Junto Nakatani-Petch CP Freshmart headlines the title fight tripleheader on October 14 in Tokyo

One of the best fighters in the sport remains one of the most active.

Tri-weight and reigning WBC bantamweight Junto Nakatani will fight for the third time in 2024. The ring's No. 9 pound-for-pound contender will face Thailand's Petch CP Freshmart in a tripleheader for the title at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo on October 14.

The show is the last in a series of jam-packed shows over two consecutive days presented by Mr. Honda's Teiken Promotions. Seven title fights will grace the two-day series, both of which will take place at the Ariake Arena. Both events will be broadcast live in the US on ESPN+.

Nakatani (28-0, 21 KOs) is fresh off a first-round knockout of Filipino Vincent Astrolabio in their July 20 headliner at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, which featured a similar field to that event.

The victory over Astrolabio came less than five months after Nakatani won his third division title with a sixth-round knockout of Alexandro Santiago, who had previously defeated the legendary Nonito Donaire on points to win the WBC title on July 29 in Las Vegas.

Nakatani previously held titles at 112 and 115 pounds. He is currently the No. 1 ranked bantamweight in the ring.

CP Freshmart (76-1, 53 KOs) surprisingly enters his first title fight of his career.

The 30-year-old left-hander has been a professional for more than thirteen years. The closest he came to a major title was a loss to Takuma Inoue in December 2018 in an interim fight for the WBC bantamweight title. CP Freshmart – real name Tasana Salapat – has won 28 titles in a row, but mostly against mediocre opponents.

Also in action are newly crowned titleholders Kosei Tanaka (20-1, 11 KOs) and Anthony Olascuaga (7-1, 5 KOs). Both will defend their respective WBO belts for the first time.

Tanaka, ranked No. 4 at 115 pounds, puts his WBO junior bantamweight belt on the line against South Africa's Phumelele Cafu (10-0-3, 8 KOs). The action fighter from Aichi became a four-division titleholder with a decision victory over Christian Bacasegua on Feb. 24. He was scheduled to appear on the Nakatani-Astrolabio card on July 20. However, challenger Jonathan Rodriguez weighed more than seven pounds over the 115-pound limit and was removed from the show.

Cafu is fighting his first title fight in his career and also venturing outside of South Africa for the first time as a professional.

Olascuaga will face former WBO middleweight titleholder Jonathan “Bomba” Gonzalez (28-3-1, 14 KOs). Their mandatory title fight was agreed upon earlier this month and they were just waiting for a fight date.

The Los Angeles native captured his WBO flyweight title with a terrific third-round knockout of Riku Kano. The Ring's No. 8-ranked flyweight hadn't fought in ten months, but showed no signs of ring rust in his second title fight. He previously suffered a ninth-round knockout of Kenshiro Teraji in a final-round submission to capture the Ring, WBC and WBA 108-pound crownweight titles.

Fittingly, Olascuaga was the night's replacement for Gonzalez, who had fallen ill. That cost the Boricua a lucrative unification fight that never happened again. Illness, injuries and weight issues tarnished his title reign to just three title defenses in three years. Gonzalez vacated the title in June to fight at flyweight, where he was assigned as a mandatory challenger.

The evening's co-feature is the only non-title fight of the evening. Popular crowd-puller and bantamweight hopeful Tenshin Nasukawa (4-0, 2 KOs) will face Filipino Gerwin Asilo (9-0, 4 KOs) in a ten-round regional title fight.

Nasukawa is coming off his first true knockout victory, knocking out Jonathan Rodriguez (not the fat guy who lost weight to Tanaka) in the third round on the undercard for Nakatani-Astrolabio on July 20. He also previously stopped Luis Robles in the third round, but due to an ankle injury.

The former kickboxing star went the full distance in his first two fights, but now he is in the fast lane in the fight for the title.

Asilo can also look forward to a quick turnaround. The up-and-coming bantamweight from Bohol won by second-round knockout on July 27 in Tagbilaran City, where he has fought his last four fights. This is his first trip as a professional outside the Philippines.

Headlining the October 13 fight will be division rival and WBA titleholder Takuma Inoue (20-1, 5 KOs) attempting his first title defense against fellow countryman Seiya Tsutsumi (11-0-2, 8 KOs).

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