Sota Nakayama
(22), winner of the All-Japan Amateur Championships, and Yuma Kojo (18), winner of the Inter-High Championships, both took the Class B professional qualifying exam on the 24th. Both have turned pro from Teiken Gym, and the results will be announced on the 25th.
プロテストを受験し、メディアの取材に応じる中山㊨と古城
Nakayama, a super bantamweight, is the eldest of the “Nakayama Brothers of Fukuoka” and has been a household name since his youth. He compiled a career record of 70 wins (30 KOs and 8 RSCs) and 8 losses while attending Higashi-Fukuoka High School and Komazawa University. He won the 2023 All-Japan Championship in the lightweight division. His youngest brother, Seiya, is affiliated with Ohashi Gym and is scheduled to make his professional debut on August 19. Meanwhile, the middle brother, Koichi (Komazawa University), is aiming for an Olympic gold medal, and Sota’s ambition is for all three brothers to become world champions.
His opponent in the practical exam was Riku Asai (2 wins, 2 KOs). Nakayama displayed a flawless exchange of blows while skillfully managing the distance. Standing 173 centimeters tall, Nakayama is a right-handed boxer-fighter, and his professional trainer is Senichi Tanaka.
シャドーを行う中山
Featherweight Furujo is a southpaw standing nearly 180 centimeters tall. He won three national titles (light welterweight and lightweight) while at Toyokuni Gakuen High School in Fukuoka, and after graduating, he moved to Tokyo to join the Teiken Gym. His amateur record stands at 45 wins (29 by KO or RSC) and 4 losses.
Although he fights in a southpaw boxer-style, he is also highly regarded for his natural punching power. On this day, he faced Katsuya Fukui, a Japanese super-bantamweight-ranked fighter, in his practical exam. Despite his tall stature, he demonstrated a keen awareness of mixing up his punches, targeting not only the face but also the lower body. As a professional, he is trained by Carlos Linares.
福井を相手に実技試験に臨んだ古城㊨
According to Jim, if both fighters pass their tests successfully, they plan to make their professional debuts around winter. While the two rising stars’ goal as professionals is, of course, to become “world champions,” they were strangely modest about how the tests went, with Nakayama saying, “I think I’ll be fine,” and Kojo adding, “I’ll probably be fine.”
