By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten Shuichiro Yoshino of Japan will be putting his WBO Asia Pacific Lightweight Title on the line this Tuesday, November 1st when he takes on fellow countryman Masayoshi Nakatani. The 12-rounder from the Saitama Super Arena can be seen in America on ESPN+ with most other nations catching the action on DAZN at 7:30 am ET.
Nakatani last fought in June when he stopped Harmonito Dela Torre in just 76 seconds. Yoshino was last in action in April when he beat Masayuki Ito in the 11th round via a technical decision to defend his Asia Pacific, and Oriental and Pacific Lightweight Titles.
Most boxing fans had never heard of the 33-year-old Nakatani until he gave Teofimo Lopez all he could handle in 2019 when he dropped a 12-round unanimous decision to him. He then surprised fans again by stopping Felix Verdejo in the ninth round in December, 2020 to win the vacant WBO Inter-Continental Lightweight Title. He was brought back to earth when Vasyl Lomachenko stopped him in the ninth round in June of last year however.
The native of Osaka has boxed 150 rounds since making his pro debut in 2011 and since then has also won the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation Lightweight Championship, which he won in January, 2014 with a majority decision over Yoshitaka Kato and successfully defended it 11 times. Nakatani steps into the squared circle with a fine mark of 20-2 with 14 Ko’s. However, unless you hail from his part of the world you won’t recognize any of his opponents other than Lopez. Verdejo and Lomachenko.
Nakatani is a tough boxer though with a decent chin and better-than-average power with a current knockout ratio of 63.6 per cent and had stopped four straight opponents and seven of last eight before running into Lopez. Nakatani stands close to six-feet tall with a reach of 71 inches. Like most Japanese boxers, he’s as tough as nails and has enough power in his fists to be a handful for anybody.
Yoshino is a 31-year-old who enters the fight with a perfect record of 15-0 with 11 Ko’s. He’s boxed 81 rounds since turning pro in 2011 following his amateur career. He stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with an unlisted reach which means he gives up 2-5-inches in height to Nakatani. Yoshino has more than enough power on his punches with a current knockout ratio of 73.3 per cent. Since turning pro he’s also captured the Japanese Lightweight Title in 2017 and has defended it seven times.
Prediction…
This is another fight that has the potential to be a firefight as both boxers have plenty of power. Nakatani is slightly older and taller and has more experience at the world level with his bouts against Felix Verdejo, Teofimo Lopez and Vasyl Lomachenko. Since this is a close bout, that experience could be enough to see Nakatani come out on top here as long as he can handle Yoshino’s power.
