Japanese champ Nakatani knocks out Astrolabio in first round

Vincent Astrolabio struggles to get back on his feet after getting knocked out by Junto Nakatani. | Screengrab from Top Rank’s video

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Vincent “Asero” Astrolabio suffered a devastating first-round knockout at the hands of reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani on July 20 at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

Nakatani needed only two minutes and 37 seconds to secure his 28th victory and 21st knockout while maintaining his unbeaten record and cementing his illustrious boxing career.

The three-division world champion quickly defeated top contender Astrolabio.

Nakatani landed a solid left straight to Astrolabio’s abdomen while feinting a jab. The powerful blow immediately sent Astrolabio down, grimacing in pain and unable to stand up and beat the referee’s count.

No one predicted the bout would end so quickly, considering Astrolabio’s toughness in his previous world title bout against Aussie Jason Moloney, which lasted the full 12 rounds last year.

READ: Astrolabio suffers first round loss to Japanese champion Nakatani

“The fight ended too early, I’m sorry about that. But I hope I can show a better fight in the future,” said a jubilant Nakatani during the post-fight interview in the ring. “The punch went smoothly, I thought that was going to be the one.”

Astrolabio, a native of General Santos City, absorbed his fifth loss, bringing his record to 19 wins with 14 knockouts.

Astrolabio’s trainer, Nonoy Neri, said they had a good defense at the start, but didn’t expect Nakatani to target Astrolabio’s body.

“Kaya niya eh, nag-umpisa na siya na pasukin na niya si Nakatani,” said Neri. “May mga time na natatamaan siya sa ulo, wala naman daw sakit, hindi mabigat ang suntok, may speed lang. Iba yung masakit at mabigat na suntok. Dun lang siya tinamaan sa tiyan.”

Back to zero

Neri added that they would return to the drawing board, acknowledging that they needed to train harder and learn a painful lesson from this fight.

He reiterated that they didn’t leave a single stone unturned during their training camp. It was just the body shot that ended Astrolabio’s world title-dream.

“May pumasok lang talaga na suntok sa tiyan. Di namin akalain, hindi naman siya nasaktan eh,” Neri added.

Before the knockout, Astrolabio landed heavy blows on Nakatani. However, the Japanese champion stayed composed and delivered a perfect body shot to end the fight. /clorenciana