By Takahiro Onaga

In the US boxing on TV can often be behind a paywall with subscription services and pay-per-view all limiting viewership of a big bout. In Japan however the limiter can be something very different with region actually being the key. That was the case this afternoon when TVOsaka allowed only fight fans in the Kansai region to watch the WBO Minimumweight title bout from Hyogo. Whilst that might not sound like a major issue the lack of coverage in Kanto, on a channel from Tokyo, meant that even getting a stream for the fight was nigh on impossible.

If you were in Kansai though, you were fine and you were able to catch the bout live from the Komagatani Gym in Hyogo.

The bout in question saw 18 year old Riku Kano [Taisei Gym] fighting to secure his legacy and become the youngest Japanese world champion ever, breaking the record of Hiroki Ioka, the uncle of Kazut Ioka. In the opposite corner to Kano was the eternal warrior spirit Katsunari Takayama [Nakazato gym], who was seeking yet another world title in his illustrious career and to prove that he is still world class despite having had one of the hardest careers of any active fighter.

The fight started, like many, with a slow tempo. The two men trying to figure the other out. For Kano it was ideal, giving him the time and space to land his straight left hand that caught the eye and impressed, for Takayama however it was just the first round and just a chance to get the motor going.

In the second round Takayama had that motor going and was on the offensive, taking the fight to the teenager. Kano had his moments of success with his counter left hands but was put under so much pressure that those counters were over-shadowed and the round was a clear one for the veteran, who was showing his experience against the youngster. The pressure was upped again in round until a clash of heads opened up a cut over Takayama's left eye.

Takayama being cut is of course nothing new. We saw him suffer fight ending cuts in recent bouts against Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr, a cut that was incorrectly attributed to a clash of heads, and tio Jose Argumeda, and prior to those bouts he had had 4 other bouts end due to head clashes, including an IBF title fight in 2011 with Nkosinathi Joyi.

Instead of fighting scared, like many do when cut, the blood seemed to inspire Takayama who fought with a real sense of urgency. It seemed like he didn't realise it had been caused by a clash of heads, despite the referee making it clear, and he really went hard at Kano to secure round 3.

The fourth was more of the same from Takayama who was starting to bully the teenager. Kano seemed to be assured of himself, fighting back at times, holding at others, but failing to do enough to claim the rounds which were slipping away. Takayama, still seemingly unaware that the cut was ruled accidental, was determined to bring the fight and cornered the youngster several times.

With the fight going into round 5 it was now “official”, we would have a result. Takayama continued to press the action, with the counters becoming less and less frequent. The veteran seemed to be taking the bout by the scruff of the neck and wasn't giving the young, inexperienced fighter the chance to think about returning fire. In fact it looked like Kano was almost hoping to Takayama to run out of steam whilst the cut worsened.

The cut was beginning to look like it was set to curtail the bout at the end of round 5 as the TV cameras showed it in all it's bloody, messy glory. And it was bad. Takayama, being Takayama, continued to take the fight to his younger foe at the start of the sixth round until the referee took him over to the ringside doctor for a second inspection. This time the damage was too bad to continue.

The veteran looked destroyed, like a man who had given his all to the sport only to be thwarted by the accumulated scar tissue. The referee however knew the cut was from a clash of heads, something he had ruled immediately, and had told the judges to “score the round”. That left us going to the score-cards which read 59-56, 59-58 and 59-55 to Takayama .

With this win the “Lightning Kid”, who is now 33, has moved to 31-8-0-1 (12) and become a world champion for the fourth, or fifth depending on how you view the WBC interim title, time and reclaimed the WBO title he gave up last year. It wasn't one of his more memorable victories but sees him returning to the top level after an 8 month break from the ring, in the wake of his loss to Jose Argumedo in December.

For Kano however there is heart break. The 18 year old, now 10-2-1 (5), was seeking a new Japanese record for the youngest world champion. Had he won that record would have been set however the loss destroys the dream he and mentor Taisei Marumoo shared together. It's hard to imagine that Kano won't bounce back in the future, but for his dreams to end due to his opponent being cut will be a bitter pill to swallow.