Somewhere in Davao City, Vincent Astrolabio is plotting the downfall of one of Japan’s most celebrated champions.
Junto Nakatani, who recently captured the World Boxing Council bantamweight crown, is the man Astrolabio and his lead trainer Nonou Neri are targeting.
“I have actually figured out a way to beat him,” Neri told DAILY TRIBUNE on Wednesday after presiding over Astrolabio’s workout at the MP Boxing Gym in Davao.
Neri swears that Nakatani looked sensational when he bagged his third world title in as many weight classes over the weekend in Tokyo.
The southpaw Nakatani scored a savage sixth-round knockout of the usually-durable Alejandro Santiago of Mexico at the Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Arena.
“He is tall and has longer reach but if you want to win, you’ll find away,” said Neri, who was a part of the formidable training team of eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao.
“If you let him dictate the tempo and stay in front of him, you won’t have a chance of beating him. You have to get inside and don’t allow him to set up.”
Neri said Astrolabio, who flubbed his world title try last year in Stockton, California, has learned a lot from that defeat and is no longer the tentative and gun-shy fighter who lost on points to Jason Moloney of Australia.
Following the Moloney setback, Astrolabio found himself in a war with Thailand’s Nawaphon Kaikanha in August last year in Bangkok.
“That fight changed Astrolabio and now he is primed for another crack at the world title,” Neri said.
That 11th-round knockout of Kaikanha earned Astrolabio the right to challenge Nakatani, who utilized his height and reach and punching power in dismantling Santiago.
“We are ready to take on Nakatani. Let’s do it,” Neri added.
Neri fights under the Manny Pacquiao-owned MP Promotions, who is headed by the well-connected American dealmaker Sean Gibbons.
