Hirotaka Urabe Upsets Naoki Ishikawa at KRUSH

Last Updated on Monday, 20 December 2010 22:06 Thursday, 16 December 2010 03:48

Written by Dave Walsh

KRUSH held their 60kgs and 55kgs tournament quarterfinals this weekend, with K-1 Koshien Champion Hirotaka Urabe upsetting Naoki Ishikawa to move forward. This show helped to illustrate just how big of a deal these Koshien tournaments that K-1 has run can be and how they can impact the kickboxing world. Urabe wasn't the only Koshien fighter to participate and win.

The new 60kg tournament favorite should be 2009 Koshien champion Masaaki Noiri, who defeated Junpei Aotsu via decision.  Noiri has been on a great streak this year, winning a number of tough fights in Krush, including defeating Hirotaka Urabe at Krush.10.  A rematch between the two is a real possibility as the tournament progresses.

In other 60kg action, Yuji Takeuchi TKO'd Yosuke Mizuochi, while Daisuke Uematsu, the man K-1 once fancied as their 63kg version of Masato, lost to Dynamite Yuta by KO in round 1.  Not sure where Uematsu will go from here, as he seems unable to hang at the upper levels at this point.

The other big fight on the card was in the 55kg division, where Shootboxing champion Ryuya Kusakabe faced RISE champion Nobuchiko Terado.  In the end, it was Shootboxing reigning supreme, as Kusakabe took home the win, earning himself a spot as the 55kg tournament favorite.  Also advancing in this division were Hiroaki Mizuhara, Shota Takiya, and KENJI.

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