WBA Super IBF world bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (27 = Ohashi) was fascinated with sparring. In the main event, he faced current WBO Asia Pacific class champion and former WBC flyweight champion Daigo Higa (25 = Ambition), and in the last three times, he removed his helmet and showed a encounter at close range. With a sharp right hand and repeated punches, he showed a difference in technique and speed, and rocked the crowd with nearly 2,500 people.

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It was a “Gachi showdown” as he had predicted. Last 3 times. When I took off the helmet that Inoue was wearing, there was great applause. In the tense atmosphere, Higa retreated with a left hook and a strong one-two. Even with the rope on his back, he looked at his expression and the opponent’s strike, hitting the upper left and right repeatedly and hitting the right hook on his chin. “It is a solid event. The seriousness was 100%. It is an event for those who come, so I am responsible and wanted them to return with satisfaction.” Higa’s face was tinged red in the middle of the fight.

He has trained with Higa in 17 years of the super flyweight era. Although he nominated himself and it was the first sparring match in about 4 years, “The impression is the same as at that time. To be honest, there is no merit in this sparring and I have to show the difference in level. Yes. Still, my evaluation will stand. I had a good sense of tension. ” I could allow myself to make full use of my own technique, like shifting posture from left to right and screwing one-two or left body while maintaining distance once or twice.

Inoue, who won seven KOs against Moloney (Australia) in Las Vegas last October, has a strong nomination bout with IBF No. 1 Michael Dasmarinas (28 = Philippines) in the next round. Das Marinas is on the left, so he says, “I’ll switch (practice partner) to southpaw.” He showed an attitude of proceeding firmly with the preparations.[Eiji Fujinaka]

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