Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao and former K-1 champion Rukiya Anpo went the distance in a three-round exhibition Sunday in the co-main event of Super RIZIN 3 in Tokyo, Japan.
With no judges ringside, the bout was ruled a draw and only could’ve had a winner if there was a knockout.
Pacquiao had experience on his side with 72 pro boxing bouts under his belt, but Anpo — 17 years younger and the tallest opponent Pacquiao has ever faced — gave him a hard night in the ring.
The Japanese striker landed a slick right hand to get things started and followed with a hard combination. Pacquiao responded by throwing back heat in final seconds of the opening round, however Anpo continued to use his huge reach advantage to attack from the outside in the second frame, not letting Pacquiao close in with dangerous shots.
As final round started, both men exchanged wildly, with Anpo landing twice on Pacquiao with hard shots in the first minute. Anpo then connected with another solid right to the body and went upstairs to rock Pacquiao one more time. Pacquiao finally answered back with a right hand in the final minute, and the two engaged in a brawl until the final bell rang.
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Anpo would’ve likely won a decision if the bout was judged, but the draw was ultimately announced. Both athletes embraced in the ring and thanked the crowd before Pacquiao invited Ryan Garcia into the ring.
“I want to fight in Japan, and I want to challenge Anpo, Pacquiao, whoever,” Garcia said.
Anpo quickly responded with a jab at Garcia’s recent drug-testing failures, and Garcia shot back, “I do believe I knock out Anpo in three rounds.”
A featherweight showdown between Ren Hiramoto and Mikuru Asakura closed the show in devastating fashion. Hiramoto stunned with a vicious left hand in the opening round and once he smelled blood he just wouldn’t stop connecting punches left and right until Asakura went down. Hiramoto followed Asakura and kept hurting until referee called it.
The Super RIZIN 3 main card featured another former K-1 champion in action, Yuta Kubo, taking on ex-RIZIN champion Yutaka Saito. The two brawled in the opening round, both exchanging hard punches that rocked each other.
The action slowed down a bit in the second round until Kubo connected with a head kick and gained confidence, then landing flush on the body before sitting Saito down with a jab. Saito shot for a takedown but couldn’t keep Kubo there, and Kubo responded by landing a brutal left kick to the liver to finish off Saito.
Kubo has now won five MMA bouts in a row under the RIZIN banner, three by stoppage.
Hiromasa Ougikubo defeat his former student Makoto Shinryu in a tense contest to reenter the conversation for a shot at the flyweight championship, which is now in the hands of Kyoji Horiguchi. Ougikubo rocked Shinryu with a right hand before jumping for a guillotine choke, but Shinryu escaped. In the end, Ougikubo won via unanimous decision.
In the early portion of the card, 71-fight veteran Hideo Tokoro entered the ring for one final time and scored a first-round knockout over Hiroya Kondo in his retirement bout. Tokoro leaves the sport with a record of 36-33-2 and wins over Masakazu Imanari, Brad Pickett, Royler Gracie, and Alexandre Franca Nogueira.
BKFC champion John Dodson returned to Japan for a non-title bare-knuckle boxing clash with Takaki Soya. The two-time UFC title challenger scored multiple knockdowns — and persevered after suffering a cut to his face — to win a decision after five action-packed rounds and improve his bare-knuckle boxing record to 4-0-1.
