MANILA, Philippines – Japanese star Junto Nakatani hardly broke a sweat in disposing of Filipino challenger Vincent Astrolabio to defend the World Boxing Council bantamweight championship Saturday evening at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.
The unbeaten Nakatani (now 28-0, with 21 KOs) needed just over two minutes in the opening round to take out Astrolabio. And all it took was a crushing left straight to the body that sent Astrolabio down on all fours, grimacing in pain.
DONE IN ROUND 1??#NakataniAstrolabio | @BoxerJunto pic.twitter.com/6uQ891CHm2
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) July 20, 2024
The Filipino tried to get up and beat the count, his hands on his beltline. But he immediately went down again, forcing the referee to wave off the bout.
The official time of the stoppage was 2:37 of the first round.
Even Nakatani admitted getting surprised by the fight’s quick ending.
“I thought this was going to be a long fight,” the champion said through an interpreter on the ring afterwards. “Luckily I landed that punch early to end the fight.”
Astrolabio, who also lost his first shot at a world title last year against Jason Maloney for the WBO version of the crown, fell to 19-5 (14 KOs).