Yoshino returns to the ring with a win!
Earlier today at Korakuen Hall we had the latest Diamond Glove card, which was a really good looking one on paper, with several noteworthy bouts.
One of those bouts was the debut of Yushi Yamaguchi (1-0) [山口友士], who kicked off his career with a successful 6 round decision win against Filipino visitor Wesley Caga (4-2, 2) The bout saw Yamaguchi controlling much of the bout with a good, busy and accurate jab, and some solid right hands, as racked up the early rounds. In round 3 Kaga landed a good right hand that got Yamaguchi's attention. Sadly the second half of the bout was pretty messy, with Yamaguchi looking to box behind his jab, whilst Kaga looked to get inside and make it rough. After 6 rounds it was a clear win for Yamaguchi, who will take a lot from this solid debut against a tough and game foe.
A bout that promises a lot on paper was a clash between Shugo Namura (8-2, 8) [苗村修悟] and Ryota Karimata (9-3, 5) [狩俣綾汰]. Despite a lot of expectation here, it was something of an anti-climax, with Karimata completely unable to deal with the power of Namura, who rocked him with a right hand. Karimata tried to survive but was under intense pressure until the referee saved him after just 125 seconds. To his credit Karimata took some big shots, but was completely unable to recover from the first clean right hand that he took. A great bounce back win for Namura following a loss to Longyi Hu back in October.
In a bout between unbeaten fighters fans saw Yoshiki Shimomura (7-0-1, 7) [下村佳輝] scored a 4th round TKO win over Gaito Sakakino (2-1-1, 1) [榊野剴斗]. From the opening stages it was clear that this was a clash between the power of Shimomura and the technical skills of Sakakino, with Shimomura shaking up his man early on. In the third round Sakakino looked to attack the body, but a left hand from Shimomura staggered him. The power of Shimomura was shown again early in round 4 as he rocked Sakakino and then began to unload with his man on the ropes. The referee stepped in to save Sakakino just 18 seconds into the round, with it becoming clear he hadn't really recovered from the way the previous round had finished.
In the main event we saw the long awaited return of Shuichiro Yoshino (17-1, 13) [吉野修一郎], who returned to the ring for the first time since April 2023, when he lost to Shakur Stevenson. Despite the lengthy lay off he was destructive against over-matched Filipino Jules Victoriano (13-7, 10). Yoshino, who had elbow surgery during his break from the ring, applied pressure from the off and came close to ending the bout early in the first round, when he hurt Victoriano for the first time. In round 2 he started a little bit quick and dropped his man 3 times for the TKO win after 2 minutes 52 seconds. After the bout Yoshino showed his gratitude to his trainer, stating "I'm relieved to have won my comeback match. Shiino (Hiroki Shiino who is leaving the gym at the end of this month) was my trainer and like a big brother for nine years. I'm very grateful."
One of those bouts was the debut of Yushi Yamaguchi (1-0) [山口友士], who kicked off his career with a successful 6 round decision win against Filipino visitor Wesley Caga (4-2, 2) The bout saw Yamaguchi controlling much of the bout with a good, busy and accurate jab, and some solid right hands, as racked up the early rounds. In round 3 Kaga landed a good right hand that got Yamaguchi's attention. Sadly the second half of the bout was pretty messy, with Yamaguchi looking to box behind his jab, whilst Kaga looked to get inside and make it rough. After 6 rounds it was a clear win for Yamaguchi, who will take a lot from this solid debut against a tough and game foe.
A bout that promises a lot on paper was a clash between Shugo Namura (8-2, 8) [苗村修悟] and Ryota Karimata (9-3, 5) [狩俣綾汰]. Despite a lot of expectation here, it was something of an anti-climax, with Karimata completely unable to deal with the power of Namura, who rocked him with a right hand. Karimata tried to survive but was under intense pressure until the referee saved him after just 125 seconds. To his credit Karimata took some big shots, but was completely unable to recover from the first clean right hand that he took. A great bounce back win for Namura following a loss to Longyi Hu back in October.
In a bout between unbeaten fighters fans saw Yoshiki Shimomura (7-0-1, 7) [下村佳輝] scored a 4th round TKO win over Gaito Sakakino (2-1-1, 1) [榊野剴斗]. From the opening stages it was clear that this was a clash between the power of Shimomura and the technical skills of Sakakino, with Shimomura shaking up his man early on. In the third round Sakakino looked to attack the body, but a left hand from Shimomura staggered him. The power of Shimomura was shown again early in round 4 as he rocked Sakakino and then began to unload with his man on the ropes. The referee stepped in to save Sakakino just 18 seconds into the round, with it becoming clear he hadn't really recovered from the way the previous round had finished.
In the main event we saw the long awaited return of Shuichiro Yoshino (17-1, 13) [吉野修一郎], who returned to the ring for the first time since April 2023, when he lost to Shakur Stevenson. Despite the lengthy lay off he was destructive against over-matched Filipino Jules Victoriano (13-7, 10). Yoshino, who had elbow surgery during his break from the ring, applied pressure from the off and came close to ending the bout early in the first round, when he hurt Victoriano for the first time. In round 2 he started a little bit quick and dropped his man 3 times for the TKO win after 2 minutes 52 seconds. After the bout Yoshino showed his gratitude to his trainer, stating "I'm relieved to have won my comeback match. Shiino (Hiroki Shiino who is leaving the gym at the end of this month) was my trainer and like a big brother for nine years. I'm very grateful."