Nakatani knocks out Astrolabio in first round, Olascuaga wins WBO title

Junto Nakatani made quick work of Vincent Astrolabio to retain his title.

Junto Nakatani took care of Vincent Astrolabio easily today in Tokyo, stopping the Filipino challenger in the first round to retain his WBC bantamweight title.

Nakatani (28-0, 21 KO) put Astrolabio away with a nasty body shot, with the official time of the stoppage coming at 2:37 of the first round.

Here’s a look at the KO shot:

The 26-year-old Nakatani has become a pound-for-pound notable with world titles in three divisions already, and he could have an eye on a fourth by the end of this year or sometime in 2025, and a potential Japanese mega-fight with Naoya Inoue, undisputed champion one division up, may await.

Astrolabio falls to 19-5 (14 KO) with the loss, and is 0-2 in world title fights.

On the undercard, Anthony Olascuaga (7-1, 5 KO) stopped Riku Kano (22-5-2, 11 KO) in the third round to win the vacant WBO flyweight title. The American has found a real career for himself in Japan after going over as a short-notice opponent for Kenshiro Teraji in 2023, and now has his first world title in impressive fashion.

Tenshin Nasukawa improved to 4-0 (2 KO) with a third round TKO win over Jonathan Rodriguez (17-3-1, 7 KO). Nasukawa also can’t be ignored as a potential Inoue opponent; he’s inexperienced in boxing, but he’s a major box office attraction and serious about his boxing career.