Takayasu and Terunofuji – both former Ozeki – have historically been an even matchup, with Takayasu just edging out in front of his Mongolian counterpart by winning 8 and losing 7 of their previous encounters.
At the start of play on Day 5, the former Ozeki Takayasu had scored 2 wins and 2 losses this basho and had been struggling with fast paced fights. In contrast, Terunofuji had an excellent return to Makuuchi this July, winning all 4 of his opening bouts.
Watch the Day 5 bout here:
Day 5’s bout saw these two former Ozeki go head to head in a lengthy yet relentless wrestle – fighting mainly on the mawashi (belt to belt) and chest-to-chest after the tachi-ai. Almost working themselves into a stalemate, Takaysu proved to have the edge over his opponent and forced Terunofuji out of the ring in a convincing victory by yorikiri.
On Day 6, Takayasu will fight Kotoyuki and Terunofuji will fight Kotoshoho. Click here to see a listing of Day 6’s bouts.
The pair had previously met in the May 2017 Natsu basho held in the Kokugikan in Tokyo, where Terunofuji emerged as victor after a tough battle against the then Sekiwake #1.
Watch their previous bout here:
