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[Source: TheSweetScience.com Boxing

Yamaguchi Out-Strikes Shoujou for Decision

TOKYO, Feb. 23 -- A sensational Shooting Disco 04 went down Saturday evening at night club turned fight club Shinjuku FACE, headlined by a showdown between two of Shooto's top 123 pounders.

In the main event, Mamoru Yamaguchi put the kibosh on Yuki Shoujou rising star, smashing the young Class A graduate with heavy counterpunches and kicks.
Shoujou entered the first round circling the former bantamweight champion, picking at Mamoru's lead leg with quick low kicks. Yamaguchi checked most of them, though, and countered with short, stiff combinations and hard Thai kicks to the midsection. When Shoujou would charge in with a flurry, Yamaguchi locked him up in the clinch and launched heavy left knees to the legs and back to the midsection.

Shoujou had difficulty finding any consistent openings in the former champ's crisp, technical standup, but he did get some stinging punches past Yamaguchi's defenses. Yamaguchi's head movement apparently saved him from much damage, however, as evidenced by the active but fluid movement of his Afro. By turning his opponent's big punches into grazing shots, Yamaguchi was able to return fire with hard, multi-level counter punches that had Shoujou flinching from their force.

After three rounds of Shoujou eating the harder, cleaner shots, all three judges ruled in favor of Yamaguchi: 30-27, 30-28, 30-27.