Watch Junto Nakatani score a knockout of the year candidate over Andrew Moloney

A world title fight on the undercard of Devin Haney vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko delivered a “Knockout of the Year” candidate.

On the ESPN portion of the card, Junto Nakatani battled Andrew Moloney for the vacant WBO junior bantamweight championship. For the most part, Nakatani was dominant and Moloney found out rather quickly that he could not outbox his opponent. Moloney tried making things rough in spots, but ultimately, he was on the receiving end of a brutal knockout loss in the 12th round. This was after Moloney had been knocked down in rounds two and 11.

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Junto Nakatani Shadow Realms Opponent

Take a look at the brutal finish:

Knockout of the year? 🥊 pic.twitter.com/zdJc6SxCNF

— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) May 21, 2023

Moloney appeared to be okay all things considered once he was able to sit up. Moloney was sent to a hospital in Las Vegas, and the good news is that he was discharged just a few hours later.

Nakatani has now won world titles in two weight classes. He was the WBO flyweight champion before vacating the gold in order to move up a division. Nakatani’s pro boxing record has improved to 25-0. His finish over Moloney is the 18th win by KO/TKO in the Japanese bruiser’s career.

The 25-year-old has beaten the likes of Giemel Magramo, Ángel Acosta, Ryota Yamauchi, Francisco Rodríguez Jr., and now Moloney. To make Nakatani’s recent victory even more impressive, this was the first time Moloney has ever been knocked out as a pro. Moloney’s previous two career losses were both against Joshua Franco via unanimous decision.

After a statement-making title victory, perhaps it’s time to move Nakatani from the undercard of major fights to his own headlining event. Whether he returns to Japan for his next fight or decides to go on the road again, more eyeballs are sure to be on Nakatani following the performance he put on display this past Saturday night.