LeminoBOXING Phoenix Battle 120: Kazuki Nakajima vs. Shingo Wake & Tsubasa Narai vs. Kanta Fukui RBR

Tsubasa Narai vs. Kanta Fukui, 10 rounds @ super featherweight

 

Very similar color palettes and designs in their gear - trunks, boots, and even knee-high socks - and they both have frosted mops of hair with sides identically shaved to boot (one platinum blonde, the other slate grey). Fortunately, the younger Narai is about five inches shorter and his name is helpfully printed over his crotch.

 

FFS, this app isn't very user-friendly.

Every time you pause or use the built in skip 10 seconds feature (to rewind or fast-forward) it kicks you all the way back to start of video and makes you watch two full length ads. This is maddening, unless you just leave it alone.

 

Oh right, uh...you can also go by their gloves. Narai red, Fukui blue. It's late; I'm tired.

 

R1 - Narai got the best of a quiet chess match, with a few more jabs on his taller but less rangy opponent. 10-9 Narai

R2 - almost seemed like a mirror of the first until erupting in the final minute. Both landed some massive hooks. 20-18 Narai

R3 - Fukui starting to assert himself, jabbing or 1-2ing and sidestepping effectively, blocking Narai's overhand rights. Lots of feints. 10-9 Fukui, 29-28 Narai

R4 - Fukui still keeping Narai at the very end of his jab and turning him on a spit. Narai switches tacks and tries right hand torpedoes on the body from outside. A little success, but nothing sustained. Fukui scoring from outside, playing jab and grab. 10-9 Fukui, 38-38

R5 - Narai now giving Fukui a taste of his own medicine, moving to his left and popping jabs, his coming in multiples. They flurry into a clinch. Narai backing up or sidestepping to make Fukui fall short with his jab and 1-2. Narai almost connects on a left hook coming up after ducking a Fukui combo. Narai bouncing in place, looking for an opening. Left hook dashing in by Narai, just misses. 10-9 Narai, 48-47 Narai

R6 - Narai slipping the jab with cocked head and keeping his gloves on Fukui, with either his own jab or a swatting hook. Narai round until Fukui walks him onto a huge counter right hand late, best punch of the fight so far, probably stole it. 10-9 Fukui, 57-57

R7 - Narai jabbing the body to back Fukui up and then swiping at him with long lead left hooks. Fukui looking to bat down Narai's left glove with his own while circling clockwise and occasionally zaps him with a counter right. Lots of posing and waiting, nearly a full minute of neither man throwing anything. Narai comes forward trying for a body shot. Fukui jabs to get clear of a corner. Uppercut by Narai. Right hand by Narai. 10-9 Narai, very close, 67-66 Narai

R8 - Fukui placing the jab and rolling out the side door. Fukui mostly keeping his spine upright and erect when moving and jabbing, but folding himself up to clinch or after landing. Fukui with a heavy attack nearly pinning Narai on the ropes. Wild flurry by Narai, missing a bunch of body and some head shots. Fukui punches over Narai's neck as Narai misses a straight of his own past Fukui's ribs and they collide into a hard clinch to end the round. 10-9 Fukui, close, 76-76

R9 - High jabs by Fukui. They step together and Fukui's right cross connects on the side of Narai's neck. Narai clamming up in front of the Fukui jab. Crowd egging them on, hoping for late fireworks. Both are hesitant. Fukui with an overhand right stepping by, blocked. Narai finally charges in behind a double jab with a rocketing right. 10-9 Fukui, 86-85 Fukui

R10 - Narai smacks away Fukui's jabbing hand and keeps slashing away on him with hooks and once in a while uncorking a big straight line drive right. Fukui in full retreat. Narai jabs high and plows the body with a right. Fukui clinches. Narai with a 1-2 into the pinned wrists of Fukui, then some heavy body shots. Combination up top by Narai at the bell. 10-9 Narai, his best round, 95-95

 

Official cards:

John Hachisuka 96-94
Toshio Sugiyama 96-94
Kazutoshi Yoshida 97-93

UD for Tsubasa Narai


Can't argue with those scores (Yoshida maybe a tad wide) - Kanta Fukui himself sure doesn't. Draw on my card but it would have been fine seeing it go either way. Both combatants display good sportsmanship following a clean, close contest for the Japanese 130lb title - second defense of Narai, and the first and maybe last national championship challenge for the thirty year old Fukui to cap off a pretty decent two year run.

 

I don't think either of us dropped you from the list on purpose, probably just one of us mistakenly copied & pasted from an old version without you.