Results from Korakuen Hall, Tatsuyoshi to challenge for OPBF title!
Earlier today we had the latest show from the Ohashi Gym, with 3 title flights on it, a notable debut, and two under-card bouts featuring notable names on the domestic scene.
The show opened with the debut of Haruki Miyamoto (1-0, 1) [宮本陽樹], who went 24-15 as an amateur before heading to the pros. In this bout he faced previously unbeaten Thai foe Sittichai Buasa (3-1, 3) who served as a genuinely good test. In the first round Miyamoto was dropped by a counter left hook, which didn’t hurt him but did show that he wasn’t in with a total push over. From there on however Miyamoto looked to hurt his man, forcing a stoppage in round 4 of a debut that saw him needing to answer questions before getting the win. Whilst not an ideal debut, it is one which will serve him well, and does leave him having answered some important questions.
The second bout on the card saw former Japanese Super Bantamweight champion Ryoichi Tamura (16-8-2, 7) [田村亮一] take an 8 round decision over Taichi Sugimoto (10-3-3, 1) [杉本太一]. The bout was a match up between Tamura’s tenacity and work rate and Sugimoto’s footwork, and clean single shots. Over the 8 rounds it was the pressure and heavy shots of Tamura that impressed the judges, helped in part by a knockdown in round 6. The pressure, work rate and aggression of Tamura really was the difference maker here, as he took the bout with scores of 77-73 and 78-73 twice.
The third bout on the show saw Rikuto Adachi (19-4, 14) [安達陸仁] score the first stoppage of the show, as he scored a 7th round TKO of Masaki Kobayashi (9-4, 4) [小林柾貴]. Both men landed heavy leather in round 1, though we then saw Adachi get behind his jab and show what he could do as a boxer, building up success as mid-range whilst also chipping away at Kobayashi, mentally and physically. Kobayashi, to his credit, trudged on, trying to drag Adachi into a war, and did have moments, but a big right hand in round 7 was the start of the end for Kobayashi. The shot dropped him and a follow up forced the referee to wave off the bout, as Adachi continues to rebuild his career after suffering 3 losses in 7 bouts between May 2019 and June 2022.
The first of 3 title fights on this show saw Ugandan born Japanese based fighter David Ssemujju (6-1, 4) [セムジュ デビッド] claimed the Japanese Welterweight title with a 7th round TKO win against Aso Ishiwaki (13-8-1, 9) [石脇麻生]. This bout promised a lot on paper but wasn’t as competitive as hoped. The bout saw Ssemujju using his amateur pedigree and high work rate to break down Ishiwaki, who was game throughout but repeatedly came off second best. As the rounds went onIshiwaki was having the fight beaten out of him as the rounds progressed. In round 7, following a series of heavy head shots, the referee stepped in and save Ishiwaki from his own toughness with a good stoppage or a man who was simply too brave for his own good.
The second title fight saw Japanese Super Featherweight champion Tsubasa Narai (14-2, 10) [奈良井翼] retain his title with a unanimous decision win against Kanta Fukui (12-6-1, 8) [福井貫太]. This was hotly contested throughout with both men struggling to get the upper hand, though sadly it wasn’t the most exciting or intense, as both men struggled to really get going. After 5 rounds, when we got the open scoring, Fukui was in a narrow lead but it really was narrow and certainly not the sort of lead he’d have felt comfortable with. In the second half Narai, knowing he was behind, did what he had to to turn things around, with hard hooks and good footwork, controlling the distance well in the later rounds, and picking his moments excellently. After 10 rounds Narai had just done enough, with scores of 96-94, twice, and 97-93.
The third of the title bouts, and the show’s main event, saw OPBF Super Bantamweight champion Kazuki Nakajima (16-2-1, 13) [中嶋一輝] make surprisingly light work of former world title challenger Shingo Wake (31-9-2, 22) [和氣慎吾], who really looks like retirement is calling him, something he seemed to hint at after the fight. The first round saw both have moments in a feeling out round. In round 2 however body shots from Nakajima seemed to begin to take the fight out of Wake who's movement and control of distance vanished. Huge headshots followed from Nakajima who sent Wake to the canvas about 2 minutes into the round. Wake recovered from the knockdown, battling to his feet but was unsteady as the referee waved the bout off. After the win Nakajima was joined in the ring by Juiki Tatsuyoshi (16-0-1, 10) [辰吉寿以輝], as it was announced that Tatsuyoshi would challenge Nakajima for the OPBF title next.
The show opened with the debut of Haruki Miyamoto (1-0, 1) [宮本陽樹], who went 24-15 as an amateur before heading to the pros. In this bout he faced previously unbeaten Thai foe Sittichai Buasa (3-1, 3) who served as a genuinely good test. In the first round Miyamoto was dropped by a counter left hook, which didn’t hurt him but did show that he wasn’t in with a total push over. From there on however Miyamoto looked to hurt his man, forcing a stoppage in round 4 of a debut that saw him needing to answer questions before getting the win. Whilst not an ideal debut, it is one which will serve him well, and does leave him having answered some important questions.
The second bout on the card saw former Japanese Super Bantamweight champion Ryoichi Tamura (16-8-2, 7) [田村亮一] take an 8 round decision over Taichi Sugimoto (10-3-3, 1) [杉本太一]. The bout was a match up between Tamura’s tenacity and work rate and Sugimoto’s footwork, and clean single shots. Over the 8 rounds it was the pressure and heavy shots of Tamura that impressed the judges, helped in part by a knockdown in round 6. The pressure, work rate and aggression of Tamura really was the difference maker here, as he took the bout with scores of 77-73 and 78-73 twice.
The third bout on the show saw Rikuto Adachi (19-4, 14) [安達陸仁] score the first stoppage of the show, as he scored a 7th round TKO of Masaki Kobayashi (9-4, 4) [小林柾貴]. Both men landed heavy leather in round 1, though we then saw Adachi get behind his jab and show what he could do as a boxer, building up success as mid-range whilst also chipping away at Kobayashi, mentally and physically. Kobayashi, to his credit, trudged on, trying to drag Adachi into a war, and did have moments, but a big right hand in round 7 was the start of the end for Kobayashi. The shot dropped him and a follow up forced the referee to wave off the bout, as Adachi continues to rebuild his career after suffering 3 losses in 7 bouts between May 2019 and June 2022.
The first of 3 title fights on this show saw Ugandan born Japanese based fighter David Ssemujju (6-1, 4) [セムジュ デビッド] claimed the Japanese Welterweight title with a 7th round TKO win against Aso Ishiwaki (13-8-1, 9) [石脇麻生]. This bout promised a lot on paper but wasn’t as competitive as hoped. The bout saw Ssemujju using his amateur pedigree and high work rate to break down Ishiwaki, who was game throughout but repeatedly came off second best. As the rounds went onIshiwaki was having the fight beaten out of him as the rounds progressed. In round 7, following a series of heavy head shots, the referee stepped in and save Ishiwaki from his own toughness with a good stoppage or a man who was simply too brave for his own good.
The second title fight saw Japanese Super Featherweight champion Tsubasa Narai (14-2, 10) [奈良井翼] retain his title with a unanimous decision win against Kanta Fukui (12-6-1, 8) [福井貫太]. This was hotly contested throughout with both men struggling to get the upper hand, though sadly it wasn’t the most exciting or intense, as both men struggled to really get going. After 5 rounds, when we got the open scoring, Fukui was in a narrow lead but it really was narrow and certainly not the sort of lead he’d have felt comfortable with. In the second half Narai, knowing he was behind, did what he had to to turn things around, with hard hooks and good footwork, controlling the distance well in the later rounds, and picking his moments excellently. After 10 rounds Narai had just done enough, with scores of 96-94, twice, and 97-93.
The third of the title bouts, and the show’s main event, saw OPBF Super Bantamweight champion Kazuki Nakajima (16-2-1, 13) [中嶋一輝] make surprisingly light work of former world title challenger Shingo Wake (31-9-2, 22) [和氣慎吾], who really looks like retirement is calling him, something he seemed to hint at after the fight. The first round saw both have moments in a feeling out round. In round 2 however body shots from Nakajima seemed to begin to take the fight out of Wake who's movement and control of distance vanished. Huge headshots followed from Nakajima who sent Wake to the canvas about 2 minutes into the round. Wake recovered from the knockdown, battling to his feet but was unsteady as the referee waved the bout off. After the win Nakajima was joined in the ring by Juiki Tatsuyoshi (16-0-1, 10) [辰吉寿以輝], as it was announced that Tatsuyoshi would challenge Nakajima for the OPBF title next.