Junto Nakatani might’ve delivered the punch of the year Saturday in Las Vegas.
The Japanese slugger stopped Andrew Moloney with a massive left hand in the 12th round to the win the vacant WBO 115-pound title on the Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko card, giving the Japanese fighter a major belt in a second division.
The official time of the stoppage was 2:42 of the final round.
Nakatani (25-0, 19 KOs) put the game, but overmatched Moloney down three times — in the second, 11th and 12th rounds — but it was the last one that won’t soon be forgotten.
The new champion appeared to be on his way to a wide unanimous decision victory when the tall, powerful southpaw landed a wide left that instantaneously rendered Moloney unconscious.
Moloney (25-3, 16 KOs) lay bloodied and prone for several minutes before getting to his feet and congratulating Nakatani.
The 25-year-old Nakatani, the former WBO 112-pound titleholder, has now stopped seven of his last eight opponents in an impressive run that has made him one of the top little fighters.