Although not a well known name
Rei Nakajima (3-0) [中島玲] is a promising fighter who appears to have the full belief of promoter, and former fighter, Nobuhiro Ishida. In just his third professional bout he took a big step up in class to face veteran Patomsuk Pathompothong and it now seems that he's set for an even bigger step up in class in October.
The 22 year old Nakajima only debuted in July 2019, and ended the year 3-0, though had sadly sat out the entire of 2020 due to the on going global situation. He's now planning to make up for lost time by taking on former OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific Middleweight champion
Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa (12-5-1, 11) [細川チャーリー忍], with their bout scheduled for October 9th.
For Nakajima the bout is a massive leap up in class, not only in terms of opponent quality but also length of bout, with the contest set to be his first 8 rounder. He'll be fully aware that a win here would get him into the title mix for next year and really see him move towards announcing himself on the national stage
As for Hosokawa the 36 year old will be looking to bounce back from a loss to Kazuto Takesako (12-0-1, 11) [竹迫司登]. That was a hard loss, and a punishing one, and he certainly can't afford another loss here if he's to get another major fight. Coming in to this he has the edge in power and experience, but at 36 we do wonder what he has in the tank and whether he's still got enough in the legs to cope with the skills and movement of Nakajima.
Interestingly this bout will take place at Korakuen Hall and will be promoted by Kaneko boxing, the promoter of Hosokawa. Given that Nakajima is from Osaka he really up against it here, on an opponents show, in their backyard, but the belief is that he is a very special, talented, young fighter with the potential to be moved very quickly.
