In November we counted down a number of honourable mentions for our 20 for 20. Now it's time to look at the 20 fighters who have managed to make it into the list properly, and they come from all over Asia and all over the weight classes. Some of these you may already be aware of, some are perhaps less well known, but either way these 20 men are going to be well worth following in the new year as they look to push forward in their career and move towards major success. For these fighters we will look at the the reason why you should follow them, our expectations for them in the coming year and the issues they may face going forward. The one rule with all of these fighters is that they can have fought for a world title at the time of writing, as the fighters who have are, essentially, already ones to watch having dabbled at world level. Some of these are world ranked, and some of these may well be set for world title fights in the near future, but so far they have not had that top level bout. Without any further ado, lets take a look at the man we have ranked #5 in our list of Ones to watch in 2020 Who? Mark Magsayo (24-0, 14) Age? 24 Where? Philippines What weight? Featherweight Why? It feels like Mark Magsayo has been only a fight or two from a big fight for over 3 years now, and we really do wonder how a fighter who stopped Chris Avalos in April 2016 then made his US debut just a few months later, lost so much momentum. Thankfully he's managed to squeeze in 2 fights in 2019, including a dominant win over former world champion Pungluang Sor Singyu and appears to be heading back in the right direction. He is still a few fights away from a world title fight, disappointingly, but he now has the experience, the maturity and the hunger to go with his skills. If he has a team that will meet his ambition then "Magnifico" will be a major name at Featherweight by the end of 2020. For those who haven't seen Magsayo, he is an extremely skilled, offensively minded fighter, who had a strong amateur pedigree before turning professional. He's got solid power, lovely combinations and a at 24 years old is just starting to his his physical peak. He's not the complete package, but there's only tweaks to be made and improvements will be made by fighting consistently decent competition, the one thing that has been missing from his career. Magsayo has long promised to be a star, he was however unable to secure the big fights under the ALA banner, and left them on the back a protracted case that slowed his ascent and seemed to really be the catalyst for ALA's recent down turn. Thankfully, at least for him, he's out of ALA and now appears to be back in control of his career, and able to show the skills that he has in his arsenal. Fighting at Featherweight he's in a division that has got US and UK interest, and with a WBC world ranking to his name there is really no excuse to not see him in a major bout against a notable sooner rather than later. Thing is we don't just see him being in with a notable name, but actually beating them in a performance that would put him on the map, before a potential world title fight towards the end of the year. What do we expect? As suggested in the "Why?" part of this article, we expect to see Magsayo fighting against at least 1 notable fighter, making the most of his world ranking and moving towards, if not getting, a world title fight. We expect him to demand his team help him make up for lost time, with the youngster not fighting at all in 2018, and with that in mind we would expect him to fight 3 times in 2019, though in a perfect world he would be out 4 times. Magsayo's skill set is such that we wouldn't be surprised by him beating top, top contenders and a bout against the likes of Kid Galahad, Jesus M Rojas, Michael Conlan, James Dickens or Joet Gonzalez would be winnable fights, and fights that boost his reputation on both sides of the Pacific. Of course Magsayo is relatively unknown outside of the hardcore fans and the Filipino scene, and would be seen as a high risk low reward fighter by many. However his WBC world ranking does give future foes something to try and claim and that might be enough to entice a recent title challenger or fellow contender into the ring with him. As well as activity and a big name we also expect to see Magsayo on the road, and a fight in the West surely has to be in his plans for the year, potentially making a fight with bigger names more likely. Concerns? We do have concerns about how long it will take Magsayo to get the big fights. His falling out with ALA left him in the boxing wilderness for over a year and his new team have yet to get him to the point where his career once was. Time is on his side, at 24 years old, but he's not been a professional for well over 6 years and has 20 bouts to his name, so it really is time to kick on, despite his youth. We also wonder whether or not his new team can secure the bigger fights by themselves, or whether they will work with someone else to push Magsayo's career forward. It would seem ideal for them to work with someone like Top Rank, who have a plentiful supply of Featherweights and a history of building Filipino stars. On the other hand would Top Rank manage to make the most of a talent like Magsayo when they have more immediately marketable fighters in the division on their books already.
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In the new year we will finally begin our countdown for the Top 10 Asian Fighters of the last decade. Before then however we want to bring our final honourable mention, Kenshiro Teraji, who has only fought as a professional for around half the decade, but has quickly left a mark on the sport during that time. He has raced to a world title, and has become one of the faces of Asian boxing whilst also becoming a focal point for the division that he fights in. In many ways he is the anti-Kosei Tanaka, who has gone through weights one aim, and has instead made it clear that he wants to make his name in his current weight class, before potentially moving up in weight.
As an amateur Kenshiro was a solid fighter, but not a spectacular one, running up a 58-16 (20) record. Since turning professional however he has gone from strength to strength and notched numerous notable wins since his debut in August 2014. In his first 9 bouts Kenshiro hadn't made any sort of mark at world level, instead claiming the WBC Youth, JBC and OPBF titles. That took him to the start of 2017, where his most notable results were wins over Japanese veterans Kenichi Horikawa and Atushi Kakutani. Since 2017 however he has been a consistent fighter at world level, and notched a number of very good wins against top-10 type fighters. Kenshiro would win the WBC Light Flyweight title in May 2017, taking a narrow decision over Ganigan Lopez. The narrow decision lead many to question whether he was world class, and those questions remained when he narrowly defeated Pedro Guevara in his first defense. Since then however Kenshiro has really come into his own, and looked like a fighter who has grown into being a world champion. Since struggling in his first defense Kenshiro has really shined, stopping 5 of his 6 subsequent opponents, including a stoppage over Ganigan Lopez in rematch, Milan Meldino, Jonathan Taconing and Randy Petalcorin. Not only has he been stopping solid, world level opponents, but he's being doing so quickly, and only 2 of his last 6 bouts has gone past round 5. Whilst Kenshiro does lack a career defining win, hasn't moved up in weight or unified, the he has gone 8-0 (5) in world title bouts, he has notched wins over Lopez, twice, Guevara, Melindo, Saul Juarez, Taconing and Petalcorin, and has stamped himself as one of the top Light Flyweights. Sadly he lack of that A tier win, and the fact he has only been fighting at world level since 2017 do prevent him from getting into the top 10. In November we counted down a number of honourable mentions for our 20 for 20. Now it's time to look at the 20 fighters who have managed to make it into the list properly, and they come from all over Asia and all over the weight classes. Some of these you may already be aware of, some are perhaps less well known, but either way these 20 men are going to be well worth following in the new year as they look to push forward in their career and move towards major success. For these fighters we will look at the the reason why you should follow them, our expectations for them in the coming year and the issues they may face going forward. The one rule with all of these fighters is that they can have fought for a world title at the time of writing, as the fighters who have are, essentially, already ones to watch having dabbled at world level. Some of these are world ranked, and some of these may well be set for world title fights in the near future, but so far they have not had that top level bout. Without any further ado, lets take a look at the man we have ranked #6 in our list of Ones to watch in 2020 Who? Sadriddin Akhmedov (11-0, 10) Age? 21 Where? Kazakhstan (though fighting out of Canada) What weight? Light Middleweight Why? It's become clear in recent years that Gennady Golovkin is not the force he once was. He's still a genuine, world class fighter, but he's slipped significantly from what he used to be, an elite level fighter. With that in mind Kazakhstan will need a new boxing hero, and for us the almost ideal replacement is fast rising Light Middleweight Sadriddin Akhmedov. The excellent boxer-puncher is only 21 years old but has shown genuine maturity between the ropes alongside incredibly heavy hands, impressive ring craft, speed and movement. Not only has he shown impressive traits in the professional ranks but he was also a solid amateur before turning professional. Since turning pro he has been kept very active and is quickly building a fan base in Canada, where he's based with promoter Eye of the Tiger. A genuine star of the future, and a man who will be making real headlines in 2020. Unlike most fighters with power Akhmedov isn't just an out and out wrecking ball. Offensively he is great to watch, with head and body shots just flowing from one to the other. More recently however he has shown he can box off the back foot, and has his power whether he's coming forward, or going backwards. A real heavy handed and youngster fighting in both directions For those who haven't yet managed to see Akhmedov, and there will be some, he should be one of those guys you make a conscious effort to scout as soon as you can, as he is something else, and is going to become a huge name in the coming years. It will not be long before he his promoters begin to market him to a wider audience, and American and European fans will, sooner or later, get the chance to see just how good he is. One other thing to make a note of, Akhmedov has a look that can be marketed very easily. He's a very good looking kid, with a wife who's had a career as a teenage musical star in Kazakhstan. He has the looks to be a genuine cross-over and feature in things like adverts down the line, if his ring career goes in the direction we expect. What do we expect? We don't think we'll see Akhmedov in a world title fight for a year or two yet, however that doesn't mean we don't have big expectations for the Kazakh youngster. We expect him to be busy in 2020, with 4 if not 5 fights through the year. The level of activity we expect isn't a stark change to what we've seen from him already. He fought 6 times in 8 months, in 2018, and 5 times in 2019, so that's a pretty fair expectation. Not only do we expect him to be active, but also take his skills on the road, with fights not only in Canada but also a bout in Kazakhstan and potentially one in the US as he looks to build his international profile, which has lacked despite some excellent performances. We also expect to see Akhmedov taking on better competition. So far he's yet to face a real notable name, instead taking on a variety of opponents who lack in terms of name valuable but have been gradually better tests. Another one or two opponents like he has been facing won't be a big issue, but we'd expect him to take on a world ranked fighter or a former world title challenger. If Akhmedov isn't in at lest 1 of the world rankings by the end of 2020 we'd consider the year a big disappointment, but it's hard to imagine all 4 world bodies ignoring Akhmedov, his marketability, his style and the excitement he brings. Concerns? Concerns when it comes to Akhmedov are very few and far between. The main one is stagnation, with his opponents needing to be stepped up sooner rather than later. He's such a natural in the ring that he will need challenging soon, forcing us to see what he can do in the ring and ironing out any bad habits before they become part of his boxing. Eye of the Tiger Management have a mixed record on how they bring through hopefuls, and hopefully Akhmedov will be brought through tough next year. There is also a risk, albeit a small one, of him burning out and being washed young. So far he's not had any real wars but he has been very active, and has suffered an injury or two. This is only a minor concern, and he was given time to rest up and heal after his injury, but if the injury recurs it could be a longer term issue. In November we counted down a number of honourable mentions for our 20 for 20. Now it's time to look at the 20 fighters who have managed to make it into the list properly, and they come from all over Asia and all over the weight classes. Some of these you may already be aware of, some are perhaps less well known, but either way these 20 men are going to be well worth following in the new year as they look to push forward in their career and move towards major success. For these fighters we will look at the the reason why you should follow them, our expectations for them in the coming year and the issues they may face going forward. The one rule with all of these fighters is that they can have fought for a world title at the time of writing, as the fighters who have are, essentially, already ones to watch having dabbled at world level. Some of these are world ranked, and some of these may well be set for world title fights in the near future, but so far they have not had that top level bout. Without any further ado, lets take a look at the man we have ranked #7 in our list of Ones to watch in 2020 Who? Hinata Maruta (10-1-1, 8) Age? 22 Where? Japan What weight? Featherweight Why? Japanese youngster Hinata Maruta has long been tipped as a star in the making and whilst his career hasn't been bad it's certainly not lived up to the expectations we, and others, had had for him. In the space of just 11 months however he has beaten Tsuyoshi Tameda, Coach Hiroto and Takenori Ohashi, earning himself a Japanese title fight in 2020 and has began to work on the flaws that did show themselves early in his career. He's worked on things like his urgency and now appears to be putting together everything he needs to be the star that many thought he would become. He's incredibly talented, heavy handed, slick, and fast, with freakish dimensions and a lot of natural ability. If he can make the few adjustments needed to make everything click, and build on his talent by adding to the mental side of his game, he could be a genuine elite level fighter by the end of 2020. When you watch Maruta in action it's clear is an exceptional young fighter, that was clear from his days as an amateur and is just as clear now, though he's still very much a work in progress, and he needs to add to the tools he has. If can he tweak things just a little then next year will be huge for him, and we wouldn't be surprised if he manages to over-come the brilliant Ryo Sagawa for the Japanese Featherweight title. With a title fight lined up, buckets of natural ability, a really good look, which could be incredibly marketable to the relatively untapped female market, Maruta has everything needed to be a huge star. He is, even with a loss and draw on his record, someone to be very excited about. What do we expect? We already know that Maruta will fight for the Japanese Featherweight title during the 2020 Champion Carnival, where he'll likely face Ryo Sagawa. It won't be an easy bout for Maruta but he certainly has the ability to not only win, but to look good winning, and announce himself as the special talent we know he is. Whilst the 2020 Champion Carnival, and the Japanese Featherweight title, will clearly be his #1 focus for the year we don't think that'll be the only thing he's looking to accomplish in the new year. In an ideal world we'd see him a card in the US, picking up some valuable Stateside experience as part of a longer term plan. We know the Featherweight division has top fighters in the US, like Shakur Stevenson and Gary Russell Jr, and other top Featherweights are looking to make their mark on the US. For Maruta to get a taste of the US scene in 2020 would be ideal for him, even if it's a year or two before he launches any sort of real attack on the US market. Not so much an expectation but more of a hope, is that we see Maruta fighting 3 times next year. He's had 2 fights in 2019 and it feels like a frustrating year, given he really should be more active as he looks to get some experience under his belt. Finger crossed he gets 3 fights makes his US debut and wins the Japanese title next year. Concerns? Although we do fancy Maruta to win the Japanese title in the Champion Carnival it's certainly not a foregone conclusion, and he will need to be at his very best. It is a genuine concern that he will come up short in his title effort, though we would be surprised if he didn't capture the title sooner rather than later. Another concern is his team. He's been a long term member of the Morioka Gym, and his relationship to the team there is very well reported. We don't think a change would be a good idea, at least not yet, but we do wonder what money they have behind them, and what money they can put behind their star man. It may be that the Morioka Gym need to work with someone else, like Teiken perhaps, to get their man to the top of the sport. That shouldn't be a major issue, but we always worry about fighters with out the big financial backing and the opportunities they can end up getting. A similar issue is that Maruta is based in Hyogo, not exactly a Japanese hotbed for boxing. Thankfully he had shown a willingness to travel to Tokyo and Osaka for fights, but there is a potential problem getting him a big home coming fight. Again not a major issue, but something worth considering. One final minor issue is TV, and it's unclear which TV channel will back Maruta going forward. This will be something his team will want sorting out sooner rather than later. (Image - Morioka Boxing Gym) We have regularly spoke about the number of Japanese Middleweight title bouts that have ended up being thrillers. In fact we genuinely think it's the title that gives us amazing battles more consistently than any other title. The bouts might not be the best from a technical stand point but time, and time again they deliver incredible action between well matched fighters who really do fight for the belt. Today we bring you another bout for that title, and like others for the title, it was a thriller. Maybe not one of the very best, but it's in the chasing pack, and is really worthy of the 40 or so minutes it takes to enjoy. The Fight Hikaru Nishida (15-8-1, 7) vs Tomohiro Ebisu (17-4, 17) In one corner was Japanese champion Hikaru Nishida, a teak tough pressure fighter who was technically flawed but a bull. He could be out boxed, and was just a fight earlier in an OPBF title fight against Dwight Ritchie, but if you let him close the distance he was a nightmare to fight. As well as his toughness and incessant pressure he really excelled in terms of stamina, and seemed to get stronger in the middle and later rounds of bouts, taking advantage of opponents as they grew tired. We had seen the stamina and physicality of Nishida work well against the likes of Makoto Fuchigami and Akio Shibata and he had proven to be a really horrible fighter to go up against. It's worth noting that whilst Nishida's record had 8 losses in 24 bouts he was once 4-5-1 (1) and had really rebuilt from a poor start whilst taking notable wins over the likes of Nishida, Fuchigami, Kazuhiko Hidaka and future OPBF champion Ratchasi Sithsaithong. Ebisu on the other hand was seen as a glass cannon. His power was devastating, but his chin was a major issue, and none of his 21 bouts coming into this one had gone the distance, in fact 15 of his 21 bouts had finished in the first 4 rounds, including 3 of his 4 losses. Although he was a huge puncher, he had thudding power that shakes fighters to their core rather than knocked them out clean, and he lacked the speed to catch many fighters on the chin. Despite his flaws Ebisu was a fun, talented boxer-puncher and had managed to win the Japanese middleweight title in 2013, with a win over Sanosuke Sasaki, though it was a short reign and he did lose it in his first defense. Coming into this Ebisu was the interim champion, following a win over Makoto Fuchigami in a 2016 Japanese Fight of the Year contender. That interim title had actually come about after Nishida was forced to pull out of a third bout with Fuchigami after suffering an injury in a freak accident and this bout was set to unify the two titles. Within 90 seconds of the bout starting we had started to get what we were expecting. We were seeing Nishida pressing with real intensity and Ebisu landing heavy shots to the head an body of Nishida. Nishida managed to walk through the big shots in the opening few rounds and made Ebisu begin to stand his ground. When that happened we got fire works with the two trading bombs on the inside trying to take each other out some monstrous shots. Both were testing the other's resolve and it was clear, after just a few rounds, we were set for another Japanese Middleweight title war. This wasn't pretty, but it was violent and got more, and more violent as the fight went on their footwork began to slow and they were spending more time at mid and close range. In November we counted down a number of honourable mentions for our 20 for 20. Now it's time to look at the 20 fighters who have managed to make it into the list properly, and they come from all over Asia and all over the weight classes. Some of these you may already be aware of, some are perhaps less well known, but either way these 20 men are going to be well worth following in the new year as they look to push forward in their career and move towards major success. For these fighters we will look at the the reason why you should follow them, our expectations for them in the coming year and the issues they may face going forward. The one rule with all of these fighters is that they can have fought for a world title at the time of writing, as the fighters who have are, essentially, already ones to watch having dabbled at world level. Some of these are world ranked, and some of these may well be set for world title fights in the near future, but so far they have not had that top level bout. Without any further ado, lets take a look at the man we have ranked #8 in our list of Ones to watch in 2020 Who? Bektemir Melikuziev (4-0, 3) Age? 23 Where? Uzbekistan (but based in the US) What weight? Super Middleweight (though suggestions are that he could drop lower down the scales) Why? A number of Uzbek fighters have proven to be god damn terrors since turning professional, and one of those is the frighteningly good, hard hitting, heavy handed and incredibly skilled Bektemir Melikuziev. The destructive Melikuziev is fighting above a weight we suspect is natural for him, and yet it taking out experienced professional like they are nothing, with some of the most fearsome body shots in the sport. He has also shown an ability to box, to go rounds, and to go to plan B if he needs to, and likely has plans C and D in his locker for the future. Not only has Melikuziev been impressive in the professional ranks but he also shone in the amateurs, winning gold the Asian Championships twice, winning the the Asian Youth Championships twice and Youth Olympics, and winning silver at the Olympics in 2016. He's experience, very strong, heavy handed and is linked with Golden Boy Promotions. Given Melikuziev has already beaten veterans like Martin Fidel Rios and Adrian Luna Flores we know he's a monstrous puncher, his body shots are brutal, his amateur pedigree is exceptional, he has strong promotional links and unlike many on this list he already looks like he can be let loose on world ranked fighters. He is one of the most complete offensive fighters we've seen and he appears to be someone who needs to be given really serious tests really early in his career. With that in mind we would not be shocked at all if Melikuziev fights for a world title in 2020, in his first 7 fights. He's supposedly a natural Super Middleweight, and given the state of the division there's no reason for him to be worried of any of the fighters there. A fight with someone like Billy Joe Saunders should be focus for the year. What do we expect? We made our expectations for Melikuziev pretty obvious in the "Why?" but we need to reiterate them again. We expect Melikuziev to win a world title in 2020, and do so at Super Middleweight. The reality is that the likes of Billy Joe Saunders and Callum Smith haven't looked great recently. Saunders has never made us feel he's fighting at his best weight class whilst Callum Smith appears to have out grown the Super Middleweight division. Both men fight on DAZN, and essentially that will be where Melikuziev makes his name, so the bout shouldn't be impossible to make from a boxing politics point of view either. Longer term expectations for Melikuziev are really hard to make. He's only 23 now, but already looks like a nailed on future world champion and could either have a very, very lengthy reign, or find himself committing to a career at Light Heavyweight down the line, and that could be where he finds himself really being tested. That however seems likely to be several years away, and is unlikely to come until after he leaves a notable mark on the Super Middleweight division, the division that his body seems most suited for. Talking about Light Heavyweight he would be a small fighter there, but we suspect his power and physical strength would be more than enough to make him a very serious threat in the division. Concerns? One concern when it comes it Central Asian fighters in the West general is just how much their promoters are willing to financially back them. It took years for Golovkin to make his mark, and even then it wasn't until very late on that the reward for facing him out did the risk. If Melikuziev's promoters don't financially back him from the off his career could potentially be a frustrating one, and he may end up waiting far longer than needed for a shot at a world title. Given how powerful and destructive he is there is also the potential issue in getting suitable opponents in the ring. He's been able to spar with top guys but his opposition are going to want solid pay days to step in the ring with him. Again strong promotional backing should alleviate this concern, but even then he might still struggle to get opponents willing to risk rankings and titles against him. Longer term issues are whether or not he will still be as destructive at Light Heavyweight, when he finally commits to the division. At Super Middleweight we genuinely see him winning a world title with ease. The division should be on alert for his final arrival there, but his pursuit for titles in multiple weight classes is a concern as he will be dwarfed by some of the top fighters at 175lbs. This concern is, thankfully, not one that will rear it's head in 2020, but is something to consider in 4 or 5 years time. (Photo: Tom Hogan / Golden Boy) When we talk about great fighters for the decade we usually talk about those who ran up a lot of wins, and not so many losses. Today's honourable mention however belongs to a man who became a 3-weight world champion during the decade, went 16-5 (9) and became a cult figure of Asian boxing. His opponents were a legitimate who's who and despite losing more than a quarter of the fights he was in during the 10 year's we've had he is someone who provided more action than almost anyone else. Here we talk about the Japanese legend Akira Yaegashi.
The all action Yaegashi began the decade with a record of 12-2 (7). He had been the OPBF and Japanese Minimumweight champion though his most notable result was a 12 round loss to Eagle Den Junlaphan back in 2007, when Yaegashi suffered the first of many serious facial injuries. In the years that followed however he would go from a domestic hopeful, to a global cult star, a man that hardcore fans knew, appreciated and respected. He began the decade by defending the Japanese Minmumweight title against Kosuke Takeichi and Norihito Tanaka, who would later claim the title himself, before scoring his first huge win of the decade. The win saw him score a 10th round TKO win over Pornsawan Porpramook in 2011 to claim the WBA Minimumweight title. That bout was regarded by many as the fight of the year, and was an incredible 10 round war. It was the bout that first saw some in the west take a note of Yaegashi. Sadly Yaegashi's first reign was a short one, losing the belt in his first defense to Kazuto Ioka, in a close and hotly contested WBA/WBC unification bout. That was another sensational fight and saw both men drawing the best out of the other in the first unification bout between Japanese fighters with different alphabet titles. Just 10 months after this loss Yaegashi would claim his second world title, beating former amateur nemesis Toshiyuki Igarashi for the WBC and Lineal Flyweight title, becoming a 2-weight champion. Yaegashi's reign at 112lbs saw him record 3 defenses, including a very notable one against Edgar Sosa, before he was stopped by Roman Gonzalez, who at the time was stopping everyone and anyone. That saw Gonzalez claim a third divisional world title, though both men came out with enhanced reputations, and Yaegashi was given a lot of credit for his effort, despite the loss. A move down in weight, to Light Flyweight saw Yaegashi suffer another stoppage, being stopped in 7 rounds by Pedro Guevara, but it wasn't long until Yaegashi claimed a title at 108lbs, beating Javier Mendoza for the IBF title. Yaegashi's reign at Light Flyweight was another short one, seeing him defend the title twice, before being stopped in a round by Milan Melindo. The loss to Melindo set the record for the shorted Light Flyweight world title fight, and seemed like the end. Yaegashi however would return 10 months later, begin a run of 3 wins, including a sensational 2018 win over Hirofumi Mukai, as he built towards on more title challenger. That final title fight saw Yaegahsi challenge IBF Flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane, and once again we got an instant classic, despite Yaegashi being broken down in 9 rounds. At the age of 36, and with Yaegashi turning 37 in February 2020, we don't imagine seeing him in action again. His record for the decade is certainly nothing amazing, but for us he is exactly what a fighter should be, he provided thrills and spills on a regular basis. His fights with Porpranook, Ioka, Gonzalez, Mendoza, Mukai and Mthalane were amazing. For his performances Yaegashi's featured as an honourable mention, despite the results not being amazing from the all action good guy! We also want to add, that if Yaegashi never fights again, we suspect we all, want to thank Akira Yaegashi for the amazing fights he has given us over the last decade! In November we counted down a number of honourable mentions for our 20 for 20. Now it's time to look at the 20 fighters who have managed to make it into the list properly, and they come from all over Asia and all over the weight classes. Some of these you may already be aware of, some are perhaps less well known, but either way these 20 men are going to be well worth following in the new year as they look to push forward in their career and move towards major success. For these fighters we will look at the the reason why you should follow them, our expectations for them in the coming year and the issues they may face going forward. The one rule with all of these fighters is that they can have fought for a world title at the time of writing, as the fighters who have are, essentially, already ones to watch having dabbled at world level. Some of these are world ranked, and some of these may well be set for world title fights in the near future, but so far they have not had that top level bout. Without any further ado, lets take a look at the man we have ranked #9 in our list of Ones to watch in 2020 Who? KJ Cataraja (11-0, 9) Age? 24 Where? Philippines What weight? Super Flyweight Why? Not for the first time we've started one of these by suggesting that the Philippines needs a new star, and suggesting that one of the 20 for 20 may be the man to become a that new star. Maybe the pick of the bunch is the focus of today's article, as we look at the super talented Super Flyweight hopeful KJ Cataraja, who is only 24 years old but has shown enough in just 11 fights to really get the juices flowing. The youngster was a top amateur fighter in the Philippines, racking up a reported 271-16 record, with numerous tournament wins and was generally regarded as one of the countries best young talents, with so much potential in either the pros or amateurs ranks. In 2015 he went professional and quickly impressed on the domestic scene before stepping up in 2018. It was last year that he took the WBO Youth Super Flyweight title with an excellent win over Victor Hugo Reyes. That win, a 10 rounder, should have been followed up with some good fights in 2019 but ALA have struggled to remain relevant this year and have certainly slowed Cataraja's career as a result. At 24 years old, blessed with incredible natural talent, and a great amateur background the future is bright for Cataraja, especially if ALA can get themselves back into gear in 2020. If they can't then we suspect someone else will chase Cataraja's signature and will work alongside ALA to make the most of the sensationally talented young fighter who really should be on the a world title fight by the end of the year, if his team can buck up their ideas. What do we expect? We're expecting a year that could be huge for Cataraja who will be hoping to make up for lost time as we head into 2020. We don't see him mixing at world level during the year, but given ALA's long standing success and their ability to create stars they were never going to rush him head first into a loss anyway. What seems more likely is that 2020 will see him fighting against a string of decent international opponents, climbing up the rankings and getting experience abroad. The smart option is for him and his team to get him on the road, take him over to Japan to spar with some of their champions and try to slide him onto a card in either Japan, Mexico or even the US. Given that Cataraja didn't fight at all in the first half of 2019 we do not expect the same to happen in 2020, he's now at the point of his career where he needs to be active, if he's fit, and ideally they'll get him 3, if not 4, bouts during the year. Those bouts should all be a step up from the domestic level fighters he's been facing in 2019, such as Crison Omayao and Delfin de Asis, as he needs to be tested. His bouts in 2019 have all been a big step backwards from the win over Reyes in 2018, and that's a huge disappointment, and not something that can be repeated next year. Concerns? Whilst we rate Cataraja extremely highly, and genuinely could rave about his potential all day long, we have more concerns regarding him than many in this series. Firstly there is the quite fair concern that he will have another year where he is simply too inactive and his match making is too regressive. We saw it in 2019 and there's a chance we'll see it again in 2020. It would be a huge shame if it were to happen, but there's a very real chance of it. With ALA not really looking like they are set to do some sort of phoenix like comeback we could again see more frustration for Cataraja. His former amateur rival Mark Magsayo left ALA a few years ago and their may be some temptations for Cataraja to follow suit if the one time promotional power house can't secure Cataraja the bouts he needs to press forward with his career in the way he should be. Unfortunately when Magsayo left it took several years for him to get back on track, and he still isn't where he should be. Cataraja has all the potential in the world but there's a risk, albeit a small one, that the best years of his career could be wasted whilst waiting for his team to sort things out. This is a genuine long term concern and one we really wish we didn't have for someone this talented. In November we counted down a number of honourable mentions for our 20 for 20. Now it's time to look at the 20 fighters who have managed to make it into the list properly, and they come from all over Asia and all over the weight classes. Some of these you may already be aware of, some are perhaps less well known, but either way these 20 men are going to be well worth following in the new year as they look to push forward in their career and move towards major success. For these fighters we will look at the the reason why you should follow them, our expectations for them in the coming year and the issues they may face going forward. The one rule with all of these fighters is that they can have fought for a world title at the time of writing, as the fighters who have are, essentially, already ones to watch having dabbled at world level. Some of these are world ranked, and some of these may well be set for world title fights in the near future, but so far they have not had that top level bout. Without any further ado, lets take a look at the man we have ranked #10 in our list of Ones to watch in 2020 Who? Reymart Gaballo (23-0, 20) Age? 23 Where? Philippines What weight? Bantamweight Why? The Bantamweight division got a huge shot in the arm in November, when Naoya Inoue beat Nonito Donaire in the WBSS final and then again at the end of the month when John Riel Casimero showed what he could do in stopping Zolani Tete. One of the best things about the division, alongside the brilliant fighters at the top, are the emerging talents in the division. Few of those look as exciting as unbeaten 23 year old Reymart Gaballo. The "Assassin" is a fighter who does everything in a way that screams "star", and has been quietly building his reputation without too much fanfare or attention. We suspect that could change, in a big way, in 2020 when he's expected to get his first proper world title fight, and his first chance to shine on a bigger stage. The talented Gaballo has already made his US debut, doing so back in 2017, and has now fought 3 times on US soil whilst recently linking up with PBC in the West, opening the door to some huge fights. Not only does Gaballo have some powerful people paying attention to him, but he also has a style that will quickly win over fans and help catch the eye of those who may not typically give the lower weights the time of day. What do we expect? The expectation for 2020 is that Gaballo, who held the WBA "interim" Bantamweight title back in 2017 and 2018, is that he will get some notable TV exposure in the US. Given the fact PBC work with a number of world class Bantamweights he's in a great position to get a chance to impress, make his mark and prove what he can do whilst moving towards a proper world title fight. At the 23 years old it's not too much of an issue if Gaballo doesn't get a world title fight next year, especially given the talent in the Bantamweight division, but we would expect him to move towards a shot at the top. A former title challenger, or even a former world champion, should be in his sites for the new year and someone like Rau'shee Warren or McWilliams Arroyo or Carlos Cuadras could well be a good match up for Gaballo late in 2020. Outside of the ring we would expect Gaballo to be getting top work as a sparring partner and wouldn't be surprised if someone like Naoya Inoue sparred with him before the end of the year to prepare for a bout. We also expect that he will become a man that fight fans will fall in love with very quickly. Concerns? There are a quite lot of concerns about Gaballo, the most notable of which is that he can be a bit too reckless at times, and will need to tighten up defensively before fighting at the top level. There is also a case that his career could be a tricky one to manage. He's dangerous and a threat to the the bigger names but there it little to entice fighters to face him. He brings power, speed and aggression, but little in terms of reward. A similar possible concern is that Gaballo becomes too focused on exciting fans that he may lose focus on winning. We haven't seen this yet, but it does seem that he fights in a style that is about making his fights fun to watch and impressing viewers. This entertainment first style is something he will need to temper before moving to world class. The bigger issue, at least for now, is that Gaballo is, unfortunately, in a division packed with top talent. The Filipino is incredibly talented, but there is a gulf between him and fighters like Naoya Inoue, and he may well find himself being forced to wait for the division to empty out at the top before putting him in with an top divisional fighter. Who? Giemel Magramo (24-1, 20) Age? 25 Where? Philippines What weight? Flyweight Why? The Flyweight division has been an odd one the past year or two, with no one really making the division their own. There is talent there, but much of it seems to be either passing through, or happy to get a title and not chasing unification bouts. We already know that Kosei Tanaka has his eyes on a showdown with Kazuto Ioka, Artem Dalakian is seemingly happy to be obscure champion in Ukraine and the WBC title has been passed around a lot in recent years, with no one really making it theirs and getting a lengthy reign under their belt. Other than Tanaka the only other champion who looks to be a genuinely special fighter is Moruti Mthalane, who 37 and battling father time. What all that means is that the Flyweight division is ready for a new break out star, and one potential fighter to fill that position is 25 Filipino boxer-puncher Giemel Magramo, who appears to tick every box we want to see in a fighter. Magramo is a solid puncher, he's skilled, he moves well and he's an exciting aggressive fighter. He's proven his willingness to travel, fighting his toughest tests in China and Korea, and has reeled off 7 straight stoppage wins since his close 2016 loss to Muhammad Waseem. Not only does he tick the boxes that we like, but he also has boxing in his blood, with his father, grandfather, uncles and brother being boxers, and might be coming around at just the perfect time to be a Filipino star, with Nietes, Donaire and Pacquiao all with a foot in the door of retirement. What do we expect? At the time of writing Magramo is ranked #1 by the WBO, #3 by the IBF, who have no one rated at #1 or #2, #5 with the WBC and #6 with the WBA so the least we expect from "Pistolero" is a world title fight. Given how the Flyweight division seems likely to have some big shifts next year we wouldn't be shocked to see Megramo go one better than just fighting for a title and will instead go all the way and win one, likely doing so on the road. With boxing being as short sighted as it often is it's hard to predict when and where Magramo's shot will come but the likely options are that he either faces Mthalane, or Akira Yaegashi, for the IBF title in the new year or battles Angel Acosta for the WBO belt when Tanaka moves up. If we're being honest any of those bouts would be a step up for Magramo, but a winnable step up for the Filipino. The key for him is to have his options open and do what's best for him, and his career. Longer terms it seems clear he'll move up in weight, as his body continues to grow and fill, and there's no reason he won't have success at Super Flyweight down the line. Concerns? As with many Filipino hopefuls the biggest worry is who is backing them, and how hard are they willing to back them. Magramo is a real talent, but could quickly find himself becoming part of the "who needs him club?" Without someone willing to back him. Likewise lack of opportunities could see his hunger dry up, so his backers need to keep up his desire until he gets his eventual title fight. With Magramo likely to be fighting on the road for a world title he'll also risk the shenanigans we've seen on the past for foreign title contenders. For a fighter like Magramo it could well be a case of needing to make the most of the first opportunity as the second could take years to come around. We saw it with Jonathan Taconing, who waited more than 4 years between his first 2 world title fights, and a loss at world level in 2020 could well put his dreams on the backburner for years, especially if not one is bankrolling his career going forward. If he can stay focused, can make the most of opportunities and can be one of the future faces at Flyweight, but we feel he'll need a touch of luck to make the most of his potential. |
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