This is a solid domestic fight in Japan where I presume the winner will look to progress towards world level. Ogawa is most known for his controversial fight with Tevin Farmer which was eventually declared a no contest because Ogawa failed a drugs test. This is Nishitani’s big chance as hes never competed past domestic level and has lost multiple times at that level.
Kenichi Ogawa has good power and puts a decent amount behind his shots. He’s a decent counter puncher and has good reaction speed. He doesn’t have the best defence but I feel this is mostly because he forgets to move his head. He throws nicely to the body which is good too see as its very much an underrated skill. He has been cut badly before but fought threw it until a doctor stopped the fight.
Kazuhiro Nishitani seems to have decent power himself and has used that power to get a few come from behind victories after trailing on the cards. I don’t think he has a great defence as he mostly just keeps his gloves up and stands in front of his opponent while they punch. His opponents don’t have a problem punching round the guard or straight through it sometimes. He doesn’t have the reaction speed or timing of Ogawa but he is calm when under pressure. I like his straight right hand which is powerful and crisp when he sets it up. When he puts his mind to it he has an active jab which keeps opponents off of him. Similar to Ogawa he throws to the body well and normally throws a hook to one side then to the other before resetting.
I think Kenichi Ogawa will win this fight by decision because Nishitani has never been stopped and should be competitive to an extent. I don’t think Nishitani has the reaction speed to catch Ogawa cleanly when they are exchanging. Ogawa is a decent counter puncher and times it well which makes him stylistically hard for the slower Nishitani.
Boxing Fulcrum 