As his Filipino mandatory challenger sweats it out in Davao City, Japanese champion Junto Nakatani is likewise neck-deep in training at the Maywood Boxing Gym in Los Angeles as they both brace for a tough showdown on 20 July in Tokyo.

Nakatani, the reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight titleholder, has been in the United States since last month.

“He trains in L.A. when getting ready for a fight,” Sean Gibbons, who manages and promotes Astrolabio, told DAILY TRIBUNE.

Nakatani will be making the first defense of the WBC 118-lb strap he had won by knocking out the iron-chinned Mexican Alejandro Santiago last February.

Parading an unbeaten record of 27-0 with 20 knockouts, Nakatani is a hard-hitting lefty who is regarded as one of the fastest rising Japanese ring stars.

Handling Nakatani’s training sessions in America is veteran strategist Rudy Hernandez, whose gym is oftentimes the favorite place to train of Japanese fighters.

Astrolabio, who is shorter by two inches at 5-feet-5, holds a 19-4 record with 14 knockouts and who became the compulsory challenger after his hard-earned stoppage win in Thailand last year.

Kaneshiro Shunpei, imported from Japan by Gibbons, is helping Astrolabio train as a sparmate.