Taku Kuwahara KOs Jose Rivas in 50 seconds today in Japan...left hook looks ouchie

Wow...do we have another Monster coming out of Japan?
Left to the body then hook to the head...like Plant's ko of Dirrell.

 

I was keen on getting up early for this, until looking into things last night and discovering it wasn't on regular terrestrial Fuji TV (pretty easily accessible) but FOD, which is a bit more of a bother IIRC (requires a subscription and VPN, and even then doesn't always work for all regions/devices?).

Anyway yeah, that rapid low-high couplet was a thing of beauty. Either hook probably would have done Rivas in...poor José didn't even have a moment to process the body shot.

 

Now, the fella that dealt out Kuwuhara's only defeat to date, Seigo Yuri Akui, bears looking into.

Inauspicious start, beating some local whatevers and getting squashed upon stepping up, capping off his 5th year pro with a 12-2-1 record. Ever since, however, bit down on the gum shield and really set to work. Tidy little reign with the Japanese flyweight sweeping aside not just our boy Kuwuhara (final round kayo with ten seconds on the clock, while up on two cards and primed for at least a MD victory anyway) but Filipino prospect Jayson Vayson and 2-time world title challenger Takuya Kogawa - both via shutout.

 

He also KOd Masamichi Yabuki in 1. I have been saying, I think he beats Sunny Edwards.

 

Simply beautiful.