Sasaki and Tsugawa retain titles at Korakuen Hall
Earlier today we had an interesting card at Korakuen Hall featuring several Japanese youngsters in what was a showcase of emerging talent.
The most notable fighter on the show was the enigmatic Japanese Welterweight Jin Sasaki (17-1-1, 16) [佐々木 尽] who successfully unified the WBO Asia Pacific title with the OPBF title as he stopped Filipino fighter Joe Noynay (23-3-2, 11) in 5 rounds. The bout, like many of Sasaki's, was a bit peculiar, and saw both the best, and some of the worst, from Sasaki. The hard hitting Japanese fighter, who had been out of the ring for 10 months due to a rotator cuff injury, tried to take Noynay’s head off with the first shot he threw. Despite the vicious intent Sasaki then didn’t do much for the rest of the round, though did hurt Noynay late on. Sasaki then tried to goad Noynay, taunting, telling him to come on, and give openings, though the Filipino fought smartly in round 2. Noynay was rocked in round 3, before Sasaki backed off, taunted more and played with both Noynay and the fans. Noynay was having moments, but it really seemed like Sasaki was trying to entertain the fans with his actions, rather than put his foot on the gas looking for a finish, and this was again the case in round 4, where looked dangerous, but lacked any real urgency or intensity, waiting for a mistake rather than forcing one. He was still doing enough to win over the judges though, with two of the 3 “wise men'' having it a shutout, and the third giving Noynay a round.
The judges were never seriously expected to have to render a decision here, and that proved to be the case in round 5, as Sasaki came out with a bit more spite, pressing until an opportunity came up for a huge right hand. The shot hurt Noynay who wasn’t allowed to recover as Sasaki unleashed, landing a brutal left hook, then unloaded, with Noynay somehow staying on his feet until a right hand sent him down as the ref tried to catch him. Following the win Sasaki and his team seemed to suggest he wanted a world title fight, but on this performance he’s nowhere close to one, though we do need to wonder whether he was simply trying to play a bit too much to the fans, rather than taking Noynay as a serious threat. If, or when, he steps up to world level, he won’t be able to fight like he did here.
The other title bout on this card saw Ryuya Tsugawa (13-1, 9) [津川龍也] retain the Japanese Youth Super Bantamweight title, as he stopped Shodai Morita (6-3, 3) [森田翔大] in the second round. The two had twice fought in High School, with Tsugawa winning both, and he followed that up with a pretty clinical beating here. The first round saw Tsugawa pressing before he stepped up the tempo in round 2, leaving Morita with a swollen left eye. A combination later in the round dropped Morita who got to his feet before the 10 count, but was unable to continue.
Also on the card fans saw Ryutaro Nakagaki (4-2-2, 2) [中垣龍汰朗] take an 8 round shut-out against tough Thai journeyman Lerdchai Chaiyawed (13-13, 8), 21 year old Kaiji Nakajima (6-1, 5) [中島海二] stopped Surasak Chumkaew (2-2, 1), in the 2nd of a scheduled 8 rounds, in an all Japanese bout Yuta Hasegawa (5-3-1, 4) [長谷川優太] stopped Yuki Kajitani (6-5, 5) [梶谷有樹] in the 3rd round, and in an East Japan Rookie of the Year bout Naoya Inoue’s school friend, and former J-League player, Seiya Yamaguchi (2-0, 1) [山口聖也] took a split decision win over Masato Suzuki (1-1) [鈴木将斗].
The most notable fighter on the show was the enigmatic Japanese Welterweight Jin Sasaki (17-1-1, 16) [佐々木 尽] who successfully unified the WBO Asia Pacific title with the OPBF title as he stopped Filipino fighter Joe Noynay (23-3-2, 11) in 5 rounds. The bout, like many of Sasaki's, was a bit peculiar, and saw both the best, and some of the worst, from Sasaki. The hard hitting Japanese fighter, who had been out of the ring for 10 months due to a rotator cuff injury, tried to take Noynay’s head off with the first shot he threw. Despite the vicious intent Sasaki then didn’t do much for the rest of the round, though did hurt Noynay late on. Sasaki then tried to goad Noynay, taunting, telling him to come on, and give openings, though the Filipino fought smartly in round 2. Noynay was rocked in round 3, before Sasaki backed off, taunted more and played with both Noynay and the fans. Noynay was having moments, but it really seemed like Sasaki was trying to entertain the fans with his actions, rather than put his foot on the gas looking for a finish, and this was again the case in round 4, where looked dangerous, but lacked any real urgency or intensity, waiting for a mistake rather than forcing one. He was still doing enough to win over the judges though, with two of the 3 “wise men'' having it a shutout, and the third giving Noynay a round.
The judges were never seriously expected to have to render a decision here, and that proved to be the case in round 5, as Sasaki came out with a bit more spite, pressing until an opportunity came up for a huge right hand. The shot hurt Noynay who wasn’t allowed to recover as Sasaki unleashed, landing a brutal left hook, then unloaded, with Noynay somehow staying on his feet until a right hand sent him down as the ref tried to catch him. Following the win Sasaki and his team seemed to suggest he wanted a world title fight, but on this performance he’s nowhere close to one, though we do need to wonder whether he was simply trying to play a bit too much to the fans, rather than taking Noynay as a serious threat. If, or when, he steps up to world level, he won’t be able to fight like he did here.
The other title bout on this card saw Ryuya Tsugawa (13-1, 9) [津川龍也] retain the Japanese Youth Super Bantamweight title, as he stopped Shodai Morita (6-3, 3) [森田翔大] in the second round. The two had twice fought in High School, with Tsugawa winning both, and he followed that up with a pretty clinical beating here. The first round saw Tsugawa pressing before he stepped up the tempo in round 2, leaving Morita with a swollen left eye. A combination later in the round dropped Morita who got to his feet before the 10 count, but was unable to continue.
Also on the card fans saw Ryutaro Nakagaki (4-2-2, 2) [中垣龍汰朗] take an 8 round shut-out against tough Thai journeyman Lerdchai Chaiyawed (13-13, 8), 21 year old Kaiji Nakajima (6-1, 5) [中島海二] stopped Surasak Chumkaew (2-2, 1), in the 2nd of a scheduled 8 rounds, in an all Japanese bout Yuta Hasegawa (5-3-1, 4) [長谷川優太] stopped Yuki Kajitani (6-5, 5) [梶谷有樹] in the 3rd round, and in an East Japan Rookie of the Year bout Naoya Inoue’s school friend, and former J-League player, Seiya Yamaguchi (2-0, 1) [山口聖也] took a split decision win over Masato Suzuki (1-1) [鈴木将斗].