Suzuki shines on debut, Kimura stops Nakagawa for regional title
Earlier today we had a notable card at Korakuen Hall, featuring the debut of a touted youngster, along with 3 interesting international bouts and a regional title bout in the main event.
The first of the noteworthy bouts was the debut of Toshihiro Suzuki (1-0, 1) [鈴木 稔弘], who was a stellar amateur and is expected to go on to big things over the coming years. Here he made a cameo appearance in his debut, as he stopped Thai visitor Pornthep Wadngam (4-3, 3) in just 25 seconds. The Thai was dropped after 8 seconds and whilst he beat the count he didn't last much longer, being dropped on to the canvas for a second time before the referee waved off the bout.
Another Japanese local who stopped a Thai visitor was 19 year old Kai Watanabe (8-0-1, 4) who stopped fellow teenager Atipbodee Srikao (4-2, 2) in 4 rounds. This was really competitive early on, and the Thai came to fight, having success in rounds 1 and two, but in round 4 a huge uppercut dropped Srikao with the bout being stopped just moments later.
Another bout with an international vibe saw the criminally under-rated Ryo Nakai (5-1-1, 2) [中井 龍] continue his climb up the ranks as he defeated Filipino visitor Jess Rhey Waminal (14-6-1, 8), with an 8 round shut out decision. The talented, and often over-looked Nakai, controlled the action through out with his busy jab, good footwork and sharp combinations. Waminal was never discouraged, and looked to land big shots through out, but was made to look second best for pretty much every minute of every round here as Nakai took a huge step towards getting his maiden title fight.
The co-feature was another Japan Vs Philippines bout, as 24 year old Japanese hopeful Ryuto Owan (9-1, 6) [大湾 硫斗]defeated Filipino veteran Mark Anthony Geraldo (38-11-3, 19). Owan controlled much of the bout, but did face some of Geraldo's veteran tactics, with the Filipino being deducted a point for fouls in round 6. In the later stages of the bout Owan slowed down and Geraldo did enough to take a round in the later stages, but it wasn't enough with all 3 judges scoring the bout 79-72 to Owan.
In the main event we saw criminally over-looked Yoshimitsu Kimura (14-2-1, 9) [木村吉光] claim the WBO Asia Pacific Super Featherweight title with a TKO win over Kanehiro Nakagawa (11-7, 5) [中川兼玄], who was stopped with just 31 seconds of the bout remaining. Though out the bout it was clear that Kimura was a little bit too good for his man in every area, but Nakagawa had the drive, the fire and the heart to to try and make Kimura work hard. Nakagawa was never there to just make up the numbers, but as the rounds went on Kimura began to open up a big gap on the back of his clean punching, and consistent success going forward. In round 5 Nakagawa was dropped for the first time, though bounced back well in round 6, one of his best rounds. Nakagawa was down again in round 9, and once again bounced back determined. Sadly though for Nakagawa his effort came at an expense to his stamina and he was dropped a third time, in round 12, in part due to exhaustion, with the referee immediately stopping the bout. Despite a great effort Nakagawa was down 107-100, 106-101 and 108-99 prior to the stoppage.
The first of the noteworthy bouts was the debut of Toshihiro Suzuki (1-0, 1) [鈴木 稔弘], who was a stellar amateur and is expected to go on to big things over the coming years. Here he made a cameo appearance in his debut, as he stopped Thai visitor Pornthep Wadngam (4-3, 3) in just 25 seconds. The Thai was dropped after 8 seconds and whilst he beat the count he didn't last much longer, being dropped on to the canvas for a second time before the referee waved off the bout.
Another Japanese local who stopped a Thai visitor was 19 year old Kai Watanabe (8-0-1, 4) who stopped fellow teenager Atipbodee Srikao (4-2, 2) in 4 rounds. This was really competitive early on, and the Thai came to fight, having success in rounds 1 and two, but in round 4 a huge uppercut dropped Srikao with the bout being stopped just moments later.
Another bout with an international vibe saw the criminally under-rated Ryo Nakai (5-1-1, 2) [中井 龍] continue his climb up the ranks as he defeated Filipino visitor Jess Rhey Waminal (14-6-1, 8), with an 8 round shut out decision. The talented, and often over-looked Nakai, controlled the action through out with his busy jab, good footwork and sharp combinations. Waminal was never discouraged, and looked to land big shots through out, but was made to look second best for pretty much every minute of every round here as Nakai took a huge step towards getting his maiden title fight.
The co-feature was another Japan Vs Philippines bout, as 24 year old Japanese hopeful Ryuto Owan (9-1, 6) [大湾 硫斗]defeated Filipino veteran Mark Anthony Geraldo (38-11-3, 19). Owan controlled much of the bout, but did face some of Geraldo's veteran tactics, with the Filipino being deducted a point for fouls in round 6. In the later stages of the bout Owan slowed down and Geraldo did enough to take a round in the later stages, but it wasn't enough with all 3 judges scoring the bout 79-72 to Owan.
In the main event we saw criminally over-looked Yoshimitsu Kimura (14-2-1, 9) [木村吉光] claim the WBO Asia Pacific Super Featherweight title with a TKO win over Kanehiro Nakagawa (11-7, 5) [中川兼玄], who was stopped with just 31 seconds of the bout remaining. Though out the bout it was clear that Kimura was a little bit too good for his man in every area, but Nakagawa had the drive, the fire and the heart to to try and make Kimura work hard. Nakagawa was never there to just make up the numbers, but as the rounds went on Kimura began to open up a big gap on the back of his clean punching, and consistent success going forward. In round 5 Nakagawa was dropped for the first time, though bounced back well in round 6, one of his best rounds. Nakagawa was down again in round 9, and once again bounced back determined. Sadly though for Nakagawa his effort came at an expense to his stamina and he was dropped a third time, in round 12, in part due to exhaustion, with the referee immediately stopping the bout. Despite a great effort Nakagawa was down 107-100, 106-101 and 108-99 prior to the stoppage.