Tape Delay Kickboxing 31: RISE 169 - 2023-06-23
RISE has a routine event the week before their big one and it shows. Not a lot to love here, but hey, it's free.
Volume 31
This series shall, where possible, allow you to watch the shows in order as if you were watching live, without spoilers.
Beyond Kickboxing event calendar: https://beyondkick.com/schedule
RISE 169 - 2023-06-23
Korakuen Hall, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan
RISE holds the semi-finals of a tournament to crown a new Light Heavyweight champion. There was only one previous RISE light heavyweight champion, Makoto Uehara, who won the title in 2013, never defended it, and vacated it in 2016 when he left for K-1.
Showing once again that “weights above like 140 in Japan are a joke,” RISE brings a motley crew of contenders for this belt. In the international division, Kontualai is listed in the RISE press story as being known as “Thailand’s worst fighter.” He has previously won some Asian regional titles in boxing. His opponent, Fernando Almeida, has won 198 lb titles in WGP and was sent by RISE welter champion Danilo Zanolini.
In the Japanese half of the bracket, 24-year-old Kenta Nanbara is the biggest prospect in the tournament, with a 6-1 record featuring 6 KO wins along with a KO loss to Cally Gibrainn. He knocked out Ryo Aitaka with a knee at RISE El Dorado in March, and is ranked as the #3 heavyweight in RISE. His opponent, Kazuki Irita, is undefeated at 6-0 with 6 KOs, but he is also 37 years old and making his RISE debut.
RISE Basics: Most fights are 3 3-minute rounds with a single 3-minute extra round if it’s a draw. 3 knockdowns in a round is a TKO, or 2 if it’s a tournament fight. Judges are fairly liberal with 10-10 round scoring, so you will often see fights scored 30-30 or 30-29. K-1 Kickboxing rules: knees are legal, elbows are not. Clinch must be broken with an immediate strike or the ref will separate. Title matches are five rounds and use open scoring.
Unfortunately, the files RISE put on Youtube this time don’t have graphics or commentary. Sorry. Fights highlighted in bold were ones that I found particularly entertaining.
Yun Toshima (1-0-1, 0 KO) vs. Runa Okumura (1-1, 0 KO) (108)
Takahiro Hosono (3-5, 2 KO) vs. TAKU (2-0, 1 KO) (139)
Tomoya Fukui (4-3, 1 KO) vs. Ryoma Takeuchi (1-2, 1 KO) (121)
Ryu Matsunaga (3-3, 1 KO) vs. Tsubasa Wakahara (4-3-1, 0 KO) (121)
#10 Kaito Tsuzuki (4-3-1, 2 KO) vs. #12 Ryunosuke Matsushita (3-0, 0 KO) (127)
#14 Chiharu Higuchi (4-1, 2 KO) vs. #12-132 Ryuto Shiokawa (3-3, 1 KO) (139)
#6 Taisei Iwago (9-6-1, 3 KO) vs. #7 Shigeki Fujii (6-2, 1 KO) (132)
#5 Ryujin Nasukawa (4-2, 1 KO) vs. Jo Aizawa (1-0-1, 1 KO) (114)
#5 Yugo Kato (23-5, 11 KO) vs. Yosuke (12-17, 6 KO) (121)
Semi-Final: 2nd Light Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semifinals #1: Kontualai JM boxinggym (41-10) vs. Fernando Almeida (27-13, 16 KO) (198)
Main Event: 2nd Light Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semifinals #2: #3-Heavy Kenta Nabara (6-1, 6 KO) vs. Kazuki Irita (6-0, 6 KO) (198)