These wanting to see WBC bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani soar proper right into a unification with IBF titlist Ryosuke Nishida after their in-ring face-off should be affected person, as The Ring’s Anson Wainwright stories that Nishida will meet obligatory challenger Jose “El Chapulin” Salas on Might twenty eighth in Tokyo.
The 22-year-old Salas (15-0, 10 KO) is brief on big-name expertise exterior of a past-it Aston Palicte, making for a substantial step up in school in opposition to Nishida (10-0, 2 KO). The latter’s breakout 2024 noticed him survive actually grotesque facial injury to topple division mainstay Emmanuel Rodriguez, then run over the outmatched Anuchai Donsua in September along with his first end since his 2019 professional debut.
The silver lining, per Wainwright, is that the unification continues to be on the desk “for the autumn.” Nakatani took no injury in final month’s mauling of David Cuellar, so he may theoretically squeeze in one other protection within the meantime. I’d like to see a separate unification with Seiya Tsutsumi or Yoshiki Takei, however contemplating Tsutsumi’s hellacious bout with Daigo Higa and Takei’s harm, it’s unlikely.
