Japanese kickboxer Anpo surprises Pacquiao as exhibition ends in draw

‘He's strong and fights well even though he lacks experience,’ admits Manny Pacquiao as the taller Rukiya Anpo, a champion Japanese kickboxer, comes out firing

TOKYO, Japan – Eager to please the packed crowd, Manny Pacquiao flashed his brilliance in the last round of his exhibition bout against Rukiya Anpo on Sunday night, July 28, in the Super Rizin 3 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Pitted against a 6-footer who has ballooned to over 180 pounds on fight night, Pacquiao had to dig deep in his arsenal to land the punches that hardly affected the onrushing Anpo, who wasn’t even born when the 45-year-old Pacquiao turned pro in 1995.

Anpo, a champion kickboxer with no boxing match on his resume, caught Pacquiao’s attention when he flicked a right jab to the face of the sport’s only eight-division world champion.

Pacquiao tried to bore in but got tagged by a long shot and then an uppercut as he ducked.

Emboldened, Anpo applied more pressure and connected to the liver, which Pacquiao countered with a body shot. Pacquiao failed to throw a flurry as the much-longer Anpo easily moved away.

Anpo came out firing jabs in the first minute of the third and final round, then traded heavy shots with Pacquiao, rocking the all-time great with an overhand and going for the kill.

Pacquiao, however, finally came through with a bunch of punches, many of which landed before the final bell.

Being an exhibition, there were no official scores, but the fight which drew 48,000 fans, was declared a draw.

Far from his devastating form, Pacquiao, who declared that he was just 60 percent for the bout, fought a catchweight of 152 pounds, complimented the 28-year-old Anpo. 

“He’s strong and fights well even though he lacks experience. He’s also way bigger than me,” said Pacquiao, who entered the ring at 154 pounds.

Elated by his performance, Anpo said “I really want to finish him off but he’s tough.”

Although it was his first boxing fight, Anpo bared that he has been training in boxing for the last few years and was glad to prove wrong predictions that he’d get knocked out.

“His (Pacquiao) punches weren’t really heavy. I’m having fun, I feel like I’m on a roll,” said Anpo.

According to Pacquiao, the fight was a “good tune-up” and made him realize that he has a lot of things to work on if he is to resume fighting in October or November.

Pacquiao will take the flight back to the Philippines early Monday, July 29. – Rappler.com