Kosei Tanaka Defeats Bacasegua Rangel; Grabs Vacant WBO Title

Kosei Tanaka Outclasses Christian Bacasegua Rangel

The vacant WBO junior bantamweight title was at stake as Kosei Tanaka (20-1, 11 KOs) faced Christian “Rocky” Bacasegua Rangel (22-5-2, 9 KOs) at Kokugikan Sumo Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

Tanaka is a three-division world champion, ranked first by the WBO at 115. But the 28-year-old was humbled in December 2020 when he was outclassed and stopped in eight rounds by four-division world champion Kazuto Ioka. After licking off the physical and mental scars from that win, Tanaka worked his way back into another world title shot and was hungry to win a fourth world title. 

He had to go through a Bacasegua, a rugged veteran from Mexico. Ranked second by the WBO in the junior bantamweight division, the 28-year-old was competing in his first world title fight. 

TRYING TO FIND HIS WAY

In the early rounds, the left jab, aggressiveness, and awkwardness of Bacasegua was giving Tanaka plenty of difficulty. Tanaka is a very textbook and explosive. However, he had trouble finding his rhythm and get his combinations flowing. Midway through round five, Bacasegua was cut over his right eye from an accidental headbutt.

Tanaka fought with a renewed sense of urgency in round six. The Japanese fighter fought more in the pocket and focused his attack to the body and began to pound away with punches on the inside. 

MAKING ADJUSTMENTS

The results began to pay dividends. At the close of the eighth round, a right hand to the head buzzed Bacasegua, who lost his balance. The referee ruled a knockdown for Tanaka, although, replays showed that Bacasagua was off balance and his knees never hit the canvas.

That questionable moment aside, Tanaka kept the momentum going. By the championship rounds, Bacasegua had slowed down. He was not fighting with the same work rate, and his punches didn’t have the same snap. Meanwhile, Tanaka upped the pace and pounded his opponent with an assortment of clean punches to the head and body.

The efforts of the Japanese fighter was rewarded by the judges who scored the fight in his favor by unanimous decision (116-111, 117-110, 119-108). During the post-fight interview, the victor suggested that a unification contest is in play with IBF junior bantamweight Fernando Martinez is in play for later this year. 

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