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Earlier today fight fans in South Korea had one of the best shows the country has had in years, with Treasure Boxing putting on a show PARADISE CITY in Incheon.
The bout featured 3 notable bouts. The first of those went as most expected, with former WBO Minimumweight champion Masataka Taniguchi (18-4, 12) [谷口将隆] stopping the experienced Filipino Jaysever Abcede (22-14, 13) in the 5th round. The hard hitting Taniguchi really needed a big performance here and he had that, dropping Abcede twice on route to the stoppage. Sadly for Abcede, who was one seen as one of the best regional journeymen, and a tough, rugged guy who comes to fight, this is his 4th stoppage loss in 5 fights, and we do wonder if this is a sign that his toughness and punch resistance is pretty much gone. For Taniguchi this bout potentially sets him up for a shot a Light Flyweight world title, though it’s hard to know if he still has what it takes to compete at the top level. The second bout of note saw the OPBF Middleweight title change hands, as Kazuto Takesako (16-2-1, 15) [竹迫司登] came up short against 37 year old Tej Pratap Singh (19-7-3-1, 8), in a split decision. Takesako struggled to land his powerful shots, or dictate the bout, as Singh landed shots up close, smothered the range and tempo when he needed to and simply landed the better, more telling shots through much of the bout. For Singh this is a great bounce back following a stoppage loss the last time he fought, which was also in South Korea where he was stopped by Deok No Yun. Sadly for Takesako this is his second loss, and actually comes 13 months after his first, in the very same arena, against Meiirim Nursultanov. The card managed to end on a controversial note, with former 2-weight champion Hiroto Kyoguchi (18-2, 12) [京口紘人] losing in a rematch against Filipino fighter Vince Paras (21-2-1, 15). A rematch that many independent observers felt Kyoguchi had done enough to win with his accuracy, jabs and body shots being particularly effective. Paras, who was aggressive throughout and applied pressure form the off, but seemed to struggle to land much clean, was however impressing the judges. Despite seeming to land the better shots, particularly in the first 5 rounds, the judges seemed to prefer the aggression, as ineffective as it was at times, of Paras, who took the decision with scores of 97-93, twice, and 96-94, leading some to question the officiating, including Kyoguchi himself who questioned it on social media after looking genuinely shocked when the winner was announced. The bout was seen by many as an eliminator for a world title, though given the result and the controversy regarding the decision there are calls for a third bout between the two.
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On Friday the Midas Hotel and Casino in Manila played host to an interesting card, featuring several notable Filipino fighters in action, in some fairly interesting looking match ups on a Sanman Promotions card.
The main event of the show saw former unified Super Bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales (38-4, 20) bounce back from his 2023 loss to Naoya Inoue, as he stopped Thai visitor Nattapong Jankaew (12-4, 8) inside a round to claim the WBC Asia Super Bantamweight title. Both men looked to get their distance early on, with Tapales taking the center of the ring within seconds of the fight starting. Nattapong tried to get Tapales’ respect with a body shot but it was clear the Filipino barely felt it, and took it as a sign he could take anything the Thai offered. With that in mind he went on the hunt and dropped Nattapong a few moments later in the neutral corner. Nattapong wasn’t hurt, but it was clear that Tapales was smelling blood as he got straight back on the offensive and made Nattapong uncomfortable from the restarter. Nattapong ended up in the neutral corner again where he was dropped a second time, this time from a huge overhand left. From there Nattapong’s time was running out and he was dropped a third just moments later, forcing the referee to stop the bout. In the co-main feature we had a huge shock as hard hitting Filipino Reymart Gaballo (27-2, 22) was upset by 36 year old Mexican veteran Kenbun Torres (14-5, 10), who scored his first stoppage win since 2016. This was a giant upset, one of the biggest of the year, and also a truly wild and crazy fight, despite only lasting 2:33. The first 20 seconds were relatively quiet but it wasn’t long until they were unloading bombs on each other, with Gaballo getting the best of the early action with his quicker shots. Torres took them well and showed hit veteran composure whilst Gaballo had pretty consistent success until about 80 seconds into the round. Then things changed, as the Filipino was caught by a wild counter left hook that buckled the knees of Gaballo. He tried to fight back but was dropped moments later for the first knockdown of the fight. He got back to his feet but Torres smelled blood and dropped his man for the second time. This was a much bigger knockdown, and may have actually come from a clash of heads as Torres leaped at Gaballo looking for a left hook, with Gaballo looking unsteady on his legs, and probably should have been stopped here, especially given there was almost a minute of the round left. Instead the referee let him continue, and Torres went for the finish, unloading a huge flurry and not relenting until Gaballo hit the canvas for a third time. It was a horror job by the referee who should have stopped the bout after the second knockdown, and had plenty of opportunities during the flurry, but chose to stand by and allow Gaballo to take several shots he really didn’t need to take. Given how the second knockdown came about, and Gaballo’s lack of awareness afterwards, it is possible that their was a nasty clash of heads, regardless, the referee allowed way too much punishment after it, and we do need to wonder whether the GAB will investigate his performance here. Also on this card China's Yesimuhan Yeerken (3-0, 1) scored a career best win, out pointing Reymond Yanong (13-10-1, 10), over 8 rounds, Jesarial Ancajas (3-0, 1) took a 6 round decision over Herovan Beltran (2-2, 1), Alvin Medura (11-10, 7) scored an upset over the previously unbeaten Bryan Ascano (9-1-1, 5), ending a 5 fight losing run dating back more than 2 years, whilst David Santisima (4-0, 3) blew out Reynald Condes (3-4-1, 1) and Abubakar Yanon (3-0, 3) continued his perfect start by stopping Joshua Solis (2-3, 1). To begin the card fans saw Australian fighter TJ Doheny (26-4, 19) continue his great form in Japan, as he scored a 4th round TKO win over the previously unbeaten Bryl Bayogos (7-1-1, 2). Doheny, who was added to the card at short notice, as an insurance policy for Luis Nery potentially missing weight, made sure to make the most of his opportunity to score a third straight TKO win in Japan, building on victories over Kazuki Nakajima and Japhetlee Llamido last year, and his career defining 2018 win over Ryosuke Iwasa for the IBF Super Bantamweight title. With the win he remains in the mix for a potential world title fight, whilst Bayogos got the chance to fight on a major card, get some international experience and fight on an historic event.
The first of the 4 world title bouts saw WBA Flyweight champion Seigo Yuri Akui (20-2-1, 11) [阿久井政悟] retain his title with a unanimous decision over Taku Kuwahara (13-2, 8) [桑原拓] in what was a rematch of a 2021 Japanese title bout, won in 10 rounds . From the off Akui was the man pressing and pressuring, whilst Kuwahara used his footwork and speed, using the outside of the ring and picking his moments as Akui came to him. The first round was a good one for Kuwahara, but he was being forced to use a lot of energy and by round two it did seem like Akui was starting to land the much heavier, more telling blows and timed Kuwahara numerous times. Round 3 was a really interesting round, where Kuwahara seemed to win the first 2 minutes, creating space well and landed a really good body shot, but Akui landed some monstrous headshots late on, in a round that could have gone either way. Kuwahara again started well in round 4, managing to create the space he needed to work early on, but once again as the round went on Akui managed to find his range, and again landed the heavier, more hurtful, single shots. Round 5 was a much better round for Kuwahara, who seemed to find his distance more easily, and landed the better shots, limiting the success of Akui well though the round. The 6th round was very much a round that was dictated by body shots, as both went to the midsection on a regular basis. The body work of Akui seemed to be the more effective, slowing Kuwahara down for much of the round, until the final 20 seconds of the round as Kuwahara ended the round with a big flurry, making it a really tough round to score. In round 7 we saw a lot of action up close, with Kuwahara looking to have slowed, and less able to create the space he wanted to work, this massively favoured Akui, who had the much slower feet, and forced Kuwahara to fight fire with fire. The challenger had success when the two were trading, but it wasn’t the style of fight he wanted and this showed even more in round 8 as Akui began to relentless walk down Kuwahara, who tried to slow Akui with body shots, but couldn’t make Akui back off. The relentlessness of Akui continued in round 9, with Kuwahara doing what he could to slow the pursuit of the champion, but being unable to get Akui’s respect, whilst also dropping his left hand as he moved, giving Akui an invitation to for his right hands. In round 10 things continued to get worse for Kuwahara as Akui’s relentless pressure had more and more success, including a huge right hand 2 minutes into the round. To his credit Kuwahara refused to give in and had moments in round 11, though was again on the receiving end for much of the round, despite a great burst of shots late on. Kuwahara came out fast in the final round, knowing he was well down, and letting it all go for the first 40 or so seconds. Sadly for him Akui saw out the storm and then returned with interest as he went out looking for a stoppage. To his credit Kuwahara dug deep and managed to see out the final round, but it wasn’t enough with scores of 117-111, twice and 118-110. The second bout on the show also an all-Japanese affair as WBA Bantamweight champion Takuma Inoue (20-1, 5) [井上拓真] got off the canvas to retain his title, with a wide decision against Sho Ishida (34-4, 17) [石田匠]. Ishida started the bout by trying to get behind his long, sharp, crisp jab and pressure behind it, coming forward behind the jab and looking to control range. Inoue, struggled to have much success due to the height and reach of Ishida, who managed to land one of the best punches of his career as he dropped Inoue with a perfectly placed counter jab, in what was a flash knockdown. Knowing he was down Inoue looked to up the tempo in round 2 though was quickly forced onto the ropes where he took a good straight right hand. As the round went on Inoue managed to land some solid shots of his own, particularly up close with the uppercut, but continued to struggle with the reach and jab of Ishida. The consistent jab of Ishida was the key to the round, but it did seem, as the round went on, that Inoue was starting to find his own timing and left Ishida with a bloodied nose. By round 3 Inoue was starting to land some nice combinations, and had began to get a read on the Ishida jab and managed to get inside going to both the head and body. He had also been able to consistently land his own jab, which was pretty much taking away the key weapon in Ishida’s arsenal. Round 4 followed on from round 3, with Inoue getting more success, more control and standing in the pocket regularly, landing some spiteful right hand around the guard of Ishida and his very stiff, hurtful, jab. By the end of the round it seemed like Ishida could no longer establish his jab like he had in the first 2 rounds as Inoue seemed to be smiling through his gum shield, enjoying the action. In round 5 Inoue continued to build on his success, with Ishida really struggling to keep up the output needed to keep Inoue at bay and instead allowing Inoue to pick and choose when to engage and when to be out of range. Notably when they were up close Ishida did manage to connect with some good body blows, but was caught by some good 1-2’s earlier in the round and was certainly not having the style of fight he wanted. From the off in round 6 the two men were close, where Inoue was having much the better of things, with his crisp work up close, especially his uppercut, really catching the eye as blood began to pour from Ishida’s nose. With Ishida’s nose proving to be a target for Inoue, the champion saw a bullseye for more uppercuts as he started to bully Ishida up close and refuse to give Ishida the space to establish his jab. We saw Ishida continue to build any real momentum in round 7, as Inoue again took the jab away, got close, and landed some spiteful jabs, uppercuts and right hands of his own, breaking down the challenger. Sadly for Ishida he looked very predictable, one paced and lacked creativity in his offense. In round 8 we saw Inoue choose to back on to the ropes, almost trying to draw Ishida in, the tactic was short lived but did show that Inoue was willing to try something new, whilst Ishida again showed no real ability to mix up what he was doing. Knowing he was behind Ishida finally showed something knew as he began to let fly with some body shots as Inoue was on the ropes in round 9. It was a much better round for Ishida, but Inoue still had the more eye catching shots, including a number of great uppercuts up close, and a clean right hand. To start round 10 Inoue began throwing with bad intention, continuing to have real success with the uppercut up close. Although being up close did leave Inoue open to some body shots from Ishida they weren’t nearly enough to give Ishida the round as he continued to be popped hard, especially up top. Round 11 saw Ishida start wall with his jab, but it wasn’t long until Inoue got inside again and started to really punish Ishida, landing a great body shot along with a number of spiteful head shots. The final 20 seconds of the round was sensation as the two stood and traded bombs, with both men forced to take some big head shots in the highlight of the fight. Going into round 12 it seemed clear Ishida would need a KO to win, but it wasn’t happening, his lack of power was showing through. He had moments, but it was too little, loo late. The final moments of the round were something of a mess, with the final bell going as Ishida was the canvas, being unceremoniously dumped there by Inoue, who got revenge for being pushed over a few rounds earlier. The scores were comfortably in favour of Inoue, with scores of 118-109, twice, and 116-111. The chief support bout on the card saw was also for a Bantamweight title, as WBO champion Jason Moloney (27-3, 19) face the hard hitting southpaw Yoshiki Takei (9-0, 8) [武居由樹] In the opening round we saw both men looking to establish their jabs, and get their lead foot on the outside. The two both struggled to get their range, through Takei did out land Moloney. Notably though the main talking point was Takei getting warned for going low, several times, with hurtful but accidental low blows. In round 2 things seemed to settle down a bit, with Takei showing some smart boxing and moving. A body shot midway through the round was judged to be low and saw Takei being deducted a point, in what appeared to be a very harsh call from Steve Willis. With the point deduction it seemed clear that Takei was going to have to avoid going to the body of Moloney and in round 3 Takei stuck to mostly working up top, whilst Moloney began to quickly run out of ideas, standing at range and struggling to get much going at all and struggling to get past the jab of Takei. In round 4 we again saw Moloney struggle to close the distance, and land anything of note. Interestingly both men hit the canvas this round, with Takei being pushed down and Moloney. Late in the round Moloney did land a great shot, but was quickly punished as Takei responded with interest as he continued to notch the rounds, moving 4-0 up. Round 5 saw Takei continue to control the action and he seemed to hurt Moloney as the two stood in the pocket. The toughness of Moloney allowed him to see out the storm, but it was clear that Takei had stung him and it wasn’t the first time he had felt the power of Takei. Despite recovering Moloney really didn’t change things after being hurt, coming forward behind a high guard but having little success with his shots. Takei continued to control in round 6, using the jab really well early in the round to not just control Moloney, but to also set up his hurtful left hand and his right hooks, as he began to mark the face of Moloney. The final 30 seconds of the round was Moloney’s best part of the fight, as he managed to have some success of his own, but it wasn’t enough to take the round, and he was tagged hard just moments before the bell. In round 7 we saw Takei visibly slow down, pick his moments more carefully, likely realising how tough Moloney was. Despite slowing down Takei still did enough to take the round, with Moloney unable to cut the distance and get his own shots off with any consistency. In round 8 Moloney had easily his best moment as he landed a combination, with a shot right on the chin and Takei was forced to hold on for the first time. Midway through the round the action was stopped for Takei to get his gumshield put in his mouth, which hadn’t been in for the first 80 seconds of the round. Takei also then slipped in Moloney’s corner, where Moloney had slipped earlier in the fight. Despite the two breaks in action, the round was easily the best for Moloney, as Takei continued to slow down, and began to look like he was feeling the tempo of the action. Despite visibly tiring, which took a very clear effect on Takei’s footwork, Takei managed to land some good shots early in round 9 as he looked to slow Moloney’s growing momentum. A clash of heads saw the action break again and after that Takei did land a couple of very solid left hands, though Moloney did connect with some solid of his own. There was another pause at the very start of round 10 as something had to be removed from Moloney’s corner. Despite looking tired for several rounds Takei looked again to reestablish himself in round 10, in what was his best round for quite a while. He controlled the action landing some solid jabs, several eye catching combinations, and more pressure than we’d seen from him earlier in the fight. The shots took their toll on Moloney, who himself began to slow down just as Takei seemed to be getting his second wind. That second wind continued into round 11 as Takei again got the better of things as Moloney again struggled to have any sustained success or even dictate the distance of the action. As Takei created space, forcing Moloney to come in he then picked him off with stiff jabs and hurtful left hands. Going into the final round it seemed like Moloney needed a KO to retain his title, and Takei could, and perhaps should, have got on his feet and ran. Instead Takei continued to fight, landing heavy leather, pretty much letting Moloney walk into his shots as he himself looked for a knock out in the first 90 seconds of the round. Takei then looked at the clock, and after a good start to the round for Takei it seemed he had given everything in his tank. From there on we then then saw Moloney put his foot on the gas, letting everything go as Takei began to look absolutely shattered and unable to keep his guard up. Takei was standing up right on just his fighting heart and spirit, and had nothing left to give. Had the fight been just a minute longer Moloney would have finished him off. As it was however Takei had done enough early on, and that was confirmed on the cards, with scores of 117-110 and 116-111, twice, in favour of Takei. With the win Takei becomes the 100th Japanese world champion* and sees Japanese fighters holding all 4 of the Bantamweight world titles, once vacated by Naoya Inoue. In the main event we saw Unified Super Bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (27-0, 24) [井上尚弥] take on Mexican challenger Luis Nery (35-2, 27), and despite a scare early on, did what was expected and stopped the Mexican. At the start Inoue took center ring and came close with a sweeping right hand after just 15 seconds, moments later he managed to land one, which Nery took well. Nery tried to respond but fell short with his shots. Soon afterwards Inoue landed with a hook and a right hand. A counter just moments later dropped Inoue with a huge sweep left hand, who like his brother earlier on the show didn’t look hurt and was clear eyed when the count was given. It was the first time he had been down, as either an amateur or a professional, but he showed a good understanding of the situation, taking his time and getting to his feet when he was ready. The knockdown gave Nery confidence with the Mexican going hunting, and Inoue managed to land several good clean counters on the ropes, but it was a clear 10-8 to Nery. Early in round 2 Inoue landed a good 1-2, and started to rely on his sharp jab more. As the round went on both men became ultra-patient, waiting for the other to make a mistake, with it being Nery who made the first mistake as he over-committed and was dropped himself by a counter left hook. In round 3 we saw a more aggressive Inoue as he tagged Nery on the ropes, and let several hard combinations go through the round. As the round went on it seemed like Nery was too slow and that Inoue was reading everything he was doing in advance of Nery actually doing it. Not only was Inoue reading Nery but he was also landing some very powerful right hands, some going right through the Nery guard. Nery came out more aggressively in round 4, knowing he had to change things up after a poor round 3. The more aggressive Nery was however, the more holes he was leaving defensively and it even lead to Inoue taunting and daring Nery to hit him. As the round went on it was starting to look like a showcase for Inoue, who was pulling exhibition stuff whilst Making Nery look like something of an amateur. To his credit, Nery was taking the shots well, but it seemed like Inoue was chipping away at him, mentally and physically, whilst also leaving Nery’s face looking swollen. In round 5 Inoue continued to tag Nery at will as Nery began to try and come forward and risk it all. As Nery came in he got tagged by two huge left hands with Inoue on the ropes, being dropped a second time. With Nery clearly hurt Inoue went for the finish at the end of the round, but Nery managed to see out the round. To start round 6 Inoue was again chipping away at Nery, almost wanting Nery to fire at him so he could counter. As the round went on Nery was dropped again, this time from a round hand, with the referee waving off the bout as Nery was still plonked on the canvas. Despite being dropped for the first time in his career, a flash knockdown, Inoue managed to do what he had to here. Not only beating Nery into submission with 3 knockdowns, but also putting on a show for fans around the globe, as well as the 55,000 in the Tokyo Dome, becoming the first Japanese fighter to headline at the Big Egg. (*The count for Japanese world champions include non-Japanese born, Japanese based fighters, who were fighting out of Japanese gyms, such as Takeshi Fuji, Yuri Arbashakov, Orzbek Nazarov, Eagle Den Junlaphan and Jorge Linares; Shingaki isn't included in some counts, such as the JBC count, as the IBF weren't recognised by the JBC at the time of his title win). Earlier today at Korakuen Hall fight fans had the latest Dynamic Glove show, and it was an interesting one, with a notable debut and two Japanese title bouts, both as part of this year’s Champion Carnival.
We’ll start with the notable debutant, who was Yuichiro Taka (1-0) [高優一郎], who took a very clear 6 round win over Chinese visitor Yuqi Wang (1-2). The 22 year old based in Kanagawa started fast and controlled the action with accurate crisp shots to head and body, but he couldn’t hurt the Chinese fighter, who made for a very sturdy foe, and did enough to keep Taka’s respect, but not enough to win any rounds, resulting in a 60-54 shut out win for the promising Taka. In the first title fight on the card Japanese Light Flyweight champion Toshiki Kawamitsu (10-1, 6) [川満俊輝] retained his title, stopping mandatory challenger Kosuke Ando (13-5, 6) [安藤教祐]. Kawamitsu pressed from the off, focusing on the body of Ando who seemed to be in all sorts of trouble with the pressure and aggression of the champion. To his credit Ando, who was stopped inside a round when these two men fought back in 2021, he tried to fight back but was unable to get anything really going in the first 2 rounds. Ando did however have some success in round 3, as he realised he had to fight fire with fire, and had moments. Sadly though the more he stood his ground the more punishment he took and he seemed to be back under fire in round 4. Ando was under intense pressure in round 5, being forced into the corner and seemed close to being stopped before landing a big counter and getting Kawamitsu’s respect, and exciting the fans. It was a highlight for Ando, who was proving himself as tough under pressure, but not particularly competitive. After 5 rounds we went to the open scoring, which saw Kawamitsu up 50-45, and 49-46, twice. Whilst he could likely have cruised for a decision he instead wanted to get Ando out of there and his pressure continued in round 6, with the referee finally stepping in to save Ando at the 2 minute 29 second mark. The other title bout on the show saw a title change hands, as Ryota Toyoshima (19-3-1, 11) [豊嶋亮太] over-came Shoki Sakai (29-14-3, 15) [坂井祥紀] to claim the Japanese Welterweight title, becoming a 2-time champion and notching his second win over Sakai. Unlike the Light Flyweight bout, this one was hotly contest with very, very little to split the men. From the off the two men got up close, with Toyoshima pressuring and Sakai being forced to respond, with an opening round that had a lot of action, with both landing crisp, clean shots to head and body. Toyoshima looked to create space in round 3, and really got in some great body work in round 4, but it was all very close and competitive, with the scored after 5 rounds narrowly favouring Sakai, 48-47 twice, whilst the third judge favoured Toyoshima 48-47. Knowing he was behind Toyoshima stepped on the gas again in round 6, continuing to go to the body of Sakai, who fought back but seemed to be getting out worked, and was backed onto the ropes in round 8. In round 9 Sakai managed to have real success but it wasn’t something that he could build on, as Toyoshima landed landed the more eye catching shots in the final round. Given the back and forth, nip and tuck, nature of this it was close, and that was shown on the cards, with scores of 96-94, twice, in favour of Toyoshima, and the third judge going 96-94 to Sakai. Just moments ago we saw Japan crown their latest world champion (either male champion #99 or #100 depending on whether you include Satoshi Shingaki*), as Ryosuke Nishida (9-0, 1) [西田凌佑] made the most of his mandatory title shot and dethroned Puerto Rican Emmanuel Rodriguez (22-3, 13) of the IBF Bantamweight crown.
From the opening round Nishida looked to control the distance, using his long jab to pick off at Rodriguez who was being forced to come forward more than he would have liked. This led to a number of clean shots at range for Nishida. The usually polished Rodriguez was having moments, but looked really uncomfortable and almost as if he wasn’t expecting to be out jabbed. The best single shots were from Rodriguez, but the consistency through the round seemed to edge to Nishida. The second round was much like the first as the accuracy and consistency of Nishida was out doing the bigger single shots of the champion. Round 3 was something of a better round for the champion, but still one that seemed to be edged by the challenger, who was growing in confidence, despite the fact the champion was starting to warm into things. In round 4 Nishida seemed happy to fight up close a brutal left hand to the body from Nishida dropped Rodriguez, who beat the count but was clearly hurt from the shot. Following the knockdown Rodriguez spent much of the round trying to do enough to get Nishida to give him time to recover, something Nishida refused to do. Instead of keeping it long Nishida took the fight to Rodriguez, trading shots up close, and returning to the body regularly, knowing he could hurt his man. In round 5 we saw much the same approach from Nishida, though it had mixed success with Rodriguez having moments up close with his own crisp, accurate uppercuts. For the first time in the fight it seemed like Rodriguez managed to get Nishida’s attention, with the challenger on the ropes, before Nishida tried to finish the round strong and take the play away from the defending champion, who probably took the round. Rodriguez came out aggressive for round 6, with Nishida being backed up early, and it seemed, for a moment, that Rodriguez was going to go on the hunt. It wasn’t long however until Nishida got back to what had worked early on, creating space, using his long shots and essentially luring Rodriguez in. Like the early rounds this saw Rodriguez land the better single shots, and he landed quite a lot of them, as he began to build some momentum. Knowing Rodriguez was building a foothold Nishida again mixed up his tactics, and began to close the distance, going to the body again up close and trying to land a blow like he had in round 4. It left him at risk of taking uppercutts from Rpodriguez, but the tactic seemed to work as he out worked Rodriguez, and started bullying the Puerto Rican around the ring, mixing up shots to head and body. It was clear, when they were up close, that Rodriguez had to work harder for less pay than Nishida who used the round well as he tried to take away the momentum that Rodriguez had started to build in round 5. Round 8 saw the men again standing toe to toe for much of the round, as the tempo, from both, seemed to increase. It seemed like Nishida had began to feel he could stop Rodriguez, and Rodriguez had decided he needed to step on the gas to get Nishida’s respect again, and force the Japanese fighter to back off. Nishida continued to feel like he had what was needed to take out Rodriguez in round 9 as he went on an all out assault from the start of the round, and it was starting to look like Rodriguez was wilting in front of us, though he saw out the storm and tried to fire back. As the round went on Nishida refused to give much breathing space, backing Rodriguez up a number of times, with Rodrigues trying to go tit for tat up close. Nishida continued to press the action in round 10, as he stood up close, letting his hands go and continued to try and break the will of the champion, who showed his fighting spirit by firing back. It was a brilliant back and forth through much of the round but Nishida was physically imposing himself, pushing Rodriguez backwards. They were both trading thrilling bursts of shots in 3 and 4, with Rodriguez having the quick punchers, and Nishida seemingly having the more hurtful ones. Notably the right eye of Nishida was almost closed by the end of the round. Once more the fighters clashed head to head to start the round, with both now visibly looking tiring from the high tempo back and forth exchanges. The round was marred with a lot of holding, and leaning on each other as the tempo of the previous 10 rounds took a toll. Despite that both continued to let shots go up close, Rodriguez landing flashy combinations up top, Nishida mixing in body and head work, neither man looking hurt by what the other threw but eating a lot of leather regardless. In round 12, which many felt would be a decisive round going in, Nishida started hot, pressing the action, and letting everything he had in the tank go at Rodriguez. Rodriguez once again sought to respond, rather than be the aggressor from the off. It looked, in many ways, that Nishida wanted to take it out of the hands of the judges, whilst Rodriguez was looking to see out the final bell. Nishida’s aggression kept coming, wave after wave of attacks, only thwarted by Rodriguez’s clinching. As the round began to tick away Rodriguez began to let his hands go, trying to steal the round late, but it was nowhere near enough to take the round as Nishida pressed in the final 10 seconds making sure to secure the round. After 12 rounds we went to the score cards, and all 3 judges had it in favour of the Japanese fighter, scoring it 115-112, twice, and 117-110, to give Nishida the Unanimous Decision win. Notably he did look pretty swollen in the face as he gave an interview in the ring, and the short, crisp, head shots he ate from Rodriguez did leave their mark, but overall he was simply the busier, more accurate man, the bully, and the one who controlled the tempo and distance of the action. As for Rodriguez this shouldn’t be the end for him. He is still one of the best in the division and should, as planned, be in attendance for the May 6th super show at Tokyo Dome, maybe not to get one of the winners unification bout, as he’d hoped for, but to scout possible future opponents, in a potential return to Japan, where fans were certainly won over by his performance here. (*The count for Japanese world champions include non-Japanese born, Japanese based fighters, who were fighting out of Japanese gyms, such as Takeshi Fuji, Yuri Arbashakov, Orzbek Nazarov, Eagle Den Junlaphan and Jorge Linares; Shingaki isn't included in some counts as the IBF weren't recognised by the JBC at the time). |
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