipino challenger and go home. Strictly per the records, in the last ten fights, barring the Andrew Moloney fight, which was apparently the Ring magazine’s ‘Knockout of the Year,’ most of Nakatani’s stoppage happened within the first ten rounds. So will ‘Asero’ follow the other’s suit going down with the first quarter of rounds or put up a brave fight and take the champion to the distance?

It’s worth noting that the Filipino has been knocked down before in his career. Though he knocked down Kaikanha, he received punishing blows from the Thai fighter. Fans often highlight the hallmark of his career thus far—the 2022 win over legend Guillermo Rigondeaux. But they tend to forget that the Cuban magician was a 41-year-old man walking towards the twilight years of his golden career.

Taking advantage of his height and reach, Junto Nakatani may try to control the control and the pace of the fight. Many in fact try to find a lot of similarities between his and compatriot Naoya Inoue’s fighting style; while the finer details might be open to debates, the fact remains that Ring magazine’s pound-for-pound tenth-best boxer walks in tandem with the 2nd-best boxer, delivering powerful shots with precision and speed.

But whatever is said and done, the match remains critical for both. A win would fulfill Vincent Astrolabio’s dream of becoming a world champion for the first time. On the other hand, the title defense would make Junto Nakatani’s argument to jump over another division for the ultimate face-off against fellow Japanese icon Naoya Inoue a bit stronger. Otherwise, he might as well face ‘The Monster’s younger brother Takuma Inoue for title unification.

What’s your take? Astrolabio might sound like an easy win for Nakatani? So, who do you prefer to see the latter go against in the next outing?