Shooto’s Best 143-Pounders on Display
Tamura vs. Inoue
Jordan Breen May 17, 2007
For The Shooto World Lightweight
Championship
Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures) (Tsudanuma Dojo) vs. "Lion" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) (Shooting Gym Yokohama)
In March, it seemed like the stars had lined up, perhaps in more ways than one, when Shooto legend Rumina Sato (Pictures) and Shooto world champion Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) stood in the ring, and informally agreed to fight one another in May. For promoters and fans, a greater story could not have been written, with Shooto's icon and original superstar meeting the young, charismatic champion in what would either result in a coronation over 12 years in the making, or a symbolic passing of the torch as Shooto's charisma.
However, the world is an imperfect place, and people get injured.
With a nagging shoulder injury putting the kibosh on a Sato-Lion
title showdown, and the deadline for Lion's first mandatory defense
beckoning, there was really only one alternative for Shooto
authorities, which came fit with its own tale to tell.
Even in an environment where hardcore fans are rallying for the UFC to introduce a 145-pound weight class, Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures) remains a name with little cachet. Perhaps in this instance, the ignorance is excusable, as Tamura's rise from entertaining gatekeeper to seeming contender has been sudden, to say the very least.
In a bout in which many thought Tamura had the upperhand, a flash knockdown by Lion in the first round seemed to have made all the difference in a narrow majority win.
In the aftermath, fortune smiled on Lion, and not Tamura. Longtime divisional kingpin Alexandre Franca Nogueira (Pictures)'s combined cowardice and lack of anything resembling desire reached a breaking point, which allowed Lion to step into a Shooto world title fight on one week's notice, with the chance to avenge his only career loss to Antonio Carvalho (Pictures). On the same night that Lion would become the fifth world lightweight champion of professional Shooto, Tamura would suffer a Grade A plunking at the hands of Lion's teammate Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures).
Since then, a new story has emerged. While Lion has struggled against Cole Miller (Pictures), destroyed a helpless Navid Yousefi (Pictures), and needed to survive a horrifying 90 seconds of head-smashing from journeyman Hiroyuki Abe (Hiroyuki Abe' class='LinkSilver'>Pictures), Tamura has thwarted promoters' attempts to use him as a stepping stone thrice, including wins over Lion's teammates "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures), and then avenging his loss to Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures), taking the Shooto Pacific Rim lightweight title in the process.
Are you still with me? Good.
Since they've met before, it is perhaps easier to know what to expect out of a fight with Lion and Tamura. Both competitors are willing and able strikers, albeit in different respects, which was highlighted in their first bout. Lion is a tall, strong puncher, who throws enough kicks to maintain pace and keep his opponent's honest, but is more concerned with scoring potent 1-2's with his hands. Tamura is not much of a puncher at all, relying largely on low kicks to break his opponent's rhythms. Tamura's most potent striking tools are knees from the Thai clinch, which he battered Lion's body with in the first bout.
Both men have different approaches on the floor. Lion is bigger, stronger with a better arsenal of takedowns, and can dish out strong ground-and-pound at a continuous pace. While he does have submission skills, they appear largely as defensive measures unless a glaring opportunity presents itself.
Tamura is not much of a pounder, but his grappling work-rate is sensational. Incredibly lithe and active, Tamura is a threat from any position. His slipperiness and flexibility make his guard particularly potent, as he's not only able to threaten with submissions, but sweeps as well, which create both scrambles and transitions to dominant position.
No matter where the fight takes place, it will be a battle of whose style of attack can force the other to the defensive. On the feet, Tamura will try to close the distance and pelt Lion's solar plexus with knees, while Lion will try to punch out and land combinations. On the ground, Lion will pound, pound, pound, while Tamura looks to seize an opening for a submission attempt.
The problem with this style clash, at least for Tamura, is that it makes his margin for error incredibly small. While he will assuredly do damage to Lion with knees, he has to get to the clinch, and maintain it, while wading through punches. This is especially dangerous because of how open he often leaves himself while throwing low kicks, or closing the distance, as well as his susceptibility to flash knockdowns, which we saw in the first fight with Lion, in addition to other Tamura bouts.
Because of Lion's takedown advantage, Tamura may be forced to be take risks in order to somehow bring him to the ground. Because of Lion's powerful punching from the top, Tamura will have to absorb damage in seeking submissions. While this is certainly not a death knell for Tamura, it does place a greater series of challenges upon him.
The larger, overarching problem is that while Tamura is both fearless and tough, he's far from indestructible. Meanwhile, in spite of how brightly his faults have sparkled in many of his fights, there can be no debate that Lion Takeshi is not only tough, he is incredibly composed. His ability to overcome early obstacles in fights to take command in the latter stages, his knack for being able to negotiate fighting fire with fire successfully, and his recognition of when to go for the kill are far from the characteristics of a green champion, and only further magnifies the onus on Tamura to fight flawlessly.
Tamura is not facing an impossible task, but he's certainly facing an uphill battle. In a year marked by high profile upsets, this one would actually be one of the more tame ones. However, the odds are certainly against him against the power punching Lion, who if he can minimize the damage he takes in the clinch, should be able to dish out damage to a decision win to retain his title.
Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures) (Tsudanuma Dojo) vs. "Lion" Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) (Shooting Gym Yokohama)
In March, it seemed like the stars had lined up, perhaps in more ways than one, when Shooto legend Rumina Sato (Pictures) and Shooto world champion Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) stood in the ring, and informally agreed to fight one another in May. For promoters and fans, a greater story could not have been written, with Shooto's icon and original superstar meeting the young, charismatic champion in what would either result in a coronation over 12 years in the making, or a symbolic passing of the torch as Shooto's charisma.
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Even in an environment where hardcore fans are rallying for the UFC to introduce a 145-pound weight class, Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures) remains a name with little cachet. Perhaps in this instance, the ignorance is excusable, as Tamura's rise from entertaining gatekeeper to seeming contender has been sudden, to say the very least.
After trading off wins and losses for four years, Tamura gained his
Class A Shooto license in Sept. 2005, and was immediately sought to
be utilized as enhancement talent for Shooto's posterboy hopeful
Lion Takeshi, who was coming off of his first career loss. In Nov.
2005, the two met at Korakuen Hall and engaged in a 15-minute
dogfight, where Tamura landed vicious knees to Lion's body from the
plumb while Lion battled back with Henderson-esque hockey fight
tactics.
In a bout in which many thought Tamura had the upperhand, a flash knockdown by Lion in the first round seemed to have made all the difference in a narrow majority win.
In the aftermath, fortune smiled on Lion, and not Tamura. Longtime divisional kingpin Alexandre Franca Nogueira (Pictures)'s combined cowardice and lack of anything resembling desire reached a breaking point, which allowed Lion to step into a Shooto world title fight on one week's notice, with the chance to avenge his only career loss to Antonio Carvalho (Pictures). On the same night that Lion would become the fifth world lightweight champion of professional Shooto, Tamura would suffer a Grade A plunking at the hands of Lion's teammate Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures).
Since then, a new story has emerged. While Lion has struggled against Cole Miller (Pictures), destroyed a helpless Navid Yousefi (Pictures), and needed to survive a horrifying 90 seconds of head-smashing from journeyman Hiroyuki Abe (Hiroyuki Abe' class='LinkSilver'>Pictures), Tamura has thwarted promoters' attempts to use him as a stepping stone thrice, including wins over Lion's teammates "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura (Pictures), and then avenging his loss to Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures), taking the Shooto Pacific Rim lightweight title in the process.
Are you still with me? Good.
Since they've met before, it is perhaps easier to know what to expect out of a fight with Lion and Tamura. Both competitors are willing and able strikers, albeit in different respects, which was highlighted in their first bout. Lion is a tall, strong puncher, who throws enough kicks to maintain pace and keep his opponent's honest, but is more concerned with scoring potent 1-2's with his hands. Tamura is not much of a puncher at all, relying largely on low kicks to break his opponent's rhythms. Tamura's most potent striking tools are knees from the Thai clinch, which he battered Lion's body with in the first bout.
Both men have different approaches on the floor. Lion is bigger, stronger with a better arsenal of takedowns, and can dish out strong ground-and-pound at a continuous pace. While he does have submission skills, they appear largely as defensive measures unless a glaring opportunity presents itself.
Tamura is not much of a pounder, but his grappling work-rate is sensational. Incredibly lithe and active, Tamura is a threat from any position. His slipperiness and flexibility make his guard particularly potent, as he's not only able to threaten with submissions, but sweeps as well, which create both scrambles and transitions to dominant position.
No matter where the fight takes place, it will be a battle of whose style of attack can force the other to the defensive. On the feet, Tamura will try to close the distance and pelt Lion's solar plexus with knees, while Lion will try to punch out and land combinations. On the ground, Lion will pound, pound, pound, while Tamura looks to seize an opening for a submission attempt.
The problem with this style clash, at least for Tamura, is that it makes his margin for error incredibly small. While he will assuredly do damage to Lion with knees, he has to get to the clinch, and maintain it, while wading through punches. This is especially dangerous because of how open he often leaves himself while throwing low kicks, or closing the distance, as well as his susceptibility to flash knockdowns, which we saw in the first fight with Lion, in addition to other Tamura bouts.
Because of Lion's takedown advantage, Tamura may be forced to be take risks in order to somehow bring him to the ground. Because of Lion's powerful punching from the top, Tamura will have to absorb damage in seeking submissions. While this is certainly not a death knell for Tamura, it does place a greater series of challenges upon him.
The larger, overarching problem is that while Tamura is both fearless and tough, he's far from indestructible. Meanwhile, in spite of how brightly his faults have sparkled in many of his fights, there can be no debate that Lion Takeshi is not only tough, he is incredibly composed. His ability to overcome early obstacles in fights to take command in the latter stages, his knack for being able to negotiate fighting fire with fire successfully, and his recognition of when to go for the kill are far from the characteristics of a green champion, and only further magnifies the onus on Tamura to fight flawlessly.
Tamura is not facing an impossible task, but he's certainly facing an uphill battle. In a year marked by high profile upsets, this one would actually be one of the more tame ones. However, the odds are certainly against him against the power punching Lion, who if he can minimize the damage he takes in the clinch, should be able to dish out damage to a decision win to retain his title.
