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October 2nd 2012-Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Ryuji Hara (12-0, 10) vs Kenichi Horikawa (23-10-1, 4) In 2012 the then unbeaten Ryuji Hara [原隆二] took on veteran Kenichi Horikawa [堀川謙一] in a bout for the then vacant Japanese Minimumweight title.
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February 26th 2013-Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Ryuji Hara (13-0, 10) vs Yuma Iwahashi (9-4-1, 1) In October 2012 Ryuji Hara [原隆二] claimed the Japanese Minimumweight title. The following year he made his first defense, as he took on Yuma Iwahashi March 27th 2017-Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Ryuji Hara (21-2, 12) vs Akiyoshi Kanazawa (14-6-4, 7) Earlier this week Japanese fans saw former world title challenger Ryuji Hara [原隆二] battle against Akiyoshi Kanazawa [金沢 晃佑] December 30th 2016-Ariake Colosseum, Tokyo, Japan Ryuji Hara (20-2, 12) VS Hiroya Yamamoto (10-4, 4) Yesterday Japanese fans saw former world title challenger Ryuji Hara [原隆二] battle against Japanese ranked Minimumweight Hiroya Yamamoto [山本 浩也] May 31st 2015- FujisanMesse, Fuji, Shizuoka, Japan Ryuji Hara (18-1, 10) Vs Petchnamchai Sor Sakulwong (1-2, 1) Late last year we saw talented Japanese fighter Ryuji Hara suffer the first loss of his career as he was stopped by the brilliant Kosei Tanaka. That loss was a major set back for Hara who was looking for a world title fight. This past weekend we saw Hara return to the ring for the first time since that loss as he took on Thai visitor Petchnamchao Sor Sakulwong. (Video thanks to aka0113) October 30th 2014- Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Kosei Tanaka (3-0, 1) Vs Ryui Hara (18-0, 10) Through out 2014 we were raving about a Japanese youngster who we compared to Naoya Inoue in terms of talent, in fact we later went on to proclaim him as our 2014 Prospect of the Year. That was Kosei Tanaka a teenage sensation. Tanaka's most notable bout of the year saw him taking on OPBF Minimumweight champion Ryuji Hara, a man widely regarded as a top 10, if not top 5, fighter in the Minimumweight division. It was aggressive match making from Tanaka's team but the sort of match up that can allow a young fighter to really make an impression on the sport. For fans of high speed boxing with everything on the line this is a treat and although it wasn't a "war" it was still a truly tremendous bout between two highly skilled young fighters each looking to prove themselves. [Note-This fight is the first to be featured TWICE in our video section as we were also able to come across a fan cam video of the fight which is available here] Sometimes with boxing strange things happen and one of the strangest things this year that no television channel offered live coverage of the OPBF Minimumweight title bout between defending champion Ryuji Hara, who was top 5 ranked by all 4 major bodies, and Kosei Tanaka, who himself was world ranked. Thankfully however fans of our great sport managed to do what the TV companies should have done and recorded it, shared it and let us all enjoy the fight which was one of the few fights we genuinely had been looking forward to since we first reported it as being a done deal. Whilst we could break the fight down in to an RBR or some other break down we actually think that's really unfair, especially given how good the fight is, how highly skilled both men are, how technically brilliant the fight is and everything else that is on show. Instead we just suggest you treat yourself and watch this in full. You will not regret it. Also please note that this footage has NOT been sped up. The fighters are as ridiculously quick as they look here. Amazing speed from both. Really, really amazing. (All footage courtesy of karaage MAN) In October 2012 we saw the first title fight involving Japanese fighter Ryuji Hara. Going in to the bout Hara, a highly touted product of the Ohashi gym and a former national amateur champion, was viewed as a clear favourite for the Japanese title as he battled against veteran Kenichi Horikawa. Whilst Hara was unbeaten and showing some signs of being a future world champion Horikawa was a man who had been a regular top tier domestic fight but had fallen short in every major bout he had had, including a previous Japanese title fight to Akira Yaegashi and an OPBF title fight against Michael Landero, which he was comfortably winning prior to a 9th round stoppage. Although the bout was supposed to be a mismatch it actually turned out to be a very, very competitive contest with Horikawa using his experience to really test the unbeaten man in a very close and competitive fight. It was Hara's first step up in class and it showed his limitations more than any previous fight that he had been involved in. For Horikawa it showed he belonged in domestic title fights and he would later feature in very close losses to Noknoi Sitthiprasert, in a WBC International title fight, and Yu Kimura, in a Japanese title bout. As for Hara he would later go on to claim the OPBF Minimumweight title with a win over Donny Mabao, a title he will defend shortly against Kosei Tanaka in what looks to be a potentially brilliant contest. Japan's Ryuji Hara may now be on the verge of a possible world title shot but the Japanese youngster has been around for years, in fact he's been a professional for almost 5 years. Hara made his debut in February 2010 when he battled Thai visitor Wittaya Sithsaithong. For those curious about how Hara looked on his debut here is the full fight and we'll admit we weren't that impressed despite the ease with which he recorded his victory. (Video courtesy of Aka0113) In December 2010 Ryuji Hara clashed with Shuhei Ito in the all Japan Rookie of the Year final. That bout saw Hara defeating Ito, who entered 9-0, to claim the crown of Rookie of the Year and boost his standing in the sport. At the point the 20 year old Hara looked like a world champion in the making. Around 3.5 years later the men met for a second time as Hara defended the Japanese Minimumweight title against Ito. This time around things were very different in the ring and Hara couldn't stop his foes in a bout that left some wondering about whether or not Hara would ever achieve the world crown that some had ear marked for him after their first bout. If you've not seen Hara then this bout is well worth a watch ahead of his contest with Kosei Tanaka in what looks certain to be a genuinely thrilling contest,. (Video courtesy of Aka0113) |
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