On December 27th we get the penultimate show in this years Rookie of the Year tournament, as we find out who will represent West Japan in the All Japan final in 2020. With that in mind we've decided to look at that show to pick the fighter who we want to introduce this week, and with that in mind we've decided to focus 23 year old Super Bantamweight hopeful Sora Fukunaga (7-0, 3).
Like many fighters from West Japan Fukunaga isn't really a name we expect many to be familiar with. The reality when it comes to Japanese boxing is that those outside of East Japan struggle to get much much attention, and coming from Kochi Prefecture Fukunaga is certainly not a man from a boxing hotbed. In fact Kochi is very much a boxing black hole, with almost no impact on the sport at all, meaning Fukunaga could be the man to kick start the local scene. Which seems to be something he is hoping to do. Originally boxing wasn't even the sport of choice for Fukunaga who originally played baseball in junior high school, then took up Judo at high school. He was 20 when he entered the Kuroshio Boxing gym and just months after entering the gym he had ambitions to turn professional. He did just that in September 2018 when he passed a C license test, still aged 20 at the time. Just over a month after getting his boxing license Fukunaga made his professional debut, fighting up at Featherweight. He would go on to get a winning start, as he took a 4 round decision against Akihiro Nakata. Just weeks later he celebrated his 21st birthday. Sadly it took some time for Fukunaga to return to the ring and he didn't fight until almost 6 months after his professional debut. In his second bout Fukunaga took another decision victory, as he out pointed Keisuke Iwasaki, in a razor thin bout scored 39-38 in his favour by all 3 judges. This was a great fight for fans in attendance, with round 3 in particular being something very special. This win became particularly notable as Iwasaki would, just 8 months later, compete in the 2019 All Japan Rookie of the Year, losing a split decision to Seiya Meguro, and more recently out-pointed the big punching Mammoth Kazunori. Despite a lengthy break between his first two fights Fukunaga was through the second half of 2019 beating Yuto Nonoguchi just 2 months after the win over Iwasaki, and then stopping Nonoguchi in a rematch 4 months later to secure his first stoppage win and end the year 4-0 (1). Sadly for Fukunaga the momentum he had been building in 2019, boosted by Iwasaki's showing in the Rookie of the Year, was slowed in 2020 when he, like many boxers, were put on the side line due to the on going global situation. This meant that Fukunaga was out of the ring for more than 10 months before continuing his career in August 2020. On his return to the ring he scored a 4th round TKO win over novice Kairi Suetsugu in the first round of this years West Japan Rookie of the Year tournament. Just weeks later Fukunaga was back in the ring and stopped Shuta Kuwabuchi inside a round in the West Japan Rookie of the Year semi-final. This was an impressive win, dropping Kuwabachi twice in the opening round to progress to the final where he faced Ren Nishimura. This was a much, much tougher bout, and a hotly contested one, with Fukunaga doing just enough to take home the victory, and become the West Japan Rookie of the Year. We mentioned that Fukunaga wanted to kick start boxing in the local scene and he's gone as far as to admit his goal is to become the first All Japan Rookie of the Year champion from Shikoku, one of the smaller main islands that make up Japan. To do that he still needs to win two bouts. The first of those is his December 27th bout against 20 year old foe Ren Anzai from Aichi. If he does that he will then compete in the All Japan Rookie of the Year final, which is scheduled to take place in the new year. In regards to his style Fukunaga is a fun fighter to watch. He's aggressive, he comes forward, he stalks his opponents and presses the action. He's not yet experienced enough to know how to cut off a fighter whe's moving but he's strong, powerful and lets his hands go on the inside. The way to beat him, at least for now, is to jab and move, and make him follow you, but given the level of opponents that he's up against not many are going to have the tool kit to beat him. He's not a pure puncher, but he's heavy handed, has good balance, looks physically imposing and has a lot to like. He is however someone who looks like a diamond in the rough and needs a lot of polishing. If he wins the Rookie of the Year we suspect that polishing will be done in 2021 and 2022 and he will begin to move towards a Japanese title fight after that.
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With the East Japan Rookie of the Year final's coming up on December 20th we felt it made sense to focus on one of the finalists for this week's "Introducing". After looking over the match ups on the card we decided the man who made the most sense to look at was hard hitting Flyweight Shugo Namura (4-0, 4), who promises excitement every time he steps in the ring, and will be a very interesting match up at the East Japan final. But more about that contest a little bit later.
Born in Matsudo City, in Chiba Prefecture, Namura isn't from an area with a hotbed of professional boxers. Whilst some fighters from Chiba have become stars, they have pretty much all had to move away from the region to build there career. Namura is no different and he has fought out of the SRS gym since turning professional last year. Whilst the SRS gym is certainly not a huge name, like Teiken, Ohashi, Watanabe, Misako or Kadoebi, it is very much a gym rooted in letting youngsters reach their potential and is run by former multi-time world title challenger Hiroyuki Sakamoto, one of the most inspirational fighters in Japan. Unsurprisingly you can actually see a lot of Sakamoto in Namura's style. For those who can't remember Sakamoto himself he was a he was a Lightweight contender in the 1990's and 00's, who challenged Stevie Johnston, Cesar Bazan, Gilberto Serrano and Takanori Hatakeyama, making a name for himself as a man of few words outside of the ring and heavy hands inside it. Stylistically Namura is very similar to his mentor. Like Sakamoto we see Namura throwing everything with bad intentions, and he really loads up on his power shots whilst sometimes neglecting his jab. That however makes him real fun to watch and an explosive monster. Before we discuss his career so far we need to remember that Namura, like many fighters involved in the Rookie of the Year, doesn't have a strong amateur background. In fact none of our usual sources reported any sort of an amateur record for him and to be fair that does show in his style. As mentioned it's almost certainly been moulded by Sakamoto and the folks at the SRS gym, rather than an amateur coach, and it's actually a style that appears to work for him. He's a strong, powerful, hard hitting brute, with a huge hand right and real desire to find the range for his hooks and uppercuts, just like Sakamoto. Namura made his debut back on September 8th 2019, when he stopped Tatsuya Kawaguchi in just 74 seconds. Namura was on the offensive straight from the off, pressing forward and dropping his man with a left hook around the minute mark. Kawaguchi beat the count but was stopped during the foll up barrage. The youngster was back in the ring just 3 months later, making his Korakuen Hall debut against Shunsuke Miyauchi. This bout had a competitive opening round but as the two men traded shots in round 2 Miyauchi ended up hurt and needing to be saved by the referee, who jumped in when Miyauchi was rocked. Sadly Namura's rise, like that of many, was slowed in 2020 by the ongoing global situation. As a result he waited almost 10 months for his return, which came in September 2020 against Kei Fujita in an East Japan Rookie of the Year qualifying bout. This was our first chance to see Namura in action and sadly it was over almost before it began with Fujita coming out aggressively and then having the tables turned when Namura's power began to be felt. After about 30 seconds a huge right hand from Namura dropped Fujita who was stopped after 41 seconds. Having won his qualifying bout in September Namura returned to the ring for the East Japan Rookie of the Year Semi final in November, where he faced Teppei Saito. This looked a great matchup with a 3-0 (3) Namura taking on the 3-0 (2) Saito. As with his previous bout however Namura had too much power. Saito came out with ambition, used his jab well, but then got forced to back up and the pressure from Namura, along with some work inside dropped Saito. It wasn't a hard knockdown but did enough to leave Saito worse for wear and when the bout resumed he was dropped again, with the referee waving the bout off after just 53 seconds. In his Rookie of the Year final the 4-0 (4) Namura will be up against unbeaten 24 year old Akira Hoshuyama (3-0, 2) in what should be a thriller. Hoshuyama is the more technically skilled fighter, and has twice as many rounds to his name than Namura, but the power and destruction of Namura is likely to swing things his way if he can get inside. For fans wanting to watch Namura's next bout it will be shown on G+ on December 27th, on tape delay. Win or lose it's going to be a great one to watch given what we've seen of both men. *Note at the time of writing Boxrec.com list Namura's win over Fujita as a 4 round TKO. It was actually an opening round win, and people wanting to watch it can do so over on Boxing Raise, which has Namura's bouts with Fujita and Saito. On December 13th we see the debut of another promising Japanese youngster, as Takahiro Tai (0-0) begins his professional campaign at the age of 23. The youngster was a former standout amateur and is someone that we feel is worthy of the "Introducing..." treatment, especially with his debut being just a few days away, and his debuting an historic one for the RST Boxing Gym, run by his father.
Born in October 1997 in Hiemji City Tai's first combat sport wasn't actually boxing. Instead it was Kyokushin Karate, he then entered the Takasago Gym before beginning to training at the RST Boxing gym, where he learned to box as an orthodox fighter. He then learned, during college, how to fight southpaw and quickly became a capable switch hitter, something he's prided himself on. Tai was getting attention for his amateur exploits rather early on and those exploits grew more when he represented his University Team. He wasn't just part of the Ashiya University Boxing team however, but actually went on to be the captain of the team and impressed regularly in 2018, in his third year at University. During his days in the unpaid ranks Tai went 43-14 (15), and impressed in the 2019 All Japan Championships, reaching the business end of the competition. He also managed to have a notable rivalry with Jun Ikegawa, who beat Tai 2-1 in their 3 fight series. Notably Tai has declared revenge in the professional ranks against Ikegawa who recently turned professional himself with the Kadoebi Gym. As an amateur Tai was a switch hitter, with long levers, clean, accurate, fast punches and a good understanding of the ring. There was a certain sense of flare to his work, an almost cocky confidence, and an exciting exuberance to his work. At times he did move too much, and even taunted opponents, but it was clear he was a natural talent, and he looked incredibly comfortable in the ring, even if he looked too comfortable at times. It was clear he was having fun in the ring, win or lose he wanted to entertain fans and himself. Earlier this year Tai became the first fighter the at the RST Boxing Gym to turn professional, after the gym it's self got professional certification earlier this year. That might not seem big news, though it is worth noting that the gym is owned and run by Tai's father, and it's clear that Takahiro's professional dreams were a big reason why the gym became a professional boxing gym. He will be their sole professional focus here, and is the man they are pinning their hopes one for the foreseeable future. Tai passed his B class license test back in September, on September 26th, just a month after the gym became a professional one, Tai isn't getting a gimme on debut. Instead he will be up against the 6-6 Ryosei Hamaguchi, who has lost 4 of his last 5, but is a very capable fighter at this level and scored a very decent win just a few fights back against Hiroyuki Takahara. Although no world beater Hamaguchi has been in the ring with some genuinely talented fighters, including the very highly regarded Toshiki Shimomachi, who he faced in the 2017 Rookie of the Year. We suspect Tai will have too much, given his amateur showings, but this should still serve as a decent test on his debut, against a fighter who has been a professional for a few years now. Given Tai's personality, his style and his comments to the media, we're expecting him to be a very entertaining fighter in the professional ranks. There is certainly an air of confidence to him, and in interviews he has spoke about wanting to increase his profile and make a name for himself. With that in mind we can't but feel excited about what Tai may have to offer over the coming years. On December 9th we'll see the professional debut of Shota Fukumori (0-0), a 28 year old Japanese Lightweight who begins his professional journey and kicks off a career that could, potentially, be a very fun one to follow. Given his age we expect him to be moved quickly, and there is signs that his team will be doing that as they match him with Ryosei Niguma on debut.
Ahead of Fukumori's first professional bout we though he was worthy of covering in this series as we introduce the promising Shota Fukumori. This is shorter than our usual introducing pieces, but we still hope this will help some get a feel for Fukumori and why he is worth following ahead of his first professional bout. Hailing from Matsuyama City, in Ehime Prefecture, Fukumori was a solid amateur fighter who ran up an excellent 55-23 (26) record in the unpaid ranks. Sadly his amateur exploits didn't extend to major fights in international competition but he was regularly competing in major domestic competitions, such as the All Japan Championships and the prestigious university competitions, where he captained the Osaka University of Commerce team. As an amateur Fukumori was getting attention way back in 2013, when he was fighting as a Welterweight in the amateurs. He was on the same team as a young Hiroto Kyoguchi, and we've all seen what a success Kyoguchi has been in the professional ranks. Whilst his full amateur results aren't clear we have managed to see footage of Fukumori in the unpaid ranks and from that it's clear he's a talented fighter. He boxes out of the southpaw stance, has good footwork, goes to the body well and knows his way around the ring. Although he doesn't have the fastest hands out there he is a crisp, clean puncher, who mixes his shots up well, and has really good upper body movement. It's clear he is a well schooled fighter and when he needs to let shots go he can let them go with both hands. From the footage out there Fukumori isn't the strongest or biggest puncher, but he still looked like a real natural talent, and given he will be fighting at a lower weight as a professional than he did in the amateurs we suspect he'll look stronger and more heavy handed in the paid ranks. As a professional Fukumori will be fighting out of the Flash Akabane gym. The gym isn't a promotional power house, like Teiken, Ohashi, Watanabe or Kadoebi, but it has shown an ability to develop talented and managed to get both Sugurua Muranaka and Yuzo Kiyota world title fights in recent years. We suspect Fukumori won't manage to get that far, but we do expect Flash Akabane to move him very quickly, and hopefully we will see him in a domestic title fight before his career comes to an end. According to Boxmob Fukumori has revealed that one of his favourite fighters was Edwin Valero and away from boxing he likes to be outdoors, particularly fishing. In recent months it feels like we've spent a lot of time getting to talk about Thai prospects and hopefuls, and it really does feel like boxing in Thailand has started to turn a corner. Out with the mismatches against Indonesian and Filipino fighters and in with the bouts between between local hopefuls and local veterans, and contenders. The change has made such a huge impact on how much we've enjoyed the Thai boxing scene this year, even with everything else going on in the world. We went from scarcely caring about a typical fight in Thailand to really enjoying almost every show. For that we need to thank Nakorluang, TL Promotions and Tantelecom who have put together some really interesting match ups and cards, and have given their young prospects a chance to shine. We get another opportunity to see a youngster shine on December 5th, when Phongsaphon Panyakum (10-1, 5) takes on former world title challenger Sarawut Thawornkham, aka Dennapa Kiatniwat. With that in mind we've decided to focus another "Introducing" on a Thai prospect, as we take a look at 20 year old prospect Phongsaphon Panyakum. He's probably not someone fans are too familiar with at the moment, even those that follow the Thai scene, but he's got a very bright future ahead of him, and he's someone we are really looking forward to seeing develop into a future contender, if not champion. Interestingly it's hard to be sure when Phongsaphon actually made his debut. We suspect, and believe, it was when he was 17 and travelled over to Japan to face Kai Ishizawa, however it appears that he may have fought before than as on screen graphic listed him as being 7-2 (3). Of course that could be a mistake in it's self. Whatever his record going into that bout he didn't look against Ishizawa, and looked to be cowering after being caught in the opening seconds, after being caught by a solid right hand by the then debuting Ishizawa. He looked completely clueless at times, and Ishizawa didn't let him settle at all. This was an impressive beating by the destructive little Japanese fighter who stooped Phongsaphon in round 2. For his performance in Japan Phongsaphon was put on the "invitation prohibited boxers list" due to "insufficient ability". More than a year later Phongsaphon returned to the ring and picked up his first recorded win, taking a decision over domestic foe Phormsan Chanla in the opening round of a small tournament held by WP Boxing. Just 2 months after that win Phongsaphon took a genuinely notable win over the very talented Thananchai Charunphak, who we currently regard as one of the most promising prospects in Thailand, to progress to the tournament final. Against Thananchai we saw Phongsaphon pressure and press Thananchai, showing great energy, a real aggressive streak and narrowly defeat his fellow youngster in a genuinely fantastic 4 rounder. Looking back over things this was really the win that made it clear that Phongsaphon was no longer the youngster who was caught in the headlights against Ishizawa. Instead he was a capable young fighter, and someone who was maturing and developing. Following that win over Thananchai we saw Phongsaphon take on Thodsawat Srisawat in the tournament final in October 2018. This was where Phongsaphon scorred his first stoppage, taking out the aggressive Thodsawat in round 3 of a fun little shoot out. Having won the WP Boxing tournament Phongsaphon then scored a low key win in March 2019, away from the Workpoint Studio, before returning to his boxing him in June 2019, picking up a 6 round decision over Frengky Rohi. That was then followed by a very notable decision win over former world title challenger Samartlek Kokietgym, in what was Phongsaphon's first genuinely notable win. Just 6 months later he added another noteworthy win as he beat Pigmy Kokietgym, also a former world title challenger. Sadly Phongsaphon's momentum died at the start of 2020, and we don't think we need to explain why. As a result he didn't fight in 2020 until July, when he stopped Sophon Klachun in 4 rounds, then added a win over Arthit Kaewbantid in September, as he began to get the juices flowing again. Phongsaphon's next bout, his final bout of 2020, will see him take on Sarawut Thawornkham, aka Dennapa Kiatniwat, and a win there would be his third over a former world title challenger in just 16 months. In the ring Phongsaphon looks so much different to the guy who debuted in 2017. He no longer looks like a little, scrawny kid. He looks tough, he looks big, he looks strong and aggressive. He has taken that loss to heart and has developed his skills. He's still not the most polished fighter, but he knows how to protect himself, he's aggressive throws shots with bad intent, and comes forward. He makes for fun fights, and he looks like a genuinely strong and promising pressure fighter. Defensively he's still quite open, and easy to hit, but he takes a shot well, and makes fighters pay when they catch him. He almost certainly isn't the next Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, but he has got the tools and desire to certainly be a contender. Also at just 20 years old he is nowhere near to the complete article, but someone who should be on your radar! For those that haven't seen Phongsaphon Panyakum before we've included his most recent bout below. On November 22nd in Toyonaka we'll get the chance to see a novice take on a former world title challenger, and with that in mind it seems a perfect time to discuss the novice in question as he moves towards the biggest bout of career so far. By some distance. The bout is one that few are giving him a chance in but, if he wins, he'll be rocket boosted towards a title fight, and a chance to make a name for himself.
The man in question is Ryosuke Nishida (2-0, 1) who faces former world title challenger Shohei Omori in just his third professional bout. It might be too soon for Nishida, as many seem to suspect, or it could be right place, right time, for a relatively unknown prospect looking to announce themselves as the next big thing. Nishida, who fights out of the Mutoh Gym in Osaka, was a stand out amateur who was always regarded as a contender in domestic amateur competitions. Whilst tournament wins weren't something the regularly win he did pick up a National Polity crown in 2014. He was also a major player in the Kindai University team in 2018, winning the MVP award. Although he never regularly won competitions, he was always regarded as one of the main contenders and was a skilled fighter, with clear potential to be a success in the professional ranks. After impressive in the amateurs he left the sport for a while before returning and heading to the professional ranks last year, taking part in his B license test opposite fellow prospect Yusuke Mine. Sadly, for someone with clear promise, Nishida didn't debut in Japan. Instead he debuted in Bangkok, on a small show that featured Nishida, Yusuke Mine and very, very few fighters of any note at all. The excuse given was that Takashi Edagawa and team couldn't find anyone suitable for a 6 round bout with Nishida. Despite the underwhelming event of Nishida's debut the youngster did what he needed to and took out the hapless Sakol Ketkul in just 2 minutes. In his second professional bout Nishida did actually fight in Japan! In fact he fought in Osaka, in a 6 round bout against Filipino visitor Pablito Canada, and this has been the only chance we've had to see Nishida in a professional ring, as it was made available on Boxing Raise. In this bout Nishida looked legitimately class, like a genuine prospect worthy of following. He looked sharp, relaxed, super comfortable in the ring, had great timing, good footwork, solid balance and impressive handspeed. There were areas that he needed work on defensively, but for a fighter in just his second fight it was almost impossible to complain. After 6 rounds against Canada Nishida took a wide decision. In fact it was 60-52 on all 3 cards, and Nishida seemed to be very much within himself, happy to get rounds under his belt and some ring time, rather than feeling the need to take his man out. Whilst Nishida did look like a really good prospect last time out there is a difference between looking good against Pablito Canada, whilst fighting at third gear, and even having a chance against someone like Shohei Omori over 8 rounds. Nishida's up coming bout looks like a huge gamble for the skilled, young, southpaw. From what we've seen Nishida is a natural boxer. He's very happy on the backfoot, moving around the ring, making opponents come to him, making them miss and punishing them. Omori has seen that before however and we'll need to see more from Nishida for him to beat Omori. We like what we've seen from Nishida, who's a very talented Super Bantamweight, but we can't help feel like is team are unable to really build prospects. This isn't just a step up in class, but is more a case of being thrown in at the deep end of a pool and seeing whether Nishida can sink or swim, after only previously being in a bath tub. Saying that however if he swims Japan have got almost certainly got new star on their hands and Nishida will be in the mix for regional titles in 2021. This series has always been about trying to get fans to pay attention to someone you've probably not heard of, or if you have you know too much about them. With that in mind we've managed to get some pretty notable names featured on this series before they've managed to make a mark, and other fighters who have perhaps failed to live up to the potential we thought they had.
For this week's "Introducing..." we are going for someone we don't know a lot about, though we are looking forward to see them in action in December, and from what we do know, they are certainly worth making a mental note of now, before their next bout. They might be a star in the making, but they are certainly a fun fighter to watch! With that in mind let us introduce Japanese Middleweight hopeful Kazuki Kyohara (4-0-2, 3). We suspect even the most hardcore of fight fans aren't familiar with Kyohara. They might have seen him once or twice, but we really doubt they'd remember much about him. Despite that the 23 year old shouldn't be over-looked, and instead he should be regarded as someone under-the-radar, for now. Unlike many fighters we talk about Kyohara doesn't have the backing of a notable gym. In fact he's part of the Kurume Kushima & Yuki Beppu Gym, a gym so small that it's the name of it's current star fighter, and doesn't have it's own website. It is a tiny gym in Torimachi in Kurume, with only 3 active professional fighters affiliated with it, including Yuki Beppu and Kyohara! Of those Kyohara is the youngest, by far. Kyohara made his debut in October 2016, on a small card in Fukuoka headlined by stable Yuki Beppu. Aged 19 at the time Kyohara left a mark on the sport as he stopped Yuji Oshiro in the third round of their scheduled 4 rounder. Some 8 months later Kyohara returned to the ring for his second bout, and stopped Shuhei Hisatomi in 2 rounds. Kyohara was in trouble early in the bout but quickly recovered, bit down on his gum shield and managed to unload on Hisatomi in round 2. Sadly it would be 11 months between Kyohara's second and third professional bouts. As a result Kyohara's third bout wouldn't come until May 2018, when he clashed with Atom Higashi in the Central Japan Rookie of the Year final. The almost long lay off won't have helped Kyohara, and he took a very narrow decision win over Higashi, who was making his debut. For those wanting to watch this, this bout is on Boxing Raise and is a brutal, hard hitting battle, that should be watched by those with the service. Kyohra was then supposed to fight in November 2018, to decide who would represent West Japan in the All Japan Rookie of the Year final. Sadly however that bout was cancelled when Kyohara's scheduled opponent, Hammer Gorilla, was forced to pull out of the bout. As a result Kyohara progressed to the All Japan final in December, where he faced unbeaten Nath Nwachukwu, The bout was a crazy, wild brawl, with both men really coming to fight. The technical flaws and youthful exuberance from both was on show in what was a truly sensational battle between two crude, confident, young men, both trying to take their opponents head off. The intense, and often wild, action was thoroughly engaging but there wasn't a winner on the scorecards, with all 3 scorecards reading 38-38. Sadly for Kyohara he was denied on the tie-breaker rules, which resulted in a Rookie of the Year win for Nwachukwu. In his first bout following the Rookie of the Year draw Kyohara took on Hammer Gorilla, the same man he was scheduled to face in 2018, in April 2019. The bout was a short one, with Kyohara taking an opening round win over Gorilla. The bout saw Kyohara take control almost instantly, and he ended up dropping Gorilla twice, with the bout being stopped after the second knockdown. Sadly for Kyohara he would suffer his second draw in September 2019, when he was surprisingly held to a 6 round draw by the limited by experienced Toshihiro Kai. This was Kyohara's first 6 rounder, and his inexperience showed as he struggled with the toughness and durability of Kai. The bout showed up Kyohara's flaws, but did also help him get some valuable ring time, and was a good learning experience. In December we're expecting to see Kyohara in the ring with Yuta Ashina, in a bout that should be absolutely sensational. Both men are limited but have very exciting styles, that should gel well, and give us a barn burner. In terms of his style Kyohara is a crude, wild, strong and aggressive fighter. He's very much in need of polishing before being described as a prospect, but he's a fun fighter and someone who is going to be a lot of fun to follow, win or lose. It's fair to say that 2020 has been a crap year in general. We don't think we really need to explain how garbage it's been, how hard it's been for people or anything else. What we can do is take positives from it, and one of the few positives is that we have seen better bouts in Thailand in 2020 than we do in a typical year. We have seen an increase in good All-Thai bouts, and that has been one of the very, very few positives. Thanks to a better quality of bouts in Thailand this year we have managed to enjoy a lot more action from Thailand and spotted quite a few prospects who have excited us. One of those is 20 year old Thananchai Charunphak (10-1, 8), who has become one of the most exciting fighters on the WP Boxing shows from Nakornluang. The youngster looks like a future champion, and has so many things to get excited about at this early stage in his career Charunphak debuted back in July 2018, at the age of just 18. On debut, on a WP Boxing show, he stopped fellow teenage debutant Piphat Rattana inside a round. Just 2 months later he was back in the ring, and was matched hard, against fellow young hopeful Phongsaphon Panyakum. Sadly for Charunphak he was to lose that bout, though it was a brilliant 4 rounder, which is worth a watch and has been included at the bottom of the article. Despite the loss in just his second bout there wasn't really any slowing down for Charunphak who was back in the ring just a month later, scoring a KO win over another Thai novice. In fact after the loss to Panyakum we saw Charunphak score 4 wins, all by KO, within a year, as he got his career back on track, in a big way. Having bounced back from his sole loss Charunphak was 5-1 (5) just a year after his debut. He had quickly proven himself against low level domestic talent, and was showing himself as an exciting, heavy handed fighter, who was becoming a staple on the WP Boxing series of shows. He was however desperately in need of stiffer competition, better opponents and a win to make fans sit up and take not. He had, essentially, proven he needed better foes than Thai novices. In October 2019 Charunphak finally got his first real test, taking on former 2-time world tile challenger Samarlek Kokietgym. The bout was a huge step up for Charunphak but wasn't an issue for the 19 year old youngster, who took a decision win over the veteran who had once faced Naoya Inoue. The victory was Charunphak's first decision win, and it was followed 3 months later by a decision over veteran Phupha Por Nobnom. Despite boasting an early record of a puncher Charunphak was determined to prove he was a boxer, and the back to back decisions were a good sign of that. The real proof however came earlier this year, way back in March, when he took on former world champion Kompayak Porpramook. The rugged Porpramook was his usual typical self, pressuring from the off, taking the fight to Charunphak. The youngster however soaked it up, and used the ring, used his straight punches and had a real coming of age performance. He completely out boxed Porpramook, bust up his forced a 9th round TKO win. Not only did Charunphak stop Porpramook, but he also ended up taking his first title with that win, winning the WBC Asian Boxing Council Flyweight title. Sadly boxing in Thailand was pretty much shut down in the days that followed Charunphak's win over Kompayak. As a result he lost a lot of the momentum that he had built, and when boxing restarted in Thailand Charunphak scored a couple of low key wins over Thai novices, the same sort of opponents that he had began his career against. Thankfully Charunphak's next fight, on November 7th, looks a more interesting one as he takes on former world title contender Pigmy Kokietgym. Although Pigmy is well, and truly, past his best he is still a notable name in Thailand and a win over him, added to wins over Samartlek and Kompayak, would be a third win of note for the 20 year old in just over 2 years as a professional. Not a bad start to his career. According to WP Boxing Charunphak is a boxer-fighter, at his best however he looks more like a pure boxer. His jab is fantastic, he uses the ring well, moves well, understands how to use the ring and and fights well at range. There are flaws in what he does, as we saw against Seksan Khumdee back in September, but he's still a young novice, learning his trade, and he already looks like someone worthy of interest. If you want a Thai to follow over the coming years there are plenty emerging through the ranks, and Charunphak is one of the best from the group. The "Introducing" series has typically focused on top prospects who have aspirations of being a huge name in the sport. Typically they are of stand out amateurs, or Rookie of the Year winners, or people with some achievements behind them. Today however we are looking at someone without that type of background, but someone we still suggest fans should pay some real attention to. That is the big punching, exciting, and promising Mammoth Kazunori (6-2-1, 6).
Although Mammoth really isn't a big name in the sport the 21 year old has the tools to make a rather big mark on the domestic scene in the coming years. He might be in the talent laden Flyweight scene, but there are, very few fighters with the frighting ability to take people out in the same way Mammoth can. Mammoth began his professional boxing journey under his real name of Kazunori Nakayama back in 2018, when he was just 17 years old. He did so under the guidance of former world champion Yasuei Yakushiji, in Nakayama's backyard of Aichi. It was under Yakushiji that Mammoth made his debut in December 2016, stopping Taichi Ianaba in 75 seconds, fighting just above the Minimumweight limit. Just 3 months later he had picked up his second quick win, blasting out Kosuke Murakawa in 66 seconds to move to 2-0. It was immediately obvious that the teenager could bang, and fighting out of the southpaw stance he was a scare proposition for opponents. Heavy handed southpaws are no joy for opponents. In his third professional bout Mammoth competed in the 2017 Central Japan Rookie of the Year Final, where he blasted out Nagara Mizutani in 2 rounds. Sadly for Mammoth his 2017 Rookie of the Year campaign would end at the next level, when he lost a competitive decision to Western Japan champion Tatsuro Nakajima in September 2017. The loss could have been a major setback for Mammoth but instead he was back in the ring just 2 months later. When he returned he had moved up to Light Flyweight where he scored a 3rd round TKO win over fellow novice Alex Ota. In 2018 Mammoth was again involved in the Central Japan Rookie of the Year, and began the tournament with an opening round win over Masato Togawa, in the Light Flyweight division. Sadly however Mammoth's dreams of winning the tournament ended in August 2018, in the final, when he was held to a draw by former foe Alex Ota, in what was brutal bout that saw both men take bombs in the opening round. Sadly Ota progressed due to the tie breaker rules in effect. Mammoth would return to the ring 4 months after the Ota bout and take on Natsu Ohashi in a 6 round bout. The fight was fought close to the Flyweight limit and the 20 year old Mammoth, fighting under his real name for this bout for those interested, really had a nightmare of a performance. He was deducted a point for holding in round 2, was dropped in round 4 and ended up losing a clear decision to Ohashi. After the loss to to Ohashi we saw Mammoth take a break from the ring, leave the Yakushiji gym, signing up with Chunichi Gym, and take more than a year out of action. Then he returned to the ring in spectacular fashion, scoring a late KO of the Year contender against tough Thai Lerdchai Chaiyawed in a Flyweight bout. The KO came part way through round 5 and saw the Japanese youngster land a dynamite counter left hand that almost headed poor his victim. Sadly since win over Lerdchai we've not seen Mammoth in the ring, though thankfully we won't have to wait much longer to see him in action on November 1st in Aichi, as part of a Midori Promoted card. In the opposite corner to Mammoth will be Keisuke Iwasaki (4-2-1, 1). On paper this is a very evenly matched bout, and an interesting assignment for the 21 year old Mammoth. Win or lose he's going to be a fun guy to watch. In the ring Mammoth is exciting, he's a big puncher, he's charismatic, and despite lacking a big backer or amateur experience we can't help but want to see more of him. Don't look at his record and write him off, but instead watch him, and enjoy a heavy handed boxer-puncher, who loves to land bombs, has naturally scary power, and will make for some great fights, and brilliant moments over the coming years. On October 26th we get to see a talented prospect return to the ring after more than 2 years out of action. With that in mind we have decided to give the prospect in question the "Introducing..." treatment this week
The fighter in question is Ryuto Owan (5-1, 3), who seemed likely to go a long way when he burst on to the professional in 2017, but failed to live up to the early expectations on his shoulders. Despite that it's far, far too early to write off Owan, who has a lot still to give the sport, and could well "come good" with a new found hunger and training environment. Owan began boxing as a child and made an impact on the amateurs at a young age, winning the Under 15's national Championship before later coming third in the National High School championships. He was regarded well as an amateur, but his full amateur record doesn't seem to be available anywhere, and it's hard to know just how many fights he had in the unpaid ranks. In 2017 Owan turned professional, doing so under the watch of Yoko Gushiken at the Shirai Gushiken Sports Gym (SGS). At the time he was just a teenager, but he was joining a solid stable, including the always exciting Koki Eto and the then unbeaten Daigo Higa, a close friend of Owan's from Okinawa. Owan would go on to debut in May 2017, on the same card that Higa won his WBC Flyweight title with a TKO win over Juan Hernandez. Although Owan's bout got little attention he looked impressive, stopping Samphan Choksukanan in 2 rounds. Just weeks later Owan was back in the ring, where he demolished Oatthaphon Kruaisawat in just 71 seconds at Korakuen Hall. The youngster would continue to be busy and jut 2 months later Owan picked up his third win, dominating Filipino Alvin Medura over 6 rounds in a clear step up. Although Medura is no world beater he was very much a dangerous opponent so early in Owan's career, however the Japanese youngster dealt with him with ease, whilst taking a 6 round shut out. Having raced to 3 we would then see Owan take another step up in class as he took on the hard hitting Jun Blazo in February 2018. At this point in Blazo's career he had earned a reputation as a limited, but tough and heavy handed fighter. He had dropped Koki Eto just a few fights earlier and had asked questions of Hayate Kaji. He was, however, no problem at all for Owan who took a clear 6 round decision over him. Owan then built on that win with a blow out win over domestic foe Takuma Matsushita in what was essentially a Japanese Youth Bantamweight title eliminator. Following his win over Matsushita we saw Owan get a fight with Tetsu Araki for the vacant Japanese Youth Bantamweight title. That bout came in October 2018 and was a close and competitive bout through out, however Araki did enough to take the close decision and the title. Sadly following the loss to Araki we haven't seen Owan in the ring. In the two years since his loss to Araki we have however seen a lot happen outside of the ring. We won't go into everything however the gym he was fighting out, the Shirai Gushiken Gym, has closed, and he has followed Daigo Higa to the newly set up AMBITION Gym. It's with them that he will be making his ring return on October 26th against Tomoya Kishine in a bout that Owan is expected to win as he restarts his career at the age of 22. |
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