Those eager to see WBC bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani jump right into a unification with IBF titlist Ryosuke Nishida after their in-ring face-off will have to be patient, as The Ring’s Anson Wainwright reports that Nishida will meet mandatory challenger Jose “El Chapulin” Salas on May 28th in Tokyo.
The 22-year-old Salas (15-0, 10 KO) is short on big-name experience outside of a past-it Aston Palicte, making for a considerable step up in class against Nishida (10-0, 2 KO). The latter’s breakout 2024 saw him survive truly grotesque facial damage to topple division mainstay Emmanuel Rodriguez, then run over the outmatched Anuchai Donsua in September with his first finish since his 2019 pro debut.
The silver lining, per Wainwright, is that the unification is still on the table “for the fall.” Nakatani took no damage in last month’s mauling of David Cuellar, so he could theoretically squeeze in another defense in the meantime. I’d love to see a separate unification with Seiya Tsutsumi or Yoshiki Takei, but considering Tsutsumi’s hellacious bout with Daigo Higa and Takei’s injury, it’s unlikely.
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