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Seek And Destroy: Junto Nakatani's Trainer Rudy Hernandez On Instructions In Ryosuke Nishida Unification
ARTICLE
Anson Wainwright
Anson Wainwright
RingMagazine.com
Seek And Destroy: Junto Nakatani's Trainer Rudy Hernandez On Instructions In Ryosuke Nishida Unification
On Sunday, Junto Nakatani confirmed what many already thought when he stopped compatriot Ryosuke Nishida, namely that he is not only the best bantamweight in the world but also one of premier fighters in the sport full stop.

Nakatani entered the fight with his WBC title on the line, but walked away with the vacant Ring bantamweight championship and his countryman's IBF title after bludgeoning his rival into defeat at the end of six rounds.

Nakatani's trainer Rudy Hernandez instructed his fighter to be more aggressive than usual, revealing they'd come up with a battle plan to bum rush Nishida early in their meeting.

"A decision was made that we try and knock him out in the first round, [we] took it to him and kept the pressure and it paid off," said Hernandez. "Junto got the job done."

While there has been talk of Nakatani jumping to junior featherweight and even featherweight, there appears no rush from his trainer.


"Junto made weight without a problem and looked strong doing so."

Comparisions can be drawn between the Hernandez-Nishida union and the special bond that Manny Pacquiao shares with Freddie Roach.

While Pacquiao was inducted into the Hall of Fame in Canastota over the weekend, Nakatani advanced his future claims with what was on paper his toughest assignment to date.


Much like that dynamite duo, Hernandez is jockeying his fighter for a place higher up the pound-for-pound rankings.

"I asked Junto to attack from Round 1, surprise him, him hit hard, so he'd know he's in a fight and to show why he's a top 10 pound-for-pound fighter," said Hernandez. "A lot of responsibility comes when considered one of the best 10 fighters in the world."

An admirable stance from Hernandez, pushing his fighter to deliver a performance having fans on the edge of their seats. Recently, we've seen others such as Canelo Alvarez, Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia fail to live up to their billing, merely going through the motions.

While it's early days as to what is next, Hernandez hopes to keep his prized pupil active.

"If it were up to me, he would fight again in three months," he said. "But that's not my decision to be made."

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at elraincoat@live.co.uk and you can follow him on Twitter@AnsonWainwr1ght

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