I'm not sure why we're getting a rematch of a one-sided twelve-rounder, five years, later, over 8 rounds - but here we are. Co-headlining a UNext card along with Keita Kurihara vs. Shunpei Kaneshiro on Wednesday. Takesako defeated Hosokawa (the now 41 year old "kid" brother of Valentine Hosokawa - both half-Nigerian and half-Japanese) shortly before the beginning of the pandemic in January of 2020, by virtual shutout. The judges saw it 119-109 x2 and 120-108 for Takesako, unifying the Japan national and OPBF middleweight titles. Since then Hosokawa is 2-2. Takesako has seen highs (deflowering Riku Kunimoto and Mark Dickinson) and lows (losing by stoppage to Meiirim Nursultanov, and to Kunimoto in a rematch). IB funfact: this will be Hosokawa's twenty-second appearance at Korakuen Hall, in just twenty-three bouts. Basically spent his entire career in the one venue.
