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The Flyweight division is one of the best in boxing right now and the depth of talent is ridiculous. It's amazing that one division can be so deep. One of the many contenders lost in the depth of the division is Suguru Muranaka, the current Japanese champion is ranked by all 4 world title bodies and is viewed, by those in the know, as a genuine fringe contender if even if those outside of Japan haven't even heard of him. Muranaka's most notable fight came in December 2013 when he took on fellow contender Takuya Kogawa in a bout the Japanese national title. It was genuinely a competitive contest and a bout that helped both men enhance their standing in the sport. If you've not had the chance to see it, here you go, watch 2 of the Flyweight division's under-rated contenders in action against each other. Following this bout Kogawa would fight Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep in a WBA interim world title fight. If you've not seen that it's well worth watching to further show how good Kogawa is. (Video courtesy of 村中優後援会)
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Records in boxing can be very misleading. One great example is that of Chatpetch Sithmorseng who lost his first 3 bouts though has been on a great streak ever since with 10 straight wins, including a win over Ricky Manufoe that isn't currently listed on boxrec, and a short and on-going reign as the PABA interim Super Flyweight champion. This past Tuesday Chatpetch defended his interim PABA title in a very 1-sided bout against Indonesian veteran Anis Ceunfin. Anis is an Indonesian journeyman who has collected a host of losses recently though rarely has he been blitzed like he was here by a very on-song Chatpetch who looked genuinely great and very much like a man who could become a threat at 115lbs courtesy of his aggressive mindset and vicious flurries of body shots. He's not there yet but the potential is there/ (Videos courtesy of ทีเคโอ มวยโลก) One thing about following the Thai scene is that we do struggle to get timely results from Boxrec.com sometimes fights are added to their database late whilst sometimes fights are never added. One that is currently on their system is this one between Thailand's Chatpetch Sithmorseng and Indonesian visitor Ricky Manufoe. As far as we're aware the bout took place in 2013, likely towards the end of the year, though the exact date is a mystery to us. If we're right with our time frame then this was part of the current 10 fight winning streak of Chatpetch Sithmorseng who currently holds the PABA interim Super Flyweight title. For what it's worth the Thai started his career 0-3, according to boxrec, and has since turned his career around and improved noticeably, much like fellow Thai Super Flyweight Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, who began his career 1-3-1, proving you shouldn't write off a Thai after a few early career defeats. We'll admit it's rare for us to feature videos of female fights on here though we do try when we get the opportunity. One of the best opportunities was for the WBA female Light Welterweight unification bout between Russian bombshell Svetlana Kulakova, who entered the bout as the interim champion, and Argentinian Ana Laura Esteche, who entered as the "regular" champion. The bout seemed to have a bit of every thing though it was the controversy of the contest that ultimately granted both fighters a rematch which will take place in late September. For us however the bout summed up clear issues with one of the fighter who will need to seriously improve if they hope to win the upcoming rematch. For what it's worth the Argentinian television scorecard, provided by TYC Sports, is more in line with our card than the official cards were. When we talk about the most exciting man in Filipino boxing we don't talk about Manny Pacquiao instead we talk about the fast rising Albert Pagara, the star of the emerging generation of Filipino fighters inspired by Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire. Pagara's talented and destructiveness was on show earlier this year when he made unexpectedly light work of Mexican foe Hugo Partida. Prior to this bout Partida had gone 9 rounds with Akifumi Shimoda though it took less than 90 seconds for Pagara to destroy him and force Bruce McTavish to stop the bout. It was ruthless, destructive and marvelous from Pagara who showed why so many Filipino fans are so excited about the youngster from Maasin City. Today we know Takashi Uchiyama as one of, if not the, best Super Featherweight on the planet. That however wasn't always the case and back in 2007 he was still on his way up through the rankings. His promise was seen a long way off but nobody was certain about just how good he was. In his 7th fight as a professional Uchiyama took Korean national champion Seung Won Baek and although Uchiyama wasn't nearly the complete article he left a lasting impression with a very impressive victory over a man who had previously challenged for an OPBF title. If you've not seen this video of "KO Dynamite" in action it's well worth seeing just how good a very young Uchiyama was early in his career. It's also worth seeing just how powerful even a young Uchiyama was. Sad for Baek he would retire after this fight and probably wondered who he had pissed off to deserve being put into the ring with a monster like Uchiyama and also wondered how messed up his internal organs were after a brutal body shot from the Japanese fighter. Japanese boxing has several fighters who appear like they could be great fun to watch shadow box. One of those is Koki Eto, AKA "The Human Highlight Reel", another is Akira Yaegashi who showed his love of a war recently in his loss with the sensational Roman Gonzalez. Another is Ryo Miyazaki who appears to have a pretty solid skill set though always seems to get dragged into a war sooner or later. One of those entertaining bouts from Miyazaki saw him battling against Mexico's Carlos Velarde in what was a WBA Minimumweight title defense for Miyazaki. It wasn't the most exciting bout we've seen from Miyazaki however it was pretty damned exciting with both men connecting with some heavy leather during the fight and the ending was a chilling KO of the year contender for 2013. It's well worth watching the fight just to see the the fantastic KO. When we talk about in ring brutality we need to remembered that some fights really do go above and beyond a boxing contest. They become so brutal that we sit watching whilst feeling a sense of awe, shock, disgust and amazement. In 2013 we had one such bout that combined everything you could possible want as Denis Lebedev took on Guillermo Jones. This fight is essentially one where we have to let the violence talk for it's self. There is nothing we can say, or do, to give the fight justice for his viciousness. Sadly after the fight we also go controversy after the winner tested positive for a banned substance. A rematch was made and then cancelled on the day of the fight as the same man tested positive for a banned substance. Sadly this drugs issue has left a black mark on the fight though the heart of the loser cannot be given enough credit knowing what we know now. Enjoy the violence folks and ignore everyone who say the Cruiserweight division sucks! At the start of 2013 Jundy Maraon was a promising and unbeaten Filipino looking for his chance to score a break out win. For that opportunity he traveled to the US to fight on ESPN's brilliant Friday Night Fights series. Maraon would come up against the very talented Dominican Juan Carlos Payano in a bout being described as a WBA Bantamweight world title eliminator. Whilst we won't ruin the bout we will just say that it is an enjoyable contest. It's not a FOTY 2013 candidate but it's also not a stinker. We do need to also add that it's take the winner 18 months to get their world title fight with the sensational Anselmo Moreno. A bit of a shame that it's taken so long but better late than never, right? Like all fight fans we love watching brawlers. There is just something about watching a fighter happily take a shot to the face to try and land his own that is just so aesthetically pleasing . For some reason the brawling style has almost been personified over the years by fighters from South Korea who have often seemed happy to take a shot land one. The last "big name" Korean was Ji Hoon Kim, a man who fought numerous bouts in the US where he made a notable fan base for his style and willingness to exchange punches with out a thought towards defense. Although known for his bouts in the US he did fight numerous times in his native South Korea and, at the time of writing, his last bout was in Korea as he took on Indonesia's Roy Tua Manihuruk for the WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight title. The bout was a mismatch from the second it was signed though as with all of Kim's bouts it was a fun bout to watch from the opening round to the final bell. Thankfully for Kim's health however it was a bout that saw him avoiding any serious punishment and many have suggested this will be his last bout. |
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May 2024
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