2014 Shoot Boxing Japan Girls S-Cup Champion Yukari Yamaguchi claimed her first kickboxing title with her biggest victory to date tonight at J-Network: “J-Girls & J-Fight 2015 6th” in Tokyo, Japan. The 17-year-old Yamaguchi defeated Momi Furuta to win the J-Girls Mini Flyweight Championship.

Yamaguchi put together an impressive run this past year that culminated with her Girls S-Cup tournament victory, but she remained focused on fighting her way to a kickboxing title. Tonight, she outstruck longstanding champion Furuta for five rounds en route to capturing J-Girls title gold.

Yamaguchi (12-2-0 amateur, 8-1-0 pro KB/SB) repeatedly switched up her stance in the opening round and Furuta (24-14-6 KB/SB) was content to throw leg kicks from a distance. Yamaguchi snapped her head back with a front kick and she countered Furuta’s hooks with stiff jabs. Yamaguchi continued to showcase her boxing in the second round and she tagged Furuta with one-two combos. Furuta landed more kicks to Yamaguchi’s lead leg, which began to swell up and turn red, but Yamaguchi scored with straight lefts and more jabs.

In round three, Yamaguchi frequently changed her stance again in an effort to limit the effectiveness of Furuta’s kicks. Yamaguchi landed another nice front kick and more combinations. She set up straight left hands with quick jabs in the fourth round and Furuta tried to halt her momentum with leg kicks. Yamaguchi was unfazed and she landed two left hooks, but Furuta remained aggressive late in the round and she scored with leg kicks before the bell.

Yamaguchi began to throw leg kicks of her own in the final round and she used them to set up right-left combos. Furuta kicked from a distance until Yamaguchi jumped in with a knee to the body. The fight ended with Furuta throwing leg kicks, but they were not effective enough to sway the judges.

Scores were 50-48 and 50-47 twice for Yamaguchi, who became the new J-Girls Mini Flyweight Champion at 105 pounds. She has not lost since suffering her lone professional defeat against reigning J-Girls Pinweight Champion Chihiro Kira in December.

“I felt a champion’s strength from Momi tonight,” Yamaguchi said after the fight. “Finally, I won a belt after training since childhood. Thank you for the support and please come back again at the next event.”

Tonight’s event also featured a J-Girls pinweight title eliminator between Emi Matsushita and Fuuka Hoshino. Matsushita threw kicks throughout the opening round, but she was outboxed by Hoshino, who repeatedly scored with left jabs and straight rights. This continued in round two and Hoshino countered more of Matsushita’s kicks with combinations. Matsushita had greater success in round three by landing right hooks and a spinning back kick. The bout went to the judges, who returned scores of 29-28 Hoshino and 29-29 twice for a Majority Draw.

As the fight was billed as a title eliminator, a winner was needed and an extension round followed. In the fourth and deciding round, both women landed some solid combinations, but Matsushita was able to land with a greater volume. She countered Hoshino’s forward pressure with a late flurry before the bell. All three judges scored the final round 10-9 for Matsushita, who moves on to challenge Chihiro Kira.

In one of two remaining female fights on the card, Haruka Asai and Yuka Kitajima battled to a Majority Draw after three close rounds with scores of 30-29 and 29-29 twice. Both fighters were fatigued heading into a fourth and deciding round, but Asai’s punching combinations were strong enough to earn her a Unanimous Decision victory with scores of 10-9 thrice.

Opening up tonight’s action, Maki Goto earned a Unanimous Decision victory over C Chan with scores of 30-28 across the board in a 48kg women’s bout.

J-Network: “J-Girls & J-Fight 2015 6th” Results:

– Yukari Yamaguchi defeated Momi Furuta by Unanimous Decision (50-47, 50-47, 50-48) after five 2:00 rounds to become the new J-Girls Mini Flyweight Champion.

– Ren Tamashiro defeated Reo “Red” Kudo by KO (Punches) at 1:55 of round one.

– Emi Matsushita defeated Fuuka Hoshino by Unanimous Decision (10-9, 10-9, 10-9) after one 2:00 extension round and four rounds overall.

– Haruka Asai defeated Yuka Kitajima by Unanimous Decision (10-9, 10-9, 10-9) after one 2:00 extension round and four rounds overall.

– Yuuki Miyazaki defeated Brother Ryo by Split Decision (30-29, 30-29, 29-30) after three 3:00 rounds.

– Devin Peoples defeated Kazuki Ozawa by KO (Punches) at 2:59 of round two.

– Takumi Sanekata defeated Yuuichi Wasada by Unanimous Decision (30-28, 30-28, 30-29) after three 3:00 rounds.

– Yuuya defeated Hidenori Sakamoto by Split Decision (30-29, 30-29, 28-29) after three 3:00 rounds.

– Yuuta Yoshida defeated Satoshi Kato by KO (Punch) at 2:34 of round one.

– Taketo Kitada defeated Takahisa Hamasaki by Split Decision (30-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three 3:00 rounds.

– Satoru defeated Misato Yokoyama by KO (Punch) at 1:23 of round two.

– Maki Goto defeated C Chan by Unanimous Decision (30-28, 30-28, 30-28) after three 2:00 rounds.

(Photo Credit: Bout Review)