Fighters make weight for title double header at Korakuen Hall
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On Saturday the legendary Korakuen Hall plays host to The 32nd DYNAMIC GLOVE on U-NEXT, which will feature two notable rematches for titles. Today, ahead of that show, the men involved took part in their wiegh in.
The first of those title bouts will see former Japanese Lightweight champion Shuma Nakazato (15-3-3, 8) [仲里周磨] taking on Yudai Murakami (6-2) [村上雄大] in a bout for the now vacant Japanese Lightweight title. These two met, originally, in 2023 when Nakazato was making his first defense of the Japanese title, which he did so with a clear but hard fought win over 10 rounds. Sadly for him however he lost the title in his second defense, losing a very close bout with Hironori Mishiro in 2024. He secured himself another shot at the belt in late 2024, and will be getting his shot at the vacant title here. As for Murakami he is unbeaten since losing to Nakazato, and knows he will really need to make the most of his second title shot and gain a sense of revenge for his loss.
On the scales Nakazato came in at 134.7lbs whilst Murakmai was 134.5lbs, both comfortably under the 135lb limit.
At the weigh in Nakazato stated that he wanted to score a KO, though seemed to admit that was going to be tricky, explaining "He's not the type to exchange punches, so I want to fight well without chasing him too much”. He also explained that he feels Murakami will have the edge in fan support at the venue. Interestingly support was also brought up by Murakmai, who explained that Nakazato had the fans behind him in their first bout, saying "Because it was enemy territory, the Okinawan support (for Nakazato) was amazing. I was swept up in the atmosphere and felt weak. I had the impression that I had lost." Before adding that Nakazato "has strong punches and strong will. He feels like an Okinawan fighter." Interestingly the loss to Nakazato made Murakami consider retiring, so we wonder if he feels he is now fighting for his career here.
The other title but will see OPBF Flyweight champion Jukiya Iimura (8-1, 2) [飯村樹輝弥] defending his belt against Filipino fighter Esneth Domingo (21-2, 13), the man who gave him his sole defeat. Their first bout came in 2022, when Iimura was 3-0, and it served as a real wake up call to the Japanese fighter, who was stopped in 6 rounds. Since then he has gone 5-0 and won both the Japanese and OPBF titles at Flyweight. As for Domingo he’s gone 4-0, but this including a win in Japan against Kosuke Tomioka and an 11th round TKO against Michael Bravo, that saw him being dropped before stopping Bravo.
On the scales Iimura was 111.3lbs whilst Domingo was 110.9lbs, with both making weight incredibly easily.
Talking to the media, Iimura stated "I was surprised he was so small. I lost (the last time), so that's all that matters. As a professional, I can't lose the rematch. I can't allow a losing streak." He then added "he's a cunning fighter who puts pressure well and counters when he sees an opening," Before then adding "I want to make sure he doesn't rush his attacks and stay focused. I want to win no matter what happens. I want to dodge his attacks and shake him up. I hope I can do some in and out boxing," As for Domingo, who oozed confidence, he explained "I think my opponent has prepared well, but so have I. I'm the challenger, but I want to put on a good fight tomorrow," He also revealed he had been training in Japan for the last month.
Notably whilst this is an OPBF title bout, it also serves as a world title eliminator, of sorts, with both men ranked in the top 15 by both the IBF and WBO, whilst Iimura also holds a top 10 WBA ranking and a top 20 WBC ranking, meaning the winner will be knocking on the door of a world title fight.
The first of those title bouts will see former Japanese Lightweight champion Shuma Nakazato (15-3-3, 8) [仲里周磨] taking on Yudai Murakami (6-2) [村上雄大] in a bout for the now vacant Japanese Lightweight title. These two met, originally, in 2023 when Nakazato was making his first defense of the Japanese title, which he did so with a clear but hard fought win over 10 rounds. Sadly for him however he lost the title in his second defense, losing a very close bout with Hironori Mishiro in 2024. He secured himself another shot at the belt in late 2024, and will be getting his shot at the vacant title here. As for Murakami he is unbeaten since losing to Nakazato, and knows he will really need to make the most of his second title shot and gain a sense of revenge for his loss.
On the scales Nakazato came in at 134.7lbs whilst Murakmai was 134.5lbs, both comfortably under the 135lb limit.
At the weigh in Nakazato stated that he wanted to score a KO, though seemed to admit that was going to be tricky, explaining "He's not the type to exchange punches, so I want to fight well without chasing him too much”. He also explained that he feels Murakami will have the edge in fan support at the venue. Interestingly support was also brought up by Murakmai, who explained that Nakazato had the fans behind him in their first bout, saying "Because it was enemy territory, the Okinawan support (for Nakazato) was amazing. I was swept up in the atmosphere and felt weak. I had the impression that I had lost." Before adding that Nakazato "has strong punches and strong will. He feels like an Okinawan fighter." Interestingly the loss to Nakazato made Murakami consider retiring, so we wonder if he feels he is now fighting for his career here.
The other title but will see OPBF Flyweight champion Jukiya Iimura (8-1, 2) [飯村樹輝弥] defending his belt against Filipino fighter Esneth Domingo (21-2, 13), the man who gave him his sole defeat. Their first bout came in 2022, when Iimura was 3-0, and it served as a real wake up call to the Japanese fighter, who was stopped in 6 rounds. Since then he has gone 5-0 and won both the Japanese and OPBF titles at Flyweight. As for Domingo he’s gone 4-0, but this including a win in Japan against Kosuke Tomioka and an 11th round TKO against Michael Bravo, that saw him being dropped before stopping Bravo.
On the scales Iimura was 111.3lbs whilst Domingo was 110.9lbs, with both making weight incredibly easily.
Talking to the media, Iimura stated "I was surprised he was so small. I lost (the last time), so that's all that matters. As a professional, I can't lose the rematch. I can't allow a losing streak." He then added "he's a cunning fighter who puts pressure well and counters when he sees an opening," Before then adding "I want to make sure he doesn't rush his attacks and stay focused. I want to win no matter what happens. I want to dodge his attacks and shake him up. I hope I can do some in and out boxing," As for Domingo, who oozed confidence, he explained "I think my opponent has prepared well, but so have I. I'm the challenger, but I want to put on a good fight tomorrow," He also revealed he had been training in Japan for the last month.
Notably whilst this is an OPBF title bout, it also serves as a world title eliminator, of sorts, with both men ranked in the top 15 by both the IBF and WBO, whilst Iimura also holds a top 10 WBA ranking and a top 20 WBC ranking, meaning the winner will be knocking on the door of a world title fight.