Japan Welcomes New Year With Massive Fight Cards

Japan’s incredible year end blowout of shows was spread across three venues in two different cities with a total of eight world title bouts on offer.

Things kicked off on Tuesday with a three world title contest bill at Tokyo’s 10,000 seat Metropolitan Gym where the world’s top reigning super flyweight was destroyed in less than two rounds.

Argentina’s masterful Omar Andres Narvaez had retained his WBO crown 11 times, after successfully defending his WBO flyweight belt on 16 occasions, and despite being 39 years of age, stood atop the heap at 115 pounds.

Across the ring from “El Huracan” was a most unlikely opponent, 21 year old Naoya Inoue of Yokohama, who in only seven professional bouts had captured the Japanese, OPBF and WBC light flyweight titles.

Now “Monster” was jumping up two weight classes to tangle with the best super flyweight on the planet and no one could have predicted the outcome.

Once the bell rang, the taller challenger immediately began throwing bombs at the champion, who was caught with a massive right and down after just 30 seconds of the first round.

Narvaez beat the count but was down again from a big left hand from the spirited challenger, who was certainly living up to his nickname. It took all of the South American’s long experience to make it out of that disastrous first frame.

The second round was better for the champion until he again was nailed with a left and down again, only to get back up and receive more punishment, the final blow coming in the form of a spearing body shot that ended Narvaez’s 12 year reign over two weight classes at 3:01 of the second round.

Inoue improves to 8-0 (7), capping off an incredible 2014 that saw him win three world titles bouts against elite level competition. It will be interesting to see if anyone at super flyweight will step up to the challenge of facing Inoue as perhaps the hard-punching terror will have to go to bantamweight to find a willing opponent.

Narvaez drops to 43-2-2 (23), having previously only lost a world title challenge at bantamweight to Nonito Donaire in 2011, and must fight his way back up the ladder if he is to ever regain championship status.

Also on the card at the Metropolitan Gym, light flyweight Pedro Guevara, 24-1-1 (16), captured the vacant WBC light fly belt that Inoue vacated by knocking out Akira Yaegashi, 20-5 (10), at 2:45 of the seventh round.

Former WBA minimumweight king Yaegashi had been relieved of the WBC flyweight title by Roman Gonzalez in September and must go back to the drawing board if he is to regroup.

Mexico’s Guevara had previously held the NABF and WBC Silver belts at light fly and wins his first major world title opportunity by breaking a close fight wide open with a perfect body blow.

Venezuela’s Jorge Linares, 38-3 (25), won a world title in a third weight class in another contest on the bill as the Tokyo resident and former WBC featherweight/WBA super feather king knocked out Mexico’s WBC Silver ruler Javier Prieto, 24-8-2 (18), at 1:50 of the fourth round.

On Wednesday the action moved to Osaka, where there were two world belts on the line at Bodymaker Colosseum.

The world’s top super bantam, Cuba’s WBO/WBA super champion Guillermo Rigondeaux, 15-0 (10), was in action against towering local man Hishashi Amagasa, 28-5-2 (19), the OPBF featherweight champ who moved down a division.

Rigondeaux was in classic form, delivering a southpaw boxing lesson to the much taller challenger until Amagasa floored the champion in the seventh. Rigondeaux easily beat the count but was down again by the end of the round.

The eighth saw the visitor regain control as Rigondeaux became more aggressive than usual, dishing out a great deal of punishment until a swollen and battered Amagasa, who was on the canvas in the ninth, was prevented by his cornermen from coming out for the 12th round.

Rigondeaux will probably remain fighting on the road as he was reportedly dropped by his American promoter and could next surface in the UK this summer in a WBA unification against WBA “Regular” champ Scott Quigg.

Minimumweights were on the undercard in Osaka as local hero Katsunari Takayama, 28-7 (11), engaged in a hard-fought battle with the less experienced Go Odaira, 11-4-3 (1), before ending matters at 2:24 of the seventh frame.

Takayama regains his old IBF belt and picks up the WBO strap as well. Japanese champ Odaira loses for the first time in four years.

We finally come to our last stop at Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, where three world title contests occurred.

Tokyo’s WBA super feather boss Takashi Uchiyama, 22-0 (18), retained for the ninth time since winning the belt in 2010 by halting Argentine veteran Israel Hector Enrique Perez, 27-3-1 (16).

The hard-hitting Uchiyama was too much for Perez, who has held various regional belts, as the visitor failed to answer the bell for the 10th round.

Ex-Japanese light fly ruler Ryoichi Taguchi, 20-2-1 (8), dropped 39 year old Interim WBA champ Alberto Rossel, 32-9 (13), of Peru twice enroute to posting a 117-109, 116-111, 116-110 points victory to annex the full WBA light flyweight title.

WBA super fly king Kohei Kono, 30-8-1 (13), had all he could handle during the first defense of his second reign, as Kono was held to a split draw by Norberto Jimenez, 20-8-4 (10), of the Dominican Republic.