Former ozeki Takayasu came out on top of a marathon bout against Hoshoryu to maintain his perfect record after 10 days at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament on Tuesday, when new ozeki Mitakeumi took a step back from the title race with his second defeat.
No. 7 maegashira Takayasu won his fourth straight bout in his career against the new komusubi Hoshoryu (4-6), but the sole leader was made to work hard against the nephew of former Mongolian yokozuna Asashoryu at Edion Arena Osaka in a battle lasting 71 seconds.
Hoshoryu opened with a sharp low drive and got his head to the chest of Takayasu, who was left in a tight spot and needed a forceful left armlock throw to even up his body position in the middle of the raised ring.