By Rene Bonsubre,Jr

Joe Noynay was a picture of calm on social media going into his fight against Satoshi Shimizu. On the morning of the fight he posted photos of himself walking around in Osaka. Pre-fight articles stated he was in for a difficult fight and an underdog on the road.

But Noynay once again stunned the pundits. He started like a house on fire, dropping Shimizu twice in the opening round and seemed like he was headed for a quick win. But a couple of rounds later, Shimizu fired back and had Noynay on the defensive.

But Noynay recovered and adjusted. Even as the two southpaws exchanged shots, it was Noynay’s right jab and deceptive power that was the huge factor in the fight. With Shimizu’s face starting to swell, the ring doctor had to be called in to check on Shimizu’s eye.In the sixth, Shimizu turned his back as Noynay pounced for the kill. The referee correctly waived it off and the WBO Asia Pacific junior lightweight belt remained in Noynay’s hands. 

Noynay, from Cebu,Philippines, goes up to 18-2-1,7KO’s. Shimizu suffered his first loss as a professional - 8-1,8KO’s. Shimizu represented Japan in the London Olympics and captured a bronze medal. The 23 year old Noynay now has a 2W-1L record in Japan, having lost on points to Reiya Abe in 2017 and stopping Kosuke Saka in two rounds last April.

“We were actually looking for a church so we can pray, that was why we were walking around Osaka this morning,” Noynay told this writer. Noynay is a Christian like most Filipinos and makes it a habit to pray before a fight.

“I noticed his eye was starting to swell in the second,” Noynay said, “I guess he had trouble with his eyesight.”

Noynay isn’t much of a talker. He credits his latest win to hard work and faith. He doesn’t even speculate if he is headed for a world title bout. Prior to this bout, he was ranked number seven by the WBO in the 130 lb division. This victory on the road will certainly boost his status. The current WBO world champ is Jamel Herring of the U.S.

Noynay’s other significant road win was in 2017 when he beat Chinese Pan Jingxiang by eighth round technical decision in Zhongshan,China.

Noynay’s countryman, Jonathan Taconing on the other hand, lost to WBC junior flyweight world champ Ken Shiro by TKO in the fourth round.The fights were held at the Edion Arena in Osaka on the undercard of the rematch between Rob Brant and Ryota Murata which saw the Japanese Murata getting a revenge second round stoppage win to regain the WBA middleweight belt.

File Photo – Joe Noynay in Bogo, Cebu last year for his bout against Mexican Hector Garcia.

By Rene Bonsubre,Jr

WBO number 7 ranked junior lightweight contender Joe Noynay (17-2-1,6KO’s) is in the midst of training for his third trip to Japan when he defends his WBO Asia Pacific title against unbeaten Satoshi Shimizu (8-0,8KO’s) on July 12 at the Edion Arena in Osaka.

The 23 year old Noynay, who hails from the central island of Cebu in the Philippines, has a 1W-1L record in Japan, having lost on points to Reiya Abe in 2017 and stopping Kosuke Saka in two rounds last April. The fight against Saka was for the vacant WBO regional title at 130 lbs. 

The 33 year old Shimizu is ranked number 9 at featherweight by the IBF. He has beaten two Filipino boxers, Eduardo Mancito and Carlo Demecillo, who is now the WBO Asia Pacific Youth titleholder at bantamweight. 

Shimizu represented Japan at the 2012 Olympics where he won a bronze medal in the bantamweight division. He beat future WBO world champion Isaac Dogboe of Ghana in his first bout. He lost to the eventual gold medalist Luke Campbell of the U.K. in the semifinals. 

Shimizu was a member of his country’s Self Defense Force before he retired from service. He holds a university degree in Business Administration.

“My training is going well,” Noynay told this writer. “I know this will be a tough fight. I have already seen a video of his fight. I will just train as hard as I can and pray to God that I can pull off another win.”

Other notable wins in Noynay’s  career are his eighth round technical decision victory in 2017 against China’s Pan Jinxiang in Zhongshan and two wins against foreign opponents in the Philippines last year - Mexican Hector Garcia by majority decision and Chinese Zhang Qixiu by 8th round TKO.

“I am not thinking about fighting for a world title just yet.’ Noynay added, “Just focusing on further improvement.”

The current WBO world champion at junior lightweight is American Jamel Herring, who beat Masayuki Ito of Japan by unanimous decision last May in Florida. 

Shimizu, listed at 5 foot 10 and a half, would be a couple of inches taller than Noynay. He captured the OPBF featherweight title in his fourth pro bout by beating Korean Sa Myung Noh by TKO in round five. 

Noynay vs. Shimizu will be on the undercard of the highly anticipated rematch between Japanese star Ryota Murata and WBA middleweight champ Rob Brant of the U.S.A. Also on the same card, Japan’s Ken Shiro will defend his WBC light flyweight title against Filipino Jonathan Taconing.

Photo – Joe Noynay victorious against Kosuke Saka last April