Earlier today fight fans at Korakuen Hall got a treat of a show headlined by a regional title fight, which saw knockdowns being traded, and also featured several other very notable bouts that featured domestic level action and also a former world champion.
In total the card had 5 buts, but it was the top 3 that were really the notable ones.
The first of those 3 bouts of note saw
Yudai Murakami (6-2) [村上雄大] score one of the most notable wins of his career, as he eked out a split decision win
Hiromasa Urakawa (10-3, 7) [浦川大将] to secure a second Japanese title fight. This was razor thin throughout as the #1 and #2 Japanese contenders really gave their all. From the off it seemed like Murakami was the more skilled and the better mover, but the shots of Urakawa seemed to be the more telling, the more eye-catching and the more painful to be on the wrong end of. Despite being outgunned on the power front Murakami showed his grit and toughness, often standing up to Urakawa’s shots and firing back, especially as the fight went on. It was a risky gameplan from Murakami, who has yet to score a stoppage in the pros, but it’s one that worked out well here as it was enough to edge the decision 77-75, twice, in his favour, whilst the third judge game it to Urakawa by the same score.
The win for Murakami secures him a Japanese title fight at the
Champion Carnival next year, where he will take on either
Hironori Mishiro (16-1-1, 5) [三代大訓], the current champion, or
Hinata Maruta (14-2-1, 10) [丸田陽七太], who will face Mishiro on December 7th, in a bout announced during this show.
The second of the notable bouts on this show saw former IBF Super Featherweight champion
Kenichi Ogawa (29-2-1-1, 20) [尾川堅一] do exactly what most expected him to do, and stop Filipino visitor
Alan Alberca (13-9, 8). The bout, Ogawa’s first in 13 months, looked like it could be over incredibly early, as he dropped Alberca within seconds of the fight starting. Alberca beat the count and seemed to have success later in the round, and in round 2, though in round 3 a body shot from Ogawa saw him drop the Filipino for the second time. In round 4 the fight was finally stopped when Ogawa landed a right hand to the body, sending Alberca down for the 10 count.
In the main event fans got an absolute treat as
Subaru Murata (8-0, 8) [村田昴] over-came
Kaito Yamasaki (9-1, 5) [山崎海斗] in a battle for the WBO Asia Pacific Super Bantamweight title, with Murata stopping Yamasaki in the 9th round of a back and forth thriller that saw both men being dropped.
Early on it seemed like Yamasaki got the better of things, landing good straight right hands, but in round 3 his early good work was cancelled out, with Murata dropping him with a right hook. From there on the tempo seemed to go up a gear, with Murata setting a high tempo and Yamasaki doing everything he could to match it. That ended up costing Murata in round 7 when, after hurting Yamasaki, he got reckless and was caught by a hard counter right hand that sent him down. He struggled to survive the round but did so, making it to the bell, and getting the chance to clear his head. From there on he seemed even more determined to finish Yamasaki off, which he managed to do in round 9, when he scored a second knockdown. Yamasaki got to his feet but failed to beat the count, with the fight being stopped at the 2:46 mark of the round.
After the Murata admitted his defense was an issue and that he got too aggressive after having his success, putting the win down to his better stamina, rather than his better skills. He was the one who set the tempo, who seemed the more energetic and seemed the more hungry. That almost seemed to be echoed by Takashi Edagawa, the promoter over Yamasaki, who spoke about how this bout came just 2 months after Yamasaki’s last one, limiting his chance to train for it and suggesting that’s why his man ran out of energy in the way he did. As for the future Murata explained that he's not going to be rushing to world class, explaining "At this rate, I still have a long way to go before the world. I want to defend this title and aim higher."
