Muto claims Youth title, Ssemuju and Nakajima retain belts
Earlier today Ohashi Gym put on their latest Phoenix Battle show at Korakuen Hall. The card featured a trio of title bouts and the second professional bout of an amateur stand out, tipped by many to be a future champion himself.
The touted prospect in question was Shogo Tanaka (2-0,1 ) [田中将吾] who recorded his first early win as he stopped 19 year old Thai visitor Natsaphon Manonom (3-2, 3) in 2 rounds. Tanaka got off to a great start, dropping Manonom with a body shot in round 1 and got the chance to to show off his punch selection and hand speed after the Thai got to his feet. In round 2 Tanaka would score a second knockdown, forcing the referee to wave off the bout at the 1:53 mark.
The first of the three title fights saw Yusei Yamazaki (4-1, 4) [山﨑裕生] suffer his first loss, as Ryota Muto (7-1-1, 5) [武藤涼太] stopped him in 6 to claim the Japanese Youth Super Bantamweight title. From the early going Muto seemed to have Yamazaki’s number, getting in his face, and making the most of his southpaw stance, landing solid right hooks and hard left hands, and refusing to let Yamazaki build any momentum. Every time Yamazaki landed a good shot he got tagged back, with Muto making it clear he wasn’t intimidated by Yamazaki’s impressive looking record. After 4 rounds the 19 year old Muto was up on all 3 cards, 40-36 and 39-37, twice. Knowing he was behind Yamazaki tried to turn things around in round 5, but was hurt in round 6 as Muto got through with solid shots, including a good 1-2 and a solid body shot that saw the referee jumping in moments later. A great win for Muto who has now fought twice at Korakuen Hall, almost a year apart, winning the All Japan Rookie of the Year there last December and now winning his first professional title. The 19 year old from Nagoya definitely seems to be one to watch, and hopefully it won't take another year until he gets another fight at Korakuen Hall.
The second title bout saw Japanese Welterweight champion David Ssemujju (7-1, 4) record his first defense as he took a wide decision over Takeru Kobata (14-7-1, 6) [小畑武尊]. Early on here Ssemujju struggled to really have success, despite getting the better of things. He looked the better fighter, and was landing more than Kobata, but was struggling to really put things together with Kobata defending well, and landing enough on the counter to keep the champion from taking too many risks. In round 4 however Ssemuju began to feel more at ease, becoming more aggressive, and landing some nice combinations that saw him begin to stamp his authority on the action.That continued in round 5 as he started to finally find his groove. Despite his early struggles he was up on all 3 cards after 5 rounds, 48-47 and 49-46. From there on Ssemuju began to control the action, until round 9, when Kobata began to try and turn things around. It was however too little too late from the challenger, who had moments but simply had too much of a hole to fight his way out of. After 10 rounds Ssemuju won with scores of 98-92, twice, and 97-93.
In the main event of the show OPBF Super Bantamweight champion Kazuki Nakajima (17-2-1, 14) [中嶋一輝] notched his second defense, as he stopped the previously unbeaten Juiki Tatsuyoshi (16-1-1, 10) [辰吉寿以輝], in 2 rounds, in what was a huge step up for Tatsuyoshi. Tatsuyoshi had moments, landing a good right, in the opening round, but Nakajima looked a class above, and looked much more dangerous, with his heavy straight left hands looking particularly dangerous. In round 2 the left hand of Nakajima proved to be the difference maker, with the champion landing one clean, as Tatsuyoshi came towards him. The shot landed sweet and dropped Tatsuyoshi hard, with the referee waving the bout off immediately as Tatsuyoshi’s head bounced off the canvas.
The touted prospect in question was Shogo Tanaka (2-0,1 ) [田中将吾] who recorded his first early win as he stopped 19 year old Thai visitor Natsaphon Manonom (3-2, 3) in 2 rounds. Tanaka got off to a great start, dropping Manonom with a body shot in round 1 and got the chance to to show off his punch selection and hand speed after the Thai got to his feet. In round 2 Tanaka would score a second knockdown, forcing the referee to wave off the bout at the 1:53 mark.
The first of the three title fights saw Yusei Yamazaki (4-1, 4) [山﨑裕生] suffer his first loss, as Ryota Muto (7-1-1, 5) [武藤涼太] stopped him in 6 to claim the Japanese Youth Super Bantamweight title. From the early going Muto seemed to have Yamazaki’s number, getting in his face, and making the most of his southpaw stance, landing solid right hooks and hard left hands, and refusing to let Yamazaki build any momentum. Every time Yamazaki landed a good shot he got tagged back, with Muto making it clear he wasn’t intimidated by Yamazaki’s impressive looking record. After 4 rounds the 19 year old Muto was up on all 3 cards, 40-36 and 39-37, twice. Knowing he was behind Yamazaki tried to turn things around in round 5, but was hurt in round 6 as Muto got through with solid shots, including a good 1-2 and a solid body shot that saw the referee jumping in moments later. A great win for Muto who has now fought twice at Korakuen Hall, almost a year apart, winning the All Japan Rookie of the Year there last December and now winning his first professional title. The 19 year old from Nagoya definitely seems to be one to watch, and hopefully it won't take another year until he gets another fight at Korakuen Hall.
The second title bout saw Japanese Welterweight champion David Ssemujju (7-1, 4) record his first defense as he took a wide decision over Takeru Kobata (14-7-1, 6) [小畑武尊]. Early on here Ssemujju struggled to really have success, despite getting the better of things. He looked the better fighter, and was landing more than Kobata, but was struggling to really put things together with Kobata defending well, and landing enough on the counter to keep the champion from taking too many risks. In round 4 however Ssemuju began to feel more at ease, becoming more aggressive, and landing some nice combinations that saw him begin to stamp his authority on the action.That continued in round 5 as he started to finally find his groove. Despite his early struggles he was up on all 3 cards after 5 rounds, 48-47 and 49-46. From there on Ssemuju began to control the action, until round 9, when Kobata began to try and turn things around. It was however too little too late from the challenger, who had moments but simply had too much of a hole to fight his way out of. After 10 rounds Ssemuju won with scores of 98-92, twice, and 97-93.
In the main event of the show OPBF Super Bantamweight champion Kazuki Nakajima (17-2-1, 14) [中嶋一輝] notched his second defense, as he stopped the previously unbeaten Juiki Tatsuyoshi (16-1-1, 10) [辰吉寿以輝], in 2 rounds, in what was a huge step up for Tatsuyoshi. Tatsuyoshi had moments, landing a good right, in the opening round, but Nakajima looked a class above, and looked much more dangerous, with his heavy straight left hands looking particularly dangerous. In round 2 the left hand of Nakajima proved to be the difference maker, with the champion landing one clean, as Tatsuyoshi came towards him. The shot landed sweet and dropped Tatsuyoshi hard, with the referee waving the bout off immediately as Tatsuyoshi’s head bounced off the canvas.