By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda
Newly crowned Japanese welterweight ruler Yuki Nagano (17-2, 13 KOs), a hard-punching southpaw at 146.75, kept his national belt in his initial defense as he battered challenger Makoto Kawasaki (11-8-1, 2 KOs), 146.75, so lopsidedly that the referee called a halt to save the loser from further punishment at 2:41 of the second round in a scheduled ten on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.
It was a main event after Jorge Linares was victorious in his comeback go in the semi-windup bout, but not a few spectators left the Korakuen Hall after watching Jorge’s victory without seeing Nagano fight. Having captured the belt by stopping defending titlist Ryota Yada in the champ’s home turf Osaka this April, Nagano engaged in his first defense and quickly swarmed over the game challenger with an unanswered attack with his repeated southpaw left hand shots. The ref Beney Martin declared a halt even without a knockdown then and there.
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Do they VADA test over there?
Im not sure what group they use for drug testing but in some cases they issue lifetime bans not the silly 6 month nonsense in the US.
Kawasaki looked strong in the first but soon came apart when under fire.