Having only made her professional debut in October of 2020, Seika Izawa has had one of the most impressive career starts in recent history. In only her third fight, she defeated the high level judoka Miki Motono and won the Deep Jewels Straweight title (52kg/115lbs). Just four months later, on October 23, she is set to make her Super Atomweight (49kg/109lbs) debut against the decorated striker, Si Woo Park. This fight is set to take place on Deep 104 in Tokyo, Japan.
While this fight will not be for a title, there are perhaps even bigger implications for the winner. Whoever wins will likely appear for Rizin in the near future. Whether it be against Kanna Asakura, Ayaka Hamasaki, or Emi Fujino. While not direclty stated, this can be assumed for several reasons. First, Deep and Deep Jewels do not have a Super Atomweight division, only Rizin does. Second, Sakakibara is on record talking about the problems Rizin has faced in putting together matches, since it is nearly impossible for them to bring in foreign talent. As a result, they have been forced to look internally. Third, as part of this internal search for talent, Sakakibara was at Deep Jewels 33 and saw both Izawa and Park fight. While they had different results, even Park looked impressive before she lost. Fourth and finally, after her most recent win, Izawa was speaking about going to other promotions and representing Deep Jewels. The tone of her comments indicated that both she and the promotion were ready for her to advance and represent the organization on a global scale.
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