Conway and McKenna set up Prizefighter semi-final on explosive night in Japan

AARON MCKENNA and Kieron Conway will meet in an intriguing Britain vs Ireland semi-final after surging to stoppage wins in their Prizefighter quarter-finals.

In the first fight night of Matchroom’s new Japanese venture, all four quarter-finals took place and there were fireworks across the quartet of 10-round middleweight showdowns at the Yamato Arena in Suite.

Northampton’s Conway made a flying start in the first fight of the night, seeing off Ainiwaer Yilixiati of China in the seventh round. Yilixiati was unbeaten since 2017 but Conway proved his class and it was a big right hand which eventually forced the referee to wave things off with a minute left in the seventh.

With his place in the last four assured, Conway could then sit back and see who he would be fighting next with McKenna taking on Florida’s Jeovanny Estela in the night’s second quarter-final and a battle of two undefeated middleweights.

Estela had made a good start to the contest and landed with a big right hand in the first round which McKenna took well. And the Los Angeles based Irishman soon got a foothold in the fight and rocked Estela with a big left hook in the fourth.

From then on it was the McKenna show as he began to break Estela down, landing with hard shots to head and body. It was turning into a one-sided beatdown but Estela somehow made it until the final round on his feet.

However, McKenna would not denied his split of the night’s knockout bonus, with $100,000 split between whoever can end their fight inside the distance, by securing a stoppage with less than a minute remaining in the 10th. 

In the fight of the night, Kazuto Takesako secured a unanimous decision victory over Durham’s Mark Dickinson in quarter-final three. The pair were evenly matched and had their own pockets of success throughout the clash. By the 10th, they both opened fire in search of a late stoppage of their own but they were still standing as the final bell rang. 

The scorecards were read out in Japanese meaning Dickinson would have had no idea he was the beaten man until Takesako’s hand was raised. The judges’ scorecards read 96-94, 97-93 and 98-92 all in favour of the Tokyo resident.

The fourth and final quarter final of the night and the nominal main event was an all-Japan derby between local favourite Riki Kunimoto and Eiki Kani, in what was a rematch of their March clash in Nagoya.

That night, Kunimoto won via a sixth-round stoppage but Kani arrived here clearly seeking revenge. He did not have too much success in the opening two rounds but started to land with real authority in the third as the fight ignited.

But Kunimoto roared back in the fourth and sent Kani stumbling back to the ropes with a right hook after 60 seconds of the round. What followed was a relentless onslaught from Kunimoto but Kani somehow managed to hang in there.

A left hook inside the final minute of the round hurt Kani again, however, and with more punches raining down on him the referee looked to be considering a stoppage. Kani made it to the bell but it was more of the same early in the fifth and the referee  decided to step in with 1:55 remaining.

Kunimoto will now get his chance at revenge against Takesako, who is the only man to have beaten him. The pair met in May 2021 with Takesako securing a stoppage in the first round but three years on they will meet with a place in the final at stake.

“There is lots more to come,” said Matchroom CEO Frank Smith of the night. “But this was an exciting start.”