Ain’t gonna be no rematch: Kohei Kono moves up to bantamweight, dashing hopes of fighting Hong Kong’s Rex Tso again
The 38-year-old ‘Tough Boy’ will fight in the 118 pound division and has Australian Jason Moloney in his sights as he looks to prolong his career
Six months after losing to Hong Kong’s Rex Tso Sing-yu in somewhat controversial circumstances, Japanese veteran Kohei Kono has decided he had waited long enough.
A much-anticipated rematch between two sluggers who rocked the house in Clash of Champions 3 last October appears slim now after Kono decided to move up a division to bantamweight.
Fans had been eager for a rematch after Tso extended his winning streak as a super flyweight (115 pounds) to 22 bouts despite the fight being stopped in the seventh round after a ringside doctor examined Tso’s almost completely shut left eye.
Tso suffered a sickening clash of heads in the second round of the scheduled 12-round contest but still won the bout on points, improving his record to 20-0-0, 13 KOs, while Kono’s record dropped to 33-11-1, 14 KOs.
Some fans had complained that Tso shouldn’t have won the fight as he was clearly hampered with his injury, but the “Wonder Kid” had done enough to win on points. All three judges scored it an identical 68-66 up to the moment the fight was stopped.
