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Philippines, 22 Feb 2026 |
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FIGHT REPORT: THRILLING FIGHTS IN TOKYO (PHOTOS & VIDEOS) By Carlos Costa PhilBoxing.com Thu, 29 Mar 2012  TOKYO, Japan - Tuesday night produced one of the most intense boxing battles seen in recent times at the famed Korakuen Hall in Tokyo Japan. In the co-main event a bloody war unfolded before the eyes of amazed Japanese fans. Akinori Watanabe and Koshinmaru Saito (the crowd's favorite) engaged in a toe-to-toe fast paced THRILLER, which had the normally quiet Japanese boxing fans on the edge of their seats cheering loud while having one of the best evenings of boxing of their lives as Watanabe and Saito went to war from the very beginning of their title combat for the Japanese and the OPBF Welterweight belts. The heavy caliber bombs thrown by both warriors soon made their impact in their faces and even their skulls as accidental headbutts and low-blows added fire to the non-stop drama. Near the end of the saga, brutal combinations dished out by the heavy handed Akinori Watanabe sent Saito hurt to the canvas. Bravely, Saito stood up, but a storm of leather punished him severely forcing referee Suehiro Tsuchiya to correctly halt all actions, thus declaring the 26-year-old Watanabe winner by technical KO at 1:59 seconds of round 11. With this victory Akinori Watanabe, a former figher of the Kameda stable of boxers now fighting under Kyoei Promotions, has retained his OPBF and Japanese welterweight titles while achieving his 23rd KO in 25 victories, only four setbacks.  Sato vs Rungvisai.  Sato wins.  Watanabe vs Saito.  Watanabe wins. Photos by Bankoku Gurentai In the much awaited main event, challenger Yota Sato gave his mother land of Japan another world title in boxing, a not easy feat as defending WBC super flyweight champion Suriyan Sor Rungvisai of Thailand was not willing to capitulate in Tokyo. The two men went to war from the first sound of the bell, being the shorter, the Thailander was the more aggressive warrior as Sato was busy making good use of his longer reach and height. Left Jabs and straight rights were the favorite weapons of Sato while Suriyan kept on coming as a ragging bull shortening the distance in continuous attempt for the rumble to be in close quarters till the arrival of the third round in which Sato brilliantly scored clean and hard on the Thailander, making him wobble in the middle of the ring. While the Thai world champion was in trouble, Sato persued him with more violent hands that force Suriyan to the canvas for the first time. The brave 23-year-old former Muay Thai boxer stood up and instead of switching to defense mode to clear his dizzy head, Suriyan went on to a frontal suicidal attack. Seconds later Sato caught him again with more brutality. Down again went Suriyan. But the Thai, tough as a rock, emerged from the floor with more willingness to engage, which he did for the remaining seconds of the round. The bell might have saved Suriyan. The fourth round was for Sato who changed his tactic from using distance and reach to a more aggressive stance, a tactic that could have been a mistake as Suriyan, has gone went down twice, but was still an extremely dangerous enemy throwing sharp overheads and hooks that could still send Sato to dreamland if caught. Indeed, the Thailander was not at all done. The fight went on at a furious pace, exchanges were constant and violent but luckily there were no cuts. The last three rounds were all extremely close and hard to score as blow-by-blow the fight raged (watch story`s video). Fighters were engaged in an all combat, but neither of them had complete dominance, a fact reflected in the judges score cards where officials did not score on the same way the final three rounds. Meanwhile, Sato and Suriyan kept pressing the action, giving it all out in the middle of the Korakuen Hall ring, actions being under the vigilance of the excellent referee and California State firefighter officer Mr. Jack Reiss. In the end, Sato prevailed by unanimous decision, an accurate verdict given the two knocked downs suffered by the Thailander, and the first mandatory of newly crowned Yota Sato must be against Filipino WBC silver super flyweight champion Sylvster Lopez in late July or early August. WATCH a round in the Akinori Watanabe vs Koshinmaru Saito furious battle filmed by PhilBoxing in Tokyo. The eventual winner, Akonori Watanabe, wears black trunks. Saito in purple: http://youtu.be/Oo5qxZC6V98 WATCH a round of the main event. Yota Sato, the winner and new WBC world champion in silver. The aggressive Suriyan of Thailand in Yellow: http://youtu.be/Oo5qxZC6V98 The promoter was the ever smiling Keiichiro Kanehira of the popular Kyoei Boxing Promotions. chairman and trainer Seiji Shinoda. One great thrilling night of boxing in Japan. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Carlos Costa.  |
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