Omar Figueroa Jr. last July in San Antonio," Fischer later described. At the year's end, MaxBoxing.com's Steve Kim awarded him the Purple Heart. Arakawa vs. Jorge Linares On March 8, 2014, Arakawa came back to the ring to face Japan-based Venezuelan Jorge Linares in a ten-round WBC title eliminator, with a mandatory shot against Omar Figueroa on the line. It was featured on the undercard of the fight between Saúl Álvarez and Alfredo Angulo at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Figueroa was to fight in the same event, but a wrist injury forced him to postpone it. That is why Arakawa–Linares was carried live on Showtime pay-per-view. Arakawa was again fighting out of the red corner, but lost in a unanimous decision. In the second half of 2014, he defeated Kondō in their rematch in July, and lost to Katō in their rubber match in December, both by unanimous decision at Korakuen Hall. Arakawa then transferred to Hitoshi Watanabe's Watanabe Boxing Gym in April 2015. Among his new stable-mates are Takashi Uchiyama, Kōhei Kōno and Ryōichi Taguchi. Two nicknames Arakawa's nickname is "The Baby-faced Sniper" because of his quite accurate shots. He is originally a sleek jabbing southpaw. Another characteristic is volume punching. From time to time, he has waged tough fights. His effort might be unsuccessful in one aspect and successful in another. According to Arakawa, the most tough fight for him was the OPBF title defense against Jay Solmiano in October 2011. Ryūji Migaki said in early 2012 that it would be Arakawa's nature. His style in the Omar Figueroa fight in July 2013 earned him a new nickname "Japanese Rocky". During and after the fight, Mauro Ranallo summarize his style as "Bushido". References Video references External links Southpaw boxers Lightweight boxers Sportspeople from Tokyo People from Hachiōji, Tokyo People from Musashino, Tokyo 1981 births Living people Japanese male boxers