Japanese lightweight contender Masayoshi Nakatani (18-1, 12 KOs) will be coming to make a statement on Saturday night, when he faces Puerto Rico's Felix Verdeko at the MGM Grand's Conference Center in Las Vegas.
The card is headlined by Shakur Stevenson's super featherweight clash with Toka Kahn-Clary.
Nakatani is coming off a twelve round unanimous decision to loss to Teofimo Lopez, which took place in July 2019.
While Lopez won by a hefty margin on the scorecards, it was a rough fight and Nakatani was competitive with the boxer many now view as the top dog of the weight class. In his next two fights, Lopez defeated both Richard Commey and Vasiliy Lomachenko to unify the WBO, IBF, WBC Franchise, WBA titles.
Nakatani is not looking to go the distance, he wants to knocked Verdejo out.
“I’m not worried about the long inactivity. I’ve been training hard. Fights outside of Japan, strong punches are important, and I want to focus on that for this fight. Boxing is not fought with height. It is all about the punches, and that’s why I’m coming to knock him out," Nakatani said.
Verdejo has now won four bouts in a row since suffering his only defeat, a stoppage loss at the hands of Antonio Lozada back in March of 2018.
In his last outing, Verdejo blew away undefeated Will Madera in a single round. He can't afford another defeat - as it would kill his chance for a potential 2021 clash with Lopez.
“Everything has gone very well since I have been training with {Ismael} Salas in Las Vegas. The change has been from heaven to earth. I've seen the changes in me. I am in excellent condition. I have confidence in my skills and on the work I have done, but I don't overlook any opponent," Verdejo said.
