Sora Tanaka walked through a hailstorm of power punches from Takeru Kobata to maintain his perfect knockout-to-win mark.
The all-action welterweight wrapped up his first full year in the pro ranks with a fourth-round stoppage of Kobata. Neither fighter touched the canvas in their non-stop slugfest, but Tanaka was able to force the stoppage at 2:01 of the fourth round in Thursday from Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.
Yokohama’s Tanaka surpassed his deepest fight by just eight seconds, though the contest was never on course to go the distance.
Kobata entered as a considerable underdog but was determined to earn the respect of “The Tyson of Yokohama”. That mindset was applied early, which helped set the pace for a condensed firefight as Tanaka’s aggressive style provided an inviting target.
Tanaka, the 24-year-old knockout artist – who celebrates a year as a professional later in June – walked through a volley of power punches to land looping but heavy-handed shots upstairs. Kobata remained upright throughout the contest but absorbed a considerable amount of punishment.
Little changed as the bout progressed. Tanaka and Kobata went right back to work in the second. Kobata spent most of the round – and fight – with his back to the ropes but with Tanaka directly in front of him and always within punching range. It made for entertaining exchanges, but the damage slowly set in for the 26-year-old southpaw.
Tanaka picked apart Kobata in a brutal third round. The frame ended with Kobata sporting a bloody lip and visible swelling across his face.
Kobata’s corner attempted to buy time when the veteran was slow off his stool at the start of the fourth. A brief momentum shift involved Tanaka being rocked midway through the round, though that ultimately proved to be Kobata’s last stand.
Tanaka brushed off the brief onslaught and went to work along the ropes. Kobata was under siege but seemingly aware of the incoming. His health became a concern, though, and the referee Takeru Okaniwa opted to stop the contest at that moment.
Kobata fell to 14-8-1 (6 KO). He has dropped three of his past five contests.
Tanaka, 4-0 (4 KOs), remained perfect. He’s yet to go beyond the fourth round through 51 weeks as a pro.
The former title challenger Reiya Abe, 27-4-2 (10 KOs), was able to withstand a late rally by his countryman Yuya Oku to claim a 10-round, unanimous decision. The scores were 96-94, 96-94 and 97-93 in Abe’s favor at the conclusion of their domestic featherweight clash.
Abe jumped out to a strong start and was consistently able to land his straight left hand out of a southpaw stance. Oku, 8-1-2 (5 KOs), adjusted and began to regularly score with right-hand shots late in the contest. The fight was out of reach by that point, however; Abe was guaranteed victory as long as he made it to the bell.
Tokyo’s Oku suffered his first career defeat but is winless in his past two. The 28 year old was held to a draw in his previous outing.
Abe needed the victory as he entered the fight at just 1-1-1 in his past three. He’d won six in a row to advance to the title stage before he was battered inside eight rounds by the then-IBF featherweight titlist Luis Alberto Lopez in March 2024 in the US.
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on and .