Koshien Fighters Reign Supreme at Krush

One of the notable stories of 2010 has been the rise of the lower weight classes in kickboxing, particularly in Japan.  With K-1 adding their new 63kg division, and companies like RISE, Krush, and Shootboxing promoting these lower divisions, a new crop of fighters has risen to prominence.  So it's only appropriate that one of the year's final shows was Krush's 60 and 55kg title tournament quarter-finals this past weekend.

At that Krush show, we saw not just the celebration of new weight classes - we also saw more steps in the continued dominance of the new generation Koshien fighters at these weights.  Earlier this year, as the K-1 63kg division began to pick up speed, there was a crop of somewhat veteran talent being heavily hyped, many of whom came from AJKF.  This included names like Masahiro Yamamoto, Naoki Ishikawa, and Haruaki Otsuki.  But throughout the year, almost without fail, these names fell aside, replaced by a new names like Masaaki Noiri, Kizamon Saiga, Koya Urabe - all young fighters who came to their professional careers through the K-1 Koshien system.

In the main event at Krush, another blow was dealt to the old guard, as Naoki Ishikawa was defeated by Koshien's Hirotaka Urabe.  This definitely is an upset, as Urabe was knocked out of the K-1 tournament in the opening round.  Many fans also felt that Ishikawa was simply outsized at the K-1 limit of 63kg, but here he fought at 60kg, and was again defeated.  With that, one of the old guard's favorites to take home the Krush gold is out.

The new 60kg tournament favorite should be 2009 Koshien champion Masaaki Noiri, who defeated Junpei Aotsu via decision.  Noiri has been on a great streak this year, winning a number of tough fights in Krush, including defeating Hirotaka Urabe at Krush.10.  A rematch between the two is a real possibility as the tournament progresses.

In other 60kg action, Yuji Takeuchi TKO'd Yosuke Mizuochi, while Daisuke Uematsu, the man K-1 once fancied as their 63kg version of Masato, lost to Dynamite Yuta by KO in round 1.  Not sure where Uematsu will go from here, as he seems unable to hang at the upper levels at this point.

The other big fight on the card was in the 55kg division, where Shootboxing champion Ryuya Kusakabe faced RISE champion Nobuchiko Terado.  In the end, it was Shootboxing reigning supreme, as Kusakabe took home the win, earning himself a spot as the 55kg tournament favorite.  Also advancing in this division were Hiroaki Mizuhara, Shota Takiya, and KENJI.

Finally, in non-tournament action, K-1 veteran Keiji Ozaki won an extension round decision over Toshiki Taniyama, the man who beat Hirotaka Urabe in K-1 earlier this year.

The two tournaments will conclude on March 19 where we will see a final 4 for at 55kg consisting of: Kusakabe, Mizuhara, Takiya, and KENJI.  On the 60kg side it will be H. Urabe, Noiri, Takeuchi, and Yuta.  A lot of great potential there, particularly in the stacked 60kg division.  I'd love to see Noiri v. Takeuchi in particular at some point, and could see almost anyone taking home the title.