By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

In the main event of a regional title twinbill, 37-year-old southpaw Japanese Kenta Nakagawa (24-4-1, 12 KOs), 115, kept his WBO Asia Pacific super flyweight belt by completely outmaneuvered previously unbeaten compatriot Joe Shiraishi (11-1-1, 6 KOs), 114.75, to earn a unanimous nod (117-111, 116-112, 115-113) over twelve speedy rounds on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Moving to-and-fro all the way, the lefty champ Nakagawa confused the willing mixer with well-timed counters and lateral movement, and what Shiraishi constantly caught was only air or ghost. Bleeding from a gash on the skull after an accidental butt in round three, the challenger, eleven years his junior at 26, kept stalking the shifty champ no matter how many times he missed the target. With the champ’s fatigue in the championship rounds, Joe went forward to win points in the final two sessions. That wasn’t enough to overcome his early deficits on points.

Promoter: Yokohama Hikari Promotions.

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