‘What’s he made of?’ Incredible show of courage in one-sided beatdown
Issac Hardman couldn’t believe how tough Japan’s Kazuki Kyohara was.
Issac Hardman promised to send Kazuki Kyohara back home with a headache, and he delivered on that pledge in style, battering the game Japanese middleweight over six rounds in Sydney.
Coming off a contentious decision defeat in his last fight, Hardman didn’t let it go the distance, forcing referee Will Soulous to stop the fight 1:33 into the sixth round.
As impressive as Hardman was, showing his phenomenal power throughout, Kyohara deserves huge praise for his toughness.
He was almost too tough for his own good in the end, leaving the ring bloodied, bruised and no doubt with that headache Hardman promised him.
“What’s he made of, Japanese steel?” Hardman asked afterwards.
“I’ve got knives at home worth $1000 and he must be made of the same stuff.
“He went out, he stood up. Anyone I hit in the middleweight division goes down, but not if you’re from Japan.”
It was as wild a start as you’ll see, with Kyohara storming across the ring and letting loose.
In a frantic opening 45 seconds, the Japanese fighter pushed the pace, before a massive right hand from Hardman stopped him in his tracks, leaving him bleeding and wobbly at the knees.
It was more controlled power in the second from Hardman, who jabbed well and consistently landed with a heavy one-two.
Hardman was surprised at how tall Kyohara was when they first met face-to-face on Monday, but the Queenslander was clearly bigger on fight night, dominating the centre of the ring and causing painful welts all over his opponent’s face.
Kyohara even lost his mouthguard at the end of the third, with ring announcer Dan Hennessey forced to retrieve it from the ground.
A right uppercut near the end of the fourth round nearly ended it in Hardman’s favour, but again Kyohara was saved by the bell.
Only Kyohara’s toughness kept him in the fight as the action entered the sixth round, and he had a crack, throwing everything he could in the opening 20 seconds of the round.
But even that wasn’t enough, as Soulous stepped in to stop the beating midway through the frame, with Hardman picking up his first win since a knockout of the year victory over Beau Hartas last year.
“I want to pop his virginity” - Tszyu
Before the main event, Nikita Tszyu and Jack Brubaker had a face-off style interview in the ring with Ben Damon.
Following on from their hilarious press conference last week, there were more zingers and bizarre moments as they traded more insults...and compliments.
The strangest moment came when Brubaker said he’d never been hurt in the ring.
“He’s tough, he says he’s never been hurt,” Tszyu responded. “I want to be the first to hurt him.
“I want to pop his virginity.”
Tszyu finished off with a warning about how the bout will be finished.
“Tim beat him in four rounds,” he said. “The goal is to beat him faster.”
Tej Singh beats Blake Wells in brutal rematch
Tej Singh has gone two-for-two against Blake Wells, winning their super-middleweight rematch via majority decision.
After claiming their first bout in a hotly disputed split decision, Singh earned a second victory in a bruising encounter, emerging victorious with scores of 76-76, 79-73 and 79-73.
In typical Tej Singh fashion, it was equal parts boxing and brawl, with the 37-year-old former Australian middleweight champion digging deep and fighting through a late cut.
Rarely in a fight featuring classic displays of boxing skill, Singh has gone to a decision in his last seven fights, including a controversial majority decision loss to tonight’s headliner Issac Hardman in 2020.
Ralph Etienne’s impressive KO on debut
Haitian-born light-heavyweight Ralph Etienne put in an impressive performance on debut, stopping Riley Powers in the third round.
Etienne dropped his opponent in confusing circumstances right at the end of the first, with the crucial blow coming a split second after the bell rang to end the frame.
Powers would have been counted out if it wasn’t the end of the round, and managed to come out for the second.
Etienne proved too much, forcing referee Will Soulos to stop the bout after landing a furious combination against the ropes.
Rising star Mounir Fathi scores impressive knockout win
Remember the name: Mounir Fathi.
Billy Dib’s new charge just put a savage beating on Kiwi fighter Jerome Pascua.
The rising star dropped Pascua twice in the first round, once with a devastating right to the head, and again with a body shot.
He didn’t let up in the second either, dropping Pascua two more times before referee Les Fear waved the action off.
A hard-punching super welterweight, Mounir is staying busy at the moment.
He fought in late June, backed up two-and-a-half weeks ago, and will fight again on the Nikita Tszyu-Jack Brubaker undercard in two weeks.
“I told you guys, this kid’s devastating,” said Dib, who is managing and training Fathi. “This is only the start. The big fish are gonna come - (Troy) O’Meley, Jack Brubaker, we’re coming.
“We’re building this kid up and mark my words he’ll be a world champion.”
Not my type of person
Issac Hardman isn’t overlooking Kazuki Kyohara – his opponent tonight – but he does have unfinished business.
In March, Hardman dropped a controversial decision to Rohan Murdoch on the undercard to Tim Tszyu’s blockbuster with Tony Harrison in Sydney.
Hardman moved up a weight class for the grudge match with Murdoch, and there were ugly scenes backstage following the bout.
After losing the first few rounds, Hardman felt he fought back well, pushing Murdoch onto the back foot and forcing the Gold Coast local to spit out his mouthguard.
After their angry interaction backstage, an emotional Hardman called for a complete overhaul of boxing in Australia, focusing specifically on judges and referees.
Five months on, and the loss still irks Hardman.
“Good on him, but f**k him, he’s just not my type of person,” Hardman said of Murdoch. “He’s a Gold Coast, Burleigh boy with a six pack.
“That’s not who I am. I’m rough around the edges. I’m from Caboolture.
“I’ve got nothing against him, I’m sure I’d shake his hand and have a beer, but he’s just not the type of bloke I’d ever be friends with.”
The loss taught Hardman, 13-2, a valuable lesson.
“I’ll never wave off a knockdown again. I hit him in the chin, he had his feet tangling all around him, so that’s a knockdown,” he said. “That’s what happened.
“Lesson learned, never wave off a knockdown.
“But along with the point being deducted, with the mouthguard getting spat out, it annoys me.
“He won the jab contest, I lost the jabbing match. But I held my own. I went up to a division that’s not mine and held my own.
“If that’s a middleweight, I put them to sleep. If that’s any middleweight in the world, they go to sleep.”
Racism claims fuelling Hardman’s quest for Zerafa rematch
Issac Hardman hasn’t forgotten about the baseless racism claims former rival Michael Zerafa sent his way ahead of their 2022 fight.
And the ‘Headsplitter’, who will headline Wednesday night’s No Limit card against Japan’s Kuzuki Kyohara, wants to make Zerafa pay.
The build-up to their April 2022 fight was already toxic when Zerafa poured gasoline on the situation by hurling accusations of racism Hardman’s way during a press conference.
It remains unclear what basis Zerafa had for the serious claims, which Hardman has always vehemently denied.
“My wife’s Papua New Guinean, she’s of colour,” the father of one told this masthead. “My best mates are Samoan.
“I don’t have a racist bone in my body, and he goes up there and says that in front of everybody.
“In this day and age, with the internet, with social media, the accusation is almost as bad as the act itself. It’s hard to get back.”
The comments threw the Caboolture-based Hardman, who fought poorly and was stopped in the second round.
“I remember the last thing I said to Blair (coach Blair Studley), when I walked out of the tunnel was, ‘I’m walking up to him and I’m gonna punch his f***ing head in’,” Hardman said. “He just did all the right things to get under my skin and throw me.
“I didn’t have a proper handle on it. I didn’t think I was emotional, but clearly I was. He didn’t beat me, I beat me.
“He’s just a germ. He’s a wanker. To claim someone’s a racist and to have no validation, no evidence, it’s bad.
“His day will come. Karma’s a thing, and his time will come.”
Since that fight, Hardman got married to his wife Jiville, had a daughter, Evander, and earned an impressive first round knockout over Beau Hartas.
He says the defeat was a big learning curve and hopes a victory on Wednesday night against the 6-1-3 Kyohara will put him one step closer to making things right against Zerafa.
“I’d love to get that fight back, but I know he’s chasing Tim Tszyu,” he said. “He had a world title shot against (Erislandy) Lara, but took step aside money because he’s a coward. He’s so obsessed with chasing Tszyu, but a fight with me and him would sell again.
“This is a business, and I’m good for business because I can talk. He’s good because no one likes him. Well, maybe a few people like him, like his mum and sister … but I doubt it.”
Before a rematch can happen though, Hardman must dispatch Kyohara on Wednesday night.
Coming off a hugely contentious decision defeat to Rohan Murdoch, where he went up a weight division to get a fight, Hardman knows exactly how much is on the line, including money, world rankings, and even bigger fights at home and abroad.
“This is do or die, I can’t be losing here in Australia anymore,” he said. “I lost the boxing match (against Murdoch), but won the fight – have a look at his head compared to mine.
“So, this is do-or-die. I’m putting all the pressure on myself. Pressure makes diamonds and I always rise to the occasion.
“He’s tough, he comes from a country with a lot of pride and they’re warriors at heart.
“But come Wednesday, I’m going to steamroll this man and send him home with a headache.”
Kyohara’s only defeat as a professional came to current Japanese middleweight champion Riku Kunimoto in 2021, and the 26-year-old has found it difficult getting fights back home.
Speaking to this masthead through an interpreter, Kyohara said he’d never heard of Hardman before taking the fight, but has watched a few of his highlights on the internet.
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“He’s kind of like me, we have a similar style,” he said. “I come forward, I’m aggressive. I’m confident. I have a jab, a one-two.
“But it’s no problem. I don’t think he’s going to be a problem.”
Watch Hardman-Kyohara no Kayo Sports and Fox Sports 503 from 7pm on Wednesday, August 9
Originally published as ‘What’s he made of?’ Incredible show of courage in one-sided beatdown
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