Earlier today fight fans at the Mielparque Hall in Osaka got an absolute treat as Japanese Super Featherweight champion Kosuke Saka (22-6, 19) [坂晃典] retained his title thanks to a come from behind win against Tsubasa Narai (8-2, 7) [奈良井 翼] in a bout that lived up to all expectations. And then some.
The bout, which was promoted by KWorld3, promised a lot going in to the event but few would have expected what we got. A genuine Fight of the Year contender.
The opening round saw the first of 4 knockdowns, with Narai, the challenger, dropping Saka with a straight right. He would drop Saka again in round 4, as his power, and tenacity seemed to be too much for the always fun to watch, but horribly inconsistent, Saka. He barely made it through round 4 and it seemed like we were heading towards a new champion, as Saka's shots seemed unable to thwart the aggression of Narai who looked like a man rising to the occasion.
Sadly for Narai however his opportunity to close the show in round 4 was to be the start of the end for him. With Saka just surviving the round it was clear he needed to turn things around, and he did just that in round 5, putting Narai down with a body shot. The knockdown gave Saka something of a life line, though he was down 47-45 on all 3 cards at the end of the round. Then he some how managed to drop Narai again before closing the show soon afterwards, with Narai taking shots against the ropes.
With 4 knockdowns, both men being hurt numerous times, and intense exchanges, this was something amazing to watch, but was sadly, like many Japanese shows in recent times, hidden behind a paywall, with Abema TV having the fight. What should have been a great international advert for Japanese boxing, is sadly another bout that has been hidden away making so many miss out on what was, genuinely, something very, very special.
Onn the under-card we saw Mizuki Chimoto (5-0, 1) [千本瑞規] retain her OPBF female Minimumweight title, though she had a surprisingly tough test as Hye Soo Park (6-9-3, 1) pushed her all the way in a hotly contested 8 rounder. Chimoto did enough to win the bout on two of the cards, but looked underwhelming in her second defense of the title. Park, the naturally bigger fighter, put in a performance that suggested she's much better than her record, but Chimoto also under-performed and should have made this a much clearer win than she did.
