 In recent times we've began to see the Super Flyweight division get the attention it has long deserved. Whilst that attention is long over-due it is great to see so many top "little guys" getting attention on both American (HBO) and British (Boxnation and Sky Sports) TV. It's been fantastic to see the likes of Roman Gonzalez, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Carlos Cuadras, Juan Francisco Estrada and Naoya Inoue get a chance to shine in front of a huge global audience, something that never seemed likely when the division had fighters like Hugo Fidel Cazares, Nobuo Nashiro, Kohei Kono, Omar Andres Narvaez, Suriyan Sor Runvisai and Rodrigo Guerrero tearing it up in some thrillers earlier in the decade. That momentum looks to continue this coming weekend when unbeaten WBA champion Kal Yafai (22-0, 14) takes on Japanese challenger Sho Ishida (24-0, 13) at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. For both men it's a huge opportunity to join the big leagues and move towards securing a match up on "Superfly 2", which HBO will air in February 2018, potentially with the likes of the aforementioned Gonzalez or Cuadras.
For Yafai the bout will act as his second defense of the title, which he won late last year when he beat a weary looking Luis Concepcion, and follows a surprisingly draining win over form Japanese Flyweight champion Suguru Muranaka whilst Ishida will be getting his first world title fight, after hovering in the world rankings for the last few years and slowly climbing to a mandatory position. Of the two men it's the defending champion who is the more well know and the the clear betting favourite, though the challenger is the one looking for a small slice of history, and knows a win will see him become the first Japanese fighter to win a world title in Europe, following a number of failures by the likes of Hidenori Otake, Ryosuke Iwasa and the previously mentioned Muranaka. In the ring ring Yafai has proven himself as a talented boxer-puncher. He's not the biggest hitter in the division, and his power doesn't strike fear into opponents like that of Inoue or Gonzalez, but he's solid in his punches, moves really well and has shown he can fight well for 12 rounds. In terms of championship status he is perceived one of the weaker champions, along with Jerwin Ancajas, but being “weaker” here really isn't an insult given the talent in the division. To date Yafai's biggest wins have been against over the likes of Dixon Flores, Luis Concepcion and Muranaka. Against Flores we saw Yafai look like a killer, blasting him away inside a round with body shots, against Concepcion we saw a very disciplined performance whilst against Muranaka we saw Yafai being forced to fight 12 hard rounds against a man simply refused to go backwards. In all 3 bouts we saw Yafai win, with few problems, but all 3 bouts saw the Englishman showing something new. It should be noted however that whilst Yafai is a good fighter, with very good amateur pedigree, he's not the biggest fighter in the division and a number of fighters at 115lbs will tower over him. Talking about fighters who will tower over Yafai that will certainly be the case when he takes on Ishida, who is a freakish fighter for 115lbs and stands at 5'8” with a huge wingspan. Unsurprisingly for such a tall fighter Ishida looks to fight at range, using his feet well to keep range and making the most of his long and rangy jab. He can fight up close when he needs to, and unlike many tall fighters he's actually really good at going to the body, as seen in his win over Petchbarngborn Kokietgym. Although Ishida isn't well known outside of Japan he does hold a number of notable wins. These include not only the win over Petchbarngborn but also wins over Eaktwan BTU Ruaviking, Yohei Tobe and current Japanese champion Ryuichi Funai. Those opponents might not mean a lot in the West but there are all solid fighters who will have helped Ishida develop his skills. Also helping his development will be his training at the Ioka gym, alongside Kazuto Ioka, Masayoshi Nakatani and Ryo Miyazaki. The gym has a number of top fighters to help Ishida prepare for a world title fight, and although some of his recent competition has been week, as he's fought in a number of stay busy fights, he is a real talent. Travelling to Wales will be a new experience for Ishida, it's his first fight outside of Japan and will be a unique experience. He will also travel with the knowledge that no Japanese fighter has ever won a world title fight in Europe. Despite all that he'll be a very live under-dog, who will be full of self belief. The popular view here seems to be that Yafai will be too good and too physical for Ishida but the reality is that Yafai couldn't physically impose himself on Muranaka, a Flyweight, and given that Ishida is not only bigger but also well schooled himself this could be a very tough defense for the champion. We can see Yafai winning, and he's not the clear betting favourite for no reason, but we certainly see this as being more competitive than the bookmakers, and British fans in general,expect it to be.
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 In 2016 British fighter Khalid Yafai (21-0, 14) created history for the United Kingdom, as he became the first British fighter to claim a world title at Super Flyweight, and completed the set for the UK, which became the first country to have had world champions at every weight. This coming Saturday Yafai makes his first defense of the title, and takes on Japan's Suguru Muranaka (25-2-1, 8), who is looking to become the first Japanese fighter to claim a world title in Europe, something numerous fighters have attempted but failed to do.
Yafai won the title by beating a man Asian fight fans know well, Luis Concepcion. Against Concepcion we saw Yafai use a lot of movement to easily out box the slower, wilder Concepcion. It wasn't an amazing performance, or a hugely exciting one, but it was one that saw Yafai box brilliantly to a game plan and totally boss the fight. Given that Yafai had never fought at world level before it was a sterling performance, even if it did totally lack drama. Other than the win over Concepcion we've seen a bit of everything from Yafai, albeit at the lower levels. He's blasted out the likes of Dixon Flores and Isaac Quaye, he's boxed in a dominant fashion against Everth Briceno and Cristofer Rosales, and shown a dirty arrogance at times. At his best Yafai does look genuine world class, but the Concepcion win aside it's hard to tell much from his competition. Given the depth at Super Flyweight he might only be the 8th or 9th best fighter in the division, despite being the WBA champion. Few would favour Yafai against the likes of Naoya Inoue, Roman Gonzalez, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Carlos Cuadras, Juan Francisco Estrada, David Carmona, Jerwin Ancalas or even Johnriel Casimero, and when you consider his competition it really does lack those types of names. In Suguru Muranaka fight fans in the west will get the chance to see one of the most fan friendly fighters on the planet, but also one who has had issues through the last few years of his career, despite being unbeaten in more than a decade. At his best Muranaka is an aggressively minded, pressure fighter warrior, willing to have a fighter and put on a show. At his worst he's a wild and open fighter, who lacks the power for his style and gets tagged far too much to be a world class fighter. On paper Muranaka's best wins have been on the fringes of world level. He holds decision wins over Hiroyuki Hisataka and Takuya Kogawa, and has scored a stoppage over Masayuki Kuroda. All three of those men have fought in world title bouts, though all 3 did come up short at the top level. Notably two of those fringe world class wins have come at Flyweight, with Muranaka having out grown the division. It's the out growing of the Flyweight division which has been a major problem for Muranaka, who lost the Japanese title after failing to make weight, and the failed weight a second time at Flyweight before being forced to move up to Super Flyweight. Since moving up Muranaka hasn't really impressed. He's not been able to force his will on opponents and hasn't looked as impressive as he used to. He's still an aggressive fighter with a pressure style, but he's certainly not looking as good as he once did. Muranaka has started coming in to this fight that he's looking to put Yafai under pressure, make him work and break him down. Although it's a tactic similar to what Concepcion tried it seems to be Muranaka's plan A, B and C. If he can cut the distance and get to work on the inside, without being taken out by Yafai's dangerous body shots, then things could be interesting. Sadly for Muranaka to get close without taking heavy leather would be a huge surprise, and we can't help but think that either Yafai will box and move, keeping the bout at range and taking a wide decision, turn the tables, stand his ground and eventually take out Muranaka. We would love to see the upset, and see a Japanese fighter finally win a world title in Europe, but it would be a huge shock if Muranaka could pull it off here, it would be one of the biggest boxing surprises of the year.  Every so often we get a fight that we genuinely want to see. This year we've already had a few, such as Leo Santa Cruz Vs Carl Frampton and Daigo Higa Vs Ardin Diale. We get another later this month when WBA Super Flyweight champion Kohei Kono (32-8-1, 13) battles against the exciting and hard hitting Luis Concepcion (34-4, 24). The bout is one of the most exciting match ups we could make on paper and is one we had hoped to get earlier in the year, though both men took different options before the WBA ordered them to fight.
For Kono, 35, the bout will be his 4th defence of the title and see him attempting to extend a reign that began back in March 2014, when he stopped Denkaosan Kaovichit. Although his reign hasn't been the best he did create history last year when he over-came Koki Kameda, to win the first ever all-Japanese world title bout on US soil, and effectively retire Kameda. The Japanese fighter, dubbed the “Tough Boy”, is one of the real success stories of hard work and determination. He began his career with very little amateur experience and lost on his professional debut. That loss was a set back but Kono developed from it and after suffering other losses he eventually climbed his way through the rankings. In his 21st bout Kono got his first title contest, facing off against Japanese Super Flyweight champion Teppei Kikui. A tough contest saw Kono claim the win, and the title, his first. Since then he has won the OPBF title, twice, and been a 2-time world champion, bouncing back from multiple setbacks to become the fighter he is today. Although crude Kono is aggressive, tough, determined and hits harder than his record suggests. He's not the best Super Flyweight on the planet, or the best in Japan, but he's a total handful for anyone in the division with his never say die attitude. He's crude, needs to his feet, isn't the quickest to get into position and some times looks rather inactive whilst following an opponent round the ring, an issue that has cost him in the past. He is however someone you outbox and don't try to out fight. With Concepcion we have another fighter who has been written off, multiple times, before finally getting to where he is today. He debuted back in 2006, as a 20 year old, and won his first 3 bouts before coming up short against Gilmer Baules. A 19 fight winning streak followed, with 17 stoppages, before Concepcion's's next loss. During that excellent winning run he stopped fighters like Omar Salado, Eric Ortiz and Denkaosan Kaovichit, who was dropped 3 times in 90 seconds to claim the WBA “interim” Flyweight title. That winning run finally came to an end in 2011 when Concepcion fought the first of 3 bouts with Hernan Marquez, losing an 11th round TKO in a FOTY candidate. That was the first time where some suggested Concepcion was on the slide but a rematch 6 months later so many write him off all together, with Marquez stopping him in 109 seconds. That loss left a 26 year old Concepcion being looked at as a “shot” fighter with a record of 23-3 (18), and many felt he was a glass cannon. Concepcion then went on a 9-0 (5) run, showing serious improvement in his boxing ability and less reliance on his power. He wasn't beating genuine world class fighters, but was over-coming fringe level foes, like Odilon Zaleta, Pablo Carrillo and Nestor Daniel Narvaes, all of whom will be familiar to Japanese fight fans. That run came to an end when he took on WBC Super Flyweight world champion Carlos Cuadras, and lost a wide decision to the Mexican despite putting up a credible effort. Since the loss to Cuadras we've seen Concepcion score two notable wins, stopping the then WBA "interim" Super Flyweight champion David Sanchez and then out pointing Hernan Marquez, to finally avenge the two losses to the big punching Mexican. Although Concepcion is a much improved fighter to the one who twice loss to Marquez he is still still an exciting and aggressively minded slugger. His defence is porous, his attitude in the ring isto attack and stalk and he is still looking to march forward and land a big shot. When he faces Kono he'll be in with a man willing to meet him face on and willing to take one to land one, with Kono's own machismo leading us to a fight. Both men can be out boxed relatively easily, but it takes a special fighter to beat either in a fight, and that's what we're going to get this coming Wednesday, a fight. We'd not like to predict the result of the bout, but we do suggest that everyone tunes in, and we predict that this one could be a genuine FOTY contender between two men who simply like to fight. Don't expect to see the shoulder roll or fighters slipping and dodging, instead expect a tear up, get the popcorn, sit back and enjoy.  In the west we are used to seeing big fight nights come on Friday's and Saturdays. In Japan however things aren't that predictable and this coming Wednesday fans in Tokyo will get a world title triple header at the Ota City Central Gymnasium.
Of the bouts on offer the least appealing comes at 115lbs where WBA champion Kohei Kono (31-8-1, 13) [河野 公平] will make the 3rd defense of his title and battle Thai challenger Inthanon Sithchamuang (28-7-1, 15) [อินทนนท์ ศิษย์ชะมวง], who will be fighting in his first world tile bout. Of the two men it's Kono who is the far better known, even if many do only know him as being “the man who retired Koki Kameda”, following his high profile Stateside win over Kameda last year. The Japanese fighter is currently enjoying his second reign as the WBA Super Flyweight champion having first won the title in 2012, stopping Tepparith Kokietgym, and then reclaimed it in 2014, when he stopped Denkaosan Kaovichit. In the ring Kono isn't the most technically gifted or the fastest or the most mobile. What he is however is a warrior, he's as tough as old boots, has a fantastic engine and gets into great shape for every fight. That was seen in his 12 round against Kameda and also his enthralling 12 round loss to Liborio Solis, among other bouts. Of course his record doesn't show it, but he posses very solid power and many of his losses have been very close and come at world, or fringe world, level. Compared to Naoya Inoue, the WBO champion at the weight, Kono is limited and would certainly not be fancied to over-come the Monster, but against almost anyone else at the weight Kono would likely be competitive, and make for a great action fight. As for the challenger the Thai is relatively unknown outside of those who follow the Asian, and more specifically the Thai, boxing scene. Notably he is better than his record may suggest, and notably began his career by suffering a trio of losses straight off the bat with one loss coming for Yasutaka Kuroki, who won the OPBF and Japanese titles in career, and one to Masayoshi Segawa, who would later fight Kazuto Ioka for the Japanese Light Flyweight title. Other loses include defeats to Rocky Fuentes, Samartlek Kokietgym, Mark Anthony Geraldo and Jerwin Ancajas, all very good fighters. Since his last loss, to Ancajas in Macau in 2014, Inthanon has gone 8-0-1 (6) which looks impressive on paper but the reality is that he has been matched softly during that run, with the best wins coming against Heri Amol and Jetly Purisima, whilst he also fought to a draw with Espinos Sabu. In the ring Inthanon, with out being rude, is a tryer. Sadly he hasn't really fought many people at his level and he has either been thrown to the wolves, or matched against very opponents. That has left him generally looking a level better than his opponents, or several levels below them. We suspect that this will be another case of looking lower than his opponent with Kono likely to force the issue and break down Inthanon, probably in the middle rounds. Whilst we are expecting this one to be one sided, we'd be shocked if it wasn't fun to watch, with Kono likely looking to make a statement from the opening bell and taking the fight straight to Inthanon. All Japanese title fights aren't that rare though they certainly aren't that common, despite how recent the Katsunari Takayama Vs Ryuji Hara fight was. Whilst they aren't rare by themselves we've never seen an all-Japanese world title fight place on US soil. That changes on October 16th when WBA Super Flyweight champion Kohei Kono (30-8-1, 13) takes on long term mandatory challenger Koki Kameda (22-1, 18) in bout that has been more than a year in the making.
The fight, which was ordered last year, has been a real wrangle between not only the fighters but also promoters, sanctioning bodies and national bodies. It's due to those wrangles that the bout takes place outside of Japan, with Kameda currently “banned” from fighting in Japan by the JBC. Although Kameda is banned by the JBC he's not got a worldwide ban, and given that the WBA did order this bout it's essentially forced Kono to take on Kameda. There had been talk of the bout taking place in various places, such as Macau, the Philippines, South Korea and even Thailand, but in the end the money to fight in the US on a PBC show made more sense that staging the bout in Asia. As a result, the two men will face off in Chicago, it will be Kameda's 2nd US bout, and 5th bout outside of his native Japan whilst Kono will be making his international debut. Despite that both have fought numerous world level bouts and both are genuinely world class. Although both are world level fighters it's fair to say Kameda is the more recognised name and the more experienced the top level. In fact he's a 3 weight world champion seeking a 4th divisional title here, and if he gets it he will set a Japanese record. As for Kono he's “merely” a 2-time Super Flyweight world champion. Kameda's career has been one shrouded in success and controversy. As mentioned, he's a 3-weight world champion. The first of those titles was the WBA Light Flyweight title back which he won back in 2006 with a controversial win over Juan Jose Landaeta, the second was the WBC Flyweight title which he won by out pointing Daisuke Naito in 2009 whilst the third was the WBA Bantamweight title, that he won in 2010 with a win over Alexander Munoz. In total Kameda has a very impressive 12-1 record in world title bouts. Those numbers are more impressive than his competition which, at times, has been thoroughly disappointing. That was especially true of his reign at Bantamweight where he faced Mario Macias, Nouldy Manakane and Jung-Oh Son, who almost managed to shock the boxing world in 2013 losing by split decision to Kameda. Although not a great fighter as a Bantamweight Kameda is certainly a very talented fighter with great timing, a fantastic array of punches, impressive speed and genuine confidence. Stylistically he can box or he can fight as a pressure fighter, something he did much better at the lower weights where his natural strength was a key to his style. Notably he's a southpaw and one who uses his stance well with a good right hand jab and solid hooks. At Bantamweight Kameda's power and strength was relatively ineffective and he found himself needing to box and move more often than forcing the fight with pressure. Despite the lack of power he did actually go unbeaten as a Bantamweight, and his only loss came at Flyweight to Thai great Pongsaklek Wonjongkam. In that bout Kameda was lazy, out boxed, out worked and out thought by the Thai legend, who put in one of his last great performances. Kono's career certainly hasn't been as notable as Kameda's but he has been a popular fighter in his homeland where he has consistently proven to be a tough guy, in fact his nickname is the “Tough Boy”. Technically he's not the best but he's shown real desire through his career and has bounced back from numerous losses to become a champion, twice over. He's done that through will power a refusal to be just another contender. That desire to be a champion saw Kono claim a world title in his third attempt, following a Japanese, and two OPBF reigns. Kono's desire to be a champion saw him turn a 25-7 (9) record into his current 30-8-1 (13) record. That may not look impressive but that's included 4 world titles, in which he's gone 2-1-1 (2) and 4 stoppages in his last 5 victories, a notable turn around in terms of his power. That power has improved not because he's stronger than he once was but because he's improved significantly from the fighter he used to be. In 2012 there was talk of Kono retiring, he silenced that talk by knocking out the then WBA Super Flyweight champion Tepparith Kokietgym in 4 rounds. Although he lost the title in his first defense he would regain it just 2 fights later, knocking out Denkaosan Kaovichit in the 8th round and he recorded his first defense last December, exactly 2 years after he first won a world title. Technically Kono is basic. There is nothing that will send the division into fear and there is nothing that will catch the eye as being amazing about him. Fundamentally he is slow, basic and relatively predictable. Despite that he's the sort of fighter who is still a difficult man to beat, he's tough, impossible to dissuade and hits harder than his record suggests. On paper this fight can go two ways and they both depend more on Kameda than on Kono. If Kameda wants to box and move it's very hard to see him losing. He has the speed and ability to make life very easy for himself in a performance similar to the one he used against Naito. On the other hand if Kameda looks to make a point and attempts to fight Kono then life will be different with Kono really having a genuine chance against Kameda an he may well have the power needed to stop the cocky former multi-weight world champion. We know that there is real animosity between these two, but we don't imagine that Kameda will fight a stupid fight and instead he will likely cruise to a wide decision victory using his speed and movement to secure the decision against the clumsier Kono.  A lot of fighters have 2014 to be very frustrating. Some of those fighters have had their ruined by injuries, some by managements issues, some by legal issues and some by the issues out of their hands. One man falling into that final category is Kohei Kono (30-8, 13). Kono started the year brilliantly and recaptured the WBA Super Flyweight title all the way back in March with an 8th round KO of Denkaosan Kaovichit. It seemed that that win could kick start a career defining year for the “Tough Boy” but sadly those hopes were dashed when the WBA demanded that Kono defend his belt in a mandatory against Koki Kameda, a man who had never fought at the weight and was suspect to a ban by the Japanese Boxing Commission. With the JBC and the WBA at loggerheads for months Kono was effectively put on the shelf for issues completely out of his hands despite the best intentions of his promoter who had tried to make the fight.
Eventually the mandatory was deferred with an agreement for the two men to fight in 2015. By then however Kono had lost several months of his career, the memory of his win over Kaovichit was waning and any hope of a career defining year was out of the window. Thankfully with issues sorted Kono has managed to get a fight arranged for the year. Sadly it's a disappointing one that we suspect many will turn their nose up at, and rightfully so. Rather than fighting a top guy in the division Kono will instead find himself up against the relatively unknown Norberto Jimenez (20-8-3, 10). A man so obscure that many hardcore fans won't even be aware of him, despite the fact he is unbeaten in 20 contests dating back more than 3 years. Part of the reason Jimenez is unknown, despite his current streak of 18-0-2, is that he's been fighting solely at home in the Dominican Republic, and this will be his first bout away from home. Another part of the reason is that he's beaten nobody of note, in fact the only notable fighters that he's faced are Juan Carlos Payano, who beat him in 2 rounds way back in 2010, and Luis Hinjosa, who beat him by 6 round decision in 2011. Although unknown outside of his homeland Jimenez has become a bit of a fan favourite with crowds at home. Known as “Meneito” he is flamboyant and like many flamboyant fighters he is also speedy. Sadly for him however his speed is rarely used well and his shots are looping, his footwork leaves a lot to be desired and a lack of power allows fighters to walk through a lot of his shots. Worst of all however is his defense, or lack of defense and he can often be seen leaving himself wide open any number of shots especially when trading with his chin in the air and his arms flailing in the air. Against a low level of fighter, such as those Jimenez has been up against, he can get away with his numerous issues, he is however taking a massive step up to fight Kono and if Kono is out to make a mark then we may well see Jimenez finished off early. Kono is known for his toughness and although he has been down in the past he has never been stopped, and has rarely even been halted in his tracks. What has happened to him however is that fighters have fought to his weaknesses. Kono, for all his toughness, is relatively slow of foot and can be found chasing as opposed to cutting the ring off, he can be out pointed by fighters with the energy to box and move and those with reaches that keep him at bay. In a boxing based contest Kono is beatable. In a fighter however Kono will give anyone at 115lbs a real nightmare. He's not just tough but also possess genuine power, something that isn't really reflected in the stats on his record but is shown by his notable stoppages in recent years against Kaovichit and Tepparith Kokietgym. Not only has he stopped those two men but he has also recorded knockdowns against fighters like Liborio Solis and Tomas Rojas, two world class fighters in their own right. Although not the sharpest fighter in the division Kono is a solid all-rounder. He can be beaten with intelligent speed and movement but rarely do fighters beat him without getting into trouble at some point and without being tough fighters. We suspect that Jimenez will be trouble early on and Kono will find a home for his hurtful right hand on the chin of the challenger. If Jimenez wants to fight like he usually does then Kono will walk him down and take him out somewhere in the middle of the fight. There is a chance Jimenez will be much better here than he has looked in the past, however we honestly don't think he is. We think he's been fighting to the level of his opponents but rather never been given a chance to develop with fights to make the most of his natural speed. Speed is Kono's weakness but Jimenez doesn't have the boxing knowledge to make the most of it against an opponent like Kono. (Image courtesy of Watanabe) Kono and Kaovichit battle for the WBA Super Flyweight title, but who will come out on top?3/17/2014  Whilst boxing fans in the West know all about the Mexico-Puerto Rico rivalry they may not realise that Asia has some similarly interesting rivalries with great history and great match ups. One such rivalry is the long-standing Japan v Thailand rivalry which had been one of the standout rivalries in world boxing.
If you've followed the rivalry you'll be well aware that Thailand is really dominant on home soil. Japanese fighters have had one worst records in world title fights when they've had to travel to Thailand and whilst the rivalry is a good one it's been hugely one sided when a Japanese fighter has travelled. When it's been the Thai fighter travelling however the rivalry is much more interesting with a more even spread of results. The next chapter in this great rivalry comes on March 26th when Thai veteran Denkaosan Kaovichit (62-3-1, 26) travels over to fight Japan's teak tough Kohei Kono (29-8, 12) for the vacant WBA Super Flyweight title, a belt both men have previously held in one form or another. Of the two it's Kaovichit with the longer and more established career. He began boxing way back in 1996 and quickly established himself on the Thai scene winning the PABA Flyweight title on his debut. After running up more than 20 straight wins he then fought Eric Morel in a world title fight. Morel proved to be too strong for Kaovichit but it was clear that the Thai was, one day, going to become a world champion. Around 5 years after Kaovichit lost to Morel he returned to the world level and came incredibly close to claiming the WBA Flyweight title when he fought to a draw with Takefumi Sakata. A rematch with Sakata the following year, 2008, finally saw Kaovichit becoming a world champion aged 32. The Thai's reign was somewhat short lived with him losing the belt 14 months later to Daiki Kameda after 2 successful defences against Japanese fighters, including Kameda before losing a rematch to him. Amazingly since losing to Kameda back in 2010 Kaovichit has racked up 14 wins from 15 bouts, including a notable split decision victory late last year over Japan's Nobuo Nashiro for the WBA interim Super Flyweight title. That victory over Nashiro saw Kaovichit taking his record against Japanese fighters to 4-1-1, a shocking figure considering how many fights he has had in his long career. Aged 33 Kono hasn't had a career nearly as long as Kaovichit but it has been a career full of ups and downs and numerous tough, hard fights. The Japanese fighter began his career in 2000 and surprisingly he lost on debut and he lost again in his 10th pro bout to drop to 8-2. By that point few would have expected Kono to emerge as a force on the world stage though the hard man from Tokyo kept with the sport and made sure he improved rather than accepted that he wasn't going to ever be that good. His improvement paid off in 2007 when he claimed the Japanese Super Flyweight title with a victory over Teppei Kikui and later added the OPBF title to his collection with a victory over Eden Sonsona. Kono's short burst of success came to an end in 2008 when he lost in his first world title fight, dropping a very close decision to Nashiro in a bout for the WBA Super Flyweight title. Although Kono lost he proved he was around the world level and just 2 years later he had earned himself a shot at the WBC Super Flyweight title. Unfortunately for Kono he came up short a second time, losing to Tomas Rojas, despite dropping Rojas in the final round. Fortunately for Kono he managed to win a world title in his third shot, upsetting Thailand's Tepparith Kokietgym for the WBA Super Flyweight title. It had taken him 3 attempts but finally he had climbed the summit and his hard work had been rewarded. Sadly for Kono his reigned lasted just a few months before he lost a thrilling battle with Liborio Solis of Venezuela. With Kaovichit we have a fighter who is experienced, obviously, though not one with much power. A problem at the world level where he had never stopped a world class fighter other than Sakata. He has instead relied on his speed, movement and combinations to get as far in the sport as he's gotten. It's obviously worked for him in his prime but at 37 he's slowing and his stamina doesn't allow him to carry it off for 12 rounds any more. He showed his age in the Nashiro bout where he started very well but looked completely spent in the final few rounds and against another pressure fighter he could well have come undone completely. In Kono we have an aggressive fighter who fights very well by bringing the pressure, relying on his toughness and mentality of trying to grind fighters down. His biggest win, the stoppage over Tepparith, proved that Kono can bang but usually he forces opponents to be dragged into battles of attrition something that should really work in his favour against Kaovichit, as long as he can cut the ring off and make the early rounds hard. Stylistically we can't see Kaovichit beating Kono, especially not in Japan with their careers where they are right now. In their primes this would have been a genuinely interesting match up though we do feel that right now Kono has a lot left in the tank than the Thai who is ancient for a fighter in the lower weights. We expect this to be similar to the Kaovichit/Nashiro fight though Kaovichit's feet and work rate drop earlier and Kono starts to turn up the heat quicker than his country man did. We're expecting that Kono's work rate will pay off with Kaovichit being stopped in the championship rounds after some thrilling exchanges.  Courtesy of http://kameda-bros.com/ At the start of this year Japan had only ever had one IBF champion, Satoshi Shingaki. This year that number climbed to threee as Katsunari Takayama finally won the IBF Minimumweight title and Daiki Kameda (29-3, 18) claimed the Super Flyweight title.
On December 3rd both Takayama, who defends against Vergilio Silvano, and Daiki will put their titles on the line as Japanese boxing tries to prove that allowing IBF champions isn't a bad thing for the sport. As mentioned Takayama will be fighting Silvano in the first defense of his title. For Daiki however things are much rickier as he attempts to unify his belt with the WBA title currently held by Venezuelan Liborio Solis (15-3-1, 7). For Solis this will be his second trip to Japan this year following his victory over Kohei Kono to unify the WBA interim and WBA regular titles. For those of you who remember Solis's fight with Kono it was a really fun fight. Both men had their moments in a give and take contest that saw Solis dropped early on before dropping Kono in the eighth and eeking out the decision late. For many that bout was so good and so close that they were calling for a rematch between the two men, instead however Solis has been inactive for 7 months. Against Kono we saw a bit of everything from Solis. We saw him boxing and moving, we saw him going to war and brawling and we saw him showing his toughness. It was genuinely great. Several months after Solis' victory against Kono, Daiki won the IBF title as he out pointed Mexican Rodrigo Guerrero in a contest that was fought in a much different manner. Against Guerrero we saw Daiki sticking, for the most part, to boxing and moving, being negative and trying to avoid too many moments of back and forth action. It was a forgettable contest for the most part, though there was a highlight reel tenth round as both men unloaded. From having seen both of those fights again recently we are really hoping that this won't fall into a clash of styles. If both men attempt to box for 12 rounds then Daiki's speed could well be the difference in what could potentially be one of the worst fights of the year. What is, thankfully, more likely is that the bout will have moments of ups and downs. Solis, despite being the shorter man, is expected to have a notable reach advantage and if he can use that to his effect he could prevent Daiki from being overly negative. If he can use that and force Daiki the bring some action to him we could have a number of rounds like the tenth of the Daiki/Guerrero bout. We'll admit we're hoping that Solis has the ability to bring the best from Daiki. If he can then we may, again, see Solis involved in a great contest in Japan and a contest that is fitting the "unification" tag that this bout has. If we end up with a forgetable one however then we expect the Japanese will further slate the way the Japanese Boxing Commission has accepted the IBF. It'd be a shame for the fans to refuse the IBF as organisation opens up new doors to major fighters. For example a possible Light Flyweight clash involving Johnriel Casimero and Kazuto Ioka, Ryo Miyazaki or Naoya Inoue, or a fight involving a Hisashi Amagasa and Evgeny Gradovich at Featherweight. Oddly the winner here, despite being a unified champion, would likely only be viewed as the third best fighter at 115lbs behind both Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Omar Andres Narvaez, the WBC and WBO champions respectively. Interestingly both Narvaez and Srisaket have beaten Japanese fighters in recent bouts with Narvaez stopping Hiroyuki Hisataka and Srisaket stopping Hirofumi Mukai. |
World Title Previews
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