Youth World Amateur Champion Yuta Sakai turns pro with the Ohashi Gym!
Over the last decade or so the Ohashi Gym has blossomed from a notable gym into, arguably, the best in Japan, overtaking the likes of Teiken at the head of Japanese boxing. The Gym, which has lead Naoya Inoue stardom, has been snapping up some of the top talent in the country over the last few years, adding the likes of Yoshiki Takei and Keisuke Matsumoto to the stable.
Today they announced their latest signing as they held a press conference to announce that prodigious talent Yuta Sakai [坂井優太] had inked a deal with Ohashi, who will promote his professional debut and guide his career.
The 18 year old Sakai is a phenomenal talent, having won 6 high school titles along side a gold at the 2022 IBA Youth World Boxing Championships, which helped him claim the 2022 Japan Boxing Federation Male Fighter of the Year award.
At the press conference to announce the signing it was revealed that Sakai had planned to remain an amateur and go to the Olympics, before being invited to the Ohashi gym and being given the option to turn professional. He considered the offer before agreeing to turn professional, and has been training at the Ohashi Gym since last June, training every few weeks at the gym. He admitted that he had spoke to Naoya Inoue, and that words shared between the two men convinced him to turn professional, likely looking at what the "Monster" had done and eyeing up similar success.
Sakai has been trained by his father, Nobukatsu, in the past and it's been revealed that Nobukatsu will continue to train his son, alongside Yasuhiro Suzuki. Suzuki explained that his focus will be on developing Sakai's power and his ability to hit without being hit, and explained that his understanding of distance timing and speed were already perfect.
The 18 year old southpaw is expected to debut as a Super Flyweight in June, in a 6 rounder. Before then he will take part in his pro-test, which is scheduled to be on May 6th, as part of the recently announce Japanese super show at the Tokyo Dome, headline by Inoue's bout with Luis Nery.
Today they announced their latest signing as they held a press conference to announce that prodigious talent Yuta Sakai [坂井優太] had inked a deal with Ohashi, who will promote his professional debut and guide his career.
The 18 year old Sakai is a phenomenal talent, having won 6 high school titles along side a gold at the 2022 IBA Youth World Boxing Championships, which helped him claim the 2022 Japan Boxing Federation Male Fighter of the Year award.
At the press conference to announce the signing it was revealed that Sakai had planned to remain an amateur and go to the Olympics, before being invited to the Ohashi gym and being given the option to turn professional. He considered the offer before agreeing to turn professional, and has been training at the Ohashi Gym since last June, training every few weeks at the gym. He admitted that he had spoke to Naoya Inoue, and that words shared between the two men convinced him to turn professional, likely looking at what the "Monster" had done and eyeing up similar success.
Sakai has been trained by his father, Nobukatsu, in the past and it's been revealed that Nobukatsu will continue to train his son, alongside Yasuhiro Suzuki. Suzuki explained that his focus will be on developing Sakai's power and his ability to hit without being hit, and explained that his understanding of distance timing and speed were already perfect.
The 18 year old southpaw is expected to debut as a Super Flyweight in June, in a 6 rounder. Before then he will take part in his pro-test, which is scheduled to be on May 6th, as part of the recently announce Japanese super show at the Tokyo Dome, headline by Inoue's bout with Luis Nery.