Earlier today, in the headline fight in Yokohama, Japan, fans witnessed an explosive punching display from defending WBO bantamweight champion Yoshiki Takei. Defending against Thai fighter Yuttapong Tongdee – this in a fight that was twice postponed, first in December and then in January – Takei dropped his challenger three times at the sound of the first bell. A game Tongdee got up each time and he showed heart in throwing back punches of his own, but he was stopped on his feet after taking another barrage of blows.
Photo: Naoki Fukuda
Time was 2:07 of the opening round, and a fight that some felt would break out into a real war instead came to a violent conclusion in under three-minutes. Takei is now 11-0-(9), while Tongdee loses for the first time in going 15-1(9). Today’s quick KO win saw Takei register his second title retention.
28 year old southpaw Takei, a former kickboxer, was supported in his dressing room by Japanese superstar and pound-for-pounder Naoya Inoue. And Inoue must have been impressed by what he saw from his countryman today. Fast, accurate, and smelling blood from the get-go, Takei was ruthless.
A straight left hand decked the challenger with scant seconds gone, and Takei then dropped Tongdee twice more, the challenger clearly still dazed. In the end, though, it was the third man who stopped the fight, this as Takei was pummelling the 31 year old from Thailand.
The bantamweight and super-bantamweight divisions really are owned by Japanese fighters today, and it could be that Takei fights one of his countrymen next, this as he attempts to unify the 118 pound belts. The superb Junto Nakatani will face Rysoke Nishida in a two-belt unification clash next month. Takei against the winner would really be something to get excited about.
Meanwhile, yet another fine Japanese fighter in Seiya Tsutsumi currently holds the fourth of the bantamweight titles. But could it be that Takei is the best of the lot right now? And what a pity Takei and “Monster” Inoue are in no position to fight each other! What an explosion that fight would have been.