Through the history of boxing we've had thousands of controversies. Be it questionable score-cards, poor stoppages, rules enforced badly or any number of other things we have had controversial actions and dubious incidents plaguing the sport. As part of this series we look at some of these disputable decisions and contentious contests. The format for this series will see us setting the scene for the bout, discussing the bout briefly and then discussing the controversy of the contest, and where applicable what happened afterwards, with potential fall outs. We also want to include footage of the bout where we can! Hiroki Ioka (10-0, 6) vs Napa Kiatwanchai (6-0, 3) I To begin this series we're looking at a bit of a forgotten controversy but it's actually the bout that inspired us to cover controversial fights in this manner. Especially given how blatant the controversy is and how forgotten it is now, more than 30 years later In October 1987 Japenese teenager Hiroki Ioka had taken a decision over Thai fighter Mai Thomburifarm to become the first ever WBC Minimumweight champion. At the time Ioka was just 18 years old and fighting for the 9th time. He would make his first defense just 3 months later, whilst his mentor Eddie Townsend was incredibly ill, and later passed after Ioka's win. In June 1988 Ioka would fight for the first time following Townsends's death, taking on little known Thai challenger Napa Kiatwanchai. Kiatwanchai had done little to earn a world title fight. He was 6-0, inexperienced and taking a huge step up in class. That however didn't phase him and he travelled to Japan with plenty of self belief. The fight started perfectly for Ioka, who dropped his Thai foe mid way through the opening round to secure an early lead. Ioka built on that but Napa wasn't there to make up the numbers and the diminutive Thai fought his way back into the bout. Through 11 rounds it wasn't the most exciting or dramatic of contests, but was hotly contested, incredibly competitive and compelling with the unknown Napa out doing all expectations to make things very competitive. Ioka, who was apparently advised to avoid southpaws, struggled to read the Thai's lefty stance despite being the much taller and longer fighter. In round 12 however things changed and a tiring, swollen Ioka was slowing. The tempo had gotten to both, but particularly to Ioka. At one point in the final round the Japanese fighter took his gum shield out and even threw it to his own corner, getting himself a short break. The break didn't do him any favours and he was rocked badly just moments later. He looked out on his feet with about a minute to go. Napa couldn't finish him in a follow up and then the bell rang...about 32 seconds early. There was a sense of confusion. Napa's team were celebrating, as if their man had stopped Ioka. Ioka's team looked confused and dejected. Their was a real air that the title was changing hands. Had the bout been stopped because of the damage to Ioka? Had the time keeper been confused by the gum shield situation? Or was there something else at play? After a few moments an announcement came out that the bout was a draw and the referee raised the hands of both men. Ioka had been bailed out from being stopped with the early finish and had retained his title with a fortunate draw. The finish to the bout lead to protests in Thailand at the Japanese embassy in Thailand and WBC would go on to order a rematch between the two men. That rematch came in November 1988, with Napa narrowly beating Ioka, with a majority decision, to take the win, and the title. The two would then have one more bout, in June 1989, with Napa stopping his Japanese rival in 11 rounds to record his second successful defense. Whilst this is certainly not the biggest controversy to ever hit the boxing world, it is still an interesting one, and one that rarely gets a mention. For those wanting bigger profile controversies in this series, don't worry, we have some big ones lined for the future but with this bout being the inspiration for the series, it made sense to start here!
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Not every fight we cover in Closet Classic will be a close, hotly contested bout, but that doesn't take away from their appeal. To we look at a bout that saw one man being dropped 7 times, but refusing to just accept defeat. We saw an established champion beat down a big hope, and we saw real intense action between swarmer and boxer. This was an instant classic, and yet not a bout known for being a competitive contest. The Fight Jung Koo Chang (35-1, 15) vs Hideyuki Ohashi (8-2, 4) II In 1983 Jung Koo Chang announced himself as a top fight, avenging his sole loss and stopping the brilliant Hilario Zapata to begin his legendary reign as the WBC Light Flyweight champion . After beginning his reign Chang quickly went on a tear, beating the likes of German Torres, Sot Chitlada Katsuo Tokashiki, Isidro Perez and Hideyuki Ohashi. He had cemented his place as one of the divisions all time greats come the summer of 1988 when he travelled to Japan for a second bout with Ohashi. By this point Chang was only 25, but already had looked like he was losing a step. He'd fit 14 world title defenses into his reign by this point, and had fought 36 times in less than 8 years, with almost half of his bouts being fought at world level. By the time June 1988 rolled around the highly touted Hideyuki Ohashi was ready to get his second shot at Jung Koo Chang, the man who had stopped him in 5 rounds back in December 1986. Ohashi was regarded in Japan as a boxing genius, the talent that only comes around once in 150 years. Sadly he had been too inexperienced, too light punching, and not good enough when he had faced Chang the first time around, in what was Ohashi's 7th professional bout. He had rebuilt from that loss with a trio of victories, including one over former world title challenger Tomohiro Kiyuna. His team would likely have been hoping the extra experience and cracks forming in Chang's armour would give Ohashi a chance to become a world champion. Given the fighters involved it was always clear this wasn't going to be a bout where the two men were standing off waiting for a mistake but instead a match up between offensive machine and a natural boxing talent. Only a minute in and Chang was already forcing the action on to Ohashi, who was having to respond boxing in the pocket, trying to pick his counter shots to dissuade the advancing Korean icon. The aggression of Chang refused to slow down, even when Ohashi managed to land some really clean head shots, as he did in round 2. All the good work of Ohashi seemed to just anger Chang, who roared back, unloading with more intensity on the Japanese challenger. The moments of success for the local made for some thrilling scenes, that sent the Korakuen Hall in fits of excitement, even if the punishment he gave Chang was always returned with interest. Sadly for Ohashi the power and aggression of Chang saw the Korean score 3 knockdowns in round 3. Some how however Ohashi ended the round rocking Chang, battling through the adversity to give us a a dramatic turn. Having come close to being stopped in round 3 Ohashi seemed to become more determined and bloody minded than ever, standing his ground more and delivering some solid and hurtful shots on to Chang, who was forced to slow down in round 4. Chang was still on top, but Ohashi was making him pay more regularly for his aggression. The success of Ohashi was never looking like it would be enough to stop the rampant Chang, even when the pace slowed in round 6. Chang resumed total control of the bout and would go on to drop Ohashi twice in round 7, but Ohashi refused to be beaten there and then and continued to dig his toes in and bite down on his gum shield. Ohashi's heart and desire kept him going, despite the punishment he was taking. The was a bit of a one sided classic, but a thriller, an action packed bout, one that seemed to show there were cracks with Chang, but that even a Chang at 85% was too much. It was proof that determination and will to win is an incredible facet of a boxer, who refused to quit against all sorts of adversity. Yes, this wasn't an ultra competitive back and forth, but was some how still an instant classic. We continue our look at under-rated fighters by look at the first decade of this current century and we suspect some of these names will be more familiar to some fight fans than some of the other names we've features.
As with the other articles in the series we have got a few basic rules in place regarding eligibility. Firstly none of the fighters here can have won a world title at any point during their careers, that means not only in the relevant decade, but at all. To be considered for any decade a fighter might have either fought during 5 years of the relevant decade, just that decade, or more than half of their career in that decade. As a result of those rules we will also only be considering their records for that decade, which will be mentioned alongside their career records where necessary. Also just for clarity we are only considering Asian fighters for this series. Where a fighter fights in multiple decades, as long as they fill one of the criteria, they can be considered for multiple decades. Also please note this isn't a comprehensive list of over-looked fighters from the decade and the list could have been much, much longer than it is. Jess Maca (Career tally 48-23-6 (18); record during the 00's 11-7-3 (2)) On paper Jess Maca's record for the decade isn't anything to write home about, and his 1990's was a much more productive decade for the "Japanese Killer". The reality however is that he was still very much an under-rated fight in the 2000's, despite only fighting 21 of his 77 career bouts in the decade. He was not only a continual nightmare of an opponent, but also picked up some of best results in a decade where he wasn't his most effective. Maca entered the decade as the OPBF Bantamweight champion and almost claimed the PABA "interim" Super Bantamweight title as the decade began, fighting to a draw in Thailand with future world champion Yoddamrong Sithyodthong. In late 2000 he continued his run of form in Japan as he defeated future world champion Katsushige Kawashima. In 2001 he then added wins over Masayuki Arinaga and Ryuichi Minoriyama and Hiroaki Murakoshi before being robbed against Masakazuu Sugawara. In 2003 Maca's run against Japanese fighters, which had began in the 1990's, came to an end when he was beaten by Hozumi Hasegawa and from there his career never really got going again with regular set backs as he went 6-6-1 and suffered both of his career stoppage losses. Whilst that was a bad run he did still pick up a notable win over Makyo Sugita in Japan and went the distance with Terdsak Kokietgym. Sadly though by 2007 he was a lesser fighter than he once was, and retired following a 2007 loss to Alexander Bakhtin. By that point Maca was 35 and he had seen better days. Jung-Bum Kim (Career tally 32-3-1 (28); record in the 00's 20-2 (18)) Dubbed the "Oriental Express" Jung Bum Kim was an absolute nightmare on the Oriental scene and he showed it through the decade. He had ended the 1990's as the South Korean Light Welterweight champion and despite losing the belt in 2001, to Hwan Young Park, he quickly reclaimed the title, stopping Sung Woon Cha. In 2004 Kim moved up in levels and claimed the OPBF title Masakazu Satake in 2 rounds to claim the belt. Sadly following that bout he lost in his US debut, to Arturo Morua, but returned back to Asia and made 5 defenses of the OPBF title, all by stoppage. In fact after losing to Morua we saw Kim go 9-0 (9). Sadly Kim's competition, for much of the decade, was lacking, but watching him in action it's clear he deserved some better dancer partners. Sadly the era was a bad one at 140lbs for Asian fighters. Wins over Satake and Sataporn Singwancha were as good as things got for him. He could have done more, but was still a total nightmare in a division that was sadly void of regional contenders at the time. Choi Tseveenpurev (Career tally 36-7-1 (24); record in the 00's 22-2 (14)) British based Mongolian Choi Tseveenpurev had a bizarre decade that could, and probably should, have resulted in a lot more attention than it. He was rough, tough, heavy handed and exciting but sadly spent much of the decade going up against over-matched opposition who really shouldn't have been in the ring with him. Choi won his first 3 bouts of the decade before losing a decision to Willie Limond in Scotland. Following the loss Choi reeled off 9 straight wins, but they were hard to get too excited about, other than a win over the previously unbeaten Livinson Ruiz. That winning run came to an end in 2004 when he lost a razor thin decision to Lehlo Ledwaba, who had been the IBF Super Bantamweight champion just a few fights earlier. That loss showed that Choi was a good fighter and thankfully acted as a turning point, helping him face better opponents. Following the Ledwaba bout we saw Choi go 10-0 (8) for the decade and have his most notable wins. They included a decision over the then 9-0 Kevin O'Hara, a KO against the then 13-0 Nikoloz Berkatsashvili, a decision over the then 10-0 Abdul Tebazalwa and a massive KO over the then 20-0 Derry Matthews. Although not a world beater Choi was a massive danger man, with an iron chin, rock fists and the ability to beat better competition than he faced. A reach shame he didn't get the opportunities his talented deserved more frequently though the decade. Z Gorres (31-2-2, 17) The tragedy of Z Gorres is something that every fan from the decade will likely know all too well. Gorres was one a trio of talented Filipino fighters making waves under the ALA banner, alongside Rey Bautista and AJ Banal. Unlike Bautista and Banal however Gorres wasn't a puncher, but was a fantastic boxer with brilliant balance, and boxing IQ. Of the trio Gorres was the most talented and the best boxer, by quit some margin. After a rather busy start to his professional career, which began in 2000, Gorres would sadly see his unbeaten start come to an end in the summer of 2003, when he was stopped by fellow Filipino Edgar Rodrigo. The loss to Rodrigo was followed by Gorres moving up in weight and scoring noteworthy wins over Sairung Singwancha, Wisanu Kokietgym Glenn Donaire. These led to him getting a world title fight with Fernando Montiel in 2007, and losing a razor thin split decision to the Mexican. Despite losing to Montiel that wasn't the end for Gorres who would bounce back with a win over Eric Ortiz, a controversial draw with Vic Darchinyan, and noteworthy wins against Cruz Carbajal and Luis Melendez. Sadly however Gorres career came to an end following a brain injury he suffered against Melendez. He was only 27 at the time. In another timeline Z Gorres was a world champion, sadly however in this one he is one of the unluckiest fighters out there and his career really was ended too soon. He seemed on the verge of a second world title fight, and had been genuinely impressive. A real talent, and one of those sad tales of what could have been. Thankfully Gorres has recovered from his injury enough to enjoy life, but sadly more than a decade later he remains one of the big "what if..." stories of Filipino boxing. Almazbek Raiymkulov (27-2-1, 15) There was a time when "Kid Diamond" Almazbek Raiymkulov was looking like he was going to go far in the sport. He was exciting, aggressive and the rare type of fighter that had US TV backing him for a good while, despite being completely unable to pronounce his name. Sadly Raiymkulov failed to reach the heights expected of him, but that's now seen him become rather under-rated now a days. Raiymkulov began his career in 2001 and won his first 20 bouts before fighting to a draw with Joel Casamayor, a result that looks brilliant on reflection. That draw had followed stoppage wins over the likes of the then 10-0 Ray Narh, Jose Luis Soto Karass and the then 17-0 Koba Gogoladze. Sadly the draw with Casamayor was followed by a loss to Nate Campbell. He would bounce back with wins against the likes of Emanuel Augustus, Miguel Angel Huerta and Javier Jauregui. Sadly Raiymkulov would end his career after a stoppage loss to Antonio DeMarco. He had failed to reach the heights some had expected for him, but in reality he had a really solid resume and certainly shouldn't be as forgotten as he is now. Not a world champion, but very much a fighter who had a number of solid wins. Yuki Murai (Career tally 21-18-5 (7)); record during the 00's 13-13-3 (4)) This series has been built around lots of fighters with misleading records, and Yuki Murai is another great example of a misleading record. During the 00's he won less than half of his career bouts, but he faced a who's who, and proved himself as a genuine tough nut giving world class opponents very real tests. From his 12 losses during the decade not a single fighter managed to stop him and instead he was seen a genuine banana skin. A tough, rugged banana skin. Murai entered the decade with a 2-1-1 record and would fight a number of lower level bouts at the start of the decade, suffering a couple of low key losses along the way. As he began to step up his level of competition however he began to prove himself as an awkward fighter. He managed to push Chatchai Sasakul, Somsak Sithchatchawal, Sompoch Harnvichachai and Teiru Kinoshita, with Kinoshita and Sompoch both being taken right down to the wire. Although Murai failed to secure any wins of real note in the 00's he managed to give much better fighters, much tougher tests than he had any right to. He was so tough and such a nightmare than no one who got in the ring with him had an easy time and he was being brought over to face title level fighters to help toughen them up test them. Murai's career was never going to be that of a world champion but he made a career out of being a headache. He was the perfect "journeyman" and managed to give a legitimate effort every time he stepped in the ring. Vitaliy Demyanenko (Career tally 22-0 (12); record in the 00's 17-0 (11)) In recent years we've seen a lot of notable Kazakh fighters making their mark on the sport. One man who often falls between the cracks in Kazakh boxing history is Vitaliy Demyanenko, who fought much of his career in the 00's and seemed like he was a man close to banging on the door for a big fight, but never landed it. Demyanenko made his debut in 2005 and reeled off a bunch of low key wins in Kazakhstan before stepping up and beating the likes of Esteban de Jesus Morales, Kiatchai Singwancha, Arnel Tinampay, Anderson Clayton, and even moved over to the US to score a couple of wins before the decade was over. Whilst Demyanenko is certainly not a "lost Golovkin" his career really could have ended better than it did. His win over Arnel Tinampay showed what he could do, with Demyanenko being one of the few to actually take a clean win over the tough Filipino. He probably deserved a top tier fight before hanging them up, but is instead someone who saw their career fritter away in the early 2010's. A real shame, but also a solid fighter who helped prove their was some capable fighters in Kazakhstan, along with the top, top names. Norio Kimura (Career tally 35-7-2 (19); record during the 00's 25-4-1 (16)) It's fair to say that Norio Kimura is not a name that will stand out to many, and in fairness it probably shouldn't. He entered the decade 12-3-1 (3) and had won just 1 of his 4 towards the end of the 1990's. He then actually lost his first bout of the 00's. And then he went on a bit of a tear with some notable results and a good climb through the rankings that eventually resulted in a world title fight. Kimura's most notable results during the decade included a technical draw with Tadashi Yuba, as well as wins over Junichi Ono, Shingo Eguchi, Motoki Sasaki, Shinya Nagase, and Kenryo Matsumoto. He essentially dominated the Japanese domestic scene at 140lbs during the decade, running up an impressive 13 title defenses over a 5 year reign. Sadly Kimura's career is probably best known internationally for his 2008 loss to Andriy Kotelnik, but the reality is that Kotelnik was never an easy out for anyone and that loss shouldn't over-shadow the fact Kimura was a 2-weight Japanese national champion. The loss to Kotelnik stands out, but his achievements regularly get over-looked. Nobuhito Honmo (Career tally 29-5-2 (5); record during the 00's 16-2-1 (2)) One of the most criminally under-rated Japanese fighters in recent years was the tough and talented Nobuhito Honmo, who is well known internationally for facing Edwin Valero, but did so much more during career. In fact not did he give Valero one of his toughest bouts but he also recorded a good number of solid wins during the decade. Honmo had started his career in the 1990's and gone 13-3-1 before we entered the 00's. He hadn't scored any wins of note, and didn't really enter with any real momentum. What little momentum, he did have was pretty much squashed immediately when he lost on his US debut against Amador Vasquez. Following that loss however Honmo went on a 17 fight unbeaten run which included noteworthy wins over Eiichi Sugama, Kinji Amano, to win the Japanese Super Featherweight title, Hidekazu Matsunobu, Koji Arisawa, Tsuyoshi Nakamura, Keita Manabe and Jimrex Jaca, with that win netting Honmo the OPBF title Super Featherweight title. Sadly for Honmo he would end the decade with a loss, losing in 8 rounds to the then WBA Super Featherweight champion Edwin Valero, becoming only the third man to last more than a round with Valero. Having book ended the decade with losses Honmo's success in the decade was really credible going 16-0-1 between his defeats. To add in the fact he was a total non puncher makes it even more impressive. He got where he got on skills, durability and ring craft. He was a very smart boxer with a sharp jab and with 8 defenses of the Japanese title he was very much a success story of the decade. Despite the loss to Valero. Trash Nakanuma (Career tally 27-6 (12); record in the 00's 13-4 (8)) One man who certainly didn't live up to his name was Trash Nakanuma, he certainly wasn't trash. In fact he was one of the more notably Flyweight contenders of the decade and a nightmare to fight. He was physically strong, had a good work rate, incredibly tough and had under-rated power. Those were all tools he showed off against some top fighters during the 00's, before retiring in 2006. In 2000 Nakanuma recorded 3 wins before upsetting Panieng Poontarat in 2001 to put himself on the map. In 2002 he scored one of the biggest wins of his career, beating Takefumi Sakata in a brilliant bout to claim the Japanese Flyweight title. He would lose the title to Sakata a year later after defending the belt twice. The loss to Sakata was then followed by a razor thin loss to Noriyuki Komatsu and then a very competitive loss to Pongsaklek Wonjongkam. Nakanuma would avenge the loss to Komatsu in 2004 but lost in a second world title fight, to Lorenzo Parra. That was the start of the end for Nakanuma who fought in a couple of low key bouts to end his career. Although not a world beater the fact Nakanuma pushed both Wonjongkam and Parra close in world title bouts showed he belonged at that level. He held Japanese and OPBF honours and was a very tough man to beat. Yes he lost 4 bouts during the decade but absolutely nobody had an easy time with Nakanuma. He was a real nightmare to fight and deserves more than to be remembered for just his fighting name. The Closet Classic series has obviously allowed us to talk about some of the biggest and most memorable bouts featuring Asian fighters. We've also been able to talk about some real hidden gems. Fights you wouldn't expect to see get attention anywhere, but this series. Today we have one of those obscure bouts, and what a bout it is! The Fight Ji Hoon Kim (9-5, 7) vs Mark Sales (15-32-3, 4) In 2008 we saw Korean fighter Ji Hoon Kim make his name in the US, and take part in some thrilling bouts Stateside. Before that however the "Volcano" had been making a name for himself at home as an exciting, heavy handed, defensively flawed warrior. It was clear he was very rough around the edges but was so much fun to watch that even early on it was obvious he was a TV friendly fighter. Sadly for Kim his record was a mess early on, losing 3 of his first 5, before stringing together 5 wins. In 2006 he won his first title, the South Korean Featherweight title, before heading to regional level and fighting for the interim PABA title just over 3 weeks later! Filipini fighter Mark Sales is certainly not someone we expect fans to be too aware of, despite the fact he's still an active professional today and fought back in February this year when he claimed the ABF Middleweight title! Back in 2006 Sales had twice as many losses as wins, he'd scored just 4 stoppages in 50 bouts and was seen as little more than a rugged journeyman. He was the type of guy who you put in against a prospect that needed rounds, or against a world class fighter looking to tick over. He was never anything special, but was tough and durable. So on to the fight, which took place on October 29th 2006. As mentioned this was Kim's second bout in around 3 weeks, and his 4th of 2006. Sales on the on other hand was fighting for the 5th time that year, and had also fought in both August and September. Neither was going to be 100% given their recent bouts but when they got in the ring you wouldn't have known that the two had been active as recently as they had been. From the opening round we got action as both both men let bombs go. The natural size and energy of Kim was obvious, but the incredibly toughness and under-rated skills of Sales allowed him to take the bombs of Kim, and fire back. After Kim had a very strong opening round Sales came back at him in round 2, and from there on it was clear we were watching something very, very special. This wasn't a rising prospect taking on some bum with 30 losses, but was some raw Korean kid taking on a Filipino veteran with the bit between his teeth in what was a hotly contested war. Kim's power and size were neutralised by a man who could take his power, ride his shots then return fire, with interest. Round after round Kim landed some serious leather, only to have Sales take it like it was nothing, then unleash his own power shots. Sure Sales wasn't a puncher, but he was landing clean with huge shots, that seemed to buzz Kim once or twice. By the later rounds the bout had began to slow, but that didn't make it a bad bout, far from it. In fact the slower pace made things more dramatic, as it seemed like Sales could end up reeling in the rounds, or even grind down a tiring Kim. The later we went, the more and more tense things got, and that added to the feeling that we were watching something special. We doubt many have seen this sensational bout. If you have you know what an instant classic this was. If you haven't see it, treat yourself to an amazing hidden gem of the Asian boxing world. (Video courtesy of KBM) We've looked at the 1960's, 70's and 80's and now we look at the 1990's as we continue to look at some under-rated fighters. The 1990's was an interesting decade, as the IBF and WBO world titles gave fighters more options than ever, but again we're only considering fighters who never won world titles.
This week we have fighters from South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Japan as we look at some of those fighters that are over-looked, having misleading records and are better than people realise! To be considered for any decade a fighter might have either fought during 5 years of the relevant decade, just that decade, more than half of their career in that decade, or had most of their most notable bouts during that decade. As a result of those rules we will also only be considering their records for that decade. Also just for clarity we are only considering Asian fighters for this series. Where a fighter fights in multiple decades, they can be considered for multiple decades. Also please note this isn't a comprehensive list of over-looked fighters from the decade and the list could have been much, much longer than it is and we may do a second volume in the future. Jung Oh Park (Career tally 27-4-3 (20); record during the 1990's 13-2-2 (11)) Fans who have followed the sport since the 1990's will likely recognise the name Jung Oh Park. In 1995 he suffered a 4th round TKO loss to Ike Quartey in a WBA Welterweight title bout. That was a whooping for Park and sent him into retirement. Sadly that's pretty much the only bout Western fans will know him for, and the other 16 bouts he had during the decade won't get a second thought. For us however Park needs to be measured on what he did do, which was dominate the Asian Welterweight scene through much of the 1990's. Park was the Korean national champion and sported a 14-2-1 (9) record when we headed into the 90's. By the end of 1990 he had added the OPBF title, stopping Yong Bae Cho. From there he would make 13 successful defenses, including successful defenses against Jintoku Sato, who dominated the Japanese national scene, and Hiroyuki Yoshino. Not only did he have a lengthy run with the OPBF title but he was also thrilling to watch, with an exciting, aggressive style that really made some of his bouts brutal to watch. Sadly by the time Park fought Quartey he had shown some serious signs of decline and had failed to win either of his 2 previous bouts. He was only 27 going into the Quartey bout but was an old 27 and had absolutely no answer to Quartey's jab. The gulf between Oriental level and world level was huge, but at Oriental level Park was king for the first half of the 1990's. Jong Kil Kim (Career tally 22-12-4 (14); record during the 1990's 14-6 (8)) The career of Jong Kil Kim is a genuine oddity, with a record that is baffling. He entered the 1990's with a record of 7-5-4 (6), with his final bout coming into the decade coming in December 1988. Not only that but his final 5 bouts of the 1980's had seen him go 0-2-3. It took until 1993 for him to re-appear in the sport but by the end of the decade he certainly made a mark, despite only adding 20 bouts to his record during the decade. Between January 1993, when Kim returned to the ring, and the end of February 1995 he had gone 3-4 for the decade, with losses to Jong Hoon Yuh and Hiroyuki Sakamoto. Despite that poor start to the decade he would then go 12-2 with noteworthy wins over Jung Bum Kim, Jong Jong Pacquing, Jong Hoon Yuh and Hisao Arai. Not only did he score those 4 good wins but he also became a 2-time Korean Light Welterweight champion and the OPBF champion, losing the belt just days before the decade was over. Interestingly 3 of Kim's 6 losses for the decade came against Jong Hoon Yuh, with him beating Yuh in their 4th meeting. Despite having so many losses Yuh was a tough nut, he was never stopped, was in with some serious punchers and managed to have many of his best results the wrong side of 30. He was never a world beater, but he was a lot better than his record suggests, and his win over Pacquing was a brutal war for those interested in something to watch! Faisol Akbar (Career tally 16-6-3 (3); record during the 1990's 14-5-2 (3)) We're going to preface this by stating that we don't think many Indonesian fighters have complete complete records. We think a lot of Indonesian fights are missing. With that said we can only go what boxrec report, unless another source is more complete, and we find it hard to not include Faisol Akbar based on his 19 recorded bouts for the decade. Akbar's first recorded bout came in 1990, in fact his first 3 recorded bouts came in 1990, before he seemingly went off the radar. By 1993 he had apparently amassed a 16-3 (3) record when he fought to a draw with Korean Oh Kon Kim for the first time. The two would rematch later that year with Kim taking the win and the OPBF title. Around 11 months after losing to Kim, Akbar resurfaced and fought to a split decision loss to Ronnie Magramo. Just a month later he recorded the first of two wins over future world champion Muhammad Rachman. In 1997 Akbar added another major win to his record as he beat Wandee Singwancha, to claim the IBF Inter-Continental Minimumweight title. That win lead to a 1998 show down with Zolani Petelo for the IBF world title, with Akbar losing a very close split decision in South Africa to the champion. Whilst it's hard to know exactly what Akbar's record should be it's fair to say that wins over Rachman, twice and Wandee as well as a split decision loss to Petelo show his quality and he is very much an under-rated fighter. Reality is that he probably has twice as many fights unrecorded as his boxrec numbers suggest, and he clearly had a lot more talent than the numbers we have suggest. Rey Paciones (Career tally 39-8-3 (11); record in the 1990's 14-5 (5)) We're bending the rules slightly here for Filipino Rey Paciones, who only fought until 1993, but what he did in those 3 years sees him included on the basis that his biggest fights came in the 1990's. It was a decade in which he lost more 25% of the bouts he was in, suffered 1 of his 2 career losses, but was an absolute nightmare to go up against. He could nick an upset when opponents over-looked him and could test real top quality fighters. In 1990 Paciones went 5-0, including an upset win over Tacy Macalos, the following year he went the distance with Joichiro Tatsuyoshi, Yong Hoon Lee and Yasuei Yakushiji. In 1992 he picked up a notable win over Rolando Bohol and took Jung Il Byun the distance, not long before Byun won WBC Bantamweight title. Sadly though his career came to it's end in early 1993 when he was stopped, in the 12th round, by Rolando Pascua. Few fans will remember Paciones, but his opponents will remember the tough Filipino fighter who really was a gatekeeper in the early part of the decade. From his 19 bouts in the decade he lost to 3 future world champions, one former world champion and beat beat 2 former world champions. A very notable and under-rated fighter from the early part of the 1990's. Jess Maca (Career tally 48-23-6 (18); record during the 1990's 37-16-3 (16)) Filipino fighter Jess Maca is not a fighter with a record that would suggesting anything too exciting. This series however loves fighters like this, as Maca's record is so misleading it doesn't even tell a quarter of the story about the "Japanese Killer" who fought from 1990 to 2007. Maca began his career without doing too much of note but did was incredibly busy in the early part of the decade and had 23 fights to his name by the end of 1992. They had included a decision loss to future Flyweight world champion Chatchai Sasakul and going 1-1 with Nolito Cabato. As the decade went on he began to rack up bouts against more and more notable fighters, losing decisions to Saen Sor Ploenchit, Gerry Penalosa and In Jin Chi in 1993. A loss to Daorung Chuwatana in 1994 was another decision against the tough Maca, who went the distance with Chi again in 1995 and Daorung in 1996. He would twice see the final bell against Samson Dutch Boy Gym and also against Veeraphpl Sahaphom. Of course going the distance with world class fighters was only part of Maca's 1990's. In 1997 he beat the then 11-0-1 Masahiko Nakamura in Japan, returning to the Land of the Rising Sun to do the double over Nakamura in 1998, to claim the OPBF Bantamweight title. With the OPBF title around his waist he went on a run of victories in Japan against Setsuo Segawa, Shigeru Nakazato, Shin Yamato and Taiji Okamoto. By the end of the decade he was riding a 9 fight unbeaten run into the new millennium. Yes Maca was no world beater, but he was a tricky out for anyone, and in fact it took until 2003 for him to lose the OPBF title, losing it to Hozumi Hasegawa. He was a nightmare and a genuinely over-looked fighter. Dan Nietes (Career tally 27-10-1 (17); record during the 1990's 24-10-1 (16)) Donnie Neites is a Filipino legend and one of the top Filipino names of recent years. Along with Nonito Donaire and Manny Pacquiao, he has been one of the faces of Filipino boxing. Donnie's uncle, Dan Nietes, on the other hand is an often over-looked fighter who only ever managed to win a GAB title during his career. Despite the lack of wider success he was criminally under-rated between 1989, when he began his career, and 1995, when he had his final bout. Nietes entered the decade with a 3-0 record and would compete in 35 bouts during the 1990's. These included decision losses to Pichit Sithbanprachan, in which he dropped the then 14-0 Pichit who had recently won the IBF Flyweight title, Saen Sor Ploenchit, and a split decision loss to Samson Dutch Boy Gym. He's not as notable as Paciones and Maca, not by any stretch, but with losses in 10 of his 35 bouts it's worth considering who he fought, and tough tests he gave guys like Pichit and Saen Sor. Sadly he lacks in terms of notable wins, but was certainly not an easy out in the early to mid 1990's. Thanomsak Sithbaobay (Career tally 56-6 (33); record during the 1990's 29-5 (20)) Coming through the Super Flyweight scene at the same time that Khaosai Galaxy was dominating the picture Thanomsak Sithbaobay was expected to be the heir apparently for the Thai's. Sadly however Thanomsak failed to win a world title, due in part to some questionable scoring and a real lack of good fortune. Thanomsak headed into the 1990's with a 27-1 (13) record, with his only loss coming in by split decision to Kenji Matsumura in 1987. He had momentum coming into the decade and a feared reputation. Sadly though he would suffer his second professional loss before the end of 1990 as he lost a close decision at Bantamweight to Luisito Espinosa. He bounced back from that defeat and got a shot at his more natural weight, Super Flyweight. He travelled to Japan for that bout and lost a very controversial decision to the hugely Katsuya Oniuka, in a contest for the WBA Super Flyweight title that Galaxy had previously held. Many, including some in Japan, felt the Thai had been robbed and in 1993 he got another bout with Galaxy. Again he was denied with some questionable scorecards in favour of the Japanese star. Following Thanomsak's second loss to Onizuka he reeled off 12 straight wins, including a TKO win over Rolando Pascua, before being stopped by future world champion Sirimongkol Singwancha. The bout ruined Thanomsak who wouldn't fight for 2 years, then returned in 1998 and was stopped by Tetsutora Senrima in 1998. Although perhaps not quite as good as some once though Thanomsak was incredibly unfortunate in both of the bouts against Onizuka and really should have been a champion. Whilst he did get 3 title shots, and was fairly beaten in the first, 2 of them could easily have gone his way. A genuinely unfortunate fighter who deserves to be remembered much more than he is. Yamato Mitani (12-4, 9) It's fair to say that Yamato Mitani may be the toughest guy on this list, even if he wasn't the best. The Japanese Super Featherweight fought from 1993 to 1998 and despite suffering 4 losses in 16 bouts has one of the many misleading records we see when looking at under-rated fighters. He was a former Japanese champion, 2-time OPBF champion and was only ever beaten by 2 men, more about that in a few moments. Mitani had turned professional after going 91-13 in the amateurs. The expectancy was huge for him, and he had signed a monster contract when he turned professional with Misako boxing gym, who had made sure his fights were going to be shown on Fuji TV. Not only did he had a TV deal early on and a notable Japanese promoter but was also matched up with former world champion Tadashi Mihara. Everything seemed to be behind Mitani being a star. Unfortunately for Mitani he found a true nemesis and lost his 5th bout to future world champion champion Yong Soo Choi. He also lost his 9th and 11th bout, both of which were WBA Super Featherweight bouts and both were razor thin decisions to Yong Soo Choi. Within 11 bouts Mitani was 8-3 (7) and had lost a trio of bouts to one of the toughest and roughest fighters of his era. Whilst they were certainly setbacks he certainly achieved a decent amount to. He won the Japanese Super Featherweight title, beating Toshikazu Suzuki, stopped Noree Jockygym for the OPBF Bantamweight title and would later stop Joselito Rivera to reclaim the OPBF title. As well as his 2 OPBF title reigns he also score a notable win over Nobutoshi Hiranaka before losing his final bout to Kengo Nagashima, the second man to beat him. On face value a 12-4 record doesn't look great, but losing 3 razor close fights to Yong Soo Choi really does put into some perspective that he was a lot better than his record indicates. He was rough, tough, heavy handed, and very fun to watch. Hitoshi Kamiyama (Career tally 32-2-1 (20); record during the 1990's 19-1 (13)) We suspect some fans may recognise Hitoshi Kamiyama's name, and will be aware that he fought for the WBA Light Middleweight title in 1992, when he lost to Julio Cesar Vasquez in Argentina. That is probably the most some fans know about Kamiyama, but he ruled the Japanese scene with an iron fist. Despite not being world class. Kamiyama had entered the decade with a 13-1-1 (7) record and the Japanese Light Middleweight champion. When he retired in 1995 he had avenged the one domestic loss, and draw, that he had had from the 1980's and had kept a hold of the Japanese title. In fact he had scored 17 defenses of the Japanese title during the 1990's. That alone would still be a Japanese for the weight class, and that was in just over 5 years of the decade. Whilt the names Kamiyama beat aren't well known internationally they included Pat Lawlor, probably the most famous, Hiroyuki Yoshino, who had marked up Kamiyama's record in the 1980's with the draw and loss, and Akira Ohigashi, who would later win the title and run up 10 defenses of his own. Whilst Kamiyama never made a mark at world level he simply dominated domestically to the point where the title was around his waist from January 1989 to his retirement in 1995. Yes he lost his biggest bout, quickly, but he ruled the roost at home Hiroyuki Sakamoto (Career tally 39-7-1 (29); record in the 1990's 34-3 (25)) One of boxing's true "hard luck" stories is Hiroyuki Sakamoto. Sakamoto was neglected as a child, went into foster care and in recent years has become one of the real good guys of sport, helping kids in the position he was once in. His most notable bouts did come in the 2000's, including losses to Gilberto Serrano and Takanori Hatakeyama, but his work in the 1990's certainly made up the bulk of his career, with 37 of his 47 pro bouts taking place in the 90's. Sakamoto debuted in 1991, won the Rookie of the Year in 1992, won the Japanese Lightweight in 1993 with a win over Rick Yoshimura, and was unbeaten until 1995, when he was out pointed by Juan Martin Coggi. He rebounded quickly and would defeat Jeff Mayweather just 6 months after losing to Coggi, with the win over Mayweather coming in what was Sakamoto's sole US bout. Sakamoto would add to accolades in 1996, when he won the OPBF Lightweight title Sadly for Sakamoto he would go on to lose in would title bouts in 1997, to Stevie Johnston, and 1998, to Cesar Bazan losing both bouts by decision. Despite losing his two biggest bouts of the decade Sakamoto did score noteworthy wins against Rick Yoshimura, Hiromu Kuwata, Jeff Mayweather, Roger Borreros, and Prawet Singwancha before the decade came to a close. Sadly an over-looked fighter, with great will power, heavy hands, a steely determination and a great story. Sakamoto is someone who under-rated in the 1990's but has used boxing to be a platform for bigger things, and deserves, rightfully, to be included in any list of boxing good guy's, as well as this list of under-rated fighters from the 1990's. We tend to see great fights as either having a lot of action or a lot of drama. Some great fights take place in a phone booth with both men unloading, but neither really hurting the other, whilst other fights see the two combatants being like human yoyo's. Today we look at a fighter that has a lot of action, a lot of knockdowns, and will long be remembered as one of 2014's best bouts, between two men who really damaged each other in an all out war. The Fight Terdsak Kokietgym (53-4-1, 33) Vs Orlando Salido (42-12-2-1, 29) We all complain about interim title fights but in 2014 one of the absolute best fights of the year was an interim world title fight, as Thailand's Terdsak Kokietgym took on Orlando Salido for the WBO "interim" Super Featherweight title. Thai veteran Terdsak Kokietgym had was a 33 year old with 11 years of in ring experience experience and more than 50 wins to his name. Although he had 4 losses at this point in his career they had all come in world title fights against Joan Guzman, Juan Manuel Marquez, Steve Luevano and Takahiro Ao. It was clear he wasn't an elite level fighter, but he was a tough out and had beaten the likes of Samuel Duran, Jess Maca and Ricky Sismundo. In the ring Terdsak was a rugged veteran, with a good engine, solid power and at 33 he likely knew this bout would be his last chance to shine. Terdsak wasn't the only veteran involved here, with Mexican stalwart Salido being 35 years old at this point, and had debuted more 18 years earlier. His career had been a tough one, coming up through the tricky Mexican domestic scene. Salido picked up losses through his career, but used them to improve, understanding why he lost and battling to develop his skill set. He had given Juan Manuel Marquez a great fight in 2004, had finally become a world champion in 2010, when he beat Cristobal Cruz in their second bout. He'd become a 2-time champion in 2011, when he beat Juan Manuel Lopez, a 3-time champion in 2013, with a win over Orlando Cruz but had always lost his titles swiftly after winning them. Despite both being battle worn veterans the two men went on to give us a war for the ages. Just 20 seconds into the bout they were already launching combinations, with the Thai coming forward and Salido looking to land the crisper blows. Just over 40 seconds into the bout we had the first knockdown of the contest, with Salido being dropped from a counter left. Later in the same round Terdsak was down, from a body shot that looked like it was quite a bit below the belt. Within 2 minutes we had seen both guys hit the deck, and as the bout went on we would see more knockdowns, with rounds 2, 4, 5, 7 and 11 all having them. Through out much of the bout Salido's cleaner work was the more eye catching, but when ever he made a mistake Terdsak punished him in what was a truly scintillating back and forth war. Despite the men combining for an age 68 and with more than 100 bouts combined they gave us something incredible, special and thrilling, and if you've not seen this one before you really need to give yourself 50 minutes of time and enioy a sensational thriller. Another month and another chance to see some adverts featuring fighters from Asia. This time we include a sportswear advert, two game adverts, a commercial for a TV service and a vehicle. Yup we're all over the place this month! Ryota Murata - Under Armour Starting with the bright lights of Las Vegas we see Ryota Murata wearing some Under Armour clothing, sparring and seeming very happy at the clothing. The advert was given the name "I just want to be strong Ryota Murata" but in reality the commercial doesn't really seem to sell the product. Sure the brand and it's logo is flashed a lot on the screen but unless you're a Japanese speaker our feeling is the concept of this advert falls somewhat short. Guts Ishimatsu - Drift Spirits This one is a very short one, at just 15 seconds, but is one that just makes us wonder what was going through everyone's mind when they came up with the idea. The commercial has former Lightweight champion Guts Ishimatsu dressed like a thumb with a steering wheel. And the thumb looks a little bit like a different body part. The advert is for a phone video game called Drift Spirits, and the games looks alright here, but it's Guts that steals the show in bizarre advert. Yoko Gusiken - NTT Whilst seeing Guts Ishimatsu as a thumb is entertaining, and easily the most interesting of the adverts here, we have to give Yoko Gushiken credit for all the work he's done in promoting things as well. Here he's advertising a TV service in Japan along with a Feisty young lady throwing combinations on the mitts with him. The CS and BS you see mentioned in the advert are the two satellite systems in Japan, with NTT offering both. Interestingly the eagle eared among you will maybe even recognise the music used here , it's "Conquistador" by Maynard Ferguson, the same track that Gushiken used for his ring walk music. Koki Kameda - Pigg Fishing If you thought Guts Ishimatsu being in a commercial for a video game was odd, here's one with Koki Kameda advertising some other game. This advert just looks terrible and poor Kameda seemed confused through out. Really not sure what's going on here, but the game looks absolutely terrible and Kameda's acting doesn't look much better than the game. Absolute no idea how to play the game, but it looks like a really poor social sim type thing with some fishing in it. Tae Shik Kim - Saehan Motor Elf Another short one to finish off as we look at a 1979 advert featuring former WBA Flyweight world champion Tae Shik Kim advertising a Saehn Motor Elf. Yeah the product sounds a bit naff in terms of it's name and the advert is old, and in black and white, but we can't help but love the music in use here and just and just how old this really is! It's over 40 years old...and it looks it! With the current lack of live fights we've decided to take on an interesting task of looking for the most under-rated boxers from various decades.
We are now on to the third decade in the series, the 1980's. As with the other articles in the series we have got a few basic rules in place regarding eligibility. Firstly none of the fighters here can have won a world title at any point during their careers, that means not only in the relevant decade, but at all. To be considered for any decade a fighter might have either fought during 5 years of the relevant decade, just that decade, or more than half of their career in that decade. As a result of those rules we will also only be considering their records for that decade, which will be mentioned alongside their career records where necessary. Also just for clarity we are only considering Asian fighters for this series. Where a fighter fights in multiple decades, as long as they fill one of the criteria, they can be considered for multiple decades. Also please note this isn't a comprehensive list of over-looked fighters from the decade and the list could have been much, much longer than it is. Chung Il Choi (career tally 14-2, (13); record during the 1980's 9-2 (8)) Korean puncher Chung Il Choi is a rather interesting fighter from the time period, and one of the most exciting. He began the decade with a 5-0 (5) and fought only 11 times during the decade, but a mark, and should have held a world title. Choi began the decade with two blow out wins before take a decision over Yoshitaka Ikehara, in what would be his only bout to last the schedule. Following that win he would score solid wins over Rod Sequenan and Rey Tam. By the end of 1981 he had gone 8-0 (7) for the decade and shot up the world rankings to earn a shot with WBC Super Featherweight champion Rolando Navarrete. The bout between Choi and Navarrete was a barn burner, and a criminally over-looked bout. It was also a highly controversial one with Navarrete being dropped in round 5 and the bell sounding early to end the round. This was as close as Choi came to winning a world title, and he would stopped himself in the 10th round of the bout. He would get a second shot, losing to Rafael Limon 8 months later, after Limon had taken the title from Navarrete. Sadly he was stopped in 7 rounds by Limon, whilst in the lead on all 3 cards. Sadly after losing to Limon in 1982 Choi left the sport. He was only 24 years old and could easily have continued on, but for whatever reason he hung them up instead. Eung Shik Kim (Career tally 20-2 (16), record during the 1980's 19-2 (15)) Korean Light Welterweight Eun Shik Kim fought through much of the 1980's, debuting in 1982 and finishing his career in 1990. During the decade he fought 21 bouts winning the Korean and OPBF titles along the way. Whilst not a big name he certainly left his mark on the regional scene, running up 5 defenses of the OPBF title. The hard hitting Korean took the OPBF title in his 7th professional bout, less than a year after his debut. Whilst his reign was an amazing one it would include 3 notable defenses as he managed to retain the title against Akio Kameda, twice, and Francisco Ferrer. He see his reign end in 1985, when he lost a decision to the then 18-0 Kyung Duk Ahn and never get a chance to avenge the loss. Despite losing the OPE title he continued on beating Tricky Kawaguchi in 1986 and Elmer Leonardo the following year before losing to former foe Francisco Ferrer in 1988. He would only fight twice more after that, with both bouts taking place in Japan, before he hung them up. Given he holds two wins over Akio Kameda, who would get two world title fights, he deserves a mention here, and he's certainly better than his competition would suggest. A real shame he didn't get in with other notable names during his career as he had the power, toughness and skills to be much better known. Neptali Alamag (Career tally 41-9-6 (12); record during the 1980's 14-5-3 (5)) Although more than Neptali Alamag's career took place in the 1970's, including a win over former world champion Venice Borkhorsor, we want to focus on just his work between 1980 and 1986, when he fought for the final time. Durign that time frame he fought 22 bouts and faced a mini who's who. After going 4-1 in 1980 Alamag made his US debut and upset Frankie Duarte, before travelling to Korea and losing a decision to Seung Hoon Lee. He would return to his native Philippines and win 5 in a row before fighting to a draw with future world champion Ji Won Kim. Alamag would prove the draw was no fluke by going the South Korea and again earning a draw with Kim, this time in Seoul, in a rematch. It took until 1983, when he was fighting in his 50th career bout, until Alamag won his first title, the GAB Bantamweight title, when he beat Amado Cabato. The following year he added the OPBF belt to his collection with a KO win over Japan's Mitsuo Imazato, who was the Japanese national champion at the time. Sadly that would be his last big result. Alamag's career ended with a 0-2-1 run in his last 3 bouts, but did include a bout against future world champion Samart Payakaroon in 1984. On paper his 41-9-6 (12) record doesn't look great, and even his record for the decade doesn't look amazing. The reality is that he was a lot better than those numbers suggest and his two draws with Kim were the only marks on an otherwise perfect record for the Korean who retired 16-0-2 (7). Rod Sequenan (Career tally 56-25-5 (33); record during the 1980's 28-11-1 (13)) Although not a rarity in general Rod Sequenan is a rarity in regards to these articles as he fought over 3 decades, beginning his career in the 1970's, fighting through the 80's and sticking with the sport to the mid 1990's. With that said we're really just focusing on the 40 bouts he had during the Freed Decade. Sequenan was never a world beater, but he was the sort of fighter who could pick up the sneaky upsets. He did this against the likes of former world title challenger Sa Wang Kim, twice, Il Bok Lee, a win that net him the OPBF Super Featherweight title, Jin Shik Choi, who was then 9-0, Ronaldo Sumalis and Jong Jong Pacquing. As well as his wins he could, when he was on song, be a nightmare for better fighters. He gave Hwan Kil Yuh fits in the first ever IBF Super Featherweight world title fight, pushed Lester Ellis hard in their first bout and almost upset the then rising Mark Fernandez in 1985. With 11 losses in his 40 bouts during the decade Sequenan was never a true top contender, but was a handful and a banana skin. If you over looked him you could end up being beaten, and he could, on his day, be a real horror to face off with. Francisco Ferrer (Career tally 34-28-7 (16); record during the 1980's 31-16-7, (15)) Having mentioned Francisco Ferrer earlier it's worth speaking about him in more detail as well. The Filipino certainly ended his career badly, losing 12 of his 15 bouts in 1990's, but during the 1980's he was a very capable journeyman who fought at a fairly high level with some mixed results. Ferrer made his debut in 1980 and in 1982 he scored his first win of note beating former OPBF champion Fred Rolando Pastor. He had some mixed results after that but did show what he could do in 1984, when he ran Australian veteran Jeff Malcolm very close, losing a split decision "Down under". He also gave the big punching Akio Kameda a tough bout in 1986, made Seung Soon Lee work for 10 rounds before Lee's 1989 world title bout, beat Eung Shik Kim in their second bout and gave Fujio Ozaki an incredibly tough bout for the OPBF Welterweight title. Sadly for Ferrer he was inconsistent through much of the 1980's. When he was on song he was a threat to anyone on the regional scene, but rarely got over the line in the tougher bouts. He was however much, much better than what his record suggests, even if he does lack the wins to show how good was. Kongtoranee Payakaroon (12-2, 9) Our unofficial "best to not win a title" fighter from the 1980's was Thailand's excellent, smart, and highly skilled Kongtoranee Payakaroon who's professional career ran from early 1985 to 1988 and boy was he matched hard and unlucky. Kongtoranee, the older brother of Samart Payakaroon, had been a fantastic Muay Thai fighter before transitioning to professional boxing in 1985 with a 10 rounder against Ruben De La Cruz. In just his second bout he beat former world champion Payao Poontarat and by the end of the year he had also added a win over former Japanese Light Flyweight champion Kentoku Nakama. Late in 1986 he challenged the sensational Gilberto Roman and came up short against the then WBC Super Flyweight champion. Despite the loss he remained a well respected fighter and just 13 months later got a shot at Khaosai Galaxy. When Kongtoranee faced Khaosai Galaxy the hard hitting Galaxy was 32-1 (29) and had already made 6 defenses of the WBA Super Flyweight title. Galaxy got the decision there, but it was a controversial one, and Kongtoranee deserved better from the judges than he had got. He had spent the fight boxing and moving, flummoxing Galaxy, who never looked comfortable at all with the skills of his challenger. After feeling hard done by against Galaxy we saw Kongtoranee walk away from boxing, returning to Muay Thai and then turning his hand to being a trainer. Prayurasak Muangsurin (21-7, 14) If you look at Prayurasak Muangsurin's record and dismiss him off hand we wonder what you're doing reading this article! He's here not because he lost 25% of his career fights but what he did in the ring, and even when we consider his losses he should still be mentioned in this list. During a career a career that ran from 1982 to 1987 he left his mark on the sport, beat several fighters who reached the top and twice fought for world titles himself. Prayurasak began his career in May 1982 and score 2 wins in his first 2 weeks as a pro. Later that same year he scored a win over future world champion Samuth Sithnaruepol. The following year Prayurasak would defeat Kim Chul Ho, sending the former WBC Super Flyweight champion into retirement. Sadly for Prayurasak the Super Flyweight division wasn't a good one for his punch resistance and in 1984 he was stopped by both Ju Do Chun, the then IBF Super Flyweight champion, and Elly Pical, a future 3 time world champion. After a rough patch following those losses he re-found his form and moved up to Super Bantamweight. It was here he claimed the Thai national title, and then the OPBF title, beating Youn Kap Choi in a lose bout for the Oriental title. This lead to his second world title bout, and sadly that also ended in a loss to the fantastic Seung Hoon Lee in 1987. Sadly that loss was pretty much the end of Prayurasak's career and he only fought twice more. With 3 losses to either reigning or future world champions it's easy to understand how Prayurasak suffered so many losses. Sadly it's the other losses that look bad on his record, but he was very much a contender during his heyday. Hidekazu Akai (19-2, 16) The always exciting Hidekazu Akai was dubbed the "Rocky of Naniwa" and will always be best remembered by Western fans for his 1983 loss to Bruce Curry in a WBC Light Welterweight title fight. There is, of course, so much more to Akai, both in and out of the ring. Whilst we won't discuss Akai's out of the ring successes it should be noted that now in Japan he's probably just a well known for non-boxing activity as he is for his in ring career. That's actually a great tale given that in 1985 boxing almost took his life. Akai started his career in 1980 and reeled off 14 straight wins, with 13 knockouts to begin his career. They included a big win over Fujio Ozaki in the All Japan Rookie of the Year, and saw him reel off 12 straight KO's, setting a then Japanese record. His style saw Asahi began to back him as a broadcaster and despite having not even won a Japanese title he was already getting just as, if not more, popular as Jiro Watanabe. Sadly though he would lose to Bruce Curry in 7 rounds, and fail to win the WBC title. Just over 3 months after the loss to Curry we saw Akai back in the ring, taking a 10 round decision over Yohi Arai before scoring 4 more wins. Sadly a brain injury suffered in a shock loss to Masaharu Owada in early 1985 ended his career, and left him close to death. Thankfully the fighter recovered but would never fight again. Having never won any kind of title Akai is an oddity in many ways. In fact he only ever fought in one title bout, the loss to Curry, yet if you ask Japanese fans from the 1980's about him they will rave about him. It's a real shame that his career ended at the age of 25, though he had certainly left an impression on the domestic stage. Shuichi Hozumi (Career tally 29-5 (8); record during the 1970's 15-5 (6)) Shuichi Hozumi is not someone we think many fans will be familiar with, but he was a pretty major figure in the lower weight classes in the 1980's. He made a big impact on the Japanese scene, twice challenged for world titles and scored a number of over-looked wins. Hozumi began the 1980's with a 10-0 (2) record but really began o make his mark in 1980. That was the year he not only beat former world title challenger Tito Abell, but also the year he upset Tadashi Tomori to become the Japanese Light Flyweight champion. Hozumi's reign as the Japanese champion at 108lbs was a short one though and he quickly moved up in weight, losing in an OPBF Flyweight title bout to Hong Soo Yang. In 1981 he lost for the second time, this time in a bout for the Japanese Flyweight title. He would however settle at the weight in 1982 claimed the Japanese title at Flyweight to become a 2-weight Japanese champion. In 1983 Hozumi got his first world title bout, and lost in 2 rounds to Santos Laciar, the then WBA Flyweight champion. Despite the loss Hozumi really wasn't discouraged and continue to rule as the Japanese Flyweight champion until December 1985. During his reign he beat Koki Ishii in a title defense, Jackal Maruyama in a non title bout and Takashi Sakakibara. Those wins earned him a second world title bout, though he wasn't able to over-come the excellent Hilario Zapara and retired the following year after losing to Oh Kong Son in South Korea. Although not spoke about much anymore Hozumi was a talented fighter, with a technical style, fighting on the outside and he certainly deserves a lot more attention than he gets from fans now a days. Shunichi Nakajima (Career tally 23-7 (13); record in the 1980's 22-4 (12)) We end this with another Japanese national champion who had gone massively over-looked in recent years after being a key fighter in the 1980's domestic scene. That is Shunichi Nakajima, who fought 26 times in the 1980's and was a very solid Super Flyweight. Whilst his most notably bouts came in the 1990's, his biggest successes came in the 1980's, when he went 22-4. Nakajima debuted in 1984 and won his first 6 bouts, including a win over former Japanese title challenger Kazutaka Higa. Just 15 months after his debut he fought for the Japanese Super Flyweight title, and lost a close decision against Tadashi Maruo. Rather than stepping backwards after that loss he continued to be matched hard and sadly suffered 2 more loss, to Rae Ki Ahn in South Korea and Leopard Tamakuma in Japan. He had gone from 6-0 to 7-3 in the space of just 10 months. Despite the set backs Nakajima continued going forward with his career, losing against in 1987 when he travelled to Korea and lost to Byung Kwan Chung in a bout for the OPBF Super Flyweight title. He bounced back immediately from that to beat Masayuki Takahashi in an A Class tournament final. That was followed by Nakajima finally scoring a big win in 1988, when he claimed the Japanese Super Flyweight title with a win over Koji Nishikawa. That began a great run for Nakajima who would defend the title 5 times before the decade was over. By the end of the 1980's Nakajima was world ranked and ready to get a world title fight in the 1990's. Although his record isn't the greatest he did end the decade in the title mix, not something we'd have expected for someone who started their career 7-3. Over this past weekend we saw boxing return to the ring in both Nicaragua and South Korea. Neither of the shows was a big one, but it was something to get excited about. What they both summed up however was something that was clear. With limited flights, and international quarantines taking place in a number of countries, we won't be seeing many, if any, bouts featuring international match ups. Barring cases where a fighter is essentially "stranded" on foreign soil, we're almost certainly just looking at fights between fighters from the same nation.
Whilst there are a host of issues to over-come before we can have big fights, we've decided to look at 10 of the best possible bouts we could have between fighters in the same countries right now. The reality is we'd be surprised if any of these took place before boxing was back up and running in a more normal manner, but in terms of match ups we do have some interesting possibilities and some pretty obvious ones. Wanehng Menayothin (54-0, 18) Vs Knockout CP Freshmart (21-0, 7) We start this with a bout that is highly unlikely, but still possible, and that would be the all-Thai showdown between Wanheng Menayothin, the WBC Minimumweight champion, and WBA counter-part Knockout CP Freshmart. Of course we've had this as a "possible" match up for years, but both men have been able to be kept apart, defending their titles against imported opponents. With no imports it really limits their options, and a bout between the two, in late summer, in Thailand, might finally be something that the money men behind them decide to give us. With Wanheng turning 35 this October the bout may well make sense, if the two aren't able to leave the Land of Smiles. Go on guys, lets have a unified champion at 105lbs! Kenshiro Teraji (17-0, 10) Vs Hiroto Kyoguchi (14-0, 9) Another potential unification bout and one that actually has been spoken about by both fighters over the last 18 months or so. This one would again see WBA and WBC titles being unified, albeit at Light Flyweight as the unbeaten Japanese pairing of Kenshiro Teraji and Hiroto Kyoguchi clash. The two men fought as amateurs, and took part in a public exhibition in 2018 but went different ways in 2019. Right now their are other solid Light Flyweights in Japan, but the reality is that this is the bout fans want, and the bout the division needs. Given that Kenshiro has stated, repeatedly, that he wants to unify titles then this is likely to be his only option for 2020...but what an option it is! Junto Nakatani (20-0, 15) Vs Sho Kimura (19-3-2, 12) Before the current situation forced boxing to be put on the back burner we were expecting to see Junto Nakatani face Giemel Magramo for the WBO Flyweight title. With that bout now on pause for the foreseeable future we could see it replaced by a brilliant bout between Nakatani and former champion Sho Kimura. Whilst this wouldn't automatically be for the WBO title, though potentially it could be with the winner to face Magramo, it's the sort of bout that doesn't need a title to be an appealing match up. It pits one of the rising faces of Japanese boxing against a former champion who has proven his worth in recent years. The bout would see the rangy youngster being given his toughest test to date, and would see Kimura potentially opening the door to take him back to the top. In regards to style and meaning this is something we'd love to see. Kazuto Ioka (25-2, 14) Vs Kosei Tanaka (15-0, 9) One bout that was actually ordered by the WBO before we got the "new normal" was a Super Flyweight world title out between defending champion Kazuto Ioka and mandatory Kosei Tanaka. The teams were told to negotiate for a mandatory title fight, though in reality it seemed likely the teams would both push back and try to arrange it for the end of the year. When ever it takes place it will be a highly anticipated bout, and there really is no reason this can't take place later in the year when things like lockdowns are lifted. It's a brilliant match up between two multi-weight world champions. Ioka is currently a world champion in his 4th weight class and Tanaka is looking to match that feat, if he can beat Ioka. Two prodigious, hungry and talented fighters looking to further define their legacies, what's not to love? Michael Dasmarinas (30-2-1, 20) Vs Reymart Gaballo (23-0, 20) We ideally wanted to select Johnriel Casimero Vs Nonito Donaire for this bout, but we under-stand the two men are in different countries right now. With that in mind we'd love to see Michael Dasmarinas risk his IBF mandatory title fight, against Naoya Inoue, against unbeaten countryman Reymart Gaballo. This would be something excellent and a chance to see what both men have in their lockers. Dasmarinas was in great form but there are question marks over his head following his bout with Manyo Plange whilst Gaballo needs a break out win, and this would be a chance for that. Sadly it seems this isn't a bout we should expect this year, but it's one we would absolutely love. Ryosuke Iwasa (27-3, 17) Vs Hiroaki Teshigawara (21-12-2, 14) A Super Bantamweight bout that could be made very, very easily could see IBF "interim" champion Ryosuke Iwasa defending his title against fellow Japanese fight Hiroaki Teshigawara, who is ranked #6 by the IBF. Iwasa is the mandatory for Murodjon Akhmadaliev but given the global situation right now we don't imagine that bout happening this year. As a result a clash with Teshigawara would be something really brilliant. For Iwasa it would be the sort of test he should have to stay sharp and on point before getting a shot at Akhmadaliev, as it's likely to be 2021 by the time that fight can be made. As for Teshigawara it might as close as he gets to a proper world title fight fight. Whilst the bout is unlikely to get much attention outside of Japan it would be a fantastic bout for fans who do follow the Japanese scene. Jhack Tepora (23-1, 17) Vs Mark Magsayo (20-0, 14) Back to the Philippines now for a Featherweight bout that would pit the once beaten Jhack Tepora against the unbeaten Mark Magsayo, in what could act as world title eliminator of sorts. Tepora was looking like he was on the way to big things until last year, when he was upset inside a round by Oscar Escandon. That loss was, in some quarters, put down to out of the ring issues, but he now needs to get back into the swing of things and hopefully a domestic showdown will help there. As for Magsayo he needs a big bout himself, and it's now more than 4 years since he beat Chris Avalos, in what should have been a break out fight. The bout would pit two talented, young Filipino fighters, who can both bang. It would be a mouth watering clash and give the Filipino fight fans something to get very excited about, in a year that may not see many big fights taking place on their soil. Koki Inoue (15-0, 12) Vs Rikki Naito (22-2, 7) At 140lbs there's a few bouts of not that could take place, but for us the one that stands out is an all-Japanese clash between Koki Inoue and Rikki Naito in a bout for all the marbles. Inoue is the current Japanese and WBO Asia Pacific champion whilst Naito is the OPBF champion. This bout is probably we could get at 140lbs, though is a stumbling block. Inoue is mandated to defend the Japanese title against former Naito foe Daishi Nagata, so for this bout he might need to give up the Japanese belt, but I don't think fans will complain too much if that happens. If does maybe we could get Nagata against Hiroki Okada or Andy Hiraoka for the domestic title, and Inoue Vs Naito for regional belts. This bout is particularly interesting as the two men have history from the amateurs. Hironobu Matsunaga (16-1, 10) Vs Takeshi Inoue (16-1-1, 10) We were supposed to see Hironobu Matsunaga defend his Japanese title against Yuto Shimizu in a mandatory title defense this year. The way the world now is however we would rather see Matsunaga vacate that title when the sport resumes in Japan and step up to regional title level to face Takeshi Inoue, in what would be a much more interesting match up. Matsunaga is a strong, small, aggressive and exciting fighter, who's flawed but has momentum, and has been genuinely impressing in recent years. Inoue, best known for his brilliant effort in a loss against Jaime Munguia. If we got them together we could end up with a brilliant war between two men with a point to prove. Whilst Shimizu has earned a shot at the Japanese title we would rather he faced someone else for it, and we get this bout instead... but maybe we're just being selfish now! Kazuto Takesako (12-0-1, 11) Vs Yuki Nonaka (34-10-3, 10) We remain in Japan for our final fight, which would pit Japanese and OPBF Middleweight champion against WBO Asia Pacific champion Yuki Nonaka. Whilst this would be another bout for all the marbles, unless Takesako is forced to vacate his Japanese title for not facing his mandatory, it would probably be the most stylistically interestingly bout on the list. On one hand you have heavy handed and aggressive Takesako, who is strong, powerful aggressive but technically quite crude. On the other hand you have the old experienced and educated head of Yuki Nonaka. A very polished and smart fighter with an upright style that focuses on his hand speed and movement. Boxer against puncher, rising hopeful, against veteran. This would be a joy. Takesako is supposed to defend the Japanese title against Riku Kunimoto, but once again, if he vacates the national belt to give us this instead, we won't be complaining! So there you have it! 10 bouts we could get this year with out the need for fighters to cross any borders or sit in quarantine...of course, for any of these to take place, we do need boxing to return to the ring! This week's Closet Classic isn't one from too long ago, in fact it took place in December 2017 and was a Japanese national title fight between two men who had actually faced off 9 years earlier, in a Japanese Rookie of the Year bout that ended in a 5 round draw. Their rematch was years in the making, and turned out to be a bloody, damaging action packed bout, which was sadly edited down by the TV company showing the bout. Despite the heavy edits the bout is certainly worth a watch The Fight Koichi Aso (22-7-1, 15) Vs Valentine Hosokawa (21-6-3, 9) II Koichi Aso, who had also fought as Shamgar Koichi, had had a hard career, but a thrilling action packed and exciting one. he was never going to be a world beat, but with his shaven head, high octane aggression and front foot style he made for fan friendly bouts. Sadly for him his aggression had cost him early in his career, and his 2011 loss to Shinya Iwabuchi really did come down to his own aggression and pressure style. As he matured however he tightened up his defenses and developed his all round skills, whilst keeping the same aggressive mentality. This had seen him giving Hiroki Okada fits in 2014 and winning the Japanese title in 2017, when he beat Kazuki Matsuyama. Sadly his 2017 bout with Yusuke Konno, regarded a really special bout by those in the venue, was never shown in any sort of length, with only very short highlights shown, but his second defense was made, mostly, available. Valentine Hosokawa, at this point, was 36 years old. He had fought to a draw with Aso in the 2008 Rookie of the Year, before winning the tournament. He had managed to battle for titles a few times, giving Shinya Iwabuchi and Min Wook Kim tough bouts in 2013 and given Hiroki Okada fits in 2016, regardless of what the scorecards said. He had proven himself as a capable domestic contender, with a high volume, pressure style, that really did involve him throwing a lot of leather, and taking the fight to his opponent. Given his age, and his sheer number of tough bouts, Hosokawa was seen as a man who was likely on his way out of the sport. He was still good, but certainly seemed to be on his way out, and he had lost 2 of his previous 3 bouts. Despite the feeling this would be a thriller from the off it really wasn't. The first round was very much a feeling out round, with both men taking their time, to get a read on the other. The power of Aso was clearly something that Hosokawa had to respect, but it was the challenger who seemed to be the one coming forward. From round 2 however things began to pick up, as Aso's pressure began to rear it's head and forced a tempo to the fight. Sadly a number of rounds weren't aired from round 2, but when the fight resumed on the TV broadcast we were in round 7, and given how this round went, it was clear the tempo had increased, with both men now starting to really amp up their work rate, this was thrilling action at times, with Aso roaring in and Hosokawa trying to make him pay. Blood was spraying out of Aso's left eye, and both men, knowing the fight was close, were letting big shots go. Both were testing their power against their opponents chins and despite the fight being a bit crude and rough, it was one of those that was hard to look away from. As we entered the final stages this had broken down from a boxing contest to a fight, a rough, wild fight. This isn't a beautiful fight to watch, far from it, but it's a tough fight, an action fight, and it turned out to be a bout that seemed to leave Aso a much lesser fighter afterwards. It was clear the two were friends, and it was clear they had shared something brutal together. Despite having so many missing rounds, this is a bout that we enjoy just as much for the action as the emotion and the respect. This is a bout that shows even fighters who beat each other up can still have massive respect for each other. A classy fight, even if it's not the most action packed or dramatic. |
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