Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on May 2012

Formerly of the K-1 family of premier kickboxing events in Japan, the Krush series is now coming into its own. The last event, Krush.18, which took place earlier this month at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, was a take-no-prisoners affair, with seven of the eleven contests resulting in knockouts. The headline match saw 63kg champion Ryuji Kajiwara defend his belt with a unanimous decision over 2008 K-1 Koshien champion Hiroya.

The series returns next month with Krush.19. It, too, promises to be another big night of action with some heavy kickers upping the ante. The main event will be a 65kg super fight featuring Yuta Kubo (Fighting Kairos) squaring off with Abdellah Ezbiri (Morocco). Meanwhile, the 60kg super fight pits former AJKF Super Featherweight champ Naoki Ishikawa against former RISE Super Featherweight champ, the Shibuya-based Kan Itabashi.

Also on the bill is a 63kg Wildrush league contest between TaCa (Triple-Y) and Yukimitsu Takahashi (Hamakko Muay Thai). A KO win by TaCa would mean a tie for first place with current league number one, Hideaki Yamazaki. Several more regular fights round out the card, including one 70kg match, and two 60kg slug fests, plus a 60kg title elimination round fight.
Each Krush fight goes at least three rounds, with each round lasting a frantic three minutes.

Krush.19. Jun 8, Korakuen Hall (listing).