SHOOT BOXING 20th ANNIVERSARY 4th SERIES

Shootboxing's 20th Anniversary 4th Series was held in Korakuen Hall on September 25.

In the seventh fight, "Death By Hanging Punishment" Ishikawa fought Kenji Takemura. Ishikawa has so far won all his 9 fights since his debut. Takemura was formerly ranked at 1st place in the All Japan Kickboxing Federation featherweight division.
Ishikawa scored 2 Shoot points in the first round, though Takemura fought back relentlessly in the second half of the bout. Ishikawa showed signs of fatigue and was almost submitted by a choke attempt. Takemura won by judges decision 3 - 0. This brought an end to Ishikawa's winning streak.

Before the semi-final bout, Hiroyuki Doi returned the world title as he felt he didn't deserve it anymore. He then fought Takashi Ono from Seidokaikan. Both fighters are southpaws. From the ring of the bell they fought a technical and aggressive fight, both in defence and offence. It was Doi's killer low kick and left cross against Ono's strong middle kick and punch combinations.
Doi managed to score a Shoot point in the fourth round, while Ono scored with several punches in the fifth. Towards the end Doi put his left low kicks to strong use. Their fight was exciting as expected. The judges scored it in Doi's favour.
Doi was teary-eyed and stated that he was considering retirement if he couldn't perform well in this fight.

In the main bout, Shishido fought against the charismatic Korean fighter Im Chi Bin, who defeated Ogata in June.
In the beginning of the fight Im Chi Bin showed powerful middle kicks and strong punches. Shishido retaliated with his own spinning back fists and spinning kicks. In the latter part of the fight Shishido went into high gear, even managing to take Im Chi Bin down twice in the fourth round. The fight went to the judges, who all decided by unanimous decision in favour of Shishido.
Shishido avenged Ogata's loss and felt he was able to uphold the name of Shootboxing.
This was Shishido's first time to fight in the main event. He told the crowd that he will not lose any fights until he fights Andy Souwer again. He declared a challenge to the S-Cup and K-1 MAX Champion.

Shootboxing's 20th Anniversary 4th series was ended by huge shouts of joy from the crowd

Shishido's comments:
Im Chi Bin was a powerful opponent, as was expected. I could only use a few strategies out of 10. I felt that I needed to take him down in the fourth round. A main event fight should be ended by a KO. I respect Ogata and Doi who were always under such pressure. I feel I have just started my career and am the one who needs to save the Shootboxing name at the moment, as happened in the S-Cup. Although Andy Souwer is better than me at the moment, I want him to pay attention to me and to fight against me again. I want to fight Andy in the next S-Cup final. I disagreed with the choice that Andy would be in the middle of this event's poster (laughs). But this is the reality. I want to be in the centre of the poster based upon real ability.

Doi's comments:
We both have a Karate background and we love that fighting style. I thought "Oh no, this is very bad!" in the fifth round. I used to give up in such a case, but not this time. I kept throwing low kicks from the first round and then exploded even more with them in the fifth. The audience was on its feet and it felt great. I felt I was reborn and could return to my original performances. It's such a great feeling to win (laughs). I felt that I finally came home because I haven't fought at Korakuen Hall for such a long time.

Results

- Expert Class Rules. 3 minutes x 5 rounds

9th bout: Hiroki Sisido (Caeser Gym) defeated Lim Chi Bin (Kp Promotion)
by Judges Decision 3 - 0

8th bout: Hiroyuki Doi (Caeser Jym) defeated Takashi Oono (SeidoKaikan)
by Judges Decision 3 - 0

7th bout: Kenji Takemura (Nagoya JKF) defeated Takeshi Ishikawa (Caeser Gym) by Judges Decision 3 - 0

6th bout: Hideo Mihara (Caeser Gym) defeated Kensuke Minami (Weelasakreck Gym) by KO (Left Hook) Round 1 - 2 minutes 42 Seconds

5th bout: Kenji Kanai (Lighting Gym) defeated Gouki Hishida (RIKIGYM)
by TKO (Broken Nose) Round 2 - 2 minutes 53 seconds

4th bout: Keiji Ozaki (Team Dragon) defeated Taiga Yamaguchi (Neyagawa Gym) by Judges Decision 3 - 0

- Freshman Class Rules. 3 minutes x 3 rounds

3rd bout: Hideaki Yoshikawa (Team Dragon) defeated Kazushi Sekito (Shonan Gym) by Judges Decision 3 - 0

2nd bout: Kenji Matsumoto (Caeser Gym) defeated KEISUKE (Fubuki Gym)
by Submission (Sleeper Choke) Round 2 - 1 minute 6 seconds

1st bout: Masahiro Iwashita (Ryusei Juku) defeated Masahiro Kaito (Free)
by Judges Decision 3 - 0