Yuga Inoue takes win against Daiki Kameyama
Last year we saw the very skilled Yuga Inoue (8-1-1, 1) [井上夕雅] suffer his first professional loss, coming undone against hard hitting Kai Ishizawa in a fantastic bout for the Japanese Youth Minimumweight title. Today he moved up in weight to take on Daiki Kameyama (7-4-1, 2) [亀山大輝], a man who last seen suffering a decision loss to Shokichi Iwata, at Light Flyweight.
On paper this wasn't a bout for those with just a passing interest in Japanese boxing, but it was one that hardcore fans of the scene would have been really interested in. It featured two very skilled youngsters battling, each looking to get back to winning ways and each looking to re-establish themselves.
Even for fans inside Japan it was also pretty well hidden away, taking place at the Incubation Center in Amagasaki. It was the first time Kameyama had fought outside of Tokyo, and the venue is essentially Inoue's home venue, with this being his 4th bout there.
We mention the venue as that home advantage may well have played a major part in what was a really engaging nip and tuck battle between two men who were incredibly well matched.
From the opening round there was little between the two men, with Kameyama perhaps having the better start, before Inoue began to get into his groove in round 3, as be he began to intensify his body attack. The game plan was a smart one from Inoue, hoping to slow the incredibly quick Kameyama, but it didn't work and Kameyama seemed to keep his speed through the 6 rounds.
Through the 6 rounds it was really a hard one to call, and that was shown on 2 of the scorecards, which had the bout 58-57 in favour of Inoue. They were enough to get him the split decision, with the third judge seeing the bout 59-56 to Kameyama.
Had this been in Tokyo, there's a good chance Kameyama would have got the win, but such a close bout in Amagasaki wasn't going to go against Inoue. A rematch in Tokyo in the future is something we'd love to see, on a bigger profile card, and given the fact both are very young there's a good chance we'll see that down the line!
(Image courtesy of boxmob.jp)
On paper this wasn't a bout for those with just a passing interest in Japanese boxing, but it was one that hardcore fans of the scene would have been really interested in. It featured two very skilled youngsters battling, each looking to get back to winning ways and each looking to re-establish themselves.
Even for fans inside Japan it was also pretty well hidden away, taking place at the Incubation Center in Amagasaki. It was the first time Kameyama had fought outside of Tokyo, and the venue is essentially Inoue's home venue, with this being his 4th bout there.
We mention the venue as that home advantage may well have played a major part in what was a really engaging nip and tuck battle between two men who were incredibly well matched.
From the opening round there was little between the two men, with Kameyama perhaps having the better start, before Inoue began to get into his groove in round 3, as be he began to intensify his body attack. The game plan was a smart one from Inoue, hoping to slow the incredibly quick Kameyama, but it didn't work and Kameyama seemed to keep his speed through the 6 rounds.
Through the 6 rounds it was really a hard one to call, and that was shown on 2 of the scorecards, which had the bout 58-57 in favour of Inoue. They were enough to get him the split decision, with the third judge seeing the bout 59-56 to Kameyama.
Had this been in Tokyo, there's a good chance Kameyama would have got the win, but such a close bout in Amagasaki wasn't going to go against Inoue. A rematch in Tokyo in the future is something we'd love to see, on a bigger profile card, and given the fact both are very young there's a good chance we'll see that down the line!
(Image courtesy of boxmob.jp)