Hiroto Kyoguchi wins American debut due to injury!
After five rounds of action, Hiroto “Mad Boy” Kyoguchi (14-0, 9 KO’s) won by way of TKO. His bout against Axel Aragon “El Mini” Vega (14-3-1, 8 KO’s) stood as the WBA Super World Light Flyweight champion’s American debut. Until now, outside single bouts in Macao and Bangkok, Kyoguchi has staged all of his professional fights in his native Japan. However, the two-division champion was not content to merely be a domestic fighter. This is largely why he signed a multi-fight deal with DAZN at the tail end of 2020.
His win over Vega marked the third defense of his WBA title. Kyoguchi originally strong-armed the strap away from Hekkie Budler on December 31, 2018. After defeating Budler by tenth round TKO, the Japanese dynamo outclassed Tanawat Nakoon and Tetsuya Hisada. He won both contests by way of unanimous decision. Unfortunately for him, Kyoguchi was unable to participate in a fight for the entirety of 2020.
The WBA Light Flyweight champion had scheduled a fight with Thanongsak Simsiri on November 3, 2020. Yet, before the two had a chance to lock horns, Kyoguchi was diagnosed with having COVID-19. While the two have not mixed it up, Simsiri is still legally bound to a fight with the champ. In fact, Simsiri was expected to face the winner of the Kyoguchi versus Vega showdown. So with his win secure, it looks like they can finally settle their score.
MAJOR BUZZKILL
Despite being almost comically the shorter man, El Mini held his own against the champion in the opening round. Both men were content to engage in rapid-pace, phonebooth slugfest. Kyoguchi excelled at wrapping his hooks around Vegas’ elbows to land great body shots and shoot uppercuts through the guard. Vega hit the body well but had his greatest success with hooks to the cranium. In the second round, Vega appeared to buzz Kyoguchi with a right hook to the head.
The third and fourth resumed a tit-for-tat theme. For the majority of the periods, the two men went back into the phonebooth and hammered one another’s body. Each boxer really laid it on thick with the left hook to the ribs. At different points, they seemed to honor a silent agreement to fight at a distance while catching a breath.
The bout ended in sudden and anticlimactic fashion in the fifth round. While in the midst of a flurry of punches, El Mini landed a right hand the top of Kyoguchi’s head. When the blow landed, Vega immediately recoiled in pain and the fight was near instantly waived, It was unfortunate that the prizefight ended in that fashion because it had been a very entertaining contest.
By: Bakari Simpson
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