Junto Nakatani vs David Cuellar Preview Feb. 24th, 2025
Unbeaten WBC Bantamweight champion and former WBO Flyweight and Super Flyweight Champion Junto Nakatani of Japan defends his belt for the third time when he takes on undefeated David Cuellar of Mexico this Monday, Feb. 22nd. The 12-rounder from Tokyo can be seen live in America on ESPN+ with the card getting underway at about 3 am ET and fans in the UK and Ireland can catch it on Sky Sports Action at 8 am. Nakatani won the bantamweight title by stopping Alexandro Santiago in the sixth round last February to win a world title in a third weight division. He then defended it against Vincent Astrolabio in July when he stopped him in 157 seconds and and halted Petch CP Freshmart in the sixth round in his last outing in October. Cuellar last saw action in May when he beat Jose Velasquez by a 10-round unanimous decision.
Nakatani vs Cuellar Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- David Cuellar +550
- Junto Nakatani -900
My Pick
The 27-year-old Nakatani is a southpaw who already boasts a perfect record of 29-0 with 22 Ko’s and measures 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 68.5-inch reach. He’s boxed 143 rounds since making his pro debut in 2015 and won the vacant Japanese Flyweight title in 2019 when he stopped Naoki Mochizuki in the ninth round. The champion has displayed plenty of power up until now with a current knockout ratio of 76 per cent and has stopped 10 of his last 12 opponents.
He halted former world champion Milan Melindo of the Philippines in the sixth round in October, 2019 and then won the the vacant WBO Flyweight Title in November, 2020 with an eighth-round stoppage over Giemel Magramo. He stopped Angel Acosta in the fourth round in his first defence and then halted Ryota Yamauchi in eight rounds before moving up in weight against Francisco Rodriguez in November, 2022 and taking a 10-round unanimous decision.
Nakatani then stopped Andrew Moloney in May, 2023 for the vacant WBO Super Flyweight Title with what most experts considered to be the knockout of the year. As a pro, Nakatani is already considered to be one of the most successful Japanese boxers in history with world title belts in three weight divisions and combines speed, ring intelligence and power.
As for the 23-year-old Cuellar, he 135 rounds of experience under his belt since turning pro as a teenager in 2017. He carries around a perfect record of 28-0 with 18 Ko’s and also has good power in his fists as 64.3 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. He’s gone the distance in his last two fights though and in three of his past five. He measures just over 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 67.5-inch wingspan which means he’s a half-an-inch taller than Nakatani and gives up a minimal inch in reach.
Cuellar will be taking a big step up in class this weekend and will also be fighting outside of Mexico for the first time. He won the vacant WBC Youth Silver Super Flyweight Title in 2021 when he stopped Karim Arce Lugo in the ninth round and defended it against former world champion Moises Fuentes via a sixth-round KO. Cuellar added the WBC International Super Flyweight Belt in 2022 when he halted veteran Gilberto Pedroza in the fourth round. He also has wins over Luis Concepcion and Hector Robles.
Prediction…
Cuellar is just 23 years old with plenty of pro experience but is taking a step up in class and fighting outside of his homeland for the first time. He’s got fine skills, decent power and a solid chin. Nakatani has fought tougher opposition, is boxing at home and possesses quite a bit more power. This could be a close and very interesting contest for the first few rounds but I’m expecting Nakatani to outbox Cuellar and quite possibly stop him.
Nakatani’s power and skills should do the trick.
Play: Nakatani -900 @ BetOnline.ag
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David Cuellar betting • Junto Nakatani betting