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Korean fighters from the 1970's and 1980's are remembered somewhat for their short by intense careers careers with several top Koreans having very few fights but many of those bouts did come at a high level. One such fighter was Chul Ho Kim who fought just 24 times in his 5 year career though featured in 7 world title bouts, the final of which came against Rafael Orono, the same man he had fought in his first world title bout. We won't ruin what happens too much from the 1982 rematch between the two men though we do suggest giving this one a watch if you're into your fights from yesteryear. One thing we suggest for those who have seen this one before is that you note the bell in round 5 and the amount of time left in the round.
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We often think of the small men as skillful and quick fighters with little power, that description can not be used for Thailand's Ratanapol Sor Vorapin who wasn't highly skilled nor was he particularly quick for a Minimumweight but he hit like a truck. That was shown numerous times during his career as he scored almost 50 stoppages in his career. One of Ratanapol's most controversial stoppages came against Gustavo Vera with the referee waving off the bout after Vera recovered from a knockdown. IT wasn't a heavy knockdown though Vera was a visitor to Thailand and we all know that Thailand is one of the most difficult places to get a win. Despite both Japan and Britain being regarded major boxing countries fights between involving men from both countries do seem to be oddly rare. The last time we saw fighters from the two countries collide in the UK was when Akio Kameda attempted to dethrone IBF Light Welterweight champion Terry Marsh way back in 1987. For Kameda it was his second world title fight, having previously come up short against the excellent Aaron Pryor, and it would also serve as his last bout. Incidentally it would also be Marsh's final bout before he retired. We won't ruin this bout for those who haven't seen it though we advise fans stay with it despite a relatively forgettable opening round as the bout really picks up in round 2. For those who are interested, the bout alluded to by the commentator with Howard Winstone was Winstone's fight with Mitsunori Seki in 1968. Right now boxing appears to have a generation of fighters who want to be fast tracked to the top with the likes of Kosei Tanaka and Naoya Inoue both being moved at an insane speed. The daddy of being fast tracked to a world title is however Thailand's heavy handed Saensak Muangsurin, a former Muay Thai great who won a world title in just his third professional bout. Here we have Musangsurin's debut as he took on Filipino fighter Rudy Barro. The performance was a somewhat crude one by Muangsurin however it was and in such a fashion that he just announced himself on to professional boxing. The finish, a 1-punch KO from hell, is often forgotten as one of the greatest KO's of all time but it really was a staggering shot that appeared to come out of nowhere their added to the reputation Muangsurin had had in Muay Thai as a serious puncher. Less than a year later Muangsurin had won the WBC Light Welterweight title, in what was just his third professional boxing bout. (Video courtesy of Jerome Naldoza) Technical decisions are often some of the most disappointing bouts in the sport and almost always seem to leave fans dissatisfied. Thankfully however a few bouts leave nobody unsatisfied, in fact if anything they leave the fans so amazed at the action they saw they simply enjoy what they got. That was certainly the case in the 1990 Super Flyweight classic between the legendary Sung Kil Moon of South Korea and Japanese challenger Kenji Matsumura. We won't completely spoil the bout but, as we often saw when Moon fought, there was action aplenty here with heavy leather being thrown, cuts opening, chaotic violence and everything you could hope to see. The only thing stopping it from being one of the all time classics was the 1-sided nature of the bout and when it was stopped at the end of the 5th round one judge amazingly had the winner 50-40 up whilst using the 10 point must system! We hope you enjoy this epic encounter which is as action packed as they come and the heart of both really cannot be questioned One of the most controversial and debated all-Asian bouts from the 1980's was the WBA Bantamweight title fight between the teak tough Khaokor Galaxy and Filipino fighter Luisito Espinosa. We won't ruin the result though following the bout there was reports of gambling irregularities, a fix and of neurological issues, the one thing we will say is that the ending was very peculiar lending credibility to all sorts of weird theories. Whatever the truth to the ending we may never fully know but this bout is one that really does needing watching by every boxing fan. (Video courtesy of Jerome Naldoza) When we talk about Thai greats we need to mention the fantastic Saensak Muangsurin who gave a real re-writing to the term "tough match making". Muangsurin fought just 20 times as a professional but was involved in 12 world title bouts, including winning world titles in his 3rd and 7th professional contests. Sadly a long career in Muay Thai and a tough career in boxing saw Muangsurin age incredibly quickly in the ring and aged just 29 he looked like a totally spent fighter as he took on a young and emerging Tommy Hearns. Hearns would later go on to a HOF career whilst Muangsurin's career faded out with just 1 win in 3 bouts before retiring in the early 1980's. It was disappointing to see Muangsurin like this, but on the other hand we suspect he got a decent pay day despite being clearly shot and we suspect suffering from some kind of serious injury. (Video courtesy of HearnsFanBritish) Through much of the 1970's Royal Kobayashi was a staple on the world title scene and actually held the WBC Super Bantamweight title, at least for a while. Unfortunately for Kobayashi his first memory of fighting at world level painful, to say the last. It was painful because Kobasyhi, a very competent fighter, met Alexis Arguello, a very special fighter. And was battered. And we mean battered. As Arguello lived up to his reputation as fearsome puncher and almost broke Kobayashi in half with some vicious and sickening body shots. This was just Arguello going about business but he was good at business and we can see how he has rubbed off on current Nicaraguan star Roman Gonzalez, a fighter who is regularly in action in Japan doing similar destruction jobs on Japanese fighters. (Video courtesy of BoxTv) Some fighters are truly legendary fighters, fighters who live on long after they retire from the sport. One such fighter is the great Khaosai Galaxy, one of if not the hardest punching Super Flyweight in history. Galaxy made a lot of defenses of the WBA Super Flyweight title in the late 1980's and early 1990's including this one over Korean challenger, and the then OPBF Super Flyweight champion, Byung Kwan Chung. The bout bout, from 1987, might not be in HD or the best of quality but it's still a pleasure to see Khaosai in action even if this isn't one of his most impressive performances. And with commentary coming in English our American and British fans may learn some new about Galaxy, it's just a shame no English language TV seems to pick up these type of fights any more. (Note-The records shown on screen and on boxrec are both very different. It's hard to be sure which is right and which is wrong though we'd suggest that both could actually be wrong) Some fighters are simply sensational. One such fighter was Ricardo Lopez who made several visits to Asia whilst in his pomp as one of the greatest little men in boxing. One of those visits saw him fighting in Japan against the then unbeaten Rocky Lin. Lin, originally from Taiwan, had been the Japanese champion before this bout but was dispatched with ease by Lopez who really did make a habit out of making decent fighters look very poor. If you've never seen the finish to this one it is spectacular! |
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May 2024
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