Rena Kubota, Mio Tsumura Win Titles At 2015 SB Girls S-CupOne of Shoot Boxing’s biggest stars, four-time Girls S-Cup winner Rena Kubota, captured another title belt tonight at the 2015 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup event in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan. Kubota defeated late replacement Kane Chopirom for the vacant Shoot Boxing Women’s Flyweight Championship.

Also on the card, Kubota’s protégé, two-time JKS48 tournament winner Mio Tsumura, earned three victories in one night to claim the 2015 48kg Shoot Boxing Japan Girls S-Cup Championship. Tsumura narrowly edged J-Girls Mini Flyweight Champion Momi Furuta in a closely-contested trilogy fight.

 

Kubota (31-5-1 SB/KB) was originally slated to face Muay Thai champion Jomkwan Sittongsak in tonight’s main event, but Sittongsak was replaced on one day’s notice by Thai boxer Chopirom, who made her shoot boxing debut. Kubota scored with strikes in the clinch in round one and she countered Chopirom’s kicks by catching them and sending her opponent off-balance.

The second round was all Kubota, and the Japanese superstar earned two Shoot Points after suplexing Chopirom to the canvas. Seconds later, Kubota added a Catch Point as well after trapping Chopirom in a standing guillotine choke. Chopirom survived until the bell, but Kubota battered her with knees in round three and Chopirom was given a standing eight count. The fight continued and Kubota landed a final barrage of punches to the body that forced the referee to stop the fight at the 1:58 mark.

Tonight’s title victory came more than four years after Kubota first challenged unsuccessfully for the Shoot Boxing Women’s Flyweight Championship in June 2011. She has now won 15 straight fights and remains one of the most popular female fighters in Japan.

“I want the same belt as Mr. Oikawa, my first teacher,” Kubota said following her victory. “I’m frustrated that I couldn’t finish the fight earlier. I recently changed gyms and I wanted people from Oikawa to say that I’d gotten stronger, but today’s performance was not enough. I will get stronger, though, so please watch for my fights in the future.”

 

In tonight’s Girls S-Cup final, Tsumura (19-2-0 SB) needed an extension round to get past rival Furuta (24-13-6 SB/KB) in the pair’s third and deciding fight. They last met in the semi-finals of the 2014 48kg Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup when Tsumura avenged her upset loss by defeating Furuta. Tonight’s trilogy fight was an action-packed battle throughout.

Furuta got off to a strong start in the opening round and she kept Tsumura guessing by darting in and out with quick strikes. Tsumura scored with jabs, but the early offence appeared to favour the kickboxer, Furuta. By the midway point of round two, however, Tsumura was able to dodge most of Furuta’s punches while effectively countering with jabs and leg kicks. This continued in round three, but the fight was too close for the judges to determine a winner. With scores of 30-30 and 29-29 twice, the bout went to a fourth and deciding round.

Tsumura knocked Furuta off-balance with a front kick early in the extension round and she avoided most of Furuta’s punches. When Furuta clinched in search of a throw, Tsumura defended well. She landed stiff jabs in the final minute and sidestepped Furuta’s punches, which became more and more wild.

All three judges scored the final round 10-9 for Tsumura, whose Unanimous Decision victory earned her the 2015 48kg Shoot Boxing Japan Girls S-Cup Championship.

“Last year, I couldn’t win the tournament,” Tsumura stated after the fight in reference to her 2014 Girls S-Cup final bout against Yukari Yamaguchi. “I want to face Yamaguchi [again] for the [Shoot Boxing women’s] minimumweight title. Momi and I had history, and I’m glad that she traded many strikes with me because it was a very exciting fight for me. Thank you for cheering.”

 

Earlier on the card, Tsumura earned her spot in the Girls S-Cup final with back-to-back wins over Emi Matsushita (10-7-1 SB/KB) and Deep Jewels champion “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi (9-7-0 SB), while Furuta advanced by defeating Mari (3-7-2 SB/KB) and Miho Matsuda (11-12-3 SB/KB) in succession.

Tsumura’s quarterfinal bout against Matsushita was highlighted by an early Seoi nage throw that earned Tsumura a Shoot Point in round one. She landed numerous body kicks, as well as knees and elbows in the clinch, as the fight progressed and walked away with a Unanimous Decision victory with scores of 30-27 and 30-28 twice.

In the semi-finals, Tsumura battled through four tough rounds against Yamaguchi before her hand was ultimately raised. Tsumura fought off Yamaguchi’s throw attempts throughout the first three rounds, but Yamaguchi’s forward pressure and relentless clinching was enough to earn her a 30-29 scorecard from one judge. A second judge had it 30-29 for Tsumura, while the third had it even at 30-30. In the ensuing extension round, Tsumura again thwarted all of Yamaguchi’s throw attempts and scored with crisp combinations on the feet. All three judges scored the round 10-9 for Tsumura, who advanced on.

 

Furuta’s quarterfinal matchup against Mari featured throw attempts from both fighters, but it was ultimately Furuta’s striking dominance that propelled her to victory. Her crisp combinations and powerful body kicks kept Mari on the defensive. Mari tried to steal back the fight with a late throw, but she was unsuccessful and Furuta took a Unanimous Decision victory with scores of 30-27, 30-28 and 30-29.

In semi-final action, Furuta used her superior boxing skills to overwhelm Matsuda on the feet. Matsuda was effective with front kicks in round one, but Furuta began to pick her apart with jabs and flurries in the middle stanza. She pressed the action in round three and swarmed on a retreating Matsuda with punches until the final bell sounded. Scores were 30-28 across the board for Furuta, who moved on to the tournament final.

Rounding out the Girls S-Cup quarterfinals, Yamaguchi earned two Shoot Points in round one of her bout with Michi Nakamura (3-6-0 SB/KB) and cruised to a Unanimous Decision victory with scores of 30-27 and 30-28 twice, while Matsuda advanced to the semi-finals by narrowly upsetting Akari “Union” Nakamura (13-7-1 SB/KB). Scores were deadlocked at 29-29 and 30-30 twice after three rounds of action and Nakamura appeared to hold an edge in the extension round by aggressively pressing forward with punches. The judges disagreed and awarded Matsuda with a contentious Unanimous Decision victory with scores of 10-9 across the board.

 

Tonight’s card also featured three non-tournament bouts. Former Shoot Boxing Women’s Flyweight Champion Ai Takahashi (24-5-0 SB/KB), who had expected to face Kanako Taniyama in a highly-anticipated rematch, instead dominated last-minute replacement Hongthong Liangprasert for three rounds en route to a lopsided Unanimous Decision win. Liangprasert was given a Yellow Card for grabbing the ropes in round two, and Takahashi swarmed on her with punches, knees and leg kicks in the final round. Scores were 30-28 thrice for Takahashi, who was impressive in victory.

In other non-tournament action, Yurika Jimbo defeated Miyuu Yamashita by Unanimous Decision with a trio of 30-29 scorecards, and Tomomi Souda edged out Maki Goto by Unanimous Decision after an extension round. All three judges scored the fourth and deciding round 10-9 in Souda’s favour.

Full play-by-play for all bouts on tonight’s Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup card can be found here.

 

 

(Photo Credit: Shoot Boxing)

  1. Where does one watch this???

  2. The fights/events eventually make their way onto YouTube after airing on TV. The article above is from live event coverage at the venue.