I have managed to make the run even faster! Bob's Buster Sword is both more reliable and faster than Abdul's Heaven or Hell/Heaven Thrust knock downs. Knock downs on the first two rounds have been replaced by throws since they are faster. Unlike in TAS environments, throws still can't be used for every round since the chance of success drops heavily after the first two rounds. It can be done, but is likely to never happen.
I also am now using the joystick functionality because the combo is left down B, which I can do faster by swirling the joystick. With the D-pad, I would sometimes get left down-left b, which would do Hammer Knuckle, which doesn't have a high success rate.
Some seconds can still be shaved off because the Tomahawk and Pierre fights. Literally got swagged on by Pierre.