East Japan monthly award winners named
Earlier today the East Japan Boxing Association announced their award winners for the month of August. This month we have winners for all 3 awards, the MVP, Fighting Spirit and Newcomer.
The MVP for the month is Japanese Featherweight champion Ryo Sagawa (10-1, 5) [佐川遼], who stopped the gutsy and brave Yuri Takemoto (8-2-1, 4) [竹本雄利] on august 13th to retain his title. The bout, Sagawa's second defense, saw the two fighters put on a real show for the fans, before Sagawa's accuracy and hard body shots took the wind out of Takemoto's sails, and finished him off right at the end of round 6.
The Fight Spirit award was won by the world ranked Ryota Yamauchi (7-1, 6) [山内涼太]. The talented and exciting Yamauchi won the award as he beat down Satoru Todaka (10-4-4, 3) [戸髙達] to claim the WBO Asia Pacific Flyweight title. The power and aggression saw Todaka take a pounding in round 3 before he was stopped in the corner between rounds. With the win Yamauchi is expected to take a huge step towards a potential world title fight in the next year or so.
The Newcomer award was won by sensationally talented former amateur stand out Ryutaro Nakagaki (1-0, 1) [中垣 龍汰朗], who stopped Shohei Horii (3-6-2, 2) [堀井翔平] in 2 rounds back on August 24th. That win was a sign that Nakagaki has transitioned from the amateurs to the professionals perfectly, and he looks like a real star of the future.
The MVP for the month is Japanese Featherweight champion Ryo Sagawa (10-1, 5) [佐川遼], who stopped the gutsy and brave Yuri Takemoto (8-2-1, 4) [竹本雄利] on august 13th to retain his title. The bout, Sagawa's second defense, saw the two fighters put on a real show for the fans, before Sagawa's accuracy and hard body shots took the wind out of Takemoto's sails, and finished him off right at the end of round 6.
The Fight Spirit award was won by the world ranked Ryota Yamauchi (7-1, 6) [山内涼太]. The talented and exciting Yamauchi won the award as he beat down Satoru Todaka (10-4-4, 3) [戸髙達] to claim the WBO Asia Pacific Flyweight title. The power and aggression saw Todaka take a pounding in round 3 before he was stopped in the corner between rounds. With the win Yamauchi is expected to take a huge step towards a potential world title fight in the next year or so.
The Newcomer award was won by sensationally talented former amateur stand out Ryutaro Nakagaki (1-0, 1) [中垣 龍汰朗], who stopped Shohei Horii (3-6-2, 2) [堀井翔平] in 2 rounds back on August 24th. That win was a sign that Nakagaki has transitioned from the amateurs to the professionals perfectly, and he looks like a real star of the future.