By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda
Unbeaten bantamweight prospects with good amateur credentials, JBC#6 Kazuki Nakajima (8-0-1, 7 KOs), 118, and JBC#18 Seiya Tsutsumi (5-0-1, 4 KOs), 117.75, fought to a majority draw (77-75 for Nakajima, 76-76 twice) in the God’s Left bantam tournament final on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan.
Their amateur marks were as follows: Nakajima 72-15, 30 KOs; Tsutsumi 84-17, 40 KOs. The hard-punching rookie Nakajima kept stalking the circling footworker Tsutsumi who occasionally retaliated with quick combinations. In a see-saw processing neither had an upper hand clearly, and an drawn verdict might be acceptable. Nakajima, however, received a winner’s prize of 1,000,000 Japanese Yen (some $9,090) thanks to the judges’ evaluation of his aggressiveness due to the tournament rule.
The presenter of the award was former WBC bantam champ Shinsuke Yamanaka, who was called God’s Left when active.
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