Trailing big on the scorecards, Masayoshi Nakatani came from behind and earned the most significant win of his career.

Nakatani (19-1, 13 KOs) scored a pair of knockdowns in the ninth round to stop Puerto Rican star Felix Verdejo in the ninth round of a scheduled 10-round lightweight bout. Knocked down in the first and fourth rounds, Nakatani, in his first bout since a decision loss to Teofimo Lopez in July 2019, stormed back with a pair of knockdowns in the ninth to clinch the shocking stoppage.

Verdejo (27-2, 17 KOs) saw his four-bout winning streak come to an end, and at the time of the stoppage, he was leading on all three scorecards (78-72 2x and 77-74).

After the bout, a jubilant Nakatani set his sights on a rematch with Lopez, now the undisputed lightweight world champion.

“I fought Lopez, and I wanted to fight him again, and that’s why I kept going,” Nakatani said. “I want to go for the knockout like I did today, and that’s going to be my style.”

Photo by M.Williams / Top Rank