J-Girls Mini Flyweight Champion Momi Furuta returns to shoot boxing competition on May 24th in a featured matchup at “J-Girls X Shoot Boxing” in Tokyo, Japan. Furuta is set to face off against shoot boxing veteran Akari “Union” Nakamura, who brings a five-fight winning streak into the 48kg bout.
Furuta bounced back from a WPMF title loss in December by defeating Hye-Young Park this past month. The standout striker holds a notable 2013 shoot boxing win over two-time JKS48 champion Mio Tsumura. Nakamura lost a decision to Tsumura in early 2014, but has since won five in a row.
Furuta (22-11-6 SB/KB) has been one of Japan’s top female kickboxers since turning pro in late 2006. The reigning 48kg J-Girls champion has faced and defeated most of the top contenders on the J-Girls roster. In February 2013, Furuta made her shoot boxing debut against highly-touted rising star Tsumura and handed Tsumura her first professional defeat. Following a series of kickboxing matches, Furuta returned to shoot boxing in August and dropped a close decision to Tsumura in a 48kg Girls S-Cup semi-final rematch. She is 2-1 in kickboxing competition since then and defeated Park on April 29th.
Nakamura (12-6-1 SB/KB) encountered mixed success early in her pro career, but the skilled young fighter has steadily climbed up the J-Girls and Shoot Boxing ranks with a series of victories during the past two years. After falling to Tsumura in February 2014, Nakamura picked up a decision victory over Yuuki Kira in a non-tournament bout on the Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup card in August. She racked up three more victories under shoot boxing rules and most recently defeated Fuka Saito on April 19th in a J-Girls kickboxing match. Nakamura now seeks her biggest win to date when she takes on Furuta.
“J-Girls X Shoot Boxing” takes place on May 24th at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan. The event also features two previously announced women’s matchups. In one, the aforementioned Mio Tsumura takes on Kai-Ting “Kill Bee” Zhuang. Erika Maruyama battles Naoko “Bovy” Okada in the other.
Hirofumi Sugi contributed to this report.