Kawajiri Relinquishes Shooto World Welterweight Title
When Tatsuya Kawajiri
(Pictures) stepped in front of the
media with a white plaster cast peeking out from the sleeve of his
black suit jacket, it was immediately apparent that good news
wasn't forthcoming.
Less than two weeks after his close friend and T-BLOOD teammate Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures) returned the Shooto Pacific rim welterweight (154 pounds) title, Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures) returned his Shooto world welterweight title to International Shooto Commission executive Noboru Urata, claiming a broken left thumb will leave him unable to defend his title on Feb. 17.
Kawajiri revealed that following his bout with Gilbert Melendez (Pictures) on New Year's Eve he felt pain in his left thumb, but thought it would subside. After three or four days, however, the pain remained. The 28-year-old T-BLOOD fighter then had his hand examined and was diagnosed with sprain that he was told would need two weeks to heal.
With his hand heavily wrapped and aided by an injection of painkillers, Kawajiri resumed his training last week. Yet he continued to feel pain in his left hand and went to the hospital for further examination. X-rays revealed that the Shooto and PRIDE star had a broken metacarpal bone in his left thumb, which would require two months to fully heal.
Kawajiri became the eighth welterweight world champion of professional Shooto on Dec. 14, 2004, defeating "Shaolin" Vitor Ribeiro (Pictures), who had previously defeated Kawajiri in 2002. Following his title win, Kawajiri become a fixture of PRIDE's lightweight class. Kawajiri made his first and only defense of the title in Feb. 2006 by notching an unceremonious victory over former Shooto world champion Joachim Hansen (Pictures) after the Norwegian was disqualified due to a kick to the groin only eight seconds into the fight.
"To the fans, and all the people concerned: I am sorry," Kawajiri said. "I can't defend and carry out the duties of a champion. I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart."
In the face of his title vacancy, Kawajiri noted the wealth of 154-pound talent scheduled to compete Feb. 17 in Yokohama, including three bouts — Mizuto Hirota (Pictures) vs. Takashi Nakakura (Pictures); Koutetsu Boku (Pictures) vs. Kenichiro Togashi (Pictures); Ganjo Tentsuku (Pictures) vs. Yusuke Endo (Pictures) — that contain implications for the Shooto world rankings.
"Welterweight has become enlivened," expressed Kawajiri. "For those fighters who are appearing at the Pacifico [Yokohama] card, it's a great chance."
With Kawajiri no longer competing, the card will likely be headlined by the Shooto world title rematch between Akira Kikuchi (Pictures) and Shinya Aoki (Pictures). On a more positive note, a 132-pound clash was announced for the card in Yokohama, between 2005 Shooto Rookie Tournament MVP Takeya Mizugaki (Pictures) and 2004 Pancrase Neo-Blood Tournament winner Atsushi Yamamoto (Pictures).
The bout will be Yamamoto's Shooto debut. The former collegiate wrestler at Yamanashi Gakuin University has competed for most of his career in Pancrase's 141-pound class, despite naturally weighing around 135. Noting that a 132-pound weight class would be a better fit for him, the KILLER BEE competitor opted into Shooto competition. However, it will not be Yamamoto's first fight against a standout Shooto fighter, having defeated ranked fighters Katsuya Toida (Pictures) and So Tazawa (Pictures) in his career.
The hard hitting Mizugaki was part of one of 2006's most outstanding contests when he battled to a draw with former Shooto world champion Ryota Matsune (Pictures). It will be Mizugaki's first time back in the Shooto ring since the young star suffered his first setback last Nov., when he came out on the short end of an intense slugfest with Kenji Osawa (Pictures).
Less than two weeks after his close friend and T-BLOOD teammate Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures) returned the Shooto Pacific rim welterweight (154 pounds) title, Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures) returned his Shooto world welterweight title to International Shooto Commission executive Noboru Urata, claiming a broken left thumb will leave him unable to defend his title on Feb. 17.
Kawajiri revealed that following his bout with Gilbert Melendez (Pictures) on New Year's Eve he felt pain in his left thumb, but thought it would subside. After three or four days, however, the pain remained. The 28-year-old T-BLOOD fighter then had his hand examined and was diagnosed with sprain that he was told would need two weeks to heal.
With his hand heavily wrapped and aided by an injection of painkillers, Kawajiri resumed his training last week. Yet he continued to feel pain in his left hand and went to the hospital for further examination. X-rays revealed that the Shooto and PRIDE star had a broken metacarpal bone in his left thumb, which would require two months to fully heal.
Kawajiri became the eighth welterweight world champion of professional Shooto on Dec. 14, 2004, defeating "Shaolin" Vitor Ribeiro (Pictures), who had previously defeated Kawajiri in 2002. Following his title win, Kawajiri become a fixture of PRIDE's lightweight class. Kawajiri made his first and only defense of the title in Feb. 2006 by notching an unceremonious victory over former Shooto world champion Joachim Hansen (Pictures) after the Norwegian was disqualified due to a kick to the groin only eight seconds into the fight.
"To the fans, and all the people concerned: I am sorry," Kawajiri said. "I can't defend and carry out the duties of a champion. I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart."
In the face of his title vacancy, Kawajiri noted the wealth of 154-pound talent scheduled to compete Feb. 17 in Yokohama, including three bouts — Mizuto Hirota (Pictures) vs. Takashi Nakakura (Pictures); Koutetsu Boku (Pictures) vs. Kenichiro Togashi (Pictures); Ganjo Tentsuku (Pictures) vs. Yusuke Endo (Pictures) — that contain implications for the Shooto world rankings.
"Welterweight has become enlivened," expressed Kawajiri. "For those fighters who are appearing at the Pacifico [Yokohama] card, it's a great chance."
With Kawajiri no longer competing, the card will likely be headlined by the Shooto world title rematch between Akira Kikuchi (Pictures) and Shinya Aoki (Pictures). On a more positive note, a 132-pound clash was announced for the card in Yokohama, between 2005 Shooto Rookie Tournament MVP Takeya Mizugaki (Pictures) and 2004 Pancrase Neo-Blood Tournament winner Atsushi Yamamoto (Pictures).
The bout will be Yamamoto's Shooto debut. The former collegiate wrestler at Yamanashi Gakuin University has competed for most of his career in Pancrase's 141-pound class, despite naturally weighing around 135. Noting that a 132-pound weight class would be a better fit for him, the KILLER BEE competitor opted into Shooto competition. However, it will not be Yamamoto's first fight against a standout Shooto fighter, having defeated ranked fighters Katsuya Toida (Pictures) and So Tazawa (Pictures) in his career.
The hard hitting Mizugaki was part of one of 2006's most outstanding contests when he battled to a draw with former Shooto world champion Ryota Matsune (Pictures). It will be Mizugaki's first time back in the Shooto ring since the young star suffered his first setback last Nov., when he came out on the short end of an intense slugfest with Kenji Osawa (Pictures).
