By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Former IBF 130-pound champ Kenichi Ogawa (28-2-1-1NC, 19 KOs), 129.75, proved too powerful and aggressive for OPBF#15 ranked Filipino Marvin Esquierdo (17-3-1-1NC, 11 KOs), 129.5, winning a nearly shutout decision (99-91 twice, 98-92) over ten Tom-and-Jerry rounds on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Ogawa acquired the vacant IBF belt by outhustling Azinga Fuzile at Madison Square Garden in 2011, but lost it to Joe Cordina with a single right shot in Cardiff, Wales in June of the previous year. In his second comebacking bout, Ogawa, a sturdy and muscular puncher, kept stalking the elusive dodger, whose object was just to survive rather than to be victorious. Kenichi sometimes almost caught the negative Filipino but he displayed tricky defensive skills to avert Ogawa’s lethal shots until the end.

Promoter: Teiken Promotions.

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