Katsuma Akitsugi rides power, youth to KO win over Aston Palicte

TAMPA, Florida – Experience, savvy and quality counterpunching are nice skills for veteran fighters to cultivate and employ.

But they don’t compare to raw power, pure speed and the precision blows of a younger, fitter man.

In Wednesday’s ProBox TV card, Japan’s Katsuma Akitsugi leaned on the attributes of his youth and recorded a sixth-round knockout over two-time junior bantamweight title challenger Aston Palicte.

Miffed at himself for missing weight by two-tenths of a pound, the unbeaten bantamweight Akitsugi, 12-0 (3 KOs), unleashed an attack predicated more on power punching than the typical rapid boxing that allowed him to pile up victories by decision.

Knowing that he was facing a skilled professional who has fought for two belts, Akitsugi said he took comfort early on that Palicte, 28-6-1, couldn’t match his speed and seemed taken aback by the power shots that landed.

Akitsugi ran the math in his head – he’s 27, Palicte is 33 – and let rip a steady diet of combinations.

“My confidence is from my conditioning,” he said. “I know I’m in better condition than anyone I fight.”

The pair had sparred previously. Akitsugi trains at the famed Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California, and Palicte is promoted by an associate of the gym’s most famous athlete, Manny Pacquaio.

“I know he’s good, but I was determined not to lose,” Akitsugi said. “Yes, he hit me good a couple times, but, mentally, I felt strong. It’s an honor to beat him. I wanted to make a statement. I want bigger fights.”

Akitsugi says he’ll fight twice more on ProBox TV but is unsure when he’ll return after suffering a slight cut on his left eyelid.

It’s hard to guess what’s next for Palicte. He fought Donnie Nietes to a draw in 2018 for the WBO junior bantamweight title, losing by 10th-round TKO for the same belt to Kazuto Ioka in 2019.

He entered Wednesday’s bout reeling from consecutive losses to Jason Moloney (third-round TKO in June 2022) and Jose Salas Reyes (fourth-round TKO in July 2023) and had been out of the ring since.

Akitsugi has now posted two impressive triumphs on ProBox TV after his ninth-round TKO of Jesus Ramirez Rubio in July.

“Missing weight is not professional – I’m from Japan. I need to be professional,” Akitsugi said. “I can’t do that anymore, and I won’t.”

A pair of first-round knockouts showcased the young talent on the card.

Dante Benjamin, a light heavyweight from Cleveland, needed just 1 minute, 4 seconds to finish Aaron Casper, 7-8-2, with a thunderous right hand to the head.

“My coach had talked about being patient, let it come to me,” Benjamin said. “It set up so well.”

The 22-year-old Benjamin, 10-0-1 (8 KOs), was encouraged by his ProBox TV debut, saying he’s willing to return because of the opportunity to develop and remain active.

“That’s what I need and want. … Whenever they tell me to come back, I’ll be here. I just need one week off from this,” Benjamin said.

Lightweight prospect Hugo Amador Mendez, 2-0, opened the televised portion by making short work of 45-fight veteran Edwin Tercero with a sudden attack punctuated by two punishing left hands to the ribs that left Tercero downed and unable to rise because of the pain.

The fight was over in 46 seconds.

“I knew I had him after throwing my first jab, how he moved when he felt my power,” Guatemala’s Mendez, 19, said. “He threw an overhand right, and I saw he was open, so I said, ‘I’m going for it.’”

In heavyweight action, Drake Banks, 7-0, flexed his advantage on the fundamentals by relying on his more sophisticated jab to deliver scoring blows on Cashton Young, 3-5-1, while roughing him up on the ropes with unanswered rights and uppercuts.

Banks sought too late to pursue body shots in the fifth and absorbed some head punches for doing so, but then he reverted to heavy hands in the sixth and enjoyed victorious scorecards of 59-55, 59-55, 60-54.  

Lightweight Carlos Rocha opened the card with a unanimous decision triumph (40-36, 40-36, 39-37) over Mikael “Zurdo” Hernandez. The bout was fraught with holding, but Rocha, 4-6, of Brazil, landed the more substantial power punches.