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Back in May we saw a bizarre conclusion to a WBO Super Flyweight world title eliminator between Japan's Koki Eto (24-4-1-1, 19) and Puerto Rican Jeyvier Cintron (10-0-0-1, 5). The bout seemed to end after a right hand from Eto landed on Cintron and appeared to leave him a bit loopy. On replay however it wasn't a right hand that had left Cintron hurt, but instead an accidental clash of heads, and what was originally announced as an opening round TKO win for Eto was then reversed into a No Contest.
As a result of their No Contest the men will rematch on August 2nd, with the winner then likely to get a WBO world title fight against the newly crowned Kazuto Ioka. Although they may end up needing to wait until 2020 for their shot at gold, a win here will hot shot them to being the mandatory for the highly regarded Ioka. As with their first bout Cintron will head in as the favourite.The 24 year old former amateur stand out has shown fantastic skills through his career, with good movement, good speed and good shot selection. In their first bout his skills really were impressive, and he looked like he was more than capable of out boxing Eto for 12 rounds. That was, of course, until the ending when he seemed to be clearly concussed. Whilst Cintron did look really skilled, and was taken out by a headclash, there was some question marks with the youngster. He seemed to stand with Eto a little bit too much, his defense was as good as expected, and whilst it was a headclash that sent him loopy an Eto right hand did come extremely close to landing at the same time. Had that landed we wouldn't be talking about this rematch. The headclash obviously seemed to give Cintron a concussion as well, and it's fair to say that lingering effects of a concussion may show them selves here, less than 3 months after their first bout. In the first fight we saw Eto for what he was, and for what he has long been. A clumsy, crude, rugged fighter. Eto is the sort of fighter who could end up being knocked down shadow boxing, his defense is often open and more based on his own aggression than slipped and blocking shots. He is open, he is in front of his opponents and he is easy to hit. Despite his limitations he is tough, he hits hard, he has incredible heart and he's never been afraid of a fight. His wars with Kompayak Popramook and Ardin Diale showed he never gives up and to beat him anyone will need to stay sharp and fight hard for 12 rounds. At 31 years old Eto doesn't have much time left in his career, in fact given his wars so far it's hard to know what he has left in the tank. He's an out and warrior and his career has been a damaging one. Given the reversed outcome of the first bout it could be that he is more determined than ever to make a mark, and given how Cintron reacted after the head clash he may well feel like Cintron has issues with durability and heart. On the other hand the disappointment of having the win scratched may well have been the final straw in his career. As with their first bout we're expecting this to be a case of Cintron skills and amateur pedigree against the power and determination of Eto. We expect this to be a much longer bout than their first one, and one to end in conclusive fashion. Given how the headclash really scambled Cintron, and how Eto was having moments of success, we're actually going to predict that at some point the Japanese fighter will land a booming right hand, hurting Cintron and then stopping him with a follow up. Prediction - Eto TKO9
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The Super Flyweight division is a really interesting one at the moment, with the division full of talent and interesting match ups. We, of course, have a WBO world title fight later in the year between Kazuto Ioka and Aston Palicte, but before that we'll actually see a WBO world title eliminator, as unbeaten Puerto Rican Jeyvier Cintron (10-0, 5) takes on Japan's Koki Eto (24-4-1, 19), with the winner assured a world title fight against the Ioka Vs Palicte winner.
Those who have followed the Asian scene over the last few years will likely have seen Eto in action, and will likely be aware that he is incredibly entertaining. He's not the best boxer out there, he's not the most technically skilled, or the most naturally talented, but he is a true warrior with a style that really does lead to exciting fights. Early in his career he was one of 3 fighting brothers, along with Taiki and Shingo Eto. Despite their being 3 brothers Koki was the only one to really have success, with Shingo and Taiki both losing in OPBF and JBC title bouts. Koki's biggest claim to fame was his memorable WBA "interim" Flyweight title win in Thailand, beating Kompayak Porpramook in 2013 in a FOTY candidate. He would lose the belt in his first defense, being stopped by Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep, but bounce back by winning the OPBF Flyweight title in a war with Ardin Diale. The following year he moved up in weight and was relatively competitive with Carlos Cuadras in a WBC Super Flyweight title bout. Since that loss Eto has gone 7-0 (6), albeit at a low level with his best wins coming against Filipino domestic level fighters. Although Eto isn't the most skilled he does have great energy, an incredible will to win, under-rated power and real desire. Sadly he is flawed, he is open, he does lack in terms of skills, and has questionable concentration levels. Also he's had an incredibly tough career and taken a lot of damage. Whilst we have joked in the past that Eto would trade knockdowns with himself whilst shadow boxing, there is air of truth to it, as he really is that wild at times and could be dropped any time, despite having a decent chin. Whilst Eto is relatively well known for his exciting fights Cintron is probably better known for amateur exploits than his professional career. He is a 2-time Olympian, competing at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, and a former standout of the Puerto Rican boxing scene. Although he failed to medal at the Olympics he did win a Silver medal at the 2012 Youth World Championships and a bronze at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games. He would also compete in the WSB before eventually signing with Top Rank and turning professional in 2017. His early bouts were, as we typically see in the west, nothing to talk about, but in his 7th bout he took a WBO Youth title, then quickly added the WBO Latino title to his collection. Cintron has since defended the Latino title twice, and raced up the WBO world rankings, leading to this bout. With 10 bouts to his name it's fair to assume that Cintron hasn't faced many fighters of note, but his last 4 foes have a combined record of 70-13-3 and he has looked good in those bouts. Cintron has a style that clearly has good amateur foundations. His movement is light and looks natural, his punching is crisp, and his combinations look hurtful. He has a very nasty looking straight left hand, and gauges distances really with it. We're expecting t0 see Eto be his usual aggressive self. He has a chance of catching Cintron early on and causing the Puerto Rican some issues in the first round or two. Sadly for Eto he's going to struggle as soon as Cintron gets his timing down, and from then on the Puerto Rican will land at will, really testing the bravery and resilience of Eto. Sadly we suspect the long and hard career of Eto will come back to bite him here. Prediction TKO7 Cintron  One of the best divisions in boxing, both historically and currently, is the Flyweight division. At the moment it not only has two of the best fighters in the world plying their trade there but also some of the most entertaining, including OPBF champion Koki Eto (16-3-1, 12). Eto isn't a star, he isn't one for the purists and he isn't a fighter who show the nuances that will define the sweet science, he is however a warrior through and through a man who brings as much “bang for buck” as anyone else in the sport.
On June 8th Eto makes the second defense of his OPBF title as he takes on domestic foe Yuki Fukumoto (17-9, 5) in what is widely believed to be Eto's final defense before he moves on to chasing for world honours. Eto first caught our attention back in 2013 when he engaged in back-to-back FOTY contenders. The first of those saw Eto claim the WBA interim title courtesy of an all-out war with Kompayak Porpramook. That bout, in Thailand, was one of the most exciting performance we've seen and it seemed like Eto was set to become a star. Just a fight later Eto lost that title, suffering a 12th round stoppage at the hands of the very capable Yodmongkol Vor Saenghtep. In 2014 Eto returned to being a champion as he claimed the OPBF title with a dramatic 8th round TKO win against Filipino warrior Ardin Diale. Since then he has defended the title once, stopping Cris Paulino in the 10th round of a relative tame contest. That bout showed that Eto can box, even though he was being out boxed by Paulino at time, though was a much more reserved performance from the Japanese warrior. Eto can box, as seen against Paulino, though brawling is much more natural to him and it's the brawling that has made us fans with his high octane fight style. Defensively he's very poor but he's managed to make his offense into his defense and he's shown a real grit and toughness which has helped him see him through some incredibly tough match ups, such as the Diale one. Whilst we've managed to see plenty of Eto over the last few years we've got to admit we weren't really familiar with Fukumoto when this bout was announced. He has however been in with some pretty notable opposition suffering losses to Yota Sato, in a Japanese title fight, Silvester Lopez, Cris Paulino, Yusukue Sakashita and Toyoto Shiraishi. Worryingly many of those losses have come by stoppage. On paper Fukumoto's best win is over former world title challenger Takashi Kunishge, back in 2011, though he does hold a few other notable victories including ones Toyoto Shiraishi, Ken Achiwa and Hyobu Nakagama, Unfortunately those wins, at best, have come against Japanese level foes with their best days behind them. Although footage of Fukumoto is scant we do know he's not a big puncher, he's not the most elusive and that he appears to struggle under pressure. That's back up by the fact he's been stopped 5 times in his 9 losses. We suspect that this will be stoppage #6 with with Eto applying early pressure and Fukumoto wilting early in the contest, at least if the aggressive Eto turns up. If Eto is out there to box there is a chance that we do see Fukumoto having success, though we really can't see how the challenger manages to win here given that he's up against a fighter who is so much better than men who have previously beaten him. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp)  The last time we saw Japanese fighter Koki Eto (15-3-1, 11) in the ring he was a victor in one of this years most brutal and exciting fights against Ardin Diale. He may have been shaken unconscious by his own corner man in rather exuberant celebration but he was a victor all the same and had claimed the OPBF Flyweight title in a bout that deserves a mention as a 2014 FOTY contender. For Eto his it was his third success grueling war following back to back FOTY contenders in 2013 against Kompayak Porpramook, which saw Eto claim the WBA interim Flyweight title, and Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep, which saw Eto losing the title to Yodmongkol and it continued to show that he was one of the sports most exciting fighters, despite numerous limitations.
This week we see Eto return to the ring to defend his OPBF belt against once beaten Filipino challenger Cris Paulino (14-1, 4), the #1 ranked OPBF ranked contender. On paper it should be a less damaging contest for the Japanese fighter though it's still a tough one as Paulino attempts to move from the Filipino scene to the Oriental scene and put his own loss to Diale well and truly behind him. If you've not yet seen Eto in action we do need to ask a genuine question, why not? The Japanese fighter is a 1-man highlight reel who could have entertaining fights with his shadow or a heavy bag. In fact he has probably lost to his shadow on points before. He's one of the sports most fun to watch fighters due to his his open defense, all out offense and incredibly heart and it's those things that have made us fans of Eto. Whilst Eto is incredibly exciting and fun to watch he is incredibly limited and we know that he'll never be classed as a genuine world class Flyweight, despite his short reign as the WBA's interim champion. Sometimes however we have to accept that fun and entertaining fights are just as important as the elite fights and Eto is as fun as any fighter on the planet with everyone of his fights almost guaranteed to be exciting. As for Paulino he too is an exciting fighter though fundamentally he's a more technically schooled fighter than Eto, then again so are some bar brawlers. Fighting as a southpaw Paulino is a tidy little fighter for the most part with a nice jab, a solid straight left hand and fast foot movement. He has also shown that he hits harder than his record indicates having stopped Hayato Yamaguchi in 2012 and having dropped his last 3 opponents. He is also unbeaten in fights outside of the Philippines with a win last year against Yuki Fukumoto at the Korakuen Hall, the same venue he will be fighting at this Wednesday. Although more well technically capable than Eto we do wonder what Paulino is really made of and his sole loss, an 11th round TKO at the hands of Ardin Diale in a GAB Flyweight title fight, do leave us wondering about his over-all toughness. Prior to being stopped by Diale it's fair to say Paulino was impressive with his boxing, especially early, looking very impressive. That leads us to a second issue about Paulino, what's his stamina like? He's never been 12 rounds before and in the latter rounds against Diale he was beginning to look really tired, giving Diale the openings and opportunities he needed to land the fight ending blow. We're expecting to see Eto impose his style on the fight as he usually does. He will go on the offensive and Paulino will be forced to answer back. Earlier on we suspect Paulino will be forced to use his legs and box and move. It won't take long however for Paulino to realise he has to fight fire with fire and when that happens we'll be given an all out war between two men who can hurt and be hurt. When that happens we suspect Eto's extra power, home advantage and insatiable will to win will just manage to wear down Paulino as it did with Diale. Prior to the finish however we're expecting a real war between two men who will be throwing repeated power shots in an attempt to finish off the other man in what will turn out to be a thrilling contest. For those wanting to watch this bout it will be streamed FREE on the Gushiken Ustream channel! (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp)  All too often in boxing fans over-look the smaller fighters despite how exciting they can be. Last year so one such over-looked but brilliant fight in Thailand as Japan's Koki Eto (14-3-1, 10) went to Bangkok and won a war with Thailand's very own Kompayak Porpramook for the WBA interim Flyweight title. The bout was one our favourites from last year and one of the most scintillating bouts of recent years.
Eto's reign as interim world champion didn't last long and less than 4 months after his victory over Porpramook he was beaten himself by Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep in what was his first defence. Like the Porpramook bout it was a ard one and will have added considerable miles to the clock of the all action Japanese fighter. Almost 7 months on from the loss to Yodmongkol we see Eto returning to the ring and fighting against experienced Filipino Ardin Diale (23-8-3, 10) in a bout for the vacant OPBF Flyweight title, a bout that promises to be an all out war. From the fights we've seen of Eto he's never gong to be a talented boxer. He is a warrior through and through, he comes to fights and will either win or go out on his shield in exciting fashion. In all honesty he is a perfect "made for TV" fighter but sadly doesn't appear to be getting much TV time. In Diale we have a more experience fighter who has seemingly been around forever but at just 25 years old he is younger than his Japanese and has already fought at a higher level. In fact in 34 fights the list of notable names Diale has faced include Rodel Mayol, Wanheng Menayothin, John Riel Casimero, Julio Cesar Miranda and Juan Francisco Estrada, a very impressive list of opponents. Although Diale typically comes up short against the best opponents that he faces he has proven to be a very credible fighter who combines toughness, heart and action. Just like Eto he is a very TV friendly fighter who comes to the ring to fight. Sadly he has been stopped 3 times, though all of those stoppages have come to world class fighters and and they have all come with Diale having given a good account of himself against opponents who looked bigger than himself. With a pair of warriors we are bound to have a fire cracker here and we're actually very split on who we think will come out on top. Eto has home field advantage, though has never previously fought in a title fight in Japan, and has had a slightly longer training camp. Diale, who was a replacement opponent, is in the form of his life and has won 6 of his last 8, all by KO. We, as a team, couldn't make a guess on the winner though we all agreed that this has potential FOTY written all over it and is very unlikely to go the scheduled 10 rounds. It has a war written all over it and we hope that it lives up to that potential. The winner is unlikely to progress to winning world titles, especially in the insanely difficult Flyweight division, but the fans are certainly not going to be disappointed by following either man after this fight. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp) |
Previews
Having canned the old "Full Schedule" of Asianboxing we have instead decided to concentrate more on the major bouts. This section, the "Preview" section will look at major bouts involving OPBF and national titles. Hopefully leading to a more informative style for, you the reader. Archives
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