Tape Delay Kickboxing: Bigbang 44

Bigbang 44. No, not the KPop group.

Jan 26, 2023

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Welcome to 2023! Tape Delay Kickboxing continues into the new year with my pledge that I shall attempt to keep this series going and expand the promotions covered to include K-1/Krush, RISE, SHOOT BOXING, Enfusion, and Bigbang. If I find any other promotions on tape that have decent fights, I might cover those too!

This series shall, where possible, allow you to watch the shows in order as if you were watching live, without spoilers.

Beyond Kickboxing event calendar: https://beyondkick.com/schedule

Bigbang 44 (2023-01-22)

Korakuen Hall, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan

“King of Entertainer” Yasuhiro Kido was runner-up in the 2017 K-1 Super Welterweight tournament and the 2008 K-1 WORLD MAX Japan champion, and currently fights at 154 lbs. Here he is doing a 2-minute 2-round exhibition against former Bigbang Heavyweight champion Kosuke Sanekata, who is on a four-fight losing streak and weighed in at 220 lbs for his fight in September.

The top of the card features two title fights. First, for the vacant Bantam title, Shuto Hagiwara, coming off a KO win at Super Bigbang in November, but with an 11-18-4 record overall, takes on 21-year-old Takeru Itabashi. Itabashi is making his Bigbang debut after having all of his previous fights in Krush and having lost a decision in his last fight in September.

The main event is 21-year-old Super Bantam champion Ikko Ota attempting the first defense of his title after winning it over Momotaro Kiyama at Bigbang 43 in September. His challenger is 20-year-old Eruto, who left K-1 after two straight losses to win a decision over Ranmaru at Super Bigbang in November and earn this title shot.

Daiki Katayama may be a 47-year-old former Hanshin Tigers baseball player that played in the farm system and never made it to the big leagues. His opponent, HIRO, looks 50 lbs lighter and also over 50 years old.

Fights highlighted in bold were ones that I found particularly entertaining.

Bigbang Basics: All pro fights on this show are under “Bigbang Rules,” which is K-1 rules: no elbows. There is also a ruleset called, for some reason, “Bigbang Kick Rules,” that allows elbows. The named weight classes match boxing classes, but many of the bouts are contracted at limits outside of those classes.