Rio 2016 Olympian Arashi Morisaka wins in the 86th All Japan National Boxing Championships

Japan has been preparing very hard for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games where their boxers can show their skills in the front of the home crowd. The 86th edition of the All Japan National Boxing Championships was held in the city of Ehime which is located in the north part of the Shikoku Island.
Following Hayato Tsutsumi’s historical gold medal in the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships Japan’s best elite boxers proved top performance in the 86th All Japan National Boxing Championships where some surprises also have been done by younger talents and new faces.
Altogether 90 elite male boxers attended in eight weight classes from the light flyweight (49kg) up to the light heavyweight (81kg) in the 86th All Japan National Boxing Championships in Ehime.
Twelve boxers attended at the light flyweight (49kg) where the two main favourites such as ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships quarter-finalist Tomoya Tsuboi and ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Champiosnhips bronze medallist Tosho Kashiwasaki met in the final. Tsuboi, who won also the Japanese National Sports Festival last month, was too smart for his older rival and claimed his next national title in Ehime while talented Yuji Nakajima claimed only bronze medal.
Also twelve athletes competed at the flyweight (52kg) where the main favourite ticked this job as well. Olympic Test Event winner Ryomei Tanaka, who attended in the qualification events also this year, controlled his final bout against Ryusei Baba while Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympian 20-year-old Subaru Murata achieved only bronze medal this time.
The bantamweight (56kg) was the most popular category with 15 boxers and a great sensation has been done in the category. A new elite boxer, 19-year-old Rentaro Kimura eliminated national team member Mikito Nakano in the semi-final and won his gold medal bout against inexperienced Jin Minamide who was also a sensation in the final. Another favourite, Yuki Yamauchi lost to Minamide in the first preliminary round in the event.
Among dozen boxers in the lightweight (60kg) Rio 2016 Olympian strong Arashi Morisaka won the title after beating ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships bronze medallist Kenji Fujita in the final. Morisaka’s hand was raised only after 80 seconds when 22-year-old Fujita injured while experienced Yuta Akiyama claimed only bronze. Arashi Morisaka moved up to this category after the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and won the Japanese National Sports Festival and also the All Japan National Boxing Championships.
AIBA Asian & Oceanian Olympic Qualification Event competitor Hikaru Okishima defeated a North Korean nationality boxer Gonte Ri in the final of the light welterweight (64kg). Nobuhiro Hiranaka, whose father Nobuaki was Olympian in 1984, together with Shu Utsuki achieved bronze medals in this weight class.
After winning the Japanese National Sports Festival last month Hiroaki Kinjo was able to win his next national title in Ehime within a few weeks. The welterweight (69kg) boxer had a narrow semi-final against 20-year-old Kyohei Hosono but in the final he was able to beat Toshihiro Suzuki by unanimous decision while their FISU World University Boxing Championships young talent Naoki Harada took bronze in Ehime as in the last edition.
AIBA Asian & Oceanian Olympic Qualification Event competitor Makoto Takahashi moved ahead as a tank in the final of the middleweight (75kg) against 19-year-old Ren Umemura and used his strength to beat his younger rival. It was a repeat final after the Japanese National Sports Festival but Takahashi was able to defend his title in both events.
Seven boxers attended in the light heavyweight (81kg) which is a new category in Japan since 2014 and after Mitsuro Tajima’s successes in the recent editions Ran Tomomatsu was crowned in Ehime. The National Championships bronze medallist boxer stopped Takuro Kurita in the final of the category.

Winners in the All Japan National Boxing Championships
49kg: Tomoya Tsuboi
52kg: Ryomei Tanaka
56kg: Rentaro Kimura
60kg: Arashi Morisaka
64kg: Hikaru Okishima
69kg: Hiroaki Kinjo
75kg: Makoto Takahashi
81kg: Ran Tomomatsu