Japan Fight of The Month: Brutal Furuhashi vs. Kuga Japan Super Bantamweight Title Rematch Ends in A Nasty Draw
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Tokyo, Japan (January 27th, 2022)– In the main event of a five-bout card at Korakuen Hall, in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday, January 25, 2022, Gakuya Furuhashi barely retained his Japanese Super Bantamweight title in a by 10 round majority decision in a vicious, brutal and nasty slugfest with formal titleholder Yusaku Kuga, in the Real Combat Media Japanese Fight of the Month for January 2022. Boxing cards inside Japan are open only to Japanese fighters now on the main land, as the country is closed to outsiders at the moment due to prevent the spread of the Omicron Variant of the Coronavirus during the Pandemic. Gennady GGG Golovkin’s titular unification middleweight title bout with Ryota Murata was indefinitely postponed because of this, though boxing in Japan continues.
Kuga, 20-5-2 with 13 knockouts, Tokyo, Japan, who was stopped in the ninth round while ahead by Furuhashi in January 2021 and lost his Japanese Super Bantamweight title, did the work, came in prepared, and took Furuhashi on a 10 round trip to hell in an attempt to regain it one year later. After five rounds, the viciously attacking muscular Kuga led 549-46, 49-47 and 49-47 on the Japanese open scoring system. However, Furuhashi brawled back in the second half of the bout, going toe-to-toe in a war and somehow salvaging a nasty draw. Two judges had it 95-95, while the third judge had it for Kuga 96-94. A third matchup is in order.
An upset occurred on the undercard, as former Japanese Flyweight champion and two time WBA and IBF Flyweight world title challenger Masayuki Kuroda, age 35, 30-9-3 with 16 knockouts, Kawasaki, Japan, was upset by eight-round decision by unknown 4-0 Kantaro Juri of Osaka, Japan. This was Kuroda’s second consecutive loss.
Results From Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Gakuyu Furuhashi Majority Draw 10 Yusaku Kuga
Furuhashi retains Japanese Super Bantamweight title.
Scoring: 95-95, 95-95 Draw. 96-94 for Kuga. Referee: Kazutoshi Yoshida.
Kantaro Juri Win 8 Masayuki Kuroda, Super Flyweights (79-73, 79-74, 77-75 for Juri)
Taison Mukaiyama TKO 2 Toru Kiyota, Lightweights (1:12)
Yuki Kato (Pro Debut) Win 4 Masahiro Aizawa (Pro Debut), Super Bantamweights
Kenya Ikeda (Pro Debut) TKO 1 (Pro debut) Ryuhei Eto, Super Featherweights
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