In August 2021, Rina Okamoto, also known as “Panchan Rina”, appeared at the “RIZIN” press conference (Photo: Tokyo Sports/Aflo)
On December 5th, the Hyogo Prefectural Police acted under the ring name of “Panchan Rina”.Kickboxingplayer’sRina OkamotoSuspect (28)scamon suspicionarrestdid.
Okamoto participated in a limited poster distributed at the martial arts event “THE MATCH 2022” held at Tokyo Dome in June.Tenshin NasukawaWhenTakerutwo fakessignThere is a suspicion that it was sold with a false explanation such as “autographed”. Okamoto has admitted to the charges.
After winning his professional debut in February 2019, Okamoto continued to win without losing. In March 2022, he defeated Miki Kitamura to win the KNOCK OUT-BLACK first minimumweight title of the kickboxing group “KNOCK OUT”.
With the arrest of the active champion, comments on the incident are heard one following another from the martial arts world.
Mixed martial arts fighter Shinya Aoki posted on Twitter shortly following his arrest was revealed that he was a “moral problem, a small villain, or a gushing accessory.” 》And cut in two.
Ren Hiramoto, a former K-1 fighter and mixed martial arts fighter, tweeted, “From the very beginning, I thought Panchuri was a suspicious person! 》 “You underestimate Tenshin and martial arts fans for such a fraud,” he continues to criticize.
Even on December 8th, three days following the arrest, there are still many comments to mention.
Former boxing world champion Shinji Takehara severely criticized in his own YouTube video, saying, “If it’s for living expenses, work. Get a part-time job. Work at a convenience store.” Hideki “Shrek” Sekine, a former police officer and martial arts fighter, tweeted, “It is important to stand by the suspect as a friend, but first of all, we should stand by the feelings of the victim.”
“Actually, the day before, Nasukawa, who was ‘used’, mentioned the incident in an Instagram live stream and said, ‘It can’t be helped. He made statements in defense of the suspect.
There was a news media that reported on this, but the article has now been deleted, and I have the impression that this is also making the uproar bigger.” (Net News editor)
On the other hand, there are also “big stars in the martial arts world” who remain silent. Also active as a YouTuber,Mirai Asakurais.
“Asakura has collaborated with Okamoto many times on his own YouTube videos.Even at “Breaking Down,” where Asakura serves as a special advisor, Okamoto visited the tournament the day before his arrest. It was a friendly relationship, such as an interview video being released.
Asakura revealed on YouTube that he had signed a contract with Serina (Shizurina Wada) on November 9, but at that time, he said, “I’m going to go beyond Pan-chan’s goal. He also made remarks to lift Okamoto, saying, “Please take care of me.”
However, on October 17th, Okamoto released a “belt bra” video on his Instagram in which he mimicked the throne belt as a brassiere, and was criticized by some martial arts fans.
In addition, there is this view on the ability of kickboxing.
“I won the championship and won all 13 matches so far, but looking at the details, I only won 2 times by KO, and the rest were all decisions. There was a question mark attached to “true ability”.
However, the martial arts world might not ignore the influence of Okamoto, who published a photo book and was often exposed to the media. I started playing in bigger and bigger events.
As a result, because of his influence, he gave the entire martial arts world a negative image…” (Martial arts reporter)
There are no signs that the comments from athletes and officials regarding the arrest of Okamoto will subside, and the commotion continues to smolder. Ironically, that may be the result of the martial arts world relying too much on influencers.
( SmartFLASH
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