Rise, K-1’s rival on the Japanese kickboxing scene held the finals of its 58kg and 61kg World Series tournaments on Monday, September 16th at Makuhari Messe in Chiba. The 58kg final pitted the star of the organization, Tenshin Nasukawa (34-0, 27 KOs) against Shiro (38-11-4, 14 KOs) while his teammate Taiju Shiratori (16-5-1, 7 KOs) faced Muay Thai veteran Genji Umeno (44-10-3) for the 61kg title.
Nasukawa, who revealed afterwards that he went into the fight with a hand injury, won a rather easy decision but the performance was understandably a bit below his standards. Shiro didn’t have much to trouble Tenshin with and Tenshin seemed content to ride the fight out without looking too hard for a finish.