Yamaguchi Edges Juri, Keeps Japan’s 115lb Belt

By Joe Koizumi

Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten southpaw speedsters collided again with the national 115-pound belt at stake. Fast-punching Jinya Yamaguchi (7-0-1, 2 KOs; amateur 22-11), 114.75, barely kept his Japanese super flyweight belt when he struggled to cope with quick combinations of JBC#1 Kantaro Juri (7-1-2, 2 KOs; amateur 41-17), 114.75, and earned a hairline split decision (96-94 twice, 94-96) over ten furious rounds on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan. They had exchanged fast and relentless hands in a JBC eliminator to decide the mandatory challenger to battle to a grueling draw (77-75, 75-77, 76-76) last October. Their rematch followed a similar pattern of the first encounter with each desperately mixing it up with quick combos, but Yamaguchi seemingly dominated the second half by a slight margin with Juri gradually slowing down to occasionally grab his rival with clinches down the stretch.

Promoter: Misako Promotions.

https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/1093039

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