Ssemujju retains Japanese title in Hamamatsu
Earlier today fight fans in Japan had the chance to attend a very notable Seien Boxing Gym promoted show at the Act City Hamamatsu Exhibition Event Hall in Shizuoka. A show that was attended by former fighter Iwao Hakamada, and was also the first time in over 40 years that a Japanese title fight was held in Hamamatsu City.
The show, which was certainly not the biggest, has 3 notable bouts on it.
The first of those was the debut of 19 year old hopeful Ren Harada (1-0, 1) [原田怜], who made the dream start to his professional career, with a 4th round TKO over Chinese visitor Chaoqun Han (1-2, 1). From the off Harada looked sharp and talented, landing good right right hooks and body shots from the southpaw stance in the opening round, before switching orthodox and dropping Han in round 2, and then repeating the achievement in round 3. To his credit Han showed his toughness, somehow surviving an onslaught late in the round, but he was being ground down and in round 4 Han was eventually saved by the referee. Whilst the performance wasn’t flawless, it was still very impress by a teenager who seems set to make waves over the coming years.
Another notable bout on the show saw the once beaten Shunpei Ohata (5-1, 2) [大畑俊平] over-come Baomi Chen (6-3, 5) [陈保密], taking an 8 round decision over the dangerous Chinese puncher.
Ohata showed his skills early on, relying behind his solid fundamentals, though was in trouble for a moment in round 2, after Chin landed a counter. The middle rounds saw Chen show some hunter but was unable to catch the eye as easily as Ohata did, with his straight right hand. From there on it seemed like Ohata was in control, just boxing smartly and limiting Chen's opportunities, before a right to the body dropped the visitor in round 8. The knockdown was essentially a cherry on the top of a very clear win, with all 3 judges turning in scores of 79-72 to Ohata, who has now won 3 in a row following a close and controversial 2024 loss to Kai Watanabe in a Japanese Youth title fight.
The main event saw Japanese Welterweight champion David Ssemujju (8-1, 4) [セムジュ デビッド] make his second title defense as he overcame mandatory challenger Seeser Minagawa (5-4, 2) [シーサー皆川] as part of this year’s Champion Carnival. The bout, the first Japanese title fight in Hamamatsu in 45 years, saw Minagawa making a good start to things, using his good southpaw left hand and footwork in the early going, landing well in the first round and neutralising the champion in round 2. Minagawa's footwork really was eye-catching, but he did struggle to match it with his own output, whilst Ssemujju was applying pressure, albeit with mixed results. In rounds 4 and 5 Ssemujju managed to get close and landed some of the more eye catching shots, including a good overhand right
After 5 rounds it was close, with open scoring have one card in favour of Minagawa, 48-47, and the other two in favour of Ssemujju, 49-46 on both of the cards. Having known he was up and that what he was doing was winning the eye of the judges, Ssemujju moved up a gear in the second half of the fight being more aggressive than he had been, even if he was forced to take the occasional big shot in return, as he did in round 9 when Mingawa caught him with a good left hook. After the 10 rounds were up the surge from Ssemujju left no real doubt, and all 3 judges had it for him, 98-92, twice, and 96-94.
After the bout the champion explained "I knew my opponent would use his legs, so I tried to approach him slowly and calmly.My stamina was fine until the end, and I was able to show what I had practiced.I'm relieved to have won.I'd like to thank my training partner." He then explained that he wants to move beyond the Japanese and fight for an Asian title.
As for the challenger Minagawa, seemed to feel that he had no chance with the judges, explaining "I thought I was getting points in the first half. I could see his punches and I was boxing the way I wanted to, but the points were not reflected in the public scoring and I was confused," He then added "This is boxing. How do you fight to get the judges on your side? I was going to say that if I won, I would aim for the world championship. If this is the end, I'm not a man," vowing to continue his career, despite the defeat.
The show, which was certainly not the biggest, has 3 notable bouts on it.
The first of those was the debut of 19 year old hopeful Ren Harada (1-0, 1) [原田怜], who made the dream start to his professional career, with a 4th round TKO over Chinese visitor Chaoqun Han (1-2, 1). From the off Harada looked sharp and talented, landing good right right hooks and body shots from the southpaw stance in the opening round, before switching orthodox and dropping Han in round 2, and then repeating the achievement in round 3. To his credit Han showed his toughness, somehow surviving an onslaught late in the round, but he was being ground down and in round 4 Han was eventually saved by the referee. Whilst the performance wasn’t flawless, it was still very impress by a teenager who seems set to make waves over the coming years.
Another notable bout on the show saw the once beaten Shunpei Ohata (5-1, 2) [大畑俊平] over-come Baomi Chen (6-3, 5) [陈保密], taking an 8 round decision over the dangerous Chinese puncher.
Ohata showed his skills early on, relying behind his solid fundamentals, though was in trouble for a moment in round 2, after Chin landed a counter. The middle rounds saw Chen show some hunter but was unable to catch the eye as easily as Ohata did, with his straight right hand. From there on it seemed like Ohata was in control, just boxing smartly and limiting Chen's opportunities, before a right to the body dropped the visitor in round 8. The knockdown was essentially a cherry on the top of a very clear win, with all 3 judges turning in scores of 79-72 to Ohata, who has now won 3 in a row following a close and controversial 2024 loss to Kai Watanabe in a Japanese Youth title fight.
The main event saw Japanese Welterweight champion David Ssemujju (8-1, 4) [セムジュ デビッド] make his second title defense as he overcame mandatory challenger Seeser Minagawa (5-4, 2) [シーサー皆川] as part of this year’s Champion Carnival. The bout, the first Japanese title fight in Hamamatsu in 45 years, saw Minagawa making a good start to things, using his good southpaw left hand and footwork in the early going, landing well in the first round and neutralising the champion in round 2. Minagawa's footwork really was eye-catching, but he did struggle to match it with his own output, whilst Ssemujju was applying pressure, albeit with mixed results. In rounds 4 and 5 Ssemujju managed to get close and landed some of the more eye catching shots, including a good overhand right
After 5 rounds it was close, with open scoring have one card in favour of Minagawa, 48-47, and the other two in favour of Ssemujju, 49-46 on both of the cards. Having known he was up and that what he was doing was winning the eye of the judges, Ssemujju moved up a gear in the second half of the fight being more aggressive than he had been, even if he was forced to take the occasional big shot in return, as he did in round 9 when Mingawa caught him with a good left hook. After the 10 rounds were up the surge from Ssemujju left no real doubt, and all 3 judges had it for him, 98-92, twice, and 96-94.
After the bout the champion explained "I knew my opponent would use his legs, so I tried to approach him slowly and calmly.My stamina was fine until the end, and I was able to show what I had practiced.I'm relieved to have won.I'd like to thank my training partner." He then explained that he wants to move beyond the Japanese and fight for an Asian title.
As for the challenger Minagawa, seemed to feel that he had no chance with the judges, explaining "I thought I was getting points in the first half. I could see his punches and I was boxing the way I wanted to, but the points were not reflected in the public scoring and I was confused," He then added "This is boxing. How do you fight to get the judges on your side? I was going to say that if I won, I would aim for the world championship. If this is the end, I'm not a man," vowing to continue his career, despite the defeat.