As Junto Nakatani prepared for this weekend's defense of his WBC bantamweight title against Vincent Astrolabio in Tokyo, Japan, the bulk of his preparation came stateside. Since 2012, Nakatani has made Los Angeles his de facto training camp.
This is a fighter who was born in Japan, but molded in Southern California.
For this particular contest, he arrived in L.A. on May 22nd, and then left for his home country on July 2. Throughout the years, Nakatani and his long-time trainer, Rudy Hernandez, would train in various gyms in the area from the Maywood Boxing Club to the Panda Boxing Gym. But for the past couple of camps they have been situated at Knockouts Boxing in South Gate, a working class suburb which is about 15 minutes from downtown Los Angeles.
Rudy Hernandez
For Nakatani these trips to America have shaped him into a well-rounded boxer. The lanky southpaw has become more adept at fighting at close range and evolving into a sharper counter-puncher. His shots are delivered with extraordinary torque and momentum. Over time he has become a versatile craftsmen as he has honed his skills against a wide variety of boxers in the area. One thing this region does not lack is quality sparring.
Speaking through Yuriko Miyata, Nakatani told SNAC.com that the biggest difference between gyms in Japan and the ones in the Los Angeles is, "the amount of sparring, the variety." He added, "They're more versatile styles here from where I was raised."
When he first came out here to train, he was just a young boy. Now, Nakatani sits as a three-time world champion. There's no doubt that the overseas schooling he received shaped him as a boxer. You can see his buergeoning confidence as a young man, but he still possesses the modesty that is so common with Japanese boxers.
Rudy Hernandez
"It makes me very confident to be here to train with Rudy," said Nakatani on the morning of June 26, as he was wrapping his hands for his day's work. "Rudy gives me a lot of ideas and teaches me."
Hernandez has said for a few years that Nakatani was the best boxer he had ever worked with -- including his own brother, Genaro. What sets him apart according to the old-school trainer is his willingness to listen and be compliant.
When asked about Nakatani's development in recent years, Hernandez stated, "He's always had confidence. He's always been a very hard working guy. But it's the experience as a fighter. He's a guy that comes to the gym always ready to work."
As is custom, Nakatani doesn't just arrive to work, he arrives early. He will usually arrive at around 9 am, for 9:30 training sessions. If he's on time, he's late.
Steve Kim
Hernandez explained, "You have to understand where he comes from. He's Japanese. In Japan to be late is when you're there around 10 minutes early."
These are very much business trips for Nakatani, who comes to America with his brother. But that doesn't mean he doesn't enjoy his time out here. He will spend time at the beach to get away from the grind. "I mostly rest," explained Nakatani, "once in awhile I'll get on social media." But that isn't to mean he doesn't enjoy his time out here. To the contrary.
"He doesn't want to leave, he wants to stay here now," said Hernandez. When he reminded Junto and his brother, Riyoto, that they would be leaving within a week back to 'the Land of the Rising Sun', he got a rather melancholy response. "They're comfortable, here."
Nakatani's stock is like Apple in the early 2000's. Not only has he added championship belts to his trophy case, Nakatani won 'Knockout of the Year' honors for his highlight reel stoppage of Andrew Moloney in 2023. Now his name now sits on Ring Magazine's pound-for-pound list (at number 10). Nakatani is very much considered an elite prizefighter at this juncture.
Naoki Fukuda
And while he's not Naoya Inoue in terms of popularity, on this particular morning there were members of the Japanese media to observe his workout.
"It's great that people are beginning to acknowledge and know him," said the tough-to-please, Hernandez. "I know a few people that don't want to fight him -- and I don't blame them because I think that if I had these other fighters, I probably wouldn't want to fight against Junto, either."
Should Nakatani get past the rugged Astrolabia, there is some talk of him fighting in the States in the fall on a Top Rank/ESPN broadcast. Regardless, when his next bout is secured, he'll be back out here.
"Of course,'' said Nakatani, who is the top rated bantamweight by Ring Magazine. "Every time I come here I get something new. I learn something important."
3KR
Here's this week's episode of the '3 Knockdown Rule' with Mario Lopez and yours truly:
THE 3 KNOCKDOWN RULE EPISODE 52 | 'BOOTS' IN PHILLY | LOST VEGAS
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3knockdownrule - Listen on YouTube, Spotify - Linktree
FINAL FLURRIES
This Friday on DAZN, welterweight Alexis Rocha makes his return against Santiago Dominguez. That will be part of a card put together by Golden Boy Promotions...The ESPN+ broadcast of the Nakatani-Astrolabio card will begin at 5 am, ET/2 am, PT....Also on this show is a showdown between Kosei Tanaka and Johnathan Rodriguez for the WBO jr. bantamweight title. While Nakatani's training stablemate, Anthony Olascuaga challenges Riku Kanu for the vacant WBO flyweight title. Rounding out the show is Tenshin Nasukawa....Naoya Inoue will defend his undisputed jr. featherweight championship against TJ Doheny on September 3 in Tokyo...I can be reached at k9kim@yahoo.com.....
