The legend ofKatsunari Takayama (35-9-0-1, 12) [高山 勝成] added one more chapter to one of the most unique careers in the sport, as he claimed his latest title, the IBO Minimumweight title, beating Australian fighter Kha Lu (7-1, 3) in the Philippines.
Takayama, aged 41, was almost twice the age of his unbeaten opponent, who was 23, but throughout the bout it was the veteran who looked the faster, sharper, more energetic, and like a man who is actively fighting off father time though pure energy alone.
From the first round Takayama was his usual bundle of energy, taking the fight to Lu with a high work and an aggressive style, that saw him landing flurries on Lu, who looked to fight as a counter puncher. Lu managed to land the occasional solid shot, but was swarmed from the opening bell. The swarming of Takayama continued through the bout, with Lu becoming more and more handcuffed through the middle rounds, with no answers at all though the middle portion of the bout. Even the counter shots that he had landed in the first 3 rounds had vanished, and by round 8 it seemed only a matter of time before Lu’s corner would save their man.
Amazingly Lu managed to have a breakthrough late in the bout, landing several solid right hands in round 10 as he finally got Takayama’s respect. The shots seemed to hurt Takayama enough for the Japanese legend to drop his output and and look to preserve some energy, rather than trading with Lu, who seemed to have just a momentary success. Sadly for Lu, it really was fleeting success and by the end of the round Takayama was again the boss, something he remained to the final bell as he tried to stop Lu, who showed guts, but was massively outclassed.
After 12 rounds there was really no question of the winner, with scorecards of 120-108, 118-110 and 119-109, all in favour of Takayama.
With the win, at the age of 41, and the performance, which really beggared belief given his age and the fact this was his first fight at 105lbs since 2016, Takayama becomes the first Japanese fighter to win an IBO title, and to have won WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF and IBO titles.
Whilst it’s clear he’s not the force he once was, the win showed that Takayama still has plenty of life in his legs, and we’d love to see him fight at least one bout, back in Japan, before calling an end. His career has been a truly unique one. He famously gave up his JBC license to chase the IBF title around the globe, winning it in Mexico, went back to high shool after having won world titles, fought the JABF to allow professionals to be able to fight as amateurs, and now wins the IBO belt. His career has been that of someone who wanted to march to the beat of their own drum, and he has done just that, one more time.
As for Lu, the loss showed a lot of his limitations and he took a lot of punishment here. Lu was lucky Takayama has never been a power puncher, with his last stoppage coming in 2015, against Ryuji Hara, and he only has 3 stoppage wins since 2010, but he still took a lot of clean shots here, with a prolonged, 12 round beating.
Also on the under-card to this fight were wins for a trio of notable Filipino fighters. They were Reymart Gaballo (29-2, 24), who stopped James Pagaling (8-4, 5) in 3 rounds, Vince Paras (22-3-1, 16), who stopped Anthony Gilbuela (8-7-2, 2), and Dave Apolinario (21-1, 14), who took a decision over Jeny Boy Boca (14-17, 12).
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