Vincent Astrolabio (left) and Junto Nakatani (right) with WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, holding the WBC world title at stake. | Photo from Nakatani’s Twitter page
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The unified World Boxing Organization (WBO) and World Boxing Council (WBC) world bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani and Filipino challenger Vincent “Asero” Astrolabio faced off at the final press conference ahead of their highly anticipated world title showdown scheduled for Saturday, July 20 in Kokugikan, Japan.
Nakatani, a three-division world champion, and Astrolabio led the press conference on Thursday, July 18, just before their official weigh-in.
The 26-year-old Nakatani will defend his WBC world title against Astrolabio, who is the No. 1 contender for Nakatani’s title.
This marks Astrolabio’s second world title bout following his close defeat to Australian Jason Moloney last year for the WBO world bantamweight title via majority decision.
Nonoy Neri, Astrolabio’s trainer, expressed confidence during the press conference, stating that his prized boxer is in peak condition and is determined to bring the world title home to the Philippines.
“Condition na, amin na itong pinaghandaan, hindi kami pumunta dito para matalo, lahat ng training namin ginawa na namin, iuuwi namin ang belt sa pilipinas,” said Neri during the press conference.
For Astrolabio, this second world title opportunity is more than a personal goal; it’s a chance to make his supporters proud and to represent his country.
“I will fight for those who support me, for my family, and above all, for my country.”
Astrolabio enters the fight as a heavy underdog. The 27-year-old General Santos City native boasts 19 wins, including 14 knockouts, with four defeats, while Nakatani maintains an impressive undefeated record of 27-0 with 20 knockouts.
Nakatani and Astrolabio’s bout is part of a triple-header world title showdown promoted by Teiken Promotions. The event also features Jonathan Rodriguez against Kosei Tanaka for the WBO world super flyweight title and the WBO world flyweight bout between Anthony Olascuaga and Riku Kano.
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