Santiago vs Nakatani Undercard, Start Time, TV Channel, Ring Walks
- Japan’s Junto Nakatani aims to become a three-division champ against Alexandro Santiago
- Santiago vs Nakatani Undercard features Japanese stars, Takuma Inoue and Kosei Tanaka
- Edgar Berlanga vs McCrory Undercard: Cuban Sensation Andy Cruz Set For 3rd Pro Fight
Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo will play host to a trio of world title showdowns on Saturday, Feb. 24, with Alexandro Santiago defending his WBC bantamweight world title against Japan’s pound-for-pound star Junto Nakatani in the main event.
Santiago (28-3-5, 14 KOs) won the vacant WBC world title in July with a unanimous decision over future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire.
Nakatani (26-0, 19 KOs) is a two-weight world champion who vacated his WBO junior bantamweight world title following September’s decision win over Argi Cortes.
Santiago vs Nakatani Undercard
The co-feature sees WBA bantamweight ruler Takuma Inoue attempt to retain his strap versus Filipino former world champion Jerwin Ancajas.
Inoue (18-1, 4 KOs), the younger brother of Naoya Inoue, outlasted Liborio Solis in April to win the WBA world title. An Inoue training injury delayed the fight from its original November date.
Ancajas (34-3-2, 23 KOs), a Filipino southpaw, is a former long-reigning IBF junior bantamweight world champion. Following back-to-back championship defeats to Fernando Martinez in 2022, he returned with a fifth-round stoppage over Wilner Soto in June.
Title fight number three will be for the vacant WBO junior bantamweight world title, as three-weight world champion Kosei Tanaka attempts to conquer a fourth weight class when he fights Mexico’s Christian Bacasegua Rangel.
Tanaka (19-1, 11 KOs) won world titles at 105, 108 and 112 pounds, and he’s now making his second attempt to win a belt at 115. He has won four straight since a 2020 knockout defeat to Kazuto Ioka.
Rangel (22-4-2, 9 KOs), from Mexicali, Mexico, is unbeaten in nine fights dating back to 2019.
An 8-round bantamweight tilt between Jonas Sultan (19-6, 11 KOs) and Riku Masuda (3-1, 3 KOs) opens the card.
Santiago vs Nakatani Start Time, TV Channel, Ring Walks
Santiago vs Nakatani TV Channel: ESPN + (US)
Santiago vs Nakatani Start Time: 10 am BST (5 am ET)
Santiago vs Nakatani Main Event Ring Walks: 1:00 pm BST (8:00 am ET)