Despite a rocky start, former Shoot Boxing Japan Women’s Flyweight Champion Ai Takahashi rallied to earn her fifth straight victory on Saturday night at Shoot Boxing 2015: Act.2 in Tokyo, Japan. Takahashi narrowly edged out veteran kickboxer Kanako Taniyama in a featured matchup.
Taniyama got off to an excellent start in Saturday’s fight and she took an early lead on the scorecards by dropping Takahashi in the opening round. Takahashi scored a knockdown of her own in round two and she kept the pressure on with aggressive striking as Taniyama faded in the final round.
Takahashi (22-5-0 SB/KB) pressed forward early on and put Taniyama (11-3-0 SB/KB) on the defensive, but Taniyama displayed some nice counterstriking. She landed straight right hands and kept Takahashi at bay with front kicks. When the fight entered close quarters, Taniyama landed a powerful counter left hook that dropped Takahashi and resulted in a standing eight count.
Knowing that she was behind after the opening round, Takahashi was even more aggressive in round two. She walked Taniyama down throughout the round and put together quick combinations of punches and occasional kicks to Taniyama’s body. Late in the round, she landed a right hook that floored Taniyama and resulted in a standing count. The bout was even through two rounds.
Takahashi’s superior conditioning ultimately proved to be the difference maker in the third and final round. Taniyama slowed down and Takahashi punished her with flurries of punches and a series of hard knees. She was unable to secure another knockdown before the final bell, but her striking dominance was easily enough to propel her to a close but well-deserved victory.
All three judges scored the competitive bout 28-27 for Takahashi, who has now won five in a row. She remains one of Shoot Boxing’s top female competitors.
Winner: Ai Takahashi by Unanimous Decision (28-27, 28-27, 28-27) after three 3:00 rounds. She improves her combined shoot boxing and kickboxing record to 22-5-0.
(Photo Credit: Shoot Boxing)