Undefeated World Boxing Organization flyweight champion Junto Nakatani of M.T Boxing Gym, utilizing his superior size, technique and punching power to his advantage, stopped his second-ranked challenger Ryota Yamauchi of Kadoebi Boxing Gym in the eighth round on Apr. 9 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama Prefecture.

The technical knockout of the scheduled 12-rounder came 2 minutes and 20 seconds into the round when the referee saw enough and stopped the one-sided bout.

The fight served as the chief supporting card for the title unification match between World Boxing Association ‘’super’’ middleweight champion Ryota Murata of Teiken Boxing Gym and International Boxing Federation kingpin Gennadiy Gennadyevich Golovkin of Kazakhstan, popularly known as GGG.

After the fight, southpaw Nakatani said, ‘’I am happy that I was able to fight for long rounds. I learned a lot because I tried various things. I also was extra careful because Mr. Yamauchi possesses a big punch. My future target is to join the pound-for-pound rankings.’’

It was the 24-year-old Nakatani’s second defense of the title he won in November 2020. He successfully defended the title last September by stopping Angel Acosta of Puerto Rico.

Nakatani has a record of 23 straight wins, including 18 KOs, while Yamauchi, 27, now has an 8-2 win-loss tally with seven KOs.