Boxing
Junto Nakatani reaffirms pound-for-pound dream as Japanese star eyes generational Naoya Inoue clash
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Junto Nakatani reaffirmed his goal to face Naoya Inoue and become the "number one" pound-for-pound champion after a taut victory over Sebastian Hernandez.
'Big Bang', a three-weight world champion, made the step-up to the super-bantamweight division in pursuit of his fellow Japanese star at The Ring V: Night of the Samurai.
But while his countryman outclassed Alan Picasso in a relatively comfortable rout in the main event, Nakatani was taken into deep waters by a difficult opponent.
A unanimous decision that included a shock 118-110 scorecard masked the struggles the star faced over the championship rounds, as Hernandez piled on the pressure.
Speaking afterwards however, Nakatani doubled down on his desire to face Inoue - possibly in a Tokyo Dome mega-fight homecoming next May - while addressing his form.
“My goal is to become number one world champion in the pound-for-pound rankings so that’s the reason I have moved up to this weight class,” he was subsequently quoted.
"If I’m not able to fight [him], I will [be] sad [but] my goal and aim will not be swayed by whatever he decides to do. I’d like to stay focused on what I want to achieve in my career."
Reflecting on his performance against Hernandez, Nakatani added that he was gratetful for the experience, stating: "It was tough but I managed to fight throughout twelve rounds.
“It was my first time up in a heavier class, It was good for my experience and it will be really good for the future of my career. I feel like this is the real fight of this weight class.
"I have something burning in my heart so you can please wait to see that. I felt a lot of endurance from the opponent. If it was at bantamweight I could have finished him earlier."
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