Tachibana Boxing Gym, Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture.
The late-June afternoon light slants through the narrow locker-room windows. The air carries that familiar mix of sweat and summer moisture as Sinichi Yanagimoto sits on the wooden bench, sweater damp against his back, hair dripping steadily onto the tiles.
He leans forward with his phone in hand, replaying a clip of Shimamura Suzuki's most recent fight. Shimamura's movement is crisp, sharp, and calculated, the kind of fighter who doesn't give away openings for free.
Sinichi watches without blinking. Only a month ago, he took the Japanese Lightweight title for the first time in his career. Yet the relief hasn't fully settled.
Now the new contender list is out, and with it comes names he hasn't faced… names like Shimamura Suzuki, now entering his division as the seventh-ranked contender.
He exhales slowly and switches tabs. But then, a headline fills his screen:
