By Joe Koizumi

A charity event named “Legends” was very sensational and successful on Thursday in Tokyo, Japan. WBA, IBF bantam champ “The Monster” Naoya Inoue (20-0, 17 KOs) looked too sharp, strong and smart, as expected, for ex-WBC flyweight ruler Daigo Higa (17-1-1, 17 KOs), giving him a lesson all the way for three three-minute exhibition sessions at the Yoyogi First Gymnasium, originally constructed for the Olympic Games. Inoue proved he was excellent and effective in offense and defense against the onrushing hard-puncher Higa.

It was an exhibition a la a Sugar Ray Robinson versus Jake LaMotta confrontation. Utilizing his speed and reflexes, Inoue welcomed infighting in the close range that Higa loved without moving around to avert Higa’s awesome power-punching. Naoya averted almost all punches Daigo threw and counterpunched him with precision and power. Inoue, who revealed that he weighed at no less than 137 pounds (nineteen pounds over his bantam limit), appeared to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee against the powerful but slower Higa nearly at will.

Naoya said, “I had to prove my superiority to Higa, as people expected. My next defense will be most probably against a southpaw opposition (IBF mandatory challenger Michael Dasmarinas). I’d like to prepare properly, and it was good that I this time could show sparring sessions before the audience (since he previously fought Jason Moloney behind the closed doors in Las Vegas).”

Also surprisingly was former WBA 130-pound kingpin Takashi Uchiyama (24-2-1, 20 KOs), 41, who hang up gloves for good four years ago, demonstrating a very good performance against current Japanese super-feather champ Kosuke Saka for a three-round exhibition. Uchiyama toyed with the hard-punching Saka, utilizing his excellent judgment of distance, precision and timing in connecting with his accurate shots.

Uchiyama, who scored nine knockouts in eleven defenses, looked trim and fit, and said, “I trained only twenty days at the gym and refrained from drinking for the last ten days from February 1.”

Former three-division champ Akira Yaegashi also showed a hot exhibition with the current WBA 108-pound champ Hiroto Kyoguchi as they kept swapping punches hard at the close quarter for three sessions.

Paid attendance: 2,548.

PCR tested people (all negative) including the audience, staff and press people: 4,160.

Promoter: Legends Executive Committee.