Champions retain at Korakuen Hall
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Earlier today we had the latest show at Korakuen Hall, "30th WHO'S NEXT DYNAMIC GLOVE on U-NEXT", and it was a great one on paper, with two solid title fights, as part of the Champion Carnival, and two bouts featuring notable prospects.
The first of the major prospects on the card was the unbeaten 23 year old Yuichiro Taka (4-0) [高優一郎] who scored his latest win, as he overcame 25 year old southpaw Yuya Hirose (9-5-2, 4) [廣瀬祐也] in a very solid 8 rounder. On paper it’s easy to have assumed this was a foregone conclusion but Hirose ia very decent fighter and he showed that here, fighting hard all through the 8 rounds, but Taka’s extra bit of class, accuracy and variation was enough to earn a very well fought and close decision. The win will see Taka gain a JBC ranking, and move towards a Japanese title fight, and despite suffering another loss Hirose will continue to be in demand to test domestic prospects, and even do enough to earn wins against good hopefuls.
The second prospect in action was former amateur stand out Issei Aramoto (2-0, 1) [荒本一成] who scored his second win, as he took a decision over Korean based Mongolian Ha So Baek (3-1, 2), aka Jargal Otgonjargal. From the off this was a bout between two limited but tough men, who seemed to enjoy trying to hurt each other. Aramoto, as he did in his debut, pressed forward, and looked to land big, heavy shots, whilst Baek showed more overall, but never looked quite as heavy handed as Aramoto, who managed to drop his man in round 7. Baek beat the count but was under pressure at the end of the round and seemed like he was going to be under pressure in the final round. Despite that, Baek actually managed to hurt a tiring Aramoto in round 8. In the end Aramoto had done enough, just, taking the bout 77-74 on all 3 cards. Sadly, despite being a great amateur on the domestic scene, it does appear that he’s very much a work in progress, with a lot to develop on as a professional.
Before the two title bouts we also saw Japanese ranked 154lb fighter Masaya Tamayama (15-5, 8) [玉山将也] take an 8 round decision win over Kenta Kamimura (6-3-2, 3) [上村健太] Both landed solid shots in the first round, but by round 2 Tamayama was starting to control the range, and forced Kamimura into an inside fight, which saw Tamayama really have success, especially with land hands to the body. Kamimura looked to fight back, and made things hotly competitive but seemed to be coming off second best. That was until round 8, when Tamayama was rocked by a 1-2 and had to retreat, before regrouping with both trading big shots to the bell. After 8 rounds the judges had this 78-74, twice, and 77-75, to give Tamayama the unanimous decision win.
The first of the two title bouts saw hard hitting Japanese Bantamweight champion Riku Masuda (7-1, 7) [増田 陸] record his second defense and overcome the previously unbeaten Kaisei Matsumoto (9-1, 5) [松本海聖]. From the off Masuda seemed too good, too strong, too powerful and a level above Matsumoto who struggled to create space and struggled to dictate any of the action. He did have moments, notably in round 5 when he landed a good 1-2, but they were fleeting as the challenger was put under waves of pressure. That pressure led to the scorecards clearly favouring the champion, who was up 49-46, twice, and 50-45 after 5 rounds, when we had the open scoring. Sadly for Matsumoto the punishment he took in the first 5 rounds was taking a toll and in round 6 a big 1-2 rocked Matsumoto to his boots and a follow up barrage dragged forced Matsumoto to fight fire with fire. It was his only option, but one that didn't fare well, and later in the round he was rocked again. This time the referee stepped in and saved him, with the fans applauded both men at the conclusion of the action.
The other title bout also saw the champion retaining, with former amateur stand out Kuntae Lee (9-0-1, 2) [李健太] retaining the Japanese 140lb title as he overcame hitting mandatory challenger Mikyo Watarai (6-1, 4) [渡来美響] in a bout that really had a bit of everything. Going in this was one of the most highly anticipated bouts of this year’s Champion Carnival, and it delivered on that expectation.
Early on Lee looked to get behind a busy southpaw jab and land his land hand, with Watarai doing well to avoid them, and looking to counter with his left. In round 2 Watarai managed to land a good right hand, which he again made good use of in round 3 as he seemed to be settling really well into the bout. It was being fought with a sense of tension at mid range, with both showing a lot of technical know how. In round 5 Watarai had his biggest moment of the right, landing a left hook that dropped Lee and left him with a cut above the right eye. The knockdown saw Watarai secure a lead after 5 rounds, with the open scoring having the bout 49-45, 48-46 and 47-47, to give Watarai the edge.
Knowing he was in a hole, with the scorecard against him and the cut, Lee changed things up. Rather than boxing at mid-range, as he had been, he began to press, coming forward and turning the bout into a fight. Something we hadn’t seen him do much since turning professional. This proved to be a major change in the narrative of the fight, with a left hand dropping Watarai in round 6, essentially neutralising the knockdown from earlier in the fight. A counter left in round 7 saw Lee score his second knockdown, and in round 8 Lee seemed to hurt the challenger again, proving what few realised, he can hit hard. In round 9 Watarai was himself cut, from a clash of heads. The cut ultimately saw us going to the scorecards after just over a minute of 9. The scores, at the time of the bouts conclusion, were 85-83, twice, and 87-81, giving Kenta the technical decision, and arguably the biggest win of his professional career so far.
The first of the major prospects on the card was the unbeaten 23 year old Yuichiro Taka (4-0) [高優一郎] who scored his latest win, as he overcame 25 year old southpaw Yuya Hirose (9-5-2, 4) [廣瀬祐也] in a very solid 8 rounder. On paper it’s easy to have assumed this was a foregone conclusion but Hirose ia very decent fighter and he showed that here, fighting hard all through the 8 rounds, but Taka’s extra bit of class, accuracy and variation was enough to earn a very well fought and close decision. The win will see Taka gain a JBC ranking, and move towards a Japanese title fight, and despite suffering another loss Hirose will continue to be in demand to test domestic prospects, and even do enough to earn wins against good hopefuls.
The second prospect in action was former amateur stand out Issei Aramoto (2-0, 1) [荒本一成] who scored his second win, as he took a decision over Korean based Mongolian Ha So Baek (3-1, 2), aka Jargal Otgonjargal. From the off this was a bout between two limited but tough men, who seemed to enjoy trying to hurt each other. Aramoto, as he did in his debut, pressed forward, and looked to land big, heavy shots, whilst Baek showed more overall, but never looked quite as heavy handed as Aramoto, who managed to drop his man in round 7. Baek beat the count but was under pressure at the end of the round and seemed like he was going to be under pressure in the final round. Despite that, Baek actually managed to hurt a tiring Aramoto in round 8. In the end Aramoto had done enough, just, taking the bout 77-74 on all 3 cards. Sadly, despite being a great amateur on the domestic scene, it does appear that he’s very much a work in progress, with a lot to develop on as a professional.
Before the two title bouts we also saw Japanese ranked 154lb fighter Masaya Tamayama (15-5, 8) [玉山将也] take an 8 round decision win over Kenta Kamimura (6-3-2, 3) [上村健太] Both landed solid shots in the first round, but by round 2 Tamayama was starting to control the range, and forced Kamimura into an inside fight, which saw Tamayama really have success, especially with land hands to the body. Kamimura looked to fight back, and made things hotly competitive but seemed to be coming off second best. That was until round 8, when Tamayama was rocked by a 1-2 and had to retreat, before regrouping with both trading big shots to the bell. After 8 rounds the judges had this 78-74, twice, and 77-75, to give Tamayama the unanimous decision win.
The first of the two title bouts saw hard hitting Japanese Bantamweight champion Riku Masuda (7-1, 7) [増田 陸] record his second defense and overcome the previously unbeaten Kaisei Matsumoto (9-1, 5) [松本海聖]. From the off Masuda seemed too good, too strong, too powerful and a level above Matsumoto who struggled to create space and struggled to dictate any of the action. He did have moments, notably in round 5 when he landed a good 1-2, but they were fleeting as the challenger was put under waves of pressure. That pressure led to the scorecards clearly favouring the champion, who was up 49-46, twice, and 50-45 after 5 rounds, when we had the open scoring. Sadly for Matsumoto the punishment he took in the first 5 rounds was taking a toll and in round 6 a big 1-2 rocked Matsumoto to his boots and a follow up barrage dragged forced Matsumoto to fight fire with fire. It was his only option, but one that didn't fare well, and later in the round he was rocked again. This time the referee stepped in and saved him, with the fans applauded both men at the conclusion of the action.
The other title bout also saw the champion retaining, with former amateur stand out Kuntae Lee (9-0-1, 2) [李健太] retaining the Japanese 140lb title as he overcame hitting mandatory challenger Mikyo Watarai (6-1, 4) [渡来美響] in a bout that really had a bit of everything. Going in this was one of the most highly anticipated bouts of this year’s Champion Carnival, and it delivered on that expectation.
Early on Lee looked to get behind a busy southpaw jab and land his land hand, with Watarai doing well to avoid them, and looking to counter with his left. In round 2 Watarai managed to land a good right hand, which he again made good use of in round 3 as he seemed to be settling really well into the bout. It was being fought with a sense of tension at mid range, with both showing a lot of technical know how. In round 5 Watarai had his biggest moment of the right, landing a left hook that dropped Lee and left him with a cut above the right eye. The knockdown saw Watarai secure a lead after 5 rounds, with the open scoring having the bout 49-45, 48-46 and 47-47, to give Watarai the edge.
Knowing he was in a hole, with the scorecard against him and the cut, Lee changed things up. Rather than boxing at mid-range, as he had been, he began to press, coming forward and turning the bout into a fight. Something we hadn’t seen him do much since turning professional. This proved to be a major change in the narrative of the fight, with a left hand dropping Watarai in round 6, essentially neutralising the knockdown from earlier in the fight. A counter left in round 7 saw Lee score his second knockdown, and in round 8 Lee seemed to hurt the challenger again, proving what few realised, he can hit hard. In round 9 Watarai was himself cut, from a clash of heads. The cut ultimately saw us going to the scorecards after just over a minute of 9. The scores, at the time of the bouts conclusion, were 85-83, twice, and 87-81, giving Kenta the technical decision, and arguably the biggest win of his professional career so far.