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 modern day Thai icon Srisaket Sor Rungvisai to former 2-weight Korean world champion Hi Yong Choi.
 
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-We've all seen Srisaket Sor Rungvisai become a genuine international boxing star in recent years whilst facing some of the best Super Flyweights on the planet. Sadly much of his early career was badly handled, and he suffered a number of early when he was thrown in very deep very early on, but his development to become a multi-time world champion was incredible. As a professional he has fought out of the Nakornluang Boxing Camp and unsurprisingly he's not the only notable fighter out of the camp. Other notable fighters from the gym have included Napapol Sor Rungvisai, Suriyan Sor Rungvisai and most notably of all Veeraphol Sahaprom.
 
2-The career of "Death mask" Veeraphol Sahaprom was an amazing one. He was a 2-time Bantamweight champion, competed in 10 world title fights and scored notable wins over the likes of Daorung Chuwatana, Rolando Pascua, Joichiro Tatsuyoshi and Toshiaki Nishioka. Sadly for him his legendary reign as the WBC Bantamweight champion, which saw him rack up 14 defenses, came to an end in 2005 after he won the title in 1998. His conqueror was the then unheralded Hozumi Hasegawa.
 
3-At the time of his title win Hozumi Hasegawa seemed to have been a little bit lucky, taking a razor close decision over the legendary Thai. Following that title win however he established himself as a genuine legend of the lower weights and for Japanese boxing, becoming a 3 weight world champion and recording 10 defenses of the WBC Bantamweight title. One of his most notable defenses was his victory over South African fighter Simpiwe Vetyeka.
 
4-When Simpiwe Vetyeka fought Hozumi Hasegawa he was 16-0 and relatively unknown, but proved what he could do as he gave Hasegawa one of his toughest bouts. In the years that followed that bout Vetyeka would go on to become a thorn in the side of Indonesian boxing beating Daud Yordan and then later ending the long reign of Indonesian legend Chris John, stopping John in Australia to claim the WBA Featherweight title.
 
5-From 1998 to 2013 Chris John was pretty much the face of Indonesian boxing, and was regarded as the WBA's premier champion at Featherweight for a good chunk of his career, even if the WBA did make some very odd decisions during his reign. Interestingly John was only the third Asian fighter to hold the WBA Featherweight title, following Japan's Shozo Saijo and South Korea's Young Kyun Park.
 
6-The all action Young Kyun Park, dubbed the "Bulldozer" in Korea, was one of the most exciting fighters of the early to mid 1990's. He was never the most technical fighter but was always an entertaining warrior who came forward and looked to force a war on his opponents. Sadly for Park he lost the WBA Featherweight title on December 4th 1993, on a show that also featured former world champion Hi Yong Choi, who claimed his 15th win by stopping Nilo Anosa.

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 had the latest WP Boxing event from Bang Phun. The main event of that show saw former 2-time WBC Super Flyweight champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (49-5-1, 42) fight in a stay busy bout against Filipino journeyman Jomar Fajardo (17-18-2, 9). The bout was all about keeping Srisaket sharp, after a poor performance last time out, and was never regarded as a competitive match up, more a public whooping.
 
Despite the bout being a complete, and utter, mismatch the contest has given up quite a few things to talk about in our latest Take Aways article!
 
1-Srisaket Should be more active!
We start, as usual, with a really obvious point and that's that Srisaket Sor Rungvisai should be a lot, lot more active than he has been. The talented Thai destroyer was fighting for the second time this year with this bout against Fajardo and it was his 4th fight in 24 months. That might sound like the average amount for a Western fighter but Western fighters and Thai's are different. A sign of this was Srisaket's activity in the years before his career defining wins over Roman Gonzalez. In 2014 he fought 9 times, in 2015 he fought 6 times and in 2016 he fought 5 times. He should be kept active, kept busy and in the ring every few months to the end of the year. Doing this will keep him sharp, and keep the ring rust off him before he gets a big fight in 2021. If he's having 12 round wars then yes give him a rest, but if he's having easy bouts he should fight at least 4 times a year.
 
2-No Matchroom Sport
For Srisaket's previous bout, in August against Amnat Ruenroeng, Matchroom Sport streamed the bout to an international audience. It now seems like Matchroom aren't bothered and they seemingly had no involvement at all here. We understand them not wanting to push this bout too much, but it would have been a good way to keep Srisaket in the public consciousness, even in a total mismatch. When Matchroom streamed the Srisaket Vs Amnat bout we were wondering if it was going to be a one off, and sadly it appears that it was. A bit of a foolish move as the Thai scene is chock a block with talent and getting in on the ground level will allow Western fans some familiarity with the rising Thai hopefuls.
 
3-WP Boxing's Production Quality is the best in Thailand
Typically Thai cards have often been held out doors, full of pageantry and really drawn out, long, frustrating, dull affairs. WP Boxing however have got a much better way of doing things. There is no long parade of sponsors, and anthems and adverts. There is no delaying the action for 20 minutes at the start. Instead they show the fighters on an on screen graphic, then get to the fight. The only complaint is that the venue is a a bit sterile in the no crowd era, but other than that we love WP's production and it does feel much more professional than many of the other events in Thailand.
 
4-Jomar Fajardo needs to consider his future
At one point in time Jomar Fajardo was a decent Light Flyweight. Not a world beater, but someone who was serviceable as a gate keeper. We saw that when he earned a very unexpected draw against Francisco Rodriguez Jr in 2014, and when he gave Jonathan Taconing a good test in 2015. Even as recently as 2018, when he upset Edrin Dapudong, he was considered a fighter who was much better than his record suggested. Sadly he has now lost 7 of his last 9 and been stopped in 6 of those 7 losses. He's fighting well above his best weight, taking punishment, being matched in bouts he has no chance in and really taking a beating. This was his 5th stoppage loss in 12 months and someone really needs to have a serious talk with him about hanging them up.
 
5-Wanchai Pongsri should have stepped in
It's worth noting this bout was stopped with 1 second of round 2 remaining when Fajardo's corner man ran into the ring, literally sprinting across the ring. This was completely unnecessary and the referee should have stepped in prior to that. Sure one could argue Fajardo was always throwing back, but lets just be honest, he was taking big shots, he was taking a lot of unnecessary punishment and Wanchai Pongsri should have ended that earlier. Whether that was by his own volition or by someone making it clear the corner wanted to stop it. By the ending it was ugly, and Fajardo took quite a few shots he shouldn't have had to take.

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 Thai world champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai to former Korean world champion Young Kyun Park.

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-Popular Thai warrior Srisaket Sor Rungvisai made his name worldwide in 2017, when he upset Roman Gonzalez, twice, to win and defend the WBC Super Flyweight title. Those wins may have put Srisaket on the radar of fans globally, but actually only began his second reign as the champion, with the Thai having previously won the title when he beat Yota Sato. Another 2-time WBC Super Flyweight champion was the controversial Masamori Tokuyama, a Japanese born Korean fighter who fought under the North Korean flag.
 
2-The talented Masamori Tokuyama made his debut on September 19th 1994 on a show in Osaka. Another fighter who made his debut on that very same show was future world title challenger Hidenobu Honda, who would challenge for world titles at Flyweight and Super Flyweight.

Last weekend we saw hard hitting Thai Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (48-5-1, 41) return to the ring after 16 months out and put on a rather under-whelming performance as he beat a game Amnat Ruenroeng. The bout was supposed to be a mismatch and a chance for Srisaket to make a statement ahead of a bigger bout later in the year. Sadly though it seemed that the former 2-time WBC Super Flyweight champion lacked the timing we'd seen from him in the past and he looked like a man with a lot of rust to shake.

Srisaket ended up winning, but that was, at least in part, due to Amnat's 40 year old legs struggling in the later stages of the 10 round bout.
 
Going into the bout it was supposed to be a contest that would open the door to another world title fight for the power punching man from Si Sa Ket and we suspect that is still the plan. If, for whatever reason, Srisaket can't get a world title bout next there are other options out there for the Thai.
 
Here we're going to look at two possible world title fights and 3 other interesting bouts as we give Srisaket Sor Rungvisai the "Five for" treatment!
 
1-Roman Gonzalez (49-2, 41) III
The most obvious bout, for us at last, is a third bout between Srisaket and Roman Gonzalez. Although Srisaket has won the first 2 bouts a third bout makes sense now that Gonzalez is a world champion again, with the Nicaraguan now holding the WBA title. A third bout will give Gonzalez a chance to extract some revenge over the only man to have beaten him, and will give Srisaket a chance to become a 3-time world champion. The reason we think this bout would be the preferred choice to the other possible world title bout is that Gonzalez is a man that Srisaket has twice beaten. He knows he has the tools to deal with the Nicaraguan great, whilst Gonzalez will be desperate for revenge.
 
2-Juan Francisco Estrada (40-3, 27) III
Whilst we'd prefer to see Srisaket against Gonzalez there is some real unfinished business between Srisaket and Mexican fighter Juan Francisco Estrada, who are 1-1 against each other. Given how Srisaket looked last weekend we wouldn't suggest this is a bout he should race head first into, despite the two very competitive bouts the men have already had. If he's anything less than 100% Estrada will toy with him, out work him, and counter him, something that Amnat did in the early stages. This rematch makes a lot of sense, but sadly for Srisaket if he's still struggling for timing he would not come out of this one with out suffering another defeat. In our eyes he really needs another bout before a rubber bout with "El Gallo".
 
3-Carlos Cuadras (39-3-1, 27) II
Another man we'd love to see Srisaket face off with again is Carlos Cuadras. It was Cuadras that ended Srisaket's first reign, way back in May 2014, and there was some real unfinished business there. That bout was stopped in round 8 with Cuadras taking a technical decision and Cuadras did what he could to avoid a rematch with a then prime Srisaket. Since then both men have taken a lot of punishment, both men are on the slide. Despite that it would be great to see the rematch between the two men, even if it is well and truly over-due. We get the feeling Cuadras wouldn't be in a rush to take on Sriskaet, at either Super Flyweight or Bantamweight, but it is a bout that we'd absolutely love to see...still!
 
4-Liborio Solis (30-6-1-1, 14)
Although Srisaket is expected to continue his career at 115lbs there is some potential that he will struggle to get his thick, muscular, powerful frame down to the weight going forward. He's now heading towards his 34th birthday and it may well be time for him, if he can't get one of the rematches above, to begin campaigning at Bantamweight. If he's going to do that then he may as well face a former world champion and someone who recently fought for a world title. With that in mind a bout with Liborio Solis would make for a great match up. It's one where Srisaket will be strongly favoured, but in terms of styles this should be a sensational fight. Solis is a decent fighter, he gave a decent effort against Guillermo Rigondeaux and had a brilliant fight with Shinsuke Yamanaka a few years ago. This would be great fun to watch fight, even if it's not a top tier match up.
 
5-Pedro Guevara (36-3-1, 21)
Of course if Srisaket is going to remain at Super Flyweight, and can't get one of the 3 rematches we've mentioned, it'd be great to see him in with a top divisional contender. With that in mind a bout with Pedro Guevara, who is very highly ranked by the WBC and WBO, would be really a really good clash. Technically Guevara is the better boxer, but the natural size and power advantages of Srisaket would likely be the the difference between the two men. Despite this not being as good as the 3 rematches we mentioned Guevara would work as a decent tune up for a bout with Estrada, so if we end up with Gonzalez Vs Estrada II a bout between Srisaket and Guevara would make for a brilliant chief support bout on a "Super Fly" type event.

With no fights currently taking place we've had a bit of time on our hands, and with that in mind we've decided to look at the sport in terms of how divisions sit, and do something that had previously been requested. The Asian divisional top 10's. We'll be starting this at Minimumweight and working our way through the divisions over the coming days and weeks. We know there will be some debate about some rankings and there is certainly some area for discussion, and that is certainly not a bad thing at all!
 
One of the most interesting division's in the sport, and particularly in Asia, is the Super Flyweight division. The division has had the spotlight shined on it a lot in recent years with, and has had more than it's share of great bouts. Here we look at the best in Asia.
 
1-Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (47-5-1, 41)
Although no longer holding a world title former 2-time WBC champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai is widely regarded as one of the best of the best in the division. The now 33 year old Thai has the best record in the division, with wins against Yota Sato, Jose Salgado, Roman Gonzalez, twice, and Juan Francisco Estrada. Blessed with heavy hands, an iron chin, freakish size and an awkward southpaw stance he's a very tricky man to beat. He was beaten last time out, in his second bout with Juan Francisco Estrada, though that was at partly down to some of the stupidest tactics seen in a world title bout. We do wonder how much longer Srisaket can continue to compete at the top, 33 is old for a man in the division and with 46 fights he has taken damage but for now he's in the divisional elite.
 
2-Kazuto Ioka (25-2, 14)
WBO champion Kazuto Ioka is perhaps not the top Asian in the division but is almost certainly the Asian money man with TBS and SANKYO backing him heavily. The Japanese fighter won the WBO last year to become the first Japanese male 4 weight champion and has since defended the belt once. A tactically smart boxer-puncher, with some of the best body shots in the sport, he's managed to look like a strong and complete fighter at 115lbs, not something we expected when he was looking like an under-sized Flyweight a few years ago. With wins against McWillians Arroyo, Aston Palicte and Jeyvier Cintron in his last 4 bouts, to go alongside a close loss to Donnie Nietes the Osakan has proven his value at the weight. At 31 years old time is certainly not running down on his career, and he's got the perfect mix of skills and experience.
 
3-Jerwin Ancajas (32-1-2, 22)
Current IBF champion Jerwin Ancajas has one of the longest active reigns of any world champion in the sport, and the 28 year old "Pretty Boy" also has one of the most significant promoters on the planet, with Bob Arum behind him. He began his IBF title reign back in 2016, when he beat McJoe Arroyo, and has made 8 defenses of the belt. Whilst that sounds impressive some of his opposition during his reign has been disappointing. Despite some of his competition being questionable he does have noteworthy wins over Arroyo, Israel Gonzalez and Jonas Sultan, among others. When Ancajas is in full flow he's a joy to watch, though his draw against Alejandro Santiago Barrios does leave us wondering how he'd cope with some of the more technical capable fighters at 115lbs.
 
4-Kosei Tanaka (15-0, 9)
Another Japanese multi-divisional champion is Kosei Tanaka, who signalled his intent to move up in weight earlier this year, vacating the WBO Flyweight title to join the ranks at Super Flyweight. It's hard to know what he's going to be like at 115lbs but the reality is that he's move proven, as a fighter, than anyone outside of the top 3 in the division. He's the mandatory for Ioka, and they could potentially clash later this year if the suspension on boxing is lifted. The 24 year old has a lot of questions to answer at the weight, but given his speed, will to win, under-rated power and his skills he could be a genuine handful. His ranking is based, at least somewhat, on what he's done at lower weights, but see him fitting right into the mix at the top of the division when he returns to the ring.
 
5-Sho Ishida (28-2, 15)
It's really hard to know how go Sho Ishida is. When he's been matched against better competition he's come up short, losing to Kal Yafai and Israel Gonzalez, but by that same token he has shown flashes of brilliance and looks like a talent. At least at times. The tall and rangy Osakan is a former stable mate of Ioka's and it's clear he has learned a few things from Ioka, but it very much feels like he's missing a higher gear. It would be great to see him in with some top regional fighters in the next year or two to see if he can sink or swim at the Oriental level. Right now it feels very much like his Japanese title reign, which ran from August 2014 to mid-2016, is a very long time ago and he's not managed to replicate that level of performance since.
 
6-KJ Cataraja (11-0, 9)
At 24 years old the time is rife for KJ Cataraja to go from being one of the best kept secrets in Asian boxing to being a star. The former amateur standout had been matched well early on, and was fighting in 8 round bouts as early as his third contest. Sadly it took a bit too long for him to progress into facing a genuine test, with his 2018 bout against Victor Hugo Reyes being his one true test so far. He's ready to be let off the leash, but ALA Promotions, who guide his career, had a horror in 2019 rarely putting on shows and seeing Nietes vacate his title. If ALA can't push Cataraja forward when boxing returns to the Philippines we wouldn't be surprised by the youngster leaving the ALA stable and following Mark Magsayo in the pursuit of bigger and better things. He's too good to waste his career against the likes of Delfin De Asis and Crison Omayao, the two opponents he faced in 2019.
 
7-Ryusei Kawaura (7-0, 4)
Of course Cataraja isn't the only promising youngster ready to be unleashed when boxing returns on a wider scale in Asia. Another is Ryusei Kawaura, the protege of Hiroshi Kawashima. The unbeaten Kawaura only fought twice in 2019 but his competition there was solid with wins against Renoel Pael and Joy Joy Formentera. He proved his boxing brain and toughness in those bouts, and was asked questions that he had to answer. Although he's yet to fight beyond 8 rounds it's worth noting he has gone 8 completed rounds in 3 of his last 4 bouts and doesn't appear to have struggled with that distance so far. Hopefully 10 or 12 rounds will come for him in the next year or two and he's got skills, a smart manager and a lot of potential. One thing he will need to do however is get more eyes on him, and so far he's lacked any form of TV coverage, something that will need to change sooner rather than later.
 
8-Kongfah CP Freshmart (32-1, 16)
Kongfah CP Freshmart, aka Jakkrawut Majoogoen, is arguably the forgotten man of the division.The 25 year old Thai has been a professional since 2013 and his only career defeat came way back in 2015 to Daigo Higa. Since then he has reeled off 18 wins including victories over Renz Rosia, Ryoji Fukunaga and Hyuma Fujioka. Whilst much of his competition has been poor he has been climbing up the rankings based on his competition, and his win over Fukunaga is certainly one worthy of note, as he also fits into the top 10. Talented, with respectable power, good speed, work rate and toughness he could go on to be a player in the division, but really will need to step up his competition when boxing resumes in Thailand.
 
9-Ryoji Fukunaga (12-4, 12)
Current WBO Asia Pacific champion Ryoji Fukunaga scored a career defining win last time out, when he stopped Froilan Saludar. Prior to that win he had done little of note since winning the All Japan Rookie of the Year back in 2016. His career seemed to go off the tracks, especially when he suffered back to back losses in 2018 to Yuta Matsuo and Kongfah CP Freshmart, but the win over Saludar has given the 33 year old a major win and a chance to build something from. Sadly at 33 years old his potential is limited, but with his power and will to win he'll make for some interesting fights, until father time takes him down. It'd be interesting to see him in with the likes of KJ Catraja or Ryusei Kawaura in the future, but we feel the youngsters both have the tools to out point Fukunaga, even at this point their career's.
 
10-Froilan Saludar (31-4-1, 22)
Once tipped as a future world champion the 31 year old Froilan Saludar rounds out our top 10. The former WBO Asia Pacific champion is very much a fighter who has failed to reach the heights expected of him, but yet has remained a constant enigma. At his best he is very good, but it's hard to know how good he really is when he keeps losing his biggest bouts. Set backs against McWilliams Arroyo, Takuma Inoue, Sho Ishida and Fukunaga show he isn't world class, but he's very much in the mix at the regional level. He's skills, heavy handed and dangerous, but question marks about his durability and stamina will always hang over him and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him become a regional gate keeper in the coming years.
 
On the bubble
Kenta Nakagawa, Jonas Sultan, Takayuki Okumoto, Jade Bornea and Yuta Matsuo
 
Note - Donnie Nietes has not been considered as he has been inactive for over a and would be at least 38 by the time he returns to the ring. His long break from the ring may not have been confirmed as a retirement but it's impossible to know what he'll have left it he returns.