This coming Saturday our focus will be on Las Vegas, where we see a major Bantamweight clash between IBF and WBA "super" champion Naoya Inoue (19-0, 16) [井上 尚弥] and Australian challenger Jason Moloney (21-1, 18). Despite both countries being part of the OPBF, and often fighting at OPBF level and lower level, we don't actually see the two countries clash in world title bouts very often. In fact in total we can only find 12 prior occasions where the countries have clashed at the top level. Interestingly, for those who have backed Moloney, history is on your side, rather overwhelmingly in fact with Australia leading the rivalry 9-3*! Not only that but some of the wins scored by Australian's over Japanese champions have included victories over the man many regard as Japan's finest fighter ever! With that in mind we've decided to take a look at the rivalry between two countries. Fighting Harada Vs Lionel Rose - February 27th 1968 The first world title clash between fighters from the two countries came in 1968 when Japanese legend Fighting Harada, the then WBC and WBA Bantamweight champion, faced Lionel Rose at the Nippon Budokan. At the time the 24 year old Harada sported a tremendous 50-3 (19) record, had gone unbeaten for more than 4 years and had reeled off 19 straight victories since an loss to Jose Medel in 1963. He was also a 2-weight world champion and had been the only man to beat legendary Brazilian Eder Jofre. Rose on the other hand was a 19 year old with a 27-2 (8) record, having won 17 in a row. Despite everything, on paper, favouring Harada the Australian took a narrow decision win to claim the Bantamweight titles and write his name in the history books as the first aborigine world champion, and a thorn in side of Japanese boxing. Rather notably all 3 officials, the two ringside judges and a scoring referee, were Japanese and all 3 scored the bout in favour of Rose Takao Sakurai Vs Lionel Rose - July 2nd 1968 Less than 5 months after dethroning Fighting Harada fans saw Lionel Rose return to Japan to make his first defense of the WBA and WBC Bantamweight crowns. In the opposite corner was the then unbeaten 26 year old Takao Sakurai. At the time Sakurai was 22-0 (4) and had been moved quick following his debut in 1965. Prior to turning professional he had won an Olympic gold medal at the 1964 Olympics, becoming the first Japanese fighter to do that, and was super active in the professional ranks, racking up 22 wins in just over 3 years. Sadly for Sakurai he couldn't avenge the loss of Harada, losing a razor thin decision in front of the fans at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. Scoring referee Nick Pope, from the US and Japanese judge Ko Toyama gave the bout to Rose, whilst Takeo Ugo had the bout even at 72-72. Sadly for Sakurai this was to be his only world title fight, and he would later lose in a world title eliminator to the brilliant Ruben Olivares. Although he went on to win the OPBF Bantamweight title his career was, in the eyes of many Japanese fans, a disappointment. Fighting Harada Vs Johnny Famechon I - July 28th 1969 After the loss to Rose Harada would move up the scale, and begin pursuing the Featherweight throne. He had hoped to become the first man to bridge the Flyweight to Featherweight gap. After winning 4 of 5 bouts, following the loss to Rose, Harada set his sights on French born Australian Johnny Famechon. At the time Famechon was the WBC champion and was seeking his first defense of the title. At the time he was 24 years old and boasted a very solid 51-4-6 (18) record, whilst the 26 year old Harada was 54-5 (21). This bout, held in Sydney, was a war with Famechon hitting the canvas in rounds 2, 11 and 14, whilst Harada was down himself in round 5. It seemed, to most, that Harada had done it and had etched his name further in history. Sadly however he was denied by scoring referee Willie Pep, himself a boxing great. Pep, the only scoring official, had denied Harada by a point in a decision that is still, to this day, regarded as a travesty. Had Harada got the decision her he would have been the first man to have moved, successfully, from Flyweight to Featherweight to become a 3-weight champion; it would have made him the 5th fighter to have been a 3-weight world champion; it would have made him the first Japanese 3-weight world champion and the second Japanese fighter to win a world title on foreign soil. To put some of that into perspective we've still never seen actually seen a male fighter win world titles at 112, 118 and 126 and we had to wait until 2010 to see the first Japanese fighter to be crowned to be crowned a 3-weight champion. Fighting Harada Vs Johnny Famechon II- January 6th 1970 With the controversial nature of their first bout hanging over them Harada and Famechon faced off again just a few months later. In the interim Harada had picked up a stay busy win and Famechon had fought a couple of bouts in the UK. Sadly for Harada their was no controversy this time as the Japanese star was knocked out in front of his home fans at the Metropolitan Gym in Tokyo. The bout was a hotly contested one through 13 rounds but in the 14th Famechon caught Harada with a couple of left hooks. They shook the Japanese star who got a standing count before being sent out of the ring and being stopped. This would turn out to be Harada's final career bout, and the final successful defense for Famechon who lost the title to the brilliant Vicente Saldivar just 4 months later, before retiring himself. Video below thanks to Adam Auld Yoshiaki Numata Vs Lionel Rose - May 30th 1971 After being a thorn in the side of Japanese boxing for a while Lionel Rose, with his wins over Harada and Sakurai in world title fights and Guts Ishimatsu in a none title fight, Yishiaki Numata was after revenge in 1971. By this point Rose had out grown the Bantamweight limit, had tested the water at Lightweight and then decided to challenge WBC Super Featherweight champion Numata. At this point in time Numata, enjoying his second reign as a world champion, was a 26 year old sporting a very impressive 43-6-3 (12) record. Amazingly Rose was still only 22 entering this bout, and was 40-6 (11). Thankfully for Japanese fans Numata managed to end the run against Australians as he took a narrow, and debated, decision over Rose to retain his title. The bout, at the Prefectural Gymnasium in Hiroshima, saw the scoring referee and two scoring judges all favour Numata. It's worth noting, like in Roses' win over Harada, that all 3 were Japanese. This would turn out to be a rather notable bout, as it would not only be Rose's final world title bout but it was also Numata's final successful defense and final victory. Numata would lose the title 5 months later, and retire following a loss in 1972 to Kenji Iwata. Satoshi Shingaki Vs Jeff Fenech I - April 26th 1985 After more than a decade of the two countries peacefully co-existing and no world title bouts we had two in just 4 months, both of which were between the same two men. The first came in April 1985 and saw the then 21 year old Satoshi Shingaki, who had an 8-1-1 (6) record, lose the IBF Bantamweight title in 9 rounds to the 20 year old Jeff Fenech, who was then 6-0 (6). Fenech really did a number on the gutsy Shingaki here. The Aussie couldn't miss at times and broke down Shingaki with huge right hands, brilliant combinations and intense pressure. All credit to Shingaki for his toughness, but he had the tar beat out of him by a rampant Fenech. Incidentally Shingaki's reign is a really interesting one. He was the first Japanese fighter to win an IBF title, and did so with out the IBF being recognised by the Japan Boxing Commission. Doing so outside of their auspice, sadly though he was also the first Japanese fighter to lose an IBF title. It's also interesting that IBF Bantamweight title will also be on the line in this weekend's bout between Inoue and Moloney. Satoshi Shingaki Vs Jeff Fenech II - August 23rd 1985 Less than 4 months after taking the IBF Bantamweight title Jeff Fenech gave Satoshi Shingaki a chance to reclaim the belt, in what was Fenech's first defense. Sadly for Shingaki this went even worse than their first bout. Shingaki was cut very early in the bout and never managed to get any real success, with the Marrickville Mauler really beating the former champion from pillar to post. After 3 rounds Shingaki's team called a halt to the bout. The fighter himself wanted to go on, and tried to convince the referee he was fine, but in reality this was the right decision to stop the bout. Interestingly Shingaki's career would go on, and he would go on to win his 3 following bouts, but they were all at a very low level, with the Japanese fighter retiring with an 11-3-1 (8) record. As for Fenech he would have a career somewhat similar to Fighting Harada, being denied a third weight world title in a bout many felt he deserved, drawing wwith Azuma Nelson, and then being stopped in a rematch with Nelson. He had, by then, stamped his mark as one of the all time greats. Amazingly Fenech's final bout with a third bout with Nelson in 2008. Yoshinori Nishizawa Vs Anthony Mundine - January 19th 2004 After Jeff Fenech twice stopped Satoshi Shingaki it took a long time to see Australia and Japan battle at the top level again. In fact it was close to 20 years! Sadly when we did see the two countries collide it wasn't in the most mouth watering encounter. In one corner was the enigmatic, out spoken, brash and confident Anthony Mundine, the 28 year WBA Super Middleweight champion, who was 19-1 (14), and the new star of Aussie boxing. In the opposite corner was 38 year Japanese fighter Yoshinori Nishizawa, who was 24-13-5 (12) and one of the very, very few Japanese Super Middleweights to make any sort of mark on the boxing world. This was regarded as joke defense for Mundine, who seemingly looked for the easiest opponent he could get away with for his first defense. From the off Nishizawa looked old, slow and limited. Surprisingly however Nishizawa managed put Mundine down in round 2, embarrassing "Choc". Sadly for Nishizawa Mundine pulled himself off the canvas and went on to stop him in the 5th round of the bout to retain the WBA Super Middleweight title in front of his fans at the Entertainment Centre in Wollongong. Despite the loss here Nishizawa would get a second world title fight, losing to WBC champion Markus Beyer and fight right right through to 2011, when he was 45! Mundine on the other hand was last seen in the ring just over a year ago, losing to John Wayne Parr in what is likely to be Mundine's final bout. Now aged 45 Mundine sports a 48-10 (28) record. One interesting aside here is that Nishizawa later went on to join the Ohashi Gym as a trainer, that's the same Ohashi gym that promotes Inoue! Video thanks to Tamika Lovingood Shinsuke Yamanaka Vs Vic Darchinyan - April 6th 2012 The last Bantamweight title bout between the two countries came in 2012 when Japan's Shinsuke Yamanaka, the then WBC champion, made his first defense and took on Australian based Armenian Vic Darchinyan. The then 29 year old Yamanaka had won the title in late 2011, stopping Christina Esquivel, and was then boasting an unbeaten record of 15-0-2 (11). He had the youth advantage over the then 36 year old Darchinyan, but Darchinyan had the clear edge in experience, with a 37-4-1 (27) record. The bout, at the Tokyo International Forum, was a really intriguing one. It was one that Yamanaka struggled in early on, in what was a serious test for a first defense, but later into the bout Yamanaka dug deep and turned it around, using his younger, fresher legs to take home a decision. This was, however, a controversial bout with the tide turning after the 5th round, which was a round that saw Darchinyan cut from what looked to be an accidental elbow. Following this win Yamanaka would go on to become one of the major faces of Japanese boxing. He would run together one of the longest reigns of any Japanese world champion and hold the title until losing to the controversial Luis Nery in 2017, then losing a rematch in 2018. As for Darchinyan he would continue his career through to 2017 with mixed results. His style and personality always allowed him to get bouts and opportunities, but losses after this to Nonito Donaire, Nicholas Walters, Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar and Sergio Frias all came by stoppage. Takashi Miura Vs Billy Dib - May 1st 2015 In the middle of the 2010's Japan had two major forces at 130lbs. One was Takashi Uchiyama, the WBA king, and the other was Takashi Miura, the then WBC king. In 2015 Miura, then aged 30 and sporting a 28-2-2 (12) record, faced off with former IBF Featherweight champion Billy Dib, then 29 with a 39-3-0-1 (23) record, with the men clashing at the Ota-City Gymnasium. On paper this was an interesting match up. It gave Dib a chance to become a 2-weight world champion and it gave Miura a chance to score a win against a notable name, following 4 straight victories against Mexican foes. It proved to be interesting in the ring, with Dib boxing and moving, using the ring well, and Miura looking to cut off the challenger. Midway through round 3 Miura got his way, and landed his patented left handed, shaking Dib who was on the canvas just moments later. That was all she wrote, with Dib not being able to continue and Miura living up to his "Bomber Left" moniker. Sadly for Miura he would lose the WBC Super Featherweight title 6 months later, in Las Vegas, to Francisco Vargas in a 2015 FOTY contender, and would retire following a 2017 loss to Miguel Berchelt. As for Dib, he was last seen in the ring in December 2019, beating the previously unbeaten Van Thao Tran of Vietnam. One interesting note about this fight is it was actually aired live in Australia but on tape delay in Japan, with TV Tokyo foolishly not showing it live, but showing it around 30 minutes after it had taken place. Ryosuke Iwasa Vs TJ Doheny - August 16th 2018
The last bout to pit the two countries against each other on either man's soil came in 2018 when Australian based Irish born fighter TJ Doheny travelled to Japan to face off with the then IBF Super Bantamweight champion Ryosuke Iwasa at the legendary Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. At the time Iwasa was seeking his second defense of the IBF title which he had won in sensational fashion against Yukinori Oguni, whilst Doheny was the mandatory challenger. Entering the bout Iwasa was 28 and boasted a 25-2 (16) record, he was at home, he was the taller and longer man. Doheny on the other hand was 31 and had ran up a 19-0 (14) record. We had expected fireworks here. Between them they had scored 30 wins by stoppage from a combined 44 wins wins, and the two losses for Iwasa had both come by stoppage. Doheny however had a different idea in mind, and instead of trying to bomb with the heavy handed Iwasa he boxed, he moved, he made Iwasa look slow and unsure of himself and ended up taking a unanimous decision to claim the the title. This was the first time an "Australian", in this case an adopted one, had taken a decision on Japanese soil against a Japanese champion since Rose dethroned Harada 50 years earlier! Since this bout Iwasa has remained a contender and is currently the interim champion. Doheny on the other hand didn't get to enjoy a long reign, making just a single defense of the title. Ryohei Takahashi vs TJ Doheny - January 18th 2019 Talking about Doehny's single defense that actually came in 2019 against a Japanese challenger, when he took on the little known Ryohei Takahashi at the iconic Madison Square Garden. This is the only time there has been a world title fight between a Japanese fighter and an "Australian" on US soil and sadly it was regarded as a mismatch before the men even stepped into the ring. Doheny, then 20-0 (14), was expected to easily defeat the over-matched 28 year old Takahashi, who was 16-3-1 (6). Takahashi had no clear route to victory. He was made to order, in many ways, for Doheny. And that proved to be the case. Takahashi was tough, and few could fault his bravery, but Doheny used him as target practice, and forced Mike Ortega to step in and stop the bout in round 11, with Takahashi probably lucky to have taken a single round by that point. Following this bout Takahashi faded back into obscurity on the Japanese domestic scene, picking up 3 wins including a somewhat controversial one earlier this month against Kiyohei Endo. As for Doheny he lost the IBF Super Bantamweight title a few months after this win, losing in a sensational 12 round war with Danny Roman, in a bout that unified the IBF and WBA titles. Since then Doheny has gone 1-1 including a shock loss in March this year to Ionut Baluta. *For the sake of this we have included Vic Darchinyan and TJ Doheny as Australian's, who both flew the Australian flag along with the Armenian and Irish flags respectively. If we remove those results it's 7-2 to Australia and not 9-3. Either way these stats aren't in favour of Inoue this weekend, or Japanese boxing in general. Other interesting details Lionel Rose also scored notable wins in none-title fights against Japanese fighters Guts Ishimatsu, in 1970, and Bomber Uchida Sam Soliman won the OPBF Middleweight title against Tokutaro Toyozumi and retained it against Satoru Suzuki, scoring both those wins in 2003 Prior to facing Takashi Miura we had seen Billy Dib in the ring with Kenichi Yamaguchi, in what was a short, dramatic, controversial and crazy one round bout that ended with Yamaguchi being stopped after being dropped. The result was later over-turned to a No Contest If you've never seen this one it is crazy. Before winning the WBA Super Featherweight title Takashi Uchiyama beat Nedal Hussein for the OPBF Super Featherweight title. In July 2016 Jack Brubaker retained the OPBF Welterweight title in Japan by beating Suyon Takayama, this, like many bouts between fighters from the two countries, was fantastic and is well worth hunting down! Also in 2016 Dwight Ritchie beat Hikaru Nishida, in Japan, for the OPBF Middleweight title. His reign was short lived however, as he lost in his first defense just 5 months later, losing to Koki Tyson. Jayde Mitchell also claimed an OPBF title in Japan, beating Shintaro Matsumoto for the OPBF Super Middleweight title at Korakuen Hall. Matsumoto would later go over to Australia to try and claim the OPBF Light Heavyweight title, but was stopped in 3 rounds by Aaron Lai. Interestingly Kyotaro Fujimoto may well be the Japanese fighter with the best single man rivalry against Australian fighters. He debuted against Australian Michael O'Donnell, lost in an OPBF Heavyweight title fight to Solomon Haumono, and then went on to beat Nathan McKay, Adam Lovelock, Will Nasio - for the OPBF title, Herman Ene Purcell, Randall Rayment and Aaron Russell. Rather notably, given this weekend's fight, Jason Moloney holds a win over former Japanese world champion Kohei Kono, with the Australian stopping Kono in 5 rounds in 2018. Incidentally he did so a round quicker than Inoue did it, just 18 months earlier.
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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've decided to begin this series looking at the 1960's and running with a few basic rules.
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. Mitsunori Seki (Career tally 61-11-1 (35); record during the 1960's 50-9 (31)) We're going to start this by saying that Mitsunori Seki was one of the best fighters to never win a world title, regardless of the decade. He is almost certainly the best Japanese fighter to never win a world title and was regarded as a genuinely unlucky fighter back in his day. During his career he did get chances at the top, with 5 world title bouts, though he was unlucky to face really top level fighters. His first world title fight was a split decision loss to Pone Kingpetch, he then went on to come up short against Sugar Ramos, Vicente Saldivar, twice, and Howard Winstone. With 11 career losses it's easy to downplay how good Seki was but given 5 of his losses came in world title fights and others came to the likes of Jose Medel, Chartchai Chionoi, Hiroshi Kobayashi and Vicente Milan Derado you realise he was only losing to world class fighters. He also notched wins against Leo Espinosa, Chartcai Chionoi, Tanny Campo and Kang Il Suh. Seki was a really talented southpaw, he had enough snap in his power to get the respect of opponents, without being a banger, and was regarded more as a fencer style boxer. He moved from Flyweight to Featherweight, and really had his best days at 126lbs where he dominated the OPBF scene. Between September 1962 and March 1968 Seki ruled supreme on the OPBF title scene, making 12 defense of the OPBF Featherweight title. He still holds the record for most defenses of that particular title, and for the longest reign. In the modern day boxing scene of 4 world titles, Seki would have certainly held some form of a world crown during his long career that just lacked that 1 career defining win. Kang Il Suh (Career tally 41-11 (13); record during the 1960's 39-11 (11)) On paper Kang Il Suh's record, like that of Mitsunori Seki, is less than great, but records only tell half a story and Suh is another great example of that. The Korean began his career in 1961 and fought right through to 1972 and faced several notable fighters of his era, as well as picking up a number of early career losses. In May 1963 Suh fell to 14-4 (7) following that he went 25-7 during the decade with his losses coming to Mitusnori Seki, Flash Elorde, twice, Rene Barrientos, Hiroshi Kobayashi, Raul Rojas and Yoshiaki Numata. Not a bad line up if you ask us! Even more notably he pushed Elorde razor close in both of their bouts, and likely would have got the decision had the bouts not been in the Philippines. On the other hand he notched some very strong wins, over-coming Hiroshi Kobayashi and Yoshiaki Numata, before losing rematches to both, and took the unbeaten record of the then 17-0 Mando Ramos, in the US. Whilst Suh wasn't a world beater he's a fighter who's career is massively over-looked, and like Seki a bit of luck could very much have changed his standing in the sport. Takao Sakurai (Career tally 30-2 (4); record during the 1960's 27-2 (4)) Winning an Olympic gold medal at the 1964 Olmypics in Tokyo was the launch pad to big things for Takao Sakurai, who was instantly a Japanese star when he turned professional in 1965. In just his second bout he was fighting in 10 round bouts and he quickly scored notable domestic wins over the likes of Katsutoshi Aoki, Toyoharu Mizuta and Yoshio Nakane. He would win his first 22 bouts before losing in a world title bout to Lionel Rose, by majority decision. Sadly the loss to Rose, in 1968, would be Sakurai's only shot at the world title and though he would later fight in a world title eliminator against Ruben Olivares, suffering his second loss in that bout. He bounced back from that loss well, beating Katsuyoshi Takayama and then winning the OPBF Bantamweight title to end the decade on a high. Given his amateur success, his close bout with Rose and his OPBF title win, it's really odd how Sakurai has been forgotten by many in the sport. He was in the Bantamweight division during one of it's toughest eras and even finished the decade ranked #2 by Ring Magazine, which really tells you how highly he was thought of at the time. Kiyoshi Tanabe (21-0-1, 5) Dubbed the "Tragedy Boxer" Kiyoshi Tanabe is one of boxing's biggest "What if's". The talented Japanese Flyweight had won bronze at the 1960 Olympics, losing a debatable decision to Sergei Sivko. He would then turn professional in 1963 and be moved aggressively. In only his 4th professional bout he beat the much more experienced Katsuo Yachinuma then did a number on Eishiro Iwaya just weeks later. In 1964 alone he fought 7 times as he climbed up the domestic scene. In 1965 Tanabe notched a win over Ric Magramo before taking the Japanese Flyweight title in October. He would defend his national title twice whilst moving towards bigger fights. A bigger fight came in February 1967, and he shone, stopping WBA Flyweight world champion Horacio Accavallo in 6 rounds. It was a huge win, a massive statement and should have set up a rematch with the Argentinian, who had only lost once in his previous 80 bouts. Sadly just as Tanabe was on the verge of his big shot he was forced to retire due to a detached retina. This would end Tanabe's career just as he was looking like he was about to hit his prime. Aged just 26 when he last fought the future seemed so bright for Tanabe, but fortune didn't shine on him and his career. By the time he retired he proved he could be defensively smart, following the guidance of his first trainer, and could also be a vicious and aggressive fighter, as he was in his final bout. He had linked up with Eddie Townsend close to the end of his career, and that relationship really could have lead Tanabe to the very top. Ric Magramo (Career tally 35-17-5 (15); record during the 1960's 35-16-5 (15)) Another fighter in this list with double digit losses, but another man who took on a who's who, was Ric Magramo. The Filipino Flyweight not only lost to Kiyoshi Tanabe, as previously mentioned, but also lost to the likes of Walter McGowan, Bernabe Villacampo, Hiroyuki Ebihara, Erbito Salavarria and Berkrerk Chartvanchai. Obviously losing a lot but to good fighters is one thing, but Magramo also had his share of good wins as well. Those included two wins over Bernabe Villacampo and two wins over Erbito Salavarria as well as a win over Kenichi Iida and one over Baby Lorona. Those wins alone show he was a fine fighter. Sadly though he was a very streaky fighter, and when he lost one he tended to lost a few more around the same time. This was best seen between January 1964 and August 1965, when he went 4-7. Whilst Magramo was never a world class fighter, and was far too inconsistent to ever be consider world class, he had 4 wins men who held world titles. A staggering number given there wasn't 4 world titles flying around back in the 1960's. Katsuyoshi Takayama (Career tally 45-11-6 (12); record during the 1960's 45-9-6 (12)) When we spoke about Takao Sakurai we mentioned Katsuyoshi Takayama and that's not without reason. Takayama was himself a man who banged on the door tough era. He did get a world title fight, but that was pretty much the start of the end for him. Takayama made his professional debut in 1962 and debuted with a loss. Following that he reeled off a 35 fight unbeaten run with wins against Speedy Hayase, Seisaku Saito, Baby Lorona, Katsuo Saito and Salvatore Burruni. Those wins lead him to his 1966 world title fight with Horacio Accavallo, which he lost by split decision. Following Takayama's loss to Accavallo he never really managed to recapture the form which he had shown up to that point. He went 13-9-3 (1) after losing in his world title fight. Despite the bad form there was some notable results, such as his 1967 win over Speedy Hayase, and his 1969 wins over Leo Calderon, in Honolulu and Eiji Morioka, in what would be his final bout of the decade. With Takayama his record stated one thing, but at several times during the decade he was legitimately among the best at Flyweight and Bantamweight. Had there been a Super Flyweight division in the 1960's he would have been a very serious player. Teruo Kosaka (Career tally 63-9-2 (26); record during the 1960's 41-5-1 (19)) Amazingly Teruo Kosaka was 19 years old when the decade began but was already a veteran with 27 bouts to his name! Despite the experience he had prior to the decade it was the 1960's that really saw him shine with a further 47 bouts, including 3 world title bouts. Lets start by, again, looking at Kosaka's losses. From the 5 he suffered in the 1960's 3 came in world title bouts, with 2 of those coming to Flash Elorde and one to Carlos Ortiz. His others losses in the decade both came to Elorde. That's right in the 1960's Kosaka lost 4 times to Flash Elorde and once to Carlos Ortiz. Notably all 3 of his world title bouts ended with Kosaka being stopped. Whilst Kosaka's losses are nothing to be ashamed of it's worth looking at what success he had as well. Kosaka began the decade by reeling off 16 straight wins, and winning the Japanese Lightweight title in December 1960. A loss to Elorde in 1961 was avenged the following year, making Kosaka a unified Japanese and OPBF Lightweight champion. In 1963 Kosaka would score a win over future world champion Pedro Adigue Jr, to give him a second big win over a man who would win a world title. He also picked up several awards from the Japanese annual boxing awards, including the Fighting Award, in 1961 and 1962, and the skills award in 1964. Sadly for Kosaka he could never secure a big win on the top stage and was actually stopped in all 3 of his world title bouts. Despite that he's very, very over-looked now a days, and wins over Elorde and Adigue are very respectable victories. Eigo Takagi (37-8-2, 8) Fighting between 1963 and 1968 Eigo Takagi was another of the man on the outside looking in on a stacked Bantamweight division. He failed to ever get a world title fight, but was certainly close to a shot at times during his ultra active, though short, career. As with many under-rated fighters featured on this list a lot of fans will look at Takagi's record and instantly over look him. With 8 losses in 47 bouts he lost rather frequently, however it's worth starting this by noting he began his career 7-6-1 (3), with those 14 bouts coming in the space of his first year as a professional. After that he went 31-2-1 with wins over Katsuo Yachinuma, Tiny Palacio, Speedy Hayase and Ushiwakamaru Harada, twice. Takagi's first win over Harada netted him the Japanese Bantamweight title, which he defended against Fighting Harada's brother the following year, before losing the belt in his final bout, a third clash with Harada. Whilst Takagi never got a big career defining victory this list was never about those who had the most success, but the most over-looked. With that in mind it needs to be said that Takagi didn't get a single title fight until his 40th professional bout, his first clash with Harada, in 1967. He was certainly over-looked. Koji Okano (27-2-1, 18) Typically Japanese fighters at 140lbs do get over-looked and their success there is limited. Koji Okanao is one of the many over-looked fighters at weight, who fought 30 times between 1963 and 1968. During his active career he won the Rookie of the Year and was the inaugural Japanese champion at 140lbs. After making his debut in June 1963 Okano was matched with fellow novices, before going on to win the All Japan Rookie of the Year at Lightweight in January 1964. Later that same year he beat Kazuyoshi Kubokura to claim the Japanese Light Welterweight title, and become the first holder of that belt. It's not totally clear how many defenses Okano made, with some sources stating he made a single defenses and others stating he made 2, but that was the only title he managed to ever fight for, despite going unbeaten until 1967, losing for the first time in his 28th bout. More about that loss a little later. During his unbeaten run Okano not only took the Rookie of the Year and Japanese title but also beat the well travelled Paul Armstead, future OPBF champion Chun-Kyo Shin and former OPBF title challenger Tsunetomi Miyamoto. Despite his long unbeaten run Okano would lose 2 of his last 3, with the first of those coming to the brilliant Rene Barrientos, and the second coming 4 months later to Akihisa Someya, in a Japanese Lightweight title bout. After that loss he retired. Ushiwakamaru Harada (Career tally 36-20-14 (14); record during the 1960's 21-7-8 (10)) Some one we briefly mentioned earlier in this article was Ushiwakamaru Harada, the brother of Japanese legend Fighting Harada. Whilst Ushiwakamaru didn't have the success of his iconic brother it's impossible to explain how over-looked he was during his car career. With 70 career bouts, it's easy to just look at the numbers and write him off, but that totally misses the point of his career, and the idea of this article. Beginning his career in 1965 he ended up fight 36 times in the decade, claiming the Japanese Bantamweight title twice, reclaiming it from Eigo Takagi in their third bout, he also managed a draw with Chucho Castillo, and 2 draws with Yoshio Nakane. His other notable results from the decade included wins over future OPBF champions Hyun Kim, and Katsuo Saito. Harada also, notably, fought the legendary Ruben Olivares, a bout that ended in a confounding stoppage that seemed really ill judged Technically Harada got his best results in the 1970's, but what he did in the swinging 60's was solid though the decade and certainly made him worthy of a mention here. |
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