Earlier this year we had a spate of Japanese amateurs turning professional at pretty much the same time. At that point the year seemed like it was going to be a great 2020 for Japanese boxing fans who were set to see a host of exciting young talent all let loose on the pros. Sadly we've not yet seen any of those touted amateurs make their professional debuts, due to the on going global situation, but they all have their eyes on big things, and we've already spoke about a number of them in this series.
One of the ones we haven't spoke about yet is Rentaro Kimura (0-0), who signed with the Suruga boys in Shizuoka and is touted incredibly highly, with some suggesting he is the brightest hope that Shizuoka have in creating a world champion any time soon. As an amateur Kimura really shined. He began boxing in elementary school and began to generate a real buzz in high school. By the time he was at University there was a lot of attention on the youngster and by 2015 he was already looking like someone to keep a serious eye on. In the 2016 National Championships Kimura beat both Mikito Nakano and Jin Minamide on route to winning the tournament in Ehime. The following year he came runner up in the National Championship, losing to Olympian Arashi Morisaka, won the Japanese National Sports Festival and also experienced some international competition at a tournament in Bangkok. Kimura's international experience grew in 2018, when he participated in a tournament in Indonesia and a tournament in Thailand, as did his domestic success, often placing in the top 4 of tournaments. During his days in the unpaid ranks he ran up an excellent 72-16 (26) amateur record and made it clear he wanted to turn professional. Despite that intention he wasn't rushing to the pros and instead lead his university team to an 11-0 win the final of the university league last year, with Kimura being the captain of the team. Earlier this year Kimura announced his decision to turn professional, signing with Sugura Boys. The plan was that Kimura would train at and be managed by the Sugura Boys outfit in Shizuoka and spend time shared between his home area and Tokyo, where he would train at the well established Misako gym. The agreement was a clear one, allowing him to keep links to home and train at one of the more notable gyms, with some of the best domestic talent in Japan. In March Kimura passed his B class license test, taking part in the physical part of that test with Japanese Featherweight champion Ryo Sagawa, at the Misako Gym. Back then the intention was for him to make his debut in June, though due to the global situation boxing in Japan was put on hiatus until July. The plan now is for Kimura to debut on July 22nd, though at the time of writing his opponent hasn't yet been announced though we would expect Kimura's debut foe to be named in the coming weeks. As an amateur Kimura's style proved to be that of a very talented southpaw, with a sharp right jab, smart footwork, and the ability to box or fight. He didn't look the biggest puncher but looked very confident and had a style that should be easy to adapt to the professional ranks. Talking about the professional ranks Kimura recently gave an interview where he stated that he wanted to be moved quickly through the professional ranks and not waste time. He spoke about fighting for a world title as early as his 10th bout. That's an ambitious mentality, but given his amateur pedigree we wouldn't be surprised at all to see him put on the fast track to the top.
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In April 2019 we did an introducing piece on a then 1-0 (1) unbeaten hopeful, Yuki Nakajima (4-1, 4). Since then Nakajima has been among the busier prospects in Japan, fighting 3 times in 2019 and once earlier this year as he has progressed his career, battled back from a loss, and moved things forward with some fantastic performance. Whilst he's perhaps not on the fast track to the top, as we had hoped, he is certainly someone to keep in mind as we continue our "Revisiting" series, and look again at Yuki Nakajima. A month after we spoke about Nakajima he returned to the ring for his second professional bout and he scored his second win, taking out Thai novice Manop Audomphanawari in 4 rounds. At the time that result wasn't too notable, with Manop sporting a 1-1 record but it's worth noting that Manop's first loss was to Thanongsak Simsri, who is now regarded as a very promising Thai, and came in the 5th round of their bout. Manop has since gone 2-1, following the loss to Nakajima, and his most recent bout was a TKO2 loss to Yudai Shigeoka. So in reality Manop isn't good, but Nakajima beat him quicker than Simsri. Sadly for Nakajima his winning run came to an end just 3 months later, when he lost a decision to the brilliant Ryu Horikawa. The bout was competitive but there no arguing after the final bell on who deserved it, with Horikawa running out the clear winning in a well fought 6 rounder. The loss to Horikawa could have dampened Nakajima's rise but it really didn't and in December 2019 he made a successful return to the ring as he stopped Yasuhiro Tanaka in 3 rounds. The Tanaka bout notable for a number of reasons. Not only was it technically a step up in terms of opponent, with Tanaka having more experience in the pros than Nakajima's first 3 opponents combined, but it was also an 8 round bout, the first of Nakajima's career, and also a bout being fought at a higher weight than Nakajima's first 3. The few extra pounds seemed to work well for Nakajima who stopped Tanaka in 3 rounds. To begin 2020 Nakajima clashed with fellow youngster Shisui Kawabata. Kawabata needed a win after losing to Rikito Shiba in September 2019, whilst Nakajima needed a win to keep his momentum going. What we got here was a brilliant high speed chess match early on, with high level skills from both. Nakajima was dropped in round 3 but battled back, made things rough and went on to stop Kawabata in round 6 of what was a truly fantastic fight, so good we've included it below. Given that Nakajima was one of the few Japanese boxers to fight in a fight before the global climate became what it is he's not really lost much time this year. He might have missed a single fight so far, maybe, so the issues affecting boxing won't be too bad to his career. However like every fighter he'll be desperate to return and continue to move forward with his career. Kadoebi are big enough, as a company, to get him fights when boxing returns and fingers crossed they will help him establish his place in the exciting Japanese Flyweight rankings when the sport does finally return. It seems the move from Light Flyweight to Flyweight will serve Nakajima's career well, and whilst he may not be a world champion in the making the 24 year old does have the potential to win titles in the coming years. He may have loss since we covered him last year, but his career still has a lot of promise and we are still very, very excited to see what the future holds for Nakajima. In the 00's Thailand had a number of very notable fighters, though perhaps the most over-looked of those was Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym (48-2, 33), who fought from 2001 to 2012, when he career was ended following irregularities regarding a blood test. Originally it was reported that he had tested positive for HIV, though though it was later found that he was suffering from thalassemia, a blood disorder. That blood issue cost him a planned fight with Guillermo Rigondeaux, in what would have been a great fight. Whilst we did miss out on Poonsawat Vs Rigondeaux, we did still get a very solid career from the Thai. With that in mind lets take a look at the 5 most significant wins for... Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym. Ricardo Cordoba (August 31st 2005) After winning his first 22 bouts Poonsawat had his first real step up, taking on the then 25-0 Ricardo Cordoba for the "interim" WBA Bantamweight title. Up to this point Poonsawat had had things pretty much all his own way, against lower level regional opponents and had really never been tested. He had never had to prove himself, he had never been forced to dig deep and had never really had to show what he could do. Against Cordoba we saw Poonsawat being tested, being pushed all the way in a thrilling 12 round that saw both men answering questions that they had never previously been asked. The bout not only showed that Poonsawat could fighter at a higher level, but could take just a good as he could give in what was a brilliant performance. Leo Gamez (December 22nd 2005) Having won the "interim" WBA Bantamweight title against Cordoba it was then a case of seeing how Poonsawat would fight with a title around his waist. His first defense came just 4 months later when he took on multi-weight world champion Leo Gamez. Whilst Gamez was never really regarded as a divisional #1 he had managed to win world titles from Minimumweight to Super Flyweight, the first fighter in history to achieve that feet. He was looking to add some form of a Bantamweight title to his collection. Cordoba would easily outbox the Venezuelan veteran, taking a wide decision over Gamez in what was a solid performance. This would turn out to be Gamez's final career bout, and the first time Poonsawat would defeat a former world champion. Somsak Sitchatchawal (March 31st 2008) Having lost the "interim" WBA Bantamweight title in 2006 to Volodymyr Sydorenko, in a competitive fight in Germany, Poonsawat would then move up in weight, to Super Bantamweight. After a string of lower level bouts to help accommodate to the new weight, Poonsawat would then take on former WBA Super Bantamweight champion Somsak Sithchatchawal in a world title eliminator. The bout, like the Cordoba one, was a brilliant war between two men who each stepped up to the occasion. Somsak put on a fantastic showing but was broken down by the clean, hard punches of Poonsawat. In round 11 Poonsawat dropped Somsak and the referee waved off the bout with Somsak on the canvas. This set up Poonsawat for a world title fight at Super Bantamweight, giving him a chance to become a real world champion. Bernard Dunne (September 6th 2009) In his 40th professional bout Poonsawat travelled to Dublin, Ireland, to take on WBA Super Bantamweight champion Bernard Dunne, looking to turn the "interim" WBA Super Bantamweight title into the real thing. The then 29 year old Dunne was 28-1 (15) at this point, and had impressed just 6 months earlier in an amazing win over Ricardo Cordoba for the world title. Dunne was a huge star in Ireland at the time, the O2 in Dublin was expected to become his home for the years to come and he was going to be the face of Irish boxing. Poonsawat had other things in mind and went on to stop Dunne in the third round to claim the title in what was his first win on international soil. The win not only showed what Poonsawat could do to a wider audience, but also saw him, finally, winning a proper world title, to go with the two "interim" titles he had won. This loss would, sadly for Dunne, send him into retirement, and we wouldn't see him fight again after this bout. It was not only a significant bout for Poonsawat, but it also, sadly, ended the revival of boxing in Ireland. Satoshi Hosono (January 11th 2010) Having won the WBA Super Bantamweight title on the road, in Ireland, Poonsawat got his passport out again for his first defense as he travelled to Tokyo and took on Satoshi Hosono. The then 16-0 Hosono was seen as a future champion from Japan and was dropping down in weight to take on Poonsawat here in what proved to be another brilliant bout. The fight was competitive through out, violently exciting and saw both men landing some massive shots through out. Despite Hosono proving himself to be a tough and heavy handed fighter he was unable to match the skills and variation of Poonsawat, who took the majority decision to retain his title. This would be Poonsawat's first defense, and sadly he would only make one more before losing the belt when he returned to Japan and came up short against Ryol Li Lee. We return this week with another "Fight we wish we had" and the great thing about this series is that we can think of some really intriguing match ups that, for whatever reason, never seemed to get much demand. That's a shame as there really is so many amazing match ups that we could have had. Today we have one such bout, and it's a bout that really is a mouth watering match up at Super Bantamweight.
Toshiaki Nishioka Vs Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym Around 2010, we'll be more specific in a few moments, the Super Bantamweight scene was one that had a lot of very good Asian fighters in it. These included the then WBC champion Toshiaki Nishioka, the then WBA champion Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym, as well as the likes of Ryol Li Lee, Masaki Serie, Somsak Sithchatchawal and Rey Bautista. Whilst some of the top Asian's did clash we didn't see much conversation regarding a unification bout between the two top Asian fighters of the era. When? As mentioned this bout would be perfect around 2010. Nishioka had won the interim WBC title in 2008, and was quickly upgraded to the regular champion by the start of 2009 whilst Poonsawat won the WBA title in September 2009. Poonsawat's reign did end in 2010, when he was upset by Ryol Li Lee, but even after he lost the belt this would still have been an attractive bout until 2011, when Nishioka focused on fighting the American stage. Who? Toshiaki Nishioka was an excellent Japanese boxer-puncher. He was a sharp punching, technically sound southpaw who had first tried to make a mark at Bantamweight, but come up short in 4 world title bouts at the weight, all against Veeraphol Sahaprom with whom he had 2 draws and two losses against. In 2004 he moved up in weight, and proved himself before winning the WBC Super Bantamweight title. Unlike most Japanese fighters he actively chased big fights around the globe and scored a huge win against Jhonny Gonzalez in Mexico in 2009 and then went in to beat Rafael Marquez in 2011. That should have been the end but instead he returned for a one off bout in 2012 against Nonito Donaire. Poonsawat on the other hand was a heavier handed boxer-puncher, and unlike Nishioka, who was about speed and drawing mistakes to strike on, was more of an aggressive fighter. He would bring pressure on a regular basis and had solid power in his hands, as we saw in his brilliant win over Bernard Dunne. One area where he succseeded, where Nishioka failed, was at Bantamweight. Poonsawat had won the WBA "interim" title at Bantamweight, with a hard fought win over Ricardo Cordoba, and had defended it against Leo Gamez before moving up in weight following a loss in Germany to Volodymyr Sydorenko. One area where Poonsawat and Nishioka were similar was their willingness to travel. Poonsawat had won his WBA Super Bantamweight title in Ireland and travelled to Japan for his first defense, against Satoshi Hosono. How would we see it playing out? We'll be honest, we love both these guys and find both to be compelling fighters. We love their styles, despite the fact the two men were very different. With that said we could see either man winning, because of the way they matched up. Nishioka would bee the favourite, in our eyes, but only just. We suspect his speed, movement and southpaw stance would be real problems for Poonsawat. The movement of Ryol Li Lee showed that good footwork and movement was something that could bother Poonsawat, and Nishioka knew his way around the ring. He was smart and could counter well. On the other hand Poonsawat could amp up the pressure, he was physically very strong, and when he hurt opponents he let shots go. He could change the tempo of the bout at will and had the sort of power that could cause real issues, despite not being a 1-punch KO artist. We would expect Nishioka's foot work and defensively smart boxing brain to be the difference between the two men in a very close bout. We would expect that to neutralise the aggression of Poonsawat at times, but it wouldn't be easy, it wouldn't be straight forward and Poonsawat would certainly have his share of moments. We'd suspect this would be a very exciting, hotly contested bout, a very close one on the cards, with Nishioka taking the early lead before Poonsawat began to claw it back. After 12 rounds we'd expect Nishioka to take a close decision and further enhance his reputation as one of the best Super Bantamweight's of his time. Would history of been changed? Had the bout taken place when both men were champions we would have seen a unified champion and that would have been great. The reality is that had we seen these two clash we wouldn't have seen Poonsawat facing off with Ryol Li Lee, so the reigns of Lee, Shimoda and Rico Ramos would likely have been scratched from the record books. What would be more likely is that the unified champion would have been offered a big money fight. This would likely have seen the winner following something similar to what we saw Nishioka do, a bout with Rafael Marquez, Nonito Donaire or eve Guillermo Rigondeaux, who Poonsawat had signed to fight several years later. It's rare to see unification bouts and this one would have been genuinely fantastic. A real shame it didn't get much demand, and didn't end up happening when it would have been a brilliant highlight for Asian boxing, and the Super Bantamweight division. Typically when we talk about Korean fighters we tend to think about rather basic, come forward fighters who are strong, powerful, tough fighters with limitless energy and an incredible will to win. What we don't tend to speak about too much are the more talented boxers, though who have a defensive mind and can box and move. With that in mind we'd love to take this opportunity to introduce Woo Hyun Kim (9-1, 1). Kim is unlike many Korean in that he likes working at range, getting his shots off and use his feet to create distance, rather than swarming his opponents. Despite the "un-Korean" style he's certainly someone showing plenty of promise.
The 23 year old Kim made his professional debut in January 2014, at the age of 16, and took a 4 round decision win over Chi Hoon Lim. Less than 3 months later he followed that win up with a victory over Jae Kyoon Park, stopping Park in 4 rounds. Kim's would return to the ring again just a few months later, defeating Hyun Soo Kim with another 4 round decision. He was then given a bit of a break as he took on Se Joon Song in a bout for a Korean Super Flyweight title. Kim would defeat his countryman with a 9th round technical decision to take the first belt of his career, at the age of 17. Despite the win Kim didn't get much attention and all 4 of his early bouts were fought on "unsanctioned" shows, under one of the auspices of one of the many less notable Korean authorities, rather than one of the more reputable ones. The title he had won wasn't highly regarded as a result and he really wasn't getting much buzz fighting what was essentially a small, private off shoot league within the Korean system. For our British readers this is a bit like the BIBA in comparison to the British Boxing Board of Control. In 2015 Kim began to step up his competitive and took a narrow win over Seong Yeong Yang. Sadly however Kim's unbeaten record to an end just 2 months later, when he lost a hotly contested 6 round bout to Yo Han Bae. The loss to Bae slowed Kim's ascent but less than 10 months later he returned to the ring and defeated Michael Barnor to claim the "interim" PABA Bantamweight title, his second professional title. Just 4 months after winning the "interim" PABA title Kim made his first defense, taking a narrow win over domestic foe Jong Min Jun in September 2016. The win was a 12 round split decision over Jung, that proved the youngster could do 12 rounds but still had a lot of work to do if he was going to become something of a prospect. At the age of 19 however time was certainly on Kim's side and he and his team knew they didn't need to rush things. Sadly we wouldn't see Kim back in the ring for the better part of 3 years following his win over Jung. He wouldn't fight at all from September 2016 to June 2019. And when he did return that wasn't anything too exciting either. Kim's return to the ring saw him taking a 6 round decision win over Chinese foe Junhui Zhao, to move to 8-1 (1). Although Kim's return after a long break wasn't too notable his follow up bout, this past January, was. That bout saw him defeating former OPBF Flyweight champion Keisuke Nakayama. The bout was a big step up for Kim but his performance was exactly what it needed to be. He used his speed and youth early on, established a lead, made Nakayama work hard to close the distance, and caught him coming in, regularly. Nakayama wasn't there to make up the numbers, but never looked like he was energetic enough for the Korean. Although Kim took the win, with a 10 round decision, he showed plenty of areas to improve and as well as plenty of positive. Kim isn't close to being a world beater, far far from it, but he's a nice prospect with plenty to like. He's different to many of the Korean fighters out there, in terms of his style and in ring personality, but clearly is a work in progress. He needs to develop his punching technique and power, his stamina is questionable, but he has skills, nice movement and good speed. There's things for his team to work on, but that's part of what makes the youngster from Ulsan so interesting to follow right now, as he slowly moves towards his prime years. When we talk about unbeaten world champions we only really mean fighters who have held one of the 4 major titles, the IBF, WBA, WBC or WBO. Given the amount of "world titles" in world boxing that makes sense, as there really are too many titles out there. Despite that we are, today, going to give attention to a former unbeaten WBF "world" champion in the form of Samson Dutch Boy Gym (43-0, 36).
For those unaware Samson was a very under-rated Thai Super Flyweight, who started in Muay Thai then turned to professional boxing. As a professional boxing Samson debuted at the age of 19 and had a decade long career, spanning from 1992 to 2002. During that time he amassed 43 straight wins, 39 of which came in bouts for the World Boxing Federation World Super Flyweight title, which he defended an insane 38 times in 8 years! Rather than dwelling on what could have been for Samson, who was a seriously good fighter, we're here to look at the 5 most significant wins for... Samson Dutch Boy Gym. Colin "Kid" Nelson (September 17th 1994) One of the most obvious bouts to include here is Samson's 1994 win over Colin "Kid" Nelson, which netted the Thai the WBF Super Flyweight title. Although not the most impressive win of his career, not even close, this was the win that set into action Samson's insane run as the WBF champion. Sadly it was also probably part of why he never faced a major champion. His team had a world "championship" around his waist and now didn't need to purse a more recognisable title. This is an incredibly significant win, but also one that likely limited Samson's career overall, making a real double edged sword. With out the WBF title it's almost certain that Samson would have had a more notable career, but the title is intrinsically linked to him and his unbeaten record. It's worth noting this was just his 4th pro bout, and essentially put him on the past to the career he had. Rolando Pascua (January 8th 1995) When people about Samson Dutch Boy Gym and try to down play his ability they do miss out what he actually did and how good he was. His talent was obvious, and that was really shown in just his 6th bout, when he stopped former world champion Rolando Pascua of the Philippines. Pascua, who was fighting for the 51st time in his career, had won the WBC Light Flyweight title in 1990, when he scored a massive upset over Humberto Gonzalez, and had continued to mix in, and around, world level. Rather than respecting the Filipino Samson went and had a war with him, a bit of a forgotten classic. The two men set a high pace to begin with, but in the end Samson would break down the Filipino to retain his title in a genuinely impressive, and fun to watch bout. Alexander Makhmutov (November 22nd 1996) There's a fair argument that Pascua was past his best when Samson fought him but it's hard to argue the same about Russian Alexander Makhmutov. Coming into this the Russian was 26-3 (14) with his 3 losses coming to legitimate world class fighters, Chatchai Sasakul, Ratanachai Sor Vorapin and Saen Sor Ploenchit. Samson managed to not only beat the Russian but also stop him, albeit on a cut. Makhmutov would bounce back from the loss, winning the Europen Flyweight title, twice, and challenge the then WBO Flyweight champion Omar Andres Narvaez in 2003. He fought at a high, on and off, to his retirement and had proven he was a world class fighter. The only real issue with Samson beating him is the fact Makhmutov was a world class Flyweight, not Super Flyweight, but still a very solid win for Samson. Cruz Carbajal (March 7th 1997) Another man who certainly wasn't past his best when he fought Samson was Mexican Cruz Carbajal. The then 22 year old Carbajal had gone 12 rounds with Lehlo Ledwaba just 4 months earlier before Samson stopped him in 4 rounds to retain his WBF title. Whilst Samson's win was impressive, compared to Ledwaba, the best was yet to come from Cruz who found his pomp in the early 00's, stopping Mauricio Martinez for the WBO Bantamweight title which he would defend 3 times. Carbajal would fight on until 2012, a full 15 years after Samson beat him. Hugo Rafael Soto (June 24th 1997) Arguably the most significant win on Samson's record is his 1997 win over Argentina's Hugo Rafael Soto. Soto was just 10 months removed from a decision loss in a WBO Super Flyweight title bout to Johnny Tapia when Samson fought him. Samson would go on to stop the Argentinian in 6 rounds, giving him his second stoppage loss some 3 years after he was taken out in 8 rounds by the legendary Yuri Arbachakov. What makes this win the most notable isn't just Soto's result against Tapia but the fact that just 4 fights later Soto would go on to win the WBA Flyweight title, dethroning Jose Bonilla. Sure Soto isn't a huge name, but this is a win that stands up a very impressive one for Samson. We'd like to finish this by quickly adding that Samson also has two very solid wins over the tricky Jess Maca, which are very good wins over a man who would have a lengthy run with the OPBF Bantamweight title. One thing we really want to speak about a lot more in the coming years is Korean fighters, and we really do hope that Korea begins to produce some top talent, like it did in the 1970's and 80's. Whilst the country is lacking stars there is talent coming through the ranks in the country, and in fairness the talent is actually quite wide spread, due to how unique the political boxing situation is in Korea.
For those unaware Korea, unlike most other countries, has several different bodies all essentially ruling the sport. This limits the amount of top domestic bouts with get, with the KBF, KBM, KBC and KBA all splitting the talent, and all doing things their own way. What they all have in common is that they run Rookie tournaments, under some form of banner. Whilst not all the tournaments are equal in terms of talent, and management, they are all a great breeding ground for talented youngsters. One of the fighters who appears likely to give us a fun ride following his exploits in the KBC Rookie of the Year, is 22 year old Super Bantamweight hopeful Seung Hyun Lee (4-0, 3). He's maybe not a legitimate prospect, as such, but will be a fun guy to watch, and has got very clear potential. It's a question, however, whether someone can mould that potential. The youngster from Chuncheon made his debut in March 2019 and took a 3rd round TKO win over fellow debutant In Kyoo Gang, dropping Gang in round 2 before closing the show the following round. Sadly we've not managed to stumble on this bout in our research for this article but bout was one of 3 all debutant match ups on a 5 bout card. Less than 3 months after his debut Lee was back in the ring as he took on Byung Chul Lee in an outdoor ring in Namwon. This was certainly not the most glamorous of conditions, but out door rings are certainly nothing new for the Korean scene. Like his debut bout Lee was up against a debutant, on a show that featured 4 debutants from 10 total fighters in action. Thankfully footage of this bout did turn up during our research and despite his novice status it was easy to like Lee, who boxed behind his jab and showed some nice defense, albeit in flashes. The big talking point for the youngster wasn't defensive work however but his power and the right hand he used to drop his opponent in the opening round was a beauty. Despite seeing things to like about Lee there was also a lot of areas for him to work on. He got caught by the short fighter far too often, conceded his height too much and regularly over committed. They were novice mistakes, but were being made by a novice that clearly had something to get excited about. Lee's third bout was another we've not managed to see, sadly, but resulted in the youngster getting another quick win, as he took on Won Sub Shin and secured another early stoppage, taking out Shin in round 2. With a 3-0 (3) record the youngster clearly had some sting on is punches, but as mentioned there was areas to work on. Thankfully we saw some of those areas being smoothed out in his most recent bout, when he beat Joo Ho Shin in a KBC Rookie of the Year bout. The bout saw the youngster stick behind his longer punches much more often than we'd seen of him previously. His guard seemed tighter and his body shots looked a lot smoother. There was still issues with him over balancing, and being countered, but in fairness the improvements were massive. Shin managed to survive 4 rounds with Lee, but Lee was clearly the winner and got the deserved decision. Although it's too early to get too excited about Lee, especially given the way Korean boxing goes, we genuinely do see a talented youngster here. Albeit one who needs really work and time. He's not the most natural of talents, and he is still very easy to hit, but far as Korean hopes go there are a lot worse fighters there than than Lee, who looks like he could be a lot of fun to follow. If he can make some very obvious improvements then we genuinely wouldn't be surprised to see him mixing at Oriental title level later in the decade. Of course if Lee fails to get the training and sparring he needs then the early promise will sadly prove to be for nothing. His defensive game needs significant work he certainly needs teaching to tighten up, a lot, when he's letting his own hands go. We start another month and we return to our on going mini series looking at some of the best, silliest on daftest names in Asian boxing history. The names we're looking at are usually not those of well established or high profile fighters, but their names certainly gain them some extra attention they they wouldn't get otherwise.
To lay down some ground rules. We will be accepting fighters who either have a strange Ring name, Nickname or Real name. We will also only be accepting fighters who have some form of a link to Asia, be it that they are a citizen of an Asian country or they fought in Asia, or they fought for an OPBF or PABA title. Sadly this rules out the legendary greats like Jukebox Timebomb but we think we have enough to make up for that! Unchain Kaji (0-8-1) Japanese fighter Yoshihiro Kaji was better known as Unchain Kaji. He's certainly not someone we expect fans to be familiar with, at all, but he did face future world title challengers Tadashi Kuramochi and Yuichi Kasai and future OPBF Bantamweight champion Shosei Nitta. Despite Kaji failing to secure a win we do have to admire the fact they unchained him...thank god for that as if they kept him chained up he may have gone 0-9! Cherry Montano (12-16-3-1, 8) Sergio Montano gave a whole new meaning to cherry picking by being the proverbial cherry. The Filipino, who fought as Cherry Montana, was a journeyman in the 1960's and fought his entire career in his homeland. Although he didn't manage to have much success he did face a genuine Thai legend, losing twice to Chartchai Chionoi in 1965. Sadly Cherry really didn't face anyone else. Flash Dumdum (13-8-1, 4) Having mentioned Cherry Montano it's worth noting that he fought an opponent with a notable name, Flash Dumdum. Dumdum fought from 1963 to 1966 and ran up a less than great record, though he take a win when he picked the Cherry for his final bout. Whilst he was less than successful it is interesting to note that he went 12 rounds with Australian great Lionel Rose in 1966, with Rose taking the Bantamweight titles in 1968. Mia Bangbang (0-2) We're staying with Filipino fighters from the 1960's here and picking another opponent of Flash Dumdum, who had some smart picks for opponents. Another name on his record, alongside Cherry Montano, was Mia Bangbang, who Jim Lampley would have loved doing commentary for. Sadly it appears the man from Manila may not have a complete record, though he did fight at least twice in the 1960's. Oddly his recorded debut, which came against Dumdum, was a 10 rounder in Davao City, leading further doubt on what his real record was. Spider Nemoto (43-10-2, 11) We finish this by looking at a Japanese fighter from the 1970's and 80's. Shigemitsu Nemoto, better known as Spider Nemoto which he adopted in 1972, was a really solid fighter and surprisingly wasn't from the International gym, which had a habit of renaming fighters to have animal names. Nemoto was a 2-time Japanese Featherweight champion, an OPBF title challenger and a 2-time world title challenger. One thing that is notable is that Nemoto's first reign as the Japanese Featherweight champion saw him setting a title record of 13 defenses from 1977 to 1981. His career was really notable and he went up against the likes of Ernesto Marcel, Royal Kobayashi and Eusebio Pedroza. Given all the possible animals that Nemoto could have named himself after, he picked a spider. An animal that's easy to crush! |
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