By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Do you remember ex-WBA world junior middleweight champ Koichi Wajima, who acquired the belt on three occasions by defeating Carmelo Bossi, Oscar Shotgun and Jae-Do Yuh in 1970s? His welterweight grandson Taishin Isotani (6-3, 5 KOs), 146.75, impressively pounded out a unanimous decision (58-54 twice, 57-55) over Kota Matsuno (3-3, 2 KOs), 146.5, as the six-footer dropped his grudge rival twice in rounds two and four—with a one-two combo and with a vicious left hook respectively.

Isotani, 22, had lost to Matsuno two years ago, and thus avenged his career-first loss with a fine performance on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan. Taishin, a tall handsome stylish boxer-puncher, made a debut in 2021 and quickly scored four consecutive knockouts to be highly expected by our Japanese fraternity. But he sustained three losses in a row including a TKO defeat by Matsuno in November 2022. Isotani, however, regained his form and thus scored a couple of victories to impress the crowd with his 81-year-old grandfather Wajima in attendance.

This kid can punch, has a strong heart and his family in the corner. Let’s watch the prospect’s progress.
BoxRec: Koichi Wajima
BoxRec: Taishin Isotani

_