Junto Nakatani’s trainer Rudy Hernandez insists he is stuck with the task at hand as tempting as it is. with the expectation of being the headliner in a sporting event that will attract the attention of the nation
It was officially announced last week that Nakatani, the unbeaten three-division titleholder, 29-0 (22 KO), will defend his WBC bantamweight belt against Mexico’s David Cuellar, 28-0 ( 18 KO) on February 24 in Tokyo.
Some people might call this fight. The WBC’s No. 6 ranked contender will be fighting Nakatani in 12 rounds as scheduled for the first time. As Nakatani heads into the showdown as planned with the unbeaten and unquestioned Super. Bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue, around the end of 2025
“We never thought like this. ‘We understand,’” Hernandez said. “Junto takes great pride in being world champion and[the Cuellar fight]is a title defense for which he is fully prepared because everyone wants to be world champion. He knows he has a skilled fighter who can knock him out well. We don’t take anyone lightly.”
Nakatani’s US promoter Bob Arum told BoxingScene on Monday that It’s possible Nakatani will appear on the same late spring card planned for May or June in Las Vegas. And it is expected to be led by Inoue’s 122-pound title defense against Mexico’s Alan David Picasso, the WBC’s top contender.
Inoue returns to the ring for the first time on January 24 in Tokyo. defending his belt in a postponed match against IBF mandatory challenger Sam Goodman.
Arum said Monday that it is possible Inoue will fight a third time in 2025 in Saudi Arabia against his WBA challenger Murodjon “MJ” Akhmadaliev, as long as no unexpected injuries occur.
After that, in late 2025 or early 2026, Nakatani’s fight will come, Aram said.
“We will be ready for anyone and whoever shows up,” Hernandez said.
The trainer knew that finding an opponent for Nakatani would not be easy. Due to the champion’s enormous skills.
“No one wants to fight Junto. They are either too expensive or they don’t want to take the risk,” Hernandez said. “We want to fight. Junto always trains and is ready. When the promoter called and said we had a fight. we will go there If I could choose We’ll probably fight Naoya. Inoue is next.”
Naktani arrived for training in Los Angeles on January 7.
“The progress we are making is leading us to the Inoue fight,” Hernandez said. “In my opinion (Inoue) is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. If that fight happens My hope is that we will win and win big so that Junto will be seen as what he should be – one of the great Japanese fighters of all time.
“He is already a three-division champion. And from what I can see, we’ll see the best Junto we’ve ever seen in 2025 with the battles lined up the way they are.”
Until then, Hernandez points to Bruno Surace’s recent knockout of super middleweight title challenger Jaime Munguia as proof of why the focus needs to be on. The next fighter on the schedule
“I know there is talk about all of this. But our focus is David Cuellar,” Hernandez said. “My man never underestimates you. Because I know that the fighters ‘Busy’ can be the person who beats you up. So we have to work and prepare. Because if we don’t pass Cuellar We will never reach Inoue.”
