Suga and Fujiwara pick up close wins, Ssemujju scores win in Japanese debut, Nishioka moves to 3-0
On Sunday we had two shows in Japan. One was a huge show in Nagoya, the other was a much lower profile card in Aichi. Whilst the Aichi card was easy to overlook there were two notable bouts on the card that are worthy of attention.
One of those bouts was a support bout on the show, which saw the unbeaten Daichi Suga (5-0, 1) [須賀大地], who continued his unbeaten start to the professional ranks as he overcame the hard hitting Ren Matsuoka (5-7-1, 5) [松岡蓮] in a Welterweight bout. The bout was hotly contested with Suga looking the more agile fighter, getting on the move and using the ring whilst looking for big right hands, whilst Matsuoka looked to press. As the rounds went on both men began to tire, with neither really managing to establish themselves. Despite the pace slowing down, and the action getting sloppy, it continued to be back and forth, with Suga doing just enough to edge the decision 58-56, twice, and 57-57.
This was the second bout between the two men, who clashed in the All Japan Rookie of the Year final in December with Suga taking a split decision in their first fight. Despite Suga leading the rivalry 2-0, there really was little to split the men, in either bout.
The other bout of note on this card saw 2020 Olympian David Ssemujju (5-0, 3), from Uganda, take an 8 round decision win over former WBO Asia Pacific Middleweight champion Hiroya Nojima (11-3-1, 5) [能嶋宏弥]. This was a really enjoyable bout, with great back and forth from the off, as both men looked to establish their jabs. Nojima definitely had moments, especially early on, but it wasn’t long until Ssemujju changed tactics, and went from trying to battle with head shots, to instead targeting the body, which had success and the body shots from Ssemujju began to slow down Nojima, who had been using a lot of movement, in the later rounds. Despite being slowed Nojima continued to fight back, giving the fans a thrilling bout. After 8 rounds the class of Ssemujju was enough to take him the win, with scores of 77-75, twice, and 78-74, which seemed closer than the bout was. After the win Ssemujju seemed to suggest he was wanting to fight for the Japanese Welterweight title, and given his promotional affiliation with a Japanese gym, that could well happen before the end of the year.
As well as the bouts on Sunday there was also some action on Monday at Korakuen Hall. The main event of the Korakuen Hall card saw the unbeaten Reo Nishioka (3-0, 1) [西岡伶英] score his latest win, as he took an 8 round decision over Thai visitor Weerawat Noolae (3-1, 2). From the early going Nishioka was using the skills he had developed in the amateur ranks, using his jab, movement and combinations really well however Noolae was determined, gutsy and refused to give in, regularly taking the fight to Nishioka with good body work. In the 7th round the Thai was deducted a point for holding, and it was clear he was starting to feel the tempo, and the punishment of Nishioka's shots, with the Japanese fighter looking to close the show, but was unable to drop the Thai. The judges for this hard it wide, with two scores of 80-71 and one having it 79-72. Despite the wide decision Nishioka stated that he still had a lot to improve on, and areas to develop before being ready for a title bout.
In the chief support bout Akane Fujiwara (6-3-1, 2) [藤原茜] scored the biggest win of her career, at the age of 36, as she dethroned Kimika Miyoshi (17-15-2, 5) [三好喜美佳] to claim the Japanese Female Featherweight title. This was hotly contested from the opening round, with both women regularly standing their ground and letting shots go back and forth at close and mid range. The early rounds were won by the challenger, who seemed a bit quicker, fresher and crisper with her shots. In the second half of the fight, there really was little to split the two, as Miyoshi dug deep and tried to do all she could to retain her title. There was little to separate the two fighters, with both fighting to a stand still in some amazing action. In the end the judge narrowly gave it to Fujiwara, with scores of 58-56, twice, and 57-57, with two judges giving her round 5 to decide the fight.
This was Fujiwara's 4th shot at a title, having drawn with Miyoshi in 2022 and losing two regional title fights in 2022 and 2023. The decision saw Fujiwara being overcome with emotion as she celebrated, and it was clear what the win meant to her.
One of those bouts was a support bout on the show, which saw the unbeaten Daichi Suga (5-0, 1) [須賀大地], who continued his unbeaten start to the professional ranks as he overcame the hard hitting Ren Matsuoka (5-7-1, 5) [松岡蓮] in a Welterweight bout. The bout was hotly contested with Suga looking the more agile fighter, getting on the move and using the ring whilst looking for big right hands, whilst Matsuoka looked to press. As the rounds went on both men began to tire, with neither really managing to establish themselves. Despite the pace slowing down, and the action getting sloppy, it continued to be back and forth, with Suga doing just enough to edge the decision 58-56, twice, and 57-57.
This was the second bout between the two men, who clashed in the All Japan Rookie of the Year final in December with Suga taking a split decision in their first fight. Despite Suga leading the rivalry 2-0, there really was little to split the men, in either bout.
The other bout of note on this card saw 2020 Olympian David Ssemujju (5-0, 3), from Uganda, take an 8 round decision win over former WBO Asia Pacific Middleweight champion Hiroya Nojima (11-3-1, 5) [能嶋宏弥]. This was a really enjoyable bout, with great back and forth from the off, as both men looked to establish their jabs. Nojima definitely had moments, especially early on, but it wasn’t long until Ssemujju changed tactics, and went from trying to battle with head shots, to instead targeting the body, which had success and the body shots from Ssemujju began to slow down Nojima, who had been using a lot of movement, in the later rounds. Despite being slowed Nojima continued to fight back, giving the fans a thrilling bout. After 8 rounds the class of Ssemujju was enough to take him the win, with scores of 77-75, twice, and 78-74, which seemed closer than the bout was. After the win Ssemujju seemed to suggest he was wanting to fight for the Japanese Welterweight title, and given his promotional affiliation with a Japanese gym, that could well happen before the end of the year.
As well as the bouts on Sunday there was also some action on Monday at Korakuen Hall. The main event of the Korakuen Hall card saw the unbeaten Reo Nishioka (3-0, 1) [西岡伶英] score his latest win, as he took an 8 round decision over Thai visitor Weerawat Noolae (3-1, 2). From the early going Nishioka was using the skills he had developed in the amateur ranks, using his jab, movement and combinations really well however Noolae was determined, gutsy and refused to give in, regularly taking the fight to Nishioka with good body work. In the 7th round the Thai was deducted a point for holding, and it was clear he was starting to feel the tempo, and the punishment of Nishioka's shots, with the Japanese fighter looking to close the show, but was unable to drop the Thai. The judges for this hard it wide, with two scores of 80-71 and one having it 79-72. Despite the wide decision Nishioka stated that he still had a lot to improve on, and areas to develop before being ready for a title bout.
In the chief support bout Akane Fujiwara (6-3-1, 2) [藤原茜] scored the biggest win of her career, at the age of 36, as she dethroned Kimika Miyoshi (17-15-2, 5) [三好喜美佳] to claim the Japanese Female Featherweight title. This was hotly contested from the opening round, with both women regularly standing their ground and letting shots go back and forth at close and mid range. The early rounds were won by the challenger, who seemed a bit quicker, fresher and crisper with her shots. In the second half of the fight, there really was little to split the two, as Miyoshi dug deep and tried to do all she could to retain her title. There was little to separate the two fighters, with both fighting to a stand still in some amazing action. In the end the judge narrowly gave it to Fujiwara, with scores of 58-56, twice, and 57-57, with two judges giving her round 5 to decide the fight.
This was Fujiwara's 4th shot at a title, having drawn with Miyoshi in 2022 and losing two regional title fights in 2022 and 2023. The decision saw Fujiwara being overcome with emotion as she celebrated, and it was clear what the win meant to her.