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For this week’s Treasure Trove article we thought we’d go back to early 2020, a time before empty venues, and crowd less boxing, but . A time when the world was a different place and when it seemed like we were set for a brilliant year of fights. The fight in question was a match up that was easy to overlook internationally, but saw a Japanese fighter take on a Filipino in a contest that delivered sensational action and seemed like a platform for the winner to move on to bigger and better things. Sadly, however, the Pandemic essentially saw the winner left on the side for the rest of the year, and unable to build on the momentum from this barn burner. Kento Hatanaka (10-0, 9) vs Roland Jay Biendima (15-5-1, 8) The bout in question was a WBC Youth title fight that took place at the Aioi Hall in Kariya. It pitted two youngsters against each other, and delivered something genuinely thrilling, even if the result was never really in doubt. Heading into the bout 21 year old Japanese fighter Kento Hatanaka was the WBC Youth Flyweight champion and was a second generation fighter, following in the footsteps of his father and former world champion Kiyoshi Hatanaka. Through his first 10 bouts he had quickly become a fan favourite with an exciting and explosive style that made for fun fights. He had also shown enough vulnerabilities to look beatable. With his power he always looked dangerous and his offense was always great to see but his defense was a major issue, and he had been dropped just 1 fight earlier by Jaysever Abcede. He was also very willing to go to war with opponents, as he had in his first defense of the WBC Youth title against Songsaeng Phoyaem in 2019. His opponent was 23 year old Filipino challenger Roland Jay Biendima, a less well known fighter but a promising one himself. Coming in to this he had won 2 in a row, but was 3-3 in his previous 6 and had never won a bout on foreign soil. That sounds bad, but he was unlucky in a previous visit to Japan, losing a razor thin decision to Taiyo Inoue, and had lasted 9 rounds with Wulan Tuolehazi, who fought for a world title at the end of 2019. On paper there wasn’t much on his record to get too excited about, though he had run future world title challenger Samuel Salva close very early in his career, and had proven to be tough, with his only stoppage loss in 21 bouts coming to Tuolehazi. On paper this looked like an easy second defense for Hatanaka against a tough, but limited, challenger. In reality however this ended up being anything other than easy for the unbeaten “Prince” Hatanaka. The bout started quickly, with Hatanaka trying to establish his jab and use his explosive speed to keep Biendima at range. The Filipino, for the most part, took shots on the gloves whilst occasionally swinging for the moon. The opening round went pretty much as perfectly for Hatanaka as he could have hoped for and the pre-fight conception of this being an easy win for the Japanese local looked right. In round 2 however we began to see Biendima come to life, taking more chances and was being punished for his ambition. The fight was starting to warm up nicely, and the Filipino was the one starting to press the action, coming forward, and trying to turn the bout into a fight. His uncultured approach wasn’t netting him sustained success, but was starting to make things more exciting. The pressure and work rate of the Filipino was making the fight exciting and in round 3 saw him have some major success as he left Hatanaka with a bloodied nose. The pressure of the Filipino saw him getting inside and the two men began to trade uppercuts, with Biendima getting the fight he wanted. That continued in round 4, when he began to land uppercuts with alarming regularity. The smooth movement, speed and explosiveness of Hatanaka was unable to shine as he was being cramped for space, limited in where he could go, and unable to force Biendima to respect him. For fans watching things were getting exciting, quickly, and for Hatanaka’s team things were getting just a touch nervous. He was fighting his opponent’s fight far too often. Whilst he was having success, this was not the type of fight he would have been wanting and not the type of fight that suited him against a less skilled, but gritty challenger. Through middle rounds we continued to see the two men trading big headshots, trying to take each other out. The results of the headshots saw Hatanaka’s face being bloody and swollen as he continued to exchange shots up close, far too often. Biendima was taking the cleaner punches, being punished time and time again by the classier shots of Hatanaka, but wasn’t showing the damage in the same way as the local hero. In fact if anything the facial damage of Hatanaka was adding extra tension to a hotly competitive fight, with not just his nose bleeding, but also a nasty cut forming around his left eye. As rounds went by it seemed to become harder and harder to score. A number of rounds were incredibly close, and could have gone either way. It felt like Hatanaka would get them, given he was pretty much fighting at home, but he was being pushed all the way and the blood and cuts were certainly making it look like he was coming off worse. He looked the more talented, but it became a case of will Vs skill and Biendima’s will was giving Hatanaka’s skill all it could handle. The action never really slowed down in the later stages, as the two men looked to state a case for them deserving the win. Both had to battle like stubborn bulls at times, whilst the fight captivated with a mix of fantastic action and drama. This wasn’t an all out war, at high intensity, but it was a captivating back and forth battle. A really, really good fight, and a bit of a forgotten gem. Sadly however it was marred by very wide scorecards in what felt like a clear but very competitive, bout. The judges barely gave Biendima anything, despite his effort and successes through the contest. Sadly the Pandemic saw Hatanaka sit on the sidelines for the rest of 2020 after this contest whilst Biendima was out of the ring for 10 months, before returning in December and being stopped, in a round, by the world ranked Christian Araneta.
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This weeks one to watch comes from Kariya City where we see a touted Japanese prospect taking on a young Filipino with a point to prove, in what looks likely to be a very interesting match up.
The One to Watch? Kento Hatanaka (10-0, 9) Vs Roland Jay Biendima (15-5-1, 8) When? February 11th (Tuesday) Why? The bout, a WBC Youth title fight, pits a talented young prospects against someone who is a solid challenger to their crown. It comes after the champion was given a real gutcheck and lets us see what improvements he's made since his last bout. It also allows the challenger to aim for his biggest win to date. A good, solid match up between two youngsters, one of whom is destined for big things and the other is likely to have to work for everything he gets. Who? The 21 year old Kento Hatanaka is regarded as one of Japanese's most exciting young prospects and is following in the footsteps of his father, Kiyoshi Hatanaka. The elder Hatanaka was a world champion back in the 1990's and his on is certainly a fighter being groomed for success. Blessed with a naturally exciting style, explosive power and speed Hatanaka does look like one to watch. He impressed early in his career, stopping his first 9 opponents in a combined 32 rounds, whilst claiming the WBC Youth Flyweight title and recording a defense of the title. Last time out he got a genuine gutcheck, as he went 10 rounds with Jaysever Abcede, being dropped in the bout, and for the first time there was real questions asked of Hatanaka, who was a little lucky to get the win. Aged 23 Roland Jay Biendima is a Filipino who has been a pro for almost 4 years and has proven to be a fighter who's better than his record suggests. He's no world beater, but he's not been embarrassed so far and his losses have come to good fighters, with defeats to Jayson Mama, Samuel Salva, Taiyo Inoue, Wulan Tuolehazi and Bin Zhou. Comparing his opponents to Hatanaka is really unfair as Biendima has been genuinely up against it, and 3 of his losses have come in the homeland of his opponents. Sadly he's yet to score a notable win, with his best being a stoppage against Ronie Tanallon, but here's proven to be a solid fighter in his losses. What to expect? We don't expect to see Hatanaka struggle in the same way he did with Abcede, but we still expect to see him being given a genuine test here. Biendima is a strong fighter, with a powerful jab and is physically imposing, despite not being the biggest puncher or the quickest. He's the sort of fighter who pushes forward behind his jab and keeps up a solid output. We suspect the technical flaws of Biendima will be his undoing here against a technically sharp Hatanaka, but the Filipino will certainly make Hatanaka work for his success. The real issue Biendima has is that his hands do low and that will give Hatanaka chances to catch him clean. If he does that he could stop Biendima, which we eventually think will happen, at some point. The bad news? At the time of writing it's unclear how this is being made available. We expect CBC to release it online, as they have done with other Hatanaka fights, but it's not obvious when they'll make it available or in what form. Seeing prospects blitz everyone they go in front of is a double edged sword. On one hand it allows the prospect to build up a fearsome reputation and a highlight reel of impressive looking finishes. On the other hand it leaves us with a lot of questions about the prospect, their heart, their will to win and their boxing IQ. As a result we love to see prospects getting tested, being forced to answer questions and digging deep. On August 24th we saw that happen in a big way with real hidden gem. Kento Hatanaka (9-0, 9) vs Jaysever Abcede (19-8, 12) The unbeaten Kento Hatanaka, dubbed the "Prince" had looked like a rising star though his first 9 bouts. He had pretty much blown away everyone he'd faced and only Thai hopeful Songsaeng Phoyaem had survived beyond the end of round 5 with the youngster from Nagoya. Hatanaka, like stable mate Kosei Tanaka, looked like he was going to be a major player over the coming years and no one was going to be surprised if he managed to match up with his father, Kiyoshi Hatanaka, in becoming a world champion. On paper he was supposed to 10-0 (10) here. Those watching who had no idea about his opponent were expecting a blow out, though even they would have accepted that this was a step up in class for the youngster. Filipino fighter Jaysever Abcede was a real unknown for fans outside of Asia, but those followed the Asian scene knew enough about him to know he was a lot better than his record suggested. Through his 27 fights he had lost 8 but had only been stopped twice, by Tsubasa Koura and Lito Dante, and the 24 year old had certainly been finding his feet in bouts coming in to this. He had notched up 4 straight wins, including up sets against Stamp Kiatniwat and Seigo Yuri Akui, and had really found his groove as a Flyweight, out-growing the Minimumweight and Light Flyweight divisions that he had suffered most of his losses at. What we ended up seeing, for the first time, was a fighter who could stand up to Hatanaka's power and tenacity, and fire back. Abcede had the experience, the toughness and the skills to test Hatanaka, and for the first time in his career we saw the youngster put in a sink or swim scenario. He had think about what he was doing, he had to grit out the storm, and despite scoring a knockdown, he had to realise fighters weren't always going to be overwhelmed by his pressure and aggression. As a result of Abcede's determination we ended up getting a very special bout, a real gem of contest that tested a prospect in a way that we rarely see. This was great and this the sort of bout that every prospect needs to go through. Due to the Flyweight division being in a state of change in 2018, what may go down as one of the division's most transitional years in living memory, it's been awkward in really recognising the divisional contenders. It seems like so many of the highest ranked fighters haven't had the management or mentality to fight fellow contenders and prove they deserve a shot. Thankfully the division has delivered in terms of prospects, with a host of youngsters making their charge and looking to climb through the rankings. If you missed out look at the champions in the division you can catch up here The state of the Division - Flyweight - The Champions whilst out look at the contenders is here The state of the Division - Flyweight - The Contenders Junto Nakatani (17-0, 12) Japanese 20 year old boxer-puncher Junto Nakatani might have 17 bouts to his name and not yet have had a world title fight but the youngster has already won the All Japan Rookie of the Year, the Japanese title and will fight for the main Japanese title in the new year, battling Naoki Mochizuki in February for the vacant title. He's been one to watch for a few years now and wins against the likes of Masamichi Yabuki, Mario Andrade, Seigo Yuri Akui and Dexter Alimento have all put him in a place where a world title fight looks inevitable. The biggest question when it comes to Nakatani is "when" and not "if" he'll fight at the very top level in the division. Ryota Yamauchi (4-0, 4) Top Japanese prospects are well known for being fast tracked and so far Ryota Yamauchi looks like he is on the fact track, having already beaten two notable names in just 4 bouts. The talented 23 year old has already stopped Lester Abutan and Yota Hori and looks like a very talented boxer puncher. Despite the obvious talent and belief of his team it does seem like we'll be seeing him held back just a touch, and wouldn't be surprised if he only competes for his first title towards the end of 2019. Over the coming years however he will likely find himself well and truly in the mix at world level. Mekhdi Abdurashedov (5-0, 2) The Russian boxing scene is set to have a new wave of great talent, following the old guard of fighters like Denis Lebedev and Alexander Povetkin. One of the new wave is the unbeaten Mekhdi Abdurashedov, who turns 20 before the end of the year. At such a young age it's hard to know just how good he really is, but he looked like a sensation when he stopped Prince Andrew Laurio in 3 rounds and has also impressed in wins over Iwan Zoda and Hugo Hernandez Aguilar. It might be a long wait to see Abdurashedov fighting for a world title, but after just 5 fights he already looks like he will, eventually, end up fighting at world level. Kento Hatanaka (7-0, 7) WBC Youth World champion Kento Hatanaka is a second generation fighter, following in the footsteps of his father Kiyoshi Hatanaka, a world champion back in the 1990's. Kento is aged 20 and already appears to have the tools needed to go a long way, with vicious power, great speed, exciting combination punching and a real desire to make an impression. There is still a lot of improving for Hatanaka to do before he moves onto senior titles, but with the tools he has been blessed with, as well as the training he'll get along side current WBO world champion Kosei Tanaka there is real potential for Hatanaka to not only improve but to go on and become a world champion of the future. Dave Apolinario (9-0, 6) Filipino teenager Dave Apolinario doesn't turn 20 until January 2019 but is already getting rave reviews in the Philippines due to his combination of skills, power and ring craft. The youngster hasn't really fought anyone of real note yet, but has looked incredible at the early stages of his career and already shown an ability to go 8 rounds, as well as the ability to blow opponents away early on. He's perhaps a few years away from reaching his physical prime, but when he develops his man strength he will become a very hard man to beat. At the moment we expect to see Apolinario being given baby steps, but that's certainly not a problem. Alphoe Dagayloan (11-2-5-1, 5) We see quite a lot of Filipino's with really misleading records, and Alphoe Dagayloan is another in that mould. The Southpaw has a less than stellar record but a lot of that has to do with baffling 4-2-4-1 start to his professional career. He is now riding a 5 fight winning run and has scored notable wins over Madiyar Zhanuzak and Rongguo Wu in his last 2 bouts. He can be our boxed, but he's a nightmare as he comes forward, throws a lot of hard shots and breaks opponents down. His record may put some off believing him to be a prospect but we've been impressed and suspect he could go on to challenge for a world title in the future, if he continues his current run of form. |
Takahiro Onaga
Takahiro Onaga is a regular contributor to Asian Boxing and will now be a featured writer in his own column where his takes his shot at various things in the boxing world. Archives
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