Divisional Overview-The Brilliant Bantamweights

5/10/2015

Earlier this year we did a number of “Divisional Overview” pieces before taking a hiatus with the Bantamweight division due to the fact there was a number of big bouts lined up one after the other the space of a few weeks. Now we've had those bouts and we can finally let loose with out “Divisional Overview-The Brilliant Bantamweights”.

To begin we look at 9 of the best from Asia, then we take a look at some lesser figures from the Asian boxing scene and then some international fighters. Hopefully we'll help to show just how interesting the division is right now.

The God of Left

Shinsuke Yamanaka (23-0-2, 17)
The top dog in the division is, by quite some margin, is Shinsuke Yamanaka. The destructively hard hitting southpaw is the current WBC champion and has been since November 2011 with an impressive 8 defenses already under his belt. Not only has he run up a number of defenses but he has also beaten notable opponents such as Ryosuke Iwasa, Vic Darchinyan, Tomas Rojas, Malcolm Tunacao and Suriyan Sor Rungvisai.

In the ring Yamanaka shows brilliant ring generalship, solid over-all skills and a rocket of a straight left hand. Sometimes he fails to really use his jab as he should to set up his left hand but it's fair to say that when he's on song he looks in a completely different league to everyone else in the division. When he's not on song he still has that left hand to bail him out of any tough situation, as seen when he dropped Suriyan 3 times to open up a big gap in the score cards.

At the moment we're unsure what Yamanaka's next step is though he has often spoken of having a big bout in Las Vegas. It seems unlikely that that will be next but it's certainly going to be interesting to see what he does and who he faces, though hopefully it will be a step up from Diego Ricardo Santillan, who he fought last time out.

The Mexican Kameda

Tomoki Kameda (31-1, 19)
We recently saw Tomoki Kameda suffer his first defeat as he came up narrowly short against Englishman Jamie McDonnell in a bout for the WBA title. Prior to that bout Tomoki had vacated the WBO belt and now sets on the outside looking in, though he does have powerful advisor Al Haymon backing him and a large Mexican fan base who supposed him in the US, where he is now based following the JBC's ban of the Kameda brothers.

Stylistically Tomoki is the most exciting of Kameda brothers with lovely flashy hand speed, fanstic combinations and great movement. Sadly however he still has the issues that the other Kamaeda's have. Not only is he banned from Japan but he also has that air of arrogance, something that was certainly on show following his loss to McDonnell. At 23 years old he has a lot of time to grow up, though he may find himself needing to realise he lost his last fight by fighting like an idiot in the 12 round.

Tomoki's next fight is almost certainly going to be in the states but who it will be against is a mystery. We suspect it'll be a world ranked opponent with the hope of getting another world title fight by the end of the year though we do wonder whether Haymon will put as much money behind him as he would have had Tomoki beaten McDonnell.

The Thai Tough Guy

Suriyan Sor Rungvisai (41-6-1, 19)
Thailand gives us some of the most bizarre records in the sport and sometimes they are all smoke and mirrors. Other times they are very legitimate, as is the case with the criminally under-rated Suriyan Sor Rungvisai. The Thai is one of the toughest and bravest fighters out there and is a real handful for anyone, despite having first made his name down at Flyweight, where he ran the great Pongsaklek Wonjongkam very close back in 2010.

Suriyan debuted way back in 2006 and yet is only 26 now. Despite that he's not got the wear and tear that one would expect, despite fighting with an aggressive pressure style and facing the likes of Wonjongkam, Tomas Rojas, Nobuo Nashiro, Yota Sato, Yamanaka. Blessed with dogged determination, a very high work rate and steely toughness Suriyan is a headache for everyone, though his lack of power is likely to prevent him from being a truly elite fighter in the division.

Ranked #2 by the WBC Suriyan is thought to be looking for a world title eliminator against Zhanat Zhakiyanov, for the right to fight Yamanaka. We know that for now however Narkonloung will look to keep their man busy and we'd not be shocked to see him out again in the coming weeks, possibly even on the under-card of Srisaket Sor Rungvisai's bout with Jose Salgado.

The top WBO contender

Ryo Akaho (26-1-2, 18)
Whilst Japan only boasts a single world champion at the weight they do have a number of top contenders, one of which is the WBO #1 ranked fighter Ryo Akaho. Akaho first made his name at Super Flyweight, where he claimed the OPBF title and challenged for a world title, though has out grown 115lbs and now sits as one of the leading contenders in the much more packed Bantamweight division.

Technically Akaho is very flawed as a boxer though he's also entertaining with his flaws making him an enjoyable to watch fighter who possess genuinely nasty power, a gritty toughness and a fighters attitude. More notably however is the fact he has linked up with Filipino promotional powerhouse ALA Promotions who have pretty deep pockets and solid trainers to help round out Akaho's flaws before putting him into a world title bout later in the year.

As alluded to, Akaho's future certainly looks like it is moving towards a WBO world title bout. At the moment the title is vacant and Akaho is the top contender so expect his next bout to be for the belt, possibly is Japan or possibly in the Philippines. Given his style and personality he could well be a sold draw as a champion even if he's a long way from being the best in the division.

The Demon of Left

Shohei Omori (14-0, 9)
Kyoto isn't a boxing hot bed though it does seem to have one of the sports most exciting Bantamweight prospects in the form of Shohei Omori, the current Japanese champion and a former Japanese Rookie of the year. Omori burst on to the scene last year with a one-sided victory over Christian Esquivel though managed to blow everyone away in April with a dominant and destructive victory over Kentaro Masuda for the Japanese title.

Omori is yet another southpaw boxer-puncher though we dare say he's the most talented of the 3 mentioned here. He's destructive with his left hand, incredibly quick, looks to be huge at the weight and is still very much a boxing baby at just 22 years old. Amazingly he wasn't much of an amateur though as a professional he has been nearly flawless hardly losing more than a few rounds through his career so far. To say he has a bright future ahead of him is merely stating the obvious though the question is how bright?

The future for Omori isn't clear though we'd like to see him either defend his Japanese title or move towards an OPBF title fight. At the moment he's only had 45 rounds and has only been beyond 5 rounds once so we'd like to see him pass some stamina tests and then make the move towards a world title. He has however looked very special so far.

ZZ The Kazakh Banger

Zhanat Zhakiyanov (25-1, 18)
Kazakhstan boxing clearly has one megastar in the form of Gennady Golovkin, below him however are a number of emerging fighters including flawed Bantamweight puncher Zhanat Zhakiyanov. The hard hitting Kazakh is promoted by Britain's Ricky Hatton and has fought all over the globe already with bouts as far afield as he UK, China, Australia, Russia and Thailand though has often left the impression of an exciting but raw puncher.

Zhakiyanov, from now on referred to as “ZZ”, has a vicious right hand, a hurtful left and an exciting aggressive style that all about come forward aggression. Sadly though watching ZZ is relatively difficult and it often appears that the aggressive fighter is stumbling in the dark looking to land his right cross without ever setting it up, his footwork is sloppy and his accuracy is appalling. But he's a hard hitting fighter who always looks for the home-run punch.

ZZ fought this past weekend, stopping the limited Hector Rolando Guzman in the 6th round to claim the WBA international tite. The future may be that he goes the WBA route though he is currently the WBC #1 ranked contender and may get a cash out offer against Yamanaka or a potential pay day to face Suriyan in Thailand. The future will be fun for the Kazak but maybe not the most amazing.

The top IBF contender

Ryosuke Iwasa (19-1, 12)
In June we will see Ryosuke “Eagle Eye” Iwasa fight in his first world title fight as he takes on Britain's Lee Haskin's in a bout for the IBF “interim” title. This was the next step up for Iwasa who has previously held both the Japanese and OPBF titles. The talented 25 year old from Chiba was on the fast track to the top before being halted in his 9th professional bout, by Yamanaka, but he has regrouped incredibly since then.

Iwasa is another southpaw boxer-puncher, like Yamanaka, and has improved markedly since his loss more than 4 years ago. At the moment he's on an excellent 11 fight winning streak with victories against the likes of Kentaro Masuda, David De La Mora and Hiroki Shiino. He has however been given a real gut check, by Richard Pumicpic, and there is a suggestion that his body is struggling with the 118lb weight limit, something he mentioned following his bout with Pumicpic.

At the moment we know Iwasa is set to fight Haskins on June 13th for the IBF title in Bristol, England. If he wins that bout he is then expected to fight with the full IBF champion Randy Caballero. It's hoped that if he wins both of them a rematch with Yamanaka could be made, possibly for the end of this year or early next year.

The Ohashi gym hopeful

Ryo Matsumoto (14-0, 12)
The Ohashi gym is rightfully bouncing right now with a wave of top former amateur talent, including charismatic 21 year old Ryo Matsumoto. Matsumoto, like Akaho, made his name at Super Flyweight before needing to leave the division due to issues making weight. So far in his career he has claimed the OPBF Super Flyweight title and scored notable wins over Hiroyuki Hisataka, Denkaosan Kaovichit and Rusalee Samor, a trio of very solid wins for a prospect.

In the ring Matsumoto really is a bit of a genius. He can fight, he can box, he can move and he can brawl. At time he makes things look too easy, as he did against Samor late last year, though he has proven he can do 12 rounds and still have enough power to finish off a guy. For a tall fighter, 5'8”, Matsumoto has shown he can both control the range of a fight or land killer body blows and he looks like he's now maturing into a fully fledged Bantamweight and filling out his large frame.

Matsumoto has been strongly linked to a potential fight with WBA “super” champion Juan Carlos Payano with that fight being rumoured “for summer”. Whilst no official statement has been released about it there is some thought that it may come in August, potentially on the same card as Naoya Inoue's return to the ring.

The other Thai

Pungluang Sor Singyu (50-3, 34)
Whilst we rate Suriyan Sor Rungvisai very highly he's not the only Thai in the mix as former WBO champion Pungluang Sor Singyu is also hovering around a title bout, in fact he's likely to fight Akaho for the WBO title later in the year. Sadly he does have a misleading record that suggests he's much better than he really is. That's not to say Pungluang is a bad fighter but he's certainly not up there with the truly world class guys.

The Thai, like many fighters from his homeland, is a basic enough come forward fighter. He's tough but predictable with a grinding mentality and a gameplay that is often based on gradually breaking down his opponents. He can be very fun to watch but against a world class boxer/boxer-mover he is made to look distinctly average. From his 50 wins the stand out is a victory against AJ Banal in the Philippines whilst his losses have come to Stephane Jamoye, Paulus Ambunda and, most spectacularly, Tomoki Kameda.

The future for Pungluang is likely to be the Akaho fight though there is the possibility that he could slip in a fight before then. Unfortunately there is little that we've seen of Pungluang that merits another world title fight so soon after the loss to Tomoki, thought he WBO do seem to have a good relationship with their former champion and that could lead to purse bids being called shortly.

Other notable Asians-
Malcolm Tunacao (35-5-5, 20)-Former Flyweight champion Tunacao is 37 and father time will certainly end his career shortly but he's still a real threat in the division and the 2-time OPBF champion still can't be forgotten about given his ability and experience. In fact he gave Yamanaka one of his toughest fights so far back in 2013.

Hideo Sakamoto (16-1-2, 5)-Japanese 29 year old Sakamoto isn't a world beater by any means but he is one of the divisions most over-looked fighters and he is currently on a 6 fight winning streak, dating back 4 years, since losing a close one to Eita Kikuchi. Among those wins are stoppages against Hiroki Shiino and Kazuyoshi Niki.

Yu Kawaguchi (23-6, 10)-Current OPBF champion Kawaguchi isn't the best fighter in Asia but he's a feel good story and his recent win over Takahiro Yamamoto was certainly career defining. We suspect he may be a target for fighters like Omori or Matsumoto if they can't secure bigger fights next time out.

Kazuki Tanaka (2-0, 2)-Japanese prospect Tanaka is viewed as one of the most exciting young fighters in Japan and his team are suggesting he could go all the way. Whilst it's hard to say for now we don't expect to need to wait too long with the view being that he will fight a JBC ranked opponent next time out.

Petch Sor Chitpattana (30-0, 19)-Unbeaten Thai youngster Petch is only 21 but has been racking up wins at an alarming pace since his 2011 debut. His competition so far has been poor to say the least but he already has a WBC world ranking.

Panomroonglek Kaiyanghadaogym (47-2, 27)-Thai veteran Panomroonglek is best known for losing to Koki Kameda though it seems he now has every intention of making a move towards a WBA title fight.

Notable non-Asians-
Jamie McDonnell (26-2-1, 12)-Englishman McDonnell recently defeated Tomoki Kameda to retain his WBA "regular" title and it now seems like we could describe him as the #2 in the division. His title might only be a "secondary" title but the win over Kameda was a big one.

Juan Carlos Payano (16-0, 8)-Dominican fighter Payano is the current WBA "super" champion and is the man who eventually defeated Anselmo Moreno, albeit it in controversial circumstances. Payano is "the man" in terms of the WBA but he's yet to defend his title and has done nothing to inspire us into believing he'll be a long term title holder.

Randy Caballero (22-0, 13)-IBF champion Caballero made a splash in Japan last year when he stopped Kohei Oba in an IBF eliminator. A fight later Caballero claimed the IBF title though unfortunately suffered a serious injury before his first defense. On his return he's expected to face Ryusoke Iwasa or...

...Lee Haksins (31-3, 13)-Haskins is another Englishman and will be fighting Iwasa on June 13th. He's a tricky southpaw who holds notable wins over McDonnell and Stuart Hall and has done everything but fight for a world title.

Julio Ceja (29-1, 26)-Big punching Mexican is a serious threat and has spoken of fighting Shinsuke Yamanaka in the past. On paper he's a major threat and a really good boxer-puncher, though he has been beaten by McDonnell and was surprisingly taken the distance by Oscar Blanquet last time out.

Images courtesy of
http://www.teiken.com
http://www.yokohama-hikari.jp
http://www.celes-gym.com
http://http://www.boxeomundial.com
http://www.wozboxing.com
http://www.diamondblog.jp/official/ohashi_hideyuki
http://www.boxrec.com
http://www.hattonboxing.com
http://www.wboboxing.com

0 Comments

The best bouts in the Asian pipe line

2/17/2014

0 Comments

If you were to ask me what I think of 2014 so far, I'd say that the year has been very quiet. Whilst some fight fans will say that the first few weeks of any new year is quiet for boxing this one just seems quieter than usual.

I understand, that the lack of fights is, at least partially, down to the winter Olympics. I can appreciate that no promoter wants to go head-to-head with one of the biggest sporting events of the year. Though what I can't understand is the real lack of action in almost every country. Some weeks haven't just been quiet but have been pretty much silent in terms of notable fights (and I really stretch the definition of "notable fights" right here).

Thankfully though the lack of action in the ring hasn't stopped us from getting word of several major bouts which are either signed or strongly rumoured for this year. It appears that the battling in the ring might have been unexciting but the battle of the match makers, promoters and lawyers has been highly enticing.

I've decided that, instead of talking about the lack of bouts for once, I'd take a look at some of the best ones that have either been signed, are getting signed or seem likely to be made later this year.

Courtesy of http://boxingnews.jp

Naoya Inoue v Adrian Hernandez (April 6th, Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo)
The first big major bout that we've got coming up was announced just a few short days ago and features Japanese youngster Naoya Inoue (5-0, 4) taking on Mexican Adrian Hernandez (29-2-1, 18) for the WBC Light Flyweight title.

Aged 20 Inoue is still a boxing baby though his potential was clear from his days as an amateur and his desire to be one of the fastest moved fighters in the history of the sport has been a real breath of fresh air. For some however he is being rushed too fast and should have had a few more fights before fighting a dangerous for like Hernandez.

From where I am sat Inoue is more than ready for a world title fight. He is wonderfully gifted, exciting, and more advanced than almost anyone else his age. As well as that he has also been given top training by his father, Shingo Inoue, and has shared a ring with both Akira Yaegashi and Ryota Murata, both of whom have had nothing but glowing words about the youngster.

Hernandez is dangerous and experienced. He does however have numerous flaws and could well be the weakest of the champions at 108lbs. It's a huge ask for Inoue, of course it is, but this is the aggressive matchmaking which has made the Ohashi Gym so well liked by fans and fighters alike.

(Picture, left to right: Shingo Inoue, Naoya Inoue, Akira Yaegashi and Hideyuki Ohashi)

Courtesy of http://boxingnews.jp

Hozumi Hasegawa v Kiko Martinez (April 23rd, Castle Hall, Osaka)
The second great looking match up takes place less than 3 weeks after the Inoue/Hernandez fight and will see former Bantamweight and Featherweight champion Hozumi Hasegawa (33-4, 15) attempting to become a 3-weight world champion. As with Inoue's bout Hasegawa will be taking on a dangerous world champion as he battles Spain's Kiko Martinez (30-4, 22), the current IBF Super Bantamweight champion.

Martinez was a man courted by a number of fighters, including Carl Frampton and Scott Quigg, though it seems that Hasegawa's team have done enough to convince him to travel for his first bout in Asia.

Whilst Hasegawa, at 33 years old, is a man coming to the end of his career he will feel like he has one more great performance left in him. He'll be hoping that that great performance happens here as Kiko is a very dangerous puncher with an all out pressure mind-set. The Spaniard isn't the most skilled but is very strong and has a brutal attitude in the ring.

If Hasegawa, who some are already writing off, can beat Martinez he will become Japan's second ever 3-weight world champion and cap off a remarkable career. He may not have become the star of Japanese boxing like some had hoped but his name, win or lose, will be very fondly remembered by the boxing fans in his homeland. A win however would see him being put up amongst the genuinely great Japanese fighters.

Picture: Hozumi Hasegawa and Shinsuke Yamanaka

Courtesy of http://www.wboboxing.com

Tomoki Kameda v Pungluang Sor Singyu (Date and venue yet to be announced)
There is something about the Japanese/Thai rivalry that really adds an extra something to bouts. This will next be seen at the world level later this month as Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep defends his WBA interim Flyweight title against Takuya Kogawa. That fight however pales in comparison to the bout between WBO Bantamweight champion Tomoki Kameda (29-0, 18), pictured, and Pungluang Sor Singyu (46-2, 31).

Whilst no date has been set for Tomoki/Pungluang it's a bout that is very difficult not get very excited about. Tomoki looks to be the best fighter in Kameda family and can do it all. He can box wonderfully on the back foot or he can fight going forward. Pungluang on the other hand is an in your face fighter from Thailand who comes forward and tries to make every bout a real fight. If he can cut the ring off from Kameda this could be a potential fight of the year.

The few details that have been leaked about this contest is that it could take place in either Japan or the US. I'm personally hoping it's in the US so that every fan state side gets a chance to see these two men in action and gets to see a very even looking all-Asian bout that could well reignite the interest in watching these sorts of bouts in both the US and Europe.

Courtesy of Nakornloung Boxing Promotion

Srisaket Sor Rungvisai v Carlos Cuadras (Date and venue yet to be announced)
If I'm excited about the prospect of Tomoki Kameda fighting Pungluang Sor Singyu then I'm even more excited by the potential Super Flyweight clash between Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (24-3-1, 22) and Mexico's unbeaten Carlos Cuadras (29-0, 24).

This, a WBC mandatory for champion Srisaket, has all the ingredients of being a special contest between two big hitting fighters and aggressively minded fighters.

Srisaket was one of the break out stars of last year and scored an impressive 7 victories, 6 by KO, which included a shockingly destructive victory over Yota Sato and impressive beat down of the brave Hirofumi Mukai. Although he's relatively unknown outside of Thailand and Japan Srisaket is nothing short of terrifying.

Like Srisaket, Cuadras is also aggressively minded and with the bout rumoured to be in Mexico he may well have a notable advantage in terms of home field. Saying that though Srisaket is by far the best fighter that Cuadras will have ever stepped in to the ring with and may well have too much power, aggression, strength and toughness for the unbeaten Mexican.

The only things confirmed about this bout is that Teiken will be the promoters and this it will be a sure fire war for as long as it lasts.

Picture is from Srisaket's Sor Rungvisai's victory over Yota Sato

Courtesy of Teiken

Shinsuke Yamanaka v Leo Santa Cruz (Speculative)
The first of two "speculative" bouts that I'm excited about sees WBC Bantamweight champion Shinsuke Yamanaka (20-0-2, 15) moving up to Super Bantamweight to challenger WBC champion Leo Santa Cruz (26-0-1, 15).

The bout is one that Yamanaka has been talking about a lot to the Japanese press and seems to be a contest he really wants even though he would have to step up in weight and travel to the US to get it, two things he has been very happy to accept.

Yamanaka has helped pressure the fight by doing a better job on former Santa Cruz opponent Alberto Guevara and seems set to do the same against Stephane Jamoye when the two meet on April 23rd. Whilst some may view this as Yamanaka fighting Santa Cruz's "cast off's" the fact he is looking to do a better job than Santa Cruz could well be enough to make fans question just how good Santa Cruz really is.

As for Santa Cruz, the all out Mexican fighting machine will need to get past slippery and skilful Cristian Mijares on March 8th for this bout to take place. We don't imagine Santa Cruz will have any problems with Mijares though we'd not be shocked if Santa Cruz tries to show more to his boxing than his pressure style, at least for a few rounds.

Courtesy of http://www.ohashi-gym.com/

Akira Yaegashi v Roman Gonzalez (Speculative)
Last week saw Ohashi gym announcing a show for April 6th that included not only Naoya Inoue's bout with Adrian Hernandez, see above, but also a contest between WBC Flyweight champion Akira Yaegashi (19-3, 9) and Odilon Zaleta (15-3, 8) as well as an under-card contest involving Roman Gonalez (38-0, 32).

When that card was announced Yaegashi seemed to strongly suggest that his next defense, if he gets past Zaleta of course, will be against Gonzalez in what is a Flyweight contest to really be excited about.

Gonzalez, who fought this past weekend against Juan Kantun, is arguably the best offensive fighter on the planet. He is a destructive machine that combines speed, power, skill and an outstanding array of punches.

If the bout, as expected, gets signed for fall or winter then we have a bout that will see Yaegashi's toughness and experienced put against Gonzalez's intelligent aggression. One thing is certain, this one will have the potential to be a fight of the year.

Of course, no date has been set for this one and both men will need to win on April 6th but that shouldn't be a problem.

0 Comments

Divisional Overview-The Brilliant Bantamweights

The God of Left

The Mexican Kameda

The Thai Tough Guy

The top WBO contender

The Demon of Left

ZZ The Kazakh Banger

The top IBF contender

The Ohashi gym hopeful

The other Thai

The best bouts in the Asian pipe line

Features

Archives

Categories