Yoko Gushiken Vs Shinsuke Yamanaka (Part 2)

2/25/2017

Yesterday we posted the first of our 2 part feature comparing the world title reigns of Shinsuke Yamanaka [山中慎介] and Yoko Gushiken [具志堅用高], as Yamanaka looks to record his 12th defense of the WBC Bantamweight title. Now we have a look at the second part, which compares the latter half of the reigns by both men,, as well as our take on the overall reigns of both men.

Eighth defence

Just over 3 months after stopping Marcano we saw Gushiken return to the ring to take on 26 year old Alfonso Lopez (then 28-5, 16), who challenged the Japanese champion on April 8th. Lopez was stopped in 7 rounds, suffering his 5th stoppage loss. Notably he had made a name for himself at Flyweight prior to this bout and had been a WBA Flyweight champion earlier in the 1970's. Although a forgotten fighter now he was a road warrior of sorts picking his world title in the Philippines, Erbito Salavarria and defended it Japan against Shoji Oguma. Although once a top Flyweight he had gone 3-5 in the 30 or so months prior to battling Gushiken. Lopez would continue fighting for years after losing to Gushiken before retiring with a record of 39-18-2 (21), going 11-13-2 in his post Gushiken career.

Following the tough bout with Suriyan we saw Yamanaka have a relatively simple bout with the unbeaten, but totally under whelming, Diego Ricardo Santillan (then 23-0, 15). Santillan had beaten no one of note and was stopped in 7 rounds on April 16th 2015, having spent more than 10 months out of the ring prior to the bout. He's not fought since, but he's still shy of his 30th birthday and may well return to action at some point. If not the loss to Yamanaka will be the 1 in his 23-1 (15) career which looks solid on paper but the reality is that he had faced weak competition and hadn't really deserved a title fight, as was shown when he he was unable to win a round against Yamanaka.

Ninth defence

Gushiken closed in on his 10th defense when he took on the big punching Rafael Pedroza (then 15-2-1, 14) on July 29th 1979. Pedroza had challenged WBC champion Luis Estaba in 1977, losing a decision to the Venezuelan, and also lost to the then unbeaten Luis Ibarra but was seen as a credible through for Gushiken thanks, in part, to a win over Orlando Hernandez in Costa Rica. Gushiken suffered some facial early in the bout but controlled the contest with ease and won a wide decision over the Panamanian. Pedroza's career continued with mixed success until 1982 with a notable win coming in December 1981 against Gustavo Ballas, who had beaten Pedroza in earlier in their careers, with Pedroza claiming the WBA Super Flyweight title though he lost it in his first defense as he travelled back to Japan and came up short against Jiro Watanabe. Pedroza's final record was 19-8-1 (15) when he retired in 1982 and although he did come up short in his most notable bouts

Through Yamanaka's reign most of his wins have been clear cut victories with little dispute. His most controversial win however occurred in his 9th defense as he took on former WBA champion Anselmo Moreno (then 35-3-1, 12) and sneaked a hotly disputed split decision win. The bout was a nip and tuck affair fought on September 22nd 2015 and saw Yamanaka's much vaunted power fail to detonate on Moreno, who's skills and defensive ability gave Yamanaka hell through out. Coming into the bout Moreno had lost 2 of his previous 4 but they had been a controversial defeat to Juan Carlos Payano and a badly officiate contest with Abner Mares at Super Bantamweight. Prior to this bout Moreno had gone 29-2 (10) and made 12 defenses of the WBA Bantamweight title, fighting all over the globe and proving to be one of the most skilled fighters of his generation. He has since gone 1-1, beating Suriyan and fighting in a rematch with Yamanaka in what was Yamanaka's 11th defense

Tenth defence

Just 3 months after beating Pedroza we saw Gushiken back in the ring to take on Tito Abella (then 15-6, 7), with that bout taking place on October 28th 1979. Abella didn't have a pretty record but prior to facing Gushiken he did face Netrnoi, Hwan Jin Kim and Tae Shik Kim who all went on to win world titles after beating Abella. Sadly for Abella he would suffer a 7th round KO loss to Gushiken before becoming a journeyman of sorts and go 7-16 (2) before retiring with a 22-23-1 (9) record. Whilst he did become a journeyman his record reads like a who's who with losses to Payao Poontaro, Jiro Watanabe, Jung Koo Chang, Tacy Macalos and Pretty Boy Lucas all coming after he faced Gushiken! Suffering losses at that did mark up Abella's record but he certainly gave the best guys of the era some decent tests as they came through the ranks in he years that followed this defeat.

Following the first bout with Moreno it was assumed that Yamanaka would have an easy bout as he took on former Super Flyweight champion Liborio Solis (then 23-3-1, 10). Instead of an easy night Yamanaka got given a serious scare as he was dropped twice in round 3 and looked almost gone before regrouping to outbox the Venezuelan challenger. Solis had been known to Japanese audience prior to this contest, with wins against Kohei Kono and Daiki Kameda taking place in Japan, and a win in Panama over Japanese based Filipino Jonathan Baat. His early success against Yamanaka seemed to suggest that Yamanaka's time at the top was coming to an end but Solis has since proven that he is a top class Bantamweight and was unfortunate not to claim the WBA title last November when he suffered a controversial decision loss to Jamie McDonnell in Monaco. The loss to McDonnell saw Solis fall to 25-5-1 (11) but he is expected to get a rematch with McDonnell in the coming months.

Eleventh defense

Gushiken continued to be an active champion and returned to the ring on January 27th 1980 to face Yong Hyun Kim (then 12-4-3, 3) of Korea. Kim had won both the Korean and OPBF titles before facing Gushiken but his most notable results were against former Gushiken victim Sang-Il Chung. Against the champion the Korean gave his all but came up well short on the cards. Despite losing here Kim would remain a notable name on the Oriental scene until he retired in the early 1980's, having suffered defeats to future world champions Katsuo Tokashiki and Hwan Jin Kim as well as fighting to a draw with Satoshi Shingaki. His final career record was 20-8-4 (5) and he impressively avoided ever being stopped.

Following Yamanaka's controversial first win over Ansemo Moreno (then 36-4-1,12) in 2015 fight fans saw the two men face off again. Moreno had fought just once following the loss to Yamanaka, taking a wide decision over Suriyan and given his first performance against Yamanaka many expected him to come out on top here. What no one expected was an action packed shoot out which saw Moreno being dropped 4 times and Yamanaka being dropped himself, with Moreno being stopped in round 7, suffering his first stoppage loss. The bout was regarded by some as the 2016 Fight of the Year and will be regarded as one of Yamanaka's signature wins when he finally retires. Moreno hasn't fought since this bout, which took place on September 16th 2016.

Twelfth defense

On June 1st 1980 Gushiken recorded his 12th defense as he defeated the experienced Chilean Martin Vargas (then 60-5-3, 39) with an 8th round KO. Vargas had previously challenged Flyweight champions Miguel Canto and Betulio Gonzalez, coming up short against both men, before dropping to Light Flyweight. Coming in to this bout 3 of his 5 losses had come at world level whilst the other 2 were when he was a teenager. Despite being a proven quality Vargas was unable to last the distance with Gushiken who secured his 12th defense. Amazingly Vargas would fight on and off for more than 18 years advancing his record to an outstanding 91-15-3 (63) before finally retiring for good whilst in his 40's.

Yamanaka's 12th defense is set to take place on March 2nd 2017 and will see him take on the once beaten Carlson (22-1, 13). Carlson's competition will give Yamanaka nothing to fear but he has won his last 22 bouts, following a debut defeat, and he has sounded confident whilst also being 8 years younger than the champion. Carlson is seen as a really weak challenger, and few will give him any real chance here but he is certainly hungry and will have no pressure on his shoulders. He will also be full on confidence with Yamanaka looking like a man who is on the downside a little bit following wars with Suriyan Moreno and Solis.

Thirteenth defence

Aged 25 Gushiken made his final successful defense of the WBA Light Flyweight title on October 12th 1980 when he over-came Pedro Flores (then 16-6, 4) with a narrow, and controversial, decision victory. Mexican fighter Flores was a streaky fighter who began his career 8-0 (3) before falling to 10-6 (3). He then strung together 6 wins to earn a shot at Gushiken and pulled himself off the canvas early in the fight to give Gushiken a back-and-forth battle that saw both men wearing the scars of battle. The competitive nature of the bout left many feeling Flores had done enough for the win but in the end Gushiken retained.

Yamanaka, if he gets past Carlson as we all expect, will be looking to tie the Japanese record later this year. There is no set date, venue or opponent for the bout but it would seem likely that he's look for a notable name to generate extra attention, especially if he deals with Carlson in a 1-sided fashion. There it talk that it could be an unbeaten fighter like Luis Nery or Petch Sor Chitpattana, both of whom have been linked to Yamanaka in recent years, or it could be a much anticipated unification bout for the champion, something he has chased in the past. One thing is certain though, if he can manage defense #13 fans will be wanting #14.

Fourteenth defense

On March 8th 1981 Gushiken's great run as champion came to an end as he took on Flores in a rematch and was stopped in the 12th round. The exciting champion had been figured out by Flores who countered him with ease, forcing a standing count and later forcing Gushiken's corner to save their spent man, who was dropped just before the stoppage. Gushiken would retire soon afterwards without fighting again, despite only being 25 years old at the time of the loss. His all action style and accumulated damage seemed to slowing down and the fighter chose to walk away rather the risk harming his excellent legacy. Sadly Flores's streaky results showed and he would lose his following two bouts before retiring himself with a record of 17-9 (5), failing to defend the title that he had taken from Gushiken

Whilst Gushiken's record does stand alone for now there are plenty of criticism that can be levelled at his reign. Firstly the fact the division was really new and lacked talent, had he been around a decade later he'd have been in a boom period for Light Flyweights along with Jung Koo Chang and Myung Woo Yuh, he faced rather poor competition. He beat the first two WBA champions during his reign but the only other men who went on the really achieve anything above regional level were Yong Hyun Kim and Pedro Flores, who beat Gushiken then lost the belt in hid first defense.

Another major criticism is the relative fortune that Gushiken had at times. His first two defenses were both split decision wins that could have gone the other way and the first Flores fight was also razor thin. He was also pushed all the way by Kim. There was a run of 7 straight stoppage defenses, but there was also those close and controversial wins, that resulted in rematches with Rios, Marcano and Flores. Although there was 13 successful defenses, he did only defend the belt against 10 fighters.

Arguably the most impressive part of Gushikens's reign wasn't actually the number of defenses but the time span in which he did it. It took just 4 years and 2 days for Gushiken to rack up 13 defenses, something that is almost unheard of nowadays. And back then the fights were 15 rounders!

Side by side it's fair to say that Yamanaka's opponents have been better than those Gushiken's. The likes of Jaime Rios and Rafael Pedroza and Yong-Hyun Kim were solid fighters but they hardly compare to the likes of Anselmo Moreno, Liborio Solis or Suriyan Sor Rungvisai. It's worth noting that no one Yamanaka beat went on to win world titles, at least so far, but with wins against 6 former champions and the need for only one rematch it's hard to argue with Yamanaka have a better reign.

Yes Yamanaka has faced some terrible opponents, such as Santillan and Nieves, but they were certainly no worse than Aniceto Vargas or Tito Abella, both of whom retired with more losses than

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Yoko Gushiken Vs Shinsuke Yamanaka (Part 1)

2/24/2017

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One of the big talking points ahead of the March 2nd bout between WBC Bantamweight champion Shinsuke Yamanaka (26-0-2, 18) [山中慎介] and Mexican challenger Carlos Carlson (22-1, 13) is the fact that Yamanaka is closing in on the Japanese record number of world title defense. If, as many suspect, he gets passed Carlson he will just a fight away from tying the long standing record of Yoko Gushiken [具志堅用高], who recorded 13 world title defenses between 1976, when he won the WBA Light Flyweight title, and 1981, when he lost the title to Pedro Flores.

Ahead of the bout with Carlson we've decided to compare the title reigns of Yamanaka and Gushiken looking at the opponents both men faced during their title runs.

This is the first part of our 2-part feature and looks at the first 7 defenses by the two fighters, including videos of some select fights, and allowing fight fans a chance to see the two men in some of their most notable match ups.

Title Win

On October 10th 1976 Yoko Gushiken became just the third man to hold the WBA Light Flyweight title, stopping Juan Antonio Guzman (then 25-1, 20) for the belt in what was Guzman's first attempt at defending the title. Guzman had won the title in July with a razor thin split decision at home against Jaime Rios. Guzman's only other win of any note came in May 1976 when he beat future Gushiken victim Aniceto Vargas. Following this loss Guzman went 1-6 before retiring in the early 1980's with a 26-8 (20) record, and would never score another win over any real note.

Yamanaka's reign started more than 35 years after Gushiken's began and saw Yamanaka record an 11th round TKO against Mexican Christian Esquivel (then 24-2, 18). The bout was for the vacant title, with Nonito Donaire signalling that he was moving up in weight hence causing the vacant situation of the title. Esquivel lacked in terms of major wins but had won the WBC silver title with a win over Tshifhiwa Munyai and had won a world title eliminator against Eduardo Garcia. Sadly his Yamanaka record has been 5-8 (4) and he's certainly not looked like the quality of win he was at the time.

First Defense

Gushiken made his first defense of the title on January 20th 1977 as he took on former champion Jaime Rios (then 18-2-1, 8), the man Guzman had beaten for the title the previous year. Rios was a fantastic little man who was the inaugural champion and had previously defended the title in Japan, beating Kazunori Tenryu in his sole successful defense. He hadn't fought since losing to Guzman but was a hungry 23 year old and gave Gushiken hell, dropping him and cutting him. The win was a controversial one for Gushiken, though came against one of the very best in the division at the time. Rios would continue to fight on, and go 4-2 (2) in subsequent bouts, including a rematch with Gushiken in 1978, but more about that one later.

Like Gushiken Yamanaka also took on a former champion in his first defense, battling with Australian based Armenian Vic Darchinyan. Darchinyan (then 37-4-1, 27) had been the unified Super Flyweight champion before making a run at Bantamweight, where he lacked the same level of success that he'd had at 115lbs. Despite not being the same fighter at Bantamweight he had only lost to world class fighters in the form of Jospeh Agbeko, Abner Mares and Anselmo Moreno, himself a former Yamanaka victim. Darchinyan's career was struggling at the time but he was a notable name and certainly got Yamanaka some international attention. Since the loss Darchinyan has gone 5-4 (5), suffering 4 stoppage losses.

Second Defence

May 22nd 1977 was the date of Gushiken's second defense and he took on Venezuelan Rigoberto Marcano (then 16-2, 9), for the first of two bouts. Marcano had previously fought Rios in the inaugural WBA title fight. He had a few notable wins on his record and his best wins were against the likes of John Cajina, Juanito Herrera and Raul Valdez, however he had never previously fought outside of Latin America prior to travelling to Hokkaido to face Gushiken. Marcano gave Gushiken real problems for the most part, but the champions inexhaustible energy let him run away with the bout late. Marcano would retire in 1980 with a record of 21-5 (12), after having a rematch with Gushiken in 1979

It was almost a year after winning the title that Yamanaka made his second defense, taking on Tomas Rojas (then 39-13-1, 26) on November 3rd 2012. For the second fight in a row Yamanaka was taking on a former Super Flyweight champion, with Rojas having been the WBC champion, and he was also taking on a man who was 2-0 in Japan with wins over Kohei Kono and Nobuo Nashiro, so was well known to a Japanese audience. Rojas gave Yamanaka some issues, but was knocked out in frightening fashion as he began a run of stoppages at world level. Impressively Rojas has gone 19-0 (6) since this bout and last fought in August 2016.

Third Defence

Gushiken's third defense came just under a year after he first won the title, taking on Thai Montsayarm Haw Mahachai (then 21-2, 12) on October 9th 1977. The Thai had, earlier in his career, been the Thai and OPBF Light Flyweight champion but had lost to the two notable names he faced, Sang-Il Chung a future Gushiken foe and Netrnoi Sor Vorasingh. Although Montsayarm had faced two notable names he hadn't scored any wins of note and Gushiken made relatively quick work of him, stopping him in round 4. The Thai would fight on until 1982 but retire with a 26-8-1 (15) record and suffer 4 straight stoppage losses to end his career, with the bout against Gushiken seemingly taking the best out of the Thai.

Yamanaka continued to face former champions and in his third defense he took on former Flyweight champion Malcolm Tunacao (then 32-2-3, 20) on April 8th 2013. Tunacao had lost just twice in his 14 year career, a stoppage to Pongsaklek Wonjongkam in 2001 and a technical decision loss to Rolly Lunas in January 2007. He had become a 2-time OPBF Bantamweight champion and was considered a legitimate challenger for Yamanaka, having also taken out former Yamanaka foe Christian Esquivel the previous year. The veteran gave a solid effort, rising up from two knockdowns in round 3, but was ultimately stopped in the final round. Tunacao would fight thrice more in the following 18 months to advance his record to 35-5-5 (20) though now appears to have retired.

Fourth Defence

Gushiken's reign continued to advance on January 29th 1978, when he took on the aforementioned Aniceto Vargas (then 11-6-6-3, 3). Vargas, originally from the Philippines though fighting out of Hawaii, lacked in terms of major wins and had been stopped by both Juan Antonio Guzman as well as Adelaido Galindo in 2 of the 3 fights leading up to his contest with Gushiken. Impressively Vargas lasted into round 14 with the Japanese champion but was eventually stopped. Notably after this bout Vargas would never record another win, going 0-5-1 before calling quits on his career with an 11-12-4 (3) record.

On August 12th 2013 we saw Yamanaka make his 4th defense, taking on Jose Nieves (then 22-2-3, 11). The less said about Nieves' “performance” the better with the Puerto Rican lasting just 160 seconds, with Yamanaka totally destroying him from the onset. Nieves did hold a notable win over Tomas Roja,s though that come in 2006, along with two razor thin wins over Cuauhtemoc Vargas but had suffered losses to the unbeaten pairing of Victor Fonseca and Chris Avalos prior to this bout. Following this loss Nieves never fought again, retiring with a record of 22-3-3 (11).

Fifth Defence

Gushiken's next defense took place on May 7th 1978 when he took on former foe Jaime Rios (then 21-3-1, 10), who had been really annoyed at the decision of their first bout from 15 months earlier. This time there was no controversy as Rios was battered into submission and stopped at the end of round 13, suffering what would be his only stoppage loss. Amazingly he would take a 14 year break from the ring before returning in 1992 to go 1-1 in his native Panama before hanging up the gloves for good. Although never managing to reclaim a world title he was one of the top Light Flyweights of the era and is now, sadly a forget credit to the division.

Yamanaka's 5th defense took place on November 10th 2013, just over 2 years after he had won the title, and saw him take on former world title challenger Alberto Guevara (then 18-1, 6). Guevara had suffered his sole loss just under a year earlier, losing to IBF champion Leo Santa Cruz, and looked like a sturdy challenger. Yamanaka however battered him scoring a 9th round KO after multiple knockdowns. The Mexican continues his career, scoring 6 wins before suffering a loss to Emmanuel Rodriguez in June 2016 and we've not seen him since, though aged 26 with a 24-3 (9) record it's unlikely that his career is over yet.

Sixth Defence

Gushiken followed his second win over Rios with a stay busy fight in August before taking on Sang Il Chung (then 8-2-2, 2) on October 15th 1978. Chung had been the Korean champion and a 2-time OPBF champion with and a fighter who had shared the ring with a series of notable names, scoring a win over Montsayarm, a draw against Netrnoi and a loss to rising Chan Hee Park and a going 1-1 with future world champion Sung-Jun Kim. Although a relative novice with 12 bouts he was a solid contender on paper, though was stopped in 5 rounds by Gushiken. Following the bout Chung would go 1-2, suffering two stoppage losses to Yong-Hyun Kim, before retiring with a record of with a record of 9-5-2 (3).

Yamanaka's 6th defense also came against a former regional champion, as he battled Belgian fighter Stephane Jamoye (then 25-4, 15). The Belgian warrior was a former European champion, who had lost that title in his previous bout to Karim Guerfi. Although relatively unknown at world level Jamoye had ran both Tomoki Kameda and Jamie McDonnell close earlier in his career, had suffered only a sole stoppage loss to Leo Santa Cruz in 2011, and held wins over Pungluang Sor Singyu and Lee Haskins, stopping Haskins in an amazing 2012 contest. Against Yamanaka he was toyed with and and dropped for fun before being stopped in the early stages of round 9. Jamoye has continued his career, fighting as recent as January 2017, and is currently 31-7 (16).

Seventh Defence

Gushiken would meet former for Rigoberto Marcano (then 19-3, 12) in a rematch on January 7th 1979. Marcano had scored 3 stoppages since his first bout with Gushiken, in May 1977, and looked to avenge his most recent defeat. Despite the effort and hunger of Marcano he was facing a more mature Gushiken than in their first bout and he was stopped in round 7 as Gushiken continued to prove himself. As mentioned earlier Marcano wouldn't fight on much longer, going 2-1 before retiring. Although he fought in 3 world title bouts he failed in all efforts and looking back his best wins were over John Cajina and Raul Valdez, with the rest of his wins coming against very limited opposition in Venezuela.

Yamanaka would again face a world world champion as he took on teak tough Thai Suriyan Sor Rungvisai (then 37-5-1, 16), a former WBC Super Flyweight champion. Suriyan was the mandatory challenger for Yamanaka and proved to be a real handful for Yamanaka with a swarming style that give the Japanese puncher an absolute nightmare. The difference make in Yamanaka's favour was his power and 3 knockdowns, in rounds 7,8 and 9, proved to be the difference with Yamanaka narrowly retaining his title. At the time of writing Suriyan is still an active fighter and has gone 11-1 (8) since facing Yamanaka, with his sole loss coming to Anselmo Moreno, who would twice face Yamanaka following this bout.

In part 2 of this feature, which will go up tomorrow, we will look the rest of the defenses of the two men, and look forward to the upcoming Yamanaka Vs Carlson bout.

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Yoko Gushiken Vs Shinsuke Yamanaka (Part 2)

Eighth defence

Ninth defence

Tenth defence

Eleventh defense

Twelfth defense

Thirteenth defence

Fourteenth defense

Yoko Gushiken Vs Shinsuke Yamanaka (Part 1)

Title Win

First Defense

Second Defence

Third Defence

Fourth Defence

Fifth Defence

Sixth Defence

Seventh Defence

Archives

Categories

Yoko Gushiken Vs Shinsuke Yamanaka (Part 2)

​Eighth defence

Ninth defence

Tenth defence

Eleventh defense

Twelfth defense

​Thirteenth defence

​Fourteenth defense

Yoko Gushiken Vs Shinsuke Yamanaka (Part 1)

Title Win

First Defense

Second Defence

Third Defence

Fourth Defence

Fifth Defence

Sixth Defence

Seventh Defence

Archives

Categories

Eighth defence

Thirteenth defence

Fourteenth defense