Nakatani vs Cortes

Who won Nakatani vs Cortes?

Junto Nakatani beat Argi Cortes by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest on Monday, September 18th, 2023, at Ariake Arena, Koto-Ku.

The scorecards were announced as 118-107, 119-106, 119-106 in favor of winner Junto Nakatani.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Super Flyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 115 pounds (8.2 stone or 52.2 kg).

This contest was for the WBO super flyweight championship of the world.

This fight appeared on the undercard of Kenshiro Teraji beating Hekkie Budler for the WBA Super World Light Flyweight, WBC World Light Flyweight and The Ring Junior Flyweight championship. Also on the undercard Giemel Magramo was overcome by Anthony Olascuaga.

Nakatani vs Cortes stats

Back in September 2023, Junto Nakatani stepped into the ring with an undefeated record of 25 wins, zero losses, and 0 draws.

Argi Cortes made his way to the ring with a record of 25 wins, 3 losses and 2 draws.

Junto Nakatani was the younger man by 3 years, at 25 years old.

Nakatani had a height advantage of 3 inches over Cortes. That also extended to a 3-inch reach advantage.

Junto Nakatani fought out of the southpaw stance, while Argi Cortes was an orthodox fighter.

Nakatani was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 5 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2015, 1 year later than Cortes, whose first professional fight was in 2014. He had fought 51 fewer professional rounds, totaling 143 compared to Cortes' 194.

Argi Cortes was ranked number 6 by the WBO in the 115lb division.

Nakatani vs Cortes form

Nakatani remained undefeated as a professional, stopping 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had defeated Andrew Moloney on May 20, 2023, by knockout in the 12th round in their WBO World Junior Bantamweight championship fight at MGM Grand, Las Vegas, United States.

Prior to that, he had defeated Francisco Rodriguez Jr on November 1, 2022, by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Ryota Yamauchi on April 9, 2022, by technical knockout in the 8th round in their WBO World Flyweight championship fight at Super Arena, Saitama.

Before that, he had won against Angel Acosta on September 10, 2021, by technical knockout in the 4th round in their WBO World Flyweight championship fight at Tucson, Arizona, United States.

He had beaten Giemel Magramo on November 6, 2020, by knockout in the 8th round in their WBO World Flyweight championship fight at Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan.

Activity check

Nakatani's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 10 months and 12 days, which means he had been fighting approximately every 6 months and 28 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 42 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 8.4 rounds on average.

What time did Nakatani vs Cortes start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 10:00 AM UTC at Ariake Arena, Koto-Ku, Japan, which was 6:00 AM EST or 3:00 AM PST on the West Coast of America, or 11:00 AM BST in the UK.

Who broadcast Nakatani vs Cortes?

The fight was broadcast in the United States by ESPN+.

What were the odds on Nakatani vs Cortes?

Junto Nakatani was a 1/22 (-2000) favorite going into the contest, while Argi Cortes made his way into the ring at 10/1 (+1000) with oddsmakers.