Many fight fans believe that "Ring Magazine" and "Linear" champions are the real champions in our sport, however if you asked your average boxing fan who the current Flyweight champion was they'd be unlikely to know. That's because it's obscure Japanese fighter Toshiyuki Igarashi (16-1-1, 10) who claimed not only the Ring and Linear titles but also the WBC Flyweight titles just a few months ago.
Igarashi earned his titles by narrowly out pointing tough Filipino Sonny Boy Jaro in July after Jaro had himself scored one of the upsets of the year stopping Thai legend Pongsaklek Wonjongkam. This passing of the torch has frustrated many fans who knew what Wonjongkam was about, however with Igarashi we have a bit of an unknown leading a division that is packed with premier level talent.
Despite being a relative unknown Igarashi has actually been around for years, in fact for those with great memories they may well remember him from the 2004 Athens Olympics. Sadly at the Olympics Igarashi was disappointing and lost in his opening bout to Ethiopian Endelkachew Kabede (who himself lost to eventual Bronze medal winner Zou Shiming). Igarashi would also fight on the world stage at the 2005 World Championships in Mianyang where he was widely out pointed by Vincenzo Picardi.
Less than a year after the World Amateur Championships in Mianyang, Igarashi made his professional debut and defeated South Korean Yun-Woo Kim in 2 rounds. Igarashi would soon add a second victory to his record by stopping a second Korean, this time Jae-Sung Myung, in 6 rounds.
After a successful start to his career Igarashi became more active in 2007 fighting 4 times in the year. After scoring 3 successive victories to start the year Igarashi suffered his first set back as he could only manage a draw with the experienced Naoto Saito in a bout at Light Flyweight. Despite only drawing to Saito it appears that it was a learning experience more than a real set back as Igarashi realised that fighting at Light Flyweight didn't appear to suit him.
Following his draw to Saito, Igarashi moved permanently to Flyweight and swiftly captured the interim Japanese Flyweight title by winning a split decision over Tomoya Kaneshiro. Sadly for Igarashi he would fail in his attempt to claim the full version of the Japanese title at the end of 2008 as he suffered his professional loss, being clearly beaten by Tomonobu Shimizu (who would later go on to claim the WBA World Super Flyweight title).
Since losing to Shimizu, Igarashi has been on a 9 fight winning streak which has seen him not only earning the Japanese Flyweight title (thanks to a stoppage again Takayasu Kobayashi) but also the WBC, Ring and Linear titles thanks to his aforementioned victory over Jaro. It's fair to say that his victory over Jaro has been clearly the biggest victory of his career and the one that actually put him on the boxing map. As well as being a solid victory it was also a hugely entertaining bout with both men rocking each other.
Despite his victory over Jaro boxing fans still don't know much about Igarashi who has got solid power (even if he couldn't stop Jaro). The southpaw is a talented fighter who knows how to use his legs effectively to maintain distance and let his long punches go. He has a solid jab which can force opponents to think twice about cutting the distance and he also has a very powerful straight right hand (which is more than happy to throw when he's comfortable. As well his well schooled skills he also seems to be very durable and took plenty of hard, hurtful shots from Jaro with out too much of a panic.
Whilst he is talented there is plenty of questions to be asked about Igarashi. Not only does he lack real professional experience with just 118 professionals rounds but it's also fair to question how he'd cope with a genuinely top tier fighter for example divisional rivals Brian Viloria, Hernan Marquez or Moruti Mthalane. Igarashi has also shown that he'd rather box at distance so what someone like Mthalane with good timing and defense could do to him would be interesting.
Igarashi will make the first defense of his titles this coming weekend when he faces obscure Argentinian Nestor Daniel Narvaes (19-0-2-1, 9). Whilst not much is really known about Igarashi even less is known about his challenger who has yet to face anyone of any real quality, in fact it may well be fair to say that Narvaes is amongst the very worst challenger for a "Linear" title in quite some time.
Monday 29 October 2012
Thursday 25 October 2012
Shinsuke Yamanaka
A few years ago the Bantamweight division looked like "the division" of the lower weights with the likes of Anselmo Moreno, Nonito Donaire, Joseph Agbeko, Abner Mares, Vic Darchinyan, Yonnhy Perez and Fernando Montiel. Sadly however many of those fighters have have moved up to Super Bantamweight and left the 118lb division looking rather empty.
Despite the fact the division currently has a notable lack of well known names, the division doesn't lack talent. At the moment the obvious rising star of the division is Leo Santa Cruz (21-0-1, 12) the current IBF champion, however perhaps the most under-rated fighter in the division is Japanese warrior Shinsuke Yamanaka (18-0-2, 13), the current WBC champion.
Despite being aged 30 it's only in the past 2 years or so that anyone in boxing has started talking about Yamanaka. Sadly part of this issue is down to the fact Yamanaka didn't make his professional debut until 2006 however this is also why Yamanaka has been so impressive, he has risen up the rankings amazingly quickly and become world champion inside 6 years!
On his debut Yamanaka defeated the much more experienced Hitoshi Takahashi (UD6) before drawing in his second contest with Keiji Yokomakura. By the end end of 2006 he had moved to 2-0-1, stopping Yuta Sato in his final bout of the year.
Over the following few years Yamanaka would continue his career scoring a number of victories over lesser opponents as well as suffering his second draw, this time to Kenichi Yamaguchi (over 8 rounds). By the end of 2009 he had moved well to 10-0-2 (6) though had still been with out a notable victory, in fact his best opponent up to this point was Toyoto Shiraishi, way back in 2007 (in Yamanaka's 6th bout), however 2010 would be the start of Yamanaka's break out.
After blowing out the over matched Kazuharu Morimoto (KO1) in his first bout of 2010, Yamanaka would face the then Japanese Bantamweight champion Mikio Yasuda. Yasuda had claimed the title just 1 fight earlier, defeating Takuro Kodama for the then vacant title, and sadly for Yasuda his reign would end rather quickly, with Yamanaka stopping him in round 7 to claim his first professional title.
Yamanaka would end 2010 with a none title victory over Jose Silveira, though in 2011 he was part of one of the "Asian Fight of The Year" contenders as he faced the then 8-0 upstart Ryosuke Iwasa in an all action war that saw Iwasa finally stopped in the 10th round. The Iwasa bout, Yamanaka's one and only Japanese Bantamweight defense, was spoken about glowingly across almost every boxing forum as Yamanaka suddenly became a hit.
In late 2011 Nonito Donaire made it clear he was wanting to move to Super Bantamweight and he decided vacate his WBC and WBO Bantamweight titles. By now Yamanaka was very highly ranked by the WBC and so was given a chance to claim the vacant title, however to claim the title Yamanaka would have to defeat Christian Esquivel, who had been unbeaten in 3 years. Yamanaka and Esquivel waged war on each other with Yamanaka scoring a knock down in round 6 and being dropped himself the following round before slowly wearing down Esquivel and stopping him in the 11th round to claim the belt.
Since winning the WBC world title Yamanaka has made 3 defenses, out pointing the always exciting Vic Darchinyan, and stopping both Tomas Rojas and Malcolm Tunacao.
Despite the fact the division currently has a notable lack of well known names, the division doesn't lack talent. At the moment the obvious rising star of the division is Leo Santa Cruz (21-0-1, 12) the current IBF champion, however perhaps the most under-rated fighter in the division is Japanese warrior Shinsuke Yamanaka (18-0-2, 13), the current WBC champion.
Despite being aged 30 it's only in the past 2 years or so that anyone in boxing has started talking about Yamanaka. Sadly part of this issue is down to the fact Yamanaka didn't make his professional debut until 2006 however this is also why Yamanaka has been so impressive, he has risen up the rankings amazingly quickly and become world champion inside 6 years!
On his debut Yamanaka defeated the much more experienced Hitoshi Takahashi (UD6) before drawing in his second contest with Keiji Yokomakura. By the end end of 2006 he had moved to 2-0-1, stopping Yuta Sato in his final bout of the year.
Over the following few years Yamanaka would continue his career scoring a number of victories over lesser opponents as well as suffering his second draw, this time to Kenichi Yamaguchi (over 8 rounds). By the end of 2009 he had moved well to 10-0-2 (6) though had still been with out a notable victory, in fact his best opponent up to this point was Toyoto Shiraishi, way back in 2007 (in Yamanaka's 6th bout), however 2010 would be the start of Yamanaka's break out.
After blowing out the over matched Kazuharu Morimoto (KO1) in his first bout of 2010, Yamanaka would face the then Japanese Bantamweight champion Mikio Yasuda. Yasuda had claimed the title just 1 fight earlier, defeating Takuro Kodama for the then vacant title, and sadly for Yasuda his reign would end rather quickly, with Yamanaka stopping him in round 7 to claim his first professional title.
Yamanaka would end 2010 with a none title victory over Jose Silveira, though in 2011 he was part of one of the "Asian Fight of The Year" contenders as he faced the then 8-0 upstart Ryosuke Iwasa in an all action war that saw Iwasa finally stopped in the 10th round. The Iwasa bout, Yamanaka's one and only Japanese Bantamweight defense, was spoken about glowingly across almost every boxing forum as Yamanaka suddenly became a hit.
In late 2011 Nonito Donaire made it clear he was wanting to move to Super Bantamweight and he decided vacate his WBC and WBO Bantamweight titles. By now Yamanaka was very highly ranked by the WBC and so was given a chance to claim the vacant title, however to claim the title Yamanaka would have to defeat Christian Esquivel, who had been unbeaten in 3 years. Yamanaka and Esquivel waged war on each other with Yamanaka scoring a knock down in round 6 and being dropped himself the following round before slowly wearing down Esquivel and stopping him in the 11th round to claim the belt.
Since winning the WBC world title Yamanaka has made 3 defenses, out pointing the always exciting Vic Darchinyan, and stopping both Tomas Rojas and Malcolm Tunacao.
Wednesday 24 October 2012
Takahiro Ao
Over the past few years a sizable number of Western boxing fans have started to watch more and more fights and fighters from the East. This has helped us (boxing fans) not only watch the likes of fading veterans like Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (87-4-2, 46) but also see the new emerging fighters such as Rysuke Iwasa (12-1, 9) as well as current champions, such as the former WBC Super Featherweight champion Takahiro Ao (23-3-1, 10).
The 28 year Ao made his professional debut way back in 2003 and after just 15 fights (all wins) over 3 and a half years in the sport he had risen to becoming the Japanese Featherweight champion defeating Koji Umetsu.
As the Japanese Featherweight champion, Ao made 3 title defenses including a draw as he attempted to unify his title with the OPBF Featherweight title (then held by the much more experienced, and very good Hiroyuki Enoki) to move his record to 16-0-1 (8). As well as being the Japanese champion however Ao was also a very highly ranked fighter with both the WBA and the WBC.
Following the draw with Enoki, Ao managed to get his first world title bout as he faced Mexican veteran Oscar Larios (who was taking part in his 70th professional contest!) in a bout for the WBC title. It was a big step up in class for Ao, however the Japanese fighter did put on a solid showing dropping Larios in the fourth round before losing a close split decision.
Ao's first bout with Larios was enough to earn him a rematch and just 5 months after suffering his first loss, Ao claimed the WBC Featherweight title and earned revenge by claiming a clear decision over Larios. Sadly however for Ao his title reign was short lived with Elio Rojas going over to Japan and annexing the title from Ao.
Following the loss to Rojas, Ao swiftly moved up a division to Super Featherweight. As a Super Featherweight Ao made an immediate impact by defeating former world title challengers Feider Viloria (UD10) and Whyber Garcia (TKO8). Following those victories he was granted a shot at the WBC Super Featherweight world champion Vitali Tajbert.
Tajbert, a well respected former amateur star had turned professional in 2005 after winning an Olympic Bronze medal in 2004 and a Gold medal at the 2005 Military World Championships. As a professional he had advanced his record swiftly to 20-1 (6) suffering his sole loss to talented Belorussian Sergey Gulyakevich. Following the loss to Gulyakevich he had gone on to win the Interim WBC Super Featherweight title (2009), before being promoted to the full champion in 2010.
Ao was impressive against the light punching (though highly skilled) Tajbert and managed to drop Tajbert in round 3 before taking a clear decision to claim his second divisional world title.
Since claiming the WBC Super Featherweight title in November 2010 Ao has defended his belt 3 times. The first of those came against former interim champion Humberto Mauro Gutierrez (KO4) who was stopped after a beautiful body shot by an impressive looking Ao. Despite looking great in his first defense Ao really struggled in his second defense, as he struggled to a split decision victory over Italian Devis Boschiero (who would later become the European champion). Most recently Ao defeated the wonderfully named Thia Terdsak Kokietgym (UD12).
Sadly for Ao he recently lost his world title whilst attempting his 4th successful title defense. He was surprisingly upset by Mexican veteran Gamaliel Diaz (37-9-2, 17). It was Diaz's 3rd notable upset after also beating Robert Guerrero and Elio Rojas earlier in his career, though it was a result that said more about Ao, than Diaz as the Japanese fighter was simply too inactive to win the rounds.
The 28 year Ao made his professional debut way back in 2003 and after just 15 fights (all wins) over 3 and a half years in the sport he had risen to becoming the Japanese Featherweight champion defeating Koji Umetsu.
As the Japanese Featherweight champion, Ao made 3 title defenses including a draw as he attempted to unify his title with the OPBF Featherweight title (then held by the much more experienced, and very good Hiroyuki Enoki) to move his record to 16-0-1 (8). As well as being the Japanese champion however Ao was also a very highly ranked fighter with both the WBA and the WBC.
Following the draw with Enoki, Ao managed to get his first world title bout as he faced Mexican veteran Oscar Larios (who was taking part in his 70th professional contest!) in a bout for the WBC title. It was a big step up in class for Ao, however the Japanese fighter did put on a solid showing dropping Larios in the fourth round before losing a close split decision.
Ao's first bout with Larios was enough to earn him a rematch and just 5 months after suffering his first loss, Ao claimed the WBC Featherweight title and earned revenge by claiming a clear decision over Larios. Sadly however for Ao his title reign was short lived with Elio Rojas going over to Japan and annexing the title from Ao.
Following the loss to Rojas, Ao swiftly moved up a division to Super Featherweight. As a Super Featherweight Ao made an immediate impact by defeating former world title challengers Feider Viloria (UD10) and Whyber Garcia (TKO8). Following those victories he was granted a shot at the WBC Super Featherweight world champion Vitali Tajbert.
Tajbert, a well respected former amateur star had turned professional in 2005 after winning an Olympic Bronze medal in 2004 and a Gold medal at the 2005 Military World Championships. As a professional he had advanced his record swiftly to 20-1 (6) suffering his sole loss to talented Belorussian Sergey Gulyakevich. Following the loss to Gulyakevich he had gone on to win the Interim WBC Super Featherweight title (2009), before being promoted to the full champion in 2010.
Ao was impressive against the light punching (though highly skilled) Tajbert and managed to drop Tajbert in round 3 before taking a clear decision to claim his second divisional world title.
Since claiming the WBC Super Featherweight title in November 2010 Ao has defended his belt 3 times. The first of those came against former interim champion Humberto Mauro Gutierrez (KO4) who was stopped after a beautiful body shot by an impressive looking Ao. Despite looking great in his first defense Ao really struggled in his second defense, as he struggled to a split decision victory over Italian Devis Boschiero (who would later become the European champion). Most recently Ao defeated the wonderfully named Thia Terdsak Kokietgym (UD12).
Sadly for Ao he recently lost his world title whilst attempting his 4th successful title defense. He was surprisingly upset by Mexican veteran Gamaliel Diaz (37-9-2, 17). It was Diaz's 3rd notable upset after also beating Robert Guerrero and Elio Rojas earlier in his career, though it was a result that said more about Ao, than Diaz as the Japanese fighter was simply too inactive to win the rounds.
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