The pre-fight press conference for “Prime Video Boxing 15” (11th, Ryogoku Kokugikan) was held in Tokyo on the 8th. The participating athletes expressed their determination, including Tenshin Nasukawa (Teiken) and Juan Estrada (Mexico) for the WBC Bantamweight title eliminator main event; Tomoya Tsuboi (Teiken) and Pedro Guevara (Mexico) for the super flyweight 10-rounder; Kyosuke Takami (Teiken) and Angel Ayala (Mexico) for the flyweight 10-rounder; and Katsuma Akitsugi (Japan) and Jose Calderon (Mexico) for the bantamweight 10-rounder.
試合前会見に出席した出場選手たち photo/Naoki Fukuda
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman also attended the press conference, stating, “Bouts between Japan and Mexico have long been guaranteed to be spectacular matches.” Every fight on this card features a clash between athletes from both countries. President Sulaiman further clarified that the winner of Estrada vs. Nasukawa will become the mandatory challenger for the winner of the May 2 title match between champion Takuma Inoue (Ohashi) and challenger Kazuto Ioka (Shisei).
On this day, Nasukawa once again described the days since his fight against Takuma, saying, “I have challenged myself in order to change.” Regarding fight predictions for the Estrada bout, he declared, “To hell with all that—I’m sticking my tongue out at it. I will definitely win.” He added, “I don’t want to lose to myself anymore. I’ve steeled myself.”
Estrada also repeatedly declared his intent to win. Stating that he must win this fight to achieve his goal of becoming a three-division champion, he said, “This is a test for me as well. I will certainly win.”
Tsuboi revealed he is “excited” for the fight against Guevara, stating, “While maintaining a sense of respect, I want to dominantly control the match on that day.” It remains to be seen if he will completely dominate a former world champion following his victory over Cuadras. Guevara, a former two-division champion returning to Japan for the first time in a while, said, “[Tsuboi] has beaten Cuadras, so I know he is a very strong fighter.”
Both Takami and Ayala are returning to the ring for the first time since losing their world titles. For Takami, this is also his first fight moving up in weight, and he stated, “I want to fight a match that is typical of Ryosuke Takami. Ending it with a knockout is best, but I’ve trained to ensure I can clearly surpass him technically regardless of how the fight unfolds.” Meanwhile, Ayala voiced his fighting spirit for his comeback, saying, “I want to put on a good fight, but more than anything, I have a strong desire never to lose again.”
Akitsugi, who has won 14 consecutive fights (4 KOs) since debuting in the US, opened with a fresh remark for his first match in Japan: “I’m not used to this kind of press conference, so I’m nervous.” However, he showed plenty of ambition, adding, “Since it’s my first time in a Japanese ring, I don’t just want to win; I want to leave a strong impression.” It will be interesting to see what kind of match he has against Calderon, who recently lost to Riku Masuda (Teiken) via technical decision.
