 The Light Heavyweight division is a genuinely interesting one right now, with a lot of potentially exciting match ups to be made, and a lot of heavy handed fighters in and around the top of the division. One of those is the Kyrgyzstan born boxer-puncher Dmitry Bivol (13-0, 11), who looks to make his next defense of the WBA Light Heavyweight title this coming Saturday. In the opposite corner to Bivol will be experienced contender Isaac Chilemba (25-5-2, 10), who is essentially in last chance saloon at the top of the division.
Bivol has been fast tracked since making his professional debut, thanks to a strong amateur background that included more than 280 bouts. Ever since his debut in November 2014 he has been matched tough and allowed to hone his skills against good competition. Whilst he has honed his abilities that's not to ignore the fact that he is naturally heavy handed, has a great engine and a good boxing brain. In May 2016 he claimed the WBA interim title, and would go on to claim the full version the following year. In his most impressive performance so far Bivol scored a 12th round TKO win over Cuban fighter Sullivan Barrera. That performance showed Bivol putting it all together. His shots were crisp through out, he showed he could box at a high pace for 12 rounds, and rather than cruise to a decision he hunted the stoppage, becoming the first man to take out Barrera. What was supposed to be a testing bout for Bivol was made to look easy by the 27 year old, who now appears to be on a collision course with Sergey Kovalev, who will be defending the WBO title on the same card. The 32 year old Malawian born South African based Chilemba has long been a leading contender at 175lbs. Early in his career he was happy to make a name for himself in South Africa, where he fought his first 17 bouts and went going 15-1-1 (8), whilst avenging his sole defeat. Whilst many of his opponents in South Africa were relatively unknown they did include a win over the then 20-0 Doudou Ngumbu and a draw with Thomas Oosthuizen. Since then he has gone 10-4-1 whilst fighting on the road in all but 1 of those bouts. On the road he has scored upset wins against Maksim Vlasov, Debis Grachev, Vasily Lepikhin abd Blake Caparello, as well as fighting to a draw with Tony Bellew. Sadly for Chilemba he's a very old 32 who has gone 24 with Bellew, 12 hard rounds with Eleider Alvarez, and 12 hard rounds with Sergey Kovalev and and was stopped in 2016 by Oleksandr Gvozdyk. The losses to Alvarez, Kovalev and Gvozdyk have come in 3 of his last 4 bouts and he has scored only a single win, the one over Caparello, in the last 3 years. At his best Chilemba was a nightmare to fight, he was slippery, slick, tricky and sharp. Sadly though he has shown wear and tear in recent bouts and with inactivity and age his reactions will have slowed. At his best Chilemba would have been able to give fits to Bivol with his movement and control of distance. Sadly though this beyond prime version of Chilemba will be hard pushed to survive with the champion who we suspect will chip away at the challenge before ramping up the tempo and stopping him in the final third of the bout. Chilemba was a very good fighter once, but we really can't see how this current version survives, or competes, with the rising force that is Dmitry Bivol.
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 By - George Delis (@Delisketo )
On July 28, another world title could come to the land of the Rising Sun, as Masayuki Ito faces Christopher Diaz for the vacant WBO Super Featherweight World title. Masayuki Ito (23-1-1 / 12 KOs) belongs among the next generation of up-and-coming Japanese stars like Hiroki Okada, Satoshi Shimizu, Hiroaki Teshigawara, that look to leave their mark on the world scene. After Vasyl Lomachenko vacated the title to focus on the Lightweight division, this opened the door for a new champion to step up and take the spotlight. This may be Ito’s first crack at a world championship, but that’s certainly not his first time fighting for gold. In 2013 he won the WBC Youth Lightweight title after 12 consecutive career wins. He unsuccessfully challenged Rikki Naito (11-0*) for the Japanese Super Featherweight title on February of 2015, in a very even fight, but a couple of months later he knocked out Dai Iwai (17-3*) to become the OPBF Super Featherweight champion. On December of 2016 he fought his biggest match at the time, as he took on one of the top ranked boxers in Japan, Takuya Watanabe (30-6*) at Ota-City. After 12 action-packed rounds, Ito got the unanimous decision and more importantly the WBO Asia Pacific Super Featherweight belt. His winning ways continued, as he earned 3 impressive KO wins in 2017/2018, over Lorenzo Villanueva (32-2*), Glenn Enterina (11-2*) and Vergil Puton (17-9*). Now Ito sits at the #2 spot of the WBO rankings and getting ready for his big opportunity. https://twitter.com/Delisketo/status/1007707466681999363 Christopher Diaz (23-0 / 15 KOs) one of the brightest prospects of the Super Featherweight division, has run roughshod over every opponent that he has come across the ring with. Named Prospect Of The Year by ESPN Deportes in 2016, Diaz blasted through Bryant Cruz (18-2*) to be crowned WBO NABO Super Featherweight champion on December of 2017 at the Madison Square Garden Theater. On March of 2018 he stopped Braulio Rodriguez (19-2*) in the 4th round, thus earning the chance to box for the WBO world title. This is, without a doubt, the most significant fight in the careers of both these 2 young fighters. Ito’s 9 year journey has culminated in this very moment, finally competing for the world championship, at US soil, for the first time. Diaz on the other hand, has been on the fast track, as he has managed to climb to the top of the Super Featherweights in only 5 years’ time and could become the 60th male Puerto Rican boxing world champion. The stakes couldn’t be higher for these men. Prediction: This one hard to call. Diaz has never lost a fight in his life, he is younger and has the higher KO ratio. However, the experience is definitely on Ito’s side, as he has been boxing for almost a decade and has bested more top level guys than Diaz. In my opinion, Ito’s skills and cunningness will be sufficient enough for him to leave Florida with the strap. *The boxer’s record before the fight.  By - George Delis (@Delisketo )
On July 28, in Qingdao, Sho Kimura returns to the ring for the first time in 2018, to defend his World championship against Filipino challenger, Froilan Saludar. Sho Kimura (16-1 / 9 KOs) started his boxing career at 25, later than most fighters do. Despite suffering a KO loss in his debut, he quickly bounced back, earning 11 wins and 2 draws within 3 years. In 2016 he faced undefeated Masahiro Sakamoto (8-0*) for the vacant WBO Asia Pacific Flyweight title. After 12 rounds of back and forth action, Kimura got the majority decision and the gold. However, his real test came in last year’s July, when he challenged Shiming Zou for the WBO World Flyweight championship. Zou, with a record of 9-1 at the time, was a 3-time World Amateur champion and a 2-time Olympic champion, with victories over the likes of future WBC Silver Bantamweight title holder Nordine Oubaali and WBO Intercontinental & European flyweight champion Paddy Barnes. Kimura was coming in as the underdog and was even fighting the champion in his own country. On paper, Zou was going to walk through the Japanese contender, as he had already bested much more experienced fighters as a pro, like Luis de la Rosa (23-3*), Prasitsak Phaprom (28-0*) and Prasitsak Phaprom (40-1*). In a shocking turn of events, Kimura dominated the match in every single round while going for the kill in the 11th, as he blasted Zou with a plethora of body shots and when the Chinese was at his weakest, he nailed him in the head 20 consecutive times to get the TKO win and to finally become the World champion. https://twitter.com/Delisketo/status/1014555579258417153 Kimura made his triumphant return to Japan, on December of 2017, defending against the former WBC, The Ring and Lineal Flyweight World champion Toshiyuki Igarashi (23-2*) at Ota-City General Gymnasium. Once again, he was facing a great amateur boxer (77-18) and just like Zou, a well-versed rival, who already owned wins over strong boxers like Wilbert Uicab (33-5*), former World champion Sonny Boy Jaro (34-10*) and Nestor Daniel Narvaes (19-0*). Kimura, much like his previous bout, surprised the crowd with his physical prowess and technique, outclassing Igarashi. The fight picked up in the 8th round where both men were swinging for the fences, bringing the fans on their feet. Kimura delivered a vicious combination during the 9th that stunned Igarashi and rendered him unable to respond, leaving no option for the referee but to stop the match. https://twitter.com/Delisketo/status/1014558321150480386 His next challenge will bring him back to the same place that he originally became famous, as he takes on Filippino prospect Froilan Saludar (28-2 / 19 KOs) later this month. Compared to his last 2 fights, this one is definitely an easier task but Saludar is not to be taken lightly, as himself has won numerous championships, including the WBO Asia Pacific Youth, Oriental and Intercontinental Flyweight titles. Prediction: It’s almost guaranteed that Kimura will come out the winner of this fight, which, in my guess, will serve as a tune up for his inevitable collision with 2 division World champion Kosei Tanaka (11-0), probably later this year. *The boxer’s record before the fight.  The Minimumweight division has been slowly creating a bit of buzz in the last few years. Typically the division has been chronically over-looked but thanks to action fighters like Roman Gonzalez, Katsunari Takayama and Akira Yaegashi we've slowly seen a snowball of interest for the men at 105lbs. That interesting is arguably at it's highest now with several notable champions, and very highly regarded contenders. Champions like Wanehng Menayothin and Hiroto Kyoguchi have certainly gained some for various reasons whilst Knockout CP Freshmart (17-0, 7) has probably the best name in the sport. Contenders like the hard hitting Tsubasa Koura or the amazingly skilled Mark Anthony Barriga add real depth to a division which has often only hand a handful of quality fighters.
This coming weekend the aforementioned Knockout CP Freshmart returns to the ring to defend his WBA Minimumweight title against WBA interim champion Xiong Zhao Zhong (27-7, 14), who was the first ever Chinese male world champion. The bout will be held in Qingdao China and see Knockout fighting outside of Thailand for the first time as a professional boxer. The unbeaten champion got a lot of attention early in his career due to his memorable ring name, choosing to fight under the “Knokcout” moniker rather than his birth name of Thammanoon Niyomtrong. The former Muay Thai fighter made an immediate impact in professional boxing by claiming a WBC Youth title on debut, back in 2012. He then rose quickly through the ranks before claiming the WBA “interim” Minimumweight title in 2014, when he controversially defeated Carlos Buitrago. In 2016 he unified the interim title with the regular title, by defeating Byron Rojas in a competitive, but less than fantastic bout. During his reign as the WBA interim, and regular, champion Knockout's reign has really been a mixed bag. He has scored solid wins over Buitrago, dominating a rematch between the two, Rey Loreto and Shin Ono, but also scored some really weak defenses against the likes of Muhammad Rachman, who was 43 at the time and Go Odaira. In the ring he is technically solid, and is improving pretty much with every fight. He's not the quickest, or the biggest punching or even the most energetic, but he's a very good all-rounder, arguably the best all rounder at 105lbs right now and is hard man to look impressive against. At 35 years old Zhong is one of the division's senior citizens. He debuted back in 2006 and had a pretty slow start to his career, with China not really even being a blip on the boxing map back in 2006. Despite the low key start he did manager to fight for the WBC Flyweight title in 2009, dropping Daisuke Naito before coming up short in a messy bout in Japan. In 2012 Zhong got his second shot at a world title, and defeated Javier Martinez Resendiz to claim the previously vacant WBC Minimumweight title, creating history by becoming China's first male world champion. He would defend the title twice, scoring a very notable win over Denver Cuello in his first defense, but was surprisingly dethroned in 2014 by Oswaldo Novoa, who stopped Zhong in 5 rounds. Since Zhong lost the WBC title he has had mixed fortunes, going 5-2 though claimed WBA interim title last time out with a very lucky win over Panya Pradbsri, AKA Petchmanee Kokietgym. At his best Zhong was an awkward, bull like fighter. He lacked the nuances of a real world class fighter, but was tough, strong and hit surprisingly hard. His lack of technical ability has held him back, and whilst he has dropped fighters like Naito and Hekkie Budler the damage has come from his bull like strength and and wild, wide and unorthodox shots, rather than technically accurate boxing skills. Given the skills and accuracy of Knockout, as well as his edge in youth and speed, we can't see anything but a win for the Thai. If he can stop Zhong it would be impressive, but we're expecting a decision for the Thai, who will dominate in such a way that the judges can't possibly give it to the local. Interestingly the winner of this will be expected to face off with Byron Rojas, who's team had pushed to get a bout with Knockout before this bout was signed. That would likely lead to a rematch between Knockout and Rojas.  In recent memory the Welterweight division has been one of the most significant divisions to the sport, with huge super fights and some of the sports most popular fighters competing in the division. Right now it's still an important division but does seem to be waiting for it's next super fight. Fighters like Errol Spence, Keith Thurman and Terence Crawford all look like they are going to be part of the the next generation of divisional super fights, yet none are currently looking like they are set to clash, at least not for now.
With the new generation coming through we're at an interesting position in the division with two veterans set to face off this coming Sunday with WBA champion Lucas Martin Matthysse (39-4-0-1, 36) defending his title against Filipino boxing idol Manny Pacquiao (59-7-2, 38) in Kuala Lumpur. Both have looked like they are a long way removed from their best, with their last outings showing them to be shadows of their former selves. Matthysse was last seen in the ring defeating Teerachai Kratingdaenggym for the title back in January, but had struggled before pulling out an 8th round KO of the Thai. Pacquiao on the other hand hasn't fought since his controversial loss to Jeff Horn in July 2017. Added to their poor recent performances are their ages, with Pacquiao 39 years old, 40 in December, and Matthysse being 35, 36 in September. Neither man is a youngster, both have looked poor, and both will know that anything but a win here will likely end their career's. Of the two men it's certainly Pacquiao who has had the more distinguished career. The Filipino Southpaw has been one of the few fighters to transcend the sport and is seen as not only a boxing icon but a key Filipino figure and a key sporting figure. He has turned his boxing success into a political career in his homeland and is well known for his charitable work outside of the ring. Inside the ring he was, arguably, the most destructive man in the sport for over a decade starting in 1998, when he stopped Chatchai Sasakul for the WBC Flyweight title right through to 2009, when he stopped Miguel Cotto for the WBO Welterweight title. At his very best Pacquiao was an aggressive, fast, combination punching Phenom with brutal power in his left hand, and explosive quickness. Sadly Pacquiao of the last few years has lost a lot of what made him special. His intensity and energy are gone, the fire seems to be going out, and at 39 there is real question marks regarding what he still has left in the tank. Even when he has dominated fighters, like Jessie Vargas, Chris Algieri and Brandon Rios, there hasn't quite been the same desire in his eyes as there was during his peak. Given his inactivity and age there is real questions as to whether he can even show glimpses of his old self. Matthysse was, for a long time, one of the best active fighters to never win a proper world title. Between 2010 and 2014 he went from being an obscure Argentinian fighter in his homeland to being recognised as a leading Light Welterweight. He did that by travelling to the US and facing the likes of Zab Judah, Devon Alexander, Humberto Soto, Ajose Olusegun, Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia. Whilst he would pick up some losses during that run, including very controversial ones to Judah and Alexander, he had proven he belong in the mix and claimed the WBC interim title along the way. He had also made fans, his exciting, power based style, made him an almost instant fan favourite and later wars with John Molina and Ruslan Provodnikov were both sensational action bouts. Sadly for Matthysse a loss to Viktor Postol in 2017 caused Matthysse career to stall as he suffered a serious eye injury and would be out of the ring for over a year. Since then he has scored wins over Emmanuel Taylor and Teerachai, but looked a shadow of himself against the Thai, who made Matthysse look old, clumsy and slow. This isn't so much of a super fight between two notable veterans with exciting styles. It's more of a retirement bout in our eyes, with the loser literally having no where to go. The winner will have a bargaining chip for another big fight down the line. But even then it's unlikely they'll manage to pick up another notable win, given how poor they looked last time out. We suspect Pacquiao's inactivity and age will be his downfall here, but given how poor Matthyse looked against Teerachai there is a good chance that Pacquiao will use what's left of his speed to pick up one more huge win for his legacy. The Flyweight division has long been one of the best divisions in the sport, combining both great fighters and amazing bouts. In recent years however it's wobbled a bit as the top guys have gone up in weight and left the 112lb weight class feeling a little bit like a void as fighters begin to step up to bigger challenges. This has seen the likes of Roman Gonzalez, Juan Francisco Estrada, Donnie Nietes all abandon the division for success at Super Flyweight. As a result the division currently lacks in terms of x-factor, with good but not amazing champions, like Sho Kimura and Artem Dalakian. We're currently missing a real star in the division, and whilst Cristofer Rosales looks to be the best of the bunch he doesn't have the same allure as a Gonzalez, Estrada or even the now retired Kazuto Ioka.
This coming Sunday we get the chance to see another two fighters throw their hats into the ring to try and become the division's star and the new IBF Flyweight champion. The bout in question will see former champion Moruti Mthalane (35-2, 24) attempt to reclaim the title as he faces off with Korean based Pakistani fighter Muhammad Waseem (8-0, 6). Of the two men it's Mthalane who is more well known. He is best, internationally, for giving Nonito Donaire a few really tough rounds back in 2008, before being stopped on cuts in round 6. Since then the South African has gone 13-0 (9), with some notable issues with inactivity plaguing his career. Although he hasn't been massively active he has notched up some brilliant wins, including victories over Julio Cesar Miranda, Zolani Tete, Johnriel Casimero and Ricardo Nunez. Sadly he has, like many African fighters, struggled to get the career defining fights on a big stage and actually gave up the IBF title rather than get paid pennies to face a then unknown Amnat Ruenroeng after 4 defenses. Since vacating the IBF title Mthalane has been arguably the best Flyweight to essentially be locked out of the title picture. He's too dangerous to face as a voluntary and he was unable to secure a mandatory position until the IBF title was vacated by Donnie Nietes. Despite missing out on a world title fight he has been picking up his activity and he fit 3 fights into 2017, winning all 3 by stoppage. At the age of 35, soon to be 36, the South African will know that a loss will be the end of his hopes of becoming a 2-time world champion, at least with the 4 big organisations. He is however a tough, skilled, accurate and aggressive fighter with very under-rated power who will look to take the fight to his foe here. Waseem on the other hand is a bit of an unknown to many fans, and this will be, by far, the highest profile bout of his career. The Pakistani born fighter turned professional in 2015 under the promotional guidance of Andy Kim, who has matched Waseem aggressively and gotten him very high level training. He made his professional debut in a 10 round bout for the Korean Bantamweight title and less than 10 months later he had claimed the WBC Silver Flyweight title. From then on it seemed like he was heading towards a WBC title fight but financial issues almost derailed his career. What had been a fast track to the top approach for Waseem hit a brick wall and he spent 2017 fighting in stay busy fights on under-cards in Panama. In the ring Waseem has looked like a fighter able to do it all. He can box, he can bang and he can move. He began his career like a fighter wanting to test things, get used to the ring and the distance of a fight, looking like he was working on things all the time. After his 2016 win over Giemel Magramo however he's had to do a lot less to pick up wins and instead beaten some very abject opponents in any way that he wanted. If he can still mix the different styles together then it's very possible that he could use his speed to out fox and bamboozle the hard hitting Mthalane. At 30 years old Waseem is young enough to have a nice reign, if he comes out on top here, but given his lack of financial backing there is a real issue he could find his reign cut short like Mthalane did when he held the title a few years ago. Although there is a huge gulf in experience here we do actually favour Waseem. He appears to be the fresher fighter, the fighter who hasn't had the bouts against the likes of Donaire and Nunez. Mthalane is going to be dangerous through the fight, and Waseem can't get lazy, but if he uses his legs, moves and prevents Mthalane from setting his feet there's a great chance for Korea and Pakistan to claim a world champion. This coming Sunday we'll see Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao in what could be his final bout. On the same card we'll get the chance to see a rising Filipino Phenom take on his biggest challenge as he battles for the interim WBA Featherweight title.
The Filipino in question is the unbeaten Jhack Tepora (21-0, 16) who steps up in class to face Edivaldo Ortega (26-1-1, 12) in what could genuinely turn out to be the fight of the weekend, despite the fact it's only for an interim title. Both fighters have styles that should gel, a lot to prove, and both will know this is a massive opportunity to make a name for themselves, fighting on a massive card in front of a global audience. The 25 year old Tepora turned professional in early 2012 with fight fans in the Philippines predicting big things to come from him. He had been a notable amateur on the Filipino scene and was fighting in 8 rounders just 15 months after his professional debut. Despite being hotly tipped it wasn't until 2016 that Tepora fougth for his first title, claiming the PBF Super Bantamweight title in January of the year. He would however quickly add to his collection, winning the WBO Asia Pacific Yoth Super Bantamweight title and the WBO Oriental Super Bantamweight title by the end of the year. He would then add the World Boxing Organisation Inter-Continental featherweight title the following year with a sensational KO in South Africa against Lusanda Komanisi. As with a lot of Filipino fighters Tepora has matured and moved up in weight notably. He made his debut as a 19 year old at Flyweight but looked a fully fleshed out Featherweight when he stopped Komanisi. He has certainly developed from a teenager into an adult and stood at 5'6” with a 67” reach he's a decent sized Featherweight. Also notably is the fact he's a heavy handed southpaw. He's not the most technically able, or the quickest or the smoothest in the ring. In fact he looks like he can be out boxed by a patient and smart fighter, but his power is brutal and not many will be able to handle his flush shots. Whilst not a technical genius Tepora is technically solid, and even without his power he's be a solid fighter, with that power however he's a real dangerman and someone who few will be in a rush to face. Ortega is a 28 year old Mexican fighter who has been a professional since 2007 and, like Tepora, is a southpaw. Stylistically however he's not much of a puncher, having stopped only 1 of his last 7 opponents. Despite that he does hold notable inside the distance wins over the likes of Tomas Rojas and Christian Esquivel, whilst scoring solid decision wins over the likes of Drian Francisco and Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr. Stylistically his lack of power isn't really an issue as he's a technically capable swarmer, who throws a lot of leather, puts opponents on the back foot and keeps up a high pressure based tempo. His styles is genuinely a fun one to watch, and although it's unlikely to give him sustained success at the top level, it will make him a very TV friendly fighter for the next few years. On paper Ortega holds more wins of note than Tepora, with victories over former world champions like Sanchez Jr and Rojas as well as world level contenders like Francisco and Esquivel. It should be noted however that those names are typically associated with lower weights, and in fairness all 4 were well beyond their best. That's not to say Ortega isn't a fantastic fighter, but his biggest wins can certainly be questioned, and this is the first time he'll be taking on a real, genuine, puncher. We expect to see see Ortega apply the pressure from the early stages, putting Tepora on the back foot. That gives Tepora a great chance to land his dynamite shots, and if he does we'll see just how good Ortega's chin is. If Ortega can take Tepora's power we suspect the Mexican comes out on top, of what would be an amazing fight. If he can't then then Tepora could well score a highlight reel KO of the Mexican here to claim the interim world title. This is a really good match up and one we are so excited to see. One of the things we're big on is fighters trying to create history, push themselves and trying to do something a bit special. This coming Sunday we see a fighter try to do exactly that, as Lu Bin (1-0, 1) looks to claim a world title in just his second professional bout. He isn't attempting to do it by fighting for a vacant title, but instead by taking one one of the most feared Light Flyweights on the planet, WBA champion Carlos Canizales (20-0-1, 16). For Lu this is a chance to become the first male fighter to win a world title in fewer than 3 fights, which is the record set by Saensak Muangsurin and tied by Vasyl Lomachenko. As for Canizales this bout will be his first defense, defending the title he on in March when he over-came Reiya Konishi in a hotly contested bout in Kobe. That win came in Canizales' second world title bout, following a 2-16 split decision draw with Ryoichi Taguchi.
The 23 year old Bin was a former amateur star, following in the footsteps of Chinese compatriot Zou Shiming. He had been a break out star in the APB, the AIBA Professional Boxing league, and shone in a special 1-off exhibition against former world champion Xiong Zhao Zhong. Last September he made his professional debut, under normal professional rules, and stopped Wanchai Nianghansa, aka Chatchai Or Benjamas, in 3 rounds to claim the WBC Asian Boxing Council Silver Light Flyweight title. In that bout Bin looked like a star in the making, with tight defenses, smooth boxing, and a lovely variety of shots. Despite looking like a star in the making it's hard to ignore that Bin has fought just 3 rounds as a “proper” professional. It's also hard to ignore the fact they came against a Thai journeyman, it's not like when Muangsurin beat the in-form and world ranked Rudy Barro and Lion Furyama or when Lomachenko defeated the experienced Jose Ramirez, it was essentially a win over a very weak opponent by Bin. Watching Lu's debut we saw a special fighter. He looked like he knew more about professional boxing than someone like Shiming was ever going to understand. Even as a little fighter he looked like his shots had spite, especially his body shots, and he was able to find holes where novices rarely find them. He had a real smoothness to his work and it was a joy to watch. There was however still the feeling that he was just a very good prospect beginning his career, not someone who was going to be challenging for a world title so early in his career, especially in one of the toughest divisions in the sport. Venezuelan fighter Canizales was a relative unknown before his 2016 bout with Taguchi in Japan, a bout that he could well have gotten the decision for, rather than being held to a draw. After 3 straight forward wins back in Venezuela Canizales travelled back to Japan and defeated Konishi in what was a brilliant bout that saw him come close to stopping Konishi, before being forced on to the back foot. In those bouts Canizales shower that he was aggressive, hard hitting, but could box, could move and had under-rated footwork. He possibly has some question marks about his stamina, dropping his output during both those fights, but is clearly a very dangerous and talented boxer-puncher. It's notable that both his best performances have come in Asia, and this bout with Bin will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Canziales has been a professional since July 2014 and his rise has been quick. Despite being quick he has still managed to to fit in 21 bouts so far, and fought 92 rounds. Those 92 rounds have included a couple of bouts that have gone 12 rounds and one that has gone 11. He has experience in the later stages of bouts, has proven his toughness, his power and his skills. This proven quality certainly gives him the edge over Bin. Had Bin been more experienced, more proven as a professional, this could have been viewed as a real 50-50. Instead however it seems like too much too soon for Bin, who is a real talent, but perhaps could have waited just a touch longer and fit in a few more fights before agreeing to step in the ring with Canizales. We suspect that Bin will have his moments early on, but unfortunately we expect him to come up short later in the bout, with Canizales' experience and proven ability to do 12 rounds being the difference between the two men here. Saying that however, we would love to see Bin win here, and lay down a marker to the world of boxing, that top amateurs don't need to be held back and can be fast tracked insanely quick.  By - George Delis (@Delisketo)
The month of July is a quite busy month for boxing, with so many great matches taking place worldwide. One of those is Ryuya Yamanaka, the reigning WBO World Minimumweight champion, defending against Vic Saludar, in Japan on July 13. Ryuya Yamanaka (16-2/5 KOs) took up boxing at a very young age, under the tutelage of, 3 division world champion, Hozumi Hasegawa. His first pro-fight took place in 2012, when he was just 17 years old. Within the next 4 years, he garnered 12 wins and 2 losses, before he faced, top Philippino boxer, Merlito Sabillo (25-3*) for the vacant OPBF Minimumweight title. Sabillo, a former Philippines, OPBF and WBO world champion, had finished 12 of his 25 wins via KO whereas Ryuya had only 3 under his belt. The Japanese fighter was clearly the underdog in this bout, with less in-ring experience and KO power. However, Yamanaka shocked everyone with his performance that day, making the champion look like an amateur. His speed and precision earned him the unanimous decision and his first major title. In less than a year later, his big moment came as he was set to fight Tatsuya Fukuhara (19-4*) on August of 2017 at the Shiroyama Sky Dome for the WBO World Minimumweight championship. Fukuhara, who is still ranked amongst the top Minimumweight competitors in the world, went through a war with Yamanaka, with both men giving everything they got during this title bout. In the end, Yamanaka’s hand was raised once again in victory, winning the World title at the age of 22. On March of this year, he successfully made his first title defense against Mexican standout Moises Calleros (28-7*). Yamanaka’s skills proved to be too much for Calleros, as he made him retire in the 8th round. https://twitter.com/Delisketo/status/1009803390409375745 Vic Saludar (17-3/10 KOs) currently ranked #3 by the WBO, has been slowingly climbing up the rankings in order to get a crack at the gold. The Philippino was 11-1 when he faced the undefeated world champion Kosei Tanaka back on December of 2015. Despite losing the match, he proved that he is a worthy contender as he took Tanaka to the limit, even knocking him down in the 5th round. In 2016 he made a strong comeback, after he beat Lito Dante (11-5*) to win the WBO Oriental Minimumweight title. Since then, Saludar has been gaining momentum and finally earned another chance at the new champion. https://twitter.com/Delisketo/status/1009804256654786566 The Japanese champion has come face to face with much tougher opponents during his previous encounters. This fight is just another stepping stone for him towards a possible future unification match. For Saludar, this is do or die time. He already missed his first shot, he does not want to fail again, since chances like these don’t come very often. Prediction: Yamanaka is the favourite in this one. Even though he may not be the knock out artist Saludar is, he has been matched with much better competition, than the challenger, in the past and he always manages to come out on top. His technique and agility will be his biggest assets here. However, Saludar is not to be taken lightly, if his bout with Tanaka is any indication. One mistake by Ryuya and we could be looking at a new champion. *The boxer’s record before the fight.  This coming Saturday fight fans will get the chance to see the WBA further make a mockery of the idea of having a single world champion in every division. They will be doing that by crowning a 4th champion at Cruiserweight, with Kazakh Beibut Shumenov (17-2, 11) and German based Turk Hizni Altunkaya (30-1, 17) battling for the WBA “regular” Cruiserweight title.
Part of the farcical nature of this bout comes from the fact the WBA have a unified champion, Murat Gassiev, a champion in recess, Denis Lebedev, and am interim champion Arsen Goulamirian. But it becomes a bigger farce when one realises that Shumenov, the WBA #2 ranked fighter, hasn't fought since May 2016, retiring due to an eye injury before un-retiring, and that Altunkaya enters as the #3 ranked WBA fighter. Altunkaya has once just once in the last 12 months, beating the frankly terrible Niko Lohmann in January, and having faced just one fighter of any note, Krzysztof Glowacki, who stopped Altunkaya in June 2017. At his best Shumenov was a raw, but capable, boxer-puncher. He was fast tracked early in his career and claimed the WBA Light Heavyweight title in his 10th professional bout, back in 2010, with a very controversial decision win against Gabriel Campillo. His reign was a poor one, with 5 defenses in 4 years before he lost to Bernard Hopkins in a WBA/IBF unification bout. Following the loss to Hopkins Shumenov moved up in weight and would win the interim, and regular, WBA Cruiserweight titles, with wins over BJ Flores and Junior Anthony Wright. He would then be forced to retire, as mentioned, due to issues with his sight. At the age of 34 Shumenov is seeking to become a 3-time world champion and make a successful return. Whilst it's an admirable dream the fact he's getting a world title fight, for a vacant belt, given his long lay off and the WBA's current title situation, does leave a terrible taste in the mouth. It feels obvious that the WBA have, in the past, bent over for Shumenov and it seems like they are doing the same for him again. That, added to some awful cards in his favour, has long left someone questioning what Shumenov has done to have such preferential treatment. He's a good fighter, but has certainly had more than his share of good fortune. Altunkaya is a 30 year old who's boxrec ranking, at the time of writing, is 71 which seems far, far, far, far more accurate than the #3 ranking that the WBA have given him. He's been a professional since 2008 and his record is incredibly padded, with his best win on paper being a decision over Salvatore Aiello, who's was 29-0 at the time and had a record that was possibly the most padded in the sport at the time. Since then there has only been one notable name that Altunkaya has faced, and that was Glowacki who dominated the Turk. With absolute no wins of any quality on his record it's impossible to understand what Altunkaya has done to deserve a world title fight. He is a true bottom feeder. Worryingly however he may well have gotten this bout at the perfect time to put himself on the boxing map given the inactivity and injuries of Shumenov. He's certainly the younger, more healthy fighter than Shumenov, but he's also the more limited and the less durable. We suspect that Shumenov's extra class, quality of experience and skills will take him to a victory here, though wouldn't be surprised if his injuries reared their head and his inactivity and age showed. Either way we do now expect the winner of this bout to hold on to the title for long. Hopefully that will be because they lose it to one of the other champions recognised by the organisation, but we never can be too sure with the WBA and their inconsistent nature of running their own world titles. |
World Title Previews
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