By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

We have never heard of any professional boxer from Afghanistan, the political situation of which is reportedly so unstable and turbulent that numerous refugees have moved to various countries all over the world.

A refugee from Afghanistan, 20-year-old novice Kudura Kaneko (9-0, 6 KOs; whose real name is Kudura Tura), 146, stunned the sparse crowd at the Korakuen Hall, when he astoundingly disposed of former Japanese national welterweight champ Toshio Arikawa (15-6, 13 KOs), 147, with a devastating left hook at 1:44 of the third round in a scheduled eight on Thursday in Tokyo, Japan.

Although the Afghan (who came here at the age of fifteen and started to learn how to box with no amateur career under his trainer Minoru Kaneko after whom his nom-de-guerre was named) was unbeaten and national youth champ, it was regarded as a mismatch between the much more experienced hard-punching ex-champ and the unheralded newcomer. Midway in the opening session, however, the bearded Kudura’s overhand right exploded at the prohibitive favorite’s face and Arikawa badly fell down. The taller ex-champ barely regained his feet with a heavy damage and gamely resumed fighting.

The second saw Arikawa, with his pride, turn aggressive with solid combinations, but Kudura, though suffering a gash over the left eyebrow, connected with a flurry of punches, pinning him to the ropes in the closing seconds of the round.

A dramatic finish then occurred in round three, when the Afghan caught up with the ex-champ with a barrage of punches followed by a wicked left hook, which had him vertically down at the corner. His manager and former WBC 115-pound champ Hiroshi Kawashima promptly threw in the towel to save his boxer from further punishment.

Watching only a fight, we won’t be able to predict his future, but his victory was so stunning and surprising that we hope to watch his future fights with great attention.

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