The RISE World Series 2023 1st Round went down yesterday at the Osaka Edion Arena in Osaka, Japan. The event was centered around the quarter-finals of the 54 KG Grand Prix, which featured three RISE champions – Shiro, Toki Tamaru, and Kazuki Osaki, Thai stadium champions and top fighters from Europe. In the headlining bout, Kento Haraguchi took on another GLORY veteran, Anvar Boynazarov.
HARAGUCHI VS. BOYNAZAROV
Kento Haraguchi came out blasting, peppering Anvar Boynazarov with kicks. The former GLORY veteran has been out of the kickboxing ring for more than four years, and the ring rust showed. After the fight, Haraguchi made another declaration towards GLORY, hinting that he wants a second shot at Featherweight champion Petchpanomrung.
"I think I was able to show my strength, and although fighters come in many different colors, I only have strength. I want to prove that Haraguchi is strong both overseas and in Japan. Last week, Kaito Ono announced that he will fight for the GLORY title, but I also want to go."
OSAKI VS. LAHMAR
Penned as a mismatch from the start, pound-for-pound great Kazuki Osaki took on the inexperienced Aiman Lahmar. The 17-year-old Enfusion fighter came into the fight with only four professional fights, all of them being knockout wins. Nonetheless, the young athlete made an impressive RISE debut, pressuring from the get-go and landing clean on the perplexed Osaki. Once the RISE champion found his groove however, the tide started to turn. Osaki picked his shots, connecting with clean left hooks to both body and head of Lahmar. In the second round, the Japanese fighter started to mix in calf kicks, dropping Lahmar thrice, leaving the referee no chance but to stop the fight.
After the fight, Osaki acknowledged his opponent's performance, "To be honest, I wanted to beat him in the first round, but my opponent was very strong".
SHIRO VS. SEONE
In the closest of the quarter-finals, Shiro edged out Ruben Seoane. The Spanish fighter did a great job countering Shiro's aggression with a multitude of body shots. Shiro had to dig deep, while mostly staying on the outside and scoring with low kicks.
TAMARU VS. PETCHSILA
The last twelve months have been great for Toki Tamaru, who's now riding a four-fight win streak with a first-round stoppage over Petchsila. The hand speed between the two was apparent from the start, but what was most impressive was Tamaru's ability to catch and counter most of the Thais heavy kicks. After tenderizing his midsection with multiple body shots, it was a knee that finished the job.
KUMANDOI VS. KLOUA
The lanky Mohamed Kloua started the fight strong, working the Thai into a corner and landing widely with a mix of knees, low kicks and looping punches. Kumandoi tried to dictate the pace with his middle kicks, but they were seemingly rendered useless as Kloua kept marching on. Once Kumandoi started to switch to low kicks, things started to change. The European fighter's aggression started to seize, giving Kumandoi enough space to work boxing combinations into his low kicks. All three judges ringside agreed - a unaninimous decision win for Kumandoi.
THE NEXT ROUND
The semi-finals of the 54 KG Grand Prix will be held at Ota Ward General Gymnasium in Tokyo on Saturday, August 26. Kumandoi will take on Shiro, and Kazuki Osaki will fight Toki Tamaru.
The finals are rumored to be held around November or December.
RISE WORLD SERIES 2023 1ST ROUND RESULTS
MAIN CARD
Kento Haraguchi def. Anvar Boynazarov – KO at 1:31 of R1
Shiro def. Ruben Seoane – Unanimous Decision
Kazuki Osaki def. Aiman Lahmar – KO at 1:41 of R2
Toki Tamaru def. Petchsila – KO at 2:57 of R1
Kumandoi def. Mohamed Kloua – Unanimous Decision
Chan Hyung Lee def. Yuma Yamaguchi – KO at 1:11 of R1
Jin Mandokoro def. Kazane – Extra Round Split Decision
Ryota Nakano def. Lee Sunghyun – KO at 1:03 of R2
Keisuke Monguchi def. Kyo Kawakami – Majority Decision
Yuya def. Shoma – Unanimous Decision
Ryuki def. Hamza Hazzar – Unanimous Decision
Riku Kazushima def. Hiroki Matsuoka – Unanimous Decision
Momu Tsukomoto def. Toshihiro Yamakawa – KO at 2:18 of R1
Yuki Kyotani def. Shoma – Unanimous Decision
PRELIMS
Shota def. Keyaki Yamamoto – KO at 2:01 of R2
Hotaru vs. Seina – Exhibition
