Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
This coming Monday we get a small but notable card at Korakuen Hall thanks to Ichiriki promotions. The main event is a really under-whelming bout, as limited Filipino visitor Renan Portes (13-16, 6) takes on OPBF Bantamweight champion Keita Kurihara (18-8-1, 16) in a bout at Super Bantamweight. Portes is better than his record suggests, but is certainly not a threat above the domestic Filipino level, and has gone 5-13 in his last 18 bouts, including going 0-4 in bouts outside of the Philippines and 0-3 in Japan. Sadly his only real win of note has come against Jason Canoy Manigos, and whilst that win was last time out it said more about just how faded Canoy is now a days. As for Kurihara the hard hitting Japanese fighter has tested the water at 122lbs before, but does seem more of a natural at Bantamweight. Notably he has been stopped in 2 of his last 4, but has bounced back by avenging both those defeats to become a 3, and now 4 time OPBF Bantamweight champion. This should be little more than a stay busy, or tune up, bout for Kurihara, but his results in recent years have been hard to predict, and there are serious cracks showing in his toughness. Saying that, he should still have what’s needed to win against Portes. The only title bout on the card will see JBC and OPBF Female Atomweight champion Honoka Kano (7-1-2, 2) in action, as she defends her national title against the woman she beat for the Japanese title back in 2023, Mont Blanc Miki (6-6-1, 2). In their first bout Kano took a 6 shutout win over Miki, and since then has defended the Japanese title twice, and unified it with the OPBF title, which she did last time out when she beat Nao Sakamoto over 8 rounds and pushed herself to within touching distances of a world title fight. As for Miki she has won 2 in a row since losing to Kano, including a TKO win over the previously unbeaten Aori Matsuo. Notably the loss to Kano was the final bout in a 6 run win-less streak for Miki, who went 0-5-1 during that run, and she seems to have finally turned things around with her recent wins. In a solid supporting bout Haruki Ishikawa (10-5, 8) will take on #2 ranked JBC Bantamweight Kenshin Oshima (8-3-1, 4), who is looking to secure a third shot at the Japanese title in the not too distant future. Ishikawa, the clear under-dog here, began his career 8-1 before losing to Toshiya Ishii, and since then he has struggled to get his career back on track, going 2-4, though he did win the Japanese Youth Super Bantamweight title in one of those two wins. Ishikawa is limited, can be out boxed, can be stopped, but does have enough power to keep fighters honest, and if he catches someone clean he is a dangerman. As for Oshima, he’s a talented fight, but someone who hasn’t yet lived up to his early potential losing an early fight, fight to a draw in his 5th bout, which saw him have a career record of 3-1-1 (3) and suffer recent setbacks to Kyosuke Sawada and Seiya Tsutusmi in 2 of his last 3. He’s seems to lack the power needed to make a mark at the top of the domestic scene, and although there is plenty of skill, behind what he does he does seem to be missing something that will get him to the top domestically.
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Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan This coming Tuesday we get the next show from Hideyuki Ohashi, as the former world champion and current promoter of Naoya Inoue, gets the chance to show case some of the bright young talent coming through the Japanese ranks, including several fighters desperate to bounce back from recent losses. One of those fighters looking to bounce back from a recent loss is former OPBF Bantamweight champion Kazuki Nakajima (10-1-1, 8), who was last seen being stopped by Keita Kurihara. He'll be hoping to get back to winning ways here as he takes on the pout of form Shohei Kawashima (18-6-2, 4), who has lost 4 of his last 5 and been stopped in his last 3. Although we'd understand Nakajima being low on confidence his team really couldn't have matched him with a made "made to order" opponent, given the recent form, and questionable durability, of Kawashima. A smart bit of match making from the Ohashi team, and a good to get their hard hitting fighter his 11th win. Another notable Ohashi Gym fighter looking to get to winning ways is Taku Kuwahara (8-1, 4), who lost last year in a Japanese Flyweight title bout against Seigo Yuri Akui. The talented Kuwahara gave Akui a really good fight last year, and is getting a chance to rebuild as he takes on the limited Takashi Hisano (6-5-1, 3), in what is a massive step up for Hisano. This, much like the Nakajima fight, is about getting the talented Ohashi man back to winning ways, before bigger and better fights in the near future. The most noteworthy bout on the card is, oddly, somewhat buried in the middle and that's a bout which will see Japanese Youth Super Bantamweight champion Haruki Ishikawa (9-3, 7) defending his title, for the first time, as he takes on Ryuya Tsugawa (8-1, 4) in a very good looking bout. Although no world beater Ishikawa is an exciting fighter, with nasty power, and a really fun, aggressive style and will be looking to take out Tsugawa. Tsugawa on the other hand has gone on a really run recently, winning 4 in a row, 3 by TKO, and will feel this is his chance to shine. Our in depth preview of thius bout can be read here Ishikawa takes on Tsugawa in first title defense Interestingly both of the men from the fight above have lost to Yusie Fujikawa, in fact Fujikawa beat them in back to back fights in 2018, before seemingly vanishing from the sport afterwards leaving us wondering what could have been for him, and his career. One final bout worth talking about is a bout between the touted Rikuto Adachi (15-3, 11) and Middleweight veteran Toshihiro Kai (6-13-3, 2). Adachi was once regarded as a genuine hopeful, but with stoppage losses in 2019, to Kudura Kaneko, and in 2021, to Takeru Kobata, there is a real worry about his future and it's going to take time for him to mature physically and develop his boxing. A bout like this has clearly been put together for Adachi to not only get a win, but also get some rounds against a naturally bigger man who's also a southpaw. As with the Nakajima and Kuwahara bouts this is smart matchmaking, but not the type of bout that will make for anything too competitive. This card was also supposed to feature a bout featuring the very highly regarded prospect Ryutaro Nakagaki (2-0-1, 2), who was supposed to take on the experienced but light punching Toma Kondo (8-7-1, 1), but this one was sadly cancelled back in mid February. International Conference Hall, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
Over in Aichi Midori promotions put on a very, very interesting card with two bouts worthy of attention. One of those is a very attractive looking Japanese Youth title bout whilst the other features a very well regarded prospect looking for his second pro win. The main event of the show will see Japanese Youth Super Bantamweight champion Tom Mizokoshi (8-2-1, 4) take on the limited, but heavy handed, Haruki Ishikawa (8-3, 6) in what is Mizokoshi's first defense of the title. The talented 22 year old champion won the title in March with a well fought, and hotly contested, 8 round decision win over Satoru Hoshiba and he'll be looking to build on that performance here. Ishikawa, at his best, in an all action slugger, and his 2019 bout with Toshiya Ishii was a brilliant 4 round thriller. Sadly though Ishikawa looked completely out of his depth last time out, when he lost to Kai Chiba, and we do wonder how effective he can be against a good boxer-mover like Mizokoshi. Regardless the challenger has power, and if he lands clean we could see the champion being in some real trouble here. Our full preview of that bout can be read here Mizokoshi takes on Ishikawa in Boxer Vs Banger affair! In the main supporting bout the talented Narumi Yukawa (1-0) competes in his second professional bout, as he takes on Kazuki Hase (5-2-1, 3). As an amateur Yukawa showed great promise before he was convicted of a drug offense which killed his amateur career and delayed his move into the professional ranks. Now however he's served his punishment and looks likely to become one of the stars of the Shizuoka region, and a potentially great story of redemption in Japan, where marijuana possession is still regarded as a serious crime. Hase on the other hand is a win some-lose type of fighter who's competing in his first 6 rounder here, and comes in on the back of a loss to Kazuki Higuchi. It's hard to see anything a Yukawa win here, but we are hoping that Hase at least asks questions of his foe. Sadly the planned main event for this show, which would have seen former Japanese amateur standout Mitsuro Tajima (0-0) make his professional debut against Japanese Heavyweight champion Ryu Ueda (9-1-1, 5) had to be cancelled earlier in the month when Tajima suffered back pain and couldn't train as a result. Despite that bout being off there is still a lot to like about this card. USC Soviet Wings, Moscow, Russia As well as the action in Aichi we're also getting some action worthy of our attention over in Moscow. The bout in question will see once beaten Uzbek fighter Bakhromjon Fozilov (3-1-3, 3) take on the limited, but experienced, Pavel Mamontov (12-13-2, 1) in a scheduled 10 rounder. On paper Fozilov's record is a weird one, to say the least. He started his career 0-1-2, but since then has gone unbeaten in 4 and shown some very heavy hands. He's a puncher, but looks technically limited and it seems like he needs to get opponents out early to take home a win. In Mamontov we have a Kazakh born Russian fighter who has lost his last 9, only has a single win since 2016 and should pose no problems, at all, to Fozilov. The real question is whether or not Mamontov can last more than 2 or 3 rounds with the Uzbekistani fighter. For those who want a late Christmas present, we have one of those for you this coming Saturday as Japan put on two shows and China also put on a show. One of those Japanese shows is a mouth watering card from Tokyo, which is set to be streamed live on the A-Sign YouTube channel whilst the second, from Aichi, will be shown on delay on Boxing Raise.
Christmas might be over, but the gifts keep coming! Sumida City Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan The more significant of the two shows is the Tokyo one, and it's a genuinely stacked domestic card that should give us a big of everything. The main event should be a fairly technical contest, the opening bouts should be competitive under-card bouts, and we get at least one, if not two, shoot outs on a genuinely fantastic show. The main event will see former WBO Super Featherweight champion Masayuki Ito (26-2-1, 14) take on current OPBF Super Featherweight champion Hironori Mishiro (9-0-1, 3). Mishiro won't be risking his title here, in a 10 round bout at Lightweight, but the winner will certainly see their standing improve, and we could end up seeing the winner being just a fight or two away from a potential world title fight. Ito is, of course, the more well known fighter and the more established but he has only fought once since losing the WBO title to Jamel Herring in May 2019, and since then he has had a bout cancelled and has had surgery. Mishiro on the other hand is bit of advanced novice, who has been fast tracked to an OPBF title and already has several wins of note to his name, and other here would really boost his standing in the sport. We expect this to be a tactical early on, but will, sooner or later, descend into more of an exciting back and forth war. Talking about wars we are really exciting about the Japanese Youth Light Welterweight title bout on this show, between Jin Sasaki (9-0, 8) and Aso Ishiwaki (8-2-1, 6), and this really should be a war. The hard hitting Sasaki has been creating a buzz with quick knockout and early wins, including a trio of success opening rounds wins, but Ishiwaki is the more proven man and a tough warrior. The 19 year old Sasaki really is a brutal boxer-puncher, and he's been swiping opponents aside with ease but has faced little in terms of competitive opposition. Ishiwaki has faced the much better competition, and has done so without much fuss, whilst creating a bit of an international following with his heart, energy, toughness and physical strength. This could be incredibly brutal war, and we do not expect it to go the scheduled 8 rounds. Our full preview of this one can be read here Sasaki and Ishiwaki clash for Youth Honours in potential Christmas Cracker! On the subject of bouts not going the distance we don't imagine the 8 rounder between Kai Chiba (12-1, 8) and Haruki Ishikawa (8-2, 6) will see the final bell either. The hard hitting Kai Chiba was one looked at as a future regional champion, but a 2018 loss to Brian Lobetania, in a major upset, slowed his rise and he has only really began to rediscover his form in recent bouts, have now scored 5 straight wins. Ishikawa on the other hand is an explosive, heavy handed and wild fighter who comes into the ring with a war monger attitude and may well be too aggressive for Chiba to cope with. Interestingly this bout was delayed from earlier in the year following a positive Covid19 test for Ishikawa. Former 2-time world title challenger Ryo Akaho (35-2-2, 23) looks to extend his current winning streak as he takes on youngster Yuto Nakamura (11-5-1, 8). The 34 year old Akaho has won his last 9 in a row though it does seem unlikely that he will land a third shot at a world title, following losses to Yota Sato and Pungluang Sor Singyu. At just 23 years old this is a great chance to Nakamura to show what he can do at a higher level following a short reign as the JBC Youth Super Flyweight champion. Sadly however it's hard to Imagine Nakamura coping with the power and strength of Akaho at Super Bantamweight. One other bout worthy of attention is the second bout in Japan of "reimported boxer" Shoki Sakai (24-11-2, 13), who made his name in Mexico and the US. The exciting and rugged Sakai will be up against Takeru Kobata (8-4-1, 3). This really should serve as little more than a showcase for Sakai who should be too good, too strong and too powerful. Despite being the under-dog Kobata has some momentum coming into this, on the back of a solid win over Change Hamashima back in February. Even with that in mind it would still be a huge ask for him to be competitive with Sakai here. Aioi Hall, Kariya, Aichi, Japan The other show, the one from Aichi, is easier to over-look but does promise a very exciting main event between one of the biggest punchers at 108lbs and, strangely, just a single supporting bout. The main event will see Japanese Light Flyweight champion Masamichi Yabuki (11-3, 11) making his first defense of the belt as he takes on veteran Toshimasa Ouchi (22-9-3, 8). The hard hitting Yabuki moved down to Light Flyweight last year, stopping Rikito Shiba in 4 rounds and then blasting out Tsuyoshi Sato inside a round this past July to claim the title. Originally he had made his mark at Flyweight, losing in the 2016 Rookie of the Year final to Junto Nakatani, but looks much more suited to the 108lb limit and could find himself fighting for a world title in 2021. Ouchi on the other hand is a 35 year old, potentially getting his last notable fight. Although no world beater Ouchi has shared the ring with some notable names, including going 12 rounds with Kenshiro Teraji in 2016, and facing Kenichi Horikawa, shin Ono and Ryoichi Taguchi earlier in his career. Ouchi is tough, but we do wonder what his 35 year old body will do when it's caught by the power of Yabuki. Our full preview of this bout can be read here Japanese champion Yabuki faces first challenger as he takes on Ouchi The only under-card bout scheduled for this show will see Teru Nobita (5-3-1, 2) face John Yano (5-6, 2). Nobita went through a run where he won 1 in 5, going 1-3-1, but did win last time out and will look to build on the momentum that December 2019 win over Kenshin Megumi. Yano on the other hand is a Japanese based Filipino who has stopped 2 of his last 3 and will be looking to show that power against Nobita. Potentially a much better bout than it looks on paper. TSSG Center, Qingdao, China As well as the action in Japan we also get a show from China, which is set to be one of their best of 2020. In a bout at 154lbs we'll see Tonghui Li (12-2, 6) take on Dacong Wang (7-1-1, 1) in a bout for the interim WBC Asian Boxing Council Continental title. This will be Li's third bout since a loss to Jung Kyoung Lee, and at 30 years old it really is now or never for him to move his career forward. For Wang this is a massive step up in weight, but he has momentum on his side and is riding an 8 fight unbeaten run, and a 6 fight winning run. On paper this looks interesting, though we suspect Li's power and higher level experience will prove to be the difference. The second bout of note will be an IBO International Lightweight title bout, pitting the unbeaten Ju Wu (9-0-2) against Xiao Tao Su (11-1, 6), with Wu looking to defend his minor IBO title for the first time. The talented Wu is the more skilled man and the naturally bigger fighter, but we do wonder how he will cope with Su's power, which has seen him score stoppages in his last 3. Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
This coming Tuesday Yokohama Hikari are back with another show under the A-Sign Boxing banner, and as with other A-Sign cards it is a surprisingly deep and stacked card, and is expected to be streamed live on YouTube. The show has 6 bouts in total, from which 4 are worth genuine attention, with at least on JBC, OPBF or WBO Asia Pacific ranked fighter involved. The first of the 4 bouts worthy of attention is a bout between Kai Ishizawa (6-1, 6) and Masashi Tada (13-7-3, 8). The bout will see the all action, heavy handed and aggressive Ishizawa look for one of his biggest wins as he takes on the rugged former Japanese title challenger. The 23 year old Ishizawa lost last time out, losing a competitive decision to Masataka Taniguchi, but will know a win here will help put him right back in to the domestic title mix. At 31 years old Tada is coming to the end of his career, which began back in 2009, and has twice seen him fighting for domestic honours. Gone gone 2-4-2 in his last 8 Tada needs a win to remain relevant, but will be up against it as he takes on an excellent youngster. This has the potential to be the fight of the show. On the subject of potential "fight of the show" it's hard to over-look the showdown between Kai Chiba (12-1, 8) and Haruki Ishikawa (8-2, 6), which promises fireworks. Both of these men are hard hitting, but have defensive flaws and both have been stopped. On paper Chiba is the more proven and he's also the more rounded, but Ishikawa is out there with a point to prove following a loss last year to Toshiya Ishii. We really are expecting big things from this one, and it has two guys whose style's should gel brilliantly! Another supporting bout on the card will see the Japanese ranked Ryuto Araya (13-8-1, 4) risk his Super Featherweight ranking as he takes on Katsunori Endo (6-3, 3). The 32 year old Araya is a former OPBF title challenger who has had mixed successes in recently years. In the last 4 years he has gone 2-4 and really needs a big win soon if hg's to get a second shot at a title. As for Endo he's 29 and comes into the bout on the back of successive early wins. Expect to see Endo starting fast and then having questions asked of him as Araya's experience begins to show it's self. The main event will see the highly skilled, though often frustrating, Reiya Abe (19-3-1, 9) take on the unbeaten Ren Sasaki (10-0, 6) in a bout that promises very high level boxing, but potentially frustrating action. The brilliant Abe had a forgettable 2019, with a draw against Taiki Minamoto and a loss to Ryo Sagawa standing out, but his resume is a deep one on the domestic stage and he will come into this bout as a very clear favourite. Sasaki on the other hand is clearly stepping up in class, though comes in as an unbeaten man, who knows a win will put him in the title mix. We suspect the skills of Abe will be too much for Sasaki, however Sasaki seems the more willing to let his hands go, and he could, potentially, take this on work rate. Either way this is going to be a high level match up, though it could be a very, very frustrating one. Tokyo, Japan We get another excellent card from the Korakuen Hall this coming Thursday as we get a triple header under the Diamond Glove banner, featuring an OPBF, a Japanese and a Japanese Youth title bout. The main event of the card will see OPBF Super Bantamweight champion Hiroaki Teshigawara (20-2-2, 13) defending his title against fellow Japanese fighter Shohei Kawashima (18-3-2, 4), in what could be an intriguing clash of styles. On paper neither man looks like a puncher, but Teshigawara is certainly a heavy handed fighter and 7 of his last 8 wins have come inside the distance including wins over Keita Kurihara, Teiru Kinoshita and most recently Shohei Omori. On the other hand Kawashima is a boxer, and he managed to hold his own with a 2016 version of Cristian Mijares, yeah Mijares was a faded force but Kawashima should touches of being a legitimate talent. Sadly for Kawashima his lack of power and physicality is always going to be an issue against a fighter like Teshigawara, but he should have enough to ask questions of Teshigawara. Our preview of this bout can be read here Teshigawara takes on Kawahsima in next OPBF title defense The Japanese title fight on this card will see the in form Ryo Sagawa (8-1, 4) defending his Japanese Featherweight title against mandatory challenger Ryo Hino (13-1-2, 8). For Sagawa the bout will be his first defense of the title, whilst Hino will be getting his first title fight. Sagawa won the title back in September, when he took a close decision win over Reiya Abe, and has now won 7 in a row taking notable wins over Abe, Ryo Matsumoto, Al Toyogon and Shingo Kawamura. As for Hino, the challenger hasn't done a lot to deserve this shot at the title, but is unbeaten since a 2015 loss to Abe, and has gone 8-0-1 since then with a single big win of note coming against Sho Nakazawa. It's really hard to go against Sagawa at the moment, and we suspect he'll come out on top here, and set up a mouth watering clash at the 2020 Champion Carnival with Hinata Maruta. Our full preview of this bout is available to read here Sagawa takes on Hino in first Japanese title defense The third title bout on the card will see 20 year old puncher Haruki Ishikawa (8-1, 6) clashes with teenager Toshiya Ishii (2-0, 1) for the vacant Japanese Youth Bantamweight title. The two men were part of a 4 man tournament, with Ishikawa stopping Atsushi Takada in 3 rounds to progress to the title bout whilst Ishiiout pointed the skilled Fumiya Fuse, taking a technical decision over the Rookie of the Year winner. This might be less significant than the other two title bouts on the card, but could turn out to be the most compelling, and it's going to be very interesting to see what the future brings for both men as their careers progress. Our in depth preview of this bout is here Ishii goes for belt in third pro bout, faces hard hitting Ishikawa! In a non-title bout we'll see Jin Miura (10-3-3, 1) take on Shingo Kawamura (16-5-3, 8), in their second clash in 3 months. The two men fought in September, to a technical draw, and will be hoping for a decisive outcome this time around. Interestingly Kawamura is 0-2-2 in his last 4, with stoppage losses to Satoshi Shimizu and Ryo Sagawa, whilst Miura is coming into this bout on the back of 3 successive draws. Tokyo, Japan One of the great things about Japanese boxing is the fact that talented youngsters get in the ring against each other, rather than get protected in the hope of a bout marinating down the line. This type of match making is particularly in both the Japanese Youth title bouts, which regularly match top youngsters against each other, and the B class tournaments which usually match touted novice professionals against each other. This coming Monday the Korakuen Hall place host to both, B Class tournament and Japanese Youth title tournament bouts, essentially Japanese Youth title eliminators, in what is set to be an excellent, but perhaps over-looked, show. One of the Japanese Youth title eliminators will see Haruki Ishikawa (7-1, 5) and Atsushi Takada (6-1-3, 3) battle in a really interesting match up. The 19 year old Ishikawa lost in a very close bout against Yusei Fujikawa, in the All Japan Rookie of the Year final, but has bounced back with a good win over Alvin Medura back in April and certainly has a lot of promise. Takada on the other hand was beaten in a Japanese youth title fight in April and will be looking to secure a second shot at the title in the near future. On paper this is finely balanced and should be a very compelling contest. The other Japanese title eliminator on this card will actually find themselves up against the winner of the Ishikawa Vs Takada fight, in a bout for the vacant title. This match up., on paper, looks like a mismatch with former Rookie of the Year winner Fumiya Fuse (8-0, 1) taking on 18 year old novice Toshiya Ishii (1-0, 1). This doesn't look great until you realise that Ishii was a very capable amateur, coming runner up in the 2018 Inter-High school tournament and being earmarked for professional success straight away. Fuse is a very talented boxer but this is, in many ways, his toughest test so far, whilst Ishii is will be hoping to have not bitten off more than he chew. A brilliant match up, and one where the winner will really earn something from victory. In a B class tournament bout, at Light Flyweight, we see novice professionals clash in what could be a really interesting contest. The match up in question is a 6 round bout between Yuki Nakajima (2-0, 2) and Ryu Horikawa (1-0, 1). On paper this might not look anything special to those who don't follow the Japanese scene but for those with a hardcore interest this is something special between two talented former amateur standouts. Nakajima went 52-21 in the unpaid ranks, and has looked fantastic in his first 2 bouts, as a professional whilst Horikawa went 37-8 was matched hard on debut and had to show his mettle. Despite only 3 pro bouts between them this should be a very, very good fight Tokyo, Japan The action for April kicks off with a show from the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, which features some Rookie action and some interesting hopefuls. The main event of this card will see Takayuki Sakai (8-1-2, 6) take on Tomoki Takada (6-4-2, 3) over 8 rounds. For Sakai, the bout will see him hunting a 6th straight win and building on a very good victory over Pharanpetch Tor Buamas, aka Amphol Suriyo. Since losing in August 2016 Sakai has gone 6-0-1 and a solid, if unspectacular run coming into this bout. Takada ont he other hand has won his last 2, but has suffered 3 stoppage losses and doesn't appear to be the most durable fighter out there. In the main supporting bout Ryuki Ishii (9-3, 5) will look to continue his good form, as he takes on Filipino puncher Reymond Yanong (9-4-1, 8). Last time out Ishii beat Zirolian Riku, and has won 3 in a row since losing to Kazuma Sanpei back in October 2017. Yanong has been stopped in 2 of his last 3, but certainly has the power to trouble Ishii here. The 2018 Rookie of the Year runner up Haruki Ishikawa (6-1, 5) will be looking to kick off his 2019 as he takes on Alvin Medura (8-3, 7), in what will be his first bout since losing to Yusei Fujikawa in December last year. This has the ingredients of being a very, very explosive and fun encounter! In a Rookie of the Year bout Kyonosuke Kameda (2-1, 1) will take on Takuya Inamori (1-3). Kameda, part of the clan that has already given us 3 world champions, will be seeking a third straight win since being stopped on debut at the start of 2018, Inamori on the other hand will be looking to bounce back from his third career defeat, earlier this year. |
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