This past weekend was one of, if not the, best weekend for fights this year, with what was essentially a 3 day weekend, featuring 8 world title fights in Japan alone.
Today we saw a number of fighters involved in those fights attending press conferences, where a number of the winners explained their plans for the future.
One of the fighters in attendance was
WBC Bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani (29-0, 22) [中谷 潤人] who made his second defense of the WBC title as he stopped game Thai challenger Tasana Salapat (76-2, 53), aka Petch CP Freshmart or Petch Sor Chitpattana, in the 6th round.Speaking bout the fight Nakatani explained "I was able to defeat a southpaw and put into practice what I've been practicing. I have some muscle pain, but no damage. I was able to finish in good shape." He then added "I landed one punch with good timing in the first round, but since he's a southpaw, it took me a while to adjust. But I think I was able to fight while keeping it under control."
As for his future plans it seems he will be remaining at 118lbs for now, though it appears it won’t be too much longer before he moves up in weight again saying "People say that my punches were amazing, and I feel that my speed has increased. I'm a good fit for the bantamweight class. The weight is starting to get a little tight, but I'll keep it moderate and finish strong."
Teiken President Akihiko Honda also spoke, mentioning that the plan was for a US fight next and adding "He is highly regarded overseas. It's also becoming difficult to find opponents."
One man who is raring to have a crack at Nakatani is the newly crowned WBA champion
Seiya Tsutsumi (12-0-2, 8) [堤聖也], who was one of the big winners at the weekend as he dethroned Takuma Inoue (20-2, 5) [井上拓真] in a sensational performance.Regarding his win Tsutsumi stated that he was spurred on by the desire to avenge an amateur loss to Inoue, saying "This was my revenge after 12 years, and I've been thinking back on that match many times. (Inoue) had incredible defense. He wouldn't let me hit him in the body, so I fought while wondering what to do. His speed was within my tolerance. From the first round, I was fighting as if it were the final round, and I was able to embody that." He then went on to talk about Nakatani, saying "I definitely want the WBC bantamweight belt," before speaking about the sparring the two had shared, saying "I know how strong he is. I wonder how he evaluates me as a champion. Right now my win rate is close to zero, but this time I won despite being told I couldn't win. If the opportunity arises, I won't turn it down. Sparring and fighting are two different things,"
Another man at the event with a new title was
Tenshin Nasukawa (5-0, 2) [那須川天心], who sported a poster over his left eye and the WBO Asia Pacific Bantamweight title with his win against the tricky Gerwin Asilo (9-1, 4). Speaking about his title hopes Nasukawa explained "I'm happy to have won the belt as a token of my success, but this isn't where I'm aiming. I want to move forward while feeling the weight of the belt. I don't really understand how it works, but I've heard that by winning this belt, I've qualified to challenge for the world title. I'm not thinking about whether I'll defend this title. From now on, I want to just go with the flow."Regarding the cut, Nasukawa explained "I'll observe the situation for 2-3 days and decide whether to get stitches or not." He went on to explain that the fight didn’t go totally as expected "It didn't go as well as I practiced. It was harder than I thought it would be. It was a good experience, but I think there was more I could have done. Boxing is deep, and I like it even more now." One other notable take away from his answers was that his future, like Tsutusmi’s, appears to be at Bantamweight, explaining "I fought at the lightest weight in my martial arts career, but I moved well, so I want to get my body used to 53.5kg (the bantamweight limit),"
Another man sporting a new title is WBO Light Flyweight champion
Shokichi Iwata (14-1, 11) [岩田翔吉] who scored a brutal knockout against Spanish fighter Jairo Noriega (14-1, 3). Talking about his win he explained "When I won, I didn't believe it, but little by little it started to sink in. What I was trying to do worked out perfectly. I watched how things went in the first or two rounds, and when my opponent got anxious and came forward, I hit him with a right uppercut. I was able to fight just as I had imagined."
Iwata called out a fight that he wanted, explaining that he was wanting to face newly crowned IBF
Light Flyweight champion Masamichi Yabuki (17-4, 16) [佐藤政道], who stopped South African Sivenathi Nontshinga (13-2, 10) on Saturday. Iwata explained "He's a different type of fighter than me, so if it were to happen, it would be a knockout finish. I want to fight because I feel like the fans want it," He then added "I want to defend my title and unify it in this weight class. I'm a Light Flyweight, but I want to show some powerful boxing,"
A former unified Light Flyweight champion was also in action over the weekend and also attended the event, with that being the newly crowned WBC Flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji (24-1, 15) [寺地 拳四朗] who stopped Cristofer Rosales (37-7, 22) to become a 2-weight champion.
Talking about the performance Kenshiro stated “I was able to keep my distance well against an opponent with a long reach, and I was able to throw more punches up and down than I thought I would. I thought I didn't throw many punches, but when I watched the video I realized that wasn't the case. I think I moved well," He also seemed to suggest that he was now fighting at the weight best suited for him, saying "Because it was easier to lose weight, my legs moved more easily. I didn't feel any difference in power between me and my opponent. I think this weight class suits me,"
One thing that has always been consistent about Kenshiro is his desire to unify, something he had spoken about a lot at Light Flyweight, but only managed to do once. He has that same ambition at his new weight stating "I don't have a specific opponent in mind, but I would like to have a title unification fight in the future." That could potentially mean bouts with either
WBA champion Seigo Yuri Akui (21-2-1, 11) [阿久井政悟], who retained his title with a win over tough Thai Thananchai Charunphak (25-2, 15) on Sunday, or WBO Flyweight champion Anthony Olascuaga (7-1-0-1, 5), who had a disappointing No Contest with Jonathan Gonzalez (28-3-1-2, 14) on Monday and is a man once faced at Light Flyweight when Olascuaga stepped in at short notice to replace Gonzalez. Having mentioned Akui, he was also there, speaking about his performance and plans for the future. Talking about his bout he explained "I regret that I didn't win cleanly. People around me said it was a complete victory, but there was a judge who gave my opponent the victory, so I can't ignore that. I was nervous when the scores were split." He added "Thananchai watched the situation until the third round, then stopped moving and started to exchange blows towards the end. I expected that to some extent, but he was more persistent than I thought. I won because I was able to get points in the last two rounds. I was able to fight until the end without giving up."
Like Kenshiro he also seemed to be open to unification bouts saying "I want to show real boxing, where strong fighters fight each other,"
