By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda
Unbeaten Japanese minimumweight champ Ryusei Matsumoto (5-0, 3 KOs; amateur 79-16, 13 stoppages), 105, very impressively retained his national belt when he dropped JBC#1 Masatora Okada (9-6-1, 3 KOs), 105, in the first and fourth rounds to score a fine TKO victory at 1:22 in the fourth session on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Matsumoto, a well-educated boxer-puncher, displayed brilliant hand speed and reflexes with the loser’s cornerman signaling a surrender upon Okada’s second visit to the canvas. Despite his brief pro career Matsumoto, 26, may be one of the most vastly talented 105-pounders to be compared with Shigeoka brothers. This prospect is worth watching.
Promoter: Teiken Promotions.
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