Day 2 is in the books and we had more great bouts and a few more unexpected results. It’s still very early, but I’m feeling hopeful about a wide open race that lasts until the business end of this basho.
My results, analysis and highlights (and lots of gifs) are up on The Fight Site right now. Check them out here (link).
On Day 2 we had a couple of match-ups I always look forward to: Takakeisho vs. Abi and Tobizaru vs. Midorifuji.
We also had some great clashes with Takayasu vs. Tamawashi, Meisei vs. Wakamotoharu and Onosho vs. Hokutofuji.
We also had Kotonowaka vs. Asanoyama. I feel like these two are very evenly matched. A key difference between them is that Kotonowaka has often risen to the occasion and Asanoyama has fallen short when given the greatest opportunities.
Asanoyama’s struggles haven’t just been because of injuries and suspensions, though. He’s failed to bring both intensity and intelligence against the san’yaku recently. But I feel like, if he can fight them the way he fights everyone else, he’s going to win a cup this year.
Anyways, bonus gif is the man he took on today (the owner of one of my favourite warm-ups).
I've been rooting for Shodai to get his fire back, but he just looks listless. As long as he's moving forward he's a threat to anybody, as Terenofuji can attest. But once he's going backward it's all over.
That caption for the gif is hilarious. Koto has the biggest moobs in the business.