Five of the six title fight participants did their job at the scales.
Junto Nakatani is set for the first defense of his WBC bantamweight title. The 26-year-old southpaw was 117 ¼ pounds, while mandatory challenger Vincent Astrolabio was 117 ½ pounds.
Their scheduled 12-round bout headlines a title fight tripleheader Saturday from the famed Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.
Nakatani (27-0, 20 knockouts) is The Ring’s No. 1-rated bantamweight and No. 10 pound-for-pound fighter. He became a three-division titlist after a sixth-round knockout of Alexandro Santiago (28-4-5, 14 KOs) on Feb. 24 at this very venue.
Astrolabio (19-4, 14 KOs) makes his second attempt at a major belt. The 27-year-old from General Santos City, Philippines fell just short versus Jason Moloney (27-3, 19 KOs) last May in Stockton, California. He re-entered the mix with an 11th round stoppage of Nawaphon Khaikanha (60-4-1, 50 KOs) last Aug. 26 in Bangkok. Their bout was a WBC title eliminator, which made Astrolabio the mandatory challenger to Nakatani’s belt.
Jonathan Rodriguez’s hope for a second title shot ended at Friday’s weigh-in.
His bout versus WBO 115-pound titlist Kosei Tanaka (20-1, 11 KOs) will still move forward. Rodriguez (25-2-1, 17 KOs), No. 9 at 115, failed spectacularly to make weight. The 29-year-old from San Luis Potosi was a massive 121 ¾ pounds, nearly seven pounds above the limit.
Tanaka (20-1, 11 KOs) was 114.9 pounds on the first try. The 29-year-old from Nagoya became a four-division titlist in a 12-round win over Christian Bacasegua. Their bout took place on the Feb. 24 Nakatani-Santiago card. Tanaka, No. 4 at 115, also won belts at strawweight, junior flyweight and flyweight.
Riku Kano and Anthony Olascuaga were both under the 112-pound flyweight limit for their vacant WBO title fight.
Hyogo’s Kano (22-4-2, 11 KOs) was 111 ¾ pounds ahead of his first career title bid. The 26-year-old southpaw is unbeaten in his last ten starts to make it to this point.
Olascuaga (6-1, 4 KOs) aims to win his first belt in his second title fight. The 25-year-old from Los Angeles was 111 ¼ pounds for the occasion.
His previous attempt came in a ninth-round knockout to then Ring/WBC/WBA 108-pound champ Kenshiro Teraji (23-1, 14 KOs) last April 8. Olascuaga took the bout on barely one week’s notice. He rebound with a seventh-round knockout of Giemel Magramo last Sept. 23. Both fights took place at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) previously held the WBO 115-pound title. He vacated that belt and the IBF title to move back up to 115, where he is the Ring/WBC champ.
All three title bouts will air live on ESPN+, beginning at 5:00 a.m. ET/2:00 a.m. PT.
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