“That’s a great fight. I feel like whoever lands the first big punch will become the winner,” Rodriguez said to Boxing News.
The skepticism surrounding Junto Nakatani is at an all-time high following his 122-pound debut against Sebastian Hernandez in December. He was outlanded 179 to 155 in the final six rounds and looked physically “human” for the first time.
Moving to super bantamweight seemed to rob Nakatani of the fluid, giant-among-men movement he had at 118. He was a stationary target for Hernandez’s body attack.
Hernandez showed that if you bully Nakatani and force him into a phone booth, he abandons his height advantage and tries to out-muscle people, which plays right into Naoya Inoue’s hands.
When Bam says “whoever lands first wins,” he’s likely looking at Nakatani’s specific anatomical advantages rather than his recent form. Even on a bad night, Nakatani has that eraser power. His punches are whipping and long. If Inoue gets reckless trying to close the distance, he could walk into a shot he never sees.
Inoue is highly technical and fast, but Nakatani is a natural southpaw who knows how to use his lead hand to blind opponents.
If Nakatani fights the way he did in December, flat-footed and willing to trade, Inoue will likely stop him within six rounds.
Inoue, 33, is arguably the best body puncher in boxing, and Hernandez already provided the roadmap for how to tenderize Nakatani’s midsection.
Bam is giving Nakatani the puncher’s chance respect, but unless Nakatani was just having a bad night or struggling with a one-time weight acclimation issue, he looks a step behind “The Monster” in every technical category.
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