KO Win, Katsuma Akitsugi Heats Up Bantamweight Competition

Winning by KO, Katsuma Akitsugi heats up the competition bantamweight boxing After Naoya Inoue left, Katsuma Akitsugi became the new bantamweight contender after his impressive ninth-round technical knockout victory over Jesus Ramirez Rubio at the “Wednesday Night Fights” event at the ProBox TV Events Center, Plant City, Florida, United States.

Akitsugi, who is 11-0-1, 2 KOs and now trains in Hollywood, California, started the fight quickly with body shots and maintained a fast pace. Rubio (22-4-3, 16 KOs), often referred to as Eduardo Ramirez, struggled to land effective punches.

In the second round, Ramirez, 28, of Mexico, caught Akitsugi with a right hand that drew the crowd’s attention. Akitsugi finished the round by pushing Ramirez back, showing his willingness to fight on the ground despite his low KO percentage.

In the fourth round, Akitsugi dropped Ramirez with a left hand that knocked him off balance from a wild punch that Ramirez threw as his gloves hit the canvas. Akitsugi’s timing and rhythm were evident as he forced Ramirez to back away, taking away the volume of Ramirez’s attacks with a series of clever punches.

Akitsugi’s consistent aggression caused Ramirez’s head to bounce back repeatedly, while a Ramirez punch that landed showed off Akitsugi’s formidable chin strength. A clash of heads in the seventh round left Akitsugi with a cut over his right eye, which only seemed to fuel his desire to attack. Despite the blood, Akitsugi continued to dominate Ramirez, the harder-hitting fighter.

Akitsugi showed solid fundamentals and good balance, throwing his punches freely and overwhelming Ramirez. In the ninth round, Akitsugi landed a flurry of punches, with Ramirez unable to respond for 30-40 seconds, leading referee Michael DeJesus to stop the fight at 1:48 of the round.

The bout highlights Akitsugi’s potential as an exciting new name in the bantamweight division. In particular, Akitsugi is coming off a month-long training camp, one of the longest of his career, and is coming off a two-year layoff. Akitsugi has defeated undefeated men such as Gregory Morales, Rasheen Brown, Eros Correa and Arnold Dinong on the regional circuit and has been one of the underdogs on television.

(aww)