Furuhashi and Tamura put on thriller in Japanese title eliminator!
Every so often we get a bout that we just know will be something special, due to the men involved, their styles and their mentality.
Today we had one such bout, as former Japanese Super Bantamweight champion Ryoichi Tamura (12-5-1, 6) [田村 亮一] battled against experienced veteran Gakuya Furuhashi (26-8-1, 14) [古橋大輔] in a Japanese title eliminator.
On paper the bout wasn't anything special, but hardcore fans of the Japanese scene knew this would be something sensational, and that's exactly what we got, over 8 incredible rounds.
From the opening round this was just a violent war with both men standing their ground and letting their shots fly up close. Both men essentially ignored their jabs as they traded hooks and uppercuts up close. This was the style that suited Tamura.
Despite being the more physically imposing fighter Tamura seemed to falter in terms of variations, whilst Furuhashi managed to land some booming straight right hands on his way in, and as the fight went on Furuhashi started to move a little more, using his feet smartly to neutralise some of the pressure of Tamura and lure him onto shots.
Furuhashi would end up being dragged back into a toe-to-toe war again in the later stages as Tamura's pressure began to have the desired effect. By then however it was too little too late for Tamura in the eyes of the judges.
After 8 rounds the scorecards from all 3 judges favoured Furuhashi, with scores of 78-75, twice, and 77-76, as he secured his third Japanese title shot.
After the bout Furuhashi seemed incredibly excited about getting a third shot at the title. He will be the under-dog when he fights for the title, but he'll be a live under-dog. Tamura, on the other hand, stated that he thought he deserved the win and it's clear that despite the loss he will continue on and keep chasing his dreams of regaining the title that he lost to Yusaku Kuga earlier this year.
(Image courtesy of boxmob.jp)
Today we had one such bout, as former Japanese Super Bantamweight champion Ryoichi Tamura (12-5-1, 6) [田村 亮一] battled against experienced veteran Gakuya Furuhashi (26-8-1, 14) [古橋大輔] in a Japanese title eliminator.
On paper the bout wasn't anything special, but hardcore fans of the Japanese scene knew this would be something sensational, and that's exactly what we got, over 8 incredible rounds.
From the opening round this was just a violent war with both men standing their ground and letting their shots fly up close. Both men essentially ignored their jabs as they traded hooks and uppercuts up close. This was the style that suited Tamura.
Despite being the more physically imposing fighter Tamura seemed to falter in terms of variations, whilst Furuhashi managed to land some booming straight right hands on his way in, and as the fight went on Furuhashi started to move a little more, using his feet smartly to neutralise some of the pressure of Tamura and lure him onto shots.
Furuhashi would end up being dragged back into a toe-to-toe war again in the later stages as Tamura's pressure began to have the desired effect. By then however it was too little too late for Tamura in the eyes of the judges.
After 8 rounds the scorecards from all 3 judges favoured Furuhashi, with scores of 78-75, twice, and 77-76, as he secured his third Japanese title shot.
After the bout Furuhashi seemed incredibly excited about getting a third shot at the title. He will be the under-dog when he fights for the title, but he'll be a live under-dog. Tamura, on the other hand, stated that he thought he deserved the win and it's clear that despite the loss he will continue on and keep chasing his dreams of regaining the title that he lost to Yusaku Kuga earlier this year.
(Image courtesy of boxmob.jp)