| Fight Date: | June 26, 2021 |
| Fight Name: | Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Masayoshi Nakatani |
| Location: | Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. |
| Fighter1: |  Vasiliy Lomachenko |
| Record1: | 14–2 (10 KO) |
| Height1: | 5 ft 7 in |
| Weight1: | 134+3/5 lb |
| Style1: | Southpaw |
| Hometown1: | Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Ukraine |
| Recognition1: | The Ring No. 9 ranked pound-for-pound fighter 3-division world champion |
| Fighter2: |  Masayoshi Nakatani |
| Record2: | 19–1 (13 KO) |
| Hometown2: | Osaka, Japan |
| Height2: | 5 ft 11 in |
| Weight2: | 134+2/5 lb |
| Style2: | Orthodox |
| Result: | Lomachenko wins via 9th-round TKO |
Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Masayoshi Nakatani was a lightweight professional boxing match contested between three-division former unified lightweight world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko, and lightweight contender Masayoshi Nakatani. The bout took place on June 26, 2021, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada.[1] Lomachenko won the fight by ninth-round technical knockout.[2]
The pair share a common loss to Teófimo López. Lomachenko lost his unified titles to the American in October 2020, while Nakatani had also lost a unanimous decision to López in July 2019.[3] Lomachenko cited that he "still wanted to be undisputed lightweight champion". However, López declined to give Lomachenko a rematch, explaining that “everybody [in Lomachenko’s camp] was being a dick to me, my father. He [Lomachenko] didn’t want to put a rematch clause in our contract."[4] Speaking on why he chose Nakatani as his next opponent, Lomachenko said "I want to compare myself with this guy, he was close with [López] in their fight."[5]
Nakatani fought back from his loss to López, beating Félix Verdejo via technical knockout, after being dropped for the first time in his professional career.[6]
Lomachenko agreed to a comeback fight against Nakatani in Las Vegas.[7] The bout was aired on ESPN+ in the US[8] and Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland.[9] It went head to head with Gervonta Davis' light welterweight clash with Mario Barrios on Showtime PPV in Atlanta, Georgia taking place on the same night.[10] The fight was only the second time in Lomachenko's professional career that a world title was not on the line.[11]
Lomachenko reasserted himself as one of the best at lightweight, as the former pound-for-pound star dropped Nakatani in the fifth, before stopping him in round nine. CompuBox stats show that Lomachenko landed 104 out of 214 punches (49%), while Nakatani landed 29 out of 250 (12%).
With the victory, Lomachenko earned the right to a potential rematch with López, a reward he has made no secret that he desperately seeks. "He has a fight in the future with [George] Kambosos, but after [we will fight]," Lomachenko said. "Maybe next year, beginning of the year. December, January, February. I am waiting." Lomachenko added: "Everybody saw how I won this fight, and everybody is waiting for the rematch, so let's make a rematch."[12]
| Weight Class | vs. | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightweight | Vasiliy Lomachenko | def. | Masayoshi Nakatani | TKO | 9/12 | 1:48 | ||
| Middleweight |  Janibek Alimkhanuly | def. |  Rob Brant | RTD | 8/10 | 3:00 | ||
| Heavyweight |  Guido Vianello | def. | Marlon Williams | TKO | 2/4 | 0:01 | ||
| Welterweight | Giovani Santillan | def. | Cecil McCalla | UD | 8/8 | |||
| Bantamweight |  Luis Fernando Saavedra | def. | Robert Rodriguez | UD | 6/6 | |||
| Bantamweight | Floyd Diaz | def. | Jaime Jasso | UD | 4/4 | |||
| Super bantamweight | Subaru Murata | def. | Keven Monroy | TKO | 2/4 | 1:42 | ||
| Lightweight | DeMichael Harris | def. |  Jonatan Hernan Godoy | RTD | 3/4 | 3:00 |
| Country/Region | Broadcaster | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Cable TV | PPV | Stream | |
| United States (host) | ESPN+ | |||
| [13] | MEGOGO | MEGOGO | ||
| [14] | Wowow | Wowow | ||
| Unsold markets[15] | FITE TV | |||
| [16] | BeIN Sports | BeIN Sports | ||
| [17] | Match TV | Match TV | ||
| Sky Sports | Sky Sports | |||