Ryosuke Nishida Ready To Start Bantamweight Takeover With December 15 Title Defense

/ Boxing, Featured / By /

In the moments following Ryosuke Nishida’s (9-0, 1 KO) triumphant capture of the IBF bantamweight title in May, onlookers were left spellbound by what they had just witnessed.

Competing for just the ninth time as a professional, the 28-year-old achieved what fighters the world over can only dream of accomplishing when he scored a unanimous decision win (117-110, 115-112 x 2) over divisional stalwart and two-time champion Emmanuel Rodriguez (22-3, 13 KOs) at the EDION Arena, in what turned out to be a hellacious contest in front of his hometown Osaka crowd.

Six months on, the newly minted champion is hungry for greater challenges with even bigger prizes up for grabs, and those within his inner circle believe he is more than capable of satisfying such desires. Speaking to FightsATW, Nishida’s advisor, Mike Altamura, gave an insight into the collective confidence the team has in their combatant.

“Nishida’s right up there with the best fighters in the division,” he said. “Nishida’s got slippery southpaw skills that can offset anyone. He’s got the tools, he’s got the skillset, he’s got a little bit more pop and power in his punches than people think, and a very unorthodox style. He’s a very good technician.

“Coming out of the win in May, the team knows that there’s a lot more work to do and that Nishida’s evolving as a fighter and he’s still improving. He’s working on adding different layers. He’s going to add different dimensions to his game as time goes on.”

A coming out party of sorts, the Rodriguez victory could very well be the key that unlocks the door to a golden future for Nishida, should he play his cards right. Given that all four bantamweight titlists hail from Japan, potential unification meetings with WBC champion Junto Nakatani (29-0, 22 KOs), WBO champion Yosheki Takei (10-0, 8 KOs), and WBA champion Seiya Tsutsumi (12-0-2, 8 KOs) have logically been touted, with rumblings of a four-man tournament to determine an undisputed champion also making their way through the rumor mill.

The latter of these options has left hardcore boxing fans the world over salivating at the potential spectacle. Altamura admitted that seeing Nishida take on his fellow countrymen for all the marbles would make for incredible theatre. “Right now, there’s an air of excitement in Japanese boxing,” he said. “So many prevalent, elite level fighters; especially at 118, all the champions are Japanese at the moment. There’s been so much talk of an all-Japanese tournament; hopefully we see it in 2025. I think that would be just something spectacular to deliver for the fans. An all-Japanese unification at the weight, just incredible.”

“Nishida, definitely with his IBF championship, will be prepared to put it on the line if the right kind of package was offered against any of the other champions. They’re all terrific fighters.”

The dream of competing against his compatriots will not get the chance to manifest should Nishida not have his hand raised in his mandatory title defense against Thailand’s Anuchai Donsua (16-0, 7 KOs) on December 15 at Osaka’s Sumiyoshi Sports Centre.

Although the will to walk the path toward becoming the division’s best burns deeply within, it is one that is understandably fraught with many dangers. As such, Altamura expects to see a confident version of Nishida, one willing to work on remaining one step ahead through control of range and sharp footwork against an opponent ready to leave no stone unturned.

“A lot of people look at the record and think that he doesn’t possess any power, but he possesses enough to hold you off and to sting you and damage you,” he concluded. “The focus has to be on essentially where your preferred territory is. Some fighters are just great technicians and they’re better to negate you from the outside, land counter shots in and out and use their feet. So why not use your core characteristics, your core fundamental foundations.”

“Anuchai Donsua from Thailand can’t be underestimated. He’s a very solid fighter, smart, technical fighter. I think that Nishida should get his rhythm after a few rounds and should be able to stay in front of him comfortably, but he’s going to be a very worthy challenger.”

Liahm O'Brien

Liahm O’Brien is a boxing writer based in Australia. His work focuses on all levels of fighting, with interviews from boxers making their way in the game, to those competing for titles on major shows across the world. He has written for local online publications, The Inner Sanctum and Fight News Australia, and is a regular guest on The Unofficial Scorecard Podcast.

See author's posts

Discover more from Fights Around The World

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Related Posts

Contact
Contact