Japanese Scene Weekend Recap: Kohei Oba Wins, Mikio Yasuda Claims Japanese Title

Sidney Boquiren of RingwalkNippon has all the details on this past weekend's Japanese boxing action.  For more Japanese boxing updates, you can follow Sidney on twitter: RingwalkNippon@Twitter

Kohei Oba Defeats Eric Barcelona, Targets Malcolm Tunacao’s OPBF Crown

Former Japanese Bantamweight champion Kohei Oba outboxed 70+ fight veteran Eric Barcelona to a unanimous decision on Sunday. Rated #3 by the WBC, the 25-year old slickster was making his first ring appearance since vacating the title at the end of 2009.

The quick-striking Oba was able to score with his usual body attack and right uppercut, but was unable to hurt the tough Filipino, who does not have a KO loss on his record and has faced current and former contenders Simpiwe Vetyeka, Diosdado Gabi and Z Gorres.

Scorecards read 97-93, 97-94, and 97-95 all for Oba, preserving his undefeated record at 27-0 with one draw. Barcelona falls to 51-17-4.

While he remains under the radar for most boxing fans outside of Japan, Oba has been one of the most highly regarded prospects in Japan for the past few years, garnering the ever popular label Tensai – which can be translated into phenom or genius – among the Japanese boxing media. That title was earned for a keen sense of the science as he displays extraordinary awareness of distance, adept defensive skills and maximizes angles in his offense.

Naming Floyd Mayweather Jr. as one of his idols, the former Japanese champ emulates Money with a modified Philly crab – left hand low around his midsection, right hand kept toward his chin – becoming a smaller target by being almost perpendicular to his opponent and looking to use his lead shoulder as a main part of his defense.

At his best, Oba is constantly in movement, using excellent bursts of speed behind a flicker-like jab to get inside, land rapid combinations, and dart out before his opponent can retaliate. His other nickname, "Speed Star," is indeed reflective of his biggest asset.

Unfortunately, the Nagoya native looked very ordinary the past two years, a period that coincides with the length of his title reign. Perhaps it was the pressure of being called a blue-chip prospect and a new beltholder that caused Oba to neglect the foundation of the boxing style he chose to adopt – hit and not be hit. Since his title winning effort against solid veteran Masayuki Mitani, Oba seemed to attempt to make bouts more entertaining and became more willing to trade with his opponent. While he does have a sweet right uppercut and has begun to develop a nice left hook, going toe-to-toe certainly is not his forte, resulting in tougher-than-necessary title defenses.

It was not until he made his fifth and last defense in November that he regained his swagger, putting on a nice display of his skills against world title challenger Nobuto Ikehara. In that match, which is available on YouTube (see below), the champion flashed the quickness and boxing skills which made him a touted prospect to begin with. Well on his way to a near shoutout, Oba was able to put an exclamation point on his dominant performance by stopping Ikehara in the 9th frame.

Apparently newly crowned OPBF Bantamweight champion Malcolm Tunacao made an appearance during Oba’s post-fight interview and a fight between the two was announced on the spot. The Filipino is the only man Oba failed to beat, drawing with the southpaw in his first OPBF reign. While Tunacao is getting long in the tooth, this rematch of their February 2006 bout should be an interesting measuring stick to see how much Oba has progressed. It should also provide us insight as to whether he is back on track to becoming Japan’s next world champion.

Yasuda Takes Vacant Japanese 118 Title

On the undercard of Oba’s bout, Mikio Yasuda (16-4-2, 13KO) stopped rugged Takuro Kodama (21-7-5, 15KO) at the 30-second mark of the 2nd round to claim the national Bantamweight belt that Oba vacated after his last defense. The fight was a part of this year’s Champion Carnival.

Jijicom reports that the new champion knocked down Kodama with a flurry following a left hook in the first. Yasuda quickly pounced on his opponent at the beginning of the next round, accurately landing enough punches to force the referee to stop the bout.

Yasuda, rated #8 by the WBC, was making his first attempt at any title. It was Kodama’s second chance at the national crown, having lost to Oba in his second defense.

Matsuda Wins OPBF Featherweight Title By Split Decision

A bloodied and battered Naoki Matsuda, the former Japan Featherweight beltholder rated #13 by the WBC, edged out Vinvin Rufino by split decision to earn the vacant OPBF title on Saturday.

In a spirited twelve round battle that saw both men taste the canvas, Matsuda overcame a cut over his right eye and an injury to his right leg to outlast the heavy handed Filipino, reported Sports Hochi. Dropped in the third by a right hand, the 33-year old Teiken fighter returned the favor once in the fourth and twice in the fifth. However, the power-punching southpaw continued to give Matsuda trouble in the second half of the fight.

Matsuda’s record advances to 32-8-4 (13KO) in picking up his second title, while Rufino slips to 17-8-3 (7KO).

After the final bell… Miscellaneous notes, tidbits, and updates in Japanese boxing as well as the occasional random thought from yours truly…

While Oba’s style does imitate Money May to an extent, he does not move enough vertically or use a shoulder roll as well as he could. His right hand can wander a bit, too, and you can catch him with lead rights and left hooks. He will need to improve that before going up against some of the more talented 118 pounders…

As big a supporter I am of WBA Super Feather beltholder Takashi Uchiyama and as much as I would have given him a pass on mediocre competition in his first defense, the choice of Angel Granados is a letdown…

WBA Super Flyweight champ Nobuo Nashiro officially announced his rematch with Hugo Cazares last week. Nashiro made the obligatory KO proclamation then called out ALL THREE Kameda brothers. He has been making noise for a while for a fight with Koki, and a tiff with Daiki became more and more possible since younger brother won his title. However, the inclusion of the youngest, Tomoki, is new. "El Mexicanito" has been mouthing off, challenging Nashiro for the past few months. Don’t be surprised if Nashiro ends up giving the 18-year old a chance at his title some time this year.

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