|
We've all heard of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, and we've decided to put our spin on things with "Six degrees of separation" looking to connect Asian fighters you may never have assumed were connected! Today we connect Kazakh Middle star Gennady Golovkin to former Japanese world champion Takashi Uchiyama.
Just as ground rules, we're not doing the more basic "A beat B who beat C who beat D" type of thing, but instead we want to link fighters in different ways. As a result we will limit A fought B connections, and try to get more varied connections together, as you'll see here! We also know there are often shorter routes to connect fighters, but that's not always the most interesting way to connect them. 1-On May 6th 2006 Gennady Golovkin made his professional debut, beating Gabor Balogh inside a round in Dusseldorf. On the very same day Eagle Den Junlaphan retained the WBC Minimumweight title with a unanimous decision over Filipino challenger Rodel Mayol, over in Tokyo, to record his second defense of his second reign. 2-The talented Japanese based Thai born Eagle Den Junlaphan would go on to successfully make 2 more defenses of the WBC Minimumweight title after his win over Rodel Mayol. He then lost the belt in 2007 when he travelled over to Thailand to take on Oleydong Sithsamerchai in the 8th world title bout between two Thai's, otherwise known as a "Bloodline Battle". 3-Following his WBC title win Oleydong Sithsamerchai went on to make 6 successful defenses, which at the time put him third for the most defenses of the WBC Minimumweight title behind Ricardo Lopez and Jose Antonio Aguirre. Included in those 6 defenses was a draw against Pornsawan Popramook in 2010. This meant he was only the third WBC Minimumweight champion to retain with a draw, the first was Hirioki Ioka in 1988. 4-Japan's Hiroki Ioka is well known for being a 2-weight world champion, the youngest world champion in Japanese boxing history, the final student Eddie Townsend and the uncle of Kazuto Ioka. He was a genuinely big deal in the 1980's and 1990's. Interestingly his final bout came on December 19th 1998, that was the same day Floyd Mayweather Jr beat Angel Manfredy to record his first defense of the WBC Super Featherweight title. 5-At the 1996 Olympics Floyd Mayweather Jr won an Olympic bronze medal at Featherweight, losing in his semi-final to Serafim Todorov. The eventual gold medal winner in the division was Thailand's Kamsing Somluck, who defeated Todorov 8-5 in the final. 6-It wasn't just the Olympics that Kamsing Somluck had success at but he was actually a really,really successful amateur, winning medals across various international competitions and tournaments. Included in those was the 2002 King's Cup in Bangkok. On route to that win win Kamsing beat future WBA Super Featherweight champion Takashi Uchiyama in the semi-final!
0 Comments
For this week's fact piece we've decided take a look at the often forgotten Michael Domingo (42-18-3, 23), a talented, highly capable Filipino who's record really isn't an accurate reflection of his talent and ability. Like many Filipino fighters he was given tough fights early on, had to travel for bouts and fought on short notice, resulting in a lot of early losses. Despite that he carved out a very solid career that saw him coming within touching distance of a world title fight before his career came to an end.
Dubbed "Bruce Lee" the skilled Domingo fought between 1999 and 2012 shared the ring with a number of notable names. Among those were the likes of Jimrex Jaca, Sod Looknongyangtoy, Somsak Sithchatchawal, Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym, Rolly Lunas, Miguel Roman, Jose Navarro and Vusi Malinga. Although not the biggest name in Filipino boxing he will go down as one of the country's most over-looked fighters and a man who deserves a lot more attention and time. With that in mind lets take a look at some mid-week facts around Domingo! 1-During his in ring career Domingo was a well travelled fighter. He not only fought in the Philippines but also Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, France, the USA and South Africa. His form on the road was rather startling and mixed. In Thailand he went win-less, going 0-5, in Japan he was was also win-less, going 0-5-1, whilst in France and South Africa he went 0-1. Yet he was unbeaten in South Korea, 2-0, Indonesia 3-0, and the US, 1-0 2-Domingo fought on his 24th birthday! Not only did he fight on his birthday, on August 23rd 2003, but he also took a win, scoring a 3rd round KO win over the previously unbeaten Jake Verano. 3-Unlike most fighters who move up through the weights Domingo actually moved down the weights, quite significantly in fact. His debut was at Lightweight, and just 4 months later he had dropped 18lbs and was fighting at Bantamweight, which was arguably the weight he was best suited at. Sadly though the talented Filipino struggled to get regular Bantamweight fights and would regularly fight at Super Bantamweight in his prime, including his career defining upset win over Miguel Roman in 2007. 4-Following his retirement from in ring competition Domingo went on to become a trainer at the ALA Gym. Among the fighters he was responsible for included Merlito Sabillo and Jimmy Paypa. 5-The Domingo name lives on in the sport with Michael's nephew Esneth Domingo being a very promising youngster himself. Extra Fact - In 2008 Domingo had a bout with world ranked fighter Nestor Rocha called off after having a test showing he had Hepatitis B. He would be cleared to fight again just a few months later when he was tested in the Philippines. The result of Domingo being pulled from that bout saw Rocha take a win over journeyman Oscar Andrade before getting a WBC world title fight with Hozumi Hasegawa in 2009.  CBD gummies are fast becoming a household name. While some people understand the uses and benefits, there are people who do not understand why it is fast becoming popular and the relevance to everyday living. CBD gummies refer to a kind of Cannabidiol eatables that come in different variations depending on their usage. They are also organic snacks that are gummy and soaked inside full-spectrum organic cannabidiol oil. Each gummy contains 10mg, 25, 50, or 100mg of complete spectrum CBD. When you are looking for CBD gummies, it is recommended that you go for products that have been tested and certified good enough in terms of achieving the desired result. There are products that have a variety of CBD gummies that have assorted fruit flavors. These products are usually sweetened with deep organic sugarcane with no artificial sweeteners. If you need recommendations on reputable stores where you can get these products, you can visit: https://cheefbotanicals.com/product/vegan-cbd-gummies/ to learn more about them. We have also outlined some uses of these products as well as the benefits people can derive from the consumption. Please read on as we explain more. Uses of CBD Gummies  Check below to see some uses of CBD gummies:
Pain Relief One of the effective ways you can manage pain is the use of CBD gummies. If you are experiencing discomfort in any part of your body, you can use these supplements to facilitate the reduction or complete riddance of the pains. If you feel the pains are from a broken joint, then you may have to visit a doctor rather than indulging in self-medication. Fights Sleep Disorders If you are experiencing any form of sleep disorder, cannabidiol gummies are effective in helping you to get rid of sleep issues ranging from insomnia to other momentary issues. You can also use these supplements if you want to improve your sleep. Fights Depression Depression is a major issue affecting the lives of some people. It could be from challenges emanating from academic work, relationships or the many vicissitudes of life. When going through rough patches, very few persons can successfully go through the situation without succumbing to depression. However, when one is in this situation, one of the recommended ways of fighting it is through the use of CBD gummies. They are very effective in helping one to calm down and stop seeing life through fast wheels that are on high speed. With the calming effect it has, it provides respite from depression. Reduces Anxiety Some people have anxiety issues and this affects how they relate with others. The implication of this is that they may develop other health issues beyond their control. With these supplements, one can put anxiety in check and ensure that they are in control of their minds at all times. Reduction of Inflammation They are also effective in reducing inflammation in human body system and are also useful in treating acne issues. These are some of the uses of CBD gummies. Now we will look at the benefits of using these supplements. Benefits of Using CBD Gummies The following are some benefits of these supplements: Non-Psychotropic Effect With these supplements, there are no chances of getting high after consumption. They lack psychotropic ingredients and are suitable for all kinds of persons regardless of your underlying health condition. Easy to Take There are people who find it difficult to swallow pills. If you find yourself in this category then using CBD gummies wouldn’t be a problem as they are easy to take. You can munch and then swallow so you do not have to go through the difficulty of swallowing drugs that some people experience. On a similar note, if you find it difficult to swallow pills and you need tips to walk you through the situation, you can check here. Lasting Effect The digestive and circulatory system both function at their individual pace which can be referred to as slow. If they fail to function in this manner, the body will be rich with nutrients at one time and nothing else, the next time. This is also how CBD gummies work. They are gradually released to cover the body for a long period of time making sure that the effects are evenly distributed. Antioxidants Antioxidants play the role of stopping the destructive impact of oxidation and this is what you get when you consume these supplements. CBD gummies contain properties that are effective in protecting the brain as well as the body from free radicals that are harmful. Relaxation There are too many engagements that can keep one busy through the day. When one exhausts all the energy in their body while working, it may be difficult to get that long and sound rest they desire. With these supplements, one can get good rest even when under severe stress. These are some of the uses and benefits of using CBD gummies. If you have developed good interest and you are looking for how to make your own CBD gummies at home? You can get a guide and start experimenting. Conclusion Are you in search of a good dietary supplement that is natural? Then you really have to search no more as you just found an answer – CBD gummies. They are plant extracts that come in different forms and varieties to suit the health of the consumer. You can go ahead and check them out. Sometimes referred to as one of Japan's most forgotten world champions Leopard Tamakuma (27-5-1, 13) is not someone who immediately springs to mind when you talk about world champions or top Flyweights. Despite that the man from Aomori City was a very notable fighter during the 1980's and 1990's. His career often goes over-looked despite the fact he had success at every level of the pros, winning Rookie of the Year, Japanese national and world titles.
Despite being over-looked Tamakuma shouldn't be forgotten and with that in mind we want to bring you 10 facts you probably didn't know about... Leopard Tamakuma! 1-When he first started boxing Tamakuma fought as an orthodox fighter, but within a year of him starting the sport he would turn southpaw. 2-As an amateur Tamakuma suffered a loss to future IBF Bantamweight champion Satoshi Shingaki. That was one of only 7 losses Tamakuma had whilst fighting in the unpaid ranks. 3-Tamakuma's regular ring walk music was "Something happened on the way to heaven" by Phil Collins. 4-Interestingly Tamakuma fought under his real name until 1984. His first bout as Leopard Tamakuma came in May 1984, when he fought Takahiro Masaki. The change was due to the traditions of the International Gym, who gave ranked fighters new ring names. Incidentally he actually suffered his first professional loss in the first bout he fought with his new ring name. 5-In 1990 Tamakuma won the WBA Flyweight title, stopping Yul Woo Lee. He would defend the belt, later that year, before being recognised as the Best fighter at the annual Japanese boxing awards and winning the boxing award at the Hochi Professional Sports Awards, becoming only the 7th boxer to receive that honour. 6-Tamakuma's first defense of the WBA Flyweight title, against Jesus Rojas in 1990, managed to be a ratings success, drawing 19.2% on NTV. Sadly however this would be Tamakuma's only successful defense, before he lost the belt to Elvis Alvarez in 1991 7-Talking about NTV the channel did a special on Tamakuma that was called "Leopard Tamakuma - miracle of glory". This showed not only some footage from Tamakuma's in ring career but also featured the man himself talking about the sport and his career, as well as those who were close to him during his career. This is something that is well worth a watch for those who can understand Japanese. 8-The bout with Alvarez sadly saw Tamakuma suffer a detached retina and essentially force the former WBA Flyweight champion into retirement, despite the fact he was still only in his 20's. 9-Following his retirement from the ring Tamakuma has stayed involved in boxing. To begin with he actually remained at the International gym, where he helped trained Celes Kobayashi and Prosper Matsura. 10-Tamakuma opened the Leopard Tamakuma Boxing Gym, his own gym, in November 1995 For today's Remarkable Round article we head back to 1986 for a round that was absolutely sensational and left fans with their jaws on the flaws as both men hit the canvas, and the moment of the round shifted back and forth several times. Despite only being a typical 3 minute round the drama and action was more than we typically see in a 12 round fight. This was a sensational round with thrilling back and forth and saw both men looking on the verge of a defeat. This was among the very, very best rounds we've ever seen. Eiji Okita (13-1-1, 6) vs Shinji Kobayashi (7-2-1, 5) In on corner was Eiji Okita, not a man we suspect many will be familiar with. At this point in time he was ranked #1 by the JBC and sported a very handsome 13-1-1 (6) record. Aged 23 at this point in his career he was seen a rising force in the in either the Super Featherweight division, or the Lightweight division. The two marks on his record were a loss from 1983, when he was stopped in just his 5th professional bout, and a draw against the then Japanese Lightweight champion Cheyenne Yamamoto. Following that draw, in 1985 he had scored 2 wins coming into this bout, and was knocking on the door of a second Japanese title fight. In the opposite corner was southpaw slugger Shinji Kobayashi, a man who's Boxrec record is incomplete as we write this. Boxrec list Kobayashi as sporting a 1-1 (1) record but in reality he was 7-2-1 (5) and was ranked #8 by the JBC at 130lbs. He had debuted in 1984 and had lost 2 of his first 5 bouts, sporting a record of 2-2-1 at that point. Despite his faltering start he had began to build his career and had scored 3 successive wins coming into this bout with Okita. He had proven to have solid power, with 5 stoppages in his first 7 wins, and coming in to this bout both of his losses had been by decision. The winner of this bout was almost certainly going to be getting a Japanese title fight in the near future, and both men knew what was on the line here. That showed through out the first round, but it was really round 2 that saw the bout go through the gears and give us something truly amazing. The round began with Kobayashi on the offensive and he seemed to be full of confidence before eating a perfect straight right hand on the button. That shot, after around 19 seconds, sent Kobayashi down for the first knockdown of the round. After a roll towards his corner Kobayashi was up, and it seemed more like he was embarrassed than hurt, smiling to the fans from his corner. Okita seemed to feel that he was the boss after the knockdown and tried to take his man out, landing several solid body shots, but Kobayashi took them well and Okita backed off, returning to his boxing and counter punching. With around 2 minutes of the round gone Kobayashi putting Okita on to the back foot, and sent him on to the ropes. Kobayashi seemed to feel he had his man hurt and rushed in as Kobayashi backed off, before being sent to the canvas in a heap. It was hard to see what Okita landed to score the second knockdown, but Kobayashi didn't complain about the knockdown and looked in more pain this time than earlier on. With the 3 knockdown rule in effect Okita knew he was on the verge of a victory and went after Kobayashi with huge body shots. To his credit Kobayashi dug deep, fighting back despite his legs looking all over the place. It seemed like Kobayashi was about to go down again, but then, from nowhere, he landed a perfect straight left hand, sending Okita down hard. It was the third knockdown of the round and by far the hardest. Okita, somehow, got back to his feet, beating the count. Kobayashi went in for the finish, but the bell came and saved Okita, who looked wobbly as he went to his corner. If you've never seen this round, and there's a really good chance you haven't, it is worth sitting down, and enjoying! It is spectacular! A massive thank you to Seki-chan and his amazing Boxinglib.com for the details regarding Kobayashi's record. Recently in this series we looked at Manny Pacquiao winning his first world title, with his shock win, at the age of 19, against Chatchai Sasakul. That win is one that often goes over-looked when people look over his career despite it being a massive upset against the WBC and Linear Flyweight champion. That however wasn't the only upset scored by "Pacman" and today we look at another upset win by the Filipino icon. Date June 23rd 2001 Venue MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Manny Pacquiao (32-2, 23) vs Lehlo Ledwaba (33-1-1, 22) At the time Pacquiao was 22 years old, he boasted an impressive looking 32-2 (23) record but he had mostly fought at Flyweight, where he had claimed the OPBF and WBC titles. He had moved up to Super Bantamweight after struggles to fight at 112lbs got too much, and lead to him being stripped of the WBC Flyweight title in 1999 and he had failed to secure another world title bout after that. Although well regarded in Asia Pacquiao wasn't known at all outside of Asia and his title reign at Flyweight had been a short one, consisting of just a single defense. Outside of his short world title reign, several weight classes below, there was little to suggest he was a world class fighter, or would become one. What many don't realise is that Pacquiao wasn't the original opponent for the bout. That was supposed to be Enrique Sanchez, a Mexican who had been injured in training and Pacquiao took the bout on 2 weeks notice. This had given him almost no time to prepare for the bout, tough he had fought just 2 months earlier against Wethya Sakmuangklang, aka Foijan Prawet. In fact this bout, with Ledwaba, was Pacquiao's third fight in 4 months, his first outside of Asia and, as mentioned, a bout he took on 2 weeks notice. Whilst Pacquiao was an unknown outside of Asia Lehlo Ledwaba was the IBF Super Bantamweight champion. He was from South Africa and had began to get the attention of HBO, who were very impressed by him. He had won the title with a win at home against John Michael Johnson before going on the road to defend it in the US and the UK. By the time he was facing Pacquiao he had defended the belt 5 times and shown himself to be a very talented fighter, who had stopped 4 of his 5 challengers. He had looked like a brilliant boxer, with an excellent jab, some really sharp movements and a good boxing brain. He knew how to control the ring, and how to box smartly, something that was expected to help him get a read on his unknown challenger. We mentioned that Enrique Sanchez was originally lined up as the opponent for Ledwaba. Whilst Pacquiao hadn't been training Ledwaba was training to face a southpaw, like Pacquiao. Notably however Sanchez and Pacquiao were very different types of southpaws, and in fact Pacquiao wasn't like the footage that was available on him, of which there wasn't a lot like their is now. One thing we often forget is that youtube has made access to footage a lot easier, but that wasn't around in 2001. Interestingly this was also Ledwaba's third fight 2001, he had also fought 2 months earlier, beating Carlos Contreras, and had also fought in February, stopping Arnel Barotillo. Before the opening bell Ledwaba had been priced as a clear favourite. He was a known quantity, a talented fighter and some bookies actually refused to take bets on the bout, seeing it as a foregone conclusion for the South African, who seemed to be heading towards greatness. From the off the two men both looked to quickly feel out what the other man had in their locker. After only a few seconds however Pacquiao found his groove and he looked crisper, sharper and faster than the champion. To his credit Ledwaba looked relaxed and tried to keep control of the center of the ring, landing some solid straight shots. Despite Ledwaba having some nice moments he was being tagged frequently by the Filipino, who had bloodied the champion's nose and looked dominant as we went to the bell. After winning the first round Pacquiao managed to dominate the second round, dropping the South African champion. Ledwaba, despite being the champion, was put into survival mode about a minute into the round. The champion tried to do what he could to get Pacquiao's respect, landing a good body shot, but couldn't slow the Filipino for long and Pacquiao would regain control before the round was over. Mentally and physically Ledwaba was being beaten up. His best shots were only having a momentary effect, and he was being punished soon afterwards. By round 3 Ledwaba was in a hole and he knew it. He did well early in the round, creating space and keeping Pacquiao away early on. Pacquiao however turned it on midway through the round and quickly took the play away from the champion with heavy hurtful blows that again saw him take the round. By the end of the round Ledwaba was a bloodied mess. Round by round Ledwaba was getting beaten up. He looked a done fighter at the end of round 5 and as we went into round 6 the champion was looking like he needed something big to happen to keep his reign alive. Sadly for him something big did happen though not in the way he would have wanted. Around 30 seconds into the round Ledwaba was dropped from a left hand by the Filipino. On the restart he was still hurt and another left dropped him. The referee didn't even think about letting Ledwaba got to his feet, instead halting the bout. Pacquiao had been given a chance to shine and had taken it, beating up the champion to announce himself as a heavy handed, fan friendly fighter. From this win Pacquiao built and built, and became the global boxing star that fans know and love. He would use this to launch his career in the US and quickly became one of the faces of boxing, scoring big wins over the likes of Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barerra, OScar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto among others. Sadly for Ledwaba he never really recovered from this loss, fighting on until 2006 but going 3-4 before retiring following a stoppage loss to Maxwell Awuku. This past Thursday we saw talented Japanese Light Welterweight Gonte Lee (3-0-1, 1) pick up his most notable win so far, as he defeated Aso Ishiwaki in an 8 rounder at Korakuen Hall. With that win under his belt Lee has done 8 rounds for the first time, and beaten his first Japanese opponent. He has also taken huge steps towards getting his first title fight.
With that win now under his belt we've decided to focus on Lee this week as we look at 5 potential bouts for the talented southpaw, who recent turned 25 and will not be wanting to waste too much time before moving his career to the next level. Note - Due to the current restrictions in Japan, we have only considered Japanese fighters here. 1-Koichi Aso (24-9-1, 15) Although it seems early to be taking major risks with Lee's career we really don't imagine that Teiken will hold him back. Instead we expect Teiken to want him to move towards a title fight in 2022 or 2023. With that in mind we wouldn't be surprised by Teiken looking to match their man with a former Japanese champion. There's few around at 140lbs, but one of those that would be available would be veteran Kocihi Aso. The 35 year old Aso has been an amazing servant to Japanese boxing over the years but is very much a fighter on the slide, he has lost 2 of his last 4 and looked very much washed in his razor thin win over Shogo Yamaguchi. He is an ideal opponent for Lee. 2-Akihiro Kondo (32-9-2, 18) Although Aso would be ideal there is a chance Teiken have bigger aspiration for their 35 year old hopeful. It that's right then maybe they'll take a look at former world title challenger Akihiro Kondo as a future opponent. This would be a very high risk bit of match making, but the reward would be huge. And Lee has the tools to beat Kondo. We last saw Kondo in the ring in 2020, when he pushed Daishi Nagata all the way in a 7th round technical draw. Before then however he had looked poor against Tatsuya Yanagi and was easily outboxed by Andy Hiraoka. If Lee works on the gameplan that Hiraoka did, using his speed, movement and jab, and avoids a tear with the smaller, much older Kondo, he could well take a wide decision over him. This would be a chance to make a huge statement for Lee. 3-Homare Yasui (5-1-2, 4) A left of field pick here for a potential Lee opponent is 2019 All Japan Rookie of the Year winner, at Welterweight, Homare Yasui. The 21 year old Yasui is an aggressive, exciting and physically strong fighter who is hungry to make a mark on the sport himself. He wouldn't be there to roll over, and he wouldn't be there to make up the numbers. Instead he would be, much like Aso Ishiwaki was, there to win, there to beat the touted amateur standout. He would be there looking to make a name for himself. We suspect that the skills and amateur pedigree of Lee would be enough to defeat Yasui, but he'd have to work hard for it, and it would be a very interesting match up. It would also give Yasui a chance to return to Korakuen Hall, where he won Rokkie of the Year! 4-Ryuji Ikeda (14-7-3, 9) In terms of more well known potential foes for Lee one possible opponent would be Ryuji Ikeda, a former Japanese title challenger who has experience, power and a fan friendly style. Sadly he has just one win in his last 5 bouts, and lost to recent Lee opponent Aso Ishiwaki, but there's enough value in him to make him a viable opponent for Lee at this early point in his career. Ikeda wouldn't pose too much of a threat to Lee, but should have the tools to ask questions of Lee, take Lee a few rounds and make the Teiken hopeful work for a win. Obviously it would also be a win over a former Japanese title challenger, and that would be the key here. It would also give Lee a chance to score a rare stoppage, something we don't think he'll get many of 5-Shogo Yamaguchi (12-6-3, 7) We mentioned Koichi Aso at the start of this and it seems right to mention his most recent opponent, Shogo Yamaguchi, as another potential foe for Lee, and like Aso he makes for a very interesting one. He lacks the name value and recognition of Aso, but is a very viable domestic opponent, who comes to fight, press forward, lets his hands go and can leave himself open to counters. He's not the best fighter out there, but he's more than good enough as an opponent, especially this early in Lee's career. The skills, movement and speed of Lee should be too much for Yamaguchi, but this should still be a bout that proves him as a fighter heading in the right direction and should be a similar type of test to that that Ishiwaki posed this past Thursday. Although they do happen KO's in amateur boxing aren't a regular thing, especially not brutal KO's. That means that when they do happen they are often something beautiful, exciting and brutal. Today we get to share one of those, and amazingly it came in the final of the World Boxing Championships back in 2013. Not only that but it came in a bout between two men who fought a number of times in major competition, but this was the only one of their bouts to end with a brutal finish. Mahammadrasul Majidov vs Ivan Dychko Insanely powerful Azer Mahammadrasul Majidov had really made his name in 2011, when he claimed Gold at the World Amateur Championships, beating the likes of Erislandy Savon, Ivan Dychko, the man we'll speak more about in a few moments, and Anhtony Joshua. Majidov looked like he had rocks in his hands, but was slowly, and a little bit clumsy. When he hit he hurt, but it seemed like he could be out boxed. That's what we ended up seeing in the 2012 Olympics, when he was beaten by Italian great Roberto Cammarelle in the semi-finals. In 2013 he was looking to become a 2-time World Amateur Champion and reached the final with no issues at all, and actually got revenge over Cammarelle. In the final he was up against brilliant Kazakh Ivan Dychko, who had won bronze in the 2012 Olympics, just like Majidov, and had also won silvers at the AIBA Youth Championships in 2008 and Asian Games in 2010. He was regarded as a brilliant talent and looked like he was on the way to becoming one of the major faces of amateur boxing. In the 2011 World Amateur Championships he had lost a decision to Majidov in the semi-final and was looking to avenge that loss 2 years later when he got a second shot at the Azeri in a World Championships. Dychko, unlike Majidov, looked like a very polished boxer-puncher. He moved like a natural athlete, despite being a giant, standing at 6'9". He looked, in some ways, like a future super giant for the professionals, following in the footsteps of other huge athletic fighters like Wladimir Klitschko and Lennox Lewis, both of whom were notably shorter than him. The bout actually began well for Dychko. He had done enough to win the first 2 rounds, and heading into round 3 it appears he was finally going to get a big victory over the big Azeri. He was up 20-18 on the scorecards of all 3 judges and just had to avoid being knockdown Majidov however wasn't going to just hand over gold and just seconds into the round he cornered Dychko. That's where we start here, with Majidov dropping Dychko hard about 15 seconds into the round. The Kazakh giant got back to his feet, he looked shaken but was up for seconds with Majidov landing another monster right turning Dychko's lights out before a sneaky left helpd him down for a second time. Whilst the Kazakh wasn't unconscious he needed assistance getting to his feet and looked shaken when he was taken over to his chair in the corner. This isn't the most stunning of KO's, compared to some of the clean knockouts, but given this was amateur boxing, this was a World Amateur Championships final, this was amazing. We've all heard of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, and we've decided to put our spin on things with "Six degrees of separation" looking to connect Asian fighters you may never have assumed were connected! Today we connect former Korean world title contender Seung Soon Lee to Kazakh legend Gennady Golokvin.
Just as ground rules, we're not doing the more basic "A beat B who beat C who beat D" type of thing, but instead we want to link fighters in different ways. As a result we will limit A fought B connections, and try to get more varied connections together, as you'll see here! We also know there are often shorter routes to connect fighters, but that's not always the most interesting way to connect them. 1-Although never a world beater Seung Soon Lee did have have genuine success on the domestic and regional scene, before his ill fated 1989 bout against Mark Breland for the WBA Welterweight title. The most noteworthy of his achievements was winning the OPBF Welterweight title in 1987, beating Jun Suk Hwang for the belt. 2-Despite losing the OPBF title to Lee in 1987 it's fair to say that Jun Suk Hwang had a decent reign with the title, running up 13 defenses of the title before losing it. During his reign he also dipped his toes at 154lbs, challenging In Chul Baek on October 18th 1986. 3-The hard hitting In Chul Baek is one of the true legends of Korean boxing. He's best known for his reign as the WBA Super Middleweight reign, from 1989 to 1990, but before that world title reign he had left a wave of destruction behind with 26 straight T/KO wins to begin his career, as well as 2 reigns as the OPBF Light Middleweight champion. The only other fighter to hold that title twice, at the time of writing, was Japanese based American Carlos Elliot. 4-Sadly Carlos Elliot has been often forgotten in recent years but is a former Japanese Light Middleweight champion and a 2-time OPBF champion who ran up a very impressive 26-3 (22) record fighting almost his entire career on Japanese soil. A fighter who did things very, very similarly was Mark Horikoshi, who turned professional in Japan and made his name there rather, rather than in the land of his birth. 5-In Japanese boxing Mark Horikoshi is best known for his 1989 instant classic with the hugely popular Naoto Takahashi, which is often regarded as one of the greatest bouts to ever take place at Korakuen Hall. The bout was a thrilling battle from the off, with both men regularly being hurt, rocked, and looking on the verge of being stopped. The bout saw Takahashi claiming the Japanese Super Bantamweight title with a 9th round stoppage. This would be Horikoshi's final bout in Japan before he began to box in the US, making his US debut on May 15th 1989, the same day that Shinji Takehara made his professional debut, back in Tokyo. 6-The hard hitting Shinji Takehara would go on to have a remarkable career winning the WBA Middleweight title in 1995, becoming the first Japanese fighter to win a Middleweight world title. Takehara's reign was a short one, sadly, and he lost the belt in his first defense. Amazingly it would take until Gennady Golovkin, around 15 years later, for Asia to have another Middleweight world champion, with Golovkin first winning the WBA title that Takehara had held in the 1990's! We suspect that fans who follow the Japanese scene will recognise the name "Teraji", afterall it's the surname of the talented Kenshiro Teraji. One thing some fans may not recognise is that Kenshiro's father, Hisashi Teraji, was himself a talented fighter who fought between 1989 and 2000. In fact fans who have seen Kenshiro in action will likely have spotted a very, very tall man with him, that's actually Hisashi, who towers over his son and stands at around 6'2".
As professional Teraji ran up a solid record of 20-1-3 (11), with his only loss coming to future world champion Shinji Takehara, and his 3 draws coming in his first 6 bouts, leaving him 3-0-3 record at one point. Despite his final professional bout coming in 2000, he actually retired in October 2001 on the back of a 14 fight winning run. Among the fighters beaten by Teraji during that streak were were Biney Martin, who's currently a referee in Japan, and 2-time world title challenger Yoshinori Nishizawa. With that introduction, and maybe a few extra facts out of the way, lets us bring you 5 midweeks facts about Hisashi Teraji! 1-Sadly Teraji's father died when he was a child, and he was brought up by his mother in a single parent family. 2-As an amateur Teraji went a reported 49-3 (25), and was regarded as a quick and technical and quick fighter in the unpaid ranks, a style not typically seen of bigger fighters in Japan. Reportedly he didn't take the sport up until he was in University, suggesting he was a pretty natural talent, and that that talent was helped by his freakish size. 3-As a professional Teraji made his debut at Light Middleweight, where he must have looked like a giant. He would win two titles, the Japanese Middleweight title , winning it in his 4th shot at the belt, and the OPBF Light Heavyweight title, becoming the first Japanese fighter to hold that title. 4-After retiring Teraji owned a cleaning business, that helped clean offices and condo's. That would later become BMB Clean Service. He also owns and runs the BMB Boxing Gym. For those curios, BMB stands for Body, Mind and Beauty. 5-Also after his retirement, Teraji has ran for office and in 2003 and in 2007 he was elected to the city council for Jōyō City, in Kyoto. After serving two terms he was beaten in 2011, denying him a third successive term. |
Thinking Out East
With this site being pretty successful so far we've decided to open up about our own views and start what could be considered effectively an editorial style opinion column dubbed "Thinking Out East" (T.O.E). Archives
May 2025
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
