Junto Nakatani vs Sebastian Hernandez Reyes Preview Dec. 27th, 2025
Unbeaten Japanese star Junto Nakatani is moving up to the super bantamweight division (122lbs) this Saturday, December 27th to take on undefeated Sebastian Hernandez Reyes of Mexico. The three-weight champion Nakatani last fought in June when he stopped fellow countryman Ryosuke Nishida after six rounds to take his IBF Bantamweight Title and unify it with his WBC Belt. Reyes was last in the ring in May when he beat Azat Hovhannisyan via a wide 10-round unanimous decision. The 12-rounder from Saudi Arabia can be seen live in most nations on DAZN pay-per-view with the card getting underway about 4am ET. Nakatani is also a former WBO Flyweight and Super Flyweight Champion. Nakatani won the WBC Bantamweight Title by stopping Alexandro Santiago in the sixth round in February of last year to win a world title in a third weight division. He then defended it against Vincent Astrolabio in July when he stopped him in 157 seconds and and halted Petch CP Freshmart in the sixth round in October before stopping both David Cuellar and Nishida earlier this year.
Nakatani vs Reyes Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Sebastian Hernandez Reyes +700
- Junto Nakatani -1250
My Pick
The 27-year-old ‘Big Bang’ Nakatani is a southpaw who hails from Inabe-gun, Mie, and already boasts a perfect record of 31-0 with 24 Ko’s. He measures 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 68.5-inch reach and has boxed 152 rounds since making his pro debut in 2015. Nakatani attended karate school as a youngster before taking up boxing. As an amateur he won the Under-15 National Championships and reportedly boasted a record of 14-2 with 10 Ko’s. He then turned pro at the age of 17 and captured the vacant Japanese Flyweight title in 2019 when he stopped Naoki Mochizuki in the ninth round.
The former champion has displayed plenty of power up until now with a current knockout ratio of 77.4 per cent and has stopped 12 of his last 14 opponents including the last five in a row. Nakatani halted former world champion Milan Melindo of the Philippines in the sixth round in October, 2019 and then won the the vacant WBO Flyweight Title in November, 2020 with an eighth-round stoppage over Giemel Magramo. He stopped Angel Acosta in the fourth round in his first defence and then halted Ryota Yamauchi in eight rounds before moving up in weight against Francisco Rodriguez in November, 2022 and taking a 10-round unanimous decision.
Nakatani then stopped Andrew Moloney in May, 2023 for the vacant WBO Super Flyweight Title with what most experts considered to be the knockout of the year. As a pro, Nakatani is already considered to be one of the most successful Japanese boxers in history with world title belts in three weight divisions and combines speed, ring intelligence and plenty of power. He’s currently on a collision course to meet fellow Japanese star Naoya Inoue in 2026 if he gets past Reyes.
Reyes is just 25 years old and fights out of San Diego, California. He makes the ring walk with a perfect mark of 20-0 with 18 Ko’s so arguably has more power than Nakatani as his current knockout ratio clocks in at a highly-impressive 90 per cent. He’s gone the distance just twice and that was in his last fight against Azat Hovhannisyan in May and a four-round unanimous decision over Mauro Gutierrez Ochoa in his second pro outing in 2021.
At 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 65-inch reach, Reyes is an inch taller than Nakatani but gives up 3.5-inches in reach. He has just 87 rounds of experience under his belt since making his pro debut in 2020 mainly due to his knockout power. Reyes will be taking a big leap in class this weekend and will be fighting outside of Mexico for just the third time. Along with beating Hovhannisyan, Reyes also has victories over Yonfrez Parejo, Kevin Luis Munoz and Irving Perez.
Prediction…
Reyes has enough pro experience to his name but hasn’t faced the same level opposition as Nakatani. He does have a shot at upsetting the apple cart though due to his power and Nakatani needs to be wary of that if he hopes to set up an all-Japanese showdown with Naoya Inoue. It’s going to be hard for Reyes to keep Nakatani off of him for all 12 rounds though unless he can land something solid early on. I’m expecting an interesting fight here for a few rounds as Nakatani figures his opponent out. I also expect him to win this contest but there’s a chance it goes the distance.
Nakatani’s power, experience and skills should do the trick.
Play: Nakatani -1250 @ BetOnline.ag
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Junto Nakatani betting • Sebastian Hernandez Reyes betting