The Samurai Night tournament will take place on December 27 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. As part of the card, Japanese former world champion Junto Nakatani (31-0, 24 KOs) will make his debut in a new division. He moved up to super bantamweight to face Mexico’s 25-year-old Sebastian Hernandez Reyes (20-0, 18 KOs).

This fight will serve as a preliminary to the meeting between Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani. If they both win in this tournament.

Nakatani was planning a mega fight with another boxer. However, he was later transferred to Inoue’s category.

Junto Nakatani has recently been rightfully considered one of the main stars of boxing and the second Japanese boxer after Naoya Inoue. He was expected to chase the overall championship in his division and then try to reach Naoya. But the plan looked different.

Jesse Rodriguez later said he was negotiating for a fight against Nakatani. There was a preliminary agreement and they even thought about the date of the fight. Jesse had to gain weight for this meeting but there was nothing critical about it but what we saw in the mega fight was crazy.

But then everything changed. Nakatani decided to move up in weight and Rodriguez competed for another title; He knocked out Martinez with a brilliant left jab and held a master class of sorts for his fellow champion.

That meeting was postponed, but the fight between Nakatani and Inoue was not. Quite the opposite. The announcement of the Samurai Night tournament actually depends on the two. Everything revolves around their theoretical confrontation. And in the comments the boxers do not hide the fact that they want to continue fighting each other.

However, the issue has not yet been resolved and no agreement has been made. Inoue must maintain his status. And Nakatani needs to make a successful debut in the new league.

Junto will face the undefeated Mexican puncher. Sebastian Hernando Reyes is only 25 years old. He has 18 knockouts in 20 fights and has never lost so far. This is 90% of early victories achieved during a professional career!

Making his debut against a boxer with so many points deserves respect. Moreover, when you have a high-profile challenge ahead of you that can only be lost due to a failed incident in battle. But in boxing you also have to look at what is behind these numbers.

If we look at Hernando Reyes’ record in detail, there is no one who can be compared to Nakatani. And with his opposition too. Armenian Khorsisyan is a good opponent, but nothing more. The Mexican met him at an earlier meeting and won by decision. This was the second fight of his career that did not result in a knockout.

Most of Reyes’ fights took place in Mexico. Only a few are in the US. There is not a single one in Arabia, where the meeting with Nakatani will take place. However, it cannot be said that Junto has an advantage; he also never fought in Saudi Arabia.

I would like to highlight one of Sebastian’s rivals. Saying that this is an indication that the person is ready for such confrontations.

But it doesn’t work.

It has many strong rivals. Fighting in Mexico is never very easy because a large percentage of the population likes to both box and watch boxing. And the competition there is perhaps the strongest in the world. Getting such a record in such an environment is an indicator of a good level.

However, there is a difference between a good level and competitors who can claim the championship. Among the losers, Nakatani has enough of that. Unlike your competitor.

This year alone, Junto defeated Ryosuke Nishida and David Cuellar. The first is a former kickboxer and just a strong boxer. He was undefeated, but all Nakatani did was make him submit.

Cuellar, like Junto’s future rival, is Mexican. Quite big, good puncher, young. And also invincible during the meeting. With him in the ring, the Japanese won in three rounds.

That doesn’t mean Nakatani’s next opponent has no chance. Junto is not some kind of killing machine or invincible boxer. He makes mistakes, he misses, and he holds up really well until some opponents surrender early.

We are talking only about objective factors that can be evaluated. And they’re all on the Junto’s side.

Who is the favorite?

Nakatani has a crazy lead in the bookmakers’ offers. You can bet on him with odds of 1.06 and on your opponent with odds of 9.40.

There’s a lot of logic in this. At least because of the names. If it wasn’t for Nakatani, would we know about this Mexican? He is one of many people who have no one on record but are in good numbers. Junto made him, if not a star, a boxer who could be said to be Nakatani’s rival.

The main thing now is to prove yourself in this fight. Show the maximum value it currently has. Nakatani can miss a punch; He demonstrated this more than once. And who knows if this will be the final for the Japanese?

But that’s not the point. Inoue’s knockout strikes were long remembered by fans. Everyone remembers who put the Japanese in the ass. Same thing will happen if Nakatani gets knocked down. Especially before a possible match against Naoya.

Of course, the Mexican wants to win and does not go to the ring just for the check. The young, undefeated puncher doesn’t want to serve the count. He needs a win. And that’s great for neutral fans. However, any success with such an assessment of luck will immediately give him the chance to continue winning more in the future.

But Junto is not always in the mood to show off. So it’s interesting how messed up the Mexican can be in the ring against the Japanese until they read him. Or if he reads it.