Held on June 19 at the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, the main event of the Ohashi Promotion featured the WBO World Welterweight Title match. The undefeated champion Brian Norman Jr. (USA, 27 wins, 21 KOs, 0 losses, 2 no contests) defended his title against the WBO #2 ranked Jin Sasaki (Hachioji Nakaya Gym, 19 wins, 17 KOs, 1 loss, 1 draw). Norman Jr. won by KO at 46 seconds of the 5th round.
In the first round, just one minute in, Sasaki went down from a left hook by Norman Jr. After the count, Sasaki was knocked down again by another left hook. However, he fought back, landing several left hooks to both the head and body. In round two, Norman Jr. landed a right counter followed by a left uppercut, but Sasaki rallied in the latter half of the round, closing the distance and exchanging punches with the champion.
In round three, a right hook and a left to the body from Norman Jr. momentarily froze Sasaki’s movement. The champion continued to mix his punches with right uppercuts and straight shots, while Sasaki desperately fought back. Round four saw Norman Jr. freely throwing straight punches and uppercuts from all angles, while Sasaki looked to land a decisive left hook.
In round five, Sasaki, likely suffering from accumulated damage, slipped to the canvas. Then, Norman Jr. landed a perfectly timed left hook, flooring Sasaki flat on his back. Sasaki did not move as the count began, and the referee stopped the fight immediately.
This bout marked the first world welterweight title match held in Japan in approximately 35 years and 6 months, but the barrier to the welterweight division proved steep.
Co-Main Event – OPBF (Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation) Welterweight Title Bout
In the co-feature, a match to crown the new OPBF welterweight champion took place between #3 ranked Takeru Obata (Dash Higashibo, 14 wins [6 KOs], 7 losses, 1 draw) and #7 ranked Sora Tanaka (Ohashi Gym, 3 wins [3 KOs], no losses). Tanaka claimed the vacant title with a TKO victory at 2:01 of the 4th round.
Both fighters, being southpaws, clashed from the start. Tanaka advanced aggressively with powerful lefts, while Obata countered with right hooks and left straights. Tanaka applied relentless pressure in rounds two and three, landing right hooks, left straights, and powerful uppercuts to the body. Obata bravely withstood the attacks and returned punches, producing a fierce slugfest.
In round four, although Obata showed resilience and a will to fight back under pressure, the referee Mr. Okaniwa stopped the bout after a barrage of punches from Tanaka. The crowd gave a big round of applause to Obata, who had shown a great performance against the undefeated prospect.
IBF World Light Flyweight Title Match
In a bout for the vacant IBF World Light Flyweight title, #1 ranked Christian Araneta (Philippines, 25 wins [20 KOs], 2 losses) faced #2 ranked Thanongsak Simsri (Thailand, 38 wins [34 KOs], 1 loss). Thanongsak won by decision and became the new world champion.
Official Scores – IBF World Light Flyweight Title Match
The official decision was a split decision:
- Koji Tanaka scored it 116–111 for Thanongsak
- Shoichi Murase had it 115–112 for Thanongsak
- Leszek Jankowiak (Poland) scored it 114–113 for Araneta
In the third round, southpaw Araneta landed a counter left hook that knocked down Thanongsak. Araneta continued to land powerful lefts in rounds five and six. However, Thanongsak mounted a comeback in the later rounds with active footwork and high punch volume, ultimately turning the fight around and securing the victory.
Japanese Featherweight Title Match
In the bout to decide the new Japanese Featherweight Champion, top-ranked Yuya Ohkubo (Kaneko Gym, 8 wins [5 KOs], 0 losses, 2 draws) faced #2 ranked Reiya Abe (KG Yamato Gym, 26 wins [10 KOs], 4 losses, 2 draws). Abe won by decision, reclaiming the national title.
The official scores were:
- 97–93
- 96–94
- 96–94 (all in favor of Abe)
I had high hopes for Jin Sasaki from the Hachioji Nakaya Gym.
I truly wished that Trainer Nakaya’s dream would come true.
The wall that is the world welterweight division is incredibly high.
This article has been translated and published with permission from BOXING MASTER.
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