Ryōta Murata vs. Steven Butler & Kenshiro Teraji vs. Randy Formentera Petalcorin RBR

Bottom of the hour, three hours from now.

(coverage begins in some markets - whoever gets a channel named "ESPN Knockouts Latin America" - from 2:30am CST/3:30 am EST/8:30am GMT/5:30pm local time in Kanagawa. ESPN+ coverage begins twenty-five minutes later, at 2:55am/3:55am/8:55am/5:55pm respectively - so they're probably just showing one fewer undercard match than is EKLA. The main card, a championship double-header, airs on Fuji starting at 4am CST/5am EST/10am GMT/7pm local time in Kanagawa. They will NOT be including Mthalane vs. Yaegashi to make it a world championship triple-header, but that bout should be included on ESPN's broadcasts...)

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I'm gonna catch 40 winks and be up to catch (and do RBR coverage for) the Fuji broadcast.

In the meantime...WAR YAEGASHI!!!! WAR CHOCOLATITO!!!!

Hoping to wake up to good news from the undercard...

 

Mthalane vs. Yaegashi should be competitive, they are 37 and 36 years old respectively. Román González's opponent (Filipino journeyman Dionaldo Janipin Diocos) is the only real "gimme" on the card and IMO far more of a no-hope mismatched lamb to slaughter than either Petalcorin or Butler...who are both rightful underdogs, but not unthinkably long ones. Murata is certainly mortal, as is Teraji.

 

I keep regarding Yaegashi as done but he keeps finding another career second wind. After the Chocolatito and Guevara losses he shocked everyone by grabbing the IBF strap and defending it twice (if not against the best opp), and then even after Melindo, which certainly looked damning, he is on a run of three knockouts (granted two were bums; Mukai isn't though)

 

SWEEEEEEERVE!

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So, in setting out to research whether this kid Taishi Uchiyama on the undercard (who already fought;

Spoiler

suffering his first professional loss, kayoed in ninety seconds by fellow unbeaten prospect Kiyoharu Nunozaki!

) is any relation to "KO Dynamite" Takashi Uchiyama, it came as no mild surprise to me to serendipitously learn Takashi had actually fought two weeks ago! Not officially, but he participated in a "retirement ceremony" for Ryōichi Taguchi on December 10th, which saw them spar a few exhibition rounds of two minutes apiece. It turns out Uchiyama, who is 40 years old and retired in 2017, went as easy on Taguchi as he could for the most part but couldn't help himself and accidentally KTFO of Taguchi with a body shot. I shit you not!

Here's video, but this angle for viewing the KO punch is very poor:

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It actually barely even looks like he touches him, you just have to infer it from his reaction. But here (pics #6 & 7 in particular) are some very clear pics from a better angle:

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KO Dynamite has still got it!!!

 

Oh and btw I've clearly at this point just said **** it and decided to stay up all night.