For this week's remarkable round we're going to bring you a criminally forgotten round. We didn't get any knock downs, or a stoppage but what we saw was 3 minutes of high octane back and forth action. The round saw momentum shift one way and then the other and then back and back again. It was thrilling from start to end and yet is very rarely spoken about now, just 9 years on. In reality this is one that deserves a watch, and a rewatch. Tomonobu Shimizu (18-3-1, 9) vs Hugo Fidel Cazares (35-6-2, 25) In one corner was Japanese fighter Tomonobu Shimizu, a gutsy contender who had come up short in previous world title fights to Pongsaklek Wonjongkam and Daisuke Naito. Although a very talented fighter he had been stopped in both of his previous world title bouts and had also been stopped in his other loss, an early career defeat to Kaennakorn Klongpajol. Although very skilled the feeling was that he lacked the durability to be a world champion. In the opposite corner to Shimizu was Mexican warrior Hugo Fidel Cazares. "El Increible" as he was known had been the WBA Super Flyweight champion since dethroning Nobuo Nashiro in 2010 and had made 4 defenses of the title, including on in Japan against Hiroyuki Kudaka around 8 months before this bout. At the time he was regarded, by many, as the top dog in the division, and although his competition since winning the title was limited he was strongly favoured to over-come Shimizu here. Notably Cazares had only lost twice in the previous 11 years, with both of those losses coming to Ivan Calderon. The first 7 rounds of the bout had been incredibly engaging, with Cazares looking the stronger man but having a slow start. Shimizu got off to a really good start, taking the lead in the early going, but Cazare's strength, power, pressure and work rate had reeled the challenger back in. And then we got in to round 8, and boy what a round this was! It took a few seconds to get going but when it began to move on it did so rapidly with Cazares taking control early and dominated the first 40 seconds, then Shimizu came back at the champion, giving the round it's first swing. Then Shimziu managed to hurt Cazares, sending the crowd and commentary into fits of excitement, but then Cazares gutted it out and fired back. With just over a minute to go the round was up for grabs, but Shimizu knew he had his man on the back foot. Cazares knew he couldn't let it slip away, after all he was the one with the momentum coming into the round. If you've 3 minutes of time, give this one a watch, it's a real great round of back and forth action!
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One of the great things we've been able to do since we began this site was get an insight on a number of Asian fighters before they manage to have a chance to fight on a global scene. Whilst a good number of fighters we talk about won't fight in the US or the UK, a handful will, and have. That insight can lead us to getting excited about contests that others perhaps aren't as excited about as others. We covered one of those previously in a "What a Shock", when we looked at Rey Loreto's win over Nkosinathi Joyi, but that isn't a one off and today we get to cover another such upset. Date March 18th 2017 Venue Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA Fight Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (42-4-1, 39) Vs Roman Gonzalez (46-0, 38) I In March 2017 little known Thai Srisaket Sor Rungvisai made his US debut taking on pound-for-pound king, and defending WBC Super Flyweight champion, Roman Gonzalez. Going into the bout few thought this was anything more than a mismatch. The unbeaten Gonzalez was the face of the little men at the time, the Nicaraguan had become only the second fighter in history to win world titles at Minimumweight, Light Flyweight, Flyweight and Super Flyweight. He had not just accomplished that feat but had done so whilst compiling a 46-0 (38) record and beating a real who's who of modern day little men. These included Yutaka Niida, Katsunari Takayama, Juan Francisco Estrada, Francisco Rodriguez Jr, Akira Yaegashi, Edgar Sosa, Brian Viloria and Carlos Cuadras. A resume worthy of a Hall of Fame position. Not only was Gonzalez beating top fighters but, for the most part, he was destroying fighters. He was an offensive machine, with sharp combinations, heavy shots, smart offensive movement, an ability to close distance at will and he was just fantastic. He was really highly skilled offensively minded fighter with power taking on the best. Everything a fight fan should appreciate. Srisaket on the other hand was an unknown outside of the most hardcore of hardcore fans. Despite being a relative unknown we were lucky enough to have seen a number of his bouts prior to this and knew what to expect. He had proven to be an offensive tank. He had faced some very limited competition, and made light work of them whilst staying busy, but he had also showed what he could do against world class talent. In 2013 he had battered defending WBC world champion Yota Sato into submission, in a hugely impressive performance, he had been in the ascendancy when Jay Nady stopped his bout with Carlos Cuadras in 2014, giving Cuadras the technical decision, and had earned a second shot in 2015 when he had smashed Jose Salgado. Despite earning a shot following the win over Salgado the WBC weren't quick to enforce his mandatory fight, and Carlos Cuadras was in no rush to face him. As a result it took almost 2 years for Srisaket to get a shot at reclaiming the title. In the ring Srisaket isn't, and wasn't at the time, the quickest, the smartest, or the smoothest, with some very questionable balance issues. That however ignores what he is, which is incredibly strong, huge at the weight, a powerful tough, heavy handed southpaw with impressive stamina. He's the sort of fighter that you look at and think he should be easy to beat, until you see him pressing and pressuring and landing his thudding, brutal heavy shots. For most this was a formality for Gonzalez. Another win for Gonzalez, and one against a Thai with a padded record and no name value. For others, those who had followed Srisaket, this was a potential banana skin for the "Chocolatito". Gonzalez was the smaller man, by far, his style looked suited to Srisaket and this would be his first bout in years without Arnulfo Obando in his corner, following Obando's death in 2016. The ingredients were in play for a shock and that's what we got. The opening stages of the fight saw Srisaket show some respect to Gonzalez and see what the Nicaraguan legend had. As the round grew however Srisaket's confidence began to grow as well and he began to land some solid left hands whilst barely flinching at what he was being hit with. Within just 2 minutes was obvious that the natural size difference was going to be issue and soon afterwards Gonzalez was dropped, securing the Thai a huge 10-8 round to begin the bout. Those over-looking the Thai were suddenly sitting up and taking note. Srisket's good start continued to grow in round 2, as he began to force his will on Gonzalez. We were seeing a man doe to Gonzalez what we had seen Gonzalez do to so many others, and push him back, bully him, and win the inside war. We had saw Gonzalez show flashes of his genius but the round was another for the Thai. Srisaket then came out firing left hands to begin round 3 as Gonzalez struggled with the unorthodox approach, size, freakish physicality and southpaw left of Srisaket. A headbutt, leaving Gonzalez cut over the right eye, didn't help things either. It was an accidental clash, from the southpaw-righty dynamic, but did seem to break Gonzalez's momentumn just was he was starting to build it. To his credit Gonzalez did managed to find his groove again before the round was over. In round 4, for the first time, we seemed to see Gonzalez rock Srisaket, but the Thai refound his balance before the two men began to go to war on the inside. The skills of Gonzalez, as always, were a joy, landing the cleaner, more effective punches, but they were taken easily by Srisaket who's own shots seemed to much more powerful, and he would manage to get Gonzalez onto the ropes and cover up. It wasn't silky skills controlling from Srisaket but was his sheer presence giving Gonzalez problems, despite Gonzalez landing some huge bombs through the round. From here on we got something special from both men. Gonzalez was fighting like a man on fast forward, easily out speeding, out punching and out moving the slower clumsier Thai. For Srisaket however when he was landing Gonzalez was feeling it, every shot landed by Srisaket seemed to lift Gonzalez or force him backwards. It made for an amazing action fight with awesome 2-way action. In round 6 the headclashes, which were accidental and came due to both men wanting to be on the front foot and exacerbated by the stances, saw Srisaket being given a warning. That seemed to inspire a new gear from Gonzalez, who really picked up his pace. That was until late in the round when Srisaket was actually deducted a point for the headclashes, with the headclash leaving Gonzalez a bloodied mess. That, along with a strong round 5, helped Gonzalez battle his way back into the contest after his worrying start, and it seemed like Srisaket was maybe starting to fade just as Gonzalez was moving into top gear. Despite seeming to lose the play Srisaket then began to find his second wind in round 7, backing up Gonzalez and putting his foot on the gas once again. He began to let his shots got when Gonzalez was up close, and managed to land his solid left hooks. The pressure from Gonzalez was being used against him as Srisaket picked his moments and fought more intelligently than we expected. Gonzalez still showed touches of brilliance but Srisaket could see blood and seemed to hurt Gonzalez late in the round. That lead to a string of strong rounds from Srisaket who seemed to realise that his very early success had been erased from round 3 to round 6 by the brilliance of Gonzalez. Before we started round 9 both men were looked at in the corner by medical staff, before the bout resumed and we got more of these tiny titans unloading huge shots on each other. Once again we saw a smarter gameplan from Srisaket than we expected, with the Thai backing off at times and made Gonzalez come to get him, picking his spots, and then rocking Gonzalez on to his heels. For a man who had impressed us with his pressure against Sato this was footwork we weren't expecting from Srisaket, who choose when the men stood and traded and when there was going to be separation. With blood pouring out of Gonzalez face, from the cut right eye, the Nicaraguan showed amateur heart to continue marching forward, taking the fight to Srisaket in an exciting round 10 and then again in round 11. Whilst each round was hard fought and competitive these two seemed like they were among the most competitive and may well have been the two rounds that, essentially, decided the fight. All 3 judges gave them to the Thai. With the bout being ultra close we went into the final round and surprisingly it was the champion who got into top gear. The round started in fantastic fashion with toe-to-toe action, with big shots being thrown once again. The great start didn't last and when Gonzalez seemed to build some momentum we saw Srisaket get on the retreat. With around 90 seconds of the round remaining the Thai seemed confident that he had done enough, electing to spoil, hold and move before trying to steal the round late on. What maybe wasn't clear at the time, though was after the bell, was that Srisaket had also been busted open in the round, with blood dripping from his right eye, likely from other minor but regular headclashes. After 12 rounds of incredibe Super Flyweight super action we went to the scorecards. Scores of 114-112, twice were read out along with a score of 113-113. Thankfully for the Thai, and for the sake of this article, the two 114-112 scores favoured Srisaket, who scored one of the most significant upsets in recent years. The call of "New" sent Thai commentators into fits of joy, and the fans of the lower weights into shock. Following the bout there was much discussion over the scoring, the headclashes, and the WBC's own accidental foul rule, which if applied properly would likely have resulted in Srisaket having an extra point deducted. The controversy was, to some extent, put to bed when the two men rematched, with Srisaket stopping Gonzalez in 4 rounds to retain his title. He then added a major win over Juan Francisco Estrada, though lost a rematch to the Mexican. Amazingly Gonzalez bounced back from the two losses to the Thai to claim the WBA title with a stoppage win over Kal Yafai, to claim yet another world title and further enhance his legendary status as one of the finest smaller weight fighters of all time. Sadly this bout did kill a mooted dream fight between Gonzalez and Naoya Inoue, with any hope of seeing Inoue against Srisaket dashed by the WBC playing mandatory catch up, due to the long wait Srisaket had had. Instead of seeing that bout we ended up with Srisaket being mandated to face Gonzalez, then Estrada, with Inoue announcing himself on the Bantamweight scene rather than sticking around at Super Flyweight. For those interested we found some odds available for this bout: Gonzalez 1/11 to win Srisaket 13/1 to win Draw 35/1 This past weekend we saw Japanese sensation Naoya Inoue (20-0, 17) make his Las Vegas debut, stopping Jason Moloney in 7 rounds to retain his Ring Magazine, IBF and WBA "super" titles. He not only impressed with his performance but also managed to win over some of those who didn't seem to be fans before hand, notably Timothy Bradley. He easily beat Moloney, and yet seemed to be fighting well within himself at times, and keeping certain weapons in his arsenal, notably his potent body shots. With the win he left fights wanting more, and wanting to see what he could do when he was really pushed.
With that in mind we've decided to look at 5 potential bouts for Inoue for next time out. There are some obvious choices here, some that we've seen fans talk up and one from left field. The reality, however, is that the "Monster" has options out there, and there are some very attractive propositions for him and for promoters Ohashi Promotions and Top Rank. 1-John Riel Casimero (30-4, 21) The most obvious bout for Inoue is the much anticipated and much spoke about clash with WBO champion John Riel Casimero, the provocative, charismatic and brash Filipino. This bout was supposed to take place in April before being delayed due to the on going global situation, and then the men chose to go in different directions, at least temporarily. Since then Casimero has thrown repeated barbs at Inoue, comparing him to Pokémon Squirtle regularly. The bout is the one to make, it's the one both fighters want, it's the one fight fans wants and it's the one that would see 3 major titles, and the Ring Magazine title, being unified. Not only is it a bout we all want, but it's a bout that promises high level of skills, an explosive power from both men. It's really the type of divisional super fight that we all wish to see! 2-Nordine Oubaali (17-0, 12) Vs Nonito Donaire (40-6, 26) winner We're cheating with this second pick, but it really is a clear second choice, and that's a bout between Inoue and the winner of the December 12th WBC title clash, which will see defending champion Nordine Oubaali and Nonito Donaire. Interestingly both men have sub-stories with Inoue, and the winner here would have both the WBC title and that sub-story to sell an Inoue bout on. A win for Oubaali here would see him clash with Inoue after beating Naoya's younger brother Takuma Inoue in late 2019, for Naoya a chance for revenge and for Oubaali a chance to do the double over the Inoue family. This, combined with a triple title unification and two unbeaten records makes this a super easy sell. As for Donaire it was the "Filipino Flash" that gave Inoue his toughest bout so far, in 2019, and took Inoue 12 rounds, whilst also giving the Monster a serious injury that still doesn't look like it's totally healed. Their 2019 clash was a FOTY contender, and we suspect a rematch would be very highly anticipated. 3-Michael Dasmarinas (30-2-1, 20) One of boxing's needed evils, at times, are mandatory title fights and for Inoue there is a mandatory due with the IBF. That is a bout against Filipino Michael Dasmarinas, who we suspect many in the West won't be familiar with. The Filipino is a talented boxer-puncher, but the 28 year old really does lack a top tier win and any kind of name value. He's very much an IBF mandatory due to the way the IBF rankings work, rather than having got it on the back of some big wins. Problem is we see this type of thing a lot with the IBF, hence why Teiru Kinoshita got two world title shots and why Downua Ruawaiking got a recent one. Few would give Dasmarinas any chance against Inoue. If we do get this one, hopefully we see it sharing a card with Casimero, to help build their rivalry. 4-Jerwin Ancajas (32-1-2, 22) A somewhat left field choice would be a bout between Inoue and IBF Super Flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas, which is a bout we really should have had when both men were competing at 115lbs. There was talk of Inoue and Ancajas meeting when both held titles Super Flyweight but for whatever reason the bout never got signed, and following that Inoue moved up in weight and became the premier fighter at Bantamweight. He has gone on to unify titles and win the World Boxing Super Series at the new weight to secure his place in the pound-for-pound rankings. Ancajas on the other hand has toiled around at Super Flyweight, failing to secure a career defining win, despite making 8 defenses of the title. With both men being Top Rank promoted fighters this is a very makable bout, and a very interesting one. Just a shame we didn't get it as a unification bout at 115lbs. 5-Guillermo Rigondeaux (20-1-0-1, 13) Very much an outside choice, but one that some fans seem to want is a showdown between Inoue and 40 year old Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux. The bout is one that we're not likely to see, for a number of reasons that we'll get on to in a minute, but it is one worth talking about, especially given that Rigondeaux is the current WBA "regular" Bantamweight champion, and is parading around as a world champion following a win over 37 year old Liborio Solis. A prime Rigondeaux Vs a prime Inoue would have been something very special, and would have seen two very intelligent boxer-punchers against each other in what would have been a fantastic bout. Sadly however the value in the bout now just doesn't exist. Despite how much some fans may want to suggest otherwise. At 40 a win over Rigondeaux means little, and it feels very much like Rigondeaux looking for a pension payment before retiring, added to that is the fact Bob Arum almost certainly won't want to work with Rigondeaux, who stunk out the join multiple times on Top Rank shows and was last seen on a Top Rank broadcast quitting against Lomachenko. Whilst the Cuban didn't have a chance against Lomachenko it was a case of Rigondeaux's mouth getting him the fight and we don't imagine Top Rank will allow that to happen again. Also Inoue has made it clear he wants to unify all 4 titles, and we don't imagine the WBA's made up belt secondary title has interest to him. This might be a bout a certain corner of the boxing fan base wants, but in reality it is very unlikely to happen One of the most interesting conversations to see unfurl is the conversation about who is the #1 pound for pound fighter on the planet. Sometimes the sport does have a clear #1, for example for much of Floyd Mayweather's career he was undeniably the #1 fighter on the planet, and by the end of his career he beat the only man who really gave him much of a run for that claim. Right now however there is no consensus #1. In fact there's 3 or even 4 fighters who could all make an argument to be #1 in the sport, and in fairness to them it seems unlikely we'll see them ever clash. This isn't like Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, where there was talk of the men fighting, but instead it's fighters from completely different weight classes all in the mix to be the sports best boxer. Today we're going to make the case for Naoya Inoue to be regarded as the #1 pound for pound fighter. We know some people will disagree, others will agree, but as with arse holes, we all have an opinion, we all have our beliefs, and we can all be respectful. We will make the case, but we expect many will disagree, and choose many Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, or Terence Crawford as the #1 fighter. Thing is whilst we would disagree with those picks, we do understand how fans can pick either guy. Weight JumpingWhen it comes to being a pound for pound top fighter one thing we all expect is for a fighter to fight through multiple weight classes. The guys we've previously mentioned, such as Mayweather, Pacquiao, Alvarez and Crawford, have all done that. It's, in many ways, a sign of greatness. Not just having success at your natural weight but managing to have success across multiple weight classes. Of course not all multi-weight world champions are the same. For example few would ever suggest Leo Gamez was a pound for pound great in his prime, despite the fact he was the first fighter to win world titles across the lowest 4 weight classes. And that was before the WBA handed out titles like they belonged in Happy Meals. In fact Gamez was only the sixth man to win world titles at 4 weights. As many will know Inoue is a 3-weight champion and he is a legitimate 3-weight champion. He's not someone who has picked up just picked secondary titles and held them, instead he's actually done something we don't see too often, but he's taken every world title from a reigning champion. No vacant titles for him. His title wins have come against legitimately top level opponents. His first title win came against Adrian Hernandez, the then WBC Light Flyweight champion, his second came against Omar Andres Narvaez, the then WBO Super Flyweight champion, then he beat Jamie McDonnell for the WBA Bantamweight title, before beating Emmanuel Rodriguez for the IBF Bantamweight title and the Nonito Donaire for the WBA Bantamweight "super" title. Some will point towards Jamie McDonnell holding a secondary title, and technically that was true, but it does ignore the history behind McDonnell's reign and the fact that boxing politics saw him being stripped of the IBF title and denied the WBO title (See note). And it also ignores the fact Inoue went on to win the WBA "super" title soon afterwards. Not only did Inoue dethrone good champions, but he also made at least one defense of all every world title he has won. This wasn't a case of Inoue dipping his toes at a weight to win a belt and skipping town, but actually laying down some roots at all 3 weights. One other thing to note is that Inoue is one of the few fighters to have had success whilst completely skipping a division. The plan had been for him to get a Flyweight title bout at the end of 2014, but with no Flyweight champions available he skipped the division and took on the long reigning Narvaez at Super Flyweight instead. CompetitionTo be a top pound for pound fighter someone really needs to have scored a high level of wins. Not only that but those wins really need to be quite decisive. It's hard to be regarded as a top fight if you're narrowly taking split decision and controversial wins left right and center. Thankfully for Inoue he has been scoring high quality wins, completely devoid of controversy. And these big wins really do go back years. In just his third bout Inoue beat the then world ranked Yuki Sano, he then beat Japanese national champion Ryoichi Taguchi in his fourth bout, scoring a clear decision over Taguchi. The win over Taguchi aged amazingly with Taguchi later unifying titles at Light Flyweight. Soon after the win over Taguchi we saw Inoue stop Adrian Hernandez for the WBC world title. Less than 9 months later he jumped up 2 weights and blasted out 2-weight world champion Omar Andres Narvaez. Sadly Inoue's reign at Super Flyweight was under-whelming, defending against the likes of Warlito Parrenas, David Carmons, Petchbarngborn Kokietgym, Ricardo Rodriguez, Antonio Nieves and Yoan Boyeaux. The only genuine stand out defense came against 2-time WBA champion Kohei Kono, who he stopped in 6 rounds giving Kono his first stoppage loss. It wasn't down to a lack of trying however, with several fighters turning down Inoue, who had wanted to unify and was frustrated by the fellow champions and the WBC's mandatory merry-go-round. A merry-go-round that appears to be continuing to this day! Sadly the WBC merry-go-round, which saw Carlos Cuadras, Roman Gonzalez, Juan Francisco Estrada and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai having amazing bouts between themselves, left Inoue frozen out of unifying his WBO title with that belt, and essentially kept those 4 world class fighters out of his reach. This does harm Inoue's reign at the weight, but thankfully he didn't just toil at the weight waiting and after making 7 he moved up in weight once again. At Bantamweight his competition has more than made up for the time he spent at Super Flyweight. He immediately made a mark at Bantamweight with a first round blow out over WBA "regular" champion Jamie McDonnell. He then entered the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) and beat former WBA "super" champion Juan Carlos Payano and the then unbeaten IBF champion Emmanuel Rodriguez. Between those two men and McDonnell we saw Inoue need just 4 rounds to demolish 3 world class fighters. He then beat future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire with a 12 round decision to claim the Muhammad Ali trophy and the WBA "super" title. Donaire was the first man since David Carmona, more than 3 years earlier, to survive with Inoue, and even that was in part to a help referee who jumped in between the two men when Donairea was reeling from a body shot. Most recently Inoue became the first man to stop Jason Moloney, doing so in 7 rounds. In his career Inoue hasn't come close to losing. He's never been down and rarely loses rounds. Only one judge, at point, in Inoue's career even had one of his bouts close, and that was a bizarre 114-113 score card in Inoue's bout with Donaire. A scorecard that stands out as being a terrible score. In just 20 bouts Inoue has beaten 9 men to hold world titles. He has stopped 7 of those, with only Taguchi and Donaire surviving. He has spent more than half of his career in world title bouts. Whilst it's true that Canelo and Crawford have also beaten top competition it's fair to say that Crawford has lacked top competition recently. His Welterweight reign is terrible, and he is still struggling to secure a top win in the weight class. Much like Inoue did at Super Flyweight. Recent formOne thing that really needs to be mentioned is recent form. What have you done lately? If we ignore this one fighters like Roman Gonzalez and Manny Pacquiao would all rank incredibly highly on the pound for pound lists. Typically we might see Pacquiao and Gonzalez in the top 10, but their competition and weight exploits should see them higher in the rankings. Sadly though both guys have failed to do much at the top level in recent years. With that in mind we should perhaps look back over the last 36 months. In that time Inoue has beaten Yoan Boyeaux, Jamie McDonnell, Juan Carlos Payano, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Nonito Donaire and Jason Moloney. That's a 6-0 (5) record with 5 wins over legitimate world class fighters, and no debatable wins. They have all been definitive. In that same time we've seen Canelo fight 4 times, going 4-0 with wins over Gennady Golovkin, Rocky Fielding, Daniel Jacobs and Sergey Kovalev. The win over Golovkin was heavily debated and the win over Fielding was regarded as a joke, much like Inoue's over Boyeaux. However the wins over Jacobs and Kovalev do hold up very well, particularly the one over Jacob's. He probably has the better wins here, but he also has arguably the weakest win, the one over fielding, and a very hotly debated one. Likewise in that same period of time Terence Crawford Jeff Horn, Jose Benavidez, Amir Khan and Egidijus Kavaliauskas, and will likely add Kell Brook to his ledger on November 14th. All of those wins have been decisive, and he has stopped all 4 men. Whilst Horn was a reigning champion he wasn't highly regarded, Benavidez was once regarded highly but had failed to live up to his potential, Khan was a former world champion but had looked a long way from his best and Kavaliauskas was a live under-dog but relatively untested. He has been dominant, but against a lower tier of opposition. AbilityOf course pound for pound, at the end of the day, also needs to incorporate a fighter's ability and skill set. Can they adapt? Have they got a plan B? How many flaws does a fighter have in their style? What can and can't they do? There are, at the moment, a number of fighters who stand out here, including Crawford and Canelo, again, along with Juan Francisco Estrada. Although the men we consider as the most skilled are all very highly skilled, the reality is that not a lot separate them. They all have flaws, and they all have strengths. Notably they all have different styles and different weaknesses. For us Inoue is on the same level as anyone in terms of ability. Like all top fighters he has a variety of tricks in his locker. Not only can he box and move, but he can pressure, he can punch, he's a criminally under-rated counter-puncher, and he can can adapt during a fighter. There are some flaws with what he does, but given how many things he does really well he's very much among the elite in terms of skills and ability. At just 27 he's still improving, but is already the best boxer-puncher in the sport. Whilst it is his power that gets so much acclaim and attention his power really isn't his biggest asset. Instead it's his boxing IQ, his balance, his movement and his timing. Those allow him to use his power. It's these tools which have helped him have success through the weights, and why we suspect his power has carried up from 108lbs to 118lbs with no issues at all, and why we suspect it will carry up to 122lbs and even 126lbs. Unlike many puncher's it's not the power that is the key to Inoue's knockouts. It's the mechanics behind things. He knows where he is, what he's doing there, and how to make the most of mistakes from opponents. One complaint is that he can be hit, and it's true, he can. Everyone gets hit. Inoue has ever shown a real chin when he's had to take a shot, and has neutralised opponents really well, shutting down the capable Moloney recently to the point where Moloney landed just 62 punches in 7 rounds, at a connect rate of 19%! He might not be the most defensive fighter, but he's also not a defensively naive one. For an offensive fighter to get hit as rarely as he does is a real credit to his ability, anticipation, and ring craft. Things that are often under-rated when it comes to Inoue. In terms of ability there are very, very few who can consider themselves even close to the elite level of skills of Inoue. The FutureNot so much a criteria used for Pound for Pound conversation but something worth thinking about is the future position of fighters in the rankings. For the 27 year old Inoue things are very bright. There are a host of great fights out there for him, including showdowns with Bantamweights like John Riel Casimero, Nordine Oubaali, Nonito Donaire and Guillermo Rigondeaux. Or Super Flyweights like Juan Francisco Estrada, Roman Gonzalez, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Jerwin Ancajas or even Donnie Nietes. He could, and likely will, move up to Super Bantamweight in a year or two, opening up bouts against the likes of Murodjon Akhmadaliev, Luis Nery, Ryosuke Iwasa, Daniel Roman, Michael Conlan, Isaac Dogboe. Inoue is in a great position looking forward. At the moment we know that the 33 year old Terence Crawford's next bout is an underwhelming one against Kell Brook, and he has genuinely struggled to get decent Welterweights in the ring with him. If he fails to land a good opponent next year he'll be on the back end of his prime years, and Top Rank still won't have any attractive bouts for him. Canelo is battling with his broadcaster and promoter outside of the ring. At just 30 years old he could, potentially, waste a year or two and still have a lot of attractive bouts on the table. It's a shame that he's being kept out of the ring and battling in the legal system however. He has plenty of potential opponents, but it's very unclear when he'll be back in the ring. He's been out of the ring for a year and if the legal case extends another 6 months, and there is a chance of that, it could be 18 months of his prime out of the ring. The 33 year old Oleksandr Usyk is one of the most talented fighters on the planet. Sadly however his future doesn't look the best. He turns 34 in January and his style will struggle to hold up with his ageing body. He also will be going up against some significantly bigger men. Wins against Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury would be huge for him, but he would be an under-dog against either man, and it's hard to imagine him having prolonged success as a Heavyweight. Teofimo Lopez looks to be the new kid on the block and the American has all the tools to be a future pound for great. He neutralised the fantastic Vasyl Lomachenko recently, and although he has struggled at times he ticks pretty much every box. Much like Inoue he wants to face the best and there is serious competition out there for him at 135lbs and 140lbs. Aged just 23 he has all the tools to be a major player in the coming years, though we do need to see what he's like when he moves through the weights. We've just mentioned Vasyl Lomachenko and he does deserve a mention here. He's probably the best talent in boxing. He can do things others can't even imagine doing. Sadly however he was completely neutralised by Teofimo Lopez earlier this year, and with repeated injuries the 32 year old Ukrainian doesn't appear to have a long future in the sport. He turns 33 early next year and with repeated injuries his long term potential is limited, especially with his high energy style. He's never looked the most comfortable at Lightweight and it does seem likely that a move down in weight would be best for his career. The 29 year old Josh Taylor is some one with a potentially bright future. He turns 30 in January and will, by then, be looking to to face fellow unified champion Jose Carlos Ramirez to become the undisputed champion at 140lbs. When he does that we do hope that the "Tartan Tornado" doesn't immediately move up in weight, as he will likely find himself in the same position that Terence Crawford is in, struggling to get leading Welterweights in the ring with him. We do want to see fighters move up in weight, but sometimes a fighter, and fans, need to be patient and we hope that Taylor can wait until Top Rank have some interesting Welterweights before moving up. The past 2 years have been huge for the Charlo twins, and they headlined a split PPV earlier this year. Of the two 30 year old fighters Jermell Charlo has the better claim to be in the pound for pound conversation and is a unified champion champion at 154lbs with wins against good competition. He is in a great position at the moment, though longer term there may be some issues. We suspect he'll be racing for the WBO title next year, to become the undisputed champion at 154lbs, and the longer he stays at 154lbs the better his competition can be. Sadly though we don't see many good bouts for him at Middleweight, given so much of the division is tied up on DAZN whilst he's with PBC, and deson't have the financial backing to get people to cross the street. In terms of skills few match Juan Francisco Estrada, and he is in an amazing position right now. The 30 year old Super Flyweight has been ordered to face Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, in what will be their third bout, and also has eyes on a second bout with Roman Gonzalez. After those bouts there are potential contests with Donnie Nietes and Kazuto Ioka for him at Super Flyweight, or a potential move to Bantamweight to pursue Inoue. He's in a great position, given who he can face, and his age. We do worry about the damage he's taken, and will take against Srisaket and Gonzalez, but there are few fighters with the options there that he has right now. There are some great fighters out there, and some are laying down the ground work now to not just be in the pound for pound ratings but also be in them long term. Others however seem likely to struggle to solidify, or improve, their position. Either way Inoue is in a great position to add to his legacy, and even though many of his main rivals are with PBC it seems likely that the finances would make sense for them to cross the street to face the Monster, not something that is always the case. Is Naoya Inoue the #1 pound for pound fighter?Obviously we're going to say yes. He ticks more of the boxes than anyone else for us. He has the skills to match anyone in the sport, he has notable achievements across multiple weights, and he's got the mix of solid competition through his career and a high level of recent competition. He's rarely losing rounds, bouts with him involved aren't competitive and he's notching big win after big win.
Unlike many fighters Inoue is somewhat immune to the issues affecting boxing in the US. He is the draw at Bantamweight, he's the man other Bantamweights want to face, and there is no problems with him not getting stiff competition. The division he's in, plus divisions either side of him, as full of options. Notably he is one of the very few active fighters in, or around, the pound for pound discussion to have scored wins on 3 different continents. This is a sign of someone who has the confidence to to travel. He could stay at home, like many fighters, but instead has travelled, and has scored wins in Asia, Europe and North America. Something we'd love to see other top fighters do. We understand fans may disagree, and may use different criteria, and that's fine. For us however, Inoue is now the #1 pound for pound fighter on the planet, and is very much in the perfect position to solidify that claim over the next year or so. That is not something we can see for some of the other fighters in the discussion. Note-In 2013 Jamie McDonnell won the IBF Bantamweight title but was stripped due to failing to defend against the mandatory challenger after splitting with his then promoter. The title was then won by a man he had beaten in 2011. He then won the WBA "regular" title, made a string of defenses including one over the previous WBO champion Tomoki Kameda, who vacated to face the then "unranked" McDonnell, who was the WBA "regular" champion. The political situation around McDonnell was a farce and a black eye for the IBF and WBO. (Images courtesy of Ohashi Gym) This past weekend we all focused on a show in Las Vegas to watch Naoya Inoue retain his WBA "Super", IBF and "Ring Magazine" Bantamweight titles. Prior to Inoue however the same card had unbeaten Japanese 140lb fighter Andy Hiraoka (16-0, 11) scoring his second win in Las Vegas, where he stopped American Rickey Edwards (12-5, 3) in the 4th round.
On paper this looked a decent bout for unbeaten Hiraoka. After all Edwards, although he had lost a few times, had gone the distance with both Kent Cruz and Mykquan Williams, both well regarded American prospects. It wasn't expected to be a thrilling bout, but we did expect to see Hiraoka being asked some real questions. Sadly it wasn't the test we had hoped for, with Hiraoka making light work of Edwards. Despite the easy nature of the win there was plenty of take aways from the contest. 1-Hiraoka is naturally quick and has some great tools One of the first things that was clear here is that Andy Hiraoka is a naturally quick athletic fighter. He's looks like a natural athlete with quick twitch fibres. His hand speed is impressive, his foot speed is good, which is no surprise given he was a former distance runner, and his upper body movement was quick. He is a natural athlete in the ring, and has those athletic assets that you can't teach someone. He's explosive, fast, big, strong and rangy. 2-Edwards couldn't get Hiraoka's respect From very early on it was clear that Edwards couldn't make Hiraoka take him seriously. Edwards lacked the power to make Hiraoka think twice, and he looked worried very early on. Even when Edwards did land clean he posed little threat to Hiraoka who took things clean with no issues at all. It would have been a much more interesting fight if Edwards did have something to trouble Hiraoka. What didn't help matters was that Edwards was also negative, and never seemed to really sit on his shots either, allowing Hiraoka to relax even more. 3-Hiraoka has a lot of polishing to do Whilst we are impressed by Hiraoka's athletic ability we're unconvinced by his boxing skills. At times he's open, his wide stance could be an issue in the future and he can be countered. It is early days for him still, and he did lack amateur experience, but it's clear that he's a work in progress, he has a lot of polishing to do and his team need to give him bouts that allow him to work on those issues. To develop he needs to be in with better fighters than Edwards, and he needs to be asked questions by opponents. Don't get us wrong, he's a decent boxer, but he's a fantastic athlete. Fingers crossed his boxing skills can, one day, match his athleticism. If that happens he could go a long way. 4-The bout could have been stopped earlier Whilst we are for giving fighters a chance, we do feel like Celestino Ruiz could have stepped in earlier here. The fight probably could have been stopped after the third knockdown of the bout. By then it was clear that Edwards was over-matched, he was doing little, he was showing almost no ambition, and had been down 3 times in around 4 minutes. We know Ruiz was giving Edwards the benefit of the doubt, but he really didn't need to, and it didn't really add anything. Edwards was mentally done by then. It wasn't a bad stoppage by Ruiz, but he could have stopped it earlier and no one would have complained. Especially given Ruiz did count 10 after the third knockdown... 5-"The Bubble" is a very interesting lay out If we're being honest venues are one thing that keep catching our eye in this current climate of boxing, with no or limited fans. The Bubble is one of the most interesting ones, with the lights every where a neon heavy look. It almost looks like it's a party venue or something rather than a boxing venue. Credit to those behind setting it up and is a very unique backdrop for a fight. Though we're not sure whether we really like it. It almost feel too bright, and too light. Like they are dressing up the bout too much, rather than letting the action speak for it's self in the ring. That might just be us though and we might be just a touch old fashioned. This past weekend we got the chance to see talented Japanese hopeful Masanori Rikiishi (9-1, 5) score his latest win, and then announce that he was going to pursue the Japanese Super Featherweight title, currently held by Kosuke Saka, the only many to have beaten him. With that in mind we couldn't help but think that this was a great reason to do an extra "Five For..." talking about Rikiishi and the 5 bouts we'd most like to see for him.
1-Kosuke Saka (20-5, 17) We start with the obvious on here, and that's a bout between Rikiishi and Japanese champion Saka. The bout seems to be the reason why Rikiishi has headed down to Super Featherweight, and it also seems like the most compelling bout out there for Rikiishi. As mentioned this would be a bout pitting Rikiishi against the only man who has beaten him, it would also be a Japanese title fight, and a chance for Saka to prove he didn't just beat Rikiishi due to experience in their first bout. This is a bout that essentially makes it's self. The only stumbling block, potentially, is Saka having a mandatory due, but this bout can wait until that mandatory is out of the way! 2-Kanehiro Nakagawa (10-6, 5) If Rikiishi can't get the fight with Saka next then the logical thing is an eliminator style bout. With that in mind a bout between Rikiishi and the under-rated Kanehiro Nakagawa would be ideal. Although Kanehiro's record might not look great he has been on a roll recently with 5 straight wins, including victories against Seiichi Okada, Ryuto Araya and Taiki Minamoto. Nakagawa would give Rikiishi a real test, and find out whether or not Rikiishi was ready for a title fight. This might not look good to those who don't follow the Japanese scene, but this bout would be an excellent one, and one we'd genuinely love to see. 3-Ken Osato (16-4-1, 4) Of course Nakagawa and Saka aren't the only interesting potentially interesting match up on the domestic scene for Rikiishi. Another is former 2-time Japanese title challenger Ken Osato, who would pose a very different set of questions than Nakagawa. Osato is a technical boxer, not a fighter, and he would be making Rikiishi think a lot about his ring position, and his footwork. We would strongly favour Rikiishi here, without too many problems, but it would be a great chance to see how good Rikiishi is against a technically sound boxer, who has good speed and isn't going to make the mistakes that many Rikiishi opponents have made so far. Osato has experience, skills, and should be a good test for any domestic type fighter in Japan at 130lbs. 4-Shun Kubo (14-2, 9) Whilst we'd like to see Rikiishi take on Ken Osato to give him a technical test there is, potentially, an even better technical fighter to share the ring with. That is former WBA Super Bantamweight champion Shun Kubo, who fought this past September. This would be a very technical bout, and it could potentially be a bit of a stinker, but that's a risk we'd be happy to take. For Rikiishi this would be a chance to get a win over a former world champion, and a chance to share the ring with a very skilled southpaw. For Kubo it would be a chance to test the waters against a very capable Super Featherweight. For both men this would a really interesting bout. For fans however there is a genuine chance that this would fail to catch fire. 5-Taiki Minamoto (16-7-1, 13) We've included a few potential chess matches for Rikiishi here, but the reality is that if he needs to prepare to face Saka he may not want to face someone with a style that isn't, at all, similar to Saka. With that in mind maybe a bout with the heavy handed Taiki Minamoto would be make more sense. Saka and Minamoto aren't identical, but we would find out whether or not Rikiishi has learned how to cope when he gets caught, and what his chin is like, because Minamoto can seriously punch. It would also be a real test of durability for Rikiishi, which we feel he needs before facing Saka, and it would also give Minamoto a chance to bounce back from a 3-fight win-less streak. One of the many bouts we were intrigued by last wee was the match up in Bangkok between novice Nonthasith Petchnamthong (2-0) and former world champion Kompayak Porpramook (60-10, 41), who was fighting as Kompayak TC muay thai. This was, on paper, a really serious test for Nonthasith, who only made his debut earlier this year, and it was also a chance for the aggressive veteran to get one over on a younger, less experienced fighter.
What we ended up getting was a really compelling match that saw Nonthasith put on a mature and controlled performance to take a clear decision over Kompayak, scoring his second win in the process. Following our live viewing of the bout we have rewatched it, and given it the Five Take Away's treatment. 1-Kompayak is still a handful Although now a 70 fight veteran with 10 losses on his record, many of which have come in recent years, Kompayak is still a really good test for fighters. We often see fighters with his style being shot by this point, but he's actually a really capable fighter still. He can still take a shot, he still has plenty of energy in his 38 year old legs, and he can still make much younger fighters work hard. We don't see him picking up many wins going forward, but we do see him as being a very reliable opponent and as someone who comes to win, and not willingly enter the ring to make up the numbers. 2-Nonthasith is no normal 2-0 prospect Although not close to the complete package it's quite unfair to call Nonthasith a prospect. In two bouts he has won two regional WBA titles, he has gone 20 rounds, and he has answered more questions than many prospects answer in 20 fights. Not only that be he looks a natural in the ring. He moves easily around the ring, he's got good handspeed and balance, and picks his shots well. Even against an aggressive tough guy like Kompayak we didn't see Nonthasith ever look that flustered or worried, and instead he looked in control against a man who was giving his all. 3-The TL Promotions shows are very proffesional...but not very "Thai" For years boxing in Thailand has been known for it's outdoor shows with the sun beating down on the fighters and the hot, sticky, humid conditions that often beat visitors before the men get in the ring. TL Promotions, Tantelecom and Nakornluang, had all moved away from that recently and have more professional looking indoor set ups. This is very much a professional outfit, with a home venue, the Suamlun Night Bazaar. Whilst the shows don't feel like the traditional Thai ones we've known and loved, they do look professional and almost Western. It's a really nice set up and one we're looking forward to seeing a lot more of in the coming years. 4-The replay kept the adverts in...and Thai adverts are weird When the bouts were uploaded for re-viewing on YouTube they kept this adverts in. Or rather they left some adverts in, it may not have been the same ones. This allowed us to pay attention some very odd commercials. Thai adverts have always struck us as a bit peculiar, and these were no exception. What seemed odd however is that it was rarely more than one commercial per break and they were between rounds, sandwiched between replays. Although few people like adverts the way they were included her was very much the ideal way to use them. 5-Nonthasith's best weight is still unclear Interest we don't believe that Nonthasith's best weight has yet been found. He debuted at Featherweight, in August, came in at Bantamweight here, and still looked like he was carrying a little bit of extra flesh. He wasn't "fat" or out of shape, but it did look like he could still cut more weight and Thai's are notoriously good at cutting weight. With that in mind we do wonder whether Nonthasith's could make Super Flyweight or even Flyweight. Neither of those lower weight classes are easy ones right now, but we would certainly say Nonthasith's would have a better chance against the smaller guys than he would against the best Bantamweights. Great KO's are something we don't see enough of, but when they come against the run of the rest of the round they are even better. Today we look at a brutal KO from 1997. Sadly this isn't one with replays but is still a KO that should be spoke about, as it was glorious and came very much against the run of the fight up to that point. Koji Arisawa (15-0, 12) vs Yutaka Nishida (14-6-1, 3) II In April 1996 the exciting and heavy handed Koji Arisawa won the Japanese Super Featherweight title. He made his first defense 3 month later by stopping talented southpaw Yutaka Nishida in 3 rounds. Another defense later in the year saw Arisawa extend his unbeaten run to 15-0 (12) before he clashed with Nishida in a rematch. For those who haven't seen Arisawa before he was a genuine domestic star in Japan. He was a good looking fighter-boxer who's looks appealed to female fans and his in ring style appealed to casual fans, who always enjoy a puncher. He didn't have the natural ability to go all the way, and completely lacked anything in terms of notable amateur experience, but he was a TV friendly fighter with heart and firepower. He could certainly be out boxed, but few were going to beat him, domestically at least, in a war. Yutaka Nishida on the other hand was a much more technical fighter. He lacked the explosive power and heavy hands of the champion but was a very skilled southpaw, with a lovely crisp jab, good movement and a smart boxing brain. Sadly he had come up short in two other Japanese title fights before this bout, once to Arisawa and once to Toshikazu Suzuki. Although he had 6 losses to his name he had beaten Hiroyuki Maeda and looked like a clear talent. Having been stopped in 3 rounds in their first meeting Nishida knew he had to avoid getting into a war with Arisawa. For the first 2 and a half minutes or so he had done that brilliantly. He had easily out boxed Arisawa, popping the champion with his jab and some very sharp straight left hands. It was the perfect start for Nishida. And then, out of nowhere Arisawa threw a jab, Nishida tried to counter with a straight but was then on the wrong end of a thunder bolt of a right hand counter himself, that sent Nishida crashing hard to the canvas. He tried to get up but the referee knew he wasn't in a fit state to continue, waving off the bout with Nishida flat on his back. We know this would be better with replays but sadly we don't have those. What we suggest is rewatching at quarter speed to see just how clean the shot is. It's an absolute beauty from Arisawa and one of the best he landed during his career. Sadly for Nishida this was the end of his career and he never fought again. As for Arisawa he would go on to lost his title in 1998 in a brilliant bout with Takanori Hatakeyama, in one of the most famous Japanese title bout in history and one of the best Japanese titles bouts to ever take place. 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 OPBF Light Welterweight champion Chang Kil Lee to former 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-Whilst certainly not one of Korea's greatest ever fighters Chang Kil Lee had an interesting career that took him around the world and saw him battle a number of notable fighters. They included the likes of Guts Ishimatsu, Ken Buchanan, Pedro Adigue Jr and Antonio Cervantes. Sadly though his biggest mark on history came in his final bout, when he was beaten by Wongso Suseno, losing the OPBF 140lb title to Suseno. What made the bout so notable was that the win saw Suseno become the first Indonesian to win an international title. 2-Whilst Wongso Suseno was the first Indonesian to win an OPBF title he's not the only Indonesian fighter to win an OPBF title. Another was Boy Aruan, who held the OPBF Super Flyweight title back in 1995. He actually elected to vacate that title to challenge WBC Super Flyweight champion Hiroshi Kawashima that December. 3-The talented Hiroshi Kawashima was dubbed "Untouchable" in Japan due to his smart defensive work. That was a nickname that was also used, years earlier, by Argentinian legend Nicolino Locche, who was dubbed "Untouchable" due to his defensive skills and his incredible ability to make fighters swing and miss. 4-The brilliant Nicolino Locche sadly passed away on September 7th 2005, at the age of 66. Rather oddly that was the same day that Kongsurin Sithsoe, also known as Sommai Suksawaeng, scored his first recorded professional win, after losing his first 8 bouts*. 5-Whilst Kongsurin Sithsoe is certainly an obscure fighter, to say the least, the Thai Featherweight did share the ring with some pretty notable fighters. Among them were several world title challengers, including Filipino warrior Michael Farenas, who stopped the Thai in 5 rounds back in 2007. 6-Rugged Filipino Michael Farenas is probably best known in the West for his 2012 bout with Yuriorkis Gamboa, or maybe his 2014 bouts with the then unbeaten Mark Davis or Jose Jose Pedraza. Before he had those bouts Farenas actually fought the then WBA Super Featherweight champion Takashi Uchiyama, with the two men sadly having their bout curtailed in round 3 due to a clash of heads resulting in a technical draw. *As per boxrec at the time of writing, we are fully aware records for Thai and Korean fighters are often incomplete. This past weekend we saw WBA "Super", IBF and Ring Magazine Bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (20-0, 17) make his Las Vegas debut, and secure his latest successful out, as he stopped Australian Jason Moloney (21-2, 18). The bout, which was Inoue's first since his WBSS triumph last November, was a huge opportunity for Inoue to improve his profile and it was one he took brilliantly, showing why so many regard him so highly, and why he is one of the sports must watch fighters.
With the bout now done, we've rewatched it and have a number of take aways we want to share about the contest and then men involved. 1-Inoue has it all Usually a fighter has something missing. It's very rare for a fighter to having timing, speed, power, foot work, balance and a high level boxing brain but Inoue has all that and so much more. He is one of the very few fighters who makes every movement look natural, fluid and like it was thought out several minutes ago. We all talk about his speed, both foot and hand, and his power, but we dare say it's his brain that is the quickest. He seems to see things in advance, and anticipate things so well, allowing him to time things perfectly. Even when he's taking risks he seems to know where he was and where Moloney was, allowing him to get away with his mistakes without issue. 2-Moloney is incredibly tough Whether Jason Moloney ever wins or a world title or not one thing is clear. The Aussie is a real tough guy. Most men would have folded when Inoue started to up the pressure in round 4, others would have taken the way out in round 6, and either stayed down, or got bailed out. Moloney on the other hand gritted his teeth and went through some real punishment looking to turn things around. Genuine credit to him for the toughness he showed, and the stubbornness. We know Aussies are typically stubborn, confident and proud, but this went well beyond what was expected. Real credit to Mayhem for lasting as long as he did. 3-Inoue's body punching wasn't up to the standards we expect This is probably about the only complaint we can make about Inoue here, but it was something that we noticed live. His trademark body punching was a lot less prevalent than we've typically seen, and instead we saw him head hunting more often. We did see him go to the body every so often with something meaty, but in reality it was mostly with his jab, and not the hooks or uppercuts that he has showcased in the past. To be fair Moloney wasn't an easy target, and did protect his body well, but this was, perhaps, the one complaint about Inoue's performance. Then again he did so well up top that it hardly mattered and scored both of his knockdowns with shots upstairs. 4-You can't try to outbox Inoue Jason Moloney is a very, very good boxer. He's got the tools to win a world title in he future. He's quick, sharp, light on his feet, knows his way around the ring, has good timing and has everything to be a very good boxer. Sadly for him his gameplan here seemed to be one focused on his boxing ability. He relied on his jab, a lot, and that was a battle he was never going to win. He has a good jab, but it's as good as Inoue's. He's a good boxer, but Inoue is a better one. Sadly for the Bantamweight division, there isn't anyone there who can outbox Inoue. To beat him your gameplan can't be based around out boxing the genius that is Inoue. You need something else. If you let him get behind his jab, and dictate the tempo there he's going to beat you without too many problems. Problem is there's many gameplans that look likely to have success, and going into the trenches with him also looks like it's bound fail as well. Sadly for opponents, it all looks so effortless for him. 5-There's a compromise on the free/pay TV argument One of the big issues we have with PPV boxing is that it freezes out a potential audience, limiting the fan base of the sport and the potential impact that fights have on the next generation of fighters. It appears Japanese TV have managed to find a genuine compromise on fights like this. This wasn't live at a great time for a Japanese audience. It was in the morning and not great for viewers. It was however available to fans wanting to watch it live thanks to WOWOW. It was then made available to a wider Japanese audience on free TV at prime time. This was a brilliant work around, and maybe should be copied internationally. When a British fighter fights in American it's the middle of the night, the audience will be small, but then airing it for free on tape delay, either same day or on a few day delay, will allow it to have the big audience it deserves. It may be a fine balancing act on pay vs free broadcasts of the same fight, but we certainly believe that this sort of thing will help keep the sport in the public eye, and even grow it in certain cases. The Fuji TV delay broadcast got over 10% of the Kanto audience, and that is a sign that this sort of thing can work, incredibly well. |
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
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