Nagata secures Japanese title shot at Champion Carnival
This past weekend we had a number of bouts in Japan, one of the most important was a Strongest Challenger bout, as former Japanese Flyweight champion Josuke Nagata (7-2) [永田丈晶] clashed with Shun Kosaka (19-10, 4) [小坂駿], with the winner securing themselves a shot at the Japanese title during next year’s Champion Carnival.
The bout was hotly contested over 8 rounds, which saw both men have their moments, in front of an excited crowd in Kobe City. Throughout the bout Nagata looked to set the tempo, press the action and force the fight on to Kosaka, who wanted to create space and land his heavier shots. Kosaka often looked the more versatile, switching things up more often and certainly hitting with more pop, but he was unable to consistently back up Nagata, who simply kept coming with a high work rate. After 8 rounds Nagata's offensive work rate prevailed, with the judges scoring this 80-72. 77-75 and 76-76 to give him the majority decision win. Kosaka, who lives in Hyogo, deserved more than a shutout, on one card, but the 76-76 card was poor in the opposite direction. With this win Nagata opens the door to a rematch with Japanese national champion Jukiya Iimura (7-1, 2) [飯村樹輝弥], who beat Nagata for the title, however the bout will come after Iimura faces Lorenz Dumam-ag (10-0-1, 7), in January, for the OPBF title.
In an upset on the same card Kirei Yasumura (9-1, 3) [安村綺麗] scored one of, if not the, biggest win of his career, as he beat former JBC ranked fighter Seira Kishida (10-3-1, 3) [岸田聖羅]. Yasumura, a 2002 All Japan Rookie of the Year winner at Super Bantamweight, was fighting at Super Featherweight for only the second time in his career and took a razor thin majority decision over Kishida, who like Kosaka resides in Kobe.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the locals, as the unbeaten Kaisei Matsumoto (9-0, 5) [松本海聖] managed to continue his perfect start to the pros, taking a wide decision win over Filipino visitor Wilbert Berondo (17-8-2, 6) in the main event. On paper this looks like a comfortable win, with Matsumoto winning by 5 points on all 3 cards, however Matsumoto was dropped in round 5, by a big assault from Berondo, suffering his first professional knockdown. As a result of the knockdown, the cards were all 78-73 for Matsumoto, who will face Japanese Bantamweight champion Riku Masuda (6-1, 6) [増田 陸], who was in attendance for the show, and joined Matsumoto in the ring after the bout. Their bout, like Iimura Vs Nagata II, will also be part of the Champion Carnival.
The bout was hotly contested over 8 rounds, which saw both men have their moments, in front of an excited crowd in Kobe City. Throughout the bout Nagata looked to set the tempo, press the action and force the fight on to Kosaka, who wanted to create space and land his heavier shots. Kosaka often looked the more versatile, switching things up more often and certainly hitting with more pop, but he was unable to consistently back up Nagata, who simply kept coming with a high work rate. After 8 rounds Nagata's offensive work rate prevailed, with the judges scoring this 80-72. 77-75 and 76-76 to give him the majority decision win. Kosaka, who lives in Hyogo, deserved more than a shutout, on one card, but the 76-76 card was poor in the opposite direction. With this win Nagata opens the door to a rematch with Japanese national champion Jukiya Iimura (7-1, 2) [飯村樹輝弥], who beat Nagata for the title, however the bout will come after Iimura faces Lorenz Dumam-ag (10-0-1, 7), in January, for the OPBF title.
In an upset on the same card Kirei Yasumura (9-1, 3) [安村綺麗] scored one of, if not the, biggest win of his career, as he beat former JBC ranked fighter Seira Kishida (10-3-1, 3) [岸田聖羅]. Yasumura, a 2002 All Japan Rookie of the Year winner at Super Bantamweight, was fighting at Super Featherweight for only the second time in his career and took a razor thin majority decision over Kishida, who like Kosaka resides in Kobe.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the locals, as the unbeaten Kaisei Matsumoto (9-0, 5) [松本海聖] managed to continue his perfect start to the pros, taking a wide decision win over Filipino visitor Wilbert Berondo (17-8-2, 6) in the main event. On paper this looks like a comfortable win, with Matsumoto winning by 5 points on all 3 cards, however Matsumoto was dropped in round 5, by a big assault from Berondo, suffering his first professional knockdown. As a result of the knockdown, the cards were all 78-73 for Matsumoto, who will face Japanese Bantamweight champion Riku Masuda (6-1, 6) [増田 陸], who was in attendance for the show, and joined Matsumoto in the ring after the bout. Their bout, like Iimura Vs Nagata II, will also be part of the Champion Carnival.