Yesterday we saw
WBO Bantamweight champion Yoshiki Takei (10-0, 8) [武居由樹] make his first defense as he narrowly squeaked by Daigo Higa (21-3-1, 19) [比嘉 大吾] in a brilliant 12 round war.After the bout Takei took part in a press conference and made it clear that, despite being a world champion, he is still very much a work in progress as a boxer.He explained "Thanks to Daigo, I was able to put up a good fight, but I'm not really satisfied with the result."
He went on to say "I felt a lot of pressure and determination from Daigo," and it was that sense of determination that was referenced, again as he said "I tried my best not to lose to Daigo's determination,".
He admitted that after the knockdown in round 11 he felt his title was in jeopardy, explaining the huge round 12 he had, as he put it all on the line, and secured the all important round, that lead to two judges scoring the bout 114-113 in his favour. That round, which proved pivotal, showed the type of fighter that he is, but also made it clear that he’s not the finished product explaining "I myself still have a lot to learn," and adding "I still have a lot to learn. I've realized in my last two fights that the top fighters are really strong. I still have a lot to improve, and I think I can improve,"
It’s fair to say that after stopping his first 8 opponents Takei has really been pushed to the limits in his last 2 bouts. Talk of unification does seem out of the question for now, though it does seem likely an easier defense will be next before some potentially huge bouts in 2025, including a potential showdown with fellow kick-boxer turned boxer
Tenshin Nasukawa (4-0, 2) [那須川天心], if Tenshin is successful in his upcoming WBO Asia Pacific title bout in October.
