This coming Saturday the little men of boxing take over Inglewood, California with a trio of world title bouts taking place in the Flyweight and Super Flyweight divisions. One of those bouts will feature veteran American-Filipino Brian Viloria (38-5-0-2, 23) take on little known Artem Dalakian (15-0, 11), a Ukrainian fighter who was born in Azerbaijan, for the WBA Flyweight title. For Viloria the bout could be a final bout at the top, and a chance to finish his long career as a champion, whilst Dalakian will be wanting to announce himself as a top tier fighter.
Viloria's professional career has been a genuine roller-coaster. He made his professional debut in 2001, after an outstanding amateur career that saw him become World Amateur Champion back in 1999 and competed at the 2000 Olympics. As a professional Viloria was fast tracked and in 2005 claimed the WBC world title by stopping Eric Ortiz inside a round. Sadly his first reign was a short one, lasting just 11 months, and just a single successful title defense, before he lost the belt to Omar Nino Romero. Viloria would claim the IBF title in 2009 by stopping Ulises Solis, to become a 2-time world champion, but again his reign was a short lived one and he lost the title the following year to Carlos Tamara. In 2011 we saw Viloria become a 3-time champion, as he beat Julio Cesar Miranda for the WBO Flyweight title, and had his best reign, stopping Giovani Segura, avenging a loss to Omar Nino Romero and unifying the WBA and WBO titles with a thrilling win over Hernan Marquez. What has basically been the way with Viloria's career is success followed by a stumble, followed by more success and another stumble. It often seemed like Viloria was unable to decide what he was in the ring. Was he a boxer, or a puncher? He could certainly bang, but came up against fighters who could take his power and test his stamina, eventually out lasting him. If he boxed he'd have to be more cautious, but still preserve his stamina and not have too much wasted movement. Being lost between the two styles often cost him. Despite being excellent at both, he wasn't quite elite at either, and could be out punched or out boxed, and had stamina issue that were always going to be a problem in the later rounds. As he matured those issues continued to be with him, and at 37 it's hard to know just what he has left in the tank. If he was was in his prime he'd be very strongly favoured here, despite some inconsistent performances, but at 37, with almost 17 years of professional experience behind him, 333 rounds, and 45 fights....one must wonder what he has left. Aged 30 Dalakian is a real unknown on the world stage. He was supposed to fight for the title last year, against Kazuto Ioka who retired from the sport after issues with his father and manager. The Ukrainian has had to wait for his eventual shot and will be coming into this bout following a lengthy lay off, having not fought since last April, and he has only fought 17 rounds in the last 24 months, a possible issue here. Saying that however he is a heavy handed fighter who has stopped his last 4 foes, and has only been taken 12 rounds so far. On one hand that says something about his competition, which has been “middling” at best with his most notable win being a TKO over the 38 year old Silvio Olteanu, but on the other he does hit hard and is not someone to trade with for long. Footage of Dalakian shows a very big looking flyweight, who is confident in his power, his chin and his physicality. His defense looks questionable, with his hands often by his waist, but it looks to be a choice by design, rather than an out and out flaw,as he looks to entice opponents to open up on him and give him a chance to land his shots. The openness may cost him against a top tier opponent, but he looks like he's going to be a handful for anyone just through sheer physical attributes and power. In terms of skills they are there, but look rather raw in certain fights and that's a surprise given he was a decent amateur fighter himself, and managed to compete in several notable amateur competitions. If Viloria was in his prime we would expect his power, his skills, and his accuracy to be too much for the slower, cruder and more open Dalakian. There would be a chance that Viloria would tire himself out with power shots and not manage to blast out the Ukrainian, but we'd favour Viloria. However we don't have a prime Viloria with us any more and we suspect Dalakian's power, and physicality will be too much for Viloria, who will be broken down and stopped in the middle rounds. This will be fun, but really just a send off for the Filipino-American veteran.
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Daigo Higa brings world title action back to Okinawa as he defends against Moises Fuentes!1/29/2018 One of the big Japanese success stories of 2017 was Flyweight sensation Daigo Higa (14-0, 14), ho claimed the WBC Flyweight title in May and recorded his first defense in October. Not only did he win and defend the title, but he did so in impressive fashion, stopping both Juan Hernande Navarrete and Thomas Masson in a combined 13 rounds, to continue his perfect KO run. This coming Sunday Higa will be looking to extend his perfect run as he takes on former WBO Minimumweight champion Moises Fuentes (25-4-1, 14) in what will be his second world title defense. If you've missed Higa's rise over the last few years there really is no excuse to continue turning a blind eye to one of the sports most exciting and destructive fighters. The 22 year old Okinawan debuted in June 2014 and blew out his first 5 opponents in the first 2 rounds. He took his first step up in June 2015 and stopped Cris Alfante in 4 rounds before travelling to Thailand and stopping Kongfah CP Freshmart in 7 rounds to claim the WBC Youth Flyweight title. He would defend that title twice before moving up in class to claim the OPBF title in 2016 and then move up again to claim the WBC title last year. Stood at just over 5'3” Higa is a little ball of destruction similar to a prime Roman Gonzalez. For those who were fans of Gonzalez it'd be hard to not be excited by Higa who has a very similar style based on intense pressure, vicious combinations and an under-rated defensive skills. Not only does he have an aggressive style but he has the devastating power to go with it, and his shots all look like they have incredible power on them, despite the fact he never looks like he's forcing things. Instead everything just naturally flows, including some brilliant triple hook combinations. Not only has Higa shown his destructive style, his toughness, and desire but he's never looked hurt during his career, despite having a tooth damaged in his title win, and has shown impressive stamina, going 10 rounds against Renren Tesorio in 2015. Although he was widely in charge against Tesorio he refused to risk his perfect KO record and continued hunting the stoppage until the referee was forced to save the Filipino. Mexican fighter Fuentes is 30 years old but is an old professional having made his debut in May 2007. He started his career with a 12 fight winning run before losing a split decision to Juan Hernandez Navarette in 2011. Despite the set back against Hernandez it didn't take long for Fuentes to get back to winning ways and just 6 months later he would beat Raul Garcia by split decision for the WBO Minimumweight title. As the world champion he would defend the belt twice, stopping both Julio Cesar Felix and Ivan Calderon before moving up in weight. At 108lbs Fuentes' natural size stopped being a huge advantage and he would go 0-1-1 against Donnie Nietes in bouts for the WBO title. He did manage to score some good wins following those losses, including wins against Oswaldo Novoa and Francisco Rodriguez Jr, but looked totally shot when he faced Kosei Tanaka at the end of 2016. Sadly since the Tanaka bout it's been hard to really know what Fuentes has left, as he's gone 1-1 with Ulises Solis. Going on the Tanaka bout, there was nearly nothing left. It seemed the same when he was stopped by Nietes in their second bout as well. It could well be that he's shot, or it could have been that he was taking too much out of himself to make 108lbs. Whatever the reason it does seem like he's not the fighter he once was. Although Fuentes at his best was a nightmare, a big strong, aggressive tank, who came forward and let his hands go, we don't believe he's even close to being that fighter. Instead we see him as a shot fighter, and the next victim of the Higa express. Fuentes might be able to pose some problems early on, but we can't see him lasting too long with against Higa's aggression and power. One of the biggest surprises this year, at least in Asia, was Sho Kimura's (15-1-2, 8) [木村翔] historic win in China this past July against Zou Shiming to claim the WBO Flyweight title. Going in to that bout no one outside of the Japanese domestic fans knew anything much about Kimura who went over to China and stopped the local hero, and in turn became a bit of a celebrity in China. This coming Sunday Kimura makes his first defense of that title as he takes on fellow Japanese fighter, and former WBC champion, Toshiyuki Igarashi (23-2-3 12) [五十嵐俊幸] in a mandatory defense of the title, and a very interesting all-Japanese world title bout. The 29 year old Kimura has been a professional since April 2013 and was surprisingly stopped in 75 seconds on is debut, by Shosuke Oji. He would then reel off 5 low key decision wins on the lower level of the Japanese domestic scene before suffering back to back draws to have a record of 5-1-2 after 8 bouts. It was hardly the stellar record of a fighter going places but since then he has impressively reeled off 10 wins. They include not only the shock win over Shiming but also a win over the then touted Masahiro Sakamoto, a win that saw Kimura claim the WBO Asia Pacific Flyweight title. Sadly the wins over Sakamoto and Shiming are the only ones of any note at all on Kimura's record, and both of those came about 8 months apart. Watching Sakamoto we see a relatively basic fighter, but one who looks very strong. He has a solid jab, a tight guard and good work rate, whilst continually pressing forward and looking to push opponents backwards. His desire is key, and was what showed against Shiming as his hunger kept him pushing Shiming back and finally breaking the Chinese fighter. It wasn't just Shiming where we saw his pressure over-come a more skilled fighter but also against Sakamoto, in a bout that saw Kimura just keep coming and coming and coming. Considering his debut loss his career has changed around and he now looks capable of taking a shot and walking forward. Whilst Kimura is a new guy on the block so to speak, having only been a champion since beating Shiming in July, the same can't be said for the 33 year old Igarashi who was a stand out amateur before his debut back in 2006. As an amateur Igarashi went 72-11, competed at the 2004 Olympics, where he lost to Endalkachew Kebede of Ethiopia in the first round of the competition, and when he turned professional there was very high expectations of him. Due to his amateur background he debuted in 6 rounders and ran up a 6-0-1 (5) record before fighting for, and winning, the Japanese interim Flyweight. Sadly that unbeaten run would end soon afterwards, with Igarashi losing to future world champion Tomonobu Shimizu in a bout for the full version of the Japanese Flyweight title. Following the loss to Shimizu we saw Igarashi go on a bit of a roll, winning 10 straight. They included a 3rd round TKO win over Takayasu Kobayashi for the Japanse title, a successful defense against Kenji Yoshida and a career defining split decision win over Sonny Boy Jaro for the WBC Flyweight title in 2012. Sadly though Igarashi's reign failed to set the world alight, taking a razor thin decision over Nestor Daniel Narvaez, the younger brother of Omar Andres Narvaez, and then losing in his second defense to Akira Yaegashi, who he had beaten a number of times in the amateur ranks. That loss was put down to over-confidence and an injury but really begin the start of the end for Igarashi as a top fighter, and since then he has gone 6-0-2 (3) but not looked particularly good during that run. In fact that run has been horribly plagued by head clashes, cuts and technical decision, including 2 technical decision wins and 2 technical draws. At his best Igarashi was a very good fighter, technically the Linear champion, but never felt like an elite fighter. He was skilled, a solid puncher and fast, but clumsy, open and could be out worked. His southpaw stance had it's uses, but often caused clashes of heads and that has been even more apparently in recent years. Part of that has been due to a recurrent shoulder injury whilst others have been due to his inability to keep fights at a distance and last time out a headclash caused a really serious eye injury, an injury that will be a target for Kimura. Kimura might not be anything special, and in fact his title reign is likely not going to last long, but we do see him getting past Igarashi here. If he can handle the southpaw stance of Igarashi he will give the challenger real fits with his pressure and determination alone. Igarashi will have moments, but unless he can crack the chin of Kimura we don't see him winning. Instead we see Kimura's pressure paying off in the second half and the champion retaining the title, narrowly. Interesting the winner of this will be a target for a number of other Japanese fighters, including former 2-weight champion Kosei Tanaka, current Japanese champion Masayuki Kuroda, the all action Takuya Kogawa, former Kimura foe Masahiro Sakamoto and WBC champion Daigo Higa. This coming Sunday fans will get a triple world title show at the Kokugikan in Japan. One of those bouts will see Flyweight destroyer Daigo Higa (13-0, 13) attempt to continue his perfect stoppage run, and make his first defense of the WBC Flyweight title, as he takes on former 2-time European champion Thomas Masson (17-3-1, 5). The bout will be Higa's first against a European opponent, with rumours an Andrew Selby fight expected next year, and would be Masson's second fight outside of France.
For those who haven't yet seen Higa you've been missing out on one of the most exciting pressure fighters of the current era. Higa combines under-rated footwork, with truly vicious power, and smart defense, which allowed him to get inside and work away at the head or body of his foes. Although only a Flyweight he is a man who is mowing opponents down with his heavy hands, and stopped all 13 previous opponents in a combined 48 rounds. With an average fight length of less than 4 rounds there are some who would question Higa's stamina, especially if he's going to be forced to chase an opponent for 12 rounds. We have however seen Higa go into the second half of fights, and look just as energetic as he did in the earlier stages. This was notable in his 7th round win over Kongfah CP Freshmart and his 10th round over Renren Tesorio. It was also notable that last time out, against Juan Hernandez, that Higa seemed to be getting more and more effective whilst Hernandez was being worn down by the pressure and power of the Japanese youngster. Higa's style is a nice blend of his mentor's, Yoko Gushiken, and Nicaraguan great Roman Gonzalez, with Higa once being described as the “Romagon of Okinawa”. Like those two fighters he is ultra aggressive, but like those two fighters there is more than just aggression to what he does and and it's those subtle defensive moves, his ability to switch between head and body, and his frightening power than makes him so effective. As for Masson things are very different, and he's much more of a boxer-mover. He's got nice movement and likes to keep things fought at his tempo, whilst establishing his jab and straight right hand. Defensively he's quite open but does have a really sharp jab and nice footwork. Unfortunately for Masson he's very upright and has a low left hand, which is likely to be an invitation to Higa. Whilst he's very upright he's also very tall, listed at 5'7” and whilst he can use that heigh well he is lacking in terms of his inside game and does often look pretty 1-paced behind his jab. During his career so far Masson has been beaten by two men. Domestic rival Badis Ouari holds two decisions over him and Ashley Sexton, who took a clear win over the Frenchman in his only outing outside of France. Since his last loss the Frenchman has reeled off 9 straight wins, whilst claiming the French Flyweight title and twice becoming the European champion. During his career he has gone 12 rounds twice, and scored notable wins over the likes of Silvio Olteanu and Oleksandr Hryshchuk, which are both good wins, but a long way from world class. Whilst we can certainly see Masson having his moments, especially early in the bout, we think the pressure and power of Higa will be too much and the body shots will take their toll on the long frame of the challenger. We certainly believe Masson will ask some new questions of Higa, before being broken down and stopped in the middle rounds. In 2013 Chinese former amateur star Zou Shiming (9-1, 2) made his professional debut, beating Eleazar Valenzuela in Macau in what was supposed to be the start of a new era of Chinese boxing. On his debut Shiming failed to set the world alight, despite the best efforts of Bob Arum. Less than 2 years after his debut Shiming got his first rack at a world title, coming up short against former amateur foe Amnat Ruenroeng. In 2016 he rebuilt, claiming the WBO title at the end of the year with his second victory over Kwanpichit OnesongChaigym in November. This coming Friday Shiming returns to the ring to make his first defense of that title, taking on Japanese challenger Sho Kimura (14-1-2, 7) in Shnaghai, in the first bout of Shiming's not to be promoted by Arum following issues between the two in recent months. The bout isn't likely to get much attention in the West, especially with the lack of Arum's involvement, but it will be of significance in the Flyweight division, in China and in the wider Asian area with multiple fighters viewing the winner as their potential route to a title, or a unification bout. As an amateur Shiming was a star. A 2 time Olympic gold medal winner and a 3-time world amateur champion. He relied on his understanding of the amateur system, throwing a lot of shots with his speed and skirting in and out. At times he was really impressive, but at others he was a messy nightmare of a fighter to face, with his wrestling and spoiling. Whatever tactics he used in the unpaid ranks, he got wins, and got them frequently against some of the top fighters in the world. As a professional he had a number of problems. He turned professional incredibly late, debuting just a month before his 32nd birthday, and struggled to adapt to the professional style, and refusing to ever fully commit to fighting like a professional. Rather than fighting with combinations and power he was happy to skip though bouts with a frustrating style, and one that never bode well to American fans. He had a bright future lined up, but failed to do what he needed to to make the most of it. His success in the professional ranks looks good, winning a world title in his 10th bout, but the reality is his competition has, for the most part, been poor and well selected and he's unlikely to eve live up to what he talent could have done. He's still quick, nimble and has a good engine, but he hardly looks like the man to kick start Chinese boxing in the way that people had hoped. When it comes to Kimura only the Japanese fans, and the real hardcore of fans outside of Asia, will have heard of him. He began his career just 16 days after Shiming made his debut and was actually stopped in 75 seconds. Since then however he has found his footing and gone 16 fights unbeaten, picked up wins on international soil and claimed his first professional title. He has done so against mostly poor opponent, but he does hold a very good win over Masahiro Sakamoto, which saw Kimura claim the WBO Asia Pacific Flyweight title back in November. Although not a puncher Sakamoto has stopped 7 of his last 8, picking up stoppages in Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong, and has gone 12 rounds in his last decision win. Showing he has experience over the longer distance, but can see off opponents too, and do so on the road. It's also worth noting that at 28 he's coming in to his prime, and looks very relaxed and composed in the ring. Kimura doesn't have the speed of Shiming, but he looks like a more professional fighter than the champion. A less naturally gifted on, but one who punches through the target, one who will look to hurt his opponents, and one who uses calculated pressure to get to his man and uses body shots to slow them. On paper Kimura is the big under-dog, and in the eyes of many he's a hand selected opponent to help amp up a potential bout between Shiming and WBA champion Kazuto Ioka. The reality however is that Kimura has the schooling and drive to give Shiming a real test. Shiming should have the natural ability to take the win, but we suspect he will have to work hard for it and will be dragged into a tougher than expected contest. The Flyweight division in recent times has been one of the best, with great bouts and amazing depth at the top. Sadly last year we saw the division being left in a mess with Roman Gonzalez, Juan Francisco Estrada and Johnriel Casimero all abandoning the division and leaving most of the titles vacant the division a disappointing mess. Thankfully the titles have slowly found new owners, with Zou Shiming claiming the WBO title, Donnie Nietes recently winning the IBF belt and Juan Hernandez Navarrete (34-2, 25) claiming the WBC title. This coming Saturday we see Hernandez making his first defense of the title as he takes on Japanese sensation Daigo Higa (12-0, 12), a wrecking on the Japanese and Oriental scene. For champion it's a tough mandatory against one of the rising stars of Japanese boxing, whilst Higa gets a chance to prove himself on the world in what is a huge step up. For us, the fans, the bout is nothing short of a mouth watering clash between exciting world class boxer-puncher and one of the most exciting pressure fighters in the sport today. Two men Hernandez is the more well known, by far, when it comes to international fans. The Mexican first began to make a mark years ago, and really became a contender in 2010, when he scored wins over Armando Vazquez, Danver Cuello and Moises Fuentes. That strong of wins lead to Hernandez getting a show at the then WBC Minimumweight champion Kazuto Ioka, with Ioka taking a well earned decision over Mexican. Since losing to Ioka back in March 2012 we've seen Hernandez go on a brilliant 16-0 (12) run. Whilst the numbers look impressive by them selves it's the competition that has really made that run. He has scored wins over the likes of Saul Juarez, Ramon Garcia Hirales, Jesus Silvestre, Omar Nino Romero and Nawaphon Por Chokchai during that run, with the win over Nawaphon netting the Mexican the WBC title. That run has seen Hernandez stop his last 6 foes in a combined 16 rounds and really look like a truly world class Flyweight. Last time out, against Nawaphon, we saw Hernandez look sensational. He looked smooth boxing early on then turned up the heat in round 3 and hurt Nawaphon before hinting a finish which came following a real barrage of shots. He showed a bit of everything during the bout, speed, skills, power and killer instinct in what was a really good showing and one that came on enemy soil. For those who haven't seen Higa, and his rise through the ranks, you've been missing out on one of the sports most exciting talents. He's an out and out pressure fighter with a style reminiscent of Roman Gonzalez, with the similarities resulting in Higa being dubbed the “Romagon of Okinawa”. He's doesn't go into the ring to win, but instead he goes there to beat people up, and do it in a fun, exciting manner, like his mentor Yoko Gushiken. Despite being such a destructive fighter he's only 21 and is a boxing baby with just 42 professional rounds. Higa's early career went pretty under the radar though in 2015 he did get some notable attention as he travelled to Thailand and battered Kongfah CP Freshmart in 7 rounds for the WBC Youth Flyweight title. It was a thrilling bout and one that really did capture the attention of fans who hadn't previously seen Higa. The Japanese warrior defended the WBC Youth title twice, including a 10th round TKO win over gutsy Filipino Renren Tesorio, before claiming the OPBF title last year with a 4th round KO against Ardin Diale, in a brilliant showing. Higa has steam rolled through his foes so far. He's put them all under pressure and they have all broken due to his combinations, power and physical strength. It's been great fun watching his rise an it's been one that has seen him improve, and improve, both as a fighter and as a young man. In fact watching him transition from a boy to a man has been brilliant to see. This is however a massive leap up in class and the first time he's taken on a true world class all rounder, and one who has developed into one of the leading Flyweights on the planet. We'd love for Higa to win, we've cheer lead him since his 4th bout, against Samruai Mungwong in January 2015,but we think might be too much too soon. We certainly believe he has the power to hurt Hernandez, and probably also has the speed and combinations to break down anyone in the division, but we think that Hernandez will have too much know how too much movement and too much skill, at the moment, for Higa. It could end up looking like a man against a boy, sadly for Higa, though we suspect the youngster will learn so much from having time in the ring with Hernandez. Whilst we really do want to see Higa win, and break out on the world stage, we think Hernandez will just be too good at the moment for the Japanese youngster. It wasn't that long ago that the Flyweight division looked like the best division in the sport. Sadly a lot of the top Flyweights from a couple of years ago moved up in weight, giving us a super strength Super Flyweight division but essentially leaving the Flyweight division a bit of a mess and a division lacking in terms of depth. Despite being a mess the Flyweight division is, slowly, taking shape and we've had some notable bouts recently, with more just around the corner. The next of those to take place will see former 2 weight champion Donnie Nietes (39-1-4, 22) battle with Thailand's Eaktwan BTU Ruaviking (22-3, 15) to fill the IBF title vacancy. For Nietes the bout could see him becoming a 3-weight champion and solidifying his place as a Filipino legend whilst a win for the Thai would put him on the proverbial boxing map and help make him a fixture on the international boxing scene. Aged 34, and turning 35 in just a few weeks, Nietes is a properly seasoned veteran, but who who is scarcely showing signs of slow down. That's despite having a career that began back in 2003 and has seen him fight consistently in world title bouts since September 2007, when he claimed the WBO Minimumweight title. During his time at world level he has beaten a who's who of the lower weights, including Pornsawan Porpramook, Manuel Vargas, Jesus Silvestre, Mario Rodriguez, Ramon Garcia Hirales, Moises Fuentes, Francisco Rodriguez Jr, Raul Garcia and Edgar Sosa. He has compiled an amazing 14-0-1 record in world title fights and notched top tier wins in the Philippines, Mexico and US in a career which will almost certainly lead to a place in the HOF. In the ring we've seen Nietes do it all. At his best he's a counter punching genius but he can fight on the front foot when he wants to, has under-rated power, under-rated speed and is not only technically sound but also has a very high boxing IQ. Given his age it seems clear he is now wanting to add to his legacy, and potentially chase some career defining wins, to add to his strong resume. He is however a fighter who has, at times, looked lazy, lacked the killer instinct and been happy to go through the motions, as he did last time out against Sosa. At his best he could well be one of the best little men in the sport, though failure to face the best Japanese fighters of his era is certainly something that will hang over his head given his long reign on top. It's clear that Nietes can still go hard and fast for 12 rounds, though he has avoided really damaging bouts for the most part and is one of the freshest 34 year olds in the sport. Even then father time does take it's toll and it's unclear when Nietes will “get old”. Whilst Nietes is well known at world level, and has long been on the fringes of the pound-for-pound lists with the real hardcore fans, the same cannot be said for Eaktawan, also known as Komgrich Nantapech. In fact the 27 year old Thai is a total unknown outside of Asia, and is hardly known outside of homeland. That's, in part, due to fighting under alternative names early in his career as well as having very little success outside of Thailand. In fact his first three losses, in 2012 to Albert Pagara and in 2013 to Sho Ishida and Froilan Saludar, were all fought under the name Tawanrung Eausampan. Since those losses however he has began to climb through the rankings and looked like a genuine talent with lovely offensive skills and combinations. Although Eaktawan has shown some real skills, beating the likes of Lionel Legada, Takayuki Okumoto and Jenny Boy Boca there are flaws in his game. He is very much an offensive fighter, who has throws eye catching combinations, looks very relaxed and very fluid in the ring. Sadly he is defensively flawed, leaving openings for counters punches and a slightly open guard. Against a great counter puncher like Nietes he could be punished for his flaws. Saying that however he is likely to be the naturally bigger and stronger fighter against Nietes, and is obviously the younger, less damaged fighter. It's worth noting that his only losses have been above the Flyweight limit, with two losses coming at Bantamweight, and he is clearly a tough fighter. The Thai is stepping up massively for this fight and although he has a number of advantages the question will be whether he has the skills to beat Neites. The obvious answer is that he doesn't have the skills needed to over-come someone as talented as the Filipino icon. However this is a niggling feeling that Eaktawan is better than his record suggests, and that he has the energy, young and toughness to make this a very tough assignment for Neites. We know that Nietes will be the favourite, and should win, but there is a niggling feeling that the Thai has got the timing right here, and could well spring one of the biggest upsets of 2017. April 23rd is set to be a huge day in Asian boxing with two world title fights taking place in Osaka. One of those is a WBA Flyweight title fight, as Japanese icon Kazuto Ioka (21-1, 13) defends his title against massively experienced Thai veteran Noknoi Sitthiprasert (62-4, 38), who is on a 61 fight winning run at the moment! Of the two men the more well known is Ioka. He's a former unified Minimumweight champion who is currently enjoying a world title reign in a third division. During his career he has scored a number of notable victories, including wins over Oleydong Sithsamerchai, Akira Yaegashi, Juan Hernandez Navarrete and Juan Carlos Reveco. In fact for a fighter with just 22 fights Ioka has a genuinely brilliant record, including a 13-1 (8) record in world fights. Although a talented pure boxer Ioka has shown an ability to do pretty much anything in the ring, with a real expertise in body punching. At his best he's an out-side boxer, but he's one who can stand and trade in the trenches, as he did did brilliantly against Keyvin Lara, and can have a fire fight when he needs to. Defensively he's criminally under-rated and has filled out in to a very strong Flyweight. It's worth noting that fighters can shut him down with calculated pressure, and he was seriously shaken up last time out by Stamp Kiatniwat, who dropped him, but he has real grit and determination. At times it looked like Ioka was going to struggle to make an impact at Flyweight and in his first bout at the weight he was out boxed and out muscled by Amnat Ruenroeng. Since then however he has developed into a fully fledged Flyweight and very few fighters at the weight will match him for power, speed and physical strength. When we talk about great winning runs we talk about the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr and Rocky Marciano, who both ended their careers unbeaten, along with the likes of Willie Pep, Sugar Ray Robinson and Julio Cesar Chavez. What all those fighters have in common, other than an impressive winning run, is some wins of real quality. The same cannot be said of Noknoi who has scored 61 straight wins, but none of huge significance. In fact during his 66 fight career his best win is likely to be his 2013 win against Kenichi Horikawa, a good fight but a Japanese domestic level one at best. Not only is the 61 fight winning run impressive on paper in terms of it's number but also it's date, with Noknoi's last loss coming back in March 2005. Sadly though he has shown little signs of having become a world class fighter. He's still relatively basic and does nothing out of the ordinary, in fact it's barely even fair to say he's “ordinary” in terms of what he's shown so far. Many of his opponents have been dire and Noknoi has simply been a bottom feeder, with his management really getting the dregs of the regional scene for him. Despite being 30 years old and a professional for more than 14 years he really hasn't been made to develop his skills or show any real progression in terms of what he can do in the ring. Sadly for Noknoi his team's almost fraudulent record padding will be exposed here. The skills he has learned and develop simply won't be enough to keep Ioka honest. Instead of being a test Noknoi will be a human punching bag for Ioka, who will tag the Thai at will, and will likely secure a stoppage in the middle rounds of the bout. Likely without having any problems at all. For Ioka a win would be his 5th defense of the title and could set up some interesting match ups against the likes of Zou Shiming, Takuya Kogawa, Andrew Selby Toshiyuki Igarashi or even Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep. Ir would also see him become just the second Japanese male to win 14 world title fights, tying equal with Yoko Gushiken! For Noknoi a loss could force him into retirement, or could see his team continue to pad one of the most paper thin records in the sport today. It's fair to say that the Flyweight division went from being one of the hottest divisions in the sport to one of the weakest, lacking in both star power and in talent. It's not totally devoid of both, but it did lose a lot of it's allure in 2017 as Roman Gonzalez, Juan Francisco Estrada and Johnriel Casimero all abandoned the division. With 3 title holders moving up from Flyweight it left the title scene in a real mess, with the WBO, IBF and WBC titles all becoming vacant. Since those titles were scattered only one vacancy has been filled, that's the WBO title vacancy that has been claimed by Chinese star Zou Shiming, who claimed the title in November when he beat Kwanpichit OnesongchaiGym. On March we see the WBC title vacancy being filled as unbeaten Thai Nawaphon Por Chokchai (36-0, 28) takes on talented Mexican Juan Hernandez Navarrete (33-2, 24) in a bout for the vacant title. For Nawaphon it'll be his first world title fight and a chance to announce himself on the world stage whilst Hernandez will be looking to claim a world title at the time of asking. Of the two men it's the Mexican who is the more proven, and proven he is. Although best known in some circles for coming up short against Kazuto Ioka in a WBC Minimumweight title fight in 2011 it's fair to say that Hernandez has one of the most impressive resumes of any lower weight fighter right now. He holds wins over the likes of Denver Cuello, Saul Juarez, Ramon Garcia Hirales, Jesus Silvestre and Omar Nino Romero. Although the one over Cuello was controversial the others have mostly been clear cut wins and in fact since the loss to Ioka he has won 15 in a row, including wins over Juarez, Garcia Hirales, Silvestrea and Romero. Although not a elite level talent Hernandez is a genuine world class fighter who has scored notable wins from Minimumweight to Bantamweight. He is highly skilled, very tough and experienced fighter. He's not the quickest, or the biggest punching but he isn't slow by any means and his power is solid, with his last 5 wins being by stoppage in a combined 13 rounds! He's a man in hot form and full of confidence. Unbeaten in 36 fights and aged 25 Nawaphon is one of the rising hopefuls of the Thai scene and is looking to become the third active member of the Nakornluang stable to become a world champion following in the footsteps of older brother Suriyan Sor Rungvisai and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai who both held the WBC Super Flyweight title. Nawaphon has been a professional for a little over 6 years but has been incredibly active racking up his record. Whilst it seems impressive to have had 36 fights in around 75 months he has been in there with some dire competition, with the best wins on his record being the likes of Donny Mabao, Mateo Handig and Heri Amol. He is, in fact, a man who has one of the sports most padded records. Although his record is padded Nawaphon can fight. He's an aggressive pressure fighter who has been slicing through the lower tired competition like he's suppose to. He's stopped 12 of his last 13 and looked to make a statement in those bouts by not going beyond 6 rounds in any of them. He's not a man who has been messing around and much like Srisaket he gets in the ring to beat opponents up and move on to the next fight. He's also huge at the weight and could be a nightmare in terms of his size alone. Although the level of competition may flatter Nawaphon, and may have given him a false sense of security, his team dug deep into their pockets to secure home advantage here. That is a key with the Thai in having a better read on the conditions in Thailand, there is however a slightly edge on that with Hernandez's team forcing the bout to be held in an inside venue where their man will be protected from the Thai elements. With that indoor venue taking away a lot of the home advantages a Thai has this could be a double tough contest for Nawaphon and we can't but think his competition has left him ill prepared for a fighter like Hernandez. With all that in mind we're predicting a stoppage win for Hernandez in the mid-to later rounds, of what will be an entertaining scrap, but one where the experience at a higher level of Hernandez will be the difference. The boxing calender has several key dates on it that we all mark off at the start of the year. One of those is the “Golden Week” where Japanese fight fans get several notable shows over the space of a week, another is Cinco de Mayo, another is in Mid-September and a final one comes at the end of the year, where we have a tradition of big fights in Japan. Part of that end of year tradition is the huge TBS show which is headlined by Osakan star Kazuto Ioka (20-1, 12) who returns for his 5th year ending bout this year, and takes on unbeaten Thai Stamp Kiatniwat (15-0, 6), AKA Yutthana Kaensa, in a bout for Ioka's WBA Flyweight title. For Ioka the bout is a chance to extend his reign and his dominance of the end of year boxing TV ratings whilst Stamp will get his first shot at a regular title having held the interim belt for a little over a year. Ioka really is a star of Japanese boxing. He's the face of the Osakan boxing scene and is a man who has been a star from the very early stages of his professional career, building on a solid amateur background. In just his 6th bout he claimed the Japanese Light Flyweight title before setting a then Japanese record by winning a world title in his 7th bout, stopping the then unbeaten Oleydong Sithsamerchai. Since beating Oleydong, for the WBC Minimumweight title, we have seen Ioka unify titles, adding the WBA title to his WBC belt at 105lbs, and claim world titles at both 108lbs and 112lbs, becoming the “quickest” fight to become a 3-weight champion in just 18 bouts! Whilst Ioka isn't a flawless fighter, and looks set to be over-shadowed by the emerging talent of Naoya Inoue, he is a very rounded fighter who has added things to his game through out his career and grown into a fully fledged Flyweight. Early in his career he was a boxer though has shown an ability to brawl when he needs to, to counter punch when he wants to and fight in various styles. One constant through his career however has been his body shots which have finished off numerous opponents through his career and appears to a staple of his in ring mentality. Those body shot are thrown both as singles and as part of combinations and it's really when he gets those combinations going that he looks like a special fighter. Although at first we did question Ioka's move to Flyweight, and he did appear to struggle with the weight to begin with, he has now matured into a very strong 112lb fighter and is seemingly the stand out fighter in the division, with the division currently under-going a major transitional period. A win here would further strengthen his standing in the sport and will potentially open up some big bouts for 2017. Whilst Ioka is a star of Japanese boxing it seems like Thai boxing had been trying to push Stamp Kiatniwat as a future star of Thai boxing. He debuted at the prodigious age of 15 and looked like a natural talent as he picked up a series of wins against fellow novices. Those wins built some hype and momentum in 2013 and 2014 before Stamp took on, and defeated, former world champion Kwanthai Sithmorseng in August 2014. That win really put Stamp on the radar for international fans of the lower weights and got some really excited about his potential. Sadly since beating Kwanthai we've not really seen Stamp develop into a star despite winning the interim PABA and WBA Flyweight titles, with two razor thin wins over Gregorio Lebron to win and retain the “Interim” WBA crown. In both of those bouts Stamp seemed like the bigger single puncher hitter but looked like a scared child at times against an aggressive and hard working Lebron who forced the action and hurt the youngster. In some ways they were character building bouts for Stamp but the reality is they showed he wasn't the star in the making that his promoter had hoped he'd become. Whilst Stamp did show some early potential we really see this as being a massive mismatch and give him no chance at all against Ioka who will likely look for a stoppage in the middle rounds, almost certainly with a body shot. Stamp can hit harder than his record indicates but we'd be amazed to see him do anything to back up Ioka who will look in control from the opening seconds to the eventual stoppage. Hopefully in 2017 bouts with the likes of Takuya Kogawa, Daigo Higa, Donnie Nietes, Francisco Rodriguez Jr and McWillians Arroyo will come to fruition for Ioka who now needs some big names on his record given how unspectacular 2016 has been for him. |
World Title Previews
The biggest fights get broken down as we try to predict who will come out on top in the up coming world title bouts. Archives
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