Category: Shingo Kawamura

Sagawa and Kawamuro battle in mouth watering showdown!

12/5/2018

Not every bout worth talking about is a title bout, and of not every title bout is worth talking about. One great fight coming up with no title on the line is a match up between recent OPBF Featherweight title challenger Shingo Kawamura (16-4-1, 8) and former amateur stand out Ryo Sagawa (5-1, 3), who clash in what could be the hidden gem of the month on December 13th. Both men have real ambition, both know a win will give their career a huge boost and both know that a loss could see them being forced to work incredibly hard to get an opportunity of any kinda next year.

With 21 professional fights under his belt the 28 year old Kawamura will likely go into the bout as the slight favourite, though even that's not a given in what is a 50/50 in our eyes. Despite his record having multiple defeats on it he has had a really notable career bouncing back from a stoppage loss on debut, in 2012, to win the 2013 All Japan Rookie of the Year at Featherweight. As his career looked to be booming he was upset by Attanon Kunlawong in 2014. He would rebuild from that loss before losing on his international debut, coming up short in a decision loss to Mike Tawatchai. That loss however seemed to allow Kawamura to build his confidence and he would string 5 wins together, including a decision victory over Tae Il Atsumi in 2017. That run of good form lead him to a fight with OPBF champion Satoshi Shimizu earlier this year, and he gave Shimizu fits, setting a high tempo and forcing the 2012 Olympic bronze medal winner to back up several times. Despite the aggression, work rate an electric start Kawamura would be stopped by Shimizu, though had impressed and was clearly going to be getting other big fights in the future.

In the ring Kawamura is an aggressive fighter, who fights out of the southpaw stance with a high work rate. He uses his southpaw jab well to set up his other work, but is defensively open, something that Shimizu made him pay for. Although he has a good jab his straight left hand is rather sloppy at times, though when it lands it can do damage. Watching him you sometimes get the feeling he's a fighter who is battling some internal urges, which wish to have an inside war, and if we're being honest his hooks do seem to be among his very best weapons and are often thrown with more conviction than his jabs and straights. Almost as if he's a natural inside fighter who is being taught to fight on the outside and make the most of his size.

Whilst Kawamura impressed in a loss to Shimizu earlier this year Sagawa impressed with a win against Ryo Matsumoto, a stablemate of Shimizu's, who he stopped in a 3 round upset in September. The win over Matsumoto was a shock, though it perhaps shouldn't have been given that Sagawa was a notable amateur, going 62-22 in the unpaid ranks, was the naturally bigger man, and was in good form with wins over the likes of Tasuku Suwa and Junki Sasaki coming into the bout. Perhaps the one reason it was a shock however was that Sagawa had lost his second professional bout by stoppage, losing in 2 rounds to Retsu Kosaka in May 2017. That loss however said more about Sagawa's lack of experience and he didn't know what to do when he was hurt, and decided to stand and fight, rather than survive, something he had learned by the time he fought Matsumoto. Technically he looked very good, prior to being hurt, and now with that extra professional experience he does seem to have developed, significantly.

As mentioned Sagawa is technically good, he's a sharp puncher, who understands the ring, moves fluidly with light feet and picks his shots well. There really isn't a shot that looks to be missing from his arsenal and he can box well on the back foot as well as from center ring. As for flaws we do wonder how he comes under intense pressure and what his chin is really like. It's also worth noting that he is typically in control of the tempo, and it's usually not an intense one, so question marks do remain about his stamina, though he has already gone 8 rounds in a bout.

If Sagawa has got a poor chin it will be found out here though we suspect he can take a solid shot. If he can take a shot he should have the edge in speed and skills and that could be enough to take him to a very hard fought decision. There is however the work rate and intensity that Kawamura can bring and that could end up being too much for Sagawa, and if Kawamura can force the action he may well break down and stop his man.

This is a fight where unknowns play a big part and in the end we will learn a lot more about both men. Given the unknowns and the fact and they will both be looking to win, we're expecting a very hotly contested contest.

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Olympic hero Shimizu takes on Kawamura

8/14/2018

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This coming Thursday Japanese fight fans at the Korakuen Hall will see 2012 Olympic Bronze medal winner Satoshi Shimizu (6-0, 6) make his third defense of the OPBF Featherweight title, as he takes on fellow Japanese southpaw Shingo Kawamura (16-3-1, 8). Interestingly this will be Shimizu's second professional bout against a domestic foe, with his last being a 109 second blow out win against Takuya Yamamoto in May 2017.

Coming in to this there is a lot of expectation on the champion who not only rides high as an Olympic medal winner or as the OPBF champion but also as a man tipped for huge success and a fighter with a perfect record. He's also entering the bout as a world ranked fighter and someone who is on the fast track to a world title fight, and given he's now 32 he can ill afford a set back if he wishes to fight at the top level of the professional ranks.

Despite being a top level amateur fighter Shimizu has a rather unique and unorthodox fighting style which sees him really rely on his freakish amateur traits. He's a 5'10” southpaw fighting at Featherweight, not many fighters at 126lbs have ever been his size and he uses his height and reach to get away with a pretty free swinging fighting style. Although he has got a jab he does seem much happier to go bombs away and look to head hunt with wide arching hooks at range. It's a style that doesn't look like it should be effective but it is, and he's looked totally dominant so far, having barely if ever lost a round since he made his professional debut in September 2016.

Blessed with not only size but also freakish power, impressive stamina and the team at the Ohashi gym behind him Shimizyu is a real nightmare to fight against.

Kawamura on the other hand has got the amateur pedigree, the world ranking, the regional title or the hype of Shimizu. Instead the 28 year old Osakan has got 6 years of professional experience behind him, the development of a hard career and the experience of needing to build himself up from the ground. He actually lost by stoppage on his debut in side the opening round, much like current world champion Sho Kimura, but has bounced back from that loss. He bounced hack so impressively that the following year he was the Rookie of the Year at Featherweight sadly for Kawamura his rise through the ranks was slowed in 2014 when he suffered a surprise loss to Thai visitor Attanon Kunlawong / Kongthara KKP.

Despite a loss on the road in 2016, to Mike Tawatchai, we've seen a real surge of success from Kawamura over the last 24 months with 5 straight wins including a massive one over Tae Il Atsumi last December, slowing the Japanese based Korean's ascent to a title fight. With his experience and confidence it's clear that he will be coming into this bout riding a bit of a high and he appears to be wary of Shimizu's low guard and his own advantages. Saying that however this is a massive step up in class for the challenger who will be looking to negate the reach and size advantages of Shimizu to land his straight left hand.

We know Shimizu is flawed, very flawed, but there is something about his awkward style that seems to leave opponents both dumb founded and on the canvas. We expect the same unorthodox approach to work well here and for him to stop Kawamura, who has been taken out inside the distance in 2 of his 3 losses. Kawamura might be confident going into the bout, and see it as a fun experience, but the reality is that this is a very different test to what he's used to.

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Sagawa and Kawamuro battle in mouth watering showdown!

Olympic hero Shimizu takes on Kawamura

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