JUNTO NAKATANI vs ANGEL ACOSTA || HIGHLIGHTS

Nakatani was scheduled to make his first title defense against the former WBO light flyweight champion Ángel Acosta on May 29, 2021, in his native Japan. Increasingly strict COVID-19 regulations imposed by the Japanese government and international travel issues forced the postponement of the bout, with Nakatani’s management tentatively announcing the fight for late May or early June. On May 26, 2021, WBO scheduled a June 1st purse bid with a minimum offer of $80,000. That purse bid was canceled on June 2, 2021, as an agreement was made that Nakatani’s promoter, Teiken Promotions, would handle the negotiations. The fight was scheduled for September 10, 2021, in Tucson, Arizona. Nakatani won the fight by a fourth-round technical knockout. Nakatani broke Acosta’s nose in the opening round of the bout, and both the referee and the ringside physician warned Acosta that the fight would be stopped if his nose suffered more damage. The fight was finally stopped near the end of the fourth round, at the 2:28 minute mark