The Bantamweight division promised a lot for Japan last year but delivered little more than disappointment with a number of losses for fighters who were favoured, including Ryo Akaho, against Pungluang Sor Singyu in a WBO title fight, Tomoki Kameda, twice against Jamie McDonnell, and Shohei Omori, who came up short against Marlon Tapales in a world title eliminator. Even when Japanese fighters won they were disappointing with the all conquering Shinsuke Yamanaka (24-0-2, 17) also failing to shine, defending his title twice. The first of those defenses was an expected and simple win over the horribly over-matched Diego Ricardo Santillan whilst the second of those defenses saw the Japanese puncher come up very fortunate against Anselmo Moreno. On March 4th Yamanaka returns to the ring and hopes to return to his dominating best as he hunts a 10th defense of the WBC Bantamweight title, and faces off against Venezuelan warrior Liborio Solis (23-3-1, 10), a man who is well known to Japanese fans. For Solis the bout will see him attempt to become a 2-weight world champion and look to record his third win in Japan, where he actually holds a 100% record with both previous wins being big ones. Not only is the challenger trying to keep his perfect Japanese record but also extend a 14 fight winning run. The champion is widely regarded as the top Bantamweight and his reign as the WBC champion has been impressive, though relatively over-looked. He has yet to fight outside of Japan but has scored notable wins over the likes of Vic Darchinyan, Tomas Rojas, Malcolm Tunacao, Suriyan Sor Rungvisai and Anselmo Moreno. Although some of those bouts were close he did the important thing of pulling out the victory and has got himself a solid looking resume. Not only has he scored some solid wins but he has done so whilst becoming a star in Japan and being able to draw a sizeable TV audience. In the ring Yamanaka is well schooled, but not an elite level boxer. He has a very good variety of punches in his arsenal but often neglects many of his punches whilst looking to land his thunderbolt left hand. That left hand has got fight ending power, but recent he has looked overly predictable as he attempts to land it. That predictability has made life easier for recent opponents and whilst he has scored 14 stoppages in his last 17 he has gone the distance in 2 of his last 3. Whilst the champion is regarded as a genuinely elite world level fighter the challenger is much more over-looked, despite having been a former WBA Super Flyweight champion and holding a number of notable wins on record. Those wins include a decision in Panama over Rafael Concepcion, who famously gave Nonito Donaire fits and a decision in Mexico against Jose Salgado, as well as a huge win in Japan over current world champion Kohei Kono and a controversial victory over Daiki Kameda. To many fight fans in the East it was Solis's win over Kono that really solidified Solis as a world class talent, and it was a hell of a fight with both men being dropped and both going to war with Solis taking a majority decision over the popular Watanabe gym fighter. Whilst that win really made Solis, in many ways his win over Kameda was the beginning of the end for the Kameda clan and saw Solis missing weight for a Super Flyweight unification bout. Since then he has fought as high as Featherweight and last time out scored a win over Jonathan Baat. In the ring the 33 year old Venezuelan Solis is a tough, busy action fighter. Technically he's not the biggest or most technically capable but he comes to fight and will continually bring pressure with a high work rate and look to turn everything in to a war. It's a style similar in some ways to Suriyan, who gave Yamanaka hell in 2014. Given the styles of the two men we're expecting something really exciting here with Solis bringing the pressure and Yamanaka boxing on the backfoot, lining up the left hands in an attempt to take Solis out. The fight should be a high paced and all action affair with Solis bringing the fight but it's hard to see him having the power to hurt Yamanaka. The bout, we suspect, will look similar to Yamanaka's bout with Suriyan with Yamanaka doing enough to claim the win, but certainly not looking at his best.
0 Comments
Last year we saw Thailand's Pungluang Sor Singyu (51-3, 35) [ผึ้งหลวง ส.สิงห์อยู่] become a 2-time world champion as he scored a 2nd round TKO win against Japan's Ryo Akaho to claim the WBO Bantamweight title, for the second time. He returns to the ring on February 12th to make the first defense of that title as he takes on little known Filipino fighter Jetro Pabustan (26-2-6, 7), in a voluntary defense of the title before a meeting later in the year with Marlon Tapales. The experienced Thai, who turned professional back in 2004 after a long Muay Thai career, didn't have an amateur career but seemed a natural at boxing and less than 2 years after his professional debut he won bis first title, the WBC Youth title. As the WBC Youth champion he ran up some solid wins, over the likes of Monico Laurente and Eden Sonsona before losing in his first bout outside of Thailand, a very controversial loss to Stephane Jamoye in Belgium. The loss to Jamoye was a set back for the young Thai but he rebuilt well and in 2009 he travelled to the Philippines for his second fight away from Thailand. This time he managed to score a win on his travels, stopping AJ Banal to claim the WBO Bantamweight title in a minor upset. Sadly Pungluang's reign was short lived, losing the title in his first defense as he went to Namibia and was beaten by Paulus Ambunda. Following Punglunag's loss to Ambunda the WBO title went on a weird journey which saw Tomoki Kameda claim the title from Pungluang's conqueror before defending it against Pungluang, stopping the Thai with a vicious body shot, and Alejandro Hernandez. A third planned defense, against WBA “regular” champion Jamie McDonnell didn't sit well with the WBO who stripped Kameda and ordered the bout between Pungluang and Akaho, which Pungluang won in Ratchaburi. In the ring the Thai is a smiling assassin. Since the loss to Jamoye back in 2009 he has gone a very impressive 28-2 (21) and is 5-0 (4) since losing to Kameda. He is a pressure fighter who described himself in a recent interview as “diligent” and that hard work shows with the Thai capable of keeping up a great pace for 12 rounds and being tough, with his only loss being the one to Kameda from a truly sickening body shot. Whilst we know a lot about the champion, the same cannot be said of the challenger, who we really don't know a great deal about, and who we surprisingly lack solid footage of. The lack of footage, and wider knowledge, sees Pabustan living up to his nickname of the “Silent Operator”, with very few people raving about the 26 year old southpaw. Stood at 5'7” he's a tall Bantamweight, and from his record it's clear he's a hard man to beat, with just 2 defeats from 34 bouts. Incidentally both of those losses, as well as 4 of his wins and 5 of his draws, have been technical decisions, suggesting that Pabustan's bouts are full of head clashes, and that may be an issue here. It's probably the fact he's a southpaw that there's so many headclashes in his bouts but it's very notable than 11 of 34 bouts have ended in a technical decision. Although Pabustan has gone about things quietly there are some note worthy names on his record. These include Monico Laurente, who beat him in 2014, as well as the once touted Kenny Demecillo and former Minimumweight title challenger Vergilio Silvano. Sadly those three names aside it's hard to describe Pabustan's competition as being anything better than Filipino domestic level. Notably Pabustan has never fought away from home and has never gone 12 rounds coming in to this one. Whilst it can be hard to predict a bout on so little information we can't really imagine how Pabustan can win given, with his lack of experience, limited power and the fact the bout is in Thailand. He is the taller man, and is a southpaw, but he'll need to have the performance of his life to over-come Pungluang here. Monaco may be well known for it's gambling, huge yachts, wonderful scenery and rich people however there is a slowly growing reputation for the countries boxing events, which have been promoted by South African promoter Rodney Berman. This Saturday sees Berman, and his “Golden Gloves Promotions” return to the European principality for a very cosmopolitan card featuring a variety of nationalities.
For us one of those bouts is of a particular interest as Kazakhstan's heavy handed Zhanat Zhakiyanov (25-1, 18) challenges WBA interim Bantamweight champion Yonfrez Parejo (17-1-1, 8), from Venezuela. On paper this is the most significant bout for either man so far and could well help set the stage for some big Bantamweight bouts in 2016. The champion is a little known Venezuelan 29 year old who turned pro in 2009. His first bout of note saw him defeat the then unbeaten Jean Sampson in 2012 before being stopped, in 8 rounds, by the excellent Hugo Ruiz. Since then he has racked up 6 wins, including a decision win over Angky Angkotta in Indonesia and a win over Luis Hinojosa in 2014 to win his title. From the footage of Parejo he looks to be a crafty fighter with an excellent and busy jab, intelligent movement and fast hands. Whilst his jab did catch out eye in terms of his punching we were actually more impressed by his calmness and confidence in the ring. He's certainly not the best Bantamweight out there, and he does make mistakes, but there is a lot of positives to take from his previous performances and he does look like the type of fighter who could frustrate fighters on the back foot. Saying all that however Parejo has lost to the only world class fighter he's faced and hasn't really scored a win of world renown, hence why he's an unknown fighter. Whilst Parejo is a known to only the hardcore and Latino fans Zhakiyanov is actually known in Europe, where he has spent some of his career under the guidance of the legendary Ricky Hatton. It's been under the watchful eye of Hatton that Zhakiyanov has claimed the European title and climbed the world rankings. Despite the link to Hatton however the Kazakh is a very well traveled fighter having already fought in Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Switzerland, the UK, Belarus, Hong Kong, Australia and Bulgaria. In the ring Zhakiyanov looks like a very limited fighter. In fact to call him fundamentally flawed would be a compliment. What he does have in his favour however is power and physical strength. It's been his power which has resulted in his victories, some of which have been sensational like his win over Karim Guerfi who he iced in style. Watching him it seems clear he can be out boxed but going to war with him seems to be a stupid idea for anyone. Whilst his flaws will hold him back from ever being a real star Zhakiyanov doesn't have time to waste any more as he turns 32 just days before the fight and it seems it's “now or never” for “ZZ”. Watching the two men it seems clear that Parejo is the much better boxer, and in fact he clearly has the ability to box his way to a decision. Sadly for him we don't really know how tough he is and there is a good chance that he will be caught hard from a Zhakiyanov shot that ends the night early. We're expecting Parejo's boxing to be the key early though as he slows down in the middle rounds there will be more opportunities for the Kazakh who will manage to tag the Venezuelan. When he does that, then things will be come interesting and we could see a new champion being crowned. Seeing top fighters face each other in genuinely intriguing contests seems to be something that is really rare in our sport right now. We've started to see prospects matched hard but it's rare that world champions face another top fighter by choice, instead waiting for a mandatory to give them a tough test. For some fighters however the pursuit of making a name for themselves has made them chase big names and tough match ups. One fighter who has called for big fights over the last year or two is WBC Bantamweight kingpin Shinsuke Yamanaka (23-0-2, 17) who's wish comes true on September 22nd when he faces former WBA “super” champion Anselmo Moreno (35-3-1, 12), a man who was blatantly ducked by Koki Kameda. For Yamanaka this promises to be one of, if not the, trickiest test of his career but also a chance to beat a fighter well know in the West, and a man who has impressed American fans and media. It may not be the huge unification bout that Yamanaka may have wanted but it's still a significant and tough defense for the monstrously hard hitting southpaw. On paper it's a great match up and in terms of styles it really has the potential to be a thoroughly intriguing bout between two men with very different in-ring abilities. Yamanaka, for those who haven't seen him, is one of the sports truest punchers. His straight left hand is ridiculously potent and combines lights out power with laser guided accuracy. Aside from the left his arsenal is under-utilised though he does have a sharp jab, when he uses it, a solid hook and spiteful uppercuts. He can hold his own up close though it's at mid-range to long-range that he is incredibly dangerous. Not only is he dangerous but he's also smart and manages to draw mistakes from opponents whilst having his left hand ready to land at any time. At 32 years old Yamanaka is one of the elder-statesmen of Japanese boxing, along with fellow champions like Takashi Uchiyama and Kohei Kono. Despite his age he hasn't taken a lot of damage and has gone through 8 defense of the WBC title without suffering too much damage. Part of his “youthfulness” has come down to the fact he has stopped 7 of his 9 world class opponents, whilst the other part is his ring craft which has seen him control the distance and timing against most of his opponents. One thing to note however was that recent foe Suriyan Sor Rungvisai did show some issues with how Yamanaka copes with pressure, for his troubles though Suriyan was dropped 3 times. Whilst Yamanaka is a boxer-puncher Moreno is the more pure boxer-mover. He's a slippery and sharp fighter who rarely stays still, rarely looks to trade and scarcely throws a shot with full venom. Instead of holding his feet and putting his weight behind a shot he'll stay on his toes, move, duck, dive and frustrate opponents with a combination of his movement, hand speed and elusiveness. As well as the trickery in the ring he's also a southpaw, making him even more awkward for opponents. At his best Moreno was sensational. He went on an excellent 27 fight winning streak between 2003 and 2012 whilst notching notable wins against the likes of Tomas Roas, Volodymyr Sydorenko-twice, Rolly Lunas, Mahyar Monshipour, Nehomar Cermeno-twice and Vic Darchinan. Sadly however those times appear to be behind him and he has lost 2 of his last 4, with a decision loss to Abner Mares at Super Bantamweight and a controversial technical decision loss to Juan Carlos Payano last year. It was the loss to Payano saw Moreno lose the WBA Bantamweight "super" title after 12 successful defenses. Coming in to this bout we're expecting to see world class skills from both guys though the bout will be decided by who can make the most of their advantages. Will Moreno manage to get in and out with out taking punishment? Or will Yamanaka manage to time the Panamanian challenger? If Yamanaka catching Moreno there is a big chance he will drop the challenger, and possibly even stop Moreno. Another huge question is whether Moreno will be effected by inactivity with the challenger having fought just 6 rounds in the last year and 18 rounds in the past 24 months. For a fighter who depends on reflexes and timing that could well be a huge problem for the challenger. Although we know this will be a tough ask for Yamanaka we are expecting to see the champion shine, stepping up to the task at hand and making a real statement with a late stoppage before seeking another major bout, either at the end of the year or in early 2016. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp) Earlier this year we saw Tomoki Kameda (31-1, 19), the youngest of the 3 fighting Kameda brothers, suffer his first defeat as he can up just short against the under-rated British warrior Jamie McDonnell (26-2-1, 12). Prior to the bout Kameda had vacated the WBO belt in an attempt to claim the WBA title though unfortunately for him he finished up with nothing other than a black mark on his record. Although Kameda did come up short against McDonnell the Japanese fighter has invoked a rematch clause as he attempts to become a 2-time world champion and avenge his first defeat. Sadly for Kameda he no longer goes into the bout with the confidence of an unbeaten fighter, though he does appear to still have the Kameda arrogance even if he has changed one or two things since the first bout with McDonnell. As a fighter Kameda is a boxer-mover. He has some of the fastest hands in the Bantamweight division and throws some of the best combinations in the sport. At his best he looks sensational and incredibly flashy with a style that is easy on the eye and fun to watch. Sadly though his best is own shown in glimpses and he can often be found moving too much, switching off or trying to be too cute. In many ways his biggest flaws aren't his skills but instead his mentality, which has come into question in each of his last two bouts. Whilst Kameda is a flashy and exciting fighter his style does come at the expense of his power. We know he can hit hard, and in fact he dropped McDonnell in their first meeting, and he lands enough clean shorts to keep opponents honest. Sadly though he doesn't hit as hard as he perhaps needs to at the world level, despite showing impressive stopping ability against current WBO champion Pungluang Sor Singyu. The flashy combos have very little sting on them and whilst they win rounds they don't deter opponents. Hopefully Kameda will have “grown up” since his loss. The loss was, at least in part, down to Kameda switching off after a very bright start. Had he shown more maturity he would possibly still be unbeaten today and looking towards unification bouts not looking to try and right what he feels was a wrong. When it comes to McDonnell we have a real battler with a fantastic work rate and an incredible will to win. We don't mean to be harsh when we say this but McDonnell doesn't have the great level of skill, but he more than makes up for that through sheer bloody-mindedness. Unlike many fighters with a great engine McDonnell isn't reckless with his aggression, and although he throws a lot of punches he's not defensively open, though can take a shot when he is tagged, which makes him a really hard fighter to beat. He's not unbeatable but he is difficult to beat. Like many busy fighters McDonnell is much better coming forward than he is on the back foot. He's also some what suspect early on and it can take a few rounds for his engine to really get going. When he's at full speed however he's a nightmare. Like Kameda though he has shown, more than once, than he too can turn off for large portions of bouts and has admitted in the past that he needs big bouts to bring the best out of him and get his juices going. We suspect this will be a big enough bout, however there is a chance that he may feel he's going over old ground and may not turn in as solid a performance as he did last time out. We know above we said Kameda was partly responsible for his loss when these two men first fought and it is true. Of course it was also McDonnell's will to win and that really was what separated the men, McDonnell simply wanted it more and that was shown in the final round as Kameda floundered for 3 minutes whilst McDonnell went to work. That round was essentially the difference between the two men in what was a really close fight, it was the difference between winning and losing. Coming into the rematch we're expecting another ultra-close bout with the winner decided by whoever has their head on right. If Kameda fights to his potential and stays on the ball we think he'll take the decision however Kameda at 99% will come up short again if McDonnell has taken this seriously. We know the Englishman has an eye on moving to Super Bantamweight in the near future and it could be that his focus is there and not on this bout. We have seen him over-look opponents in the past and it could be that his win over Kameda the first time around could have him over-look him here. The only thing we're certain on in regards to this fight is that it will be another brilliant contest between two genuinely world class Bantamweights. Something we'll see again later this month when Shinsuke Yamanaka defends his WBC title against Anselmo Moreno. Hopefully the winners will collide in the near future. For those who missed the first bout we've included it below. In boxing the greatest rivalries not only give us a lot of fights but also manage to have exciting, competitive and compelling contests. Of course the biggest rivalry in the sport is the Mexico Vs Puerto Rico rivalry which has given us so many memorable bouts in both countries. To some the Asian equivalent is the Japan Vs Thailand rivalry which has, at times, given us some amazing bouts, again in both countries. Sadly however this rivalry lacks something, it lacks the “competitiveness” in Thailand where Thai's have thoroughly dominated with an incredibly record against Japanese fighters in world title fights. On August 7th we see Ryo Akaho (26-1-2, 18) attempt to change the fortunes of Japanese fighters facing Thais in Thailand as he takes on the highly experienced Pungluang Sor Singyu (50-3, 34), in a bout for the WBO Bantamweight title, a title that Pungluang has previously held. Akaho is one of the many Bantamweight contenders from Japan. He's not one of the top names in the division, like Shinsuke Yamanaka or Tomoki Kameda, but he has been in and around the world rankings for years and has slowly worked his way to this title shot. Technically Akaho is flawed, he's wild, he's not the most natural of boxers. What he is however is heavy handed, tough and comes to fight. He's a fighter at heart who has tried to become a boxer, but has reverted to type time and time again. He fights with the intention of knocking every opponent out and whether he manages or not it won't stop him trying. In the ring Akaho can be out boxed, as seen in his 2012 loss to the slippery Yota Sato, who made Akaho look fundamentally flawed. That bout was a WBC Super Flyweight title fight and although Akaho was clearly beaten it did seem clear that he was at least partially weight drained, and since then he has thrown off the shackles of the 115lb weight limit to move to Bantamweight, a weight that suits him more. Pungluang on the other hand is, arguably, the top Bantamweight in Thailand, though he is given a really good run for his money by the excellent Suriyan Sor Rugnvisai. In the ring he's a typical Thai in many ways, an out and out pressure fighter who will be coming forward relentlessly and trying to get in the face of any and every opponent. Stylewise he's a nightmare to fight and won't give fighters a second to breath. Pungluang is not only a nightmare stylewise but he's tough and like so many Thais is happy to take a shot to land one. Where falls short however is his speed, technical ability and his lack of a plan B. Pungluang only has a single game plan, but it is generally a very good one. Against quicker fighters however he can be made to look slow and clumsy, as he was against Tomoki Kameda who stopped him last year with a crunching body shot. Although a natural fighter at Bantamweight Pungluang is very short at the weight. He has the typical “stocky” build of so many Thai fighters and it helps him employ his style, slipping shots and coming forward. If a fighter has a good jab they can try to keep Pungluang at range, but it does take a lot of energy and effort to prevent him from coming forward round after round. Over 12 rounds his pressure really does take it's toll. In a neutral country this would be a 50-50 fight. Pungluang has the the experience and style to make life difficult but Akaho has a notable size advantage and the edge in power. It would make for a great fight on neutral soil. In Thailand however the advantages in terms of conditions, weather, officiating, and time all favour the home fighter. Those advantages, we suspect, will be the difference and will help Pungluang pick up the title and become a 2-time champion in a bout that will be packed with action and exciting. (Image courtesy of http://www.onesongchai.com) It's amazing to think that during the history of boxing no Japanese fighter has ever won a world title in Europe. That may change however on June 13th as the once beaten Ryosuke "Eagle Eye" Iwasa (19-1, 12) travels to England to take on the talented and tricky Lee Haskins (31-3, 13) in a contest for the IBF “interim” title, a title that Iwasa's handler believes will be upgraded to the IBF regular title later in the year. Firstly, as many will know, we are typically critical of the “interim” title fiasco that the WBA have on their hands. However the IBF rarely hold “interim” title fights and they are limited to when a champion is injured. In this case their “proper” champion, Randy Caballero, is indeed injured and isn't expected back in to the ring for several months. Rather than freezing up the title the IBF have elected for their two top ranked contenders to meet in what is a genuinely appealing match up. Of the two fighters Haskins is, by far, the more experienced man. He has been a professional since 2003 and already holds a number of notable wins, including decision victories over Jamie McDonnell, Stuart Hall and Jason Booth. Sadly for Haskins however he has had a number of issues including a style that has helped keep him away from British TV for swathes of his career and issues with durability, with all 3 of his losses coming by stoppage. Early in his career Haskins looked brilliant and quickly raced out to 15-0 (9). He showed off impressive speed, lovely countering ability and a style that saw him fighting with hands down and switching stances. That perfect record was ended in his 16th bout as he was stopped by the under-rated Tshifhiwa Munyai. Just 2 fights later Haskins suffered his second set back, courtesy of an injury against the talented but light hitting Ian Napa. Since falling to 16-2 Haskins has gone on an excellent 16-1 run scoring notable wins against Jamie McDonnell, Stuart Hall and Jason Booth. His sole loss during that 17 fight run came against Stephane Jamoye, in what was a contender for 2012's FOTY. Of course we know Jamoye's limitations, given his loss to Shinsuke Yamanaka, but Jamoye managed to impose his style on the fight and Haskins had to fight fire with fire. Aged 31 and stood at 5'5” Haskins typically fights as a southpaw though has shown the ability to switch hit. At his best he's an elusive and tricky type of fighter who controls distance well and uses a sharp jab to keep opponents at range. Up close Haskins can go to war and has fast hands though on the whole he is happy to fight on the outside and tie up on the upside. When he's forced to take the fight to an opponent he can struggle but most opponents are unable to really force Haskins out of his safety zone. At 25 years old Iwasa is significantly younger than his foe though in many ways lacks the experience of Haskins. He has been a professional since 2008 and lacks a genuine stand out win. He does however have some notable wins over the likes of Kentaro Masuda and David De La Mora. His most notable bout to date however was a loss, to the tremendous Shinsuke Yamanaka back in 2011. The step up to fight Yamanaka was too much too soon for Yamanaka though he managed to acquit himself well before being stopped very late in the bout. Although Iwasa isn't a hugely experienced fighter as a professional he was a very accomplished amateur with a record of 60-6 (42) in the unpaid ranks. Those amateur credentials have been part of the reason that Iwasa has been fast tracked and has already claimed the Japanese and OPBF titles in his short career. As a Bantamweight Iwasa is a relatively large fighter stood at 5'7” and physically he matched up with Shinsuke Yamanaka very well. At the time of that bout Iwasa lacked the experience though showed that he had the power and ability to really trouble Yamanaka. In the ring Iwasa is a talented southpaw boxer-puncher. He hits harder than his record suggests, as seen by the fact he troubled Yamanaka, though at times he's reckless and can be tagged himself. When boxing smartly Iwasa is very sharp though he can be put under pressure, as Richard Pumicpic showed. Whilst Iwasa put the performance against Pumicpic down to weight issues it's fair to suggest that those issues may rear their head again in the future. Coming in to this fight it really seems like a case of the man who can enforce his style will come out on top. It's a question as to whether or not Haskins will be able to keep Iwasa at arm's length or whether the Japanese fight can get his range and land his heavy shots with the left hand. We know Haskins has scouted the left hand but there is a lot of difference between know it's a weapon and being able to prevent it from being used. If Haskins can keep his movement up and make the most of his jab the odds are that he takes a decision at home in Bristol. If Iwasa can make it a fire-fight however we see the Japanese fighter stopping the home favourite and bringing back the title, doing what others, such as Hidenori Otake and Akio Shibata, were unable to do. It's a compelling match up of styles and a really good match up on paper, we just hope it doesn't end up having some sort of controversy hanging over the result. Although it's not the strongest division in the sport it's fair to say that the Bantamweight division is warming up quickly and we're set for a very exciting couple of years at 118lbs. At the moment the divisional #1, by some margin, is Shinsuke Yamanaka, and behind him is a handful of fellow Japanese fighters such as Ryosuke Iwasa, Ryo Akaho, Ryo Matsumoto, Tomoki Kameda and Shohei Omori. It's possible that by the end of 2015 Japan could have 5 world champions in the division.
The next bout of note in the division features the aforementioned Tomoki Kameda (31-0, 19) who has vacated the WBO title ahead of his upcoming bout, but the bout still promises a lot as he takes on WBA “regular” champion Jamie McDonnell (25-2-1, 12) of the UK. When the bout was first mooted it was set to be a WBO/WBA unification contest however the WBO made a worthwhile stand and made it clear they weren't going to be recognising the WBA's secondary titles. As a result they have stripped Kameda for participating in the contest and left the WBA regular title as the only one up for grabs. That however doesn't change the fact that this is a brilliant match up and something that is really mouth watering. In fact it's a genuine highlight for a month, that is full of highlights. For those who are unaware Tomoki is the youngest of the controversial Kameda boxing brothers and appears to be the most talented by far. He's a pure boxer who can really do almost everything in the ring. He's light on feet, throws blistering combinations, counters beautifully and can switch from head to body with no issues. The one flaw in his game, if we can call it a flaw, is that does lack fight ending power but he does hit hard enough to hurt foes, as seen with his devastating body shot against Pungluang Sor Singyu back in 2014. Like his brothers Tomoki is currently banned from fighting in Japan. However that hasn't been much of an issue for the charismatic youngster who is fluent in Spanish and has been signed by powerful American “advisor” Al Haymon who seems to like the Japanese youngster and has so backed him with this being his 3rd US bout in a row. Given his ability and style we suspect he'll continue to be fighting in the US for the foreseeable future and he could well be the Japanese star that goes on to really make it big in the US. McDonnell on the other hand is volume puncher who has a sensational engine and seems to get stronger as the fight goes on. He does however have a lot of question marks about his shot selection, overall ability and general attitude inside the ring. At his best he's a handful and wins over the likes of Stephane Jamoye, Stuart Hall and Julio Ceja all look excellent on paper. At his worst however he struggles with the likes of Abigail Medina and Javier Nicolas Chacon, who both asked real questions of McDonnell's “world class” ability. Whilst the 29 year old McDonnell does make us question him a lot, we do suspect that he's had an issue “getting up” for fights. He's has been matched awfully at times and it's little wonder if he's lacking motivation considering some of the hilarious mismatches he's been involved in. That motivation may well have shown in performances where he has just “gone through the motions”. If however there is more to it than just a lack of motivation it may well turn out that McDonnell is on the back end of his career and his famed gas tank is now running empty. When the two get in the ring we're expecting to see a bout that pits McDonnell's basic but busy pressure against against the smart boxing and moving of Kameda who will move in and out with bursts of sharp and accurate flurries. The between the two style wise is huge however the biggest difference is actually likely to be the footwork with McDonnell often having questionable footwork whilst Tomoki is like a cat on his feet. That will work massively for the Japanese fighter who will be able to control range, lure McDonnell in and counter with ease against his wild foe. To McDonnell's credit we don't see him being too hurt by Tomoki however we do see him being thoroughly out boxed and out smarted en route a wide decision victory for Tomoki. This might not be a unification but it is a damned good bout! (Image courtesy of www.premierboxingchampions.com) The Bantamweight division is one of the hottest in Japan right now. The country boasts two of the truly elite divisional fighters in the form of WBC kingpin Shinsuke Yamanaka and WBO champion Tomoki Kameda. It also boasts a brilliant set of contender level fighters, such as Shohei Omori and Kentaro Masuda, who may well have fought by the time you're probably reading this, Ryosuke Iwasa, who is set to get an IBF title shot later in the year, and WBO #1 ranked contender Ryo Akaho. It's fair to say that the coming year will be a major one, especially given the news about Iwasa's bout with Lee Haskins and the up coming contest between Tomoki Kameda and WBA "regular" champion Jamie McDonnell. Iwasa and Kameda however are trailing well behind Yamanaka in terms of resume so far and before either of them get the chance to change that we will see Yamanaka return to action and distance himself yet further from his compatriots. That comes about on April 16th when the unbeaten Yamanaka (22-0-2, 16) takes to the ring in the search of his 8th world title defence and a victory over unbeaten Argentinian Diego Ricardo Santillan (23-0, 15). This will be Yamanaka's first bout against an unbeaten opponent since his 2011 war with Iwasa, though few are giving Santillan any type of chance in a bout widely considered a mismatch, despite the fact neither man has tasted defeat so far. The reasons Yamanaka is so heavily favoured are numerous though they tend to come down to the fact he's more proven, has the more impressive wins and the more complete skill set. In fact in terms of his resume there is no active Bantamweight who can compare with Yamanaka, who already has wins over the likes of Iwasa, Christian Esquivel, Vic Darchinyan, Tomas Rojas, Malcolm Tunacao and Suriyan Sor Rungvisai. The Japanese puncher is dubbed the "God Left" due to his rocket like left hand which has destroyed numerous opponents in his 24 fight career. In terms of over-all boxing he's not the most impressive, in fact in many ways he's a one-trick pony but his one trick is an excellent one. He looks for an opportunity to land his home run punch and often connects. Aside from the left hand he does have a solid, though massively under-utilised, jab and a spiteful array of other shots that continue go under-used. Aged 32 Yamanaka is seemingly still in his prime. He has been involved in one or two wars, with the Iwasa bout standing out, but over-all he's not taken too much damage courtesy of his left hand and his intelligent footwork, which is used to set up his straight. From his 24 career bouts he has only amassed 157 professional rounds, around 6.5 rounds a bout, and has stopped 14 of his last 16 opponents. Although there are flaws with Yamanaka, notably his refusal to use his jab to set up his left hand, he's a really hard fighter to beat. Firstly a fighter needs to be built of really tough stuff, and then they need to either out box him or work him. To date no fighter has been capable of that, though Suriyan did show the blueprint in to how to beat Yamanaka, though was dropped several times for his effort and relied on his super human toughness to just see out the 12 rounds. Going through the record of the 27 year old Santillan yields little to really tell us how good he is. On paper his best win came almost 5 years ago when he stopped compatriot Guillermo Osvaldo Soloppi, then 13-0, in 5 rounds for the for Argentinian Bantamweight title. Since then however Soloppi has gone 5-5 with only a single win against a fighter with a winning record and doesn't look like a genuinely good win. Similarly a win over the then 11-0 Oreste Bernabe Nieva looks less impressive now than it looked at the time. Most worryingly for Santillan, at least in regards to his record, was his struggle past the limited Lucas Rafael Baez in a very competitive bout that saw Santillan getting the "home nudge" to retain his perfect record. From the footage that we've managed to see of Santillan he appears to be slow footed, offensively reckless and defensively open. In terms of his power it's not impressive enough to worry a fighter like Yamanaka and he's not aggressive enough to put Yamanaka under the pressure that Suriyan did last time out. Whilst it's fair to say that Suriyan did give Yamanaka a very tough time last time out it's hard to see Santillan doing the same. The Argentinian does look tough but he's never been hit by anything like a Yamanaka straight left hand. We suspect that when he is tagged by Yamanaka's power he will feel it, and he'll feel it hard. We suspect that that power will finish off Santillan within 8 rounds with Santillan becoming another of Yamanaka's victims. Whilst this bout is, likely, to be one sided we expect that the division will go through a lot of changes in the next few months. We already know that Kameda Vs McDonnell is set, we know talks are on-going for Iwasa Vs Haskins and we'll also see Japanese and OPBF title fights in the division take place this month. It's hard to know exactly where the division is heading but it's certainly going to be an interesting year for fans of the Bantamweight division. (Image courtesy of www.boxmob.jp) At their best title unification bouts allow us to recognise the best fighter in a division. Sadly those unifications are becoming less and less common. What we're getting instead are more champion Vs interim champion unification bouts. It's a shame but it seems to be the way with boxing right now. The first "unification" of November will see the unbeaten WBO Bantamweight champion Tomoki Kameda (30-0, 19) defending his belt against WBO interim champion Alejandro Hernandez (28-10-2, 15), a man with a truly misleading record. It may not be the unification that any of us want to see at Bantamweight but it is still a very interesting bout and one that will almost certainly be interesting due to the styles, strengths and weaknesses of the two men involved. Before we get on to the actual bout there is something that needs saying. That is that we think many American fans are going to be looking forward to this one courtesy of the fact they have seen Tomoki in action before. For the Japanese fighter this will be his second successive bout in the US following his last defense of the belt, a 7th round KO against Pungluang Sor Singyu in a finish that was really memorable courtesy of the fact it came from a single well placed and paralysing body shot. For those who did see Tomoki's last bout but none of his others they may shocked to hear what we're about to say, but Tomoki isn't a puncher. The stoppage he scored last time out against the teak tough Pungluang wasn't a case of Tomoki having power but rather his skills, speed and punch selection which saw him landing a quick shot to an unprotected part of Pungluang's body and catching him in such a way that the Thai fighter was effectively rendered unable to continue from the agony. Tomoki's really outstanding traits are his speed and skills. He has speed with both his hands and feet and can fight on the move with blurring combinations in an aggressive mentality or his can box behind a sharp lightning quick jab, or he can fight as a pure counter puncher, drawing opponents in and countering. Depending on his opponent he can fight as a chameleon, something very few fighters can do. It's the ability of Tomoki to alter his tactics that make him such a great boxer, he can adapt on the fly and go from combination puncher to counter puncher as and when he wants. He can chase an opponent when he's confident or he has them hurt, or he can force an opponent to chase him whilst using his light feet to get out of range. Although not a puncher Tomoki does have power that will make most fighters respect him. It helps that he can deliver a huge variety of shots and at lightning quick speed but he's not a puncher and if someone can take his shots and make him work hard to create the distance he needs then they can make life very difficult for him. We saw that at times in the Pungluang fight and we've also saw it, a little bit, against Paulus Ambunda. Of course however not many top fighters at Bantamweight today are pure pressure fighters and it could be that there isn't a good enough pressure fighter to really give Tomoki too many issues. When it comes to Hernandez we're talking about one of the sports real tough guys. In his 40 bouts he has failed to go the distance just once, when he suffered a damaged hand against multi-weight world champion Leo Santa Cruz. Although he's picked up losses in that time he has regularly fought at a very high level and as a result suffered losses to world class fighters, such as Omar Andres Narvaez, Carlos Tamara, the aforementioned Santa Cruz and Akifumi Shimoda. In all honesty he is probably the second or third best fighter with double digit losses, behind only Orlando Salido. Despite suffering losses to many of the bigger names that he has fought Hernandez has actually scored some solid results himself. That includes a win over Gilberto Keb Baas, a draw with Marvin Sonsona and recent wins over Marvin Mabait and Daniel Rosas, wins that have helped to win the interim world title. Aged 28 Hernandez has been a professional since he was 15 and has had to carve out a career the hard way. He's not had the favours of some other fighters and instead has had to do things the hard way, the very hard way. That means he's had to fight on the road and has already fought in the US, Argentina, Nicaragua, Canada and Japan. Although not the most naturally skilled fighter Hernandez has all the traits that makes fight very difficult for more talented fighters. He's stubborn, tough and keeps coming. None of his shots may have truly concussive power but they are hurtful, constant and often come from relatively unusual angles, especially his straight right which is very odd when he throws it. His ability to go 12 rounds at a decent pace is a real serious quality and unless someone can really discourage him we suspect they are in for a hard 12 rounds, With what Hernandez brings to the table we do suspect he'll give Tomoki some problems, especially in the later rounds, but for the most part Tomoki's speed, movement and elusiveness should help him take a clear decision. We suspect Tomoki will have to work hard every round. There won't be any gimme's, however Tomoki should do more than enough in many of the rounds to take a clear, but very hard fought decision in a fight we suspect will be more competitive than the scorecards would suggest at the end of 12 tough rounds. (Image courtesy of http://www.warriorsboxing.com) |
World Title Previews
The biggest fights get broken down as we try to predict who will come out on top in the up coming world title bouts. Archives
October 2022
Categories
All
|