Kurihara vs Inoue

Who won Kurihara vs Inoue?

Takuma Inoue beat Keita Kurihara by technical decision in their 9 round contest on Thursday, January 14th, 2021, at Korakuen Hall, Tokyo.

The scorecards were announced as 89-82, 89-82, 90-81 in favor of winner Takuma Inoue.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Bantamweight division, which meant the weight limit was 118 pounds (8.4 stone or 53.5 kg).

Kurihara vs Inoue stats

Back in January 2021, Keita Kurihara stepped into the ring with a record of 15 wins, 5 losses, and 0 draws, 13 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

Takuma Inoue made his way to the ring with a record of 13 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, with 3 of those wins by knockout.

The stats suggested Kurihara had a massive power advantage over Inoue, boasting a 87% knockout percentage compared to Inoue's 23%.

Keita Kurihara was the older man by 3 years, at 28 years old.

Kurihara had a height advantage of 3 inches over Inoue.

Both Keita Kurihara and Takuma Inoue fought out of an orthodox stance.

Kurihara was arguably the more experienced fighter, having had 6 more fights, and made his debut in 2011, 2 years and 8 months earlier than Inoue, whose first professional fight was in 2013. He had fought 88 fewer professional rounds, totaling 115 compared to Inoue's 203.

Keita Kurihara went into the fight ranked number 4 by the IBF at bantamweight.

Takuma Inoue was ranked number 7 by the WBC, and 7 by the WBO in the 118lb division.

Kurihara vs Inoue form

Inoue had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance 3 times.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Nordine Oubaali on November 7, 2019, by unanimous decision in their WBC World Bantamweight championship fight at Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

Prior to that, he had won against Tasana Salapat on December 30, 2018, by unanimous decision in their WBC Interim World Bantamweight championship fight at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Mark John Yap on September 11, 2018, by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Korakuen Hall, Tokyo.

Before that, he had defeated Waldo Sabu on May 25, 2018, by knockout in the 1st round at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo.

He had won against Kentaro Masuda on December 30, 2017, by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Bunka Gym, Kanagawa.

Activity check

Inoue's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years and 15 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 10 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 47 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 9.4 rounds on average.

What time did Kurihara vs Inoue start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 11:00 AM UTC at Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan, which was 6:00 AM EST or 3:00 AM PST on the West Coast of America, or 11:00 AM GMT in the UK.

What were the odds on Kurihara vs Inoue?

Keita Kurihara was a 157/50 (+310) underdog going into the contest, while Takuma Inoue made his way into the ring at 1/5 (-500) with oddsmakers.