Former WBA Super Flyweight champion Satoshi Iida (25-2-1, 11) isn't a name that many fight fans in the West will ever think of. His 28 fight career was fought entirely in Japan with 24 of his 28 bouts taking place in Nagoya. Despite his stay at home career he was a notable figure in the 1990's Japanese scene, and the big star of the Chubu region. His career spanned most of the 1990's, with his debut coming in March 1991 and his final bout taking place in December 1998 during which he featured in 6 world title bouts and two Japanese title bouts. With not much being mentioned in the west about Iida we felt it worth including him in this weekly series, and look at the 5 most significant wins for... Satoshi Iida, during what was a fairly interest and often under-rated career. Hisashi Tokushima (August 14th 1993) Although Iida had come to the attention of Japanese fans in February 1992, when he beat Jiro Matsushima in the all Japan Rookie of the Year, it was his win 18 months later that really got the ball rolling. In it he took on former world title challenger Hisashi Tokushima and took a decision over the experienced, and still world ranked, Tokushima. The bout was a massive step up in class for Iida, only his second completed 10 rounder and a massive move forward with things. Prior to this bout he had not really been tested too much, but now he was being asked questions and answering them in impressive fashion. This was the bout that helped to make it clear he was ready for title action. Although the scores aren't at the time of writing, on boxrec they were 98-93, twice, and 99-93 all in favour of Iida. Rolando Bohol (November 27th 1993) Just 3 months after beating Tokushima fans in Nagoya saw Iida score another big win, defeating former IBF Flyweight champion Rolando Bohol, again with a 10 round decision. Whilst Bohol was a some what faded fighter by this point, having lost 3 of his last 4, he was still a talented fighter and his losses hadn't come at a bad level either, with one coming to Gerry Penalosa and another to Daorung Chuwatana. In the end Iida was too good, taking a clear decision over Bohol as he again made his case for bigger and better fights. In his very next bout he took the Japanese Super Flyweight title, stopping former rival Jiro Matsushima in 8 rounds to take the title. Once again the scores aren't on boxrec but Japanese sources have informed us the judges turned in cards of 99-92, twice, and 99-93, for Iida over Bohol making it very clear that there was no doubting the result. Yokthai Sithoar II (December 23rd 1997) In 1996 Iida got his first world title fight, losing to Alimi Goitia ina bout for the WBA Super Flyweight. The following year he got his second shot, fighting to a draw with Yokthai Sithoar, again for the WBA Super Flyweight title. His third shot also came against Yokthai but this time Iida would do enough to take a thin decision win and the WBA belt. The bout was close, and tough, just like their first one. It wasn't the most action packed, or the most exciting, but it was very competitive with Iida doing enough to take the early rounds, scoring a knockdown in the opening round, and survive some worrying moments late on. It was a mature performance from the Japanese fighter, even if it wasn't the most exciting. Hiroki Ioka (April 29th 1998) Iida's first defense came against fellow Japanese fighter Hiroki Ioka, who was looking to become the first ever 3-weight world champion from Japan. Ioka had won titles at Minimumweight and Light Flyweight and was hoping to claim the WBA Super Flyweight title toe put his name in the history books. To his credit Ioka came close, incredibly close, but Iida denied Ioka by taking a majority decision in what was a very compelling bout. Ioka had always struggled with southpaws but put on a solid performance here in what would be his last hurrah, though it wasn't good enough to defeat Iida. The bout, whilst mostly technical, was fairly bloody bout, as Iida suffered a cut early on. Whilst not a classic, by any stretch, this is a surprisingly good bout and well worthy of a watch. I Having denied Ioka his place in history, albeit somewhat controversially, this win is certainly a significant one and had Ioka got the win things would have been different in Japanese boxing history, and in regards to Ioka's standing in the sport all these years on. Julio Gamboa (July 26th 1998) Having narrowly squeaked past Ioka in April we saw Iida back out in July when he recorded his second defense, taking on Julio Gamboa. Although Gamboa's final career tally of 28-14-2 (17) may not look good he was a very solid fighter at the turn of the millennium and had won his last 8 to earn a shot at Iida. This was another hard fought bout, another close win for Iida, who by now really had proven that whilst he was a world champion wasn't really too much better, if at all better, than the contenders he was facing. As with the Ioka bout this was compelling, and interesting, not the most exciting but certainly not a bad bout and saw both men fight on a very even keel, with neither man managing to really get their hard too far in front of the other. Iida would lose the title to Jesus Rojas just 5 months after this win, ending his notable, but rather disappointing reign. The win over Gamboa managed to age well in the immediate future. Gamboa would give Jorge Eliecer Julio a close bout in a contest for the WBO Bantamweight title, and fight to a draw in an IBF Super Flyweight title bout. Sadly though he failed to get over the hump and his career became that of a gate keeper in later years.
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It's fair to say that November has started hot, despite the late cancellation of Kazuto Takesako Vs Riku Kunumoto, but it certainly doesn't end there and the rest of the month continues to be hectic. Here we're going to take a look at the middle portion of the month, and there really is a lot to get through here.
November 8th Blue Arena, Samut Prakan, Thailand Nattapong Jankaew (6-0, 3) Vs Petchbarngborn Kokietgym (44-9, 20) In an excellent Thai match up we'll see the talented Nattapong Jankaew take on former world title challenger Petchbarngborn Kokietgym, who fought Naoya Inoue a few years ago. We've been really impressed by Nattapong so far and expect him to go a long way, so with that in mind we're expecting him to win this, with ease, but to also show what he can do. Petchbarngborn is a live under-dog, but a very clear under-dog against a very talented professional novice. Thitisak Hoitong (0-0) Vs Samartlek Kokietgym (34-14-1, 12) We'll openly admit we know very, very little about Thitisak Hoitong but it's clear his team must have some serious belief in him to match him against former world title challenger Samartlek Kokietgym, on his debut! Whilst we can't talk too much about Thitisak it is worth noting that Samartlek has shared the ring with Naoya Inoue and Akira Yaegashi, and both men were taken long by Samartlek, with Inoue stopping him in 11 and Yaegashi in the 12th. We are expecting Thitisak to win, based on what we known of his amateur pedigree, but nobody has an easy time with Samartlek. Expect the novice to work hard here. November 11th Production Park Studios, South Kirkby, Yorkshire, United Kingdom Tursynbay Kulakhmet (1-0, 1) vs Macaulay McGowan (14-0-1, 3) We continue with inexperienced professionals as we move onto a bout featuring the exceptionally talented Tursynbay Kulakhmet from Kazakhstan. The brilliant Kulakhmet will be going for his first title in just his second bout, as he takes on the unbeaten Macaulay McGowan. On paper this is a very real test for Kulakhmet though we suspect he makes it look easy and secures his place on the fast track to the top. He's an sensational talent, he showed that in his amateur days and on his professional debut, and we'd be very surprised if he doesn't stop McGowan here. The Kazakh is a special prospect that doesn't come around very often. Sultan Zaurbek (9-0, 7) vs Jeff Ofori (10-3-1, 3) Another Kazakh prospect in action here is Sultan Zaurbek, who appears to be getting his first legitimate test as a professional. The unbeaten 24 year old has barely lost a minute since his debut, just over 2 years ago, but here he goes up against the tricky, and under-rated Jeff Ofori. Ofori will be the under-dog, and rightfully so, but is a live one and proved his value recently in a very close decision loss to Archie Sharp. This is a credible step up for Zaurbek, at the right time, against a very good opponent, who is naturally bigger than himself, but alight puncher. A good bit of match making. November 13th Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Kimika Miyoshi (15-12-1, 6) vs Yoshie Wakasa (6-2, 2) In a Japanese female Featherweight title bout we'll see veteran Kimika Miyoshi defending her title against Yoshie Wakasa. For the champion this will be her second defense and although her record might look poor, to say the least, she's a battle hardened veteran who knows her way around the ring, and will likely be aware than she's likely only one loss away from retirement. Aged 36 she can't afford a loss. For Wakasa this is a third title fight, she has lost her last two and will be hoping it's third time lucky. Wakasa will know that she may not get another opportunity any time soon, and it could be now or never for her. November 21st Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Rikki Naito (24-2, 7) Vs Yusuke Konno (16-4, 9) OPBF Light Welterweight champion Rikki Naito will be looking to become a double champion as he clashes with fellow Japanese fighter Yusuke Konno for not just the OPBF title but also the vacant WBO Asia Pacific title. On paper Naito will be favoured, and technically he is the better fighter, as well as being the younger, quicker man. But his lack of power may well be an issue in getting Konno's respect, and Naito's questionable stamina will pushed to it's limits here by Konno. This is a genuinely fantastic match up, and the winner will be pretty much the de facto Asian champion at 140lbs. Yoshimitsu Kimura (12-2, 7) Vs Shuma Nakazato (10-1-2, 7) Former OPBF Super Featherweight title challenger Yoshimitsu Kimura clashes with Shuma Nakazato in a brilliant, 50-50 match up that really is mouth watering. Both men have similar records, both are talented youngsters with real potential and neither are taking on an easy foe to close out 2020. Kimura is slightly more proven, having fought over 12 rounds twice in very competitive losses, but Nakazato cannot be written off and will come into this knowing a win gets him into the title mix. A brilliant, potentially thrilling high speed technical war, between two criminally under-rated 24 year olds. This could, genuinely, be the hidden gem of the month. Suzumi Takayama (3-0, 3) Vs Hiroto Yashiro (2-0, 2) Unbeaten JBC Youth Super Flyweight champion Suzumi Takayama looks to make his first defense as he takes on the very talented Hiroto Yashiro. If we're being honest, this is exactly the type of bout we expected when Japan introduced the Japanese Youth titles, and we're glad to see these sorts of bouts. Both of these men are young, unbeaten, heavy handed, crisp, fluid aggressive fighters. As professionals Takayama is the more proven, and he answered a lot of questions last time out, stopping Tetsuro Ohashi in a tremendous bout 13 months ago. That win will make him the favourite, but Yashiro is a very, very live under-dog, taking a very credible step up. Don't look at the records her and ignore the fight, these two are very advanced professional novices, with solid amateur credentials and we are expecting something sensational here. Ryoichi Tamura (13-5-1, 7) Vs Ryu Oba (5-4, 3) Former Japanese Super Bantamweight champion Ryoichi Tamura Looks to score his second win since his brutal title loss to Yusaku Kuga last year. In reality we don't imagine him having any problems with Ryu Oba here, a lower level domestic fighter, but Tamura is known to make life difficult for himself, and to make every fight he's involved in worthy of watching. This will be brutal, rough, tough, exciting, and we can't ask for more than that! Typically our focus for articles here has been Asian boxing, but today we want to slant that somewhat, and talk about something that British boxing could learn from what we saw this past weekend in Japan. And it wasn't the first time we've seen it done in Japan In fact it wasn't even the first time we saw it happen for Naoya Inoue. So please let us ramble about how British TV could learn from Japan! This past weekend we saw a lot of boxing, on a lot of different TV outlets, and streaming services, all over the world. Genuinely there was so much boxing this past weekend that you could easily drown in it if you were that way inclined. Included in the events were several PPV's, and several shows on premium TV channels around the globe. There were also a number of bouts that aired in multiple countries. Notably both the UK and the US had PPV boxing this weekend, with the UK having a Sky Box Office PPV and the US having a Showtime PPV, whilst many other boxing countries avoided going down that avenue. It's worth noting that the PPV model is really very rarely done outside of a small handful of countries, and in those countries we have seen the number of PPV buys per event drop notably in recent years, with the core audience of fans shrinking. The top stars are still really big draws, but the reality is that the PPV market has been pricing fans out for a while and saturating it's self, to the detriment of the sport and to benefit of a very small number of fighters. Interestingly one country with a very vibrant boxing scene that hasn't, for the most part, gone with PPV is Japan. Instead the country has gone with a more nuanced distribution of fights spread across pay TV, free TV, online subscription and free online shows. For the most part big fights in Japan are live on free to air TV, be it TBS or Fuji TV, and their relevant local affiliates. In the past TV Tokyo, TV Asahi and NTV have also shown big fights, and it seems likely that NTV have still got the door open for big fights in the future. For domestic cards we see a more complex mix of free and pay. TBS and Fuji TV show free domestic action on a somewhat regular basis, albeit on tape delay. There are paid options for TV, with G+ being main channel for live domestic content, and for streaming, with Boxing Raise being an invaluable tool here. There is also a growing number of shows being streams for free on YouTube, thanks in part to Shinsei and Yokohama Hikari who have given us a good amount of free boxing this year. The mix of free and paid TV in Japan is somewhat the opposite of how things work in the UK. In the UK a big name fights on Sky Sports or BT Sports, behind a paywall, with many domestic fights also blocked from the casual channel hopping fan. The biggest names are behind a further obstacle, PPV. In Japan the big names are on free TV, with the idea being less about the money now and more about the exposure and longer term stability of the sport. This past weekend in Japan we saw Pay and Free TV work together, finding a perfect compromise between money and exposure. In fact it seemingly is a compromise that would massively help get eye balls on the sport in the West, without massively harming PPV or subscription numbers, and would likely also make piracy of events less tempting. Especially the "morning after" piracy that seems to be very prevalent.
Let me explain exactly what we saw. On Sunday morning in Japan WOWOW aired Naoya Inoue's win over Jason Moloney live. This allowed fans with the premium service to watch the bout live with no issues, and enjoy the event, whilst cheering on their boxing hero. The hardcore fans were satisfied, even if they did have their Sunday morning interupted. If you want to put WOWOW on to the scope of Western TV they are somewhat similar to HBO or Showtime. They broadcast a mix of sport, concerts, movies, anime and dubbed Western TV. For the UK audience there isn't quite a like for like, but given how Sky packages work WOWOW would be like having the on going "Sky TV and Sky Sports offer". So the live broadcast of Japanese boxing biggest star was shown on a premium channel, to a relatively small audience, with there only being around a few million subscribers. Then, just 12 hours later, it was shown, during prime time, to a much, much wider audience on terrestrial TV. In fact it averaged over 10.6% in the Kanto region, suggesting multi-million viewership across the country for a bout that, by then, had it's result reported online, and was essentially available to watch via illegal means. This essentially found the compromise between "premium service" and "people watching", something that seems to be missed in some countries. It's amazing in the UK that a fighter like Anthony Joshua can get around 1,000,000 buys of a PPV. The reality, however, is that that that's probably as many as he will get given the current Sky Box Office approach. We really don't imagine the market has the flexibility to extend beyond that number, with out attracting new fans to the sport. If you don't let people see the biggest star without paying for the privilege, then who's attracting those new fans? It feels very much like that UK somewhat corners it's biggest stars away from growing, put them in a walled up garden and doesn't let the public see them. Then it complains about piracy, which has almost certainly increased in recent years with the increase of PPV prices and broadcasts. If, however, Joshua was on PPV one week, then the bout was given to the BBC or ITV at a reduced cost to show a replay a week or two later, we do wonder what sort of viewing number that bout would get. Would it match the audience share of Inoue in Japan? Also how many opportunities it would open up to new fans, who would then latch on to Joshua in the future, maybe even opening up their wallet to watch him down the line? Whilst there would, potentially, be fewer people willing to pay for the PPV if it was then going to be made available for free, the special thing about sport is the live experience. And those paying for the PPV almost certainly want the "live" aspect, they are paying for the occasion. Those unable to, or unwilling to, pay for that live experience would likely love to see Joshua but are locked out by the paywall. As a result we don't imagine the PPV revenue would be reduced as much as many may think. If you're paying for the live broadcast you're probably not going to wait a few days to watch it. And what deduction there is in a PPV revenue, would likely be partially offset by the potential for advertisers to have their advertising banners and logos shown on free TV to a nationwide audience, and by future PPV's sales from a man who would be a bigger star afterwards. It goes against the current idea of how boxing is shown in the UK but, for the sport and it's growth, it needs to be visible to a wider audience. And it's not just fans that we need to be thinking of, but also the stars of tomorrow. They are inspired by the fighters of today and if the fighters of today are fighting hidden behind paywalls the number of future stars seeing them are reduced, giving us a shrinking sport. Yes you might believe Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren when they tell you British boxing is in great health, and in fairness it is in good health, but it could be a lot better. Before we finish this we want to talk about a fighter who is much maligned now a days but someone who does go some way towards proving our point. Audley Harrison, who won an Olympic gold medal for Great Britain, on free TV. In 1984, 1988 and 1992 Great Britain won 1 Olympic at each games, a bronze. In 1996 it won 0 before Audley Harrison won gold in 2000. In 2004 Amir Khan won Silver. Then we saw British amateur boxing really take off, and in 2008 Britain won 3 medals, more than they'd won in the previous 3 Olympics combined. In 2012 they won 5, including 3 gold medals to top the table, and they took 3 again in 2016. Harrison's success saw interest in British Amateur boxing pick up, it saw an increase in funding and gave fighters someone to look up to. Without Audley and his success there's a good chance that fighters like James DeGale, Billy Joe Saunders, Joe Joyce, Luke Campbell and Amir Khan wouldn't be where they are today. We can only imagine the boost that British boxing would get if Joshua, Tyson Fury, and other leading stars had their fights made freely available and gave professional boxing the same rub Audley gave amateur boxing. Yes it would harm the fighters, promoter and TV channels in the short term, but longer term opening up the broadcasts for a single replay on terrestrial TV would help more fans see the top stars. *In 2018 there was 1 PPV in Japan, and in 2020 there will also be 1 PPV event in Japan. Neither of these were major fights and were more experimental tests done by one very specific promoter. In neither case did the promoter freeze fans out of big fights or popular stars. Note - NTV will show their first world title fight in quite some time later this week! That will however be on tape delay following a live broadcast on Pay TV, with G+ and NTV BS showing it live. One thing we all, as boxing fans, tend to do is linger on the bad but this past week has been one that has almost universally been well liked. Whether you agree or not with out comes one thing that we all have in common is, at some point this week, we all saw something that made us remember why we love this sport. It might treat us badly at times, but weeks like this one show why we stick with it!
With that said, lets looks at some of the good, the bad, and the ugly from the past 7 days! The Good 1- Channel 5 getting Davis Vs Santa Cruz One of the truly unexpected positives from the week was British TV station Channel 5 getting the Gervonta Davis Vs Leo Santa Cruz bout live. This meant British fans, who have been gouged by PPV's in recent months, got the chance to enjoy some genuinely great action. It's a shame Channel 5 didn't air the full show, like we think some fans assumed they would, but world class boxing on terrestrial TV is always a positive! Fingers crossed this is the start of something long term! 2-Big KO's keep coming Talking about the Gervonta Davis Vs Leo Santa Cruz bout, what an amazing KO that was by Davis, and the reality is that it was one of a huge number of brilliant finishes from the week. We saw other spectacular knockouts from the likes of Naoya Inoue, Shu Utsuki, Wanchana Menayothin, Jongo Jongo, Oleg Misiura and Claudiomar Pedra dos Santos. If you like KO's you didn't have to look far to find a special one! 3-Kompayak Porpramook and Derek Chisora showing he is still a live test This past week we saw two veterans with similar styles both showing that they are very live tests. On Saturday morning former world champion Kompayak Porpramook put in a real shift to test a Thai prodigy, pushing him all the way for 10 rounds a really tough, test. Around 12 hours later former world title challenger Derek Chisora served a similar type of performance against with Oleksandr Usyk, over 12 rounds. Both of these veterans suffered their 10 loss, but the reality is that both are better than their records suggest, and both are very much servants to the sport. We want to give a heads up to both guys, and fingers crossed they don't retire too soon, as they are both very live fighters. 4-Isaac Cruz is a beast! Where the fuck was this guy hiding? Isaac Cruz is some one we weren't aware of going into the weekend but his one round blitz of Diego Magdaleno made us instant fans. He looked like a mini Tyson in there, and ran through Magdaleno like a knife through hot butter. Take a bow kid, you were phenomenal and we suspect we weren't the only ones impressed here! 5-Inoue impressing on Las Vegas debut There are a number of fighters we have unfair expectations of. The truly elite. The men who are head and shoulders above the rest. These are the men with real pressure on their shoulders. One such fighter was Naoya Inoue, who not only had the pressure of expectation on his shoulders, but also the pressure of making his Las Vegas debut, live on ESPN+ in what was the first world title fight with a Japanese man since March. He answered that pressure in style, stopping Jason Moloney in 7 rounds, and showing no issues at all with a lengthy lay off. The pressure on him to make the most of this opportunity didn't show at all, and instead he became the first Japanese fighter to successfully defend a title in Las Vegas since July 2014! The Bad 1-DAZN Not airing full show on Friday We have two complaints with DAZN, we'll get on to the second a little later, but the first was the bigger issue here. Why the fuck did they now show the full show on Friday? They don't have TV schedules and timing constraints of typical TV, they are in charge of their own product, and yet they missed out on showing Bektemir Melikuziev, arguably the hottest of the emerging Uzbek hopefuls and a must watch fighter, and Lamont Roach, a promising American contender. With DAZN announcing their global expansion this week, this was not a smart idea. They need good will right now, they need people being positive, and word of mouth. Sadly word of mouth is that they only show parts of shows. Ridiculous! 2-Sirimongkol Singwancha continues on but why? On Friday former 2-weight world champion Sirimongkol Singwancha stepped into the ring in Tanzania. He was out of shape, several years beyond his best, and really didn't look like he was ever much of a fighter. He didn't look a shadow of a fighter, he just didn't look like a fighter. He retired, citing a shoulder injury, and then spoke about not training and wanting a rematch. At his best Sirimongkol was a fantastic fighter, genuinely in the 1990's an early 00's he was brilliant. In 2020 however he's a shadow, of a shell, he's over weight and, given his comments about training, he can't be arsed. Sorry dude, hang them up. Unlike Kompayak and Chisora, who we mentioned earlier, there is no point you setepping in the ring again 3-Robson Conceicao getting a Christmas present in October On Saturday night we had something special, turn into something rotten within seconds. We need to start by saying that the 10 round bout between Robson Conceicao and Luis Coria was sensational and had everything. From Coria's hot start, dropping Conceicao in round 2, to Conceicao battling back, needing to over-come two deductions for low blows and managing to fight through a bloodied and swollen face. This bout was brilliant. Sadly the judges left the bout being one we do not want to go back and watch. Some how all 3 judges saw this in favour of Conceicao, and we really can't see how. We're putting this down to someone owing the 32 year old Brazilian a Christmas present or something as there was no excuse for Coria to be denied the victory he deserved. Great effort by Conceicao, but no where near enough to earn him a win. 4-Fucking Commentary We mentioned we had a second gripe with DAZN, but this isn't explicitly with DAZN. Instead it was with Sky, DAZN and ESPN+ who all had some terrible commentary over the week. DAZN's US team on Friday spent too long bickering, and arguing about "passion", rather than the action in the ring. The Sky team on Saturday night had people essentially being cheerleaders for their mates, and doing an awful job of staying professional, and the ESPN team on Saturday were seemingly unaware of details regarding the fighter in the main event. We know we complain about commentary regularly, but it's not hard to get it right! We don't expect everyone to be as good as the likes of Crystina Poncher, Jim Lampley, Al Bernstein Andy Clarke, or Ian Darke, but the stuff we had to endure this week was dreadful. The stuff with Sky was beyond a joke, and really needs to be changed going forward. There is no point having so much bias in a broadcast. It's off putting, it's irritating, it's unprofessional and it's down right shite to listen to! The Ugly 1-Tureano Johnson's Lip Well we got a pretty visual ugly this week with Tureano Johnson suffering a brutal facial injury in his bout with Jaime Munguia. Johnson's top lip was sliced by an uppercut from the popular Mexican and just looking at the damage to Johnson's face leaves an automatic "ouch" from us. This was nasty, and one of the most visually ugly injuries we've seen in a long time. Thankfully we don't imagine it'll be as serious as it looks, but oh boy did this look ugly! It's fair to say that 2020 has been a crap year in general. We don't think we really need to explain how garbage it's been, how hard it's been for people or anything else. What we can do is take positives from it, and one of the few positives is that we have seen better bouts in Thailand in 2020 than we do in a typical year. We have seen an increase in good All-Thai bouts, and that has been one of the very, very few positives. Thanks to a better quality of bouts in Thailand this year we have managed to enjoy a lot more action from Thailand and spotted quite a few prospects who have excited us. One of those is 20 year old Thananchai Charunphak (10-1, 8), who has become one of the most exciting fighters on the WP Boxing shows from Nakornluang. The youngster looks like a future champion, and has so many things to get excited about at this early stage in his career Charunphak debuted back in July 2018, at the age of just 18. On debut, on a WP Boxing show, he stopped fellow teenage debutant Piphat Rattana inside a round. Just 2 months later he was back in the ring, and was matched hard, against fellow young hopeful Phongsaphon Panyakum. Sadly for Charunphak he was to lose that bout, though it was a brilliant 4 rounder, which is worth a watch and has been included at the bottom of the article. Despite the loss in just his second bout there wasn't really any slowing down for Charunphak who was back in the ring just a month later, scoring a KO win over another Thai novice. In fact after the loss to Panyakum we saw Charunphak score 4 wins, all by KO, within a year, as he got his career back on track, in a big way. Having bounced back from his sole loss Charunphak was 5-1 (5) just a year after his debut. He had quickly proven himself against low level domestic talent, and was showing himself as an exciting, heavy handed fighter, who was becoming a staple on the WP Boxing series of shows. He was however desperately in need of stiffer competition, better opponents and a win to make fans sit up and take not. He had, essentially, proven he needed better foes than Thai novices. In October 2019 Charunphak finally got his first real test, taking on former 2-time world tile challenger Samarlek Kokietgym. The bout was a huge step up for Charunphak but wasn't an issue for the 19 year old youngster, who took a decision win over the veteran who had once faced Naoya Inoue. The victory was Charunphak's first decision win, and it was followed 3 months later by a decision over veteran Phupha Por Nobnom. Despite boasting an early record of a puncher Charunphak was determined to prove he was a boxer, and the back to back decisions were a good sign of that. The real proof however came earlier this year, way back in March, when he took on former world champion Kompayak Porpramook. The rugged Porpramook was his usual typical self, pressuring from the off, taking the fight to Charunphak. The youngster however soaked it up, and used the ring, used his straight punches and had a real coming of age performance. He completely out boxed Porpramook, bust up his forced a 9th round TKO win. Not only did Charunphak stop Porpramook, but he also ended up taking his first title with that win, winning the WBC Asian Boxing Council Flyweight title. Sadly boxing in Thailand was pretty much shut down in the days that followed Charunphak's win over Kompayak. As a result he lost a lot of the momentum that he had built, and when boxing restarted in Thailand Charunphak scored a couple of low key wins over Thai novices, the same sort of opponents that he had began his career against. Thankfully Charunphak's next fight, on November 7th, looks a more interesting one as he takes on former world title contender Pigmy Kokietgym. Although Pigmy is well, and truly, past his best he is still a notable name in Thailand and a win over him, added to wins over Samartlek and Kompayak, would be a third win of note for the 20 year old in just over 2 years as a professional. Not a bad start to his career. According to WP Boxing Charunphak is a boxer-fighter, at his best however he looks more like a pure boxer. His jab is fantastic, he uses the ring well, moves well, understands how to use the ring and and fights well at range. There are flaws in what he does, as we saw against Seksan Khumdee back in September, but he's still a young novice, learning his trade, and he already looks like someone worthy of interest. If you want a Thai to follow over the coming years there are plenty emerging through the ranks, and Charunphak is one of the best from the group. Man what a week we've had! We've had so many fights over the last 7 days that we're genuinely exhausted but in a good way, having enjoyed so many great fights, so much brilliant action and so many things that have left us excited about the future of the sport.
With that said here are our award winners for this past week, and there really were a lot of contenders for some of the categories. Fighter of the Week Naoya Inoue We don't think anyone was really up in the running for this award other than Naoya Inoue, who secured a win on his Las Vegas debut without too much trouble. The "Monster" was under pressure to perform and he did just that, easing his way through the first few rounds before putting his foot on the gas. He had stubborn resistance from Jason Moloney, who played his part with a really brave effort, but in the end the power, skills, speed and accuracy of Inoue were too much. The Monster was out on Halloween and did exactly what he needed to to leave an impression on those who maybe weren't too aware of him. Performance of the Week Ablaikhan Zhussupov There was a lot of really good performances this week, all for varying reasons. Inoue shining in Las Vegas was the biggest performance, Nanthasith Petchnamthong scoring a win over a former world champion in his second pro bout was impressive, Kosuke Tomioka shining in his Rookie of the Year bout was great. For us however the the guy with the most impressive performance was Kazakh fighter Ablaikhan Zhussupov. The Kazakh amateur standout made his debut in Kazakhstan against the very solid Meshack Mwankemwa and looked like a man who had had 10 or 15 professional bouts. It's a shame he's expected to compete at the Tokyo Olympics and not commit to the professoinal ranks for sometime as on this performance this kid is special. Fight of the Week Nonthasith Petchnamthong Vs Kompayak Porpramook Whilst we certainly had bigger fighters, and bouts with more significance it was hard to think of a more enjoyable bout, bell to bell, than the exciting, competitive, engaging 10 round back and forth between Nonthasith Petchnamthong and Kompayak Porpramook. As with every Kompayak bout he was there to win, he was pressing, pressuring and trying to break his novice opponent mentally. Nonthasith showed his ring IQ, toughness and determination as he blunted Kompayak's aggression in a truly fantastic 10 rounder. Credit to both men for this one! Note - As we write this footage for Kenta Kamimura vs Yuto Kagata hasn't been made available, though reports are that this was a very special bout between two young debutants who let it all hang. As a result of not being able to see this bout it's not been considered for either the Fight OR Round of the Week Round of the Week Wanchana Menayothin Vs Omar El Ouers (Rd3) As with the fight of the week we stay in Thailand for a bit of a hidden gem. The bout pitted Thai youngster Wanchana Menayothin against Thai based Moroccan Omar El Ouers and boy did they put on an under-rated, and under-seen, battle here. It always seemed like Wanchana was too big and strong for El Ouers, but that didn't stop the Moroccan from holding his own at times, and giving his some of the most exciting exchanges of the week. If you missed this one we particular advise rounds 3 and 4, as they let shots go at will and put on a show. KO of the Week Shu Utsuki TKO2 Takayuki Sakai Some weeks we don't get any noteworthy KO's but this week we had several fantastic ones. The best of the bunch was the one scored by Japanese Lightweight prospect Shu Utsuki in his DANGAN A Class tournament qualifying bout against Takayuki Sakai. This was a thing of beauty! With Sakai near the ropes Utsuki lined up his man and threw a perfect 1-2, with the straight going right through the guard. A genuine brilliant KO and our favourite of the week. Honourable Mentions Wanchana Menayothin TKO5 Omar El Ouers Naoya Inoue TKO5 Jason Moloney Prospect of the Week Nonthasith Petchnamthong Some weeks we don't see a single prospect that makes us sit up and take note. This week we had an abundance of them. For us however scoring a win over a former world champion in just his second bout nets Nonthasith Petchnamthong the award. His performance may not have been the the best of the week, but the manner in which he has moved his career forward in a single week can't be questioned. This guy has a lot of promise, and fingers crossed TL Promotions don't mess him up with too many tough bouts too soon. So far however their match making for him has been ambitious but very good. Honourable mentions: Ablaikhan Zhussupov Bek Nurmaganbet Andy Hiraoka Kosuke Tomioka Phetmorakot Petchyindee Academy Shu Utsuki Another month is here and we're back with another look at some great names from the history of the sport.
Honey (1-1) Indian fighter Honey made his professional debut in 2016 winning a decision over Rahul Ganguly, be vanishing from boxing for 3 years and then losing to Sunil Siwach. It seems unlikely that the fighter is really called Honey, but at the time of writing he has no full name available, and he is listed by the same name as the delightful food. One things for sure, we wouldn't spread him on our waffles! Little Park (1-4) Korean fighter Min Jin Park was better known by his ring name of "Little Park". From records that have been collected he fought from 1975 to 1977, though Korean records from this time are patchy, at best. Whilst it's unclear what Park's "real" record is, it is clear he faced some incredibly tough competition. In his 5 recorded bouts he took on Montsayarm Haw Mahachai, Sung Jun Kim, thrice, and Sang Il Jung. That means from his 5 recorded bouts he faced 2 world title challengers and a world champion, three times. A notable fighter, with a name that sounds like a wonderful place to visit in summer. Little Paras (18-17-2, 5) AND (0-1) For the first time in this series we have a name that two different fighters used. Between 1943 and 1952 we have one fighter going by the name Little Paras and fighting 37 times. His career was spent, mostly, in Australia and Singapore and he certainly did little of real note. In the 1970's there was another Little Paras, who apparently had a single fight in 1975, going 0-1. What makes this name worthy of note is the fact in the 1990's Nintendo's "Pokemon" series would go on to have a small Pokémon called "Paras". To have a little Paras would be a diminutive fighting monster! Little Holmes (8-4-2) Little Park was one of numerous "Little's" in the sport, another was Little Holmes, an Indonesian who fight in and around the Super Bantamweight division from the 1980's to the early 00's. We're not certain on Holmes' record, as Boxrec says he had more than 10 years between his final 2 bouts, but what is known is that almost all of his bouts were in Indonesia, a country renowned for poor record keeping. Notably he scored an early career win over former world champion Ju Do Chun. We're fairly confident that Little Holmes wasn't his real name, though it's unclear why he would have adopted such a ring name. Bigface Tahara (6-10-2, 3) Japanese fighter Junji Tahara went by the amazing ring name of "Bigface Tahara", one of the most interesting names we've seen in this series. Tahara fought between 2005 and 2011 and had a pretty unremarkable career, rarely fighting in anything more than preliminary bouts. The most notable thing about "Bigface's" career was his 3 fight trilogy against Yasuyuki Fukushima, in 2009 and 2010. Although not a great fighter being known as "Bigface" is something truly brilliant! |
Oriental Opinions
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March 2024
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