On Thursday night (February 19, 2026), boxing fans witnessed one of the most exciting knockouts of the year inside the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, as Japanese youngster Hitoshi Sasaki ended the fight with a ridiculous punch in the second round.
Sasaki, who lost his last fight to former WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman, is the betting favorite as he returns to the ring to start the fight weekend in explosive fashion. That’s exactly what the 24-year-old boxer did, but Sasaki had to eat up a lot of shots before he could find the chance to land the perfect punch.
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His opponent, Marlon Pagalpalan, entered Friday night’s fight with a 13-4-1 professional boxing record. Pagalpalan was nothing to write home about, but it was a good test for Sasaki after he was knocked out in his last fight. Little did Pagalpalan know that he would have the opportunity to land 40 unresponsive punches on Sasaki (we counted) before suffering a viral coup de grace that had already spread among the fighting masses.
The last punch was a powerful left counter from Sasaki, and Pagalpalan fell to the ground, unable to stand up. It’s shocking to say the least, but it’s a great way for Sasaki to get back into the winning column and start 2026 in memorable fashion.
Take a look above and below:
