Hardman vs Kyohara: Weigh-in face-off reveals opponent’s sneaky tactics

Issac Hardman had some choice words for Kazuki Kyohara - and a few Aussie middleweights - ahead of his headline fight on Wednesday.

Issac Hardman hit out at his “insecure” opponent Kazuki Kyohara after realising the Japanese middleweight was artificially attempting to make himself look bigger when they first met on Monday.

Kyohara surprised everyone when he arrived at Monday’s presser, with the 26-year-old appearing much taller than the 182cm recorded on Boxrec.

He was noticeably taller than Hardman when they faced off on Monday, but by Tuesday’s weigh-ins, the truth was revealed.

Gone were the shoes, and the puffed up hair.

Going face-to-face in an intense stare down after they’d both successfully made weight, Queensland’s Hardman realised they were much closer in height than he’d originally thought.

Issac Hardman and Kazuki Kyohara face off during the Issac Hardman vs Kazuki Kyohara weigh in at the Heffron Centre, Sydney. Photo: No Limit Boxing / Brett Costello

“He had those big Air Forces on and a bit of fluff on top of his head,” Hardman told this masthead of Kyohara. “He was doing all the right things to make himself look bigger and badder.

“He needs every little trick he can get, but today we’re about the same size.

“It just makes me think he’s an insecure man.”

During a heated face-off after weigh-ins, Hardman and Kyohara butted heads and stared into each other’s’ eyes, neither willing to take a backward step.

“I’m sending him home with a big headache,” Hardman said on Monday. Picture: No Limit Boxing/Brett Costello

It wasn’t planned, and Kyohara said he was just reacting to Harman’s antics.

“I could feel Hardman’s intensity when we were like that, so it upped my level – it upped my energy,” Kyohara told this masthead through an interpreter. “I didn’t have anything planned, it’s just the way Hardman came on.

“I don’t want to be taken lightly, I’m here to fight. He’s just trying to be a showman, an entertainer.”

Kyohara admitted he didn’t know anything about Hardman when he agreed to fight him, but has since seen the string of knockouts the former MMA fighter has put together in the boxing ring.

The ‘Headsplitter’ says his reputation as one of the most dangerous middleweights in the country has scared off many domestic opponents, including Joel Camilleri and New Zealander Andrei Mikhailovich.

Joel Camilleri, a former opponent of Tim Tszyu, copped a serve from Hardman. Picture: Peter Wallis/Getty Images

Auckland-based Andrei Mikhailovich has had some heated run-ins with Hardman in the past. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

The Queenslander says that’s why No Limit had to look to Japan to find opponents.

“Everyone here says they want to fight me, but they won’t,” he said. “They would’ve taken the opportunity, but no other domestic middleweight wants to fight me.

“That’s why they’ve gone international.

“I’m glad they’ve got a Japanese fighter, they’re always to stoic and tough. They come from a fighting country, and you can always bank on them coming to win. You know it’s going to be a cracking fight.

“Not like when you get matched up with a Balinese tuk tuk driver like Camilleri or some Venezuelan like Andrei Mikhailovich, you coward.”

Asked about Hardman’s reputation as a knockout artist who can’t find fights in Australia, Kyohara’s response was ominous.

“I’m not worried at all. It’s the same for me in Japan,” he said. “People in Japan have refused to fight me many times.

“We have a similar style, I’m aggressive, I’m confident and I’m coming here to win and keep building my level up higher and higher.”

Watch Hardman vs Kyohara on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo Sports from 7:30pm on Wednesday, August 9

Originally published as Hardman vs Kyohara: Weigh-in face-off reveals opponent’s sneaky tactics