Junto Nakatani vs. David Cuellar Odds and Predictions

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On Monday, February 24, live on ESPN+ via Top Rank Boxing, Junto Nakatani will put his WBC bantamweight title on the line against fellow unbeaten David Cuellar. This boxing world title bout will emanate from the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

The impressive Nakatani (29-0, 22 KOs) successfully defended his WBC championship multiple times last year. All three of his 2024 bouts ended via knockout before the conclusion of the 6^th round.

Cuellar (28-0, 18 KOs) also fought multiple times in 2024, and both outings resulted in unanimous decision victories for the undefeated Mexican challenger.

This bantamweight title fight concludes what will be an exciting weekend of elite boxing action. The sport’s headliner for the weekend is a rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. However, that event is also loaded with multiple world title fights on the undercard.

With that said, don’t overlook this WBC bantamweight bout in Japan just a few days later. These two undefeated fighters should put on an entertaining fight. The event is set to begin at 3am ET.

Let’s take a look at the latest Junto Nakatani vs. David Cuellar odds, courtesy of the top sports betting sites, and make our Junto Nakatani vs. David Cuellar predictions.

Junto Nakatani vs. David Cuellar Preview

Check out the tale of the tape for Junto Nakatani vs. David Cuellar:

Junto Nakatani Recent Fights

Junto Nakatani is a three-division world champion having won titles in the flyweight, super flyweight, and bantamweight divisions. He’s also ranked as the no. 9 pound-for-pound best fighter in the sport today.

Following a solid run in the flyweight division, Nakatani moved up to super flyweight or also known as junior-bantamweight. After an introductory fight to the weight class, Nakatani would capture the WBO super flyweight belt in May 2023, via 12^th round KO against Andrew Moloney.

Four months later, the Japanese star made the first defense of this belt and defeated Argi Cortes via unanimous decision after knocking down Cortes three times in the fight.

Less than six months later, in February 2024, Nakatani moved up to bantamweight and captured the WBC bantamweight belt with a 6^th round TKO over Alexandro Santiago.

He would go on to successfully defend the belt two times in 2024. The first defense came in July where he beat the mandatory challenger Vincent Astrolabio via 1^st round TKO. The second title defense came in October, where he beat Petch Sor Chitpattana via 6^th round TKO.

Nakatani is confident heading into his upcoming title fight. Additionally, he hopes to inspire those who suffered from the California fires earlier this year. The Japanese star was impacted by the fires as he was training in Los Angeles:

“I’ve been fighting carefully in each match, and I want to put on a good performance. I hope my bout will inspire people over there.”

Nakatani would go on to acknowledge some challenges he faces against Cuellar:

“I’m looking at a tall opponent. I know he is tall, and I have seen some of his fights on video. His lead hand with hooks and uppercuts are very dangerous.”

Junto Nakatani Odds

Nakatani opened as a -600 favorite in this fight and has seen his odds increase to a range of -700 to -1100. In fact, the closer we get to the event, the more his odds increase.

Last year, Nakatani saw his odds range from -1100 to -5000 in his three fights. The lower end of the range came in his title bout against Santiago. As far back as we can find for his fight odds, Nakatani has been the betting favorite.

David Cuellar Recent Fights

The undefeated Mexican fighter has gone 5-0 since moving up to bantamweight in 2023. He started off the year with decision victory over Francisco Mendivil in May. Cuellar won with the scores of 96-94, 98-92, 99-91.

He would go on to win his next two fights via TKO. The first came against Marlon Rios Sarianna in August, where Cuellar won via 3^rd round TKO. He followed that up with an 8^th round TKO over Luis Concepcion in October 2023. The latter was a former WBC super flyweight champ back in 2015, but was well past his prime in this matchup.

Cuellar returned to the ring for two fights in 2024, with both ending via unanimous decision victories. He would defeat Pablo Gomez in January and then beat Jose Velasquez in May. Cuellar has not competed since his May victory.

David Cuellar Odds

There is limited data for Cuellar’s past boxing odds. Yet, from what we can find, he has been the betting favorite in each fight except for this upcoming bout against Nakatani. Cuellar opened at +400 odds and he now sits at a range of +500 to +600 with a few days left before fight night.

Junto Nakatani vs. David Cuellar Predictions

Despite Nakatani expressing that Cuellar is a taller fighter, the two men are roughly the same size. With that said, this will be Cuellar’s toughest fight to date. And, I really don’t see how the challenger is going to win this bout.

Cuellar has displayed a decent set of technical skills, but these were honed against veterans past their prime and lower-class fighters that are nothing more than glorified sparring partners.

Furthermore, he has never fought outside of Mexico. This will be the first time he fights outside of his native country and it will be on the other side of the world.

For Nakatani, this might just be a pit stop before he goes up another weight class. Or, he could decide to sit in the bantamweight division and take out all of the champs. He certainly has the ability to do so.

Nakatani is the better all-around fighter in this matchup. He also has the experience advantage in tougher fights. Nakatani’s power will be too much for Cuellar to handle in this contest.

The odds should be a lot higher in favor of Nakatani who will bulldoze his way through Cuellar in front of his fellow countrymen.

Bet: Junto Nakatani (-900)

The Best Junto Nakatani vs. David Cuellar Prop Bets

The following Junto Nakatani vs. David Cuellar prop bets are courtesy of BetUS:

Over/Under 10.5 rounds

• Over 8.5 (-105)
• Under 8.5 (-125)

This Over/Under is a tightly contested line as this bout is scheduled for 12 rounds, but could easily end in two. Considering each fighter’s resume and overall skillset, I can’t help but think that Nakatani is going to finish this fight off early.

Take the Under in this contest. Both betting options offer value, but Nakatani is on another level than Cuellar and it will show up in this fight.

Bet: Under 8.5 rounds (-125)

Will Fight go the distance?

• Yes ()
• No ()

Nakatani enters this bout with a 75.86% knockout rate. 22 of his 29 pro bouts have ended via knockout including three fights in a row. Cuellar might prove to be a rugged fighter, but I just don’t see how he survives 12 rounds with a superior opponent.

I feel much more confident in this boxing prop bet than I do the Over/Under. I’m siding with many of the best handicappers by taking the No option for this world title fight.

Bet: No (-300)

Method of Victory

• Cuellar via TKO/KO/DQ (+250)
• Cuellar via decision (-125)
• Nakatani via TKO/KO/DQ (+550)
• Nakatani via decision (+750)
• Draw (+2000)

We knocked down the first domino with our pick of Nakatani winning this contest. The next two dominoes fell with the Under 8.5 rounds and the fight ending inside the distance.

So, that means that we’re going with the Japanese star to win via TKO/KO, which is the favored option for this boxing prop bet.

Bet: Nakatani via TKO/KO/DQ (-250)

What’s Next for the Junto Nakatani vs. David Cuellar Winner?

The winner of this fight will be in line for a more high-profile matchup in his next outing. Since we’re heavily betting on Nakatani to win, let’s focus on what’s next for the Japanese star.

The champ has made it clear that he wants to unify titles:

“I have been saying I want to unify the titles. I want to have a great performance in my next fight so I can get closer to that unification.”

For this to happen, Nakatani would have to face one of the other three bantamweight champs who are all fellow countrymen: Ryosuke Nishida (IBF), Seiya Tsutsumi (WBA), Yoshiki Takei (WBO).

Tsutsumi is actually competing in the semi-main event of the Nakatani vs. Cuellar card. So, we could possibly see something come out of this event if both champions retain their titles.

There’s another rumor floating around that Nakatani will use this Cuellar fight as a springboard to the super bantamweight division and an eventual showdown against one of the sport’s biggest stars Naoya Inoue.

If I can play fantasy promoter for a moment, I would have Nakatani try to unify the entire bantamweight division before going up in weight again. If he can become the undisputed bantamweight champ, then a fight against Inoue would be a massive bout for the sport of boxing not only in Japan, but worldwide.

Nakatani vs. Cuellar Fight Card

• (c)Junto Nakatani vs. David Cuellar in a 12 round WBC bantamweight title fight
• (c)Seiya Tsutsumi vs. Daigo Higa in a 12 round WBA bantamweight title bout
• Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Jason Moloney in a 10 round bantamweight clash
• Eigoro Akai vs. Ryuya Moriai in a 6 round middleweight contest
• Hayato Aiko vs. Yuki Sato in a 4 round featherweight fight
• Ryosuke Kiuchi vs. Fuentes Kitajima in a 4 round lightweight bout