Kotetsu Boku talks winning inaugural lightweight title, Aoki, Folayang...

Earlier this month, ONE FC 6: Rise of Kings ended up as one of the most entertaining cards in Asia from top to bottom. It produced some excellent finishes and some back and forth wars, with one of the more memorable performances turned in by Japanese fighter Kotetsu Boku.

Pegged as an underdog by most pundits coming into to the event, Boku survived an onslaught launched by the highly regarded lightweight Zorobabel Moreira. Badly battered and limping on one leg, 'No Face' pushed through and managed to land damaging shots of his own, toppling his massive 6-foot-3 opponent on the third round of their contest.

The Japanese fighter showed tremendous heart and his performance earned him ONE FC's inaugural lightweight championship in one of the most entertaining fights put on by the promotion.

"It's the best feeling!" Kotetsu Boku told BloodyElbow.com as he talked about his big win at ONE FC 6. "KO wins are always special to me, but this time, not only did I win the fight by KO, but I was also able to have gorgeous champion belt as a souvenir."

"I am very happy and honored," he said, "We always try our best to show our best performance and have the best fight in the arena for the wonderful fans who come to see the event. What I can do now as a champion is to make every endeavor every day as a champion of ONE FC."



During the championship bout, Boku took several hard kicks that looked to have his leg badly hurt, but the Japanese fighter said he never really thought about the accumulation and damage he was taking.

"Yeah, it was a tough moment late in the second round, but I was not worried about the referee stoppage because my consciousness was clear." he said, talking about overcoming adversity during the bout, "I was focused on the fight and I knew I could knock him out before my leg dies."

And that's exactly what he did. Boku gutted it out and he pulled off a win over one of the most highly regarded lightweights in the region. Zoro was tearing through all comers, and the Shooto veteran claimed what was probably the biggest win of his career.

"It was my honor to show my fight in front of the best audience in Asia and in ONE FC - one of best promotions in the world," Boku continued, "Moreira is a complete MMA fighter in a new era and he's much stronger than what I expected."

"I gave words to him right after the fight... 'no rematch please'." Boku joked as the always cheerful and jovial fighter talked about his opponent.

"I think (Folayang) is a tough and powerful fighter, and everyone knows Shinya is very strong and one of best fighters in the world" Kotetsu said as he talked about the lightweights who are lining up for a shot at his title, "I am prepared to face anyone's challenge, including Shinya. I am confident that my chance to win the fight against him is not ZERO."

'No Face' manages to make light of every situation and tries to keep the mood up and to have everyone smiling. Don't mistake it for complacency though. He's currently enjoying the start of his reign as the first ONE FC lightweight champion, but soon enough, this veteran will be back on the grind with the Krazy Bee crew knowing guys like Folayang, Aoki and Laursen are all gunning for him.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/10/24/3546970/asian-mma-kotetsu-boku-interview-one-fc-lightweight-champion

Boku is indeed a warrior. Gutted out the KO win and took home the inaugural strap. Definitely anticipating his first defense.

Boku was a beast in that fight.

CDF47 wrote:Boku was a beast in that fight.

Definitely. Took a lot of punishment, that leg was eaten uppp. Big props to him for sticking it out for the KO. Would love to see a rematch eventually.

Mikal wrote:

CDF47 wrote:Boku was a beast in that fight.

Definitely. Took a lot of punishment, that leg was eaten uppp. Big props to him for sticking it out for the KO. Would love to see a rematch eventually.

It might be highly unlikely, unfortunately. As soon as he loses the belt, he'll be making the drop to 145, as was his original plan coming into the Moreira fight. With a list of contenders that includes Aoki and Folayang, it's going to be a difficult task to retain.

wekka wrote:

Mikal wrote:

CDF47 wrote:Boku was a beast in that fight.

Definitely. Took a lot of punishment, that leg was eaten uppp. Big props to him for sticking it out for the KO. Would love to see a rematch eventually.

It might be highly unlikely, unfortunately. As soon as he loses the belt, he'll be making the drop to 145, as was his original plan coming into the Moreira fight. With a list of contenders that includes Aoki and Folayang, it's going to be a difficult task to retain.

Ah yeah, he did look a whole lot smaller than Zoro so FW probably makes more sense, do you have any idea who the next most probable match up for him is going to be? The last Folayang fight I watched was his fight against Ole Laursen in OneFC where he lost and Aoki has one win after his Eddie loss. Are there any guys that you know of with some good streaks going that would be called up for the #1 contender spot?

Mikal wrote:

wekka wrote:

Mikal wrote:

CDF47 wrote:Boku was a beast in that fight.

Definitely. Took a lot of punishment, that leg was eaten uppp. Big props to him for sticking it out for the KO. Would love to see a rematch eventually.

It might be highly unlikely, unfortunately. As soon as he loses the belt, he'll be making the drop to 145, as was his original plan coming into the Moreira fight. With a list of contenders that includes Aoki and Folayang, it's going to be a difficult task to retain.

Ah yeah, he did look a whole lot smaller than Zoro so FW probably makes more sense, do you have any idea who the next most probable match up for him is going to be? The last Folayang fight I watched was his fight against Ole Laursen in OneFC where he lost and Aoki has one win after his Eddie loss. Are there any guys that you know of with some good streaks going that would be called up for the #1 contender spot?

From what I heard Aoki, Folayang, and Laursen are on the short list of contenders. Depending on when the next LW title defense is scheduled to be, you'll have a better idea. If they do indeed schedule a title bout in December, it expect it to be Aoki with a small chance of it also being Laursen.

I can't really think of any other names that would suit One well as of right now. Jadamba would be an incredible opponent but Legend hasn't been open to working with One currently. Daisuke Nakamura, ISAO, and Kitaoka would also be acceptable opposition but I don't think One is too thrilled about having another Japanese champ not named Aoki right now, due to the working agreement with Evolve and general popularity of him.

Mikal wrote:

CDF47 wrote:Boku was a beast in that fight.

Definitely. Took a lot of punishment, that leg was eaten uppp. Big props to him for sticking it out for the KO. Would love to see a rematch eventually.

Agreed. Yeah, a future rematch would be sweet. Hopefully they give him Aoki next for the title fight. They should give Folayang another fight on that same card and the winners should fight each other.