By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Japanese boxing is funny in a sense since we can watch such scientific and stylish champs as Yamanaka, Ioka, Inoue etc., as well as such pier-six brawlers as this night’s warriors. Japanese middleweight champ Hikaru Nishida (16-8-1, 7 KOs), 159.75, positively kept swapping punches all the way, winning a unanimous nod (97-93, 96-94, 97-94) over interim titlist Tomohiro Ebisu (17-5, 17 KOs), 160, to keep his belt over ten hard-fought rounds on Monday in Tokyo.

Since Nishida suffered an injury that needed some months for recuperation, Ebisu, a less skillful hard-puncher, acquired the interim belt during the champ’s long hiatus. Now Nishida faced Ebisu in a unification bout, and proved he was a legitimate titleholder by battering the slower puncher with busier combinations to pile up points steadily.

They absorbed what the opponent threw each other and withstood them with their great durability. Both kept bleeding and enduring the rival’s desperate retaliations to make it a total war. Nishida, with faster hands, had Ebisu in great trouble in the penultimate round, but Ebisu showed his tremendous toughness and came back to dominate the final session despite losing a decision. Young men, you had better learn how to defend yourself from your rival’s attacks. Or, both of you had better take a long rest for months to remove your damage. It’s a classic give-and-take duel.

Promoter: Kawasaki Nitta Promotions.

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