"Who... would you like to take from the past and put in today's Super Flyweight division?"3/18/2021 For this week's "Who..." article the boys behind Asianboxing.info are looking at a different type of question, and it's one concerning history, as they look at fighters they would have loved to have moved from the past, to today. It's a subject with a lot of possibilities, so they have had a limit put on the question, and have been told to stick to a single weight class this week.
With that in mind let's have a look at today's question: "Who... would you like to take from the past and put in today's Super Flyweight division?" The rules for this were set as a fighter who must be currently retired and must have made a mark at 115lbs. Whether the division was their best or not, they only needed to have made an impact there. For consideration was how they would match up with modern day fighters, and whether their styles would make for exciting bouts, or whether they could have success against modern day fighters. They guys were also asked to keep it to Asian fighters for this particular "Who..." article. Lee: "When I knew this question was coming up I was so happy as there was one man I had in mind and that was Sung Kil Moon! The Korean star of the late 1980's and early 1990's would have been amazing in this era of Super Flyweights. His pressure, aggression, power, physical strength and work rate would have made for brilliant bouts against the likes of Roman Gonzalez, Carlos Cuadras, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Jerwin Ancajas and Kazuto Ioka. I don't think he would beat them all, but he would certainly want to fight them all. Just imagine Moon Vs Srisaket or Gonzalez. There is no way we wouldn't get a fight of the year contender. We would also have a Korean fighter at the world stage and big fights may still be happening in Korea! I might be biased, as Moon is one of my all time favourites, but I would have absolutely loved to have put him in today's era of Super Flyweights." Takahiro: "The obvious answer I jumped to was Jiro Watanabe, but I had second thoughts. Jiro was brilliant, he was heavy handed, he was tough and he was skilled, but I think he wouldn't be as good today as he was back in the 1980's. And I don't think his bouts would be the best. Instead I will choose Khaosai Galaxy! I think Galaxy, in today's era would be a very interesting addition and a real chance to see if Galaxy was as good as his reputation. Galaxy against fighters like Estrada, Gonzalez, Ioka and Ancajas would all be really interesting. I always thought it was unfortunate that Galaxy lacked a big rival, and he never fought Watanabe, and if he was around now he would have those rivals. I also think he would lose to a lot of top modern day fighters, but always have the power to turn the bout his way. Technically he wasn't the best, but with his power, his toughness and his aura, I would love Khaosai Galaxy to fight in this era of Super Flyweights". Scott: "I've always had a soft spot for Filipino fighter Gerry Penalosa, who was really unfortunate throughout much of his career. The "Fearless" one was as skilled as they come, with a brilliant boxing brain, good defense and good technical under-standing of the ring. I'd have loved for him to have come around 20 years after he did and put those skills up against the likes of Nietes Ioka, Estrada and Ancajas in technical matches, or seeing how he would try to deal with the pressure of Gonzalez and Srisaket, or the speed of Kosei Tanaka. Whilst Penalosa wasn't the best or the most exciting fighter out there I think he would pose every fighter in the division today some really interesting questions. I suspect his lack of good luck would cost him more than once or twice, but he would remain in the mix for years and have the dance partners to bring the best out of him. I suspect had Penalosa been around now he would have fit right into the mix and we would have seen a lot of him on things like DAZN where lower weight fighters are given chances to shine and I think his legacy would have been enhanced significantly as a result. It really is a shame he came along too soon for his own good and that was just one of many times luck betrayed him."
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The biggest name in Japanese boxing over the last few years has been Naoya Inoue (20-0, 17).The Japanese star has managed to impress fans around the globe with his power, skills and speed and has proven his ability not just at home but also in the US and in Europe. The talented Japanese sensation has won world titles in 3 weights won the WBSS, unified titles at Bantamweight and, within just 20 bouts, is already being spoken about as one of the greatest Japanese boxers in history.
Despite having a brilliant legacy already the "Monster" is still just 27 years old and the future is still promising a lot for Inoue, who has spoke about wanting to box into his thirties and move towards potentially winning world titles up at Featherweight. Today, in this weeks "Who..." , we are looking at Inoue, but not at what he should do next. Instead the three founders of Asian Boxing are looking to answer the following question: "Who... Currently stands the best chance of beating Naoya Inoue?" Lee: "I genuinely don't think there's anyone at Bantamweight who can genuinely trouble Inoue. There is a lot of talent in the division, but I don't think anyone at 118lbs right now actually beats him, though a few fighters will be able to take rounds off him. If push came to shove however I would say John Riel Casimero has the best chance of any Bantamweight. Casimero is an awkward fighter, he's heavy handed, quick and unpredictable and would be the one man with the tools to, potentially, land a big shot on the "Monster". In reality however I think Inoue needs to move up in weight to find someone who can beat him, and 122lbs is a very exciting weight class, even if it doesn't have a "big" name there. At Super Bantamweight I give Murodjon Akhmadliev the best chance of beating Inoue. I think the Uzbek has the tools to be the best fighter at 122lbs. He's heavy handed, he's a good boxer, he has good work rate and he's a southpaw. He's the man I think has the best chance against Inoue, unless we think Inoue skips the division and begins fighting at Featherweight sometime soon." Takahiro: "I think nobody at Bantamweight has a chance, and instead I will go with Super Bantamweight Stephen Fulton as the man with the best chance of beating "Monster". I think Fulton has the skills, work rate, toughness and desire to give Inoue a lot of questions. I don't think Fulton would win, but he has a better chance than anyone at Bantamweight and anyone else at Super Bantamweight. I think to beat "Monster" you need a number of things. You need to be tough, you need to be strong, and you need to either be a dynamite puncher or you need to set an incredibly work rate. I think Fulton has the toughness, strength and work rate to grind Inoue into a competitive and close fight. I don't see anyone else at 122lbs having those tools, with out having a major flaw. My pick, Stephen Fulton". Scott: "Without being silly and matching Inoue against Featherweights, I think the only man who can beat Inoue right now, is Inoue himself. If he's focused, as he appears to be, and continues to fight the way he can I genuine don't give any Bantamweight or Super Bantamweight a chance against him right now. I think he hits too hard, too clean and times shots too well for anyone out there. Yes, there are fighters, like Casimero, Oubaali and Rigondeaux who would ask him questions, but I don't see any of them beating him. If forced to find someone who I think could give him problems I would be looking at someone like Carlos Castro. Not a big guy, but a busy guy with height and reach advantages over Inoue. Rey Vargas, had he stayed at Super Bantamweight, would have been an interesting option. Fighters like Brandon Figueroa, who have size, might be able to ask questions but in Figueroa's case he simply gets hit too much, and a fighter can't try and eat Inoue's counters all day. To beat Inoue you need to be big, you need to fight big, and you need to have enough pop to get his respect. There's big guys at 122lbs, but few of them fight big and have the power needed. If I was Inoue's team however I would avoid the Featherweight division as long as possible. That's when I think he'll find guys too big and too strong for him. Right now, the only man who beats Inoue, below Featherweight, is Inoue." Once again the guys behind Asian Boxing have come together to answer another question based on the future of boxing through Asia. This time the team focus on the Philippines as they take a look at some of the most promising talent from the Pearl of the Orient.
This week's question is "Who... is the most promising prospect in the Philippines?" To answer this we all agreed on what makes a "prospect", and for the sake of this it's a fighter who isn't yet world ranked, which we agreed made someone a "contender", and they couldn't have previously fought for a world title, as that also makes them a "contender". Outside of that there was no other limitations, meaning no limits based on number of fights or age. Lee: "I recently saw Filipino Flyweight Ben Ligas in action, and he really, really impressed me in his win over Alphoe Dagayloan, so I think I need to pick him. In the early rounds he almost stopped Dagayloan, which was really impressive, and as the bout went on he managed to neutralise the pressure and mauling style of "Wolverine" really well. At the moment he's only 22 years old, has very good size and power at Flyweight and a good style, with the ability to polish up around the edges. With a 13-1-1 (9) record he doesn't have an "0" to protect and I think that will serve him well, allowing his team to continue to match him well, as they did with Dagayloan. and as they have in the past against fighters like Christoval Furog, Jesel Guardario and Joseph Ambo. He's in a tough division internationally, but given his age I think he has time on his side and will become a future world champion." Takahiro: "My pick here, is Richard Bulancan. I very much like the 21 year old puncher who never seems to get any attention but has been very, very impressive so far. I understand he was a good amateur on the Filipino Youth scene and is now a dangerous puncher and has a 10 round bout under his belt. I really took notice of him when he stopped Anthony Sabalde, who went 12 rounds with Nihito Arakawa. Unfortunately he's not fought since then, but I am very excited to see him back in action one day soon! As well as his win over Sabalde he has also beaten fighters like Vergel Deguma and Rimon Rama. He has power, he had rounds and he has so, so much potential! Hopefully I get to see what he can do again soon! Richard Bualcan is my pick for best Filipino prospect" Scott: "Someone I've been high on since I first saw him in 2019 is April Jay Abne, a 21 year old Flyweight with buckets of talent, a really deep understanding of boxing and so, so much potential. He impressed so much in the Ultimate Boxing Series (UBS) in 2019 and showed the potential to go a long way, very quickly. Not only did he show impressive skills but he was also matched hard, beating fighters with records of 6-0-1, 4-0-2 and 8-1-1 in the UBS. Prior to turning professional he was a solid amateur and he ticks a lot of boxes that I like to see. As well as showing good skills and facing tough competition Abne has also fought over 6 and 8 rounds in his short career and it's clear he can be let of the leash and chase a national title of some kind. He has that sort of ability and in ring understanding to be moved quickly, moved aggressively and raced through the ranks. Sadly Abne never fought in 2020, in a year that was essentially written off for many fighters due to Covid19, though I'm hoping to see him back in the ring sooner rather than later. Given his inactivity last year I'd expect him to have an easy bout or two then begin the hunt for silverware towards the end of the year." Fighters ruled out on the rule "meeting" due to being contenders: Joe Noynay Mark Magsayo Mike Plania Dave Apolinario (*Note - This is based on rankings as per February 18th 2020) For this week’s who the team look to Central for their question and for the man they are tipping to be the face of Kazakh boxing after Gennady Golovkin’s eventual retirement. The trio have been set a rather interesting question and one that they feel could be a great chance to help shine a light on some rising hopefuls from “the Land of the Great Steppe”.
“Who... will be the next world champion from Kazakhstan?” For the sake of “world champion”, we are considering WBC, IBF, WBO and all the various WBA titles. Lee: “I had a lot of fun looking through the rising Kazakh prospects, and giving them all a watch, and seeing what they all have to offer the sport. After analysing them and looking through the Kazakh fighters the man I tip as being the next Kazakh world champion is Daniyar Yeleussinov, the talented Welterweight southpaw. Yeleussinov has a lot to like. He is a talented fighter, has a strong promoter, in the form of Eddie Hearn, and has a team behind him who are hungry for him to break through. He is also 29 years old, turning 30 in March. He is no spring chicken. With that in mind I expect to see him being pushed to a world title this year. I know the Welterweight division is a tough one, a very tough one, right now but I expect to see the division have a big shake up this year and Yeleussinov will be one of the winners of that shake up. He is high risk, low reward, and in a position where he is only 2 or 3 fights from a world title fight. Takahiro: “Zhanibek Alimkhanuly. The sport right now has some excellent weight classes with lots of depth. It also has some very, very weak divisions where there are only one or two fighters that stand out. One of those divisions is Middleweight. With that in mind I think Alimkhanuly will be a good choice to become a world champion in 2021. Zhanibek Alimkhanuly is world ranked by all 4 title bodies and has options. He also has MTK and Top Rank behind him, and at 27 year old he is in his prime. He is talented, sharp, fast and powerful. He is adapting to the professional ranks, and he seems to tick a lot of boxes of a future world champion. He might need to wait a year or two for a world title fight, but I think Kazakh boxing fans will begin to see him as the natural successor to Gennady Golovkin as their next big star. My choice, Zhanibek Alimkhanuly” Scott: "Sadly I think after Golovkin hangs up the gloves we might need to wait a few years for the next Kazakh world champion. The country is developing a lot of talent, and there are a lot of contenders but I see a lot of those falling short at the highest level, or just not getting a shot until it’s too late. One man who I think will go all though way is Sadriddin Akhmedov, the 23 year old Canadian based Kazakh who fights at 154lbs. He, to me, ticks every single box we could want from a future world champion. He is young, good looking, talented, heavy handed, exciting, has a good promoter, is in a division where the top guys are, for the most part, on the older side, and a division which will be shaken up, massively, in 3 or 4 years. It might be a bit of a wait until we see Akhmedov win a world title, but I’m confident he’ll win one, with the main issue being whether he gets there before all of his countrymen or not.” For this week's "Who..." the team who set up Asianboxing.info take a look at Thailand for their question and they also take a look at the future, as the trio put for their cases for this week's question, and once again they've come up with 3 different fighters for fans to take note of.
This weeks question for the trio is: "Who... is the best prospect in Thailand?" Lee: "In 2020 there was a lot of Thai fighters who caught my attention, and got me excited for the future of boxing in Thailand. I'm sure some of those fighters will be mentioned by the other guys but the one I want to tip as the best is teenage fighter Sangarthit Looksaikongdin (Phoobadin Yoohanngoh). With Sangarthit/Phoobadin I think we have the perfect mix of long term potential, given he is only 17, a weight class that gets international attention and a fighter with fantastic skills in his tool box. The fact he is so young gives him a lot of time to polish off his skills, build on foundations he already has and mature his man strength. He clearly understands the sport, he's quick and sharp, understands distance and angles and looks like one of the hottest prospects in world boxing. I do have some reservations. His training appears to be very hard on his young, and still developing, body. I worry that maybe he is taking too much out of himself with some of his training. I also think fighting at 140 or 147 may limit his potential opponents in Asia. But I think there is too much upside to avoid." Takahiro: "For this week, I am picking Boonrueang Phayom. I like to see young fighters with exciting styles and power and it's hard for me to not be a big fan of a young man with a perfect 9-0 (9) record. The 21 year old Boonrueang made his debut in 2017, vanished for a while, matured away from the ring, and since returning in 2019 has been a busy boy. His competition is admittedly not very good, a lot of Thai fighters fight not very good fighters to build experience. But he has results that are better than other fighters, like his win over Tongthep Taeyawong is quicker than the one scored by Koki Mioya and Petch CP Freshmart and we have seen him fight into the 7th round before. I like Boonrueang Phayom a lot. He will go a long way." Scott: "There is a lot of talent coming through in Thailand right now. Fighters like Nattapong Jankaew, Thanongsak Simsri, Thananchai Charunphak, Phongsaphon Panyakum, Nonthasith Petchnamthong, Pattawee Phansawat, Yuttapong Tongdee, Theeraphan Polsongkarm and the men mentioned by Taka and Lee. There really is so much excitement bubbling under the radar in Thailand that narrowing it down to just 1 prospect was a problem. If someone held a gun to my head and made me pick one however I'd go with Thitisak Hoitong, a fighter who really does have me very, very excited for the future. Aged 25 Thitisak isn't the youngest out there, and physically he's maybe only a year or two away from his prime. He is however a very talented fighter, with a strong amateur background, an insane level of confidence in the ring and a very clear natural affinity for the sport. We saw in his debut, against Samartlek, that he has the tools to do great things in professional boxing. Also he's at Flyweight, a division where Asia is rife with fighters, and where good bouts should be easy for him to get. There isn't a need for him to chase bigger names around the globe, but instead fly off to Japan and the Philippines for regional level fights and training. To me the age issue with Thitisak is less of an issue and more of an upside. His team know they don't need to molly coddle him, and can let him loose sooner rather than later. If you're not aware of him, make a note of his name now, as he will likely be in the regional title mix by the end of the year, and potentially the world rankings by the time we enter 2022." A few weeks ago we began a new series here looking to answer the question of “who…?” and we’re back again this week with the latest in this series. This week we’re not looking at someone coming through the ranks, or someone looking to prove themselves, but instead we’re looking at some who is currently at the top of sport and will lose their position later this year. That’s because we’ll be answering the question of:
“Who... will lose their world title this year?” Just before we start, the condition here, as is typically the case with Asian Boxing, is that the fighter must be Asian to be considered a valid answer here. By “losing” their title, we mean losing their title in any manner. Be it from vacating, retiring, losing it in the ring or being stripped. We will not be including cases where a fighter is promoted from “regular” champion to “super” champion. However we will be including “regular” and “interim” champions as champions for the purpose of the predictions here. Lee: “I had a look at all the champions, from right across the sport, and I see a lot of fighters who might have tough fights in 2021. Of those however a lot have easier options they can take, and I don’t think too many are being backed into a wall to face a top fighter. One possible exception there is Can Xu, who I love. I think every fight fan loves Can Xu. Sadly however I think he will be lured to the UK to have a bout with former IBF champion Josh Warrington. The bout every fight fan should want to see take place and should be excited to see happen. Sadly for Xu I think that fight will take place in the UK and judging in the UK, against British fighters, has become a joke in recent years. Especially against a popular fighter, like Warrington. I think we’ll see Xu and Warrington put on a brilliant fight. A truly sensational battle. But I see judges marring the bout by giving a controversial decision to Warrington and Xu losing his title in very debatable fashion." Takahiro: “I am sad to say I think it will be my countryman Ryosuke Iwasa, who will lose his title this year. The IBF “interim” Super Bantamweight title will likely not be around his waist at the end of 2021. I think he will have to fight Murodjon Akhmadaliev, and will lose in that bout to the very, very good Uzbek fighter. I think Iwasa will put up a better effort against “Kaka” than he did against TJ Doheny, when he lost the full version of the title, but I think the Uzbek is too good, too strong, too powerful and too hungry for “Eagle Eye”. I like Iwasa, a lot, but I think he has too many problems with fighting southpaws, and that will show against the WBA “Super” and IBF champion. It will be a fantastic fight. And Iwasa has a punchers chance. But I think he loses a very wide decision. Maybe a late stoppage. My guess. Ryosuke Iwasa (IBF “interim” Super Bantamweight champion)” Scott: “This sport can be a funny one at times and we see long reigning champions being knocked off their perch when they look well set, we saw that last year with Wanheng Menayothin and Deontay Wilder. I think we’ll see something like that happen again in 2021, and for me the easy pick here is WBA “super” Minimumweight champion Knockout CP Freshmart. I’ve felt for a while that Knockout has been happy to go through the motions at times and that his reign really isn’t that secure. He looked good last time out, beating Norihito Tanaka, but he has often under-whelmed and been a bit lucky against fighters who aren’t really world class. I thought he was fortunate against ArAr Andales, I think he under-performed against Toto Landero, Xiong Zhao Zhong, Byron Rojas and Carlos Buitrago. He’s supposed to fight in May, more than a year after his last bout, and fighters are circling around his WBA title, with the likes of Jose Argumedo, Byron Rojas, Vic Saludar and Robert Paradero all wanting a shot at the belt. There’s also the likes of Hasanboy Dusmatov, Ginjiro Shigeoka, Jing Xiang all wanting a crack at a title this year. There’s a lot of sharks circling around Knockout, and I suspect a good offer to make him travel will be made, and we’ll see the 30 year old have the title taken away before the end of 2021.” Back on December 31st we saw the end of 2020 and the year ended on a high for fight fans with a brilliant matchup between Kazuto Ioka and Kosei Tanaka. Sadly for the thrilling and exciting Tanaka the bout saw him suffer his first loss, being stopped by the more experienced Ioka, who boxed brilliantly and showcased some sensational counter punching throughout the contest.
Despite the loss it was clear that Tanaka was going to bounce back and return to the ring in 2021. With that in mind the three co-founders of Asianboxing.info got together to put their ideas forward as to what is next for Tanaka in the third instalment of “Who…” as we try to answer the question: “Who... should Kosei Tanaka face next?” Lee: “I think in all honesty the options for Tanaka right now are quite limited, due to Covid19, and it’s clear he won’t be bringing in a limited imported opponent just to get a win. Saying that though, Tanaka has never had an easy bout and I don’t expect that to change now he has a loss on his record. Instead I think he will fight a good Japanese domestic fighter. The question really is “Who?” And sadly there aren’t that many options for him to look to face at the moment. The gulf between Kazuto Ioka and the rest in Japan is massive and anyone will feel like a massive downgrade for Tanaka. For Tanaka I think the focus needs to be on testing his stamina and testing his strength at Super Flyweight. He can work on the skills in the gym, but he needs to get rounds, he needs to be pushed and made to work hard. With that at the forefront of my thinking, I think he should fight Hiroyuki Kudaka next. Kudaka is a 4 time world title challenger. He’s tough. He comes to fight. He presses and pressures. He always makes fighters work hard. He also knows some veteran tricks. To me he is the ideal opponent for Tanaka to learn things from. An easy win, but also a good win.” Takahiro: “The answer here is easy for me. Ryoji Fukunaga. There are not many fighters in Japan at 115lbs who are world ranked and the one that stands out the most is JBC, OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific unified champion Ryoji Fukunaga. I know that Tanaka will want to fight someone suitable. Someone good. And get in there with someone who will ask questions. He has something to lose themselves. Someone who, if he beats, he is still in the world title mix. With that in mind Fukunaga is the easy answer. The only answer. At the moment Fukunaga has 2 world rankings. He is unlikely to get a world title fight himself, without scoring a massive win, and a win over Tanaka would be appealing to him as well. The bout would also work with the current covid19 issues, and not require Hatanaka and CBC to pay money for a fighter to sit in quarantine. Make this bout and get it in Tokyo. Kosei Tanaka Vs Ryoji Fukunaga! Triple crown on the line” Scott: “I’ve gone with a similar tactic to Takahiro and looked through the world rankings for Japanese fighters given the Covid19 situation. There isn’t as many Japanese ranked fighters as I assumed there would be at 115lbs and there’s also some oddities, like the IBF ranking Koki Eto #7 despite the fact he’s retired. I’m also at a loss as to how Akio Furutani is ranked #11, even with his win over Takayuki Okumoto fresh in my mind. Doing this left me with two options. The first of those was Sho Ishida, who is world ranked, a very live contender, best known for losing his biggest bouts, a friend of Ioka’s and a former stablemate of Ioka’s. On paper Ishida ticks almost every box, though I think Ishida will probably stick to fighting at Bantamweight and won’t move back down to Super Flyweight again. With that in mind I was left with one other name, and it’s a name of someone I genuinely want to see Tanaka share the ring with again. That’s former WBO Flyweight champion Sho Kimura. This bout just seems to make so much sense to re-do. Their first bout was the 2018 Fight of the Year and given the super close nature of that bout it deserves a rematch. It’s also one of the bouts that CBC know they can sell to an international audience, and if they are smart they could get this on TV in Latin America and potentially the UK. Kimura might not be the natural Super Flyweight that some would want to see Tanaka in with, but iron sharpens iron and if Tanaka wants a good test to return to the ring with Kimura is the man for me.” Last week we began our "Who..." series by looking at who would be the next OPBF champion from South Korea and we're back again this week with the second in this series as we look towards the past and try to answer a new question about the world of Asian boxing.
This week the question is.. "Who... will be the next world champion from Uzbekistan?" Lee: "I really like how many options we have here, and how exciting the rise of Uzbek boxing has become. It's really come out of nowhere, unless you follow the amateur scene, and has been hugely exciting. Like a breathe of fresh air. In many ways it reminds me of what boxing was like here in the 1970's, 80's and early 90's, where top amateurs raced to titles. There was no fear of being moved too quickly, and that was really exciting, seeing fighters move fast. If you were good enough, you were good enough. For Uzbekistan the contender leading the way for me is Israil Madrimov, who I think will win a world title this year. He's in a tough division, but I think he'll win some version of the WBA title in 2021, hopefully the main version of the title. He has the power, skills, speed and hunger to be a big star. My only worry is whether the pandemic has started to chip away at his mental drive and his physical fitness. But I am still confident he will be a world champion. Maybe just a short reign though." Takahiro: "Whilst Japan is going through a golden age the Uzbek scene is just as hot with so many exciting fighters coming from the country, and making their name in the US. That is really exciting and shows the backing a lot of their fighters are getting. The backing has let Murodjon Akhmadaliev fight for a world title in just his 8th bout and I think other fighters will look to match that target. With that in mind I will be picking Bektemir Melikuziev, who I think will win a world title this year, in his 8th fight. It's a unfortunate that Sergey Kovalev failed a drug test, as that would have been good preparation for "Bully". I think the fact he can fight at 168lbs or 175lbs is a good advantage for him, and I think he will pick up some form of WBA belt. Maybe not main WBA belt, but enough to claim a "world" title. In 2022 maybe he get a "real" title. as well. My Pick, Bek Bully!" Scott: "As the other two guys have said, the Uzbek's are really making a mark and doing things in a really, really exciting fashion. There is a lot of top amateur fighters who are now chasing professional honours, and a lot of them are taking a rather untraditional route there. They aren't wasting their time, and their prime years building up fancy 20-0 records against opponents they would be 1/100 to beat, but are instead looking to skip the easy bouts and the often pointless record building stage of their careers. Whilst it's the fast track will work for some and fail for others, it's something I personally enjoy watching, and it condenses the wait to find out if someone is a legitimate talent. I'm looking at the other end of the scales though. Rather than in the middling weights I'm looking at the lower weights and picking Olympic champion Hasanboy Dusmatov to be next, and to do so in 2022. The lower weights are often the ones where we see fast tracking done and Dusmatov is certainly ticking the boxes that will see him being moved aggressively. He's now aged 27, is in his prime, he's got the skills, power, speed, and the amateur experience to be matched hard and will not want to waste his career. The big question is "what weight will we see him winning a belt at?" And I think 108lbs is among the toughest divisions out there, but I see him having success there, if he needs to. Alternatively there are weak title holders at 105lbs, which we have to assume he can make with a day before weigh in, or even 112lbs. Alternatively he could very easily make a mark at 112lbs. I think those options are what his team will be looking to weigh up this year, and early next year he'll win a world title. Whether that's a lesser champion at 105lbs or an aging veteran at 112lbs I'm not sure. but I'm confident he picks up a belt next year" With so few fights taking place to begin 2021 the founders of Asianboxing.info have decided to take a look at the boxing scene and put our predictions forward in a new series called "Who..."
The idea of this series is to answer a question with who we each think will achieve a specific activity or feat, or potentially even looking back on history and sharing our takes on something from the past. We intend to mix these up between various categories and a mix of times frames. From the past, to the immediate future and the longer term future. To begin this series we're going to look at South Korea, where the three of us will all aim to answer the following question: "Who... will be the next OPBF champion from South Korea?" Lee: "This should be the one where I am good, so a perfect start to this series for me. I'm really glad to see Korean boxing getting international attention recently, at least earlier this month, and it was the man who headlined that card that I think has the best chance to claim an OPBF title this year. That is, of course, Jong Seon Kang, the all action Featherweight fighter. Aged 19 he is very young, but with a 12-0-2 record, and with good wins stacking up I think he'll break into the OPBF rankings this year, and move towards an OPBF title in 2022. Kang is also lucky that the winner of Musashi Mori and Satoshi Shimizu, will almost certainly vacate the title later this year, leaving the door open to a vacant title title fight next year. The perfect time for Kang to swoop in" Takahiro: "Being truthful, my understanding of Korean boxing isn't as good as it should be and as good as it used to be. I have however been sneaky, and looked at the OPBF rankings and there is an obvious choice here. Light Middleweight Jung Kyoung Lee. Lee is ranked #3 by the OPBF for a vacant title, which was given up last year by Akinori Watanabe. I don't think #1 ranked fighter Tim Tszyu will have any interest in the title and so the door is wide open for Lee to fight for the title. I'm not sure who he would fight for the belt though. I don't think we'll see Lee face Hironobu Matsunaga, but I would like that fight. Very exciting. Regardless, my pick is Jung Kyoung Lee" Scott: "There are a lot of really exciting Korean fighters coming through the ranks, like Da Won Gang, Sung Min Yuh, Jong Seon Kang, Min Jang and and Min Hyuk Jang. Those however are all youngsters who are probably a few years away from a big bout. With that in mind I'm going with someone with more experience, and someone who has spoke about wanting to win the title before. That's Dong Myung Shin the excellent 32 year old Featherweight, who can ill afford to move slowly this year. He spoke about getting a fight at Oriental title level in 2020, before the pandemic destroyed various plans and I think he's probably got the best chance of fighting for the title in the next year or two. The Super Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions are tough ones, but they are both expected to have massive shake ups in the next 12-24 months and that could leave the door open for Shin to get a shot at the vacant title." *Note - Takahiro's answer is based on the latest OPBF rankings - which are October 2020's. Oddly the OPBF have not published rankings since then. |
Oriental Opinions
This is just an opinion, maaaan! It's easy to share our opinions, and that's what you'll find here, some random opinion pieces Archives
March 2024
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