It’s fair to say that in recent bouts Kai Watanabe (13-1-1, 7) [渡邊海] had under-performed with some performances that suggested maybe he had found his level and began to settle there, with wins that were unconvincing, to say the least. Today however he put on a performance that made a statement, as he took out the previously unbeaten Toshihiro Suzuki (5-1, 4) [鈴木稔弘] in brutal fashion to claim the OPBF Super Featherweight title.
The bout, the headline contest of a card at Korakuen Hall, looked like a sensational match up on paper, even with Watanabe’s underwhelming wins against Shinsei Otani and Shunpei Ohata. It turned out to be nothing other than sensational showing of Watanabe who fought like a man with a burning desire to to win, and win quickly.
From the off he set a high tempo and after just over a minute he let a big barrage of shots go with both hands. Whilst not all shots were landing clean, enough were to get Suzuki's attention. The shots simply didn't stop however, with Watanabe keeping shots going. Suzuki looked for a counter but Watanabe landed a left hand over the top of Suzuki's shot, and turned off Suzuki’s lights after just 86 seconds. Suzuki ended up flat on his back and the bout was swiftly waved off, with Watanabe claiming one of, if not the, most impressive and most significant win of his career so far.
Also on the card was the second professional bout for the touted Kenshin Yura (2-0, 2) [由良謙神] who pretty much broke Thitikorn Ratanakun (5-5, 5) in half with a body shot late in the opening round to secure his second professional win.
