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The development of Keita Obara from promising former amateur star to OPBF champion has been a really interesting one. On his debut he was thrown in too deep by being matched with Kazuyoshi Kumano, a very experienced fighter who wore down and stopped Obara. In his second bout he was put in with a limited southpaw to get a relatively easy win before being matched with Daichi Sakoda, a teak tough southpaw. Rather than letting Obara pick up cheap and easy wins his team continued to match him hard and in his 4th bout he was put in with another very durable fighter in Kota Oguchi. Oguchi was supposed to take Obara rounds whilst being a safe opponent with little in terms of punch power, Oguchi however failed to survive the power of Obara. Obara followed up the bout with Oguchi by fighting another durable opponent in the form of Kengo Nagashima. Unlike Oguchi however Nagashima could punch, in fact Nagashima was arguably the heaviest handed fighter on the Japanese domestic scene and had a record of 10-6-2 (9) with 2 of his losses coming very early in his career. He wasn't in the ring to take Obara rounds, he was in there take behead Obara and employed tactics similar to what Kumano did in Obara's debut. Unfortunately for Nagashima he was fighting an improved Obara and it showed when he coped with the pressure and countered it before dropping and then stopping Nagashima in round 2. Since this bout Obara has claimed both Oriental and Japanese titles at Light Welterweight proving his class. Nagashima however hasn't faded away either and the dangerous puncher will be getting a chance to claim the Japanese Light Middleweight title on August 10th when he battles Yuki Nonaka in a very interesting bout.
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When Japan's Keita Obara turned professional there was a lot of expectation on his shoulders. That expectation continued despite his debut loss to Kazuyoshi Kumano. The loss on debut was a set back but it wasn't the end of the road and with in a year Obara had got back on track with wins over Makoto Mori, by stoppage, and Daichi Sakoda, via technical decision. It was clear, not just in his wins but also in his loss, that he had talent, power and potential, but he needed some more experience and some rounds. To get Obara rounds his team matches him with Kota Oguchi, a team tough opponent who hadn't been stopped in 16 previous contests. He was viewed as a safe opponent due to his lack of power and limitations as a fighter but he was durable, he was tough and he knew how to survive having gone 8 rounds numerous times. What Obara's team wouldn't have expected was for their charge to drop Oguchi in the second round or finish him off in round 3 in what was genuine a very impressive result despite not looking it on paper. On paper Obara had beaten a guy who had entered 8-8, in actuality he had stopped one of the toughest "journeymen" in Japanese boxing in just 3 rounds! Since this bout Obara has become one of the best Light Welterweights in Asia. He has won Japanese and OPBF titles and become one of the most dangerous punchers in or around 140lbs. Oguchi on the other hand has fought 5 times, losing 4 of those 5 bouts though has gone the distance in all 4 of those losses. Current OPBF Light Welterweight champion Keita Obara began his career in the worst way possible. The former amateur stand out was supposed to be a star in the making but on debut he was defeated by Kazuyoshi Kumano in a notable upset. Rather than dwelling on the loss Obara would get back on the horse by defeating Makoto Mori in 2 rounds in what was a bit of a "gimme". In his third fight however things got tough again as he battled Daichi Sakoda, a very tough southpaw with very respectable power. Sakoda wasn't fighting Obara to give the prospect an easy win, instead Sakoda wanted to inflict Obara's second loss in 3 bouts. What we was Sakoda making life difficult for Obara though the promising showed he had matured from his debut and fought with a serious game face, as if he knew his career was at risk if he lost. Despite being serious Obara wasn't punch perfect, he was never going to be against a fighter like Kusano, but he did enough to win rounds, impress fans and prove he was determined to mature as a fighter. Unfortunately Obara's solid performance was concluded early after a clash of heads, just 11 seconds into round 5 curtailed the bout and left Obara with notable damage above his right eye causing an early conclusion to the contest. The result, a 5th round technical decision for Obara moved his record to 2-1 (1) and, at the time of writing, left Sakoda as the only man to lose a decision to Obara who had strung together 9 successive stoppages following this contest. Sadly for Sakoda this would be his final bout. The general rule of thumb for top Japanese amateurs is that they get given a baptism of fire. There is seemingly no reason to hold back a talented fighter and if they lose on debut so be it, they have time to rebuild. The mentality may seem very odd in the west where an unbeaten record is often a key marketing tool but in Japan it's not just about the "0" in your record but who you've beaten along the way. There is, after all, little point in beating total scrubs when you can actually test yourself and push yourself against good fighters. Sometimes however the tough test on can back fire and a highly touted fighter can find themselves thrown in too deep. That was the case for Keita Obara when he debuted against 32 fight veteran Kazuyoshi Kumano, a former Rookie of the Year who had pushed Yoshitaka Kato very close just 14 months earlier. In the opening round things went perfectly for Obara who dropped Kumano. That was his notable moment of success as Kumano got up and proceeded to rush, bully, battle and generally rough up the debutant who often looked uncoordinated due to the relentless pressure of Kumano. Eventually the pressure took full effect and Obara had to fight fire with fire. Unfortunately for him that saw him leaving himself open and being dropped. An assault soon afterwards saw the referee force to save Obara. Since this loss Obara has been great. He's claimed the Japanese and OPBF Light Welterweight titles and won 11 in a row to become a force to be reckoned with. As for Kusano he fought 5 more times losing 3 and winning 2, before retiring to set up his own gym. Rather interestingly Obara won the vacant OPBF 140lb title in April 2014, prior to him the champion had been Min Wook Kim who had also lost his debut, to Taek Min Kim, by 5th round stoppage, just as Obara did here. |
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March 2024
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