Junto Nakatani’s trainer, Rudy Hernandez, says he hopes Nakatani (30-0, 23 KOs) will fight Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez because he’s “100 percent” confident he’ll knock him out.
It’s a fight that Nakatani should take to give him some badly-needed experience, but he won’t. It’s a good thing for Nakatani that his trainer, Rudy, doesn’t make his fights. Bam’s ability to move, throw punches from weird angles would be a nightmare for him.
Nakatani makes technical mistakes when forced to fight at a fast pace, and he cannot fight on the inside. His offense is limited to his sniper-like left hand. With that weapon taken away, Nakatani is extremely limited. His trainer, Rudy Hernandez, has failed to develop his skills. I’m sure he tried, but some fighters can’t learn.
‘Bam: A True Nightmare
Letting him fight Bam Rodriguez might be a total disaster, similar to when he destroyed Wisaksil Wangek, Sunny Edwards, and Juan Estrada. Those three have more technical ability than Nakatani, and Jesse made it look easy, disarming their offensive weapon to score knockouts.
‘Bam’ (21-0, 14 KOs) is all wrong for Nakatani’s robotic, one-dimensional style. He only has one weapon, his left hand. We’ve seen how he gets frustrated and loses confidence when he can’t land his left.
Nakatani’s promoters won’t likely let him anywhere near a talent like ‘Bam’ Rodriguez because he would spoil the big payday he will get next year against ‘The Monster’ Naoya Inoue. WBC bantamweight champion Nakatani, 27, is one fight away from challenging Inoue for his undisputed super bantamweight championship in May 2026 in Tokyo, Japan.
Nakatani’s management has helped him craft an unbeaten record, but he’s not fought an elite-level fighter like ‘Bam’ Rodriguez. Junto is too reliant on his left hand. He needs to have the shot perfectly set up to land it, and when he can’t, he looks helpless. Nakatani gets visibly upset when he can’t connect with his left.
“I hope we fight Bam. If you were Bam, would you be calling out Nakatani? Junto beats Bam, 100 percent, within six to eight rounds. We’ll knock him out. I am confident about it,” said trainer Rudy Hernandez to Ring Magazine about his fighter, Junto Nakatani, stopping Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez if they were to fight.
Rodriguez Awaits Unification
WBC 115-lb champion ‘Bam’ Rodriguez is fighting WBO super flyweight champ Phumelela Cafu (11-0-3, 8 KOs) on July 19 at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas. After Rodriguez wins that fight, he’ll be a two-belt champion at 115.
Next month, WBC bantamweight champion Nakatani faces IBF Ryosuke Nishida (10-0, 2 KOs) on June 8th in a unification fight at the Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo, Japan.
Last Updated on 05/21/2025
