OPBF 154lb Champ Midorikawa Keeps Belt
By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda
Unbeaten ex-kick boxing champ Tsukuru Midorikawa (6-0, 4 KOs), 153.75, impressively kept his OPBF super welter belt when he came off the canvas, dropped Hisashi Kato (13-15-2, 8 KOs), 153.5, back and finally halted him with the referee’s intervention at 2:12 of the seventh round on Friday in Tokyo, Japan. A stout-built 39-year-old Tsukuru seized the regional belt from Nigerian-Japanese Nath Nwachukwu in just thirteen months after his entry into the international style boxing, and it was his first defense beneath the WBA, WBO light fly title bout.
Decking the challenger Kato in round five, the champ surprisingly hit the deck in the next session. But Midorikawa furiously retaliated with a two-fisted attack so effectively that the ref called a well-timed halt in the seventh. Not so fast but strong in the close range, the champ hopes to square off against WBO AP ruler Ryota Toyoshima.
Promoter: Treasure Boxing Promotions.
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