World Boxing Council bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani of M.T Boxing Gym knocked out top-ranked challenger Vincent Astrolabio of the Philippines in the first round to retain the title in Tokyo.

It was the 26-year-old Nakatani’s first successful defense of the title he captured from Alexandro Santiago of Mexico with a sixth-round technical knockout for his third world title in as many different weight classes last February.

The KO of the scheduled 12-rounder at the Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Arena came 2 minutes and 37 seconds into the round when the left-handed Nakatani landed a straight left to the body after throwing a right jab, which floored Astrolabio.

While Astrolabio struggled to his feet once, he fell down to the canvas again due apparently to a pain, and the referee counted him out.

After the fight, Nakatani said, ‘’I think that was a little too fast. I will try hard to continue to show a good performance. I think my fans hope to watch me have a title unification bout (with the champions of the three other major sanctioning bodies). What do you think?’’

The fight was held as the main event of the extravaganza dubbed ‘’Prime Video Presents Live Boxing 9.’’

Nakatani extended his unbeaten streak to 28 wins, including 21 KOs, whereas the 27-year-old Astrolabio impaired to a 19-5 win-loss record with 14 KOs.