Three-time Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup Champion Rena Kubota picked up her seventh straight win on Saturday night at Shoot Boxing Battle Summit: “Ground Zero Tokyo 2013” in Tokyo, Japan. The 22-year-old star narrowly outpointed late replacement opponent Maylee Won. Pomas of Thailand.
In a second female fight on Saturday’s card, former Shoot Boxing Japan Women’s Flyweight Champion Ai Takahashi rebounded from a loss in this year’s Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup 53.5kg final. Takahashi defeated veteran kickboxer Miyo Yoshida by Unanimous Decision in an action-packed bout.
Kubota (23-5-1 SB/KB) was originally set to face WPMF Women’s Flyweight Champion Phetyordying SithArchanSupoj on Saturday, but the fight was changed on very short notice and Pomas (33-7-0 KB, 0-1-0 SB) stepped into the bout in place of her Thai compatriot. Pomas missed weight for the fight, but Kubota declined a point advantage and the fighters started out at even strength on the scorecards.
Pomas opened the action with a series of body kicks in round one, but Kubota pressured her with straight rights and left hooks to the body. She caught a kick from Pomas late in the round and landed another hard right hand. In round two, Pomas landed leg kicks and Kubota once again pressed forward with punches. She landed a right cross and targeted Pomas’s body with left hooks in the final seconds.
Kubota threw leg kicks of her own in round three and she put together quick combinations of left hooks and straight rights. Pomas clinched, but neither woman was able to mount any offence in close. A stalemate ensued and the referee intervened to separate the fighters in the final minute.
After three close rounds, all three judges scored the fight 30-29 for Kubota, who earned a narrow victory in a bout that was more competitive than some had anticipated. Kubota has not lost since September 2011 when she was upset by former Invicta FC champ Jessica Penne in Penne’s shoot boxing debut.
Takahashi (18-5-0 SB/KB) and Yoshida (8-4-0 SB/KB) exchanged jabs early in their preliminary card bout and Takahashi followed with a front kick. She landed one-two combinations of jabs and straight right hands, and her quickness allowed her to take an advantage in the striking exchanges. Yoshida caught a kick in round two, but Takahashi again used her superior speed to outstrike Yoshida with front kicks and combinations. She sprawled to avoid a Yoshida throw attempt late in the round.
Takahashi remained effective with front kicks and flurries of punches in the final round and Yoshida struggled to land anything damaging in return. Takahashi scored with lead left hooks and right crosses to the body. When Yoshida did throw combinations, Takahashi countered with straight right hands.
The judges returned scores of 30-29 and 30-28 twice for Takahashi, who has now won 11 of her past 14 fights. Her three defeats during that time all came against top MMA prospect and two-time Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup 53.5kg Champion Mizuki Inoue.
(Photo Credit: Shoot Boxing)