As part of the East Japan Rookie King tournament in the Japanese capital Tokyo, an episode rare even for professional boxing occurred – fighters knocked each other down simultaneously, sanspo.com reports. Such an incident, however, occurred in 2021 in a title fight in Australia.
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In the first round of the quarterfinal fight between the childhood friend of the absolute world boxing champion Naoi Inoue, 32-year-old Seiya Yamaguchi (5 wins, 2 of them by knockout, 2 losses) and 29-year-old Hiroki Arakawa (3 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss), the rivals, having exchanged blows, landed a left jab and simultaneously found themselves on the ring floor. The referee, stunned by what he saw, began to count both of them out.
We should add that Yamaguchi managed to knock down his opponent again during the 4-round fight and won by unanimous decision of the judges – 39:37, 39:37 and 40:36 (Arakawa's first defeat in his professional career). The legendary Inoue was the first to congratulate the winner.
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Seiya Yamaguchi accepts congratulations on his victory from his childhood friend, legendary boxer Naoya Inoue
By the way, former football player Seiya Yamaguchi (who played as a defender for the third-strongest Japanese division club Sagamihara) became a professional boxer in 2022. He has been participating in the tournament in Tokyo for the third year in a row, aiming to win the national title of “Rookie of the Year”, and has reached the semifinals for the first time.
Previously, “FACTS” reported that the MMA fight ended in a double knockdown.
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Photo by sanspo.com