Jurai Ishii's Dignified KO! Toma Kuroda's Unexpected Struggle... [ONE Friday Fights 126] Amateur Fight Review Vol. 21

September 26 - ONE Friday Fights 126

Today's card is too luxurious no matter where you look.
The main event of Nabil Anane vs Ilias Ennahachi is a given, but it's also packed with
Fierce Fight King Seksan vs the cute-smiling Suablack, as well as legend
Sam-A, and Liu Meiyang, who defeated Noiri.

And the Japanese fighters participating this time are also impressive.
Last time, Jurai Ishii, who KO'd his opponent with a beautiful Muay Thai style, and former K-1 Bantamweight Champion
Toma Kuroda will appear. What kind of fights will these two show us!

◆ Jurai Ishii vs. Enzo Cillari

Last time, Ishii showed an overwhelming difference in technique and won by KO.

I'm looking forward to seeing if he can warm up the venue again with a KO victory today.

His opponent, Enzo Cillari, is on a two-fight winning streak and has also won by KO against Thai fighters.

Cillari keeps a fine rhythm and moves his head, so he seems hard to catch.
He lands precise attacks.

Ishii lands middle kicks while also throwing punches.
He seems more punch-focused than last time.

In the 2nd round, Ishii's punches started landing on Cillari quite a bit, and
I felt the tempo increased.
Ishii's powerful high kicks look painful even through the guard.
Then, just before the end of the round, Ishii's left straight caught Cillari and scored a knockdown.
His punches are so powerful that it's hard to believe he's in a lighter weight class, and the lethality seems incredible.

In the 3rd round, Ishii came to finish Cillari off.
Cillari's body shook with every blow from the full-throttle Ishii.
Finally, Ishii's left straight caught Cillari's chin, and seeing that he was hurt, he rushed in and won by TKO.

Not only is his attack tempo fast, but each shot is powerful, so it seems he will continue to rack up KOs.
Ishii has won the Chatri bonus for the third consecutive time.

◆ Toma Kuroda vs. Adam

Toma Kuroda's ONE Kickboxing debut.
Valentine Hosokawa's video made it seem like he was having a hard time with contract issues with K-1, but
it looks like he was able to graduate from K-1 safely.
I've never actually seen Kuroda fight, so I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of match it will be.

His opponent, Adam, is making his kickboxing debut.
A 17-year-old young fighter. He's the same age as my eldest son (lol).
Adam is taller than Kuroda.
I wonder if he can adapt to kickboxing.

Kuroda has a classic kickboxing style, throwing punches while consistently landing low kicks.

Adam has a style where a Muay Thai fighter has adapted to kickboxing, focusing on middle kicks and punches.
It's a style I really like.

Kuroda launches fast-paced attacks, but he seems to be having trouble with Adam's long-reach punches and middle kicks.

Adam starts with middle kicks followed by one-twos, and
he lands straight punches while retracting the leg he used for the middle kick, effectively keeping Kuroda out of his preferred range.

I really love this combination starting from a middle kick that Muay Thai fighters often use, so before I knew it, I started rooting for Adam (laughs).

The second round ended with Adam still in control of the fight.

In the third round, Kuroda closed the distance at the start and hammered away with attacks.
Just when I thought it had become Kuroda's range, Adam took the distance back with his middle kicks.

The result of the match was a decision win for Adam.
To defeat Toma Kuroda at the young age of 17.
He is definitely a fighter to look forward to.

◆ Conclusion

Toma Kuroda's defeat was a major upset for the Japanese fans, but it seems like losing the first match is becoming a jinx for those transferring from K-1.
However, a promising fighter like Adam has emerged, which adds to the excitement.

I'd like to see Jurai Ishii fight a Thai fighter next.
I feel that for a main contract, it's not just about the fight performance but also about who you have beaten,
so I look forward to seeing how the matchmaking develops from here.