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The best Japanese Fights of 2018 (Part 3)

10/1/2018

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We return to out look at the best Japanese fight of 2018 ahead of this coming weekend, a weekend that promises to deliver a lot of action in the country.

This is part three of a multi-part article and will look at 5 bouts that took place from July 27th to August 16th. More parts to this will be posted in the coming weeks, so please keep your eye on for those!


If you missed part 1 than can be read here The best Japanese Fights of 2018 (Part 1)
And part 2 can be read here ​The best Japanese Fights of 2018 (Part 2)
July 27th – Korakuen Hall
Yusaku Kuga (16-2-1, 11) Vs Shingo Wake (24-5-2, 16)

One of the most anticipated Japanese title fights of 2018 was a Super Bantamweight bout between Yusaku Kuga and former world title challenger Shingo Wake. The bout pitted two of the best domestic fighters at 122lbs against each other and it promised so much. At domestic level Kuga was vicious and had made 2 defenses of the title leading into this bout. Wake was a sharp shooter who had battered into a pulp against Jonathan Guzman in 2016 but had bounced back with 4 stoppage wins leading into this bout.
August 9th – Korakuen Hall
Taiki Minamoto (15-5, 12) vs Tatsuya Otsubo (12-8-1, 4)

It's fair to say that August was the month where things really picked up for Japanese fights, with a lot of great fights. The first one that really caught fire was the Japanese Featherweight title fight between defending champion Taiki Minamoto and Tatsuya Otsubo. On paper this looked like a mismatch but turned out to be a real thriller as both men unloaded on the other in what was a bit of a dark horse fight. For Minamoto it was his first defense of the title, following a very impressive performance against Takenori Ohashi whilst Otsubo was having his second Japanese title shot, and this turned out to be a real treat.
August 11th-City Sogo Gym
Ryota Yada (16-4, 13) vs Kazuyasu Okamoto (14-5, 4)

The action from August went from strength to strength and on August 11th we saw Japanese Welterweight champion Ryota Yada make his first defense, as he took on the unheralded Kazuyasu Okamoto. Much like the Minamoto/Otsubo bout this wasn't expected to be too exciting but certainly exceeded expectation and was one of the many treats asign boxing has given us this year. Notably it wasn't the best fight on the card, but was still a high tempo, hard hitting and worth while watch.
August 11th-City Sogo Gym
Keita Kurihara (11-5, 10) Vs Kazuki Tanaka (9-1, 6)

Records don't tell us what to expect when we get a fight, instead the styles of the fighters involved should tell us whether we should be excited or not. When Keita Kurihara and Kazuki Tanaka were matched we knew to expect something special. Tanaka had been a former amateur standout who was tipped for big things as a professional whilst Kurihara was best known as a heavy handed slugger, who was always worth watching due to aggressive style and defensive flaws. When the two got in the ring, with a very hot crowd, they delivered a short but thrilling action bout.
August 16th-Korakuen Hall
Daisuke Sudo (4-6-3) vs Jun Ishimoto (5-5-1, 3)

Not all exciting fights are high profile or expected to be great fights and the clash between Daisuke Sudo and Jun Ishimoto proved just that. The two men entered the contest as total unknowns and were fighting in front of only a smattering of a crowd on the under-card of a world title bout. Despite the relatively small crowd watching the two men put on a show, fighting a high tempo and exciting 6 round contest. What made this really good was that both men fought as if they had a point to prove, like they could pick up a relatively rare win and really take a chance to shine. If you like high tempo wars this is well worth your time.

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5 Japanese wars from August 2018!

8/28/2018

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The month of August is now coming to an end, and I've decided to look over the fights Japanese fans have been able to see during the month, picking out the most exciting bouts to have either been television or have been made available online. For the sake of this I've not included things that have only been made available on Boxingraise, so that I can share the videos with you, the readers, and not push you to an online paid service to watch things, though I would certainly advise all readers to look into subscribing to Boxingraise if they do wish to watch more action from the Japanese domestic scene.
Keita Kurihara (11-5, 10) v Kazuki Tanaka (9-1, 6)
August 11th - City Sogo Gym – Asign Boxing
Just days after the thriller between Minamoto and Otsubo we had another thriller as the hard hitting Keita Kurihara faced off with the once touted Kazuki Tanaka in Hirakata City, Osaka. This was a chief support bout for a Japanese Welterweight title fight, but ended up stealing the show.

The hard hitting Kurihara, who has become one of our favourites due to a string of action bouts, was looking for a third straight stoppage win following a June 2017 loss to Hiroaki Teshigawara whilst Tanaka was hoping to build on big domestic wins over Hikaru Marugame and Seizo Kono. What we ended up getting was a battle between two men each looking to claim their place as a leading contender for a title fight, and it showed with some amazing back and forth action.

Despite not being televised the bout was uploaded to the A-sign boxing channel giving fans a great chance to watch the bout after the fact, and has already amassed over 44,000 views at the time of writing, for what was essentially a low key Japanese domestic clash supporting a much more significant title clash, which has been seen less than 11,000 times!
Satoshi Shimizu (6-0, 6) v Shingo Kawamura (16-3-1, 8)
August 17th- Korakuen Hall - Fuji TV
Just a day after the Iwasa/Doheny card fight fans at the Korakuen Hall got a brilliant double header featuring two thrilling all-Japanese bouts. On paper the more significant of those was an OPBF Featherweight title bout, as 2012 Olympic bronze medal winner Satoshi Shimizu looked to defend his title against the upset minded Shingo Kawamura. The bout looked like it would be a mismatch on paper but instead it turned out to be an all out war.

Shimizu, dubbed “Diamond Left” for his powerful left hand, had been very heavily favoured by all but Kawamura came out with a gameplan that few would have expected. Rather than respect the power and size of Shimizu the challenger took the fight to the champion, and showed absolutely no fear or respect to the champion. This unexpected tactic lead to a thrilling fight that saw both men forced to take hard shots.

Although not televised live it was featured on tape delay and was well worth tuning into when Fuji TV did get around to airing the contest, even if it did get over-shadowed by the other part of the double header....
Taiki Minamoto (15-5, 12) Vs Tatsuya Otsubo (12-8-1, 4)  August 9th – Korakuen Hall – Fuji TV
The first real thriller to be on Japanese TV this month was a tape delay broadcast of the Japanese Featherweight title fight between Taiki Minamoto and Tatsuya Otsubo.

The bout was Minamoto's first defense of the title, following his excellent win over Takenori Ohashi back in April. The title winning performance really caught our attention and we were expecting something similarly impressive as he took on Otsubo. The challenger was having his second title shot, following a loss to Satoshi Hosono back in 2015, and on paper he was expected to roll over and accept another loss.

What we got was a less than stellar performance from Minamoto and a hungry, driven performance form the challenger. This made for an excellent war between two tough men who ended up really battering each other in front of an excited crowd at the Korakuen Hall. 

Fans unable to attend the show were then able to watch it on delay on Fuji TV
Daisuke Sudo (4-6-3) v Jun Ishimoto (5-5-1, 3)
August 16th - Korakuen Hall – G+
The most obscure fight on this list came on the under-card of the IBF Super Bantamweight title clash between Ryosuke Iwasa and TJ Doheny, and saw the unheralded pairing of Daisuke Sudo and Jun Ishimoto put on a thrilling 6 round battle. On paper it looked like a forgettable clash that wouldn't receive much attention yet was one of the most action packed bouts on Japanese soil during the month.

Sudo, a 23 year old from the Misako gym, hadn't won in his previous 3 bouts but showed a real desire to change that here. Ishimoto had also failed to secure a win his previous 3, and just like Sudo was clearly a hungry fighter looking to get his career back on track. It turned into a really gritty battle of heart and determination. The skills might not have matched those seen in the main event of the card but the work rate was off the chart in a battle of will, rather than skill.

The bout was televised live on G+ as part of their broadcast of the Iwasa/Doheny bout, and despite being absent from the international broadcast, on ESPN+, it was something that every fan deserves to give a watch too.
Akira Yaegashi (26-6, 14) v Hirofumi Mukai (16-5-3, 6)
August 17th- Korakuen Hall - Fuji TV
The other part of that aforementioned double header saw former 3-weight world champion Akira Yaegashi face off with former world title challenger Hirofumi Mukai in a bout that many had expected to be something a little bit special and actually had top of the card billing, ahead of the OPBF title fight. Although fans expected something special they got something even better than anticipated as the two fighters traded blows in a potential fight of the year candidate, with round 6 being a clear round of the year contender.

Of the two men it's Yaegashi who entered the more well known, having enjoyed world title reigns at Minimumweight, Light Flyweight and Flyweight. He was however seen as being shop worn and fighting at Super Flyweight wasn't expected to be a good idea. Mukai, who had challenged Pongsaklek Wonjongkam and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, had proven himself through his career as a gutsy yet technical fighter, lacking in power but being very solid from the outside.

With Mukai looking to box at range and Yaegashi looking to close the distance the battle for space was key to the contest, but, as with all Yaegashi fights, you knew a war would break out eventually, and this was no exception.
As a bonus I also want to bring to your attention one other fight that caught my attention, and was also on the Iwasa/Doheny under-card. That was the professional debut of Seiya Meguro (0-0), who instantly made a statement when he took on unbeaten Thai Pornchai Sookmueng (0-0-1).

If you've not seen this one, which was also part of the G+ telecast, I suggest you put a few minutes aside and enjoy Meguro in action. He was certainly unrefined in terms of technique but few could argue with his intensity and the first impression he gave off as a professional is that he was someone who we will be wanting to follow very closely over the coming years.

​This is short and sweet, but very exciting and the type of debut that saw a teenager show nerves but also put on a show.

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    Takahiro Onaga

    Takahiro Onaga is a regular contributor to Asian Boxing and will now be a featured writer in his own column where his takes his shot at various things in the boxing world.

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