Boxer Ryosuke Nishida was forced to end his title fight against Junto Nakatani prematurely due to a severely swollen eye.
The match, held in Tokyo, saw Nishida defend his IBF bantamweight belt against WBA champion Nakatani, with both titles on the line for unification.
However, after only six rounds, Nakatani`s powerful left hands and uppercuts inflicted significant damage on Nishida.
By the midpoint of the fight, Nishida`s eye was so badly swollen that it was completely closed, prompting the ringside doctor to call a halt to the contest.
Three-weight world champion Nakatani commented on his victory, saying, “Ever since I was at flyweight, I wanted to unify the titles. Finally at bantamweight, I received my first opportunity and I am very happy with the result.”
Japan`s unified super-bantamweight star Naoya Inoue was ringside, observing Nakatani`s dominant performance.
This has led to discussions about a potential massive showdown between the two highly-rated Japanese boxers in the future.
Nakatani sent a message to Inoue, stating, “I am coming, so please stick around for me."
Inoue`s promoter, Bob Arum, had previously suggested that a potential fight between Inoue and Nakatani, possibly scheduled for May 2026, could rival the scale of major bouts like Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford.
Arum remarked, “A lot of people say Nakatani is the guy that could beat Inoue. That’s why it’s such a big fight. That’s a real, real fight.”
He further added, "People who really know and follow those lower weight divisions, they think that’s as interesting a fight, if not more so, than Canelo and Crawford. And it’ll be the biggest fight ever in the history of Japan.”
Neville Whittle 
Oliver Croft