In the Japanese and OPBF flyweight title match held as the first bout of “Lemino BOXING Phoenix Battle 152” at Korakuen Hall on the 24th, Japanese champion Sho Nogami (RK Kamata) won a 3-0 unanimous decision over Japanese No. 1 Shota Asami (MR). Nogami successfully completed the first defense of his Japanese title and captured the vacant OPBF crown.
粘る浅海に判定勝ちの野上㊨
Asami, looking to close the distance with the southpaw Nogami, attempted to break through with long right hands, but Nogami kept his body in constant motion to prevent Asami from finding his target while peppering him with sharp jabs. When Asami lunged in aggressively, Nogami neutralized him with counter left straights and right hooks. By the fifth round, Nogami’s scoring punches caused swelling under Asami’s left eye. With Asami failing to initiate enough offense, Nogami’s performance in the first half was nearly flawless (all judges scoring it 50–45).
In the sixth, Asami refused to back down and pressed forward relentlessly. He crowded Nogami, increasing his volume in an attempt to smother the champion’s polished boxing. While Nogami fired back while maneuvering away, he could not deflect every blow. In the ninth, Asami pushed hard the moment Nogami grimaced from an accidental headbutt. Nevertheless, Nogami refused to allow a decisive blow, and in the final round, he punctuated the exchange of leather by landing clean left straights to secure the round.
The final scores were 99–91 across the board for Nogami. After the fight, he offered a self-critique: “I’m sorry I couldn’t get the KO I was aiming for. I was able to fight my way in the first half, but in the second half, the distance was closed and I couldn’t box exactly as I wanted.” He also expressed his desire to become a triple-crown champion in the future. Nogami moves to 8-0 (4 KOs), while Asami falls to 14-14 (7 KOs).
