All Time Greatest Tourney - Infinity Style

[Infinity]

We have 4 fighters in the Welterweight Division.

Semi-Finals:

Simon Brown vs Chris Smith - Constant pressure and patience in wearing down the slick boxing Smith paid off for Brown as he scored an amazing 7 knockdowns between rounds 11 and 14 before the referee finally ended the bout. The crowd applauded the courage of Smith who got up after every one of the knockdowns, but there was no doubt that Brown took the day!

Kirkland Laing vs Teddy Reid - This was a flat out war of attrition as Reid pursued Laing and Laing used the ring throughout, counterpunching effectively. In a very close decision ( I had it 8-7 Laing and Lee Crooks had it 9-5 for Laing) the judges scored it 8-7 Reid, 8-7 Laing, and 8-7 for Teddy Reid! The fans were in shock as even though this brutal fight was close, most felt that Laing did enough to win! The Compu-Box numbers seemed to agree as Laing landed 409 of 837 punches (48.9%) compared to 330 of 1004 (32.9%) for Reid.


Final:

Simon Brown vs Teddy Reid - Reid was handling things just fine early on, but Brown landed a series of bombs that had Reid helpless against the ropes late in the 5th forcing the referee to end things for the TKO! Brown will represent Jamaica in the World Tournament and is expected to go deep into the competition.

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The following fighters recieve automatic bids:

Bunny Grant - JWW

Percy Hayles - LW

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There are 3 fighters in the Heavyweight division. All 3 fighters are rated the same so I drew lots and Akira Saito recieves the first round bye.

Semi-Final:

Jiro Ichikawa vs Rikijo Yoneda - Ichikawa built up a big lead then held barly rose from a 13th round knockdown to win the 9-6, 11-4, 10-5 decision.

Final:

Akira Saito vs Jiro Ichikawa - Saito had a poor first round then came roaring out landing hooks and uppercuts seemingly at will until the referee ended the fight at 2:44 in the 2nd round for the TKO! Saito moves on to the World Tournament.

[Infinity]

Ryosuke Kakahashi recieves the automatic bid with no challengers at Cruiserweight.

[Infinity]

The lone entrant, Yoshinori Nishizawa recieves the automatic bid.

[Infinity]

With 9 entrants in the Middleweight division we'll have a fight-in bout.

Fight-In:

Hajime Fuji vs Benkei Fujikura - Fuji scored a knockdown in a huge 2nd round then built up a lead before fading. Fujikura stormed back taking the final half of the fight with seeming ease to win 8-5, 9-4, 7-6.

[PWillisTheMan]

Originally Posted by Infinity

McCallum gets the automatic bid, but I honestly think he'll take the gold medal in the World Tournament.

Not if you put Hearns at Jr Middle for the USA. If I was you, I would use Tito there as well.

[Infinity]

Quarter-Finals:

Shinji Takehara vs Benkei Fujikura - After some serious back and forth action in the first 3 rounds, Takehara landed a solid hook that laid Fujikura out for the count!

Naotaka Hozumi vs Takao Maemizo - Hozumi wastes little time, coming out and smoking Maemizo at 1:35 in the 1st round!

Yoshihiru Araki vs Masao Gondo - This was a back and forth bout that saw Araki score a knockdown in the 1st then had Gondo scoring 3 knockdowns along the way. Still, I had it 8-7 for Araki while the judges had it 8-7 Gondo, 8-7 Araki, 9-6 for the winner by split decision Masao Gondo!

Fumio Kaizu vs Hachiro Tatsumi - Kaizu built up an insurmoutable lead by pursuing Tatsumi relentlessly throughout. That almost backfired in the 15th round when he walked into a right cross that floored him for a 9 count! He made it up and held on for the 9-6, 9-5, 8-7 decision.

[Infinity]

I'm using each fighter at the weight that they have their strongest rating. In the case of Hearns, Welterweight was his strongest weight class. The same with Tito.

Originally Posted by PWillisTheMan

Not if you put Hearns at Jr Middle for the USA. If I was you, I would use Tito there as well.

[Infinity]

Semi-Finals:

Shinji Takehara vs Masao Gondo - Gondo came out and dominated from the start, landing punches from all angles and hurting Takehara so badly that the fight was ended at the 2:54 mark of the 1st round for the TKO!

Naotaka Hozumi vs Fumio Kaizu - A highly entertaining slugfest that saw Kaizu down 2 times and Hozumi down 4 times! The 9th was one for the ages as Hozumi went down but fought his way back and would have won the round if it weren't for the knockdown. It went to the judges (I had it 8-7 Kaizu, Mike Hanson had it 7-7 a draw) who scored it 8-6, 8-6, 9-6 for the winner Kaizu!

Final:

Masao Gondo vs Fumio Kaizu - Tough bout for both warriors as they traded heavy leather throughout. Gondo was the one with the most power however, scoring a pair of knockdowns while earning the 10-5, 9-6, 9-6 decision and moving to the World Tournament.

[Infinity]

With 9 warriors vying for the Jr. Middleweight berth in the World Tournament we will have a single fight-in bout.

Fight-In:

Jiro Aoyama vs Yohi Arai - Aoyama had both eyes swelling, a bad cut on the bridge of his nose. Yet he'd built up a solid lead and looked to be well on the way to winning the fight when he blatantly used his left shoulder to hit Arai on the jaw (his 4th foul). The referee immediately disqualified Aoyama handing the win to Arai.

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Quarter-Finals:

Koichi Wajima vs Yohi Arai - Wajima cut Arai early and pounded on him unmercifully throughout as he easily dominated this fight. The fight was ended when the cut on the inside of Arai's left eyebrow reopened to end the bout by way of TKO on cuts in the 6th round.

Masashi Kudo vs Akira Ohigashi - After splitting the first 6 action packed rounds Kudo asserted himself with power punches from all angles. In the 9th round he scored the KO on a beautifully timed hook that Ohigashi had no hope of recovering from.

Toshiharu Kaneyama vs Kazuhiko Hidaka - Kaneyama came in the 3-1 favorite but never seemed to get untracked as Hidaka scored a pair of knockdowns enroute to a 9th round TKO.

Tadashi Mihara vs Shigemasa Kawakami - Dead even action packed round that will be considered for fight of the year as both men went back and forth throughout! It ended when Kawakami came out desperately needing to end things as his left eye was nearly closed. He scored the KO late in the 13th on a blistering combination!

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Semi-Finals:

Koichi Wajima vs Kazuhiko Hidaka - In an astounding display of brutality Wajima and Hidaka threw everything but the kitchen sink at one another for the first 10 rounds! In the 11th, with Wajima having the slightest of leads (6-4 on my card 5-5 on the card of David Myers, the judges scored it 6-4, 5-5, 5-5 Wajima) the 7-2 underdog Hidaka landed a brilliant combination that put Wajima down and out for the fight's only knockdown. With this huge upset, Hidaka awaits the winner of the Kudo Kawakami rematch!

Masashi Kudo vs Shigemasa Kawakami - Kudo took the first 2 action packed rounds but suffered a cut on the right eyelid due to an accidental head butt in the 3rd that ended the fight for the technical draw. Rematch to follow.

Rematch:

Masashi Kudo vs Shigemasa Kawakami - Kawakami showed a lot of heart in this one but Kudo was far too strong, scoring 5 knockdowns enroute to an 11th round KO. Kudo scored 5 knockdowns despite being tagged in several rounds that could be considered for the round of the year! the judges had it 10-0, 8-2, 10-0 through 10.

Final:

Masashi Kudo vs Kazuhiko Hidaka - After splitting 8 brutal rounds Kudo's power finally sapped the strength from the legs of the slick boxing Hidaka, allowing Kudo to continue on to the runaway 11-3, 10-5, 9-4 decision. Kudo, the #2 seed moves on to the World tournament.

[Infinity]

We have 12 fighters in the Welterweight division. The top 4 seeds, Fujio Ozaki, Yoshinori Takahashi, Tadashi Yuba & Kenji Fukuchi will recieve 1st round byes.

Round 1:

Makoto Watanabe vs Hachiro Ito - Watanabe battered Ito for 15 rounds nearly having him out on several occasions, with both eyes badly swollen at the end. I had it 13-2 Watanabe and Christopher Mund, our ring expert had it 14-1 Watanabe. It was up to the judges however, and they scored it closer, 10-5, 12-3, 11-3.

Shuichi Kobayashi vs Ryu Sorimachi - Both men scored knockdowns, but Sorimachi was the dominant force, landing twice as many punches in his 11-3, 7-7 (was checking with his bookie on the Super Bowl odds!) 11-2 majority decision.

Hiroshi Watanabe vs Jiro Sawada - Watanabe threw the heavier leather, scoring 4 knockdowns. Sawada was the slicker boxer moving well throughout despite being tagged at times. I had it 9-6 Watanabe and Jim Trunzo had it 8-7 for Sawada at the end. The judges scored it 10-5, 8-7, 9-6 for Watanabe!

Osamu Watanabe vs Sakuji Shinozawa - Suprising action between a pair of stylists as both men had moments of furious action. The fight was decided in the 10th when a bad cut on the forehead of Watanabe resulted in a TKO win for Shinozawa. Watanabe was up 5-3, 7-1, 4-4 through 9.

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Quarter-Finals:

Fujio Ozaki vs Ryu Sorimachi - Both men went down, Ozaki suffered cuts over and under his left eye, Sorimachi sported a golfball where his right eye should have been, but after the dust had settled it was a dominating performance, 12-2, 11-3, 10-4 for Fujio Ozaki!

Yoshinori Takahashi vs Sakuji Shinozawa - When Shinozawa was good, he glided across the ring, then scored a knockdown in the 7th round. In the 8th Takahashi returned the favor scoring not only a knockdown but the KO with 2:26 left in the round!

Tadashi Yuba vs Hiroshi Watanabe - After a good first round by both men Yuba asserted himself, taking each round until the referee ended the fight to protect a battered Watanabe in the 6th round for the TKO.

Kenji Fukuchi vs Makoto Watanabe - After splitting 2 action packed rounds Fukuchi hurt Watanabe several times in the 3rd round. He came out in the 4th round obviously gunning to end the fight when he walked into a right cross that tore a gash ouside of his left eyebrow that continued to widen as the round progresed until the referee ended it for the 3rd round TKO for Watanabe!

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Semi-Finals:

Fujio Ozaki vs Makoto Watanabe - Brutal back and forth fight that saw Ozaki cut over the right eyebrow and on his upper lip. Things were dead even through 10 tough rounds when Ozaki landed a powerful cross to Watanabe's temple that knocked him off balance then down for the count! KO in the 11th for Ozaki.

Yoshinori Takahashi vs Tadashi Yuba - Both Takahashi and Yuba stayed on top of one another, pounding away throughout with Yuba scoring the lone knockdown enroute to a dominating 10-4, 9-5, 7-5 decision.

Final:

Fujio Ozaki vs Tadashi Yuba - Good action bout that saw Yuba hit the canvas in the 4th round only to come back strong in the 10th for the TKO win and the berth in the World Tournament!

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With 11 fighters vying for this class, we'll have 3 fight-in bouts.

Fight-Ins:

Hisao Arai vs Yo****omo Nishi - Arai dominated from the opening bell before scoring the KO at the 3:00 mark in round 1!

Lion Furuyama vs Kirk Fujimoto - Fujiomoto went down in the 3rd and returned the favor in the 4th as this fight went back and forth throughout. Fujimoto's right eye kept swelling at an allarming rate however, and in the 10th the ring physician felt that it was a health hazzard and ended the bout for the 10 TKO for Furuyama. Furuyama was up 6-3 on all cards through 9. I had it 5-4 Furuyama.

Hidekazu Akai vs Shingo Eguchi - After 2 of the most brutal opening rounds of this competition Eguchi took control landing at will through the 3rd and into the 4th before the referee stepped in to save Akai from further damage. Call it a 5th round TKO by referee decision!

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Quarter-Finals:

Tsuyoshi Hamada vs Shingo Eguchi - This fight went back and forth with Eguchi getting the better of it, he scored an amazing 5 knockdowns between the 3rd and 4th rounds! Hamada regrouped however and scored the KO in the 10th on a beautiful hook! Both Lee MacRae and myself had it 5-4 Eguchi through 9 rounds and the judges had it 5-4 on all 3 cards for Hamada despite the 5 knockdowns!

Norio Kimura vs Hisao Arai - Kimura was dominating this fight, using every inch of the ring as his castle when a nasty gash on the right side of his left eyebrow reopened to end the fight in the10th for the upset TKO for Arai. Kimura was up 8-1, 7-2, 8-0 through the 9th round.

Akio Kameda vs Lion Furuyama - Dominant performance by Kameda in this battle of 2 sluggers. He was ahead 5-1 on all 3 cards and had scored the lone knockdown of the fight when the fight was stopped on the 2nd cut (one on the left eyebrow one on the right) over the eyes off Furuyama in the 7th round for the TKO.

Hiroyuki Sakamoto vs Masakazu Satake - Tight back and forth fight with several great rounds that I saw a draw. The judges scored it 7-6 Sakamoto, 7-6 Satake, 7-6 for the winner Masakuzu Satake!

[Infinity]

Semi-Finals:

Tsuyoshi Hamada vs Hisao Arai - Yet another back and forth battle with Hamada taking the early lead with a knockdown. Arai came back in the middle rounds with one of his own, only to have Hamada take the latter part of the fight. I had it 10-5 for Hamada with our ringside expert Richard Plunkett having it 10-4 Hamada. The judges scored it closer, 8-5, 9-6, 10-5 for Hamada!

Akio Kameda vs Masakazu Satake - Satake took the early lead but a pair of knockdowns in the 10th followed by a nasty gash in the 11th round on the nose of Satake ended the fight for the TKO win for Kameda. This was yet another action packed fight from the Japanese warriors!

Final:

Tsuyoshi Hamada vs Akio Kameda - Kameda started out strong, scoring a pair of knockdowns in the early going. Both men clashed heads causing a cut over Kameda's left eye but that didn't stop him from building his lead. Hamada came back strong, scoring a pair of knockdowns in the 14th round only to have his comeback thwarted by the cut reopening and the fight being sent to the cards due to the accidental clash earlier in the fight! Through 13 rounds the judges had it 7-5, 6-6, 8-4 for Kameda who limped into the World Tournament!

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Just a quick note:

The fights from the Japanese Tournament have so far been some of the most entertaining fights of this entire tourney. They may not have the top fighters, but it's this observer's opinion that they still live by the bushido code!