This coming Sunday fight fans in Sumida City are set for a festival of boxing, with Dangan at the helm. Not only does the day involve an actual festival of the sport, with special events being held in the city to help promote and celebrate the sport, but there will also be a stacked card at the Sumida City Gymnasium, with 3 title bouts on the show.
One of those 3 title bouts will see Masanori Rikiishi (10-1, 6) clash with Takuya Watanabe (38-10-1, 22), in a bout for the vacant OPBF Super Featherweight title. The bout really is a must win for both men with the 33 year old Watanabe fighting in his 50th professional bout, and the clock is ticking on his career, and Rikiishi knowing another set back at this point could leave him in the "who needs him?" Club. Of the two men the well known is Watanabe, who debuted in 2007 and has been a fixture on the Oriental scene for years. He is one of the few Japanese fighters to regularly travel for fights, and has notched up bouts in South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, as well as Japan. He has also faced legitimate who's who of the Japanese scene, with bouts against the likes of Masayuki Ito, Hisashi Amagasa, Satoshi Hosono, Hironori Mishiro, Kosuke Saka and Taiki Minamoto. Whilst he has lost the bigger bouts of his career, he has repeatedly shown good technical fundamentals, an incredible will to win, under-rated boxing IQ and a sturdy chin, with the monstrously hard hitting Saka being the only man to stop him in 49 bouts. Sadly though Watanabe has shown himself to not be the hardest man to hit, nor quickest, nor a particularly heavy handed fighter, especially at 130lbs. He hits hard enough to get respect, and throws enough to keep that respect, but there is a feeling that a bit more pop in his punches or a slightly higher work rate would have resulted in a lot more success over his career. In the ring Watanabe is a well schooled, though some what basic, fighter. He comes forward behind a tight guard, likes to set things up behind the jab and apply pressure, wanting to keep opponents on the back foot and establish a fight at mid-range at his tempo. Sadly he has struggled against fighters who are crisper, sharper and faster than he is, as we saw against the likes of Ito and Mishiro, and as we saw against Saka, he does seem to be slowly showing some cracks in his incredibly toughness. Also given his age and long career, one of the longest in terms of fights of any active Japanese fighter, it's little wonder that he is starting to show the signs of slowdown. Aged 27 Rikiishi is coming in to his prime, but is still a fighter lacking a break out win, and is the second most famous fighter in his family, behind his brother and former world champion Masamichi Yabuki. Despite that he is a fighter who has the potential to leave a big mark on the Japanese and Oriental scene over the coming years. He's talented, he's big and strong at the weight, has a good boxing brain and a good team behind him. He is also a fighter who has tasted a defeat early in his career, been humbled somewhat by that loss, and developed as a fighter since then. He has learned from his defeat to become a better, more rounded, fighter. Also despite his loss, he's not been wasting time padding his record, instead he had a single easy comeback fight, before climbing his way through the rankings and moving to this title fight, with good wins against the likes of Freddy Fonseca, Yuichiro Kasuya and Soreike Tacihi. In the ring Rikiishi is a talented boxer-mover, who keeps things long when he's getting himself set, but steps in when he's confident, and has solid sting in his shots, a lovely smooth style, and he fights to his physical advantages, of being a well sized Southpaw. He fight looked set to make a mark at 135lbs, but dropped down a few fights ago, and looks even stronger at Super Featherweight, where his long and rangy frame makes him an incredibly tough guy to get close to, especially with his clean straight punches and intelligent footwork. The big worry, remains, his chin and he was taken out early in his career by Kosuke Saka, but we suspect he knows how to protect his chin better now, and Saka, for all his flaws, is a huge puncher on the Japanese scene. In many ways this bout contains two similar fighters in terms of styles. Both like to get their jabs out, use straight punches, and keep bouts at mid range until they feel their opponent wearing down. For us however it just feels like Rikiishi is the more polished fighter, the more natural boxer, and the more intelligent, with a smoothness to him that Watanabe doesn't have. At mid range Rikiishi will have notable success. For Watanabe the key is to mix up the fight, close the distance and grind down Rikiishi. That has to be his focus, but we're not sure he'll manage it. Instead we see Rikiishi getting a large lead early on, and surviving a late charge to take a clear but competitive decision win. Prediction - UD12 Rikiishi
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On May 10th Japanese fight fans at Korakuen Hall will get a compelling Japanese Youth Minimumweight title fight, as defending champion Shunsuke Isa (9-3-1, 1) makes his first defense, taking on the highly regarded Katsuki Mori (9-1, 2) in what looks to be a brilliant match up between two talented young fighters each looking to progress their career, and move forward to bigger and better things.
Aged 24 Isa is the older man and the more experienced. The youngster from Kanagawa debuted way back in 2016 and won his first 4 bouts before losing in the East Japan Rookie of the Year to Retsu Akabane. He bounced back 9 months later with a pair of close wins before drawing with Masatora Okada and then losing to Yuni Takada in 2019, the man he would beat in 2021 for the Youth title. Although a talented fighter Takada has struggled with scoring stoppages, and his sole stoppage win was way back on his debut, meaning he has now gone 12 bouts with out a stoppage victory, and has started to come into his prime without developing much in terms of stopping power. In the ring Isa is a fighter who likes to be on his toes, using a lot of quick movement and footwork to create space, using a busy jab and making opponents miss. Whilst he does lack power to begin with, he also in a way where he doesn't get much behind his shots, instead keeping things at range and using his speed and reach well. What Isa does well is box, move and dictate the tempo and range of the bout. Notably his style is very, very energy intensive, there is a lot of movement in his style, a lot of energy being burnt and it's a style that is certainly not suited to the longer distance of a 10 or 12 rounder, but in 6 and 8 round bouts his style is very effective. Notably he does appear the sort of fight who will do anything to avoid an inside fight, and a fighter targeting his body could end up taking his legs away, and taking the fight out of him, especially if his opponent doing it had a decent body attack and a decent bit of pop. Up top however he's a very tough guy to catch clean with head shots. Aged 22 Katsuki Mori is the younger fighter, and he turned professional in 2018 before winning the All Japan Rookie of the Year in 2019. Mori's Rookie of the Year triumph saw fans getting very excited about him and his style, which was fun to watch and saw him throwing a lot of leather and being an aggressive boxer-fighter, capable of fighting on the back foot, or overwhelming fellow novices on the front foot. Sadly in 2020 Covid19 slowed his ascent through the ranks, with Mori fighting just once, but he was more active in 2021, scoring two wins, before losing earlier this year to Kai Ishizawa in a Japanese title fight. A fight that he put up a good effort in, but was unprepared for and it was a massive step up against a very dangerous fighter. Rather than having a confidence boosting bout since that loss, he has jumped in here against Isa. In the ring Mori is a genuinely fun to watch fighter, with fast hands, fast feet and a high work rate. He likes to fight up close, letting his shots go in flurries, and landing clean accurate blows. He can box and move, but it often seems like he would rather engage in a tear up, and let shots fly on the inside, than have the bout at range. Despite not being a puncher he seems to be someone who believes in his physical approach, his defense on the inside and his work rate, which often sees him simply out working and out swarming opponents. One thing that we do wonder however, is whether the loss to Ishizawa will see him change his style, and be less willing to take the fight to his opponents, and maybe consider boxing and moving more, and swarming less. If Mori is the same fighter as he was before the loss to Ishizawa, and continues to be an aggressive, physical fighter, we see him genuinely getting to Isa early on, attacking the champions body, working away and chipping down his speed, stamina and movement. If he can do that we wouldn't be surprised at all if Isa was to be slowed almost to a halt as Mori presses later in the bout and takes a clear, but hard fought, decision. If however Mori has some worries following that loss, holds back a little bit and iasn't as aggressive as he once was, there is a chance the outside boxing, movement and awkward style of Isa could ease him to a decision. If we're being honest we suspect Mori and his team will plan to be aggressive, and will accept Ishizawa was too much whilst Isa doesn't have the thunderous power of Ishizawa, meaning they don't need to worry, and play safe. Prediction - UD8 Mori. This coming Sunday fight fans in Hyogo will get the chance to see the latest Japanese Youth title fight, as Seira Kishida (5-1-2, 2) and Seika Fukuda (6-2, 1) battle for the vacant Japanese Youth Super Featherweight title. Both men are in their early 20's and this will be the first title fight for both men, with both knowing a win here could give their career a notable boost in the right direction.
Of the two men Kishida the older man, at 23, and also the naturally bigger fighter, standing at 5'11". He's also the man in better form. In fact since losing to Kazuki Higuchi in December 2018 he has gone 4-0-2, albeit at a low level whilst slowly but surely building up his record and getting ring time. Notably he has often gone rounds, but did score only his second stoppage win last time out, and as he matures we suspect his frame will fill out making him perhaps nasty puncher at range. Though he's certainly still a boy in the ring, and not yet a man. Sadly recent footage of Kishida is hard to come by, however there is some video of him to work from to get a read of his style, and he really does look a gangly freak who hadn't filled out his frame at all when the fights took place. For a tall he he, unsurprisingly, has very long arms, a good sharp jab, albeit one he should use more. He's quick with both his hands and feet, but does seem to waste a lot of energy with some nervous movements. For such a tall guy who does have some lovely body shots in his arsenal, and can fight on the inside, but we suspect his team will try and train him not trade up close going forward, and the early footage may well not be reflective of his current style, which for his success needs to focus more around his jab and using his size. Aged 22 Fukuda is the slightly younger man. He made his debut in 2019 and won his first 5, reaching the belated All Japan Rookie of the Year final in 2020 (which took place in February 2021), where he lost to Tsubasa Narai. Since then he has gone 1-1- but hasn't been matched softly and a loss last year to Yuna Hara over 8 rounds isn't a bad result. Interestingly Fukuda holds a win over Kazuki Higuchi, the man who beat Kishida early in his career. Sadly whilst his recent results haven't been good, it is worth noting he has gone 8 rounds, in the loss to Hara, which could serve him well here in a scheduled 8 rounder. Thankfully there is a surprising amount of footage of Fukuda and he looks fun to watch, but very flawed. He comes forward behind a high guard, likes to get up close and let his hands go, especially with hooks. He is open when he throws, and leaves a lot of opportunities to counter, but he also makes action exciting and and fun to watch. Sadly he doesn't really have the make up for his style, he's not a big puncher or particularly quick, but he is fun to watch and will make for fun action fights at the lower levels of the sport. He sets a good tempo, he keeps coming forward and he likes to really let his hands go. But technically he is very, very flawed, and his lack of power is a major issue for someone who throws shots like he does. We suspect that Fukuda will look to pressure, get close and try to make the fight a high tempo one. Sadly though we're not sure he'll be able to over-come the size of Kishida, who will look to keep things at range and will hold his own on the inside, when Fukuda gets up close. Fukuda will have moments, but his lack of power will be a major downfall here, in what should be a very entertaining little war between two well matched, but flawed, fighters. Prediction - UD8 Kishida By William Ridgard-
Ongjunta takes on 41-1-1 Majungoen for the WBO Oriental Flyweight Title on May 7th in Thailand. For starters, Majungoen has more ring experience than Ongjunta, having fought in 169 more rounds. Ongjunta, on the other hand, has the better win of the two, a decision win against Suriyan Satorn (61-11) for the WBA Asia Flyweight title in early 2021. While Majungoen has greater experience and a more impressive record, it is devoid of any notable wins, with the majority of his victories coming against boxers with losing records or even debutants. Now, in terms of style and how Ongjunta will approach this bout, we expect him to maintain his come-forward aggressive style from previous fights. Ongjunta's impressive footwork allows him to generate angles and use his impressive shot selection and combinations to the body and head, all whilst he is on the front foot and fighting with an aggressive tempo. Despite the fact that he throws a lot of punches per round, he lacks actual power, as evidenced by his only 4 KOs. This suggests that if his opponent can withstand the barrage of punches and fire back, he could be in trouble, as demonstrated by his only loss to Adrian Lerasan, who, after taking Ongjunta's best shots and knowing he could withstand the power, fought back fearlessly, and stopped Ongjunta in the eighth round. There is not much known about Majungoen, as there are no fights of his on tape, but what we do know is that he carries a KO percentage of 47% and is unbeaten in 7 years. He has also won multiple titles, including recently the WBC Asian Silver Super Flyweight Title against Lerdchai Chaiyawed (6-6). I predict the contest will be competitive throughout, with Ongjunta winning the early rounds with his fast pace and aggression, but Majungoen, with his experience, will take control later in the fight. Overall, I predict Ongjunta will win by a slim margin on points, but anything might happen. On April 23rd fight fans in Osaka are set for a treat as Japanese Super Featherweight champion Kosuke Saka (21-6, 18) defends his title against mandatory challenger Kanehiro Nakagawa (11-6, 5). On paper the bout is certainly not one which will grab the attention of international fans, especially given the records of the challenger, but for those following the Japanese scene this is a very interesting match up, and one that has the potential to be very, very exciting.
Of the two men the champion is the much more well known. The hard hitting Saka is someone who has really, really heavy hands, but is also incredibly flawed in the ring making his bouts great fun, action packed, unpredictable, and always worth tuning in for. When he's on song he's a destructive and violent force, but he's also a bully and when a fighter fires back he can be in all sorts of problems. Despite his flaws he has had a very solid career so far with highlights including being a 2-weight Japanese champion, having previously held the Japanese Featherweight title, and beaten the likes of Ryuto Kyoguchi, Shota Hayashi, Masanori Rikiishi, Masaru Sueyoshi and Takuya Watanabe. Sadly for him he has also suffered some 3 stoppage losses in his last 8 bouts, and has proven that his chin isn't made out of the same material as his hands. As a fighter Saka is very much a rock handed boxer-puncher. He comes forward, he presses the action, and uses his physical strength and power to back opponents up. We saw him dominate Sueyoshi with his straight shots, activity and power, before breaking him down to claim the title. Notable we've also seen him box and move, something he did to great affect against the tough Takuya Watanabe, who he broke down whilst mostly fighting off the back foot. When he is on form and focused, he's a deadly fighter, who comes to break opponents up. Sadly though he has over-looked fighters in the past, and switched off mentally during fights, most notably against Takenori Ohashi who knocked him out when he turned away thinking the bell had gone, when it was the 10 second clacker. Losses to Joe Noynay and Yoshimitsu Kimura have also been by stoppage, early in bouts, when they've made him pay for his poor defensive skills. On paper Nakagawa doesn't look like much of a challenger, given his rather un-pleasing looking record. That however doesn't look at what he's done, and the forms he's in, and in fairness to him, he is in some of the best form of any fighter on the Japanese domestic scene. The reason his record is so underwhelming was a nightmare start to his professional career, with Nakagawa going He started his career 4-5 (3) in his first 9 bouts, before turning things around and going 7-1 (2) since then, with wins in his last 6 fights, and in fair the "1" in that 7-1 was a very controversial loss. Whilst numbers alone don't tell much of a story, it needs to be said that Nakagawa's wins have been fairly notable, with victories over former Japanese champions Seiichi Okada and Taiki Minamoto, wins over highly ranked contenders Shinnosuke Hasegawa and Ken Osato and one over former OPBF title challenger Ryuto Araya. The 26 year old, has had to do things the hard way, and has genuinely earned a shot with his current string of wins. Despite his winning run Nakagawa will enter as the under-dog, something he's now accustomed to given his recent competition. Nakagawa has proven himself in those wins as a tough cookie, willing to wage war when he needs to. At his best however he's a rather technical fighter, who presses forward, has a rather awkward looking style but is some how hard to catch clean, and surprisingly accurate, with good timing, and gritty toughness. He's a pressure fighter with under-rated defensive skills and he looks like the sort of fighter who is hard to back up and hard to dissuade from coming forward. Technically he looks off, yet it's his technical skills and unusual rhythm that gets him success, and he's one of the few Japanese fighters at 130lbs who is less orthodox than Saka. Coming Saka should be favoured. He's more proven, more dangerous, fighting at home, and the man who enters as the champion. And we fully suspect Saka to win. However the style of Nakagawa will potentially give Saka fits at times, especially early on, as Nakagawa uses his under rated defense, and awkward strength to make Saka miss. Sooner or later Saka will land, and will make Nakagawa feel his power, but we wouldn't be surprised at all if that was in the second half of the bout, after Saka has been frustrated, tagged and made to look very ordinary. We suspect Saka will have to show some mental resolve, but will eventually get to his man. Prediction - TKO8 Saka On April 23rd we'll see a new Japanese Super Flyweight champion being crowned, or more precisely we'll see a former champion being reclaiming the throne as Hiroyuki Kudaka (28-18-4, 11) [久髙寛之] and Kenta Nakagawa (20-4-1, 12) [中川健太] clash for the belt that both have held in the past, and now want to recapture before bowing out of the sport.
The title became vacant at the end of 2021, when former champion Ryoji Fukunaga landed the opportunity of a life time, and got the chance to face Kazuto Ioka for the WBO Super Flyweight world title, losing a competitive decision to Ioka. As a result of Fukunaga vacating it lead to the JBC ordering the two top ranked fighters to face off for the vacant title, Kudaka and Nakagawa. Of the two men the more well known is Kudaka is the more well known, and with good reason. The 50 fight veteran is a 4-time world title challenger, who has faced a legitimate who's who of the lower weight classes over the last 15 years. Win or lose he has really faced a huge number of notable fighters, including Tomonobu Shimizu, Panomroonglek Kaiyanghadaogym, Hussein Hussein, Takefumi Sakata, Denkaosan Kaovichit, Hugo Fidel Cazares, Tetsuya Hisada, Oleydong Sithsamerchai Sonny Boy Jaro, Omar Andrez Narvaez, Ryo Matsumoto, Takuya Kogawa, Suguru Muranaka, Takuma Inoue, Go Onaga and Takayuki Okumoto. Whilst he has lost to most of those top names he hasn't been discouraged, and has instead proven himself to be a strong, aggressive, tough handful. Now aged 37 his career is coming to an end, but his desire to recapture the Japanese title, which he briedly held in 2018, is obvious and would be the perfect way for him to end his career. In his prime Kudaka was a big, strong and aggressive fighter, who came forward, and looked to out work, out fight and out tough opponents, in thrilling clashes. Technically he was always limited, but made up for it by having a very fan friendly style that gained him opportunities, despite his losses. His physicality often made him a handful, though his technical flaws were there to be picked apart, as we saw when he faced Narvaez and and really had no answer to the brilliant Argentinian's work rate and accuracy. In recent years he has however adapted to getting older, and although still a physical fighter he does now rely more on setting up his attacks than just wading in, relying on a high guard, and really crushing the distance down to get close. Up close he's a nightmare to fight, with his body shots being particularly notable, and fighters who do well against him typically keep him at range, use their feet and prevent him from turning the fight into an inside war. Despite the fact Kudaka is more well known, it would be rather foolish to say he's more successful, with Nakagawa being a 2-time Japanese champion and now looking to claim the Japanese Super Flyweight title for the third time in his career. The 36 year old Nakagawa began his career in 2004, but took a 6 year break from the ring after his third professional bout. Since returning to action in 2011 he has fought regularly and notched notable wins, whilst winning the Japanese title in 2016, when he beat Hayato Kimura for the vacant title, and in 2019, when he beat Takayuki Okumoto. Sadly though his two reigns have a combined only a single defense and only around 18 months with the title. He has also been stopped in both of his title losses, losing to Ryuichi Funai and Ryoji Fukunaga who both went on to fight for world titles afterwards. Nakagawa is certainly the more technical of the two fighters, with his boxing relying more on fighting with some room, and landing straight head shots from mid-range. Nakagawa has a good understanding of the ring, decent hand speed, and a an ability to mix it up when he needs to. Although a more technically rounded boxer than Kudaka, we have see Nakagawa wage war when he's had to, and he's proven he is a warrior at heart as we saw against Fukunaga in an instant classic. Sadly for Nakagawa his chin has let him down in the past, though to his credit, he has taken a lot before getting stopped and won't fold under the first sight of pressure. Instead he will stand, fight his ground and make for some thrilling back and forth action. Given the styles of the two men there is a chance, albeit a slim one, that this could be messy with Kudaka closing the distance and Nakagawa trying to neutralise his man up close. However we're expecting something a little bit special instead. What we're expecting early on is for Nakagawa to create space, work his straight shots and land regularly on Kudaka, as Kudaka comes forward. The first 4 or 5 rounds of the fight will see Nakagawa having success at mid-range though before too long Kudaka will begin to get inside, and from there on we will end up with a war with Nakagawa looking to repsond when he's hit, giving us 4 or 5 rounds of brutal bath and forth violence. By the end of the 10 round bout the early success from Nakagawa will have been relatively forgotten and Kudaa will have done enough, just, on the inside to take home the win with a hotly contested decision. Prediction - UD10 Kudaka. saOver the years the Middleweight division in Japan has long been over-looked, at least internationally, with only Shinji Takehara and Ryota Murata managing to make much of an impact on the international scene at the weight. Despite that the division has been really interesting to follow domestically and has featured a host of stunning bouts which are well worth checking out, for example Makoto Fuchigami's incredible war with Koji Sato or Tadashi Yuba's bout with Carlos Linares. On April 17th we might be in for another treat as Riku Kunimoto (5-1, 2) clashes with the unbeaten Mikio Sakai (4-0) for the currently vacant title, in what has the potential to be a really interesting bout, even if it's not set to be the most explosive of bouts.
On paper this is a hard one to call, and one that we’re expecting will be a very, very high level technical bout, unlike the aforementioned bouts with Tada and Fuchigami, but that’s certainly not a bad thing, especially given the credentials of the two men, and the level they are fighting this early in their respective careers. In fact with just a combined 10 professional bouts to their name, the bout is a sign of what makes Japanese boxing so interesting, the lack of record padding and the willingness to take risks early in careers and losses not being the end of the road, like we can sometimes see in the West. Of the two men, the 24 year old Kunimoto will be the favourite going in. He's the younger, taller, fight who's also fighting at home, with this bout being held in Osaka on a card promoted by his promoter. He is also the one with title fight experience, having challenger Kazuto Takesako for the Japanese title last year, where he entered as the mandatory challenger. Sadly for Kunimoto he was stopped within a round by the hard hitting Takesako, who vacated the title after that win. Prior to that loss Kunimoto had looked impressive, racing out to 4-0 in just 8 months, before the pandemic totally derailed his rise. During his firsy 4 bouts he had made his international debut, fighting in China, and scored a good win over Shoma Fukumoto. Sadly though more than 2 years out of the ring before facing Taksesako was not great preparation against someone as dangerous and heavy handed as Taksesako. Since that loss he has returned and picked up a low key win over Kazuki Kyohara. In the ring Kunimoto is a really solid fighter, despite the loss to Takesako. He's a boxer-puncher, with a big frame, a good amateur background, and some very polished skills. He stands at 5'10", which is big for a Japanese fighter, moves well on his feet and likes to use his straight punches to set other things up. Although he does have very nice straight shots he's not against putting up the earmuffs and walking forward with a high guard, getting inside and working away up close with some very educated body shots. At times he can be found over-committing, but for the most part he's accurate, smart, aggressive and versatile. Aged 28 Mikio Sakai is very much a pure boxer, with next to no power on his shots, but a lot of skill, energy, boxing IQ and a very, very strong amateur background. He made his professional debut in 2019, beating Elfelos Vega, and then squeaked past Ran Tomomatsu, in a really good fight. Sadly he was then inactive for a year before resurfacing in late 2020 to beat Toshihiro Kai and last year he defeated veteran fighter Koshinmaru Saito, in a real got check. With no stoppages in his first 4 bouts it's fair to say he has no real power, though with 28 rounds to his name in just 4 bouts, he has done pretty well in proving he has decent stamina and can go 8 rounds without an issue. In the ring Sakai likes to come forward, boxing behind his jab, using his footwork and drawing errors from opponents that he can counter. He's accurate, patient, very sharp, has varied offensive weapons and intelligent defensive work. Although not a big puncher he is physically strong, and he knows how to tie up opponents when he needs to. Where Sakai really excels is his boxing brain, and whether he's on the front foot or not he is constantly thinking a step or two ahead of his opponents, luring them into making errors, and conditioning their behaviour. He's not the most eye catching or glamorous of fight but he does a lot of subtle things, really well. Sadly for Sakai it doesn't really matter how skilled he is, when he's in an opponents home town, in a title fight and he has no fight changing power. Unfortunately for Sakai we expect to see Kunimoto press more of the action, and whilst Sakai will pick some gorgeous counters he will find himself being out worked, and fighting the crowd just as much as Kunimoto. The judges, almost certainly by accident, will end up giving the closer rounds to Kunimoto, and at the end of the day those close rounds will end up deciding this bout. Kunimoto will press, pressure, and try to bully the more naturally gifted Sakai. He won't dominate the bout, but will do enough to catch the eye of the judges often enough to take home the victory. Prediction - UD10 Kunimoto In the last few years Japanese fight Masayoshi Nakatani has flown the flag for Japanese Lightweights internationally. In the eyes of many outside of Japan he was the only Lightweight from the country worth being aware of, thanks to his fights with Teofimo Lopez, Felix Verdejo and Vasyl Lomachenko. There is however several other Japanese fighters at 135lbs who are worth being aware, including the deadly Shu Utsuki and the talented Shuichiro Yoshino (14-0, 11), who fans will be able to see in action this coming Saturday.
The unbeaten Yoshino, a former triple crown and the current WBO Asia Pacific and OPBF champion, will be defending his regional titles against former WBO Super Featherweight world champion Masayuki Ito (27-3-1, 15). For Yoshino the bout serves as his first chance to really show a Western audience what he can do in the ring, and boost his recognition from the regional scene, to a potential contender on the global scene. As for Ito, he'll see the bout as a chance to move towards establishing himself as a Lightweight, as he continues to rebuild following his world title loss to Jamel Herring in 2019. For both men, the bout will serve as a shop window of sorts, given the huge profile of the show they are clashing on, and the fact it's being streamed around the globe thanks to DAZN. Of the two men the more well known is Ito. He's a former world champion who won the WBO Super Featherweight title in 2018, when he beat the previously unbeaten Christopher Diaz in the US on a DAZN show. He only defended the belt once before losing to Herring, and then abandoned the Super Featherweight division to begin a campaign at Lightweight. Since moving to 135lbs he has gone 2-1, taking a a rather low key win over Ruben Manakane, a close and controversial loss to Hironori Mishiro, and then a sensational TKO win over Valentine Hosokawa. That win over Hosokawa was one of the very best performances from Ito, who looked sensational from start to end. Early in his career Ito was quite technical, but over the years he adapted a more aggressive style, creating space to line up his heavy right hands. That change saw him have his best success, beating Diaz with an excellent performance for the WBO world title, but also made him look really basic when he faced Jamel Herring, with Herring using a basic but effective game plan built around movement and his southpaw stance. Recent we have seen something of a change in Ito, who now looks crisper than he has in the past. Against Hosokawa he was busy, sharp, relaxed, accurate, and controlled the bout behind his jab and followed up well with his right hand. He countered well, he lead well, and he looked like he had a meaner side to him as he broke down the durable Hosokawa. Whilst the 31 year old Ito has been at the top of the mountain, had opportunities abroad and made a name for himself, the same can't be said for Yoshino. The 30 year old has, however, managed to impress on the regional scene winning the Japanese, OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific titles. Not only has he been a triple crown champion but he has also done so in impressive fashion, stopping 9 of his last 10 and beating the likes of Harmonito Dela Torre, Izuki Tomioka, Valentine Hosokawa and Shuma Nakazato. Despite impressing in terms of results, his performances have been, at times, under-whelming and there is a feeling that we've not seen the best of Yoshino. In fact we dare say that Yoshino will perform better when he's really being tested. Regardless of that he has proven himself a very solid boxer-puncher, capable of shutting out Valentine Hosokawa, or blasting out the likes Harmonito Dela Torre with a single shot. In the ring Yoshino can do it all. He can pressure when he feels like it, he can box when he wants to, and he can punch. He has good variety, great timing with counters, a nice crisp jab, and under-rated foot speed. Sadly his real issue seems to be either a lack of confidence, or a willingness to over-look opponents. His worse performance have been against fighters everyone would have expected him to deal with easily, whilst his best performance have come against his most notable opponents. Although not a huge Lightweight Yoshino is a big guy, who fought much higher as an amateur and began his professional career at Welterweight before dropping down the weights. He's strong, powerful, and very dangerous. Given his ability to step up his performance, we're expecting to see the very best of Yoshino here, and we expect to see him really show what he can do against Ito. Part of that will be Yoshino switching stances, getting Ito to throw when he's out of range and then countering. We suspect those counters will be the major difference maker here, especially down the stretch. Ito will have success with his right hand, and maybe even buzz Yoshino at times, but as the bout goes on we suspect Yoshino will begin to find a home for his left hook and right hand, eventually getting to Ito, and maybe even forcing a late stoppage in an attempt to announce himself as a legitimate contender to a world title. Prediction TKO11 Yoshino On April 2nd fight fans in Paranaque City get a potentially very interesting all-Filipino bout as Jhunriel Ramonal (17-9-6, 10) and Pete Apolinar (15-2, 9) battle for the vacant OPBF Super Bantamweight title. For both men this is a major bout, and a huge chance for them to put their names in the mix for notable regional bouts at 122lbs, whilst the losing will have a long climb back to becoming relevant.
Of the two fighters involved the more notable is Ramonal. The 32 year old veteran is someone who has been around the block a time or two, and despite having a messy record he has scored a number of notable wins, whilst proving he can never be written off. As a professional Ramonal began his career in 2007 and had mixed results through his early years as a professional, going 12-4-1 (6) through his first 17 bouts. By the end of 2014 he was 14-8-4 (7), having gong 2-4-3 in his previous 9 bouts, and it seemed his career was pretty much over. In fact it was more than 3 years before we saw him back in a boxing ring, and on his return he continued to struggle, with draws in his first two bouts back. Surprisingly however in 2019 he had something of a career resurgence, and scored brutal KO wins over Shingo Wake and Yusaku Kuga, showing that he was a tough, heavy handed, fighter and someone not to be over-looked. Sadly though his rise hit a brick wall when the pandemic started, and he lost his moment, without a fight in well over a year. When he returned, in July 2021, he was then upset himself by Landy Cris Leon, in what was a genuine shocker. In the ring Ramonal isn't quick, sharp, or even the most skilled. What he is however is determined, heavy handed, tough, and a true rugged fighter. He trudges forward, takes a lot of punishment as a result, but has dynamite in his hands. He's not got quick hands, or quick feet, and he hasn't got the best defense, but what he hits he hurts. At regional and domestic level he really is the type of fighter who has a punchers chance against anyone. Above regional level his flaws are an issue, and sadly for him accumulated damage is also a problem, with Ramonal having been cut numerous times during his career, and has lost due to those cuts on several occasions. Against fighters who hold their feet he is devastating, as we saw against Kuga, but if a fighter moves, keeps things at range and boxes safe he can be made to look foolish, slow and awkward, and game plans to beat him will revolve around showing him respect and taking advantage of his lack of speed. Aged 26 Pete Apolinar is from a newer generation of Filipino fighters, and made his debut in 2014, around the same time as Ramonal's career seemed to be ending. He began his career on the low level Filipino domestic scene, and ran up 5 straight wins before being stopped in a round by Jeo Santisima in 2015. Following that loss Apolinaro rebuilt, winning 10 bouts in a row including wins against the likes of Lloyd Jardeliza, Jetro Pabustan, and Jess Rhey Waminal, who he beat for the OPBF Silver title last year. Sadly for him his winning run came to an end last year when he was stopped by rising Korean hopeful Jong Seon Kang in a WBO Oriental Featherweight title. For this bout he will be moving down in weight, dropping 4lbs to go from Featherweight to Super Bantamweight. In the ring Apolinar is a pretty tidy fighter, with a nice sharp jab, good movement in the pocket and some slippery tricks in his arsenal. He has good short punches, under-rated defense, and his does slip and roll shots well. Sadly though at Featherweight, where he fought Kang, he issue was with the physicality of the Korea, who kept coming, despite taking taking some low in round 4. Apolinar had success in the bout, but was simply worn down and worn out by Kang, who is known for his energy and work rate. As the bout went on Apolinar's work rate went, and he stood in range way too much against a bigger, stronger man. As he slowed be became more of a target, and was backed on to the ropes too easily, before being wiped out in round 8. Thing he'll have to avoid here against someone like Ramonal. In terms of skills Apolinar is the much, much better boxer. He has some really advanced skills in his locker, and he really is a very skilled young man. Sadly though skills aren't always the be all and end all. Sometimes heart, desire, power, and determination is key, as we've seen in recent wins for Jordan Gill and Leigh Wood in the UK. We suspect Apolinar's boxing skills will see him take an early lead, but the power of Ramonal will land, sooner or later. When that happens Apolinar will be in trouble, and will begin to be broken down, much like we saw against Kang. Prediction - TKO6 Ramonal On April 2nd we get the next Japanese title, as Makoto Kawasaki (12-8-1, 2) and Koki Koshikawa (9-3, 6) clash in a bout for the Japanese Light Middleweight title, which was vacated by Hironobu Matsunaga who seems to have his eyes on bigger and better things.
Sadly for both men they are better known for losing in the biggest fights of their career, and to date the men are win-less in title bouts, but have had opportunities in the past. For the 37 year old Kawasaki this will be his 4th bout for a title, and he has to know it's now or never. Aged 31 Koshikawa may get another chance, but his last two bouts have seen him come up short in title bouts, suffering a stoppage loss to Matsunaga in 2019 and a wide decision loss to Yuki Nonaka last year. Although neither really deserves another title opportunity at this point in time, it's fair to say that neither man will get a better chance to win a title than here, with this bout. Aged 37 Kawasaki is certainly winding down his career. He debuted in 2012, fighting to a draw with Koki Tyson, and was 2-1-1 after 4 bouts, with his first loss coming to Hironobu Matsunaga, who would also give him his second loss. After 12 bouts he was 7-4-1 but not long after that he managed to land his first title bout, a shot at the Japanese interim Welterweight title, which he lost. He later went on to lose a bout for the WBA Asia Welterweight title and the Japanese Welterweight title. Sadly him getting a shot, at this point in time, says a lot about the Japanese domestic scene at 154lbs. He's a natural Welterweight, who has had very mixed results, and is getting this shot due to the lack of interest in the domestic title. However he's experienced and a capable fighter, though nothing special. In the ring Kawasaki is a hard worker. He's gritty, he's determined and he sets a good work rate whilst making for fun fights. Sadly though he's not quick, he's not sharp, he's not powerful, or particularly skilled and he's more of a battler than a boxer. He has slow feet, slow hand speed, and his punches are incredibly wide. He leaves himself open and whilst his style can make for fun fights he does seem like he's there to be stopped at times, especially at title level. He's been lucky to not face many decent punchers, but when he did face a good domestic puncher in Yuki Nagano he was stopped in 2 rounds. Koshikawa turned professional in 2014, following a very solid amateur career that had seen him go 46-25 (23), and there was pretty high expectations for him under the guidance of Celes Kobayashi. Sadly for him his time at the Celes Gym was a frustrating one. He won his first 4 bouts before losing a wide decision to veteran Koshinmaru Saito in 2015 and then took a break from the ring, of more than 2 years. On his he was matched softly to begin with, before stopping former Japanese Welterweight champion Daisuke Sakamoto in July 2018. He built on that win with a victory over former OPBF champion Ratchasi Sithsaithong and moved towards a Japanese title fight. Sadly for him his first title fight saw him having moments of success, before the press of Matsunaga broke him down in 4 rounds. He was then out of the ring for close to 2 years, before losing a wide decision to WBO Asia Pacific Middleweight champion Yuki Nonaka in 2021. In the ring Koshikawa shows some of his amateur skills. He knows his way around the ring, has a nice jab and looks relaxed and composed. Sadly for him however his hooks are wide and wild, his stamina is questionable, his defense is flawed and he's still very much an amateur fighting in the professional ranks, with a style that style doesn't look like ever really been able to adapt to the professional style. That means when he's under intense pressure he often struggles, and as we saw against Nonaka, he can can be out boxed by accurate and busy fighters who just do the basics really well. He is clear talented, but his talent has never really been developed and as a result he still struggles to show why there was some hype early on. Coming in to this bout we are looking at two flawed fighters, albeit two very different fighters. Of the two Kawasaki is the one who will look to dictate the tempo early on, and will bring the fight to Koshikawa, who will look to box and move. Sadly for Kawasaki we think a younger, fresher, version of him would have the tools to beat Koshikawa. In 2022 however the 37 year old inactive Kawasaki will struggle to force the tempo for long, and will struggle a lot later on. When that happens we see Koshikawa letting his hands go and forcing a late stoppage on a tired and exhausted Kawasaki. Prediction - TKO9 Koshikawa |
Previews
Having canned the old "Full Schedule" of Asianboxing we have instead decided to concentrate more on the major bouts. This section, the "Preview" section will look at major bouts involving OPBF and national titles. Hopefully leading to a more informative style for, you the reader. Archives
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