 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 a former Thai world champion to a former Japanese world, as we connect Venice Borkhorsor and Japanese bad boy Jiro Watanabe. 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-In the early 1970's Venice Borkhorsor was the WBC Flyweight champion, winning the belt in 1972 before vacating it to move up in weight. Another Thai southpaw who held that title was Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, who pretty much monopolised the title during his pomp. 2-The legendary Pongsaklek Wonjongkam had a number of notable rivals, but his biggest rivalry was with Daisuke Naito. The two men fought 4 times during their rivalry, and it really was a well matched 4 bout series. 3-Talking about 4 bout series between Thai and Japanese fights at world level it's impossible not to mention just how amazing the 4 fight series between Veeraphol Sahaprom and Toshiaki Nishioka. That series saw the two men battling for the WBC Bantamweight title, and although Nishioka failed to win any of the 4 bouts it helped establish him as a top contender, and helped further strengthen Veeraphol's reputation as an top tier fighter.  4-Another legendary rivalry at Bantamweight was between the iconic pairing of Eder Jofre and Fighting Harada, both of whom are widely considered the best their nations have ever had. Jofre, a brilliant Brazilian, only ever lost to Harada, with both of his defeats coming to the Japanese great.
5-Prior to beating Eder Jofre for the unified Bantamweight titles Fighting Harada had already established himself as a solid fighter and had previously won the WBA Flyweight title, way back in 1962, more than 2 years before his first bout with Jofre. Prior to winning a world title however Harada's first notable achievement as a professional was winning the 1960 All Japan Rookie of the Year, beating future friend and world champion Hiroyuki Ebihara in the final. 6-Another All Japan Rookie of the Year Flyweight winner, who beat a future world champion in the final, was Jiro Watanabe. Watanabe won the 1980 tournament, stopping future WBC Flyweight champion Koji Kobayashi in the final. (Images courtesy of JPBF and Komthai)
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 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 Japanese world champion Toshiaki Nishioka to... former Korean world champion Ji Won Kim. 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-Japanese fighter Toshiaki Nishioka began his professional career in 1994, after a 12 fighter amateur career. At the time he was regarded as a promising fighter and would later make a name for himself as talented sparring partner. His debut fight was on December 11th 1994 in Himeji and although he won on debut he actually lost in his second bout, which was on February 4th 1995. Another man losing on that card was Korean fighter Hee Youn Kwon, who dropped a split decision to Yuichi Kasai, and lost the OPBF Super Bantamweight title with that defeat. 2-Whilst rather forgotten now Hee Youn Kwon did have a small but notable career that saw him fighting 7 times from 1992 to 1997. Whilst his OPBF win, which saw him title in Jakarta and losing it in Japan, was the most notable aspect of his career he did also take on notable Mongolian Choi Tseveenpurev in what would be Kwon's final bout, and Choi's second professional bout. 3-Although best known for his career in the UK Choi Tseveenpurev did actually fight quite a few times in Asia, fighting his first 8 fights in Asia and covering 5 different countries. During that 8 fight streak Choi went 6-2, losing to Veeraphol Sahaprom and the little known Bulan Bugiarso, who beat Choi to defend the PABA Super Bantamweight title.  4-The PABA Super Bantamweight title, which has now no longer in service with due to issues between the PABA and the WBA, was once regarded as a secondary regional title. It was the WBA's answer to the OPBF. The man that beat Bulan Bugiarso for the title was future world champion Damrong Kongsuk from Thailand.
5-On April 2nd 2000 Damrong Kongsuk suffered the first mark on his record, fighting to am draw with Filipino veteran Jess Maca. That same show in April 2000 also featured the penultimate bout for Thai former world champion Pichit Sithbanprachan, who defeated Marlon Arlos with a 10 round decision. This was Pichit's second bout since vacating the IBF Flyweight title back in 1994. 6-Pichit Sithbanprachan is one of just 2 Asian world champions to have retired unbeaten. The other is Korean Ji Won Kim, who held the IBF Super Bantamweight title from January 1995 to June 1986, retiring after his 4th world title defense.  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 third generation Filipino fighter Carlo Caesar Penalosa...and...Kanat Islam 1-Filipino fighter Carlo Caesar Penalosa has one of the most famous surnames in all of Filipino boxing. It might not quite be the royalty of "Elorde" but it's not far off and the third generation fighter is both blessed and cursed with his surname. Another fighter from the family is the legendary Gerry Penalosa, the uncle of Carlo Caesar Penalosa. 2-Although never a global mega star Gerry Penalosa really was a fantastic boxer, with one of the most technically sound styles and boxing brains out there. He wasn't blessed with freakish power, insane speed or massive size, but he was a perfectly rounded boxer who had the skill set that allowed him to fight for more than 20 years as a professional. On the same card as Penalosa's debut was a then 1-0 Andy Tabanas. 3-Almost forgotten now a days Andy Tabanas was actually a 4 time world title challenger during his career. The Filipino, who ran up a solid looking 40-5-2 (24) record was a very solid contender through much of the 1990's and actually saw almost a decade split his first world title fight and his final one. One of his world title losses came to Mexican legend Ricardo Lopez.  4-Regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time Ricardo Lopez went unbeaten in his 52 fight career. Not only did he go unbeaten but he did saw whilst picking up 3 world title fights at Minimumweight and a Light Flyweight title. In fact by the time his career ended he had claimed a WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF title. He also ended up scoring 10 wins over fighters who, at some point, held a world title. Notably his first world title win came at Korakuen Hall on October 25th 1990, when he beat Hideyuki Ohashi with a 5th round TKO.
5-"TKO5" has been the result in 9 WBC Minimumweight title bouts. Lopez scored 3 of those, and became the first man to win the title with that result. Since then it has changed hands twice more by that method. The first man to do it after Lopez was Japan's Kazuto Ioka, incidentally Ioka's uncle was Hiroki Ioka who had long been seen as Hideyuki Ohashi's main rival despite the fact the two men never fought. This was Kazuto Ioka's first title, just like it had been Lopez's first title, in what is a rather odd extra coincidence. 6-Kazuto Ioka won a bronze medal at the 2008 King's Cup, losing in the semi final to Amnat Ruenroeng. Another medal winner at the same tournament was Hanati Silamu, who competed for China. Silamu is also known as Kanat Islam, who is currently a fringe contender at 154lbs.  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 Filipino prospect Jade Bornea...and former Japanese amateur standout Eiji Morioka 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-The talented Jade Bornea was a former amateur standout, and in March 2013 he claimed the gold medal at the Asian Youth Championships in Subic Bay, Philippines. In the final Bornea took a razor thin decision over Japan's Kosei Tanaka. 2-Japan's 3-weight world Japan Kosei Tanaka has been a real star Chubu, where he has become the local face of boxing, and helped to re-establish a scene had really been lead in the early 1990's by his promoter Kiyoshi Hatanaka. 3-Although not amazingly well remembered now Kiyoshi Hatanaka was a really key figure in boxing in Chubu, despite only fighting 24 times in a career that lasted about 7 years. His career was highlighted by 3 fights in particular, his loss to Gilberto Roman in 1988, his 1991 win over Pedro Decima and his 1991 loss to Daniel Zaragoza. The win over Decima was the win the defines his career, and saw him claim the WBC Super Bantamweight title.  4-Another Japanese fighter to win the WBC Super Bantamweight title was the legendary Kazuo "Royal" Kobayashi.
5-"Royal" Kobayashi may only have had a short reign, holding the belt for 46 days, but he had already made a name for himself before even turning professional. He had made a mark on the amateurs ranks, reaching the quarter-finals of the 1972 Olympics at 57KG's. Another fighter who fought at 57KG's in the 1972 Olympics was Philip Waruinge, who won the Silver medal. 6-Philip Waruinge, who fought in Japan as Waruinge Nakayama, Didn't just fight at the 1972 Olympics , in fact that was actually Waruinge's second Olympics, after also competing at, and winning a medal at, the 1968 games in Mexico City. Another man who claimed a medal at the 1968 Olympics was Eiji Morioka! In fact Morioka and Waruinge both claimed bronze medals at the 1968 Olympic games! Morioka's career in the ring wasn't the best, with the Japanese fighter going 6-4 (3) though his impact has been felt, and still, thanks to the Morioka Gym that he set up in 1978.  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 Kazakhstan's first world champion Vasily Jirov....and Filipino great Manny Pacquiao. 1-As the IBF Cruiserweight champion Vasily Jirov was the first Kazakh to win a world title, but he isn't the only world champion from Kazakhstan, another is Middleweight great Gennady Golovkin. 2-On April 25th 2009 Gennady Golovkin recorded his 16th professional win, stopping Anthony Greenidge in 5 rounds. The main event of that card saw Felix Sturm retain the WBA Middleweight title as he stopped Japanese challenger Koji Sato, who had entered the bout 14-0 (13) 3-Not many Japanese fighters fighters make their debut in the US, though Koji Sato did actually did begin on US soil when he made his debut in 2005, stopping Francisco Valdez in Las Vegas on his debut. Another Japanese fighter who debuted on US soil was Yasutsune Uehara, who debuted in Honolulu in 1972, in fact his first 5 professional bouts were all fought at the Honolulu International Center.  4-In 1980 Yasutsune Uehara claimed the WBA Super Featherweight title for Japan by defeating Samuel Serrano with a 6th round KO win in Detroit. The win was the Ring Magazine Upset of the Year for 1980
5-Another Ring Magazine Upset of the Year saw a then unbeaten Vic Darchinyan being stopped in 5 rounds by a then unknown Nonito Donaire, who put himself on the map with this win, in a big way, and claimed the 2007 Upset of the Year. 6-Nonito's Donaire's win over Darchinyan wasn't just the Upset of the Year, in the eyes of Ring Magazine, but also KO of the year. With that KO Donaire become the second Filipino to win the KO of the Year award, following on from Morris East who win it in 1992 when he stopped Akinobu Hiranaka. The only other Filipino to hold the award is the legendary Manny Pacquiao taking us all the way through to the iconic Pacman. As an aside Pacquiao has been on both sides of the of KO of the Year. His KO over Ricky Hatton saw Pacquiao win the KO of the Year award, whilst his loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in their fourth bout saw him on the receiving end of the KO of the Year.  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 Daigo Higa and...Ki Soo Kim. 1-Former Japanese world champion Daigo Higa, who returns to the ring in February to finally restart his career after being suspended by the JBC, is promoted by former Light Flyweight king Yoko Gushiken, who has guided Higa through his career so far, from his debut to his world title triumph to his title loss in 2018. 2-Back in the 1970's and 1980's Yoko Gushiken ran 13 defenses of the WBA Light Flyweight title, a Japanese male record that still stands too this day.The 11th of those defenses was a controversial one over Yong Hyun Kim, whilst we won't into the controversy here, as we plan to do a full article on the Poison Orange Incident in the future, the defense was one of the final ones of Gushiken's career and he would lose the belt the following year. 3-On September 26th 1981 Yong Hyun Kim lost in an OPBF Light Flyweight title fight to Siony Carupo. On that very same show Thailand's Satanfa Pratip also lost in an OPBF title fight, up at Welterweight. The Thai was stopped in 5 rounds by Chung Jae Hwang.  4-Although Satanfa Pratip, who went 3-3 as a professional, isn't a big name, he did fight a notable trio of Thai fighters. One of those was Chung Jae Hwang, as mentioned, another Jun Suk Hwang and the the third was future world champion In Chul Baek.
5-Whilst In Chul Baek is well known internationally for reaching the pinnacle of the sport, and winning the WBA Super Middleweight title late in his career, his first career title was the OPBF Light Middleweight title, which he won back in 1981, when he stopped Sang Ho Lee. Another man who held that very same OPBF title was Sae Chul Kang, in fact Kang was the first man to hold that title. 6-On October 1st 1961, November 1st 1961 and December 14th 1963 Sae Chul Kang battled with, and lost to, Ki Soo Kim. The first of those bouts was actually Kim's professional debut, following his outstanding amateur career.  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 Manny Pacquiao and....Akira Yaegashi! 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, or the most fun, and at the end of the days, these articles are supposed to be a bit of fun! 1-Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao has established himself as one of the all time greats, a legend who will not only leave a mark during his career but a mark that will continue to be felt well after his retirement. It's something that few Asian fighters have managed to do. Pacquiao was born on December 17th 1978. That same day Venezuelan fighter Fulgencio Obelmejias won the WBC FECARBOX Middleweight title, yes those regional titles are a lot older than you realise! 2-The hard hitting Fulgencio Obelmejias would go on to achieve a lot more with his career than just holding the FECARBOX title. He would go on to have a number of high profile bouts against the likes of Marvin Hagler, Chong Pal Park and In Chul Baek. 3-The monstrously hard hitting In Chul Baek was one of the stars of Korean boxing in the late 1980's. Win or lose it was rare for his bouts to go to the final bell. In fact in 50 career bouts only 5 bouts went the distance, 90% of his 50 bouts ended in side the distance! Surprisingly he scored at least one (T)KO in every round, except for round 8. Whilst only 10% of his bouts went the distance, he actually scored stoppages in 86% of his career bouts! On man who did see the final bell with In Chul Baek was English born Australian Troy Waters.  4-Although not a big name Troy Waters did have an interesting career. He lost to In Chul Baek by split decision in his 6th professional bout, and later faced Terry Norris, Simon Brown and Felix Trinidad, during a career that saw him go 28-5 (20). Troy Water's wasn't the only boxer in his family, another was Guy Waters.
5-Guy "Arc Angel" Waters wasn't as successful as Troy Waters, but faced some notable names in a career that saw him going up and down the weights. He began his career at Light Heavyweight, even fighting Virgil Hill in 1993 for the WBA world title, moved up to Cruiserweight, where he challenged the then WBC Champion Juan Carlos Gomez in 1998, before dropping down to Super Middleweight. In 2000 Guy Walters beat Yoshinori Nishizawa. 6-Yoshinori Nishizawa was a fighter from the Yonekura Gym, managed by Kenji Yonekura alongside close friend Hideyuki Ohashi. Their friendship has seen Nishizawa become a trainer at the Ohashi Gym. The gym that has promoted Akira Yaegashi through his entire professional career! (Image courtesy of Pixabay and Boxmob)  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 Kazuto Ioka to Choi Tseveenpurev. 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-Well known by modern day boxing fans as a multi-weight world champion and one of the best Japanese fighters of the current generation Kazuto Ioka isn't actually the first member of his family to be a boxing star. Whilst his father Kazunori Ioka, failed to leave a big mark in the pro ranks his uncle Hiroki Ioka, was a fantastic fighter and a multi-weight world champion him. 2-As a youngster Hiroki Ioka was a great talent, and he would become the 6th world champion to be trained under the legendary Eddie Townsend, who is such a big part of Japanese boxing that he's even had an award named after him, the "Eddie Townsend Award". Townsend was one of the most revered and legendary trainers in Japan and his time as a trainer really changed Japanese boxing, and how the sport was taught in the country. 3-The "Eddie Townsend Award" is one of the major Japanese boxing awards, and has been around since 1990. It recognises the best trainer in Japan in a given year, and has seen a number of very notable winners. In 2014 the winner was Shingo Inoue, the father of Naoya Inoue.  4-Japanese trainer Shingo Inoue is one of a number of trainers who also happen to be fathers of the fighters they train. Others come from all over the world, with a notable and loud mouthed example being Angel Garcia.
5-Angel Garcia has trained his son, Danny Garcia, for more than 20 years and whilst he's a controversial figure the work he has done for his son has been brilliant. Angel has often deflected attention from Danny and his performances, as well as teaching him the tools for Danny to go a very long way in the sport and have success through out his career. That includes Garcia's professional and amateur career. During his son's days as an amateur he won gold at the 2005 Tammer Tournament in Tampere, Finland. 6-Going back to the 1994 Tammer Tournament, 21 years before Danny Garcia won his, we saw popular Mongolian fighter Choi Tseveenpurev winning a gold medal! This was long before he made his name in the pros as a tough nosed warrior in the UK, and became a bit of a cult figure in British boxing circles.  Over the last few years the Japanese boxing scene has witnessed an incredible rise through the ranks by the "KO Dream Boy" Kosei Tanaka, who has gone on to become the star of the Chubu region of Japan. He's had a number of fights shown internationally through streams with CBC and has become one of the most notable figures in Japan boxing. Today we take you on a journey in our latest Six Degrees of Separation, starting with Tanaka and ending with Chartchai Chionoi. 1-Kosei Tanaka fights out of the gym lead by former WBC Super Bantamweight world champion Kiyoshi Hatanaka, the man who had been the face of boxing in Nagoya in the late 1980's and early 1990's. 2-Although Kiyoshi Hatanaka wasn't the most successful fighter of his era he certainly had a good local following and was regularly in great fights, thanks to his engine and toughness. Hatanaka's young son Kento Hatanaka is currently carving out a respectable career of his own, despite still being in the shadows of his father. 3-Another youngster stuck in the shadow of his father is Juiki Tatsuyoshi, who's father was more of a national star than Kento's father. Juiki's father Joichiro Tatsuyoshi was regarded as one of the most exciting fighters of his era and the most popular in Japan, by some margin, due to his enigmatic personality and his thrilling, in ring style which lead him to 2 reigns as the WBC Bantamweight champion.  4-Another WBC Bantamweight champion was the legendary Fighting Harada, who defeated Eder Jofre for the belt. Harada's significance to Japanese boxing is legendary and he is generally regarded as Japan's greatest ever boxer, and one of the finest fighters the lower weights have ever seen.
5-During his long and successful career Fighting Harada was only beaten by 1 Asian fight, Pone Kingpetch. Kingpetch was the first ever Thai world champion, and became a 2-time champion by beating Harada in 1963, before finally becoming a 3-time champion in 1964. 6-Thailand hasn't had many 3-time world champions. One was Kingpetch and another was Chartchai Chionoi, who, like Kingpetch, had 3 reigns at Flyweight taking the WBC belt from Walter McGowan in 1966 for his first reign, reclaiming it from Efren Torres in 1970 and then beating Fritz Chervet for the then vacant WBA title in 1973.  We began December with John Riel Casimero being the toast of Filipino boxing after he beat Zolani Tete to become a 3-weight world champion. The Filipino star is currently being linked to a 2020 showdown with Japanese super star Naoya Inoue in what would make for a great bout for Inoue's Top Rank debut, in front of an audience who perhaps aren't as familiar with the Super Flyweight division as they should be. With Casimero's recent win it only made sense to feature him in our latest Six Degrees of Separation, and today we take you on a journey from Casimero, to WBC Light Flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji. 1-Filipino power puncher John Riel Casimero has made his name as a road warrior, picking up wins in countries as far apart as the UK and Nicaragua and from the US to China. Another of the sports true road warriors was Alicia Ashley, a female fighter from Jamaica who truly fought all over the globe in her 37 fight career. 2-Although not too well known by boxing in general Alicia Ashley was a fantastic fighter who who travelled the globe for fights, and she fought as far and wise China, Germany, Austria and North Korea. 3-Boxing doesn't have many North Korean fighters. It never has. Despite the poverty of the country the sport hasn't been seen a way out due to the countries political strangle hold and ideology. There has however been a handful of notable fighters who can have their roots traced back to Pyongyang, including Hyun Mi Choi.  4-Choi, who was born in Pyongyang though fled North Korea as a youngster alongside her family, has been a bit of a boxing peculiarity. Not only was she a North Korean born fighter who won a world title, but she also won a world title on her debut, winning the WBA female Featherweight title in her 2008 debut. In her 4th defense of that title, against Sandy Tsagouris, the referee was Biney Martin.
5-Although now a well established referee in Japan before that Martin was a professional fighter himself, a fairly solid one who left a decent mark on the Japanese domestic scene. In 1993 and 1994 Biney Martin would twice face off with, and lose to, Hisashi Teraji, the then Japanese Middleweight champion. 6-Before the fights with Martin Japan's Hisashi Teraji would have a baby boy, born on January 6th 1992. That boy was Kenshiro Teraji. |
Thinking Out East
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