|
February 20th 1985- Alexandra Palace, Wood Green, London, United Kingdom Sot Chitalada (7-1, 5) Vs Charlie Magri (29-3, 22) We don't see many Asian fighters travelling to the UK to defend titles, it's certainly not the norm. Though saying that Sot Chitalada was not the normal Asian fighter he was a man who in his 5th bout went to South Korea and gave the great Jung-Koo Chang hell and less than a year later went to the UK to defend the WBC Flyweight title against former champion Charlie Magri. So unique was Sot that in a 31 fight career he defended world titles in Kuwait, Japan, South Korea and Jamaica, as well as the UK. In regards to this particular fight it was Sot's first defence and came just 4 months after he had narrowly out pointed Gabriel Bernal for the title.
0 Comments
February 22nd 1987- Indoor Gymnasium, Incheon, South Korea Hi-Sup Shin (37-2-1, 22) Vs Dodie Boy Penalosa (19-1-1, 8) Through the 1980's the Korean boxing scene was one of the most exciting as it gave us not only a huge selection of good fighters but also a lot of action fights and fights that seemed able to come alive at a moments notice. One such fight saw the then IBF Flyweight champion Hi-Sup Shin battle against Filipino Dodie Boy Penalosa, a former IBF Light Flyweight champion. We have to say that this one starts slowly but erupts before the ending as the pace suddenly picks up. March 7th 1978- Tokyo, Japan Bernabe Villacampo (37-16-4, 24) Vs Shigeo Nakajima (8-0-1, 5) In recent years we've seen Japanese fighters get fast tracked to the top with alarming success. That however hasn't always been the case and sometimes it has back fired spectacularly. Back in the 1970's Shigeo Nakajima was hoping to be fast tracked and in just his 10th bout he took on Filipino puncher Bernabe Villecampo a dangerous 3-time world title challenger and then then GAB Flyweight champion. (Video courtesy of Jerome Naldoza) July 7th 1983- Kinki University Auditorium, Osaka, Osaka, Japan Hidekazu Akai (14-0, 13) Vs Bruce Curry (32-7, 16) Japan's hard hitting Hidekazu Akai has become a forgotten man in boxing though he was, at one time, a world title challenger who took on the then WBC 140lb champion Bruce Curry, the brother of the once sensational Don Curry. June 3rd 1971- Metropolitan Gym, Tokyo, Japan Kuniaki Shibata (33-2-2, 21) Vs Raul Cruz (20-5-1, 12) Japan's Kuniaki Shibata was rarely in a forgettable fight as he seemed to either score eye catching knockouts or be caught by something special, as he famously was against Ben Villaflor in their rematch. Another memorable fight, at least the final minute of it, saw Shibata defending the WBC Featherweight title against Raul Cruz. Don't be lulled by the slow start as the ending is brilliant. December 16th 1979- Busan, South Korea Chan Hee Park (11-0-2, 5) Vs Guty Espadas (33-3-5, 24) Back in the 1970's Korean boxing was in the middle of it's golden age and one of those men at the forefront of that was Chan Hee Park who had a short but excellent reign as a world champion. He had won the WBC Flyweight title with a decision over the brilliant Miguel Canto in March 1979 and by the end of the year was seeking his third defence as he took on the excellent Guty Espadas, a former WBA champion. (Note video is in black and white) December 18th 2004- Oberfrankenhalle, Bayreuth, Bayern, Germany Yoshinori Nishizawa (26-14-5, 14) Vs Markus Beyer (30-2, 12) Asian fighters haven't often been successful at the higher weights, that however hasn't stopped some fighters from "giving it a go" as we saw when Japan's Yoshinori Nishizawa challenged the then WBC Super Middleweight champion Markus Beyer. The bout wasn't one of the greatest for Asian fighters but Nishizawa did manage to give Beyer a scare in round 2 December 14th 1986- Sum-In Gymnasium, Incheon, South Korea Jung-Koo Chang (31-1, 12) Vs Hideyuki Ohashi (5-1, 3) Through the 1980's South Korean fighter Jung Koo Chang was making a name for himself as one of, if not the, great South Korean fighter of all time and probably the greatest Light Flyweight in history. Chang's 11th defence came against Japanese fighter Hideyuki Ohashi, a man who being fast tracked to the top having won the Japanese national title in just his 6th professional bout. The men would have a rematch in 1988 which would be Chang's final bout before he announced his first retirement, sadly he would return to the ring due to money issue. After retirement Ohashi went into the promotional game and has instilled the fast track mentality in to his own fighters, including Naoya Inoue who won a world title in just his 5th professional contest. January 30th 1999- Pattaya City Hall, Pattaya, Thailand Songkram Porpaoin (19-1-1, 9) Vs Ronnie Magramo (35-9, 22) In the mid 1990's Filipino fighter Ronnie Magramo had twice come up short in bouts for "real" world titles and although he held the WBF for a while it seemed he had his heart set on a belt from the big 4. With that in mind he traveled to Thailand in early 1999 to fight against Songkram Porpaoin in a bout for the WBA interim world title. The bout proved to be rather fun to watch with both men swinging hayemakers. The action wasn't the cleanest or the best but it was really fun to watch. (Video courtesy of Jerome Naldoza) December 20th 1990- Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Yuri Arbachakov (5-0, 5) Vs Rolando Bohol (27-5-3, 5) We all know Yuri Arbachakov as the man who dominated the Flyweight division for much of the 1990's. Prior to becoming a world champion in 1992 he was set on a fast track to success and in just his 6th professional bout he took on Filipino Rolando Bohol, a former IBF Flyweight world champion. Bohol had the edge in terms of professional experience and had fought at a much higher level to to Yuri but that was seen as no problem by the team behind the Japanese based Russian. (Video courtesy of Jerome Naldoza) |
VideosHere we include some of the best, most interesting, most exciting or most eye catching videos from around the Asian boxing world. Archives
March 2024
|