During the 1970's and 1980's South Korea was one of the major players in world boxing, and one of the countries that was not just a major player at world level but also regularly putting on thrilling, well matched contests. One of the many Korean fighters from that era to make a mark was exciting Flyweight Tae Shik Kim (17-3, 13) whose career lasted only around 5 years but saw him fight some very notable names. Kim debuted in May 1977 and fought for the final time in May 1982. Despite his short career he managed to accomplish a decent amount, and featured in 4 world title bouts in the space of 18 months. Sadly though his career ended up whimpering out when he was just 25 years old. With that introduction out of the way, lets take a look at the 5 most significant wins for... Tae Shik Kim, looking at his way up, his signature win and also his last win of note. Tito Abella (January 14th 1979) The first win of real significant for Kim came in January 1979, when the Korean fighter was 21 years old and impressive with power. In the opposite corner to Kim was Tito Aballa, a Filipino who would later go on to fight for a world title. Coming in to this fight Kim was 8-1 (6), riding a 5 fight KO streak, and wanted to make a statement, and he did just that, stopping Abella in the 3rd round of a scheduled 10 rounds. That was the quickest Abella had been stopped up to this point and it was a win that aged pretty nicely with Abella bouncing back with 5 straight wins to earn a shot at WBA Light Flyweight champion Yoko Gushiken in 1979. Chikara Igarashi (November 11th 1979) Around 10 months after the win over Abella we saw Kim score his second win of note as he over-came Japan's Chikara Igarashi. Although not a big name, by any stretch, Igarashi was very well regarded. By this point in his career Igarashi had been a former Japanese champion and a former OPBF champion and, just 6 months earlier, he had battled WBC Flyweight champion Chan Hee Park, going 15 rounds with Park. Although not a world beater Igarashi was a known tough guy and a real test for decent regional level fighters. Impressively Kim stopped him in 3 rounds, giving Igarashi his 5th career stoppage loss in 44 bouts. It was a real statement win against a recent world title challenger, and the type of win that helped make Kim into a genuine contender. Luis Ibarra (February 17th 1980) Just 3 months after beating Igarashi we saw Kim take a big step up in class, taking on WBA Flyweight champion Luis Ibarra. Ibarra was a 26 year old Panamanian, sporting a 19-1 (6) record who had avenged his sole defeat and had won the WBA title just 3 months earlier, upsetting Betulio Gonzalez in Venezuela. Ibarra was, at the time, regarded as a very talented fighter and one of the best Flyweights out there. That was until he ran into Kim, who stopped him in 2 rounds, ripping the the WBA title in what was Kim's career defining victory. This put the Korean on the map internationally, and proved he belonged at the top of the division. Arnel Arrozal (June 29th 1980)
Sadly whilst Kim had shown he belonged at the top of the division his stay there was, sadly, very short and he only made a singlee successful world title defense. That came in June 1980 when he took on Filipino Arnel Arrozal, a former Filipino national champion and a man who had given Chan Hee Park fits in a WBC world title fight. Arrozal gave Kim real questions to answer, and saw Kim needing to go 15 rounds for the first time in his career, ending a 10 fight T/KO streak from the Korean. Arrozal was a legit contender at the time, and gave Kim a genuine test. Sadly however after this bout Arrozal would start racking up losses and when he retired in in 1987 his record read 23-31-3 (6), by then however he was 30 fighting well above his best weight and taking a who's who of rising US and Mexican fighters. After this win Kim would make his US debut, sadly losing the belt in December 1980 to Peter Mathebula in a razor close fight in Los Angeles. This would be the end of a 14 fight winning run for Kim and it was the start of the end for Kim as a notable fighter. Roberto Ramirez (September 4th 1982) Following his title loss Kim struggled to get going again, losing to WBC champion Antonio Avelar in 1981. He then, finally, managed to string back to back wins in 1982, with the seconds of those coming via split decision against Mexican contender Roberto Ramirez. The win was a controversial one, with the view being that it was home cooking for former Korean world champion. It seemed even Kim knew he was on the slide, and rather than continue on he retired, going out on this win. The win over Ramirez, as controversial as it was, improved with age and in 1983 Ramirez fought WBA Super Flyweight champion Jiro Watanabe, and ran the legendary Japanese world champion all the way in a razor thin 15 round bout. Sadly after that loss Ramirez was never the same and went 2-3 in his final 5 bouts.
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When we talk about boxing families there are few as controversial as the Kameda family. Now a days the family is a lot less significant in the world of boxing than it used to be, but in the 2000's and 2010's the family was one of the most notable and significant in the sport. That was due to the success of Koki, Daiki and Tomoki Kameda, the three brothers who all went on to win world titles. Of the trio it is often Daiki Kameda (29-5, 18) who gets the most over-looked and with that in mind we thought we'd take a chance to shine a light on the career of the former 2-weight world champion. To do that we've had a look through his career, and here are we bring you the 5 most significant wins for... Daiki Kameda. 1-Denkaosan Kaovichit II (February 7th 2010) Unlike his brother's Daiki Kameda didn't manage to win his first world title bout, losing famously to Daisuke Naito. In fact he also lost in his second world title fight, losing a close decision to Denkaosan Kaovichit in 2009. Just 4 months after that loss Kameda clashed with Kaovichit for a second time, and this time he went on to win a decision, claiming the WBA Flyweight title in the process. This was the win that finally showed Kameda could win the big one and the the prodigy could put it together when he needed to. At this point he was still only 21, but had he lost he'd have been 15-3 and it would have been hard to imagine him getting another shot any time soon. Despite the win this was not a memorable bout, and Joe Koizumi was very critical of the contest. It wasn't a total stinker, but the highlights were few and far between. This win also saw the Kameda brothers, Daiki and Koki, become the first Japanese brothers to win world titles. 2-Takefumi Sakata (September 25th 2010) Around 7 months after winning the WBA Flyweight title Kameda made his first defense, and took on former champion Takefumi Sakata. The bout saw Kameda successfully defending the title with a clear 12 round and send the 30 year old Sakata into retirement. Although the most amazing bout ever it was a very significant one for a lot of reasons when looking back on Kameda's career. Obviously as a first defense it's a meaningful win, helping solidify his reign, and the fact it came against a former champion also adds to the meaning of the win. Amazingly it was also the first time Kameda had beaten a Japanese opponent, in what was his then 20th professional bout. In fact it would be his only career win against a Japanese opponent, and only his second bout against a Japanese foe, with the other being his loss to Naito in 2007. 3-Silvio Olteanu (December 26th 2010) Just 3 months after beating Sakata in his first title defense Kameda returned for his second defense, taking on Romanian challenger Silvio Olteanu, who would become a genuine stalwart of the European during his long career. Olteanu was the European champion and wasn't expected to give Kameda trouble in Japan. However that's exactly what he did, pushing Kameda to a split decision in what would be Kameda's second and final defense of the title. After this bout Kameda left the Flyweight division, vacating the title just days after this win, with his body out growing the division. Notably this win came on a great show for the Kameda's with Tomoki picking up a low key win and Koki Kameda's winning the WBA "regular" Bantamweight title win, adding to the significance of the victory for Daiki. 4-Raul Hidalgo (September 24th 2011) After leaving the Flyweight division at the start of 2011 Kameda began to make waves at Super Flyweight, with his eyes on becoming a 2-weight world champion. Unlike many top Japanese fighters who move up in weight he wasn't able to secure an immediate world title fight, and instead had to go some way towards earning a shot. To do that he went and won the WBA International title, doing so with a blow out win against Raul Hidalgo in Mexico. This wasn't just a win that opened up a world title opportunity, with the bout serving as an eliminator, for Kameda but was also his first, and only, win on international soil. Unlike his younger brother, Tomoki, who made a name for himself in Mexico, Daiki really was pretty much based completely in Japan with just 2 fights on foreign soil, this one, and his final bout in 2015, a loss to Victor Ruiz in the US. 5-Rodrigo Guerrero (September 3rd 2013) After coming up short in his first attempt to become a 2-weight champion, losing to the then WBA Super Flyweight champion Tepparith Kokietgym in December 2011, it took Kameda almost 2 years to get a second Super Flyweight title fight. That came against Mexican warrior Rodrigo Guerrero in September 2013, in what turned out to be a really, really good fight. Kameda was pushed all the way by Guerrero, but did enough to take the unanimous decision and the IBF Flyweight title. By it's self that wouldn't mean much, but it was a win that helped change the face of Japanese boxing, with Kameda becoming the first Japanese fighter to win an IBF title since the JBC began to recognise the IBF. The previous two Japanese fighters to win IBF titles, Satoshi Shingaki and Katsunari Takayama, didn't have their reigns recognised whilst Kameda did. Not only was this win one that granted Kameda 2-weight champion status, and saw him the first Japanese fighter to win an IBF title since the JBC changed their rules, but it would also be his final career victory. Notably the IBF title also lead to Kameda fighting in a unification bout with Liborio Solis some 3 months later. This bout saw Solis miss weight, and caused a lot of issues for the JBC, the Kameda gym, the IBF, the WBA and the JPBA. Due to Solis missing weight Kameda was unable to lose his title, however that wasn't what fans were lead to believe, leading to a lot of confusion and anger. Had Kameda not beaten Guerrero that mess would have been avoided. Through the years the Asian boxing scene has had some legendary world champions, who will go down in the annals of time as some of the true greats. The likes of Fighting Harada, Khaosai Galaxy, Flash Elorde, Jung Koo Chang and Pongsaklek Wonjongkam to name just a few. It's also had it's share of forgotten champions, and fighters who got lucky, taking a title an never replicating the performance that took them to the top. One such fighter is the often forgotten Shigeo Nakajima (13-5-1, 7), who won the WBC Light Flyweight title more than 40 years ago and rarely ever gets mentioned in any conversations at all. He was tipped for big things when he turned professional but only the hardcore of the hardcore, outside of Japan, will even recognise his name. Sadly for Nakajima his reign as a world champion was a very short one, lasting less than 12 weeks. He was, for all intents a fighter who was in the right place at the right time. He's a fighter who got that one big win, but else his record is a hard one to decipher. With that in mind we've decided to take a look at the 5 most Significant wins for... Shigeo Nakajima...and this is among the most frustrating in this series, as Nakajima really doesn't have many stand out wins. 1-Beaver Kajimoto (December 14th 1976) The first win of real significance for Nakajima came in December 1976 when he took a big step up in class to take on Beaver Kajimoto in his 4th professional bout. Up to this point Nakajima had been facing novices, and fighters with low level experience, nothing to match his own 95 bout amateur career. Just 5 months after his debut he took on the highly experienced Kajimoto, who had had 50 professional bouts and had twice fought to a draw in bouts for the Japanese Flyweight title. Although not a world beater Kajimoto was a legitimate player on the Japanese scene, and Nakajima defeated him in his 4th professional bout. This was a win of real value for Nakajima, and should have been a sign of things to come, though sadly it wasn't. 2-Koichi Maki (June 21st 1977) A really under-rated win came in the summer of 1977 when Nakajima narrowly beat Koichi Maki. The bout was Nakajima's third 10 rounder and this he really had to work for his win with Maki battling hard against the then unbeaten Nakajima. Coming in to the bout Maki had ambitions of his own and had won the 1974 All Japan Rookie of the Year at Flyweight. Despite having 7 losses to his name two of those had come to Yoko Gushiken, and he had been very competitive in a lot of his defeats, as he was with Nakajima. For Nakajima this bout served as a true gut check and a sign that he could dig deep and battle hard. Given this was only his 6th professional bout this was a great victory for the youngster, and was made to look even better when Maki became the Japanese Flyweight champion just 9 months later. 3-Kazunori Tenryu (August 23rd 1977) Nakajima's third bout of note came just months after his win over Maki. Whilst Maki would go on to win a Japanese title Kazunori Tenryu was the then Japanese Light Flyweight champion, and he had held that title since March 1975. Tenryu had challenged for the WBA Light Flyweight title, losing a split decision to Jaime Rios, and had made 8 defenses of the Japanese title. Nakajima took him out in just 3 rounds, getting the Japanese boxing world really excited about his potential. Sadly for Nakajima this wasn't a title bout, and was fought above the Light Flyweight limit, but it was still a very solid win for him, very early early in his career. 4-Hong Soo Yang (November 6th 1979) By the summer of 1979 Nakajima's record had fallen to 9-2-1 (6), with losses to Bernabe Villacampo and Hwan Jin Kim in 1978. The good run he had early on was over and he was struggling. After those losses he would score a couple of easy wins before stepping up once agin. In that step up he faced Hong Soo Yang, an experienced Korean who was the then OPBF Flyweight champion with 3 defenses of that title. The bout was a hotly contested 10 rounder, though, as he had against Maki he dug deep and edged out a close bout to secure his 12th professional win and take a huge step towards a world title fight. 5-Sung Jun Kim (January 3rd 1980) Just 2 months after beating Yang we saw Nakajima have his career defining moment, as he faced off with the then WBC Light Flyweight champion Sung Jun Kim. The Korean had won the title in 1978, dethroning Netrnoi Sor Vorasingh, and had made 3 defenses before travelling to Japan to face Nakajima. For the bout Nakajima had been trained by Joe Kouizumi and the tactics and performance were spot on, with Kim taking a clear win over the Korean to win the title. It was the first time Nakajima had gone more than 10 rounds, it was the first time he had fought for any kind of title, and it was the only time, in his career, that he scored a legitimate top level win. Sadly it would also be the last win of his professional career. Sadly for Nakajima his reign would end on March 24th 1980, losing a close decision to Hilario Zapata. A rematch with Zapata resulted in another loss for Nakajima, who returned to the ring in May 1981 and was stopped by Nobuyuki Watanabe, before being retiring on the back of 3 straight losses. He had reached the pinacle, and then crashed back down to earth, to end what had been a truly under-whelming career, that had promised a lot, but sadly under-delivered. The little men in the sport of boxing often get over-looked despite what they can do in the ring and who they beat. Higher up the scales fighters who achieve less seem to get a lot more plaudits than those who achieve impressive things at lower weights. Sadly this is just part of the sport, and the general perception of boxing. Saying that however some little men do accomplish a lot, often with in only a handful of fights. Today we look at a great example that as we discuss Japanese based Thai Den Junlaphan. "Eagle" Den Junlaphan, also known as Eagle Akakura and Eagle Kyowa only fought 20 times, running up an 18-2 (6) record between 2000 and 2007 but what he did in those 20 bouts was genuinely outstanding and he notched some great wins that aged fantastically well. Despite his very short career he was a 2-time WBC Minimumweight champion, who's first loss was an unfortunate one, from a shoulder injury, and the second came in his final bout in what was a very close contest. Today we get to look at the 5 most significant wins for... Den Junlaphan a man who perhaps is now a forgotten face of the Minimumweight division despite featuring in 9 world title bouts, dethroning a long term champion and scoring wins over several notable names. Nico Thomas (January 5th 2002) For the first significant win on Junlaphan's record we go all the way back to January 2002 for what was his 6th professional bout and his second since relocating to Japan. The bout saw him take on former IBF Minimumweight world champion Nico Thomas from Indonesia. By this point Thomas was a faded force, he was well past his best years and at 35 years old he was over a decade removed from being a world champion. The idea though wasn't to see Junlaphan tested here, but for the Thai to make a statement of intention, which he did by stopping Thomas in 3 rounds. Jose Antonio Aguirre (January 10th 2004) After picking up 4 more wins after his victory over Nico Thomas we saw Junlaphan take a huge step up to face the then WBC Minimumweight champion Jose Antonio Aguirre from Mexico. By this point Aguirre was 30-1-1 (19), he was 28 years old, had held the WBC title for close to 4 years and had amassed 7 defenses. Although he had a loss to his name had gone unbeaten in over 6 years and had scored a number of world level wins over very good opponents. Although Aguirre was a world class fighter he was made to look very, very poor by Junlaphan. The Thai was was too quick, too sharp, too smart and too good. He made Aguirre miss, a lot, out landed the Mexican and pretty much controlled the action from the first round to final bell. Aguirre had a few brief moments of success but after 12 rounds it was clear the challenger had taken a clear decision and the WBC title. Katsunari Takayama (August 6th 2005) Sadly for Junlaphan his first reign as the WBC Minimumweight champion was a short lived one. He made a single defense before losing the title to Isaac Bustos in December 2004 due to a shoulder injury he suffered in round 3, which forced him to retire the following round. The following August he got a chance to reclaim the title as he took on Katsunari Takayama, who was enjoying his first world title reign. Despite a good, brave and typically high energy effort from Takayama he was out boxed by the clean, straight punching of Den Junlaphan. The effort from Takayama was great through out but the 22 year was just not quite the fighter he would later become. For Junlaphan this was his first bout after the injury and saw him become a 2-time champion. In the years that followed this win aged amazingly, with Takayama later becoming a multi-time champion and one of the key fighters at 105lbs over the following decade. Rodel Mayol (May 6th 2006) Thankfully for Junlaphan his second reign was a much longer one than his first, and saw him scoring 4 defenses, including 2 really notable ones. The first of those came 9 months after he won the title, when he took a hard fought decision over the then unbeaten Filipino Rodel Mayol. Mayol was 22-0 when he entered and gave a really good account of himself, making his aggression count for something against the skills of Junlaphan. Despite a very good effort from the Filipino he would go on to lose here, with the classier work, and the cleaner punching from Junlaphan being the difference. As with the win over Takayama this was a win that aged really well, Mayol would, in 2009, move up in weight and claim the WBC Light Flyweight title with a huge, and controversial, upset win over Edgar Sosa. Akira Yaegashi (June 4th 2007)
The second of Junlaphan's notable defenses saw him defeat a then 6-0 Akira Yaegashi. The talented Yaegashi was being fast tracked following an early OPBF title win, and was being groomed as a future star for Japan. Sadly for the then unbeaten challenger he would suffer a jaw injury during the bout, and have to fight through some real pain en route to losing a clear decision to Junlaphan. Yaegashi certainly had moments, early on, but the fight came a bit too early for him and Junlaphan was a bit too experienced and class for the future 3 weight world champion. This was not just the final defense for Junlaphan but also his final fight in Japan. Given what Yaegashi accomplished in the years after this fight this is a brilliant win to have on the record of Junlaphan and is one that will always stand out, despite the fact Yaegashi was still such a novice. Although not the most exciting of fighters, or the most explosive or powerful, Junlaphan was a aggressive but skilled boxer, a real talent who looked a natural in the ring. It's a shame his career was as short as it was, and we feel he really could have done much more. His career was brief, but it was very, very meaningful and in a way educated two of the Japanese stars of the future. It can be strange to think that some fighters who win Linear titles, essentially meaning they are the man who beat the man who beat the man, but are regarded as little more than transitional champions of sorts. One great example of this is Japan's Toshiyuki Igarashi. Igarashi had competed at the 2004 Olympics and he had been a stellar fighter on the Japanese domestic amateur scene before heading to the professional ranks in 2006. The expectations were on his shoulders early on with Teiken having big hopes for him as a new Flyweight star. He ticked all the boxes. He was young, 22 when he made his debut, talented, a great amateur, and a southpaw with a good frame for the weight. Sadly Igarashi's career was overshadowed in the end by another Teiken southpaw who debuted in 2006, Shinsuke Yamanaka, but he went on to have a decent, if some what underwhelming, career of his own. And today we look at the 5 most significant wins for... Toshiyuki Igarashi. Tomoya Kaneshiro (August 2nd 2008) The first win of real note on Igarashi's record came in August 2008, less than 2 years after his professional debut, and saw him take a split decision win over Tomoya Kaneshiro for "interim" Japanese Flyweight title. The win was Igarashi's first against an opponent coming to win but it was more than that. Kaneshiro had been a former Rookie of the Year winner, had lost just once in 15 bouts and had genuinely wanted to win the interim title. He gave as good as he got, and pushed Igarashi 10 rounds for the first time in Igarashi's career. The bout saw Igarashi being tested, and only narrowly coming out on top in what was a very hotly contested bout. The win also lead Igarashi to get a shot at regular champion Tomonbu Shimizu in December 2008, which he sadly lost. Takayasu Kobayashi (February 5th 2011) More than 2 years after losing to Tomonobu Shimizu we saw Igarashi get his second shot at a full Japanese title, as he took on Takayasu Kobayashi in February 2011. The title had been vacated by Shimizu, who was head for bigger things with a world title in his eyes, and Igarashi was getting a shot. This time Igarashi made the most of his shot, stopping Kobayashi in 3 rounds to claim the title. Whilst Kobayashi isn't a notable fighter himself the win, netting Igarashi title title, is a huge victory and certainly one of his most significant victories. It was also a victory that proved he had connected with the Japanese fans who were incredibly loud through the bout. Wilbert Uicab (November 6th 2011) After defending the Japanese title just once, with a technical decision win over Kenji Yoshida, we saw Igarashi step up again and take on Mexican Wilbert Uicab in a WBC world title eliminator. This really was a big step up for Igarashi and wasn't the most exciting of contests, with the styles not really clicking very well early on, and the bout becoming quite messy late on. Despite the style of the fight not being the most entertaining, and seeing Uicab being the one who brought the fight, it did result in a close decision win for Igarashi who became the mandatory for the WBC Flyweight title. This mean he had secure his first world title fight, and was finally on the verge of living up to the expectations Teiken had for him early on. Sonny Boy Jaro (July 16th 2012) When Igarashi beat Uicab to become the mandatory challenger the WBC Flyweight champion was the legendary Pongsaklek Wonjongkam. Whilst Igarashi was waiting for his shot Wonjongkam was surprisingly upset, in March 2012, by Filipino Sonny Boy Jaro. Just 4 months after that bit win Jaro headed off to face Igarashi in Japan in a mandatory defense. As with many Igarashi bouts with was a close contest with Igarashi to work at range, showing some of his amateur skills but never really hurting Jaro, who looked to land the bigger single shots, and caught the eye with some booming right hands. This was a lot more entertaining than some Igarashi fights, and he did look fantastically skilled at times, but the key thing here was that Igarashi had claimed the WBC and Linear Flyweight throne. He was now the man at Flyweight. Nestor Daniel Narvaes (November 3rd 2012)
Sadly for Igarashi his reign was a short one with only a single successful defense, with that coming against Nestor Daniel Narvaes in November 2012. On paper this was an easy first defense but it needed up being a really close, and oddly compelling, contest with both men being deducted points for headclashes, both men being bloodied and both men genuinely giving a good account of themselves. Sadly the bout proved what many had come to to expect. Igarashi simply wasn't elite level, and was struggling to get past fighters like Narvaes. After 12 rounds Igarashi got the majority decision but his reign wouldn't last much longer with Akira Yaegashi dethroning him in April 2013. After losing to Yaegashi we never really saw what Igarashi could do again. He continued on but wasn't the same fighter due recurring injuries and a lot of bouts that ended following head clashes. After the loss to Yaegashi we saw Igarashi go 6-2-1 (2) with 4 bouts ending in technical decisions, before he lost at the end of 2017 to Sho Kimura in what was Igarashi's final bout. For us one of the best things about these on going series we do is that we can shine a light on a fighter who is perhaps somewhat forgotten or not too well known. Of course we cover some bigger names in these series, and last week we did do Koki Kameda in this very series, but we also like to talk about more obscure fighters. With that in mind were going to take a look at former WBC Super Flyweight champion In Joo Cho today and look at his 5 most significant wins. For those aren't aware of Cho he was a fabulous amateur who turned professional in the early 1990's and was moved quickly. In just his 13th fight the claimed the WBC Super Flyweight title and he would hold that title from 1998 to 2000, making 5 defenses, before ending his career in 2001. He was a talented boxer who lacked power but made up for that with his skills, movement and ring craft. Sadly though he is one of the final Korean world champions. With that introduction out of the way lets now look at the 5 most significant wins for... In Joo Cho Tacy Macalos (January 30th 1994) The first significant win for In Joo Cho came in just his 6th professional bout, as he took on former IBF Light Flyweight champion Tacy Macalos. Whilst Macalos was well past his best by this point, and fighting well above his best weight, it was still a huge step up in class for Chi who took a 10 round decision over Macalos. Sadly for Macalos he would only fight once more after this, losing in 3 rounds to Puma Toguchi. Given this was Cho's 6th professional bout and came only 21 months after his debut it was a very good win and a clear statement from him that he had the skills to go places. Sadly though this win was followed by some relatively low level bouts. Gerry Penalosa I (August 29th 1998) More than 4 years after beating Tacy Macalos we saw Cho finally take the step up to world class. By now he was 12-0 and had been ticking over for a year or two by this point. It seemed very much like his team thought "now or never", and brought over WBC Super Flyweight champion Gerry Penalosa to face Cho. By this point Penalosa had defended the belt 3 times, including a defense in Korea against Young Joo Cho. This turned into a really technical bout between two talented and hugely skilled fighters, but two men who refused to take unnecessary risks. As a result of their styles the bout never really caught fire. Cho was happy to jab and move on the outside whilst Penalosa would pressure but show little in terms of fire. Technically this was pretty high level chess, but it did lack drama, and was certainly not an exciting contest with Cho being ultra negative. It was a controversial one though, with the judges giving the 27 year old Korean a majority decision win. It was one which he didn't really deserve, but it was a significant one leading Cho to a world title, and essentially leading to the two men having a rematch, which we'll talk about a little later on. Again with this series we only look at the significance of a win, not whether the right man got the decision. Pone Saengmorakot (June 13th 1999) After winning the title with a controversial win Cho was lucky in his first defense, narrowly defeating Joe Luna Zarate in is first defense. It seemed like the days were number on his reign as he stepped into the ring for his second defense, taking on the then 18-0 Pone Saengmorakot. We were all expecting another close bout, and another less than thrilling encounter. Cho, it seemed, was not true championship material. And then he did what no one really expected and blasted Pone out. Seemingly aware of the criticism he was getting Cho seemed more aggressive here in what was a pretty interesting fight, much more so than the score-cards suggested, until round 8. In round 8 Cho landed the punch of his career, a perfect short right hand that sent Pone crashing to the canvas. This was the only stoppage Cho would score in his world title bouts and would be a KO that would get played over and over. In terms the win, this is the win that gave Pone his highlight reel KO, was a relatively fun bout and one of his very few unquestionable wins at world level. Keiji Yamaguchi (September 5th 1999) Talking about unquestionable wins we need to mention Cho's 1999 win over Japanese challenger Keiji Yamaguchi. For this bout Cho actually travelled, making his international debut, as he took on Yamaguchi in Tokyo. Yamaguchi had previously held the WBA Light Flyweight title and was looking to become a 2-weight world champion. The Korean was facing the perfect foil here, a smaller man who lacked power and was relatively low risk. The bout saw Cho box well at range, tie up when he needed to, and easily out box the Japanese local, who was often chasing shadows. Although it was a clear decision for Cho, and did come on the road, it was another example of him fighting negatively, doing what he needed to win, but not entertaining. A win, in Japan, for a Korean world champion, is pretty big news. It's just a shame that the significance of the victory over shadowed the quality of the fight. Gey Penalosa II (January 2nd 2000) In his fifth defense Cho took on the man he controversially beat for the title in a long over-due rematch. This time around Penalosa was the challenger, though was again in Korea for the bout. Knowing what had happened last time Penalosa knew the judging wasn't going to be favourable to him and came out more offensive than in his first bout to Cho. He wasn't following Cho as he had in their first bout, but was pressing and letting his hands go. Cho seemingly realised he was in with a man who had a more offensive mindset this time around and knew he had to fight back more. Once again Cho was most on the back foot, moving, tying up when he needed to, but he did show more than he had in his first fight with Penalosa. It however didn't seem enough, and we suspect the referee knew that when he deducted Penalosa a point for having too much water in his corner. That water had caused Cho to slip, twice, and gave the referee a chance to help out the local. Although the point deduction didn't actually matter on the scorecards in the end, it was a clear sign that Penalosa was going to need a stoppage to get the win. Sadly for him he was unable to get that as Cho remained on his bike in the later rounds. After 12 rounds Cho took a split decision, winning by 3 points on two of the cards. This was a gutting feeling for Penalosa, who probably shouldn't have lost either bout, but another very significant, albeit hugely controversial win for Cho. Sadly for Cho his reign ended ended less than 8 months later, as he was out pointed by Masamori Tokuyama in Japan. A rematch with Tokuyama saw him being knocked out, and then retiring in 2001 with a record of 18-2 (7). Although a fantastic talent Cho was also very, very negative, didn't make for fun fights and had more than his share of questionable decisions. Despite that the record books shows two wins over Gerry Penalosa and they will always been very significant, even if they should both have been losses. We kick off a new year with this series and focus on a controversial Japanese fighter in the form of Koki Kameda (33-2, 18), a man who truly split Japanese fans. He had his lovers, he had his haters, and he had little between. Although a controversial figure he gave Japanese boxing a real boost and helped TBS to some of their best ratings of the 21st century. He also managed to win world titles in 3 weight classes, albeit with some WBA madness in the Bantamweight division and scored numerous notable wins. Whilst never the out and out best in any weight class Kameda was a key figure from Light Flyweight to Bantamweight. He was a fighter who drew massive TV audience, and the desire some fans had to see him beat helped make him a big star, as did his general attitude, his arrogance and his loud mouth. He was the man Osakan fans needed after Joichiro Tatsuyoshi's career at the top came to an end, and he was one of the men at the forefront of Japanese boxing in the 00's. Like him or hate him, Koki Kameda was a major figure in lower weight boxing, a force in Asian boxing and a massive player in Japanese boxing, and with that said let us bring you the 5 most significant wins for... Koki Kameda! Noel Arambulet (November 26th 2005) An obvious first choice for Koki Kameda's first significant win was his June 2005 win over Saman Sorjaturong and it was in contention here, however when put into some perspective it was a rather meaningless win. Although Saman was a huge name in the lower weights in the 1990's by 2005 he was shot to pieces and had picked up just 1 win in the previous 4 years, whilst losing 4 bouts. He was a shadow of himself. Venezuelan fighter Noel Arambulet on the other hand had been a world champion in 2004, losing WBA the belt in a competitive bout to Yutaka Niida, in their second bout. Not only was Arambulet relevant at the time Kameda beat him but he had never been stopped, and had a number of wins over Japanese fighters. This wasn't Kameda picking on a faded name to beat up but was a relevant contender that he stopped in 7 rounds silencing the critics who complained about his first 8 bouts coming against Thai foes. Notably Arambulet remained a notable fighter right through to 2008, when he fought for the final time, making this win a stellar one for Kameda that aged well. Juan Jose Landaeta I (August 2nd 2006) Less than a year after proving his value against Arambulet we saw Kameda get his first world title fight, and take on another Venezuelan opponent, as he took on Juan Jose Landaeta for the vacant WBA Light Flyweight title. The talented Landaeta had never won a world title but was very much a world class fighter, and hadpreviously held "interim" honours. He proved to be a huge step up for Kameda, dropping the Japanese fighter in the first round and then giving as good as he got through a very hotly contested 12 round fight. At the final bell it seemed like Kameda was set to suffer his first loss, but got the run of the green and took a split decision victory. The result sent Japanese boxing fans, and media in to an outrage, and saw fans apologising to Landaeta through the embassy. This win was as controversial as they come but saw Kameda winning the WBA Light Flyweight title, his first world title and boosting his profile massively. The controversy lead to an immediate rematch, which Kameda easily won, but still left a bad taste in mouth of local fans. This was the win that put Kameda's name at the forefront of everyone's mind in Japan and it's really hard to over-state how huge this win was, despite the massive black cloud cast by the decision. Daisuke Naito (November 29th 2009) Kameda's stay at Light Flyweight was a relatively short one, with his only world title defense being the rematch with Landaeta. He then vacated the title and moved up in weight to chase a second world title. He finally got his shot in 2009 in a massive all-Japanese bout with the then WBC Flyweight champion Daisuke Naito. The bout had everything going for it. Not only did Naito have the WBC title but he also had a huge win over Koki's brother Daiki Kameda, a win that had seen Daiki come close to getting disqualified in the final round for a variety of fouls, that had been encouraged by Koki and their father Shiro. Despite the animosity between the two fighters the bout was actually a surprisingly tame affair with Kameda using his younger, fresher, faster legs to easily out box the slower, older, Naito. At the time Kameda was 23 whilst Naito was 35, ancient for a Flyweight, and the age difference showed. Kameda won, but put on one of his least exciting performances, knowing that a win here was more important than putting on a show. This wasn't the best bout Kameda was in, but was, for us at least, his biggest and best win. It was a win that saw him claiming not just the WBC title but also the Lineal championship, and it was the first time he faced a fellow Japanese fighter. Due to the build up and expectations regarding the bout the fight managed to draw an average of 43.1% of TV audience and peaked at a frankly staggering 51.2%, making it the most viewed broadcast of anything in Japan in 2009! Alexander Munoz (December 26th 2010) Sadly for Kameda his reign at Flyweight was even shorter than his reign at Light Flyweight, losing the belt in his first defense to Thai legend Pongsaklek Wonjongkam. He then skipped Super Flyweight all together, until his final career bout, and campaigned at Bantamweight. His first fight at 118lbs saw him take on the big punching Alexander Munoz for the WBA "regular" Bantamweight title. For Kameda it was a chance to become the first Japanese "3-weight" world champion, but to do so he would have to get past a man who had developed a reputation as a Japan Killer. Munoz, the third Venezuelan on this list, had beaten the likes of Celes Kobayashi, Eiji Kojima, Hidenobu Honda, Nobuo Nashiro, Kuniyuki Aizawa and Katsushige Kawashima in Japan. He had never lost on Japanese soil. That was until Kameda beat him, dropping Munoz in round 12 en route to a clear decision. Whilst becoming a "3 weight champion" was impressive the win also saw Koki and Daiki both holding world titles at the same time, becoming the first Japanese brothers to hold world titles. This was a major achievement and was later followed by Tomoki winning a world title, to leave all 3 Kameda's as world champions and put them in the Guinness Book of World Records. Jung Oh Son (November 19th 2013) Our final choice will likely raise a few eyebrows, as Jung Oh Son was certainly not the biggest name that Koki Kameda beat during his WBA Bantamweight world title reign. It was also not his biggest win as a Bantamweight world champion, especially given beat the talented Hugo Ruiz. The bout however is a massively significant win from an historic point of view, and we do love history in this series. The bout saw Kameda travel to South Korea to defeat the relatively Son, who dropped Kameda in the 10th round but didn't do enough to dethrone the Japanese fighter. The bout, which strangely used the 1/2 point scoring system, saw Kameda narrowly retain his title in what was his final defense of the belt. What made this win so significant is that it was only the fifth time a Japanese male world champion had retain a title on foreign soil, making him the fourth man to achieve the feat, and the second in Korea. The win was followed by the WBA ordering Kameda to face "Super" champion Anselmo Moreno. Kameda wasn't a fan of that bout, and decide to vacate the title, before out of the ring issues curtailed his career for almost a year. He would returning in November 2014 to score his final win before losing to Kohei Kono in 2015, in the first ever all-Japanese world title bout on US soil. Following that loss retired from professional boxing, though has remained a notable figure within the sport. Fighting on Christmas isn't a regular thing but rather notably Thai fighter Tepparith Kokietgym (35-3, 22) actually fought twice on Christmas day, in 2009 and 2015, so with that in mind we thought he was the perfect fighter to cover in today's "The 5 most significant wins for". Tepparith was a talented Thai who excelled at boxing, winning the WBA Super Flyweight title, and was also a notable kick boxer having a fantastic dual sport career. Whilst he wasn't a star in either sport he was a solid competitor in both and had genuine success in both. As always however we're only going to look at his boxing contests, and rather notable a lot of his best wins took place over a rather small window of time. They did however include 4 very good wins, and one that has long gone under-rated. With all that said, here are the 5 most significant wins for... Tepparith Kokietgym Rey Megrino (September 19th 2010) We'll start with the under-rated win which saw the future WBA Super Flyweight champion notching a win over someone who has gone criminally over-looked by so many. The win in question saw Tepparith defeating Filipino fighter Rey Megrino in September 2010. On paper this isn't a win that generate much attention, after all Megrino finished his career with a 24-20-4 (21) record and was 12-13-2 when Tepparith beat him. What that ignore is that Megrino had only been stopped 3 times previous to Tepparith taking him out, and had gone the distance with a number of world class fighters, and would late go the distance with the likes of Marlon Tapales, Arthur Villanueva and Pungluang Sor Singyu. In fact after this bout Megrino would go 12-6-2 and find himself in the world rankings. This is a seriously under-rated scalp on Tepparith's record. Drian Francisco (May 1st 2011) Whilst the win over Megrino is very under-rated it's Francisco's win over Drian Francisco in May 2011 that really helped put Tepparith on the map, with the Thai winning the WBA "interim" Super Flyweight title. The bout was a really competitive one, with the unbeaten Francisco running Tepparith really close in a hotly contested bout. After 12 rounds almost nothing separated the two men, but a 3rd round knockdown, scored by Tepparith, proved vital with two scores of 114-113 in his favour, as well as a wide 117-111 score. The win saw Tepparith claiming the "interim" title in his 20th professional bout and ending the 21 fight unbeaten streak of the then touted Francisco. Sadly footage of this one is poor, but it was clear from what was visible that Tepparith was a genuine talent, despite being relatively unknown going into the contest. Daiki Kameda (December 7th 2011) Despite only winning the "interim" title against Francisco strings were pulled behind the scene for Tepparith to be upgraded by the time he had his next fight. The situation here was a bizarre one where the Japanese Boxing Commission essentially told the WBA that their interim title was worthless and that their world champion had defended the belt at the end of August, just 3 months earlier. Due to the WBA being the WBA they WBA'd and made Shimizu the champion in recess, upgraded Tepparith and took a sanctioning fee from a bout with Tepparith defending against Daiki Kameda. Despite the politics before the bout the contest was a genuinely good one, and an often over-looked bout of inside fight and toe-to-toe exchanges. It wasn't a fight of the year contender, but was an entertaining little war that saw Tepparith take a close but fair unanimous decision win. Despite being the champion coming in to the bout this was a bit of a coming out party for Tepparith, who was the much less well known fighter. This win was huge for Tepparith and started a brilliant little run where he beat 3 successive Japanese fighters. Tomobu Shimizu (April 4th 2012) The second Japanese fighter from Tepparith's run saw him take on "champion in recess" Tomonbu Shimizu, in what was essentially a WBA unification bout of their "Regular" and "In Recess" titles. Prior to the contest the WBA had stated that a draw would result in the men being "Co-Champions", yes the WBA tried to WBA again. Thankfully we avoided a much feared draw as Tepparith went on to stop Shimizu in the 9th round, though going into that round a draw was certainly not beyond the realm of possibilities. The bout was a well fought chess match for the most part, very well fought and competitive with Tepparith applying pressure on the Japanese man and eventually breaking him down to become the WBA's "regular" champion. But not their only champion, as Liborio Solis had now been crowned their interim champion. Nobuo Nashiro (September 1st 2012)
To complete 3 major wins in a row against Japanese fighters, and thus earning the "Japan killer" moniker, Tepparith went on to record his third defense of the WBA Super Flyweight title by out pointing the teak tough Nobuo Nashiro. Nashiro, a former 2-time champion himself, proved to be hungry and desperately wanted to become a 3-time champion. This was an ultra-close and competitive bout with little between them as the styles gelled well. Tepparith boxed well, used his feet when he needed to and jabbed well, whilst Nashiro, picked his moments to strike making for a really tough to score and compelling contest. In the end however the champion retained his title with a razor thin majority decision. For Nashiro, who would get one more big fight, this was as close as he came to becoming a 3-time champion. As for Tepparith this would actually be his final defense, with the Thai losing the belt a few months later when he was stopped by Kohei Kono, who salvaged his career with a major upset over the Thai. After losing his title Tepparith never really came close to fighting at the top level again, a real shame as he looked a class fighter when he was at his best and likely could have been in the mix over the year that followed his loss. Of course with this going up on Christmas we want to wish you all have an amazing Christmas, especially after the year we've all had! Stay safe and enjoy the end of year celebrations, whatever they may be! Not many modern day fans out there will be too familiar with Korean Super Flyweight Chul Ho Kim (19-3-2, 9) but during his short career he was a very notable figure with some huge wins. His career ran from 1978, when he was just 17, to 1983 but in just over 5 years he had 24 bouts including 7 at world level. Sadly his career didn't end well, with Kim failing to win any of his final 3 bouts, but that was due to being burnt out by his team, who really should have treat their young prodigy much better. In fact the way they matched him at times was nothing short of reckless and endangered him in ways that young fighters shouldn't be risked. Of course we're not here today to talk about mismanagement of a fighter but instead we're here to look at the 5 most significant wins for... Chul Ho Kim. Rafael Orono I (January 24th 1981) Aged 19 when he travelled to San Cristobal in Venezuela Chul Ho Kim wasn't expected to be much of a challenger for the then WBC Super Flyweight champion Rafael Orono, who was sporting a 13-0-1 (5) record. Kim was seen as being such an under-dog that the Korean media didn't pay the bout much attention. What ended up happening however that the Korean teenager shocked everyone with a huge upset win. Through the first 8 rounds of the bout the skills and movement of Orono were too good for the gutsy Korean teenager. In round 9 however a combination of body shots from Kim hurt Orono who took a knee and was counted out in agony. This win for Chul instantly turned him into a Korean boxing star and world champion. Jiro Watanabe (April 22nd 1981) Less than 3 months after winning the WBC Super Flyweight title Kim made his first defense, taking on the then 10-0 Jiro Watanabe. The bout was an interesting and well fought contest, despite having it's share of controversy, and was a high speed chess match with the Japanese southpaw showing what he could do against the young Korean champion. After 15 rounds Kim would take a controversial and questionable decision to retain his title. Whilst some wins are huge when they happen this is a win that aged amazingly well with Watanabe later winning the WBA and WBC titles at the weight. With Kim being the first man to defeat him the win is a real statement of what Kim could do, even if the scorecards could, and should, be question. Whilst not the best bout ever this is well worthy of a watch, not just to get a look at Kim but to also see a young Watanabe showing off what he could do. Willie Jensen (July 29th 1981) In his second defense of the WBC Super Flyweight title Kim took on American challenger Willie Jensen, who had previously fought to a draw with Rafael Orono. The bout was a rather interesting one at times, but became very messy with Jensen tiring down the stretch and holding a lot in round 11. As the challenger ran out of steam the champion kept coming and in round 13 an exhausted Jensen was put down from a series of body shots as the tried to smother the champion. The challenger was unable to beat the count as Kim extended his reign. The crowd for this bout, at the Kudok Gym, seemed huge and it was clear that fans were well and truly on the Kim express by now. Sadly however this was Kim's third bout in just over 6 months, and was another long and damaging one for the Korean, who should have been given a break afterwards. Jackal Maruyama (November 18th 1981)
In Kim's third defense of the WBC Super Flyweight title he faced off with Japanese national champion Jackal Maruyama. The bout was a rough one with Maruyama being stopped in round 9 as a cut forced the referee to step in. This would be Maruyama's only world title bout and would hasten his decline as a fighter, with the Japanese fighter winning just 1 of his next 4. To his credit Maruyama did bounce back, and went on to win 4 of his last 6, but Kim ended his hopes of being a world champion. As for Kim the bout was his third defenses within 10 months of winning the title. Whilst he had won the bout had taken a toll on him and he had 58 rounds in the space of 10 months, hastening his decline. Koki Ishii (February 10th 1982) Less than 3 month after going to war with Maruyama we saw Kim return for this his defense, as the Korean took on the then 9-0 Koki Ishii. By this point Kim had been a world champion for a little over a year and was already looking to make his fourth defense, his second against an unbeaten challenger. Although Ishii hadn't won anything domestically in the professional ranks he had been fast tracked following a successful amateur career, which had included winning a medal at the 1978 World boxing championship's. That fast track had seen him beating the Japanese and OPBF Flyweight champions in non-title bouts. Despite Ishii's impressive amateur credentials and fast rise through the ranks he was stopped in 8 rounds by Kim who made his 4th successful defense. Sadly for Kim the fight was the start of the end for him and would turn out to be his final win. He retained the title the following July with a draw against Raul Valdez before losing the belt in November 1982 to Rafael Orono, and then lost his final bout, in 1983, to Prayurasak Muangsurin. After his in ring career Kim remained in the sport and played a major role in the rise, and success, of the hugely popular and exciting Sung Kil Moon. With just 29 bouts to his name Muangchai Kittikasem (25-4, 17) had a brilliant career. He was a 2-weight world champion, won his first title in just his 7th professional bout, fought in the US, scored a massive win in Korea, won a 2-fight series with a major domestic rival, and faced a number of notable opponents. He may never have been regarded as one of the sports truly elite level boxers, but he was still a fantastic fighter who had a short yet fantastic career. Today we're going to look at the 5 most significant wins for... Muangchai Kittikasem, covering the wins that mean the most, even if they weren't necessarily the biggest or best wins of his career. 1-Tacy Macalos I (May 2nd 1989) The first big win for Kittikasem came in 1989, less than 11 months after his professional debut, when he claimed his first world title. The Thai's team managed to get IBF Light Flyweight champion Tacy Macalos over from the Philippines to defend his title against the then 6-0 Kittikasem. The talented Filipino had won the belt 6 months earlier, when he defeated Jum Hwan Choi and not only had the title but alsoa significant edge in experience. That however wasn't enough to over-come Kittikasem in Thailand, where two of the judges game numerous 10-10 rounds leading to a split decision victory for the Thai. This was a controversial decision, not helped by cards that included 118-115 and 117-115, but saw Kittikasem put his name on the world stage. 2-Tacy Macalos II (October 6th 1989) Given the bizarre scoring of their first fight between Kittikasem and Macalos, and the controversial nature of result, the two men would have an immediate rematch 5 months later. This time the judges weren't needed as Kittikasem stopped Macalos in 7 rounds to record his first successful defense. Whilst Macalos certainly had a legitimate complaints about the judging in the first bout there was no blaming the judges for this rematch. Sadly it was the start of the end for Macalos, who would later go 4-6 after this loss before retiring in 1994. 3-Sot Chitalada I (February 15th 1991) Kittikasem's IBF Light Flyweight reign was a relatively short one, consisting of 3 successful defenses before he lost the belt in 1990 to brilliant American Michael Carbajal. Just 7 months after being dominated by Carbajal we saw the Thai move up in weight and battle against fellow Thai Sot Chitalada, the then WBC Flyweight champion. The two Thai's ended up putting on a war with both men being rocked, but it seemed like Kittikasem was the one landed the bigger shots on a more regular basis than Chitalada, who was dropped several times. In round 6 Kittikasem managed to see off Chitalada who needed saving whilst taking bombs against the ropes. 4-Jung Koo Chang (May 18th 1991) Many of Kittikasem's big wins came at home in Thailand, there is however one that stands out, coming in South Korea, against an all-time great...in a truly special fight. The bout saw Kittikasem stop Jung Koo Chang in the 12th round, to make his first defense of the WBC Flyweight title. It wasn't just the win that stood out here, but the nature of the win, which was something amazing to watch. Chang had dropped Kitikasem 3 times during the bout, and it seemed like the Thai was set to lose the WBC Flyweight title to the Korean great. Chang was hunting a finish in the final round before Kittikasem caught the Korean Hawk and dropped him with less than a minute left. Chang beat the count but was dropped again and stopped. This wasn't just a big name on Kittikasem's record but was also a truly spectacular fight that needs to be seen to be believed. 5-Sot Chitalada II (February 28th 1992) In Kittikasem's third defense of the WBC Flyweight title he rematched former champion Sot Chitalada. As with their first bout this was fun, and both men landed some huge headshots, but in the end the strength, power and hunger of Kittikasem was too much for Chitalada who was again saved by the referee after Chitalada's legs buckled. This was actually the end for Chitalada, who retired following this loss and never returned to the ring, despite only being 29. Despite beating his fellow Thai in their rematch Kittikasem would himself struggle afterwards, losing the WBC Flyweight title 4 months later, to Yuri Arbachakov, and the lose a rematch to the Japanese based Russian. He continued on all the way up to 1999, after an ill fated comeback, before retiring having left a very big mark on the lower weights, and on the Thai boxing scene. |
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