Kal Yafai Defeats Suguru Muranaka by UD to Keep his WBA Super Flyweight Title – Boxing News

By Joshua “City” Brewer

Boxing was back in action across the pond in Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom, as Kal Yafai, 22-0, 14 KO’s put his World Boxing Association (WBA) super flyweight title on the line against Suguru Muranaka, 25-3-1, 8 KO’s in the main event of last night. The atmosphere in the arena was very lively which tends to be fuel for any fighter.

The fight started a fast pace from the opening bell of round one. Yafai showed much versatility as he was able to land an excellent variety of shots to the head and body of Muranaka. Muranaka was able to take the shots very well and didn’t seemed to be hurt at any point in the first though he was thoroughly outlanded. Round two followed a similar pace though Muranaka started to throw more punches of his own. Yafai was able to land a combination that made Muranaka’s knee touch the canvas forcing a count from the referee. He finished the round engaging but found himself in an early hole.

Muranaka started to show some urgency in round three but Yafai’s excellent movement and shot selection was once again on display. Yafai was solid with the placement of his punches. In the last 10 seconds of the round Muranaka was able to see a bit of success as he landed a few good shots to close it. In round four Yafai was keen on investing in body work and landed several hard hooks to to Muranaka’s body. Muranaka continued to come forward regardless of the clean shots. Muranaka was again able to put together a few combinations of his own as he seemed to be starting to find his preferred range.

Muranaka started to back Yafai up more in round five. Yafai was able to land several good, clean shots but they didn’t seem to bother Muranaka much even at this point. Muranka was seemingly getting stronger as the fight went on. Both fighters dug into each other’s body in close quarters throughout the sixth round as the momentum seemed to shift back and forth between the two. The most telling thing to this point was the fact that though Yafai was landing more clean shots, Muranaka’s punches seemed to have more of an effect on his opponent as Yafai’s volume decreased as the rounds went on.

Yafai landed more body shots in the seventh and another solid shot to the head that seemed to finally grab Muranaka’s attention though he stayed on the front foot pressing forward. This was a nice, fight establishing round for Yafai to show that he was still in control. The eight round followed a similar script to the previous as Yafai started to look more and more in control. Yafai’s punches looked as heavy as previous rounds and seemed to really start to hurt Muranaka. Yafai was deducted a point for a low blow towards the end of the round after having been warned in one of the earlier rounds. Point aside, this was probably his best round since the first round.

Yafai kept the aggression going in the ninth as he seemed intent to make up for the point deduction. Muranaka continue to press forward and punch himself. Yafai landed a solid shot that staggered Muranaka but Muranaka chose to fight fire with fire as he started to land several shots on Yafai. Round 10 was a close round for each fighter as they seemed to land equally. Their punch output remained high as the moved towards the championship rounds.

Yafai utilized more movement early in round 11 as he chose to box from the outside. As the round went on he eventually found himself in close quarters exchanging with Muranaka once again. Muranaka came out on the front foot in the 12th and final round looking to take the fight to close quarters for exchanges once again, but Yafai utilized his boxing to nullify this plan. Yafai landed the cleaner shots of this round which was the story of the fight as a whole. Both fighters showed that they were in excellent condition as they continued to throw throughout the round.

In the end, the judges saw the fight as a wide unanimous decision in favor of Yafai though the fight in itself was exciting and Muranaka deserves credit for displaying heart and never backing down from Yafai’s best shot. Yafai on the other had looked very good when he put his punches together and seems to be poised to provide a real challenge for the ayone at the top of the division.

In the Co-main event Sam “The Savage” Eggington, 21-3, 13 KO’s face off against Ceferino Rodriguez, 24-2, 12 KO’s. Eggington was looking to extend his win streak to four fights following his February 2017 win over veteran Paulie Malignaggi.

Round one started with Eggington looking to establish his jab as he stalked the shorter Rodriquez. Rodriguez chose to utilize lateral movement as he tried to figure out the best way to stay out of Eggington’s path. Rodriguez was able to land a few good hooks on Eggington as he reached in. Eggington started round two with a couple of solid right straights as he looked to get into his groove. Rodriguez found his back against the ropes midway through the round and Eggington was able to land several good body shots. It became apparent that Rodriguez needed to be on the move in order to avoid Eggington’s shots.

Eggington landed a couple of heavy shots in the first minute of round three and started to really set the tone and show that he was the stronger of the two fighters. Rodriguez did a fairly good job of staying composed and stuck to his gameplan of moving, even offering resistance with punching of his own. He was back in familiar territory towards the end of the round as he was trapped on the ropes with Eggington landing clean body shots. Rodriguez had a better round in the fourth than his previous two as he chose to stand his ground a bit more though his punch volume remained in Eggington’s favor.

Rodriguez chose to go back with his movement in round five as he landed what seemed to be his best punches of the fight and for the first time it seemed that though his punch volume may have been on par or edged out Eggington. Both fighters had their moments in the sixth and it started to look as though the fight was going to be a battle of attrition as the punch output was up for both. The pace kept up in round seven as each fighter exchanged shots. With a little more than a minute left in the round, Eggington started to unload on Rodriguez and nearly dropped him. Rodriguez showed much grit as he tried to fight back but Eggington maintained his relentlessness and refused to back down. The referee was in looking closely but Rodriguez was able to survive the round.

Rodriguez seemed to regather himself in the eighth round as he applied movement. To his benefit as well, Eggington’s punch output dropped from the volume of the previous round. Eggington was able to land a couple of big shots in the last seconds of the round. In round nine, both fighters followed the script of the middle rounds though the harder shots were clearly landed by Eggington. The fight reached its climax in round 10 as Eggington landed a brutal combination of right uppercuts that had Rodriguez out on his feet as he dropped and fell through the ropes. The fight was waved off immediately giving Egginton the victory and a European title.

Eggington showed his mettle and is the type of fighter that seems to be simply born for his profession. He maintains a high volume of punches and doesn’t seem to tire late in fights. At only 23 years of age the future is very bright. As he continues to grow and take on other competition it’s likely he’ll hone his skills even more. He also has a style that translates to fans and networks. We’ll most definitely be hearing from him again.

Great night of boxing as 2017 continues to thrive.

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