Kosei Tanaka Wants a Statement-Making KO Win Over Rangel
Kosei Tanaka (19-1, 11 KOs) is hungry to win another world title. He faces Christian “Rocky” Bacasegua Rangel (22-4-2, 9 KOs) for the vacant WBO junior bantamweight title on February 24 at the Kokugikan Sumo Arena in Tokyo, Japan. Tanaka wants an emphatic victory and to end matters inside the distance.
A FIGHTER ON THE RESURGENCE
A three-division world champion, there was a time when Tanaka was viewed as one of the elite fighters in the world. But his world was rocked when he was stopped in eight rounds by Kazuto Ioka in December 2020. It was a crushing setback.
Tanaka has won four straight fights since that defeat. However, some in the boxing community wonder if the resident of Nagoya, Japan has mentally recovered following the sole loss of his pro career.
During an interview in Nagoya with the news outlet The Japan Times, Tanaka talked about the importance of this upcoming fight. He’s facing an aggressive and tough Mexican warrior in Rangel. But the former world champion was emphatic in what he expects to occur once the bell rings.
“It would be best if I could get a KO. I don’t want to win in an anticlimactic showing.”
Tanaka is one of the best offensive fighters in the world. He’s quick and powerful, and can hurt you with either hand to the head or the body. Ioka showed that Tanaka’s weakness is his defense – something the Japanese fighter has worked on in recent outings.
The goals for Tanaka against Rangel are clear. Not only does he want to become a four-division world champion, he wants to show the boxing world that he’s still a force to be reckoned with.
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