Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Masayoshi Nakatani
Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Masayoshi Nakatani was a lightweight professional boxing match contested between three-division former unified lightweight world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko, and lightweight contender Masayoshi Nakatani. The bout took place on June 26, 2021, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada.[1] Lomachenko won the fight by ninth-round technical knockout.[2]
| Date | June 26, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lomachenko wins via 9th-round TKO | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
The pair share a common loss to Teófimo López. Lomachenko lost his unified titles to the American in October 2020, while Nakatani had also lost a unanimous decision to López in July 2019.[3] Lomachenko cited that he "still wanted to be undisputed lightweight champion". However, López declined to give Lomachenko a rematch, explaining that “everybody [in Lomachenko’s camp] was being a dick to me, my father. He [Lomachenko] didn’t want to put a rematch clause in our contract."[4] Speaking on why he chose Nakatani as his next opponent, Lomachenko said "I want to compare myself with this guy, he was close with [López] in their fight."[5]
Nakatani fought back from his loss to López, beating Félix Verdejo via technical knockout, after being dropped for the first time in his professional career.[6]
Lomachenko agreed to a comeback fight against Nakatani in Las Vegas.[7] The bout was aired on ESPN+ in the US[8] and Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland.[9] It went head to head with Gervonta Davis' light welterweight clash with Mario Barrios on Showtime PPV in Atlanta, Georgia taking place on the same night.[10] The fight was only the second time in Lomachenko's professional career that a world title was not on the line.[11]
Fight details
Lomachenko reasserted himself as one of the best at lightweight, as the former pound-for-pound star dropped Nakatani in the fifth, before stopping him in round nine. CompuBox stats show that Lomachenko landed 104 out of 214 punches (49%), while Nakatani landed 29 out of 250 (12%).
With the victory, Lomachenko earned the right to a potential rematch with López, a reward he has made no secret that he desperately seeks. "He has a fight in the future with [George] Kambosos, but after [we will fight]," Lomachenko said. "Maybe next year, beginning of the year. December, January, February. I am waiting." Lomachenko added: "Everybody saw how I won this fight, and everybody is waiting for the rematch, so let's make a rematch."[12]
Fight card
| Weight Class | vs. | Method | Round | Time | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightweight |  Vasiliy Lomachenko | def. |  Masayoshi Nakatani | TKO | 9/12 | 1:48 | |
| Middleweight |  Janibek Alimkhanuly | def. |  Rob Brant | RTD | 8/10 | 3:00 | |
| Heavyweight |  Guido Vianello | def. | Marlon Williams | TKO | 2/4 | 0:01 | |
| Welterweight | Giovani Santillan | def. | Cecil McCalla | UD | 8/8 | ||
| Bantamweight |  Luis Fernando Saavedra | def. | Robert Rodriguez | UD | 6/6 | ||
| Bantamweight | Floyd Diaz | def. | Jaime Jasso | UD | 4/4 | ||
| Super bantamweight | Subaru Murata | def. | Keven Monroy | TKO | 2/4 | 1:42 | Note 1 |
| Lightweight | DeMichael Harris | def. |  Jonatan Hernan Godoy | RTD | 3/4 | 3:00 |
^Note 1 Murata's professional debut
Broadcasting
| Country/Region | Broadcaster | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Cable TV | PPV | Stream | |
| United States (host) | — | ESPN+ | ||
| Ukraine[13] | — | MEGOGO | — | MEGOGO |
| Japan[14] | — | Wowow | — | Wowow |
| Unsold markets[15] | — | FITE TV | ||
 France[16] | — | BeIN Sports | — | BeIN Sports |
 Russia[17] | Match TV | — | Match TV | |
 United Kingdom | — | Sky Sports | — | Sky Sports |
 Ireland | ||||