On December 31st, 2014, fight fans were treated to four world title matchups, all of which were held in Japan.
First off in Osaka, Guillermo Rigondeaux took on an extremely tough Hisashi Amagasa, eventually winning a stoppage victory after Amagasa’s corner retired their fighter following the 11th round. Though Rigondeaux dominated and dealt out most of the punishment with hard pin-point counters, the fight was no walkover for the undefeated Cuban.
He may have dropped Amagasa in the 9th round, but it was Rigondeaux himself who had to survive two knockdowns prior in the 7th, courtesy of Amagasa’s vicious straights. His poker face didn’t let on how hurt he was, but a bit of holding did.
Nevertheless, like the true professional he is, he regrouped and went about his business in the same fashion, driving home solid counters into the face of his aggressive come-forward opponent. At the time of the Retirement, the scorecards were tallied at 107-99, 105-101, and 107-99.
Following the win, Rigondeaux holds onto his RING, WBO & Super WBA Junior Featherweight titles, improving to an unblemished 15 wins, 10 knockouts. Amagasa now falls to 28 wins, 19 knockouts, 5 losses, 2 draws.
Kazuto Ioka (16-1, 10 KO) – who decisioned Felix Alvarado in 2013 – dropped Jean Piero Perez (20-8-1, 14 KO) for the count in his bout featured on the undercard. The end came at 2:09 of the 5th round, where scorecards stood fairly even for both fighters at 39-38, 39-38, 39-37. Sho Ishida (18-0, 10 KO) also scored a 5th round TKO in his Japanese Junior Bantamweight title defense against Masato Morisaki (9-4-1, 5 KO).
Meanwhile in Tokyo, Takashi Uchiyama (22-0-1, 18 KO) defended his WBA Junior Lightweight title, successfully defending it against Israel Perez (27-3-1, 16 KO). Uchiyama also dealt out some serious punishment, which eventually caused Perez’s corner to retire their fighter in the 9th round.
Oddly, the scorecards were quite the mixed bag, with each ringside judge having very different opinions on the action they had witnessed. At the point of Retirement, they stood at 85-85, 88-82, and 90-78.
Kohei Kono (30-8-1, 13 KO) and Norberto Jimenez (20-8-4, 10 KO) fought to a Split Draw on the undercard. Defending titlist Kono of course held onto his WBA Junior Bantamweight belt, but will nonetheless be unhappy with the contest’s result. Scorecards came in at 112-115, 114-114, and 116-111.
Ryoichi Taguchi (21-2-1, 8 KO) encountered less struggle with then world titlist Alberto Rossel (32-9, 13 KO). Taguchi, who became the new WBA Junior Flyweight Champion following the win, dropped Rossel in both the 8th and 9th rounds. Scorecards tallied in at 110-116, 109-117, and 111-116.
What did you think of Rigondeaux vs Amagasa? Had many underestimated the strength and durability of Amagasa? And after this fight, is there anyone out there bar Scott Quigg, Carl Frampton and Leo Santa Cruz who could pose a serious threat to the savvy Cuban?
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