Two young brothers exchanged blows in a dramatic fashion in the squared circle.
The rare match up was dating back 1993 between two brothers Kusuo Eguchi and Katsuaki Eguchi. They climbed the ranks and eventually had to face each other for the vacant Japan Boxing Commission title.
Kusuo is the older brother and was just 24 years old at the time while Katsuaki was 22 years old. Both brothers were on a good streak. Kusuo held a record of 10-3 while his younger brother had a 10-4 record.
Winning the Japanese title was such a big deal and a great achievement in life so they agreed to exchange blows with each other.
On June 5, the two brothers shared a ring. The match was pretty intense from the beginning as neither of them was holding back. Older brother Kusuo led the judges’ scorecard in the first minute. He was staggered for a bit by Katsuaki’s combo but quickly regained his balance.
With several seconds left, he knocked down his little brother with a series of left hands. While Katsuaki tried to get back on his feet, Kusuo refused to look at him and was only bowing his head.
In the second round, Katsuaki got his revenge and knocked down Kusuo with a big left hook. Just like his older brother, Katsuaki refused to look at him when he was lying on the canvas. They continued to trade heavy blows until the 6th round. Kusuo pretty much dominated the match and finally knocked out Katsuaki with a vicious uppercut.
There was no celebration at all as Kusuo kept his face down all the time. All he did was knelt down in his corner while the referee announced that the match was over. His expression really showed that he felt guilty. Fortunately, Katsuaki didn’t suffer serious injury.
This match is pretty unique as most siblings refused to face each other in the squared circle. For example, boxing veterans Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko refused to unify their belts when they both were on top.