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December 14th 2017-Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Keita Obara (18-2-1, 16) vs Shusaku Fujinaka (16-7-2, 11) This past Thursday fight fans in Japan saw WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight champion Keita Obara [小原 佳太] battle against fellow Japanese fighter Shusaku Fujinaka [藤中 周作]
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August 10th 2017-Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Keita Obara (17-2-1, 15) Vs Saddam Kietyongyuth (26-2, 21) This past week we saw former world title challenger Keita Obara [小原 佳太] take on Thai visitor Saddam Kietyongyuth [ซัดดัม เรือไวกิ้ง] in a bout for the WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight title. Note - Saddam was fighting under his real name of Narong Boonchan September 9th 2016-Krylia Sovetov, Moscow, Russia Keita Obara (16-1-1, 15) Vs Eduard Troyanovsky (24-0, 21 Earlier today Keita Obara [小原 佳太] took on IBF Light Welterweight champion Eduard Troyanovsky in Russian for the IBF and IBO titles. April 14th 2016-Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Keita Obara (15-1-1, 14) vs Sin Maneesri (0-0) Ealier this month Japanese fans saw the world ranked Keita Obara [小原 佳太] fight in farcical "stay busy fight" against against a Thai opponent, originally reported as being Petchdam Tor Buamas though now listed as being Sin Maneesri. Note- The on screen graphic lists the Thai as being 8-3 (4) November 7th-Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort, Miami, Florida, USA Keita Obara (15-1, 14) Vs Walter Castillo (26-3, 19) The PBC has been a mixed bag at times but it has certainly helped some fighters increase their profile. One of those was Japanese puncher Keita Obara who recently traveled to the US to face Nicaraguan tough guy Walter Castillo in an IBF eliminator at 140lbs. The bout was Obara's US debut and saw him really getting positive feedback from American fans. Sadly though the PBC does have it's issues, and those were seen in the scoring of this one, with some terrible judges scorecards. December 8th 2014- Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Keita Obara (12-1, 11) Vs Rodel Wenceslao (8-9-1, 2) Heavy handed Japanese fighter Keita Obara has often commented that he struggles to make 140lbs. Last year he got the chance to take of the shackles and fight at a more natural 147lbs as he took on Filipino journeyman Rodel Wenceslao in what was a clear mismatch on paper. April 13th 2015- Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Keita Obara (13-1, 12) Vs Yuya Okazaki (11-7-1, 4) A few days ago we posted a fan cam video of the OPBF Light Welterweight title bout between Keita Obara and Yuya Okazaki. He're we've come across the TV broadcast version of the same fight [For those wanting the fan shot version than can be seen here] April 13th 2015- Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Keita Obara (13-1, 12) Vs Yuya Okazaki (11-7-1, 4) OPBF Light Welterweight champion Keita Obara is one of the heaviest punchers, pound-for-pound, in Asia and earlier this month he was trying to show off that power and record his 12th straight stoppage as he took on Yuya Okazaki. On paper it was a mismatch, in the ring however it turned out to be more than just a bit tasty with both men forced to take some seriously big shots. (Video thanks to gentidori) Before we talk about this fight we need to apologise. There are a number of rounds missing from this fight, sadly we've not yet received any "fan cam" footage of the remaining rounds so this is the best we have, for now. So now on to the fight. It was a recent one for the OPBF Light Welterweight title that saw the very heavy handed Keita Obara, making the first defence of his title, and former 2 title challenger Shinya Iwabuchi, also a heavy handed fighter. On paper it was a great fight between two heavy handed fighters with serious power and differing styles. Sadly, in many ways, the bout started slowly with neither man really settling very quickly, in fact it seemed like the usual feeling out process lasted significantly longer than it usually does, an issue in many ways with the stances of the men which saw the orthodox Obara struggling to get control of distance against Iwabuchi, a counter punching southpaw. Thankfully as the fight progressed it did begin to catch light and ended in chilling fashion with the power of one man really proving it's fight ending ability. (Video is thanks to 45412380) One of the problems when you're incredibly heavy handed is getting rounds under your belt. It's certainly been a problem for Keita Obara who ended up blowing away tough opponents like Kota Oguchi, who was stopped in 3 rounds, and the heavy handed Kengo Nagashima, who lasted just 2 rounds. Sometimes, due to the power of a fighter, they need to carry an opponent a little bit just to find out what it's like going deeper into a bout. We dare suggest that that's what happened in Obara's second Japanese title defence when he took on Tetsuya Hasunuma and went into the 9th round for the first time in his career. Obara is, and always will be, a power puncher first and foremost but against Hasunuma he seemed to be happy to become a boxer as opposed to a fighter, he was happy to work off his jab, use his movement and keep at distance as much as possible. He did throw some heavy artillery but somewhat less than he had in some previous fights until he felt he had proven his stamina to himself and went for the kill with some bombs in round 9. This fight proved not only could Obara go the rounds but also that he really could box. He had been promising but had never displayed this level of boxing before and that, more than the rounds, was impressive. (A big thanks to 45412380 for originally uploading this fight) |
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