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December 8th 2014- Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Kentaro Masuda (20-6, 11) Vs Tatsuya Takahashi (18-5-3, 13) In late 2014 Japanese fans got a treat when as Kentaro Masuda took on Tatsuya Takahashi in a late contender for domestic fight of the year. Masuda entered the bout as the Japanese champion whilst Takahashi was a relative unknown, by the end however Takahashi was being described as a "Zombie" due to his toughness. Unfortunately we've not managed to find the full fight but here is the televised portion of it as shown on Fuji TV and trust us, this is a real treat. (Note-Not all rounds of this bout were televised)
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The old saying that you "can't teach an old dog new tricks" doesn't seem to ring true when talking about Kentaro Masuda who, as a fighter, has gotten better as he has aged. He has, in the last 3 years, gone from being a man looking unlikely to achieve any great success to being the Japanese Bantamweight and the #1 contender for the OPBF title. Masuda's improvement was first seen when he won the Japanese title with a victory over Yu Kawaguchi. He recently made the first defence of that title by scoring a very impressive stoppage against former world title challenger Konosuke Tomiyama. Tomiyama had fought at a higher level than Masuda but Masuda was simply too good, too powerful and too strong for Tomiyama and a third round blitz from the champion was all it took to see off his challenger who was dropped twice in the round before being stopped by the referee as Masuda hunted a third knock down. (Video is thanks to Kentaro Masuda) Foe one reason or another we've generally struggled to get Japanese TV recordings. This video however is a treat and is the recording of the Sky A Sports broadcast of the Japanese Bantamweight title fight from earlier this year between Kentaro Masuda and Yu Kawaguchi. Sadly despite the amazing footage it wasn't the great of fights, though was still a very good fight. Please note that due to the video being from the TV broadcast there is some build up for both men, meaning the actual fight doesn't started until about 14 minutes in. We felt that keep the broadcast "as was" was preferable though we are sorry to those who just want to get down to action. Heading into the bout Kawguchi was getting his first ever title opportunity. He had been a professional for around 6 years and had had 25 previous bouts. For Masuda it was a second title opportunity having been stopped in a battle for the same title, in 2012, by Ryosuke Iwasa. It was, on paper, a very competitive bout though not one between the best Bantamweights in Japan, who were clearly Shinsuke Yamanaka and Tomoki Kameda, both of whom we were champions. In fact what it was what was advertised, a domestic title fight with two experienced domestic level fighters both looking to secure their biggest and most important win. We won't ruin the action but we will say it was a very solid bout with both men giving it their all. It's well worth a watch if you want to see two men fighting their heart out in a bout they feel they must win. In 2011 Ryosuke Iwasa took the first step towards proving his class as he, at the second time of asking, claimed the Japanese Bantamweight title courtesy of a very solid win over the more experienced Jerope Mercado. At the time the expectation on Iwasa seemed to be that of a potential star and so much more than just a domestic champion. The following year Iwasa made 2 defence of his national title. The first came against the tough but limited Yuki Murai, an opening round stoppage and the second saw Iwasa defeating the very under-rated Kentaro Masuda in a win that looks better now than it did at the time. Iwasa did what he needed to, often striking as a sharp puncher when Masude left gaps, he took advantage of the flaws of the challenger very well despite some messy moments when Masuda managed to make things rough. Unfortunately for Masuda the shots of Iwasa began to take control of the bout and by the end of round 5 you could see the referee keeping a close eye on the challenger who was saved, on his feet, as Iwasa began to find the target with ease. Whilst Iwasa was viewed as a future world champion going in to this bout Masuda was seen as nothing special. He had lost 5 of his previous 19 bouts and although he was "only" 29 was seen as a man who had reached his highest point in boxing. In 2014 however Masuda, in his second Japanese title fight, managed to win the title with a very good technical decision victory over Yu Kawaguchi. As seen in this bout, despite the loss, Masuda is better than his record indicates and courtesy of his toughness he could be a handful for many domestic fighters. Iwasa however is clearly above domestic level and many still tip him to claim a world title some day down the line. |
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