Earlier today we had the latest card from the Ohashi Gym, which featured a total of 5 bouts, including a regional title bout.
The show kicked off with Yuya Tanaka (3-1, 2) [田中湧也] bounce back from his June 2023 loss to Hiroki Ogawa, as he stopped Thai visitor Anantachai Duanyai (2-2, 2), who has now suffered back to back losses in Japan. The end came in round 2, when Tanaka landed a spiteful counter left hand, that dropped the Thai hard. The visitor got to his feet but was wobbling as the referee waved the action off. Sadly for Thai fans, it was a bad day for visitors, from the Land of Smiles.
Another bout that saw a Thai being beaten saw a victory being picked up by Takeshi Ishii (8-1, 7) [石井武志], who stopped Prachanon Mingpracha (3-2, 3) in 3 rounds, to bounce back from his own maiden loss, which came last September against Lito Dante. Ishii was under pressure in the first round, as the visitor looked to set a high work rate, but in round 2 Ishii turned things around, and in round 3 a body shot from the local left visitor writing in agony as the referee issued the 10 count.
A third straight loss for a Thai on this show was suffered by Parinya Khaikanha (6-4, 6), who actually suffered his third straight loss, as Katsuki Mori (12-3, 3) [森且貴] scored a 6th round TKO. Mori, who had lost in a Japanese title fight last time out, fought like a man with a point to prove, and set a high tempo from the off. The Thai showed a good guard, and landed one or two shots of his own, but couldn't stop the work of Mori, who cornered his man in round 6 and unloaded until the referee jumped in and waved off the bout. Notably this was Khaikanha’s 4th bout in Japan, and his 4th stoppage loss in the country.
In the chief support bout the Thai’s were given a break, though visitors continued to be beaten as former world title challenger Edward Heno (16-5-6, 6) suffered his first stoppage loss at the hands of Toshiya Ishii (7-1-2, 5) [石井渡士也], who took out the highly experienced Filipino in 4 rounds. Ishii looked to make a statement early, and landed heavy shots with, particularly with his left, as he looked to test the toughness of Heno. Heno would suffer a cut in round 2, and despite trying to do all he could he was eventually saved in round 4 by the referee, being saved from his own toughness.
In the main event fans saw Katsuya Yasuda (14-1, 9) [保田 克也] retain the WBO Asia Pacific Lightweight, with his third defense, as he fulfilled his prediction and stopped Filipino challenger Presco Carcosia (12-4-1, 9) in the 8th round. The bout was really quiet in the early going, with both feinting more than punching, and trying to see what the other would offer. Despite the slow action there was a sense of danger, and that was shown when Carcosia unleashed a combination in round 2, which made Yasuda even more wary. As the fight went on however Yasuda began to relax, and success, leaving Carcosia with a bloodied in round 7, before landing a short left hand in round 8 to stop the challenger. Carcosia did get to his feet, but lacked his balance and the referee waved off the bout.
