By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

37-year-old veteran southpaw Japanese Kenta Nakagawa (23-4-1, 12 KOs), 115, acquired the vacant WBO Asia Pacific junior bantamweight belt as he outfought game compatriot Akio Furutani (10-6, 3 KOs), 114.5, to earn a unanimous decision (115-113, 116-112, 117-111) over twelve hard-fought rounds on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan. WBC#15 Nakagawa, formerly national titlist, controlled the contest by a slight margin in every round, and had the badly bleeding Furutani in great trouble in round nine. But it was Furutani that had him at bay in return with a furious retaliation in the next session. Kenta was in command down the stretch to confirm his coronation.

Promoter: Misako Promotions.

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