Today we take another chance to delve into an obscure round from early in the year, and a round that really had it all, drama, excitement, a brilliant finish and both men being on the wrong end of punishment. The opening round of a scheduled 4 rounder between 17 year old Ryugo Ushijima and Shota Ogasawara had seen the youngster look really good. We were genuinely impressed by Ushijima's boxing and composure in the opening the opening 3 minutes and we were thinking that he looked very accomplished for a baby faced 2-0 (1) fighter. In round 2 that composure went, as Ogasawara turned up the heat, pressed and pressured and turned the bout on it's head. It was that pressure that made this round one of the most dramatic rounds of 2019. There is some sloppiness to this round, both men are genuine novices, but the drama, the finish and the action more than makes up for the some of the issues with the skills of both men. Interestingly since this bout Ushijima has gone 0-2-1, drawing with Kyonosuke Kameda in the Rookie of the Year, whilst Ogasawara has made his way to the All-Japan Rookie of the Year final this coming weekend.
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As we head towards the new year we've had a big look at the current scene and come up with "20 fights we'd like to see in 2020", yeah another series ahead of the new decade! As is always the case with what we do, these articles will have an Asian flavour, and every bout we mention in the series will have at least 1 fighter from Asia involved. So for those of you expecting us to talk about Deontay Wilder Vs Anthony Joshua, that won't be listed. What we'll be looking at is well matched contests with either some form of back story, a great stylistic clash or bouts with some form of significant meaning. If they tick all the boxes then that is even better! Each fight will be given it's own article and each of these will come with an introduction to the fighters, and why the bout is being featured in the list. Fight #4 Reymart Gaballo (23-0, 20) Vs Manyo Plange (18-0-1, 15) When slightly crude, heavy handed, fighters face off we don't really know what to expect. Do the fighters go for it, in the belief they have power to win and chin to take what ever comes back, or do we see one of the fighters reverting to boxing their opponent, and look to pick them off with counters? At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what happens when they fight, as we're sat on the edges of our seat in anticipation of fireworks going off. Here we have fighters who can box, but both seem to prefer throwing bombs! Reymart Gaballo is arguably the most exciting fighter the Philippines has right now, though Carl Jammes Martin may argue other wise. He's a huge puncher who has a wild, but not reckless, style. He's got nasty power in both hands, exciting speed and almost an elastic look to everything he does. He clearly can be out boxed, but it's only ever going to take one shot and he can turn things around, and given he throws everything hard and fast he will land sooner or later. Manyo Plange is the more technically sound boxer-puncher, and he was really unfortunate in 2018 to have had to settle for a draw with Michael Dasmarinas, in a bout we had Plange a clear winner in. He's a heavy handed guy who appears to take a shot well, then again doesn't everyone from Ghana? Prio to turning to the professional ranks he was a good amateur, and made it to the 2008 Olympics in Beijin as well as the 2006 Commonwealth games. So those skills are there. This would be a high risk assignment for both, with both men risking their unbeaten records in what would almost certainly be a fire fight. From a business point of view it doesn't make much sense for either man to take the fight. But from a fan's point of view this would appeal so much to us. We know that both would have respect for the other, but things could go off in an instant, and a mistake by the fighter who decides to put his foot on the gas first could see them being punished. We would favour Gaballo, who we see as the bigger puncher and the faster fighter, but Plange is no joke and would be a great test for the youngster. The winner of this would certainly find themselves on the verge of a world title fight, and we suspect that, no matter who wins, the bout would be getting some attention afterwards for the action it delivers. We continue to look through some of 2019's most exciting rounds by going hardcore obscure and rewatching a Japanese under-card bout between novices from back in January. Looking back we doubt many will remember the round in question, given it was back on January 19th, on a card that featured some much bigger names, but the truth is that this was a great 3 minutes of fistic fury. The round in question was the 4th and final round of a bout between Shohei Yamanaka and Tatsuhito Hattori. You're unlikely to be familiar with the two men in question. The bout was Yamanaka's debut and Hattori was a 35 year old with a 3-1-1 (1) record. The debutant had looked good in the first 2 rounds, winning both, before being dropped in round 3, and both men knew the final round would decide the bout. Neither wanted to lose, and they both gave it all they had in a round that deserves so much more attention than it had. Since the bout Yamanaka has gone 2-1 whilst Hattori, who turned 36 in October, hasn't fought and it looks like he may not fight again. If he does, lets have a re-run of this! As we head towards a new year we've decided to look into our glass balls, our tea leaves and our palms to come up with 20 predictions which will be posted over the coming weeks for what we think will happen in 2020. So far our predictions haven't been the best though they've not all been wrong. In 2013 we predicted that Naoya Inoue, his brother Takuma and Kosei Tanaka would all win world titles. Between them they've won a few world titles, though Takuma has yet to win a proper world title. That same year we also predicted a growth in Chinese boxing, and this arguably happened despite the fact the Macau side of things has died off. We also predicted a growth in Asian fighters making a name for themselves in the US, this was before Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Naoya Inoue or Kazuto Ioka had fought on US soil, and before the wave of Uzbek's had began to attract US attention. Unlike the past, where we have made all of our predictions in 1 article, we'll be spreading these ones out with 1 prediction per article, and going more in depth than we have in the past. Prediction number 15 - Tournaments Galore! One thing that we have seen a lot of in 2019 is boxing tournaments. We've had the WBSS, as well as Rookie tournaments, the God's Left Tournament, the Knockout Dynamite Tournament, the Hajime No Ippo tournament, The Fighter in Thailand, the Ultimate Boxing Series in the Philippines and MTK's Golden Contract tournaments. What all these tournaments have done is deliver excitement and action. None of the bigger tournaments have been flawless, with the WBSS scheduling being one of the most frustrating things about boxing in 2019, but all of them have had great bouts, interesting match ups and been worth following. That is the key. For too long boxing shows have been sold on the main event and little else. There hasn't been a reason to care about a whole show very often, but in tournaments, such as the Rookie of the Year, there is a reason to care about every bout. As a fan you can follow a longer narrative, a story that goes past today and into the future. A story you can emotionally invest in, especially if the fighter has had to dig deep to get to the next round. Even in case where a tournament "goes wrong" we can still invest, with Nonito Donaire's route to the WBSS Bantamweight final giving us a story, that made Donaire seem lucky and like he didn't deserve to be in the final, but he put on one of his career best performances, showing he really did belong there. In fact watching Donaire's final in the WBSS there's a good chance he had more than enough in the tank to have gotten there on merit, even if he had had to go through a fully fit Ryan Burnett and Zolani Tete. Tournaments, if done right, can sell not only themselves, and the fighters involved, but also a longer term boxing story. They give us a reason to care, about more than just a one off fight. Whilst tournaments come with their own issues, such as injury, weight problems, scheduling, they do add structure to boxing and that is something the sport could do with having more off. Something rigid, something to work off of. Something that gives us something to build from. As you can probably tell, we are fans of tournaments, and hopefully we'll see a bigger variety of them pop up, each with their own identity. The WBSS tournaments are clearly about finding the best fighters in the world in a particularly division, the Rookie of the Year tournaments are clearly to help bring novices into the sport and get them some attention. The Knockout Dynamite Tournament was a smart and unique 5 round idea with a bonus structure to encourage knockouts. The sport can also have more 1 night tournaments, like the Prize Fighter Tournaments, a tournament to find contenders for titles, like the old Strongest Korakuen tournaments, more B class tournaments, title determination tournaments to fill vacancies and so much more. Not every tournament needs a flashy name, just a good concept, good match ups, a reason for fighters to want to win and a reason for fans to care. We predict that we will see more tournaments in 2020, with various tournaments in Asia. A 1-night tournament at Korakuen Hall would be great, as would ESPN5 getting on board with a 1-night tournament in the Philippines. Maybe even a tournament of tournaments, with various countries all running tournaments to find their participant in a wide regional competition. There are hundreds of options for promoters to work with, and we feel the tournament market in professional boxing is very much an untapped market, and one that copuld be cracked wide open in 2020. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp) As we head towards the end of 2019 we're seeing more and more "...of the year" discussions popping up, and it's left people compiling short lists. With that in mind we've decided to do a quick feature over the coming days to look at some of the best rounds of the year. This, of course, is focused on just fights from Asia, but that's a chance for us to shine a light on a great round that you may well have missed the first time around! To begin this mini series we go all the way back to January 5th in Suzhou for a Flyweight bout between once beaten Filipino hopeful Giemel Magramo and Chinese fighter Wenfeng Ge. The bout ended up getting quite one sided later on, but round 2 was fire from both as they slowly warmed to the task at hand and unloaded some seriously heavy fire at each other. This wasn't a round that many will remember now, but was a real fun start to the year, and is one that every fight fan deserves to give 3 minutes of their time to! Sadly since this bout, which was genuine a good bout and not just a good round, neither man really did much. Magramo picked up a single win over Richard Claveras in September whilst Ge beat Kompayak Porpramook the following month, meaning this was pretty much the highlight for both men during the year. As we head towards the new year we've had a big look at the current scene and come up with "20 fights we'd like to see in 2020", yeah another series ahead of the new decade! As is always the case with what we do, these articles will have an Asian flavour, and every bout we mention in the series will have at least 1 fighter from Asia involved. So for those of you expecting us to talk about Deontay Wilder Vs Anthony Joshua, that won't be listed. What we'll be looking at is well matched contests with either some form of back story, a great stylistic clash or bouts with some form of significant meaning. If they tick all the boxes then that is even better! Each fight will be given it's own article and each of these will come with an introduction to the fighters, and why the bout is being featured in the list. Fight #3 Satoshi Shimizu (8-1, 8) Vs Reiya Abe (19-3, 9) Many of the fights in this serious will feature men with momentum behind them and will be fighters who look like they are heading in the right direct. Here however we have a mouth watering match all southpaw match up between men who suffered major set backs in 2019, and both need a big win in the new year. Neither man will be in a rush to look back over the year, but both will know one big win gets them right back on track for something big towards the end of the year. Better yet this bout pits skills and technique against a crude power puncher. The 33 year old Satoshi Shimizu was an amateur standout, going as far as to take a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics in London. He turned professional in 2016 with big expectations on his shoulders and raced his way to the OPBF Featherweight title in his 4th professional bout, less than 13 months after his debut. Despite his success, which included 4 defenses, there was always an uneasy feeling watching him. Whilst he could punch, and boy did he show that early on, he was defensively very open, often swinging wild, looping shots and leaving himself in place for a counter. This past July he tested the water at Super Featherweight and was beaten into submission by Joe Noynay, in a bout for the WBO Asia Pacific title. That bout saw Noynay make the most of Shimizu's poor defense, and although Shimizu is said to have recovered physically, it's hard to know what mental scars are left for the southpaw slugger. Coming into 2019 Reiya Abe was on a hot streak, and he looked like a man on his way to something special. He had won 11 in a row since a 2015 loss to Shingo Kusano, which he later avenged, and had notched notable wins over Tsuyoshi Tameda, Joe Noynay and Satoshi Hosono. He entered the year the mandatory challenger for the Japanese Featherweight title, though could only manage a draw with Taiki Minamoto in July and then suffered a narrow defeat to Ryo Sagawa in a second title shot. Despite those set-backs he's never looked outclassed, and at 26 there is certainly time for him to rebuild, make slight alterations to his style and go on to have genuine success at the top level. His main issue is that he can be too inactive, and that is an easy thing top fix, especially given how good of a pure boxer he is. With both fighters being legitimately fantastic fighters this sells it's self in terms of names, and the stylistic differences between them makes it a mouth watering one to think about. Shimizu can hurt anyone at Featherweight, if he catches them clean, and Abe on his day is a slippery cat to catch. If Abe can use his skills to out box Shimizu he would be able to take a clear win, but there is always that that chance he gets caught, and Shimizu jumps on him. With both men needing a big win, and with this bout being as interesting on paper as it is, we would love to see this one taking place early in 2020! (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp) As we head towards a new year we've decided to look into our glass balls, our tea leaves and our palms to come up with 20 predictions which will be posted over the coming weeks for what we think will happen in 2020. So far our predictions haven't been the best though they've not all been wrong. In 2013 we predicted that Naoya Inoue, his brother Takuma and Kosei Tanaka would all win world titles. Between them they've won a few world titles, though Takuma has yet to win a proper world title. That same year we also predicted a growth in Chinese boxing, and this arguably happened despite the fact the Macau side of things has died off. We also predicted a growth in Asian fighters making a name for themselves in the US, this was before Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Naoya Inoue or Kazuto Ioka had fought on US soil, and before the wave of Uzbek's had began to attract US attention. Unlike the past, where we have made all of our predictions in 1 article, we'll be spreading these ones out with 1 prediction per article, and going more in depth than we have in the past. Prediction number 14 - A world title fight to be held in Taiwan in 2020! A second straight outlandish prediction sees us prediction that Taiwan will host a world title fight at some point next year, building on the baby steps the country has made in the sport in last year. It's inevitable that growth in boxing in Taiwan is a key thing for the OPBF, who are essentially running the current shows in the country, and with the economy in Taiwan being a strong and stable one it only makes sense that the country will, eventually, become a hub for boxing. It's an economy that is growing, that will be able to bankroll world title fights and is a country that has strong import and export business with Japan and the US, both of whom have strong boxing backgrounds, as well as China, which is a growing boxing market it's self. A bit like Vietnam the country has an untapped market for boxing, and it's a market that could explode in the coming years. If a promoter can plant their flag there, lay down the marker and begin to make a splash there then they will be in on the ground floor and make the most of the boom we suspect will happen in the coming years. Although combat sports do take place in Taiwan, and the country has hosted things like K1 in 2008 and the 2008 East Asian Judo Championships, it has yet to host a major boxing event. That will change, it's just a matter of when, and why should they wait? World title fights, to us boxing fans, might be the key bouts but in reality to countries they are also status symbols. The Thrilla in Manila, The Rumble in the Jungle, the Clash on the Dunes are all status symbol events, for a country to tell the world they are something big. A show in Taiwan would do something similar and prove that it's a viable player for major sporting events going forward. We suspect that the country won't host any super fights any time soon, but we are predicting a world title fight, likely a women's world title fight, ends up in Taiwan in the back of the year of the country makes a statement and as promoters look for new regions to swarm to. The Chinese market is growing, the Vietnamese market is opening up and the Taiwanese boxing market, sponsored by microchip companies, could use the sport to sell the country as being something very special. The Rookie of the Year tournament can be a risky competition to predict at the best of times, though for us one man has stood out so much this far into the tournament that we're already happy to introduce him just days before his All Japan final. That man is Katsuki Mori (5-0, 1) the Ohashi gym prospect who scarcely lost a round since making his debut in August 2018. Since then the 19 year old has shown himself to be an incredible young talent, who will almost certainly use the Rookie of the Year as a lunch pad to bigger and better things in a career that truly promises so much. Mori has really impressed since turning professional last year, though few would have expected that given his very short amateur career. In the unpaid ranks the youngster fought just 16 times, going 11-5. Despite that lack of experience he was a natural in the professional ranks, and was just 17 when he won his debut in just 136 second, stopping Akira Ichihara. That debut came on a card that featured fellow Ohashi gym fighters Akira Yaegashi, Sho Nakazawa, Satoshi Shimizu, Kazuki Nakajima and Tsuyoshi Tameda. Given those are the people he is looking up to, training alongside and learning from it's little wonder the youngster has developed a very relaxed in ring demeanour and looks incredibly calm where ever he is in the ring. Less than 2 months after making his debut, at Korakuen Hall, Mori was back in the ring fighting against the debuting Shu Nawai on the under-card of Naoya Inoue's bout with Juan Carlos Payano. Inoue, the star of the Ohashi Gym, may have been the man everyone was raving about after the event, but the handful of fans who were through the entire event would have had the chance to see Mori take a 4 round over Nawai, and show what he could do. Those who missed Mori and Nawai here did however have a chance to see them fight again in 2019, but more about that later. This year has seen Mori advancing through the Rookie of the Year, and building his reputation at the Korakuen Hall. The youngster's first Rookie of the Year bout saw him shut out Ryo Sasaki in April, in what was a fantastic performance from the youngster. That moved him into the next round of the Rookie of the Year, which was supposed to see him take on Kaito Kakumu, though the bout never took place as Kakumu was unable to take part. Instead Mori got a bye to the East Japan semi-final. That was where he first caught our eye, with a brilliant win over Kengo Hatsushika. The bout saw Mori forcing boxing his way inside, then out landing and out fighting Hatsushika with some fantastic body shots, and sharp counters on the inside. This did not look like a performance of a typical 3-0 youngster, but a much more accomplished fighter who knew the value of body shots. In Mori's East Japan Rookie of the Year final he again clashed with Shu Nawai, and once again picked up a clear win. He looked very much like a star in the making, with flashes of pure brilliance, very good ring IQ, a wonder jab and an ability to dictate the distance and tempo of the bout. This was, we suspect, a glimpse of a future world champion and a showing of what the youngster can already do. It's obvious that training at the Ohashi gym, alongside some of the best fighters in Japan, has helped Mori become very comfortable in the ring, and a win on December 22nd in the Rookie of the Year final will certainly help establish him as one to follow over the coming years. This young man is a real talent, and we look forward to seeing just how far he can go, and how much he'll develop in the coming years. As boxing fans we love to complain about the sport, and talk about the negatives. We highlight so much bad that we sometimes forget why we even enjoy the sport. This week however we remembered why we love boxing, and for one of the few times this year we had a week that had a lot more good than bad. It wasn't a flawless week, but it was a great week, both in Asia and internationally, with some great fights, amazing action and brilliant match ups. We had some bout, of course we did, but that bad was easily outweighed by the good.
As a result we've mixed up the format for this week's "The good, the Bad and the Ugly" with extra goods, and fewer negatives...after all 'tis the season to be jolly! The Good 1 - Hironori Mishiro Vs Yoshimitsu Kimura Seeing bouts exceed expectations is sort of a hope now a days in boxing. We don't often see it though, and more often than not a bout fails to meet the bare minimum that we'd expect. This week the OPBF Super Featherweight title fight between Hironori Mishiro and Yoshimitsu Kimura easily out did anything we'd have expected, with the two men putting on a really competitive, exciting and action packed fight. Their was a lack of drama at times, but it was a fight that was consistently good for 12 rounds and swung one way then the other. This was a captivating and truly enjoyable bout where both fighters came out looking better than they had going in. 2 - Mammoth Nakayama's massive KO against Lerdchai Chaiyawed On Sunday in Kariya the 20 year old Mammoth Nakayama scored a late contender for KO of the year as he completely cleaned the clock of Thai visitor Lerdchai Chaiyawed. The hard hitting Nakayama had been out of the ring for over a year and was taking on an opponent who had never been stopped, and had taken some good fighters the distance, but was totally laid out by a monster of a left hand. This is as sweet a shot as Nakayama will ever land and boy did it look sensational to see Lerdchai's body instantly turn off. 3 - Yuki Beppu Vs Ryota Yada video released A week ago Yuki Beppu and Ryota Yada battled in a FOTY contender, with 6 knockdowns, power shots from both, excitement through out and serious amounts of heart. Their was a worry that the bout wasn't going to be made available, but in the middle of the week it was finally uploaded to the A-sign boxing youtube channel and, man what a fight! 4 - Yudai Shigeoka shines We love prospects being fast tracked, and they are rarely put on a trajectory quite like that of Yudai Shigeoka, who beat OPBF champion Lito Dante in just his second professional bout! Whilst this was a 6 round non-title bout it was clear that Shigeoka had the gameplan to beat Dante over a longer distance and it seems very clear that the Watanabe Gym will be pushing their talent youngster into a title bout of some kind in the new year. We love fast tracking, and it's hard not to love the ambition of the Shigeoka brothers. 5 - Bek Bully shows a softer side After disposing of his first 3 opponents in just 6 rounds Bektemir Melikuziev wasn't expected to show he could box this week, but he did. And by that we mean he completely boxed the socks off the tough Vaughn Alexander, shutting out the American over 10 1-sided rounds that saw him not only land at will but essentially shut down the American, who failed to land more than a handful of shots per round. As mentioned already we love seeing fighters fast tracked and it's clear Melikuziev is being fast tracked. Better than just seeing someone being fast tracked is to see them showing something different to their game, and to see Melikuziev box and move, with the ease he did, was a real positive for his career going forward. The Bad 1 - The WBC choose to create another Lightweight title! It wasn't that long ago that the WBA were alone in creating new titles, but now the WBC have seen the benefit of giving world titles out like they are candy. In the space of just a few months we've gone from having 0 WBC Lightweight champions to having a Franchise champion a Champion in recess and a now vacant title, which will have it's vacancy filled in 2020. We couldn't understand why they made the decision to make Vasyl Lomachneko the Franchise champion or why Devin Haney, who has no legitimate world class win, was given the full version of the title. The WBC should have just made it clear that Haney would get a shot in 2020, either at Lomachenko or the winner of the planned 4-title unification bout. Instead they have made a mess, and it was a mess that never needed to be made. 2 - Michael Conlan Vs Vladimir Nkitin We're trying to be positive, really we are, but it's hard to take many positives from the 10 round stinker between Michael Conlan and Vladimir Nkitin, round 8 aside. This was just purely dull, unexciting and did little to make us want to watch Conlan again. As a person the 28 year old Irishman is someone we like, he comes across as honest, and a BS type of guy, but in the ring his bouts are tediously dull and unexciting. We understand why this bout was made, and the story behind it, but did next to nothing to make us want to see either man again. The Ugly 1 - Danny Williams's situation The world of boxing is a strange one at times, and Saturday night in Germany it got strange, strange turn of events. British Heavyweight veteran Danny Williams had been scheduled to fight in Germany but then pulled out. Unlike most pull outs however it doesn't appear that anyone other than the fighter himself knew he wasn't going to be fighting. Most day of fight pull outs see the fighter make the promoter aware. Williams however got to the ring, dressed in street clothes, and then just flat out told the fans he wasn't going to be fighting. We understand a fighters health being the utmost priority but there are so many issues with this bout that Williams' health needs to be questioned to begin with. Why are promoters still using him? Why didn't Williams let the promoter know that he would be cancelling the bout before he got in the ring? And why the fuck is Danny Williams still fighting? As we head towards the new year we've had a big look at the current scene and come up with "20 fights we'd like to see in 2020", yeah another series ahead of the new decade! As is always the case with what we do, these articles will have an Asian flavour, and every bout we mention in the series will have at least 1 fighter from Asia involved. So for those of you expecting us to talk about Deontay Wilder Vs Anthony Joshua, that won't be listed. What we'll be looking at is well matched contests with either some form of back story, a great stylistic clash or bouts with some form of significant meaning. If they tick all the boxes then that is even better! Each fight will be given it's own article and each of these will come with an introduction to the fighters, and why the bout is being featured in the list. Fight #2 Keita Kurihara (15-5, 13) Vs Yusuke Suzuki (11-3, 7) The Bantamweight division has had a lot of attention in recent years, thanks in part to the depth in quality of both fighters and fights. We've obviously seen Naoya Inoue's fantastic bout with Nonito Donaire earlier this year, and going back a little further Shinsuke Yamanaka's bouts with Anselmo Moreno. In regards to the lower weights the Bantamweight division has been the one with the consistent star power, and some of the most exciting bouts. With that in mind we want to see another Bantamweight war, and a fight between Keita Kurihara and Yusuke Suzuki. These two have styles that should gel to give us nothing other than unadulterated violence. At 26 years old Kurihara is coming into his physical prime, and is proving to be a brutal, aggressive monster. He's heavy handed, very exciting, strong and although still somewhat crude he's the type of fighter you do not stand and fight toe-to-toe with. Coming into the new year he's on a real role, with 6 straight wins since a 2017 loss to Hiroaki Teshigawa. That winning run has seen him defeat an interesting array of fighters like Ryan Lumacad, Yuki Strong Kobayashi, Warlito Parrenas and Sukkasem Kietyongyuth. Kurihara can be outboxed, we saw that against Kobayashi, but his power is often too much and Kobayashi was dropped 4 times during their 12 rounder. His aggression is intense and he is edging towards a world title fight in the next year or two,. At 30 years old Suzuki is the much older man, but like Kurihara he's a fighter who loves a fighter. Suzuki was a solid amateur before turning professional way back in 2012. Sadly his career has been rather stop-start, and he lost the entire of 2018 due to injuries. Thankfully however he had a good 2019, and last time out he won a war with Yuta Saito to become the Japanese Bantamweight champion. In the ring he's tough, rough, exciting and aggressive. He's less of a puncher than Kurihara, but has a higher level of activity, and we have seen him battle through real adversity in the past. In fact his bout with Saito saw his face end up swollen and bloodied, but he refused to back down and just bit down and fought back. Like Kurihara he can be out boxed, out moved and out thought, but few will beat him in a straight up fight. In many ways he and Kurihara are made for each other, and neither man would look to take a backwards step. If the bout was made early in 2020 it would be a chance to see the Japanese and OPBF titles being unified, though Suzuki would likely make a mandatory defense first as part of the 2020 Champion Carnival. With that in mind maybe we'll see both men fight once before facing each other in a bout that really would leave fans speechless. This could be a legitimate fight of the year contender, and would see both men take a scary amount of punishment. (Images courtesy of boxmob.jp) |
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