Back on September 23rd 2019 we took a look at exciting Japanese Light Welterweight Aso Ishiwaki (then 6-2-1 (4), now 8-3-1 (6)) as part of our “Introducing” series. Since then Ishiwaki has had an up and down run, where he scored his best win, but also took a high profile beating on a major show and lost the momentum he had been building through 2019.
 
Before we take a look at what Ishiwaki has been upto recently we probably need to go back a little bit and look at what the now 21 year old hopeful had done earlier in his career.
 
Ishiwaki had turned professional as a teenager and was stopped on his debut, inside a round in 2017. He rebuilt well from that setback however and was unlucky not to win the 2018 All Japan Rookie of the Year, losing a split decision over 5 rounds against George Tachbibana, falling to 5-2 (3) with that loss. Despite losing in the Rookie of the Year final he had shown real promise, an aggressive mentality and a fan friendly fun style. In 2019 he really impressed in a 6 round war with Yoji Saito before making his international debut and stopping Sudtay Daungmala in Thailand.
 
That was pretty much where we were when we spoke about Ishiwaki in 2019, just days before he was set for his 10th professional bout, against Takuya Matsusaka in Toyonaka.
 
The bout with Matsusaka saw Ishiwaki do a number on his man, stopping Matsusaka in the 3rd round of a scheduled 6 rounder. Ishiwaki was one of the main draws for that card and his win kept the momentum going from his draw with Saito and his win in Thailand. It was, however, an expected win against a man who had already been stopped 7 times and had been blown out inside a round in a number of his fights. It was an easy win against someone who he was expected to defeat.
 
Less than 2 months later Ishiwaki returned to the ring in a genuine step up as he took on former Japanese title challenger Ryuji Ikeda. The 24 year old Ikeda had recently challenged Koki Inoue, losing in 5 rounds to Inoue, and had also managed to go 8 rounds with Darragh Foley before a cut caused a technical decision to be rendered. Although no world beater Ikeda was expected to give Ishiwaki a lot to think about and a genuine test. In the end however the power and physicality of Ishiwaki was too much and he stopped Ikeda in just 2 rounds, making what seemed like a statement to close out 2019.
 
Sadly 2020 struck and the momentum and buzz Ishiwaki had begun to create slowled, like that of many fighters, and he was unable to fight through much of the year. Part way through the year however an idea was floated online for Ishiwaki to clash with rising young stud Jin Sasaki. Originally the bout wasn’t announced, with Sasaki’s team keeping their man active. On November 23rd 2020 however the bout was officially announced, with the two men going face to face after Sasaki had stopped Tatsuya Miyazaki. Soon afterwards it was confirmed that Ishiwaki and Sasaki would clash for the Japanese Youth 140lb title on December 26th, as one of the main supporting bouts to the brilliant match up between Masayuki Ito and Hironori Mishiro.
 
On paper the bout between Ishiwaki and Sasaki looked like an amazing one, between two young fighters who could both punch and both enjoyed a fight. Sadly however Sasaki’s power turned out to be too much for Ishiwaki, who was dropped twice in the opening round before being taken out in round 3 in a truly impressive performance from Sasaki.
 
At the age of 21 the loss to Sasaki, who looks to be a special fighter, isn’t the end for Ishiwaki, though it is a very clear set back. The youngster, who wasn’t helped at all by inactivity, had a lot to like and he shouldn’t feel that he can’t rebuild from the loss. Thankfully the Japanese scene at 140lbs is one where he can be involved in a lot of fun bouts over the next few years and hopefully the loss doesn’t see him losing his confidence and will to fight good competition. If the Neyagawa Ishida Boxing Club, who manage Ishiwaki's career, do right by him in 2021 we could see him in fun bouts against the likes of Kentaro Endo, Yasutaka Fujita, Kodai Honda, Ukyo Yoshigai or Shogo Yamaguchi. If that happens he could well be on the verge of another Youth title fight in 2022.
 
Ishiwaki isn’t going to be a world champion, but he does have the potential and style to be a very, very fan friendly and TV friendly fighter and to us that is not something to be ashamed by. We want to enjoy watching boxing, and we always enjoy watching Ishiwaki. We will always tune in when Ishiwaki fights, and we hope he and his team can continue to get him televised and streamed opportunities as he is far too much fun to miss out on. Sadly though 2021 could end up being another tough year for the youngster given how Covid19 continues to limit the opportunities for fighters all over the world.
 ​

3-Silvio Olteanu (December 26th 2010)
Just 3 months after beating Sakata in his first title defense Kameda returned for his second defense, taking on Romanian challenger Silvio Olteanu, who would become a genuine stalwart of the European during his long career. Olteanu was the European champion and wasn't expected to give Kameda trouble in Japan. However that's exactly what he did, pushing Kameda to a split decision in what would be Kameda's second and final defense of the title. After this bout Kameda left the Flyweight division, vacating the title just days after this win, with his body out growing the division.
 
Notably this win came on a great show for the Kameda's with Tomoki picking up a low key win and Koki Kameda's winning the WBA "regular" Bantamweight title win, adding to the significance of the victory for Daiki.
 
4-Raul Hidalgo (September 24th 2011)
After leaving the Flyweight division at the start of 2011 Kameda began to make waves at Super Flyweight, with his eyes on becoming a 2-weight world champion. Unlike many top Japanese fighters who move up in weight he wasn't able to secure an immediate world title fight, and instead had to go some way towards earning a shot. To do that he went and won the WBA International title, doing so with a blow out win against Raul Hidalgo in Mexico. This wasn't just a win that opened up a world title opportunity, with the bout serving as an eliminator, for Kameda but was also his first, and only, win on international soil.
 
Unlike his younger brother, Tomoki, who made a name for himself in Mexico, Daiki really was pretty much based completely in Japan with just 2 fights on foreign soil, this one, and his final bout in 2015, a loss to Victor Ruiz in the US.
 
5-Rodrigo Guerrero (September 3rd 2013)
After coming up short in his first attempt to become a 2-weight champion, losing to the then WBA Super Flyweight champion Tepparith Kokietgym in December 2011, it took Kameda almost 2 years to get a second Super Flyweight title fight. That came against Mexican warrior Rodrigo Guerrero in September 2013, in what turned out to be a really, really good fight. Kameda was pushed all the way by Guerrero, but did enough to take the unanimous decision and the IBF Flyweight title. By it's self that wouldn't mean much, but it was a win that helped change the face of Japanese boxing, with Kameda becoming the first Japanese fighter to win an IBF title since the JBC began to recognise the IBF. The previous two Japanese fighters to win IBF titles, Satoshi Shingaki and Katsunari Takayama, didn't have their reigns recognised whilst Kameda did.
 
Not only was this win one that granted Kameda 2-weight champion status, and saw him the first Japanese fighter to win an IBF title since the JBC changed their rules, but it would also be his final career victory.
 
Notably the IBF title also lead to Kameda fighting in a unification bout with Liborio Solis some 3 months later. This bout saw Solis miss weight, and caused a lot of issues for the JBC, the Kameda gym, the IBF, the WBA and the JPBA. Due to Solis missing weight Kameda was unable to lose his title, however that wasn't what fans were lead to believe, leading to a lot of confusion and anger. Had Kameda not beaten Guerrero that mess would have been avoided.

Back on December 31st we saw the end of 2020 and the year ended on a high for fight fans with a brilliant matchup between Kazuto Ioka and Kosei Tanaka. Sadly for the thrilling and exciting Tanaka the bout saw him suffer his first loss, being stopped by the more experienced Ioka, who boxed brilliantly and showcased some sensational counter punching throughout the contest.
 
Despite the loss it was clear that Tanaka was going to bounce back and return to the ring in 2021.
 
With that in mind the three co-founders of Asianboxing.info got together to put their ideas forward as to what is next for Tanaka in the third instalment of “Who…” as we try to answer the question:
 
“Who... should Kosei Tanaka face next?”
 
Lee: “I think in all honesty the options for Tanaka right now are quite limited, due to Covid19, and it’s clear he won’t be bringing in a limited imported opponent just to get a win. Saying that though, Tanaka has never had an easy bout and I don’t expect that to change now he has a loss on his record. Instead I think he will fight a good Japanese domestic fighter. The question really is “Who?” And sadly there aren’t that many options for him to look to face at the moment. The gulf between Kazuto Ioka and the rest in Japan is massive and anyone will feel like a massive downgrade for Tanaka.
 
For Tanaka I think the focus needs to be on testing his stamina and testing his strength at Super Flyweight. He can work on the skills in the gym, but he needs to get rounds, he needs to be pushed and made to work hard. With that at the forefront of my thinking, I think he should fight Hiroyuki Kudaka next. Kudaka is a 4 time world title challenger. He’s tough. He comes to fight. He presses and pressures. He always makes fighters work hard. He also knows some veteran tricks. To me he is the ideal opponent for Tanaka to learn things from. An easy win, but also a good win.”
 
Takahiro: “The answer here is easy for me. Ryoji Fukunaga. There are not many fighters in Japan at 115lbs who are world ranked and the one that stands out the most is JBC, OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific unified champion Ryoji Fukunaga. I know that Tanaka will want to fight someone suitable. Someone good. And get in there with someone who will ask questions. He has something to lose themselves. Someone who, if he beats, he is still in the world title mix. With that in mind Fukunaga is the easy answer. The only answer.
 
At the moment Fukunaga has 2 world rankings. He is unlikely to get a world title fight himself, without scoring a massive win, and a win over Tanaka would be appealing to him as well. The bout would also work with the current covid19 issues, and not require Hatanaka and CBC to pay money for a fighter to sit in quarantine.
 
Make this bout and get it in Tokyo. Kosei Tanaka Vs Ryoji Fukunaga! Triple crown on the line”
 
Scott: “I’ve gone with a similar tactic to Takahiro and looked through the world rankings for Japanese fighters given the Covid19 situation. There isn’t as many Japanese ranked fighters as I assumed there would be at 115lbs and there’s also some oddities, like the IBF ranking Koki Eto #7 despite the fact he’s retired. I’m also at a loss as to how Akio Furutani is ranked #11, even with his win over Takayuki Okumoto fresh in my mind. Doing this left me with two options.
 
The first of those was Sho Ishida, who is world ranked, a very live contender, best known for losing his biggest bouts, a friend of Ioka’s and a former stablemate of Ioka’s. On paper Ishida ticks almost every box, though I think Ishida will probably stick to fighting at Bantamweight and won’t move back down to Super Flyweight again.
 
With that in mind I was left with one other name, and it’s a name of someone I genuinely want to see Tanaka share the ring with again. That’s former WBO Flyweight champion Sho Kimura. This bout just seems to make so much sense to re-do. Their first bout was the 2018 Fight of the Year and given the super close nature of that bout it deserves a rematch. It’s also one of the bouts that CBC know they can sell to an international audience, and if they are smart they could get this on TV in Latin America and potentially the UK. Kimura might not be the natural Super Flyweight that some would want to see Tanaka in with, but iron sharpens iron and if Tanaka wants a good test to return to the ring with Kimura is the man for me.”
 ​

In recent years we've seen Kazakh fighters begin to make a bigger and more significant mark on the professional boxing scene than ever before. The charge, lead by Gennady Golovkin, has seen the likes of Beibut Shumenov and Zhanat Zhakiyanov winning world titles and an emerging number of prospects. Among those prospects are notable names, like Daniyar Yeleussinov, Aidos Yerbossybuly, Sadriddin Akhmedov, Zhan Kossobutskiy and Batyrzhan Jukembayev along with a host of lesser known hopefuls.
 
Later this month we expect to see another Kazakh hopeful begin his professional journey, which was actually pencilled in to begin late last year before the bout was cancelled very close to fight time.
 
That is 28 year old Darkhan Zhumsakbayev (0-0), who is pencilled in to debut on February 12th in Florida.
 
Like many Kazakh's who turn professional Zhumsakbayev had a very long and notable amateur career. He was never banging on the doors for the big global championships, in part due to the depth of talent coming out of the country, but was regularly seen in international tournaments, racking up serious experience in the unpaid ranks. It's due to that experience that his, eventual, professional debut is something to get excited about.
 
As a fighter Zhumsakbayev has been making his name on the Kazakh scene for years, though was often regarded as the #3 or #4 in his homeland, where there really has been stiff competition over the last decade or so.
 
We obviously won't go through all of Zhumsakbayev's amateur achievements, but we will go some of the highlights, and show just how long he has been on the radar of those who follow the Kazakh amateur scene.
 
One of his earliest highlights was in 2009, when Zhumsakbayev won the Kazakh Youth Championships. The following year he reached the last 16 at the World Youth Championships. Sadly as he began to compete at senior level he found himself up against stiff competition and ended up struggling to win at the highest levels of domestic competition. Despite that he was a losing finalist in 2013 Kazakh national Championships and and twice lost in the semi-finals showing how consistent he was on the domestic scene.
 
Zhumsakbayev's good showings in domestic competition saw him getting the chance to compete in various international competitions such as the "President's Cup" in 2014, where he lost to Filipino Charlie Suarez, and the 2015 World Cup of Petroleum Countries, where he was the losing finalist. Incidentally that same tournament also had the brilliant Christian M'Billi taking home a silver medal along with Serge Michel.
 
Despite competing, a lot, as an amateur relatively recent footage of Zhumsakbayev is rather scarce. Thankfully however there is some decent quality footage from some older tournaments, including a bout with Thai Sailom Ardee from 2015. In that bout Zhumsakbayev looked a little bit under-sized but showcased a lot to like, with an aggressive mindset, a lot of head movement and actually managed to upset the Thai at home. In other bouts he was also a high energy and aggressive fighter, who looked like he had a style very much suited to the professional ranks.
 
Sadly we're not sure how Zhumsakbayev will look now, a few years on from that win, but a result like that shows what he can do, and the style he showed in that bout was certainly fan friendly. With that in mind we are looking forward to his debut.
 
Sadly at the age of 28 the Featherweight will have to be moved quickly, though with his extensive amateur background that shouldn't be an issue. The fact he's going to debut in a 6 rounder is a good sign that he, and his team, may well feel he has the background to be matched well this year and fingers crossed in 2022 and 2023 we begin to see him in with some noteworthy names, before father time starts to get his mitts on Zhumsakbayev.

It's fair to say that February will be a very, very quiet month with only a handful of shows taking place during the month, and sadly that means there are a very small number of bouts to talk about for the month. Despite that we are, of course, bringing you our regular "What's to come" for the month.
 
February 11th
Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Ryu Horikawa (3-0-1, 1) vs Yudai Shigeoka (2-0, 1)
The first notable bout in February featuring Asian fighters will come at Japanese Youth title level as Light Flyweight Ryu Horikawa and Yudai Shigeoka clash in a mouth watering match up. The two youngsters are both tipped for big things during their careers and it's great to see them clashing here, rather than protecting their records like we'd see in other countries. Horikawa is the younger man and is the natural Light Flyweight, however Shigeoka has arguably been more impressive was very impressive in beat Lito Dante in just his second bout. Although not a massive fight this is a very, very interesting one.

Ryo Sagawa (10-1, 5) vs Hinata Maruta (10-1-1, 8)
On the same show as the Japanese Youth title fight we'll also get a mandatory bout for the Japanese Featherweight title as talented champion Ryo Segawa looks for his third defense, and takes on the touted Hinata Maruta in a mouth watering clash. The talented Sagawa has been on a great run of results since an early career loss and looks like a man who could certainly get into the world title mix over the coming years. Although not the most durable, he has been stopped and has been dropped in other bouts, Sagawa is a very talented fighter who can box or fight. As for Maruta the once super-hot prospects has failed to meet the lofty expecations that were on his shoulders when he turned professional, but there is no denying his talent and a win here would put him back on track to bigger and better things.
 
February 13th
Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, USA
Joseph Diaz (31-1, 15) vs Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (15-0, 12)
In the first world title fight to feature an Asian fighter this month we'll see Russian based Tajik fighter Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov take on IBF Super Featherweight champion Joseph Diaz in California. For Rakhimov this is a mandatory title fight he has waited well over a year for, earning the shot in 2019 when he stopped Azinga Fuzile. As for Diaz this will be his first defense of the title that he won in early 2020, when he beat Tevin Farmer. In terms of the match up this one should be an all out action fight between two men who like to come forward. Diaz will be the favourite, but Rakhimov is very much a live under-dog here.

The Flash Grand Ballroom of the Elorde Sports Complex, Paranaque City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Bienvenido Ligas (12-1-1, 9) Vs Alphoe Dagayloan (14-3-6-1, 5)
The first major Filipino bout of the new year takes place on the 13th as the once beaten Bienvenido Ligas takes on the criminally under-rated Alphoe Dagayloan in an excellent Flyweight match up. Coming in Ligas will likely be the slight favourite, given his better reord, but in reality Dagayloan is the more proven and has been impressing in recent years, following a stuttering start to his professional career. This should be a genuinely excellent match up, something we, sadly, don't say often enough about All-Filipiuno bouts.
 
February 21th
Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
All Japan Rookie of the Year
Not a specific bout here, but something that is worth noting is that February 21st will bring us the All Japan Rookie of the Year final, ending what has been a delayed and belated tournament. Despite the hiccups along the way, caused by Covid19, we are really looking forward to this show, which will be shown live on G+ in Japan and will almost certainly help launch one or two prospects towards bigger and better things.

February 27th 
Bula Gym, General Santos City, Philippines
Pedro Taduran (14-2-1, 11) Vs Rene Mark Cuarto (18-2-2, 11)
In another very interesting all-Filipino bout IBF Minimumweight champion Pedro Taduran will defend his title, for the second time, as he takes on IBF #3 ranked challenger Rene Mark Cuarto in a really mouth watering match up. Taduran, who won the title in 2019 with a thrilling performance against Samuel Salva, has sadly been out of the ring for a year since making his first defense. As for Cuarto he's unbeaten in his last 3 but has been out of the ring since December 2019. On paper this is, by far, the toughest bout of Cuarto's career and it'll be very interesting to see what he has to offer at world level against an aggressive and heavy handed champion.

Tynyshpayev Academy of Transport and Communications, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Kamshybek Kunkabayev (2-0, 2) Vs Steven Ward (13-1, 4)
In a really nice step up bout unbeaten Kazakh Cruiserweight hopeful Kamshybek Kunkabayev will be battling against Northern Irish fighter Steven Ward in a bout for the WBO Asia Pacific title. Kunkabayev, a former Kazakh amateur standout has impressed since turning professional but there are a lot of questions for him to still answer. Sadly we don't actually expect Ward to be able to ask him those questions and if anything we see Kunkabayev having a pretty easy time of things here.
 
Nurtas Azhbenov (10-0, 4) Vs Evgeny Smirnov (13-1-3, 3)
Unbeaten Kazakh prospect Nurtas Azhbenov takes his next step forward as he takes on the once beaten Evgeny Smirnov, form Russia, in a very credible step up. Azhbenov has frustrated at times, and despite being a very talented fighter seems to lack power and killer instinct with a lot of his bouts meandering to a rather drama free decision. He certainly has skills but he is not the finished article. Smirnov on the other hand has failed to win his last 3, but has been fighting at pretty decent level in recent bouts.
 
Janibek Alimkhanuly (9-0, 5) vs TBA
Unbeaten Kazakh hopeful Zhanibek Alimkhanuly will look to stay busy as he takes on a yet to be named opponent late in the month. The talented Middleweight is looking to secure a world title fight later this year, and although this will likely just be a stay busy bout it's great to see him staying active after a frustrating 2020 that saw him unable to build on a solid KO win against Gonzalo Gaston Coria. It's clear that Alimkhanuly is a talent and although we want to see him prove that talent against good fighters we would prefer him staying busy rather than sitting on the side lines waiting for a bout. With that in mind we can't complain too much at the TBA status of his opponent,
 
Talgat Shayken (3-0, 2) Vs Evgeny Pavko (18-3-1, 13)
Another unbeaten Kazakh prospect in action here is Talgat Shayken, who battles against the much more experienced Evgeny Pavko. The talented Shayken turned professional last year, and despite a rather crude performance on his debut he has impressed in his last 2 bouts and he appears to be a fighter heading places in the coming years. Despite bot being the most polished fighter Shayken is aggressive, strong and very fun to watch. Pavko on the other hand is an experienced Russian, who has lost 3 of his last 6. Despite his faltering form Pavko should, potentially, be a decent test for Shayken over 8 rounds.
 
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Florida, USA
Zhang Zhilei (22-0, 17) v Jerry Forrest (26-4, 20)
Chinese Heavyweight giant Zhang Zhilei continues to waste his career as he takes on American foe Jerry Forret. The 37 year old Zhang has been linked to an Anthony Joshua fight for the last few years, but in reality is trudging along with rather meaningless bouts, and this is another for "Big Bang", who really should have been in with a notable name by now. The 32 year old Jerry Forrest is actually a decent opponent, and gave good tests to Jermaine Franklin and Carlos Takam, but isn't the type of name opponent Zhilei needs to push forward with his career. In fact Forrest is the type of high risk-low reward opponent that doesn't make sense for Zhilei at this point in his career.

Through the years the Asian boxing scene has had some legendary world champions, who will go down in the annals of time as some of the true greats. The likes of Fighting Harada, Khaosai Galaxy, Flash Elorde, Jung Koo Chang and Pongsaklek Wonjongkam to name just a few. It's also had it's share of forgotten champions, and fighters who got lucky, taking a title an never replicating the performance that took them to the top.
 
One such fighter is the often forgotten Shigeo Nakajima (13-5-1, 7), who won the WBC Light Flyweight title more than 40 years ago and rarely ever gets mentioned in any conversations at all. He was tipped for big things when he turned professional but only the hardcore of the hardcore, outside of Japan, will even recognise his name.
 
Sadly for Nakajima his reign as a world champion was a very short one, lasting less than 12 weeks. He was, for all intents a fighter who was in the right place at the right time. He's a fighter who got that one big win, but else his record is a hard one to decipher.
 
With that in mind we've decided to take a look at the 5 most Significant wins for... Shigeo Nakajima...and this is among the most frustrating in this series, as Nakajima really doesn't have many stand out wins.
 
1-Beaver Kajimoto (December 14th 1976)
The first win of real significance for Nakajima came in December 1976 when he took a big step up in class to take on Beaver Kajimoto in his 4th professional bout. Up to this point Nakajima had been facing novices, and fighters with low level experience, nothing to match his own 95 bout amateur career. Just 5 months after his debut he took on the highly experienced Kajimoto, who had had 50 professional bouts and had twice fought to a draw in bouts for the Japanese Flyweight title. Although not a world beater Kajimoto was a legitimate player on the Japanese scene, and Nakajima defeated him in his 4th professional bout. This was a win of real value for Nakajima, and should have been a sign of things to come, though sadly it wasn't.
 
2-Koichi Maki (June 21st 1977)
A really under-rated win came in the summer of 1977 when Nakajima narrowly beat Koichi Maki. The bout was Nakajima's third 10 rounder and this he really had to work for his win with Maki battling hard against the then unbeaten Nakajima. Coming in to the bout Maki had ambitions of his own and had won the 1974 All Japan Rookie of the Year at Flyweight. Despite having 7 losses to his name two of those had come to Yoko Gushiken, and he had been very competitive in a lot of his defeats, as he was with Nakajima. For Nakajima this bout served as a true gut check and a sign that he could dig deep and battle hard. Given this was only his 6th professional bout this was a great victory for the youngster, and was made to look even better when Maki became the Japanese Flyweight champion just 9 months later.
 
3-Kazunori Tenryu (August 23rd 1977)
Nakajima's third bout of note came just months after his win over Maki. Whilst Maki would go on to win a Japanese title Kazunori Tenryu was the then Japanese Light Flyweight champion, and he had held that title since March 1975. Tenryu had challenged for the WBA Light Flyweight title, losing a split decision to Jaime Rios, and had made 8 defenses of the Japanese title. Nakajima took him out in just 3 rounds, getting the Japanese boxing world really excited about his potential. Sadly for Nakajima this wasn't a title bout, and was fought above the Light Flyweight limit, but it was still a very solid win for him, very early early in his career.
 
4-Hong Soo Yang (November 6th 1979)
By the summer of 1979 Nakajima's record had fallen to 9-2-1 (6), with losses to Bernabe Villacampo and Hwan Jin Kim in 1978. The good run he had early on was over and he was struggling. After those losses he would score a couple of easy wins before stepping up once agin. In that step up he faced Hong Soo Yang, an experienced Korean who was the then OPBF Flyweight champion with 3 defenses of that title. The bout was a hotly contested 10 rounder, though, as he had against Maki he dug deep and edged out a close bout to secure his 12th professional win and take a huge step towards a world title fight.
 
5-Sung Jun Kim (January 3rd 1980)
Just 2 months after beating Yang we saw Nakajima have his career defining moment, as he faced off with the then WBC Light Flyweight champion Sung Jun Kim. The Korean had won the title in 1978, dethroning Netrnoi Sor Vorasingh, and had made 3 defenses before travelling to Japan to face Nakajima.
 
For the bout Nakajima had been trained by Joe Kouizumi and the tactics and performance were spot on, with Kim taking a clear win over the Korean to win the title. It was the first time Nakajima had gone more than 10 rounds, it was the first time he had fought for any kind of title, and it was the only time, in his career, that he scored a legitimate top level win. Sadly it would also be the last win of his professional career.
 
Sadly for Nakajima his reign would end on March 24th 1980, losing a close decision to Hilario Zapata. A rematch with Zapata resulted in another loss for Nakajima, who returned to the ring in May 1981 and was stopped by Nobuyuki Watanabe, before being retiring on the back of 3 straight losses. He had reached the pinacle, and then crashed back down to earth, to end what had been a truly under-whelming career, that had promised a lot, but sadly under-delivered.