Prizefighter Osaka proved to be a successful Japanese debut for the Matchroom brand, bringing back an old favourite with a new 10-round spin. And, with a $100,000 bonus for a stoppage, every fighter was willing to give it their all.
Opening the show was the ‘Too Class’ Britishman Kieron Conway (21-3-1), who was thorough and methodical in dealing with China’s Ainiwaer Yilixiati (19-2). A champion in the Asian circuit, Yilixiati took the first round through activity alone, although none of it appeared to phase Conway, who cruised through the remaining rounds with punches in bunches.
Despite his trinkets, Yilixiati would struggle to deal with Conway’s restrained pressure; it began to take the energy and the snap from Yilixiati. From what little tape exists of Yilixiati, it is clear that he is used to getting his opposition out within the first two rounds – something that simply wouldn’t happen with the hard-as-nails Conway mounting on him.
Discipline was Conway’s game-plan and it was well executed throughout; particularly in the fifth round, when Yilixiati was significantly wobbled. Yilixiati, for all of his activity, was a simple and straight fighter, which allowed for Conway to repeatedly catch him on the way into the pocket.
Northampton’s Conway, who always appeared to be a step-ahead – likely due to his experience with the likes of Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams (16-1) and Souleymane Cissokho (17-0) – would secure the stoppage in the seventh round; Yilixiati would simply fall apart from the third round onwards.
The second match-up was, arguably, the most contentious amongst fight fans and pundits entering the contest; Ireland’s phenom Aaron McKenna (19-0) versus Puerto Rican-Floridian ‘El Rayo’ Jeovanny Estela (14-1). Although, it certainly proved to be a fairly unimpressive performance from McKenna, one that focused on neutralisation over action.
With the wealth of experience behind McKenna, sparring with the likes of Terrance Crawford (40-0) and Lester Martinez (18-0), he was deemed the favourite, despite the difficulty of the task. Estela, after all, was a great amateur himself; a power-puncher who can hit on the back foot.
Certainly, this match-up would not look out-of-place in the finals.
McKenna would take the middle of the ring but Estela was able to work away on the taller man. Throughout the first, McKenna would tangle Estela within his lengthy frame, smothering his otherwise efficient activity. At the end of the first, Estela would remind McKenna of his power with a single blow that left McKenna frozen as the bell rang.
The revered McKenna looked confused throughout the early rounds, with most of his shots not nearly as clean as those from Estela. The sheer size of McKenna would begin to win him exchanges, with Estela unable to pop shots under McKenna’s weight.
Most of the fight was fought within the pocket; pressure was the deciding factor. When distance became a factor, Estela gained a lead.
This was the pattern the fight took until the end of the fifth, when McKenna became comfortable with trading from a distance. From this moment onwards, it became a one-sided beating of a young talent, with the 23-year-old at the mercy of the ‘Silencer’.
The stoppage would come late into the final round, with Estela clearly having lost the ability to continue far before the 10th. Conway will face McKenna in the semi-final.
In the third of the four quarter-final bouts, County Durham’s young buck Mark Dickinson (7-0) was positioned against one-time Japanese and OPBF champion Kazuto Takesako (16-3-1), who received a champion’s welcome, despite losing two of his last three.
‘Boo Boo’, with only six bouts to his name, would be guided by heaps of amateur experience and coaches Tony Sims and John Ryder against the seasoned Japanese veteran. Takesako would eek out a controversial points decision in an extremely close brawl.
Dickinson asserted himself early against Takesako; an uppercut to the nose was a sterling highlight. This is not to say that Takesako was dominated throughout – it was a back-and-forth affair. Takesako began to lose shape as Dickinson remained consistent and clean; Takesako would often hit the back of the head during the clinches.
Despite failing to get the stoppage on his elder opponent, Dickinson is highlighting his pedigree early on in his professional career; Takesako would earn the narrow decision through activity and output alone, as his punches were soft and unshapely, whilst Dickinson was hurting Takesako throughout their time in the ring.
In the final performance of the night, the Japanese and WBO Asia Pacific middleweight champion Riku Kunimoto (12-1) would rematch the energetic-if-defenceless Eiki Kani (8-5-3). Repeat would prevail over revenge, with the straightforward Kunimoto simply proving too hard-hitting for the young Kani; who certainly has time to improve, given his age.
Kani was more varied and disciplined, certainly more-so than in their previous encounter, but Kunimoto’s jab and general speed was unrivalled. Ultimately, Kani appeared to have made far more adjustments than in their March bust-up, able to position himself within Kunimoto’s space and mix up his punches.
By the second round, Kunimoto pulled open Kani’s guard and found a way to allow his fast-flying shots to hit. Both fighters were leaning without moving, resulting in a relatively slow-paced fight; although Kani did attempt to change this from time-to-time, whereas Kunimoto was comfortable with this, as his shots benefitted from the pace and style.
Kani hit with thunderous intentions, with body shots hammering into the torso of the smaller champion. It was very much a shot-for-shot affair, a true Japanese title fight. The respectful warriors were on equal footing throughout the early half, with it remaining highly competitive.
Round four was a pivotal shift as Kani was significantly troubled by Kunimoto, in what seemed to be a play-for-play repeat of their last contentious encounter. Punch after punch, Kani could only move and stumble; surprisingly, the referee did not intervene and Kani would survive into the fifth, although not much longer.
With the win, Kunimoto will be gifted the opportunity to avenge the only loss on his record against Takesako in the semi-finals.
With the quarter-finals proving highly exciting and rousing throughout, Matchroom’s Japanese partnership has started off with a major success, one that looks to only improve moving into the semi-finals of Prizefighter Osaka.