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January 14th 2017-Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Kyotaro Fujimoto (15-1, 8) vs Willie Nasio (10-1, 9) This past Saturday saw the first OPBF title fight of 2017, with Japanese Heavyweight champion Kyotaro Fujimoto [藤本 京太郎] battling against Australian champion Willie Nasio for the Oriental crown.
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April 27th 2016-Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan Kyotaro Fujimoto (13-1, 7) vs Nathan McKay (6-2, 3) This past Wednesday Japanese fans at the Ota City General Gymnasium had the chance to see Japanese Heavyweight champion Kyotaro Fujimoto [藤本 京太] face off against Nathan McKay. For those who weren't in the venue, TV Tokyo put the bout on their youtube channel the following day. (Video thanks to TVTOKYO) May 17th 2012-Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Kyotaro Fujimoto (2-0, 1) vs Afa Tatupu (7-3, 6) Japanese Heavyweights are few and far between though Kyotaro Fujumoto [藤本京太郎] has made a name for himself in recent years. Here is one of Kyotaro's early bouts, and it sees him facing off against Afa Tatupu. June 20th 2012-Bodymaker Colosseum, Osaka, Osaka, Japan Kyotaro Fujimoto (3-0, 2) vs Clarence Tillman (11-9-2, 6) In his 4th professional boxing bout Kyotaro Fujumoto [藤本京太郎] stepped up to 8 round as he took on the experienced Clarence Tillman. December 31st 2012-Bodymaker Colosseum, Osaka, Osaka, Japan Kyotaro Fujimoto (5-0, 3) Vs Solomon Haumono (19-1-2, 17) At the end of 2012 Japanese Heavyweight Kyotaro Fujimoto [藤本京太郎] fought in his first professional title bout, a contest against the big punching Solomon Haumono for OPBF Heavyweight title. April 17th 2013-Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Kyotaro Fujimoto (5-1, 3) Vs Fabrice Aurieng (7-4, 2) Japanese Heavyweights are few and far between however the active scene does have one notable fighter in the division Kyotaro Fujimoto [京太郎], known as just Kyotaro by many. In one of his early fights he took on Frenchman Fabrice Aurieng. April 30th 2015-Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Kyotaro Fujimoto (11-1, 6) Vs Nobuhiro Ishida (27-10-2, 11) In April 2014 we saw Nobuhiro Ishida shock us all and give Japanese Heavyweight champion Kyotaro Fujimoto a really tough bout in an 8 rounder. Exactly a year later the two men did it again in a 10 round bout for the Japanese Heavyweight title. Here is their second encounter. For those interested the first bout is here. Note-The graphic on the right of the screen hasn't been added, it was on screen through out the broadcast. In July 2013 the flamboyant Kyotaro Fujimoto became the first Japanese Heavyweight champion in more than 50 years. He did that by stopping veteran Peter Okello in 6 rounds. Some 4 months after the victory over Peter we saw Fujimoto returning to the ring for his first defence of the belt as he took on Kotatsu Takehara, a limited Japanese Heavyweight who had fought on the international stage against Magomed Abdusalamov and Lucas Browne, who had both blown him out in a round, and Alex Leapai, who he held to a 6 round draw. On paper it was a mismatch. Kyotaro, the golden boy of the Japanese Heavyweight scene, was 7-1 (5) and a man who had impressed fans with movement, skills and speed. Takehara was 9-8-3 (4) a was effectively a journeyman. In the ring however the bout was far from being a mismatch. We won't ruin the result but to say this was competitive is really not stretching the truth at all. Interestingly the men will fight again on September 10th. The winner of their rematch is likely to fight Nobuhiro Ishida on New Years Eve in what could well be a hugely important bout for the Heavyweight division in Japan. It's fair to say that when we talk about Japanese boxing we don't tend to talk about the Heavyweight division. That's, in part, due to a lack of Heavyweights on the Japanese boxing scene and in fact there have only ever been 2 Japanese Heavyweight champions. The first of these was Noburu Kataoka in 1957 it was then more 50 years later before we saw a Japanese Heavyweight title fight. Whilst the long forgotten Kataoka was the first Japanese Heavyweight champion the second was Kyotaro Fujimoto who won the title in July 2013 when he stopped former world title challenger Okello Peter in 6 rounds to claim the belt. That fight, in full, can be seen below and is a clear case of youth and speed against power and experience. Since winning the title Fujimoto has successfully defended it once, beating Kotsatsu Takehara in a close decision and recorded a non-title victory over Nobuhiro Ishida in a very close bout. Not many Japanese domestic fights get major international attention but one bout this year did, and we mean major attention. That bout was the Heavyweight clash between Japanese Heavyweight champion Kyotaro Fujimoto and former WBA interim Light Middleweight champion Nobuhiro Ishida. The bout got the attention it did in the US due to Ishida, a fighter who is well known outside of Japan for his fights with the likes of James Kirkland, Paul Williams, Gennady Golovkin and Dmitry Pirog. He may not be a bonafide world level fighter but he was certainly accepted as a solid world level contender following his victory over Kirkland that really made him a name in the US and throughout Europe. Whilst Ishida himself gets attention for just fighting the idea of seeing him blow up to become a Heavyweight simply intensified that interest and the bout became more important to some American fans than numerous world title fights that take place in Japan. It was an interesting story going in to the bout and turned out to be just as interesting in the bout as Ishida seemed to prove that he was a very capable fighter at the higher weight. If you've not yet got around to watching this one we recommend that you take the time to watch it now as it really was an intriguing contest from the first bell to the last. (Video courtesy of マンタグ) |
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