Sho Ishida
Courtesy of http://ameblo.jp/ioka/
When we talk about great boxing's stables in Japan the first ones that spring to mind are typically Teiken, the biggest Japanese promoter who promotes Shinsuke Yamanaka, Watanabe, a major promoter who current control Takashi Uchiyama and Kohei Kono, and the legendary Kyoei who have taken fighters like Yoko Gushiken and Yuri Arbachakov to world titles.
Today however the world has moved on and we've seen the real emergence of two newer, younger gyms. One is the Ohashi gym founded by Hideyuki Ohashi whilst the other is the Ioka gym, spearheaded by Hiroki Ioka. The two gyms, although rivals, both appear to have the same philosophy of developing young talent and pushing their fighters fast and hard. They seem to realise that some young fighters really don't need to spend years developing their talent and instead need pushing.
With Ohashi the best example is that of super star Naoya Inoue, who won a world title in just his 6th bout, for Ioka however it's been Kazuto Ioka who won a world title in just his 7th professional bout. It's not just the leading students of these two gyms which are being moved up the world rankings at a young age but actually a number of fighters from each each gym are effectively being pushed early For example Ohashi gym's Ryuji Hara who was extremely young when he OPBF title and is ranked by all 4 major bodies.
Another fighter of that ilk is Ioka gym's Sho Ishida (22-0, 11) [石田 匠] who has swiftly become one of the Japanese fighters that every fan should be keeping an eye on, even if he's not viewed as being one of the top 2 or 3 guys at the Ioka Gym.
Dubbed "The Prince", Ishida is a 24 year Super Flyweight who made his debut back in 2009. Unlike a number of top prospects however Ishida lacked an extensive amateur boxing background, instead coming primarily from a kick boxing background, though he did have some amateur boxing contests and he did claim a national title.
On debut the then 17 year old Ishida made an immediate impact stopping Thailand's Taweesak Petchteerapong in just 160 seconds. Although it had been a short introduction to professional boxing it had been one that left an impact and show that the youngster had clear potential and talent.
Today however the world has moved on and we've seen the real emergence of two newer, younger gyms. One is the Ohashi gym founded by Hideyuki Ohashi whilst the other is the Ioka gym, spearheaded by Hiroki Ioka. The two gyms, although rivals, both appear to have the same philosophy of developing young talent and pushing their fighters fast and hard. They seem to realise that some young fighters really don't need to spend years developing their talent and instead need pushing.
With Ohashi the best example is that of super star Naoya Inoue, who won a world title in just his 6th bout, for Ioka however it's been Kazuto Ioka who won a world title in just his 7th professional bout. It's not just the leading students of these two gyms which are being moved up the world rankings at a young age but actually a number of fighters from each each gym are effectively being pushed early For example Ohashi gym's Ryuji Hara who was extremely young when he OPBF title and is ranked by all 4 major bodies.
Another fighter of that ilk is Ioka gym's Sho Ishida (22-0, 11) [石田 匠] who has swiftly become one of the Japanese fighters that every fan should be keeping an eye on, even if he's not viewed as being one of the top 2 or 3 guys at the Ioka Gym.
Dubbed "The Prince", Ishida is a 24 year Super Flyweight who made his debut back in 2009. Unlike a number of top prospects however Ishida lacked an extensive amateur boxing background, instead coming primarily from a kick boxing background, though he did have some amateur boxing contests and he did claim a national title.
On debut the then 17 year old Ishida made an immediate impact stopping Thailand's Taweesak Petchteerapong in just 160 seconds. Although it had been a short introduction to professional boxing it had been one that left an impact and show that the youngster had clear potential and talent.
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After picking up a 4 round decision in his second bout Ishida was quickly moved through the levels and in his third bout he took on Shinichiro Morikawa (then 7-1-1) in a 6 rounder. Although Ishida struggled with Morikawa he did manage to take a victory in a very hard fought contest and a bout that will have matured Ishida more than 10 easy wins.
The test against Morikawa, which came on the same show as Kazuto Ioka's second pro contest, seemed to convince Ioka Gym that they had a real talent on their hands, but not someone who needed to be rushed. The talent was there, but the physical maturity and power wasn't. Rather than rush the youngster they let their charge develop in to a man whilst remaining active in the ring. This saw Ishida advancing his record to 6-0 (2) before he would face his next serious opponent. Having had a year to mature Ishida would take on Yuki Takahashi (then 10-5) in his 7th professional bout. Takahashi, although sporting a moderate record, was on a solid 3 fight winning streak at Japanese domestic level. Ishida made it look like he was fighting a novice, dominating the 8 rounder by winning pretty much every round as he proved to be a swiftly improving fighter. With a record of 7-0 (2) some had been questioning Ishida's power. He was still a teenager and still lacked his man strength, though some were wondering if he'd ever develop as a puncher. In 2011 Ishida proved he was developing his power as he scored a trio of stoppages, including second round TKO's over both Petchtrang Sor Yuphinda, who was then unbeaten, and Edwin Tumbaga as well as an opening blast out over Sirichai Monthon Gym. Within a year Ishida had gone from 7-0 (2) to 10-0 (5) and questions about his power were beginning to be answered. In 2012 he went on to again prove his talent as he took a clear decision over former OPBF Flyweight title challenger Yasuto Aritomi. Aritomi (then 18-3-2) had suffered only 2 losses in the previous 7 years with one of those coming to OPBE champion Rocky Fuentes whilst the other had come to former world title challenger Junichi Ebisuoka. Ishida, knowing he was in with a very test foe, showed off what he had learned over the previous few years and took a clear decision over Aritomi. Ishida built on the victory over Aritomi by scoring a 46 second blow out over Chaloemphon Bor Patang to finish 2012 with a bang. This victory, on the under-card of Kazuto Ioka's blow out of Jose Alfredo Rodriguez and Ryo Miyazaki's memorable clash with Pornsawan Porpramook, was understandably over-shadowed though was a very impressive one that showed just how much power Ishida actually had in his hands. In 2013 we saw Ishida go from strength to strength. He started the year with a very clear victory over Tawanrung Eausampan, who later took Filipino puncher Froilan Saludar 10 rounds before stopping Thailand's tough Petchbarngborn Kokietgym in just 2 rounds and ending the year with a 75 second victory over Comeback Wor Por Srisaket. Ishida kicked off 2014 with an easy victory over Brukluk Kor Narong Service. It was a stay busy fight on the under-card of Kauto Ioka's contest with Amnat Ruenroeng though it was also a bout that help keep Ishida sharp as he awaited a title fight, a fight that came in August 2014 against Yohei Tobe. Tobe really tested Ishida but the talented youngster managed to do just enough to over-come Tobe and successfully claim the Japanese Super Flyweight title, the first professional title of Ishida's career and we expect there will be many more to follow. In his first defence of the title Ishida stopped the over-matched Masato Morisaki in 5 rounds. His second turned out to be much more testing as he narrowly over-came Taiki Eto in a very competitive 10 round bout Ishida looked like a star early in the bout but ended up getting a real test in the later rounds as Ishida began to tire. He appeared to work on his stamina in his following defense as he over-came Hayato Kimura via a wide decision in a mandatory title defense before destroying the horribly over-matched Ryuta Otsuka at the end of 2015 in 4 one-sided rounds. To begin 2016 Ishida defended the Japanese title in a very close win over Ryuichi Funai in a bout that saw Ishida starting well before tiring down the stretch as he narrowly retained his title. A title that he subsequently vacated whilst stating that he was now in search of a world title fight. Now with a record of 22-0 (11) it's fair to say that Ishida is a man on the verge of big things. His victory over Petchbarngborn was by far his most impressive, prior to beating Tobe. In that bout he stopped a man who had never been stopped before and had taken Kohei Kono very close in a hard fought fight. This result alone should have proven Ishida was world class but it's the way he scored it that was so impressive. He dominated the bout with his movement and lovely jab which was regularly doubled then closed the show with a vicious body shot that effectively knocked the fighting spirit out of Petchbarngborn. Although the victory over Petchbarngborn was highly impressive it's now been over-shadowed by the victory over Tobe, which has really legitimatised the potential of Ishida and Eto, who showed that Ishida has got the grit to see out some tough times. At just 24 year old and still maturing Ishida appears to have it all. He has speed, skills, developing power, freakish size for a Super Flyweight (5'7"), great reach and fantastic movement. Added to those natural traits is the fact he's part of the Ioka Gym, a stable of young fighters which is really emerging as a genuine force in the boxing world. Together we expect to see Ishida's development continuing and it won't be long until he moves on to a world title fight at either Flyweight, which we believe he can actually make, or Super Flyweight which appears to be the division he is most comfortable at. With his age though Ishida could well end up fighting at Featherweight by the time he retires The video below, thanks to yossy112311, shows Ishida's stoppage over Petchbarngborn and really shows off just how good he really is. |
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