Fighters make weight for title double header in Tokyo
Tomorrow the legendary Korakuen Hall hosts a title double header as part of the next "WHO'S NEXT DYNAMIC GLOVE on U-NEXT". Today, ahead of that show, the fighters involved took part in their weigh-in for their contests.
The main event of the show is a Japanese Flyweight title bout, as Jukiya Iimura (5-1, 1) [飯村樹輝弥] seeks his second defense, as takes on the light punching, but fun to watch Yuga Inoue (15-3-1, 3) [井上夕雅]. On the scales the champion was 111.5lbs whilst the challenger came in bang on the 112lb limit.
Iimura admitted that he had been scouting Inoue, and described him as a combative type, but that he wasn’t special in any specific way. Notably he spoke about expecting his first child in August, and how that was an extra reason not to lose.
As for Inoue he stated that Iimura has good technique, but that he had come to Tokyo to win, and to have party, rather than just making up the numbers.
The chief support bout will see WBO Asia Pacific Super Flyweight champion Kenta Nakagawa (24-4-1, 12) [中川健太] defending his title against Tetsuro Ohashi (11-3-1, 2) [大橋哲朗]. The two men both came in bang on the limit, at 115lbs.
Aged 38 Nakagawa seems to be fully aware he can’t afford a loss, and he has clearly scouted Ohashi well, noting that Ohashi is quick and has good defense, so he’ll need to come forward and take the fight to the challenger, rather than sitting back He also knows that if he wants to land a world title fight, he’ll need to win to win this, as a loss would cost him his high world rankings, with very high rankings with the WBO and WBC, and could potentially land a mandatory shot as WBO champion Kosei Tanaka (20-1, 11) [田中恒成].
As for Ohashi, he admitted he didn’t expect to fight for the title, and that he has a good relationship with Nakagawa, with the two men taking part in a training camp together in the Philippines in 2021, with Nakagawa suggesting the two could face off one day. He is very respectful of Nakagawa’s power, and it seems like he’ll look to avoid being caught by a Nakagawa bomb. Notably he has also stated that he’ll be dedicating his victory, if he wins, to stablemate and close friend, Kazuki Anaguchi, who passed away earlier this year following a fight in December.
The main event of the show is a Japanese Flyweight title bout, as Jukiya Iimura (5-1, 1) [飯村樹輝弥] seeks his second defense, as takes on the light punching, but fun to watch Yuga Inoue (15-3-1, 3) [井上夕雅]. On the scales the champion was 111.5lbs whilst the challenger came in bang on the 112lb limit.
Iimura admitted that he had been scouting Inoue, and described him as a combative type, but that he wasn’t special in any specific way. Notably he spoke about expecting his first child in August, and how that was an extra reason not to lose.
As for Inoue he stated that Iimura has good technique, but that he had come to Tokyo to win, and to have party, rather than just making up the numbers.
The chief support bout will see WBO Asia Pacific Super Flyweight champion Kenta Nakagawa (24-4-1, 12) [中川健太] defending his title against Tetsuro Ohashi (11-3-1, 2) [大橋哲朗]. The two men both came in bang on the limit, at 115lbs.
Aged 38 Nakagawa seems to be fully aware he can’t afford a loss, and he has clearly scouted Ohashi well, noting that Ohashi is quick and has good defense, so he’ll need to come forward and take the fight to the challenger, rather than sitting back He also knows that if he wants to land a world title fight, he’ll need to win to win this, as a loss would cost him his high world rankings, with very high rankings with the WBO and WBC, and could potentially land a mandatory shot as WBO champion Kosei Tanaka (20-1, 11) [田中恒成].
As for Ohashi, he admitted he didn’t expect to fight for the title, and that he has a good relationship with Nakagawa, with the two men taking part in a training camp together in the Philippines in 2021, with Nakagawa suggesting the two could face off one day. He is very respectful of Nakagawa’s power, and it seems like he’ll look to avoid being caught by a Nakagawa bomb. Notably he has also stated that he’ll be dedicating his victory, if he wins, to stablemate and close friend, Kazuki Anaguchi, who passed away earlier this year following a fight in December.