When we talk about the best boxers on the planet right now we tend to talk about Floyd Mayweather Jr, Guillermo Rigondeaux and Andre Ward. The first two of those are particularly known for being able to use their legs to neutralise an opponent's aggression and pressisure whilst lading their own shots in return. Earlier today it appeared that Akira Yaegashi (19-3, 9) had been taking notes from both Mayweather and Rigondeaux as he put on a similar showing of boxing and moving as he defeated Mexican challenger Edgar Sosa (49-8, 29) and retained his WBC Flyweight title.
The fight, for the first two rounds, looked like a chess match. It was close, it was nip and tuck and neither guy made much of a statement as they felt the other guy out. By the third round however the fight was beginning to come alive as both Sosa moved up a gear and began to find his range with the right hand. This forced Yaegashi to do two things. Firstly he had to answer back which is exactly what he did, then he had to think of a way to neutralise it.
Rather than stupidly going toe-to-toe with Sosa we saw Yaegashi going on to the back foot, moving around the ring then cutting in and unloading before getting back out. It was negative and some what dull looking at times but he forced Sosa to come after him, circled away and then connected as Sosa struggled to cut the distance.
After 4 rounds we had began to settle into a pattern that would dictate much of the fight. Sosa would slow pressure Yaegashi, Yaegashi would skip around him. When Sosa was in distance and threw Yaegahi either returned the favour or avoided it and countered. At times it was was the sort of thing you'd expect to see from Mayweather, at others Yaegashi showed his warrior mentality and traded.
Whilst Yaegashi was losing the occasional round where Sosa managed to have that bit of extra success, it was clear that the Mexican was simply too slow with both his hands and feet to make this this close. The fighter's heart was still in Sosa but at 34 he was showing serious signs of slowing down and the wear and tear of a man having had a long and gruel ling career.
Going in to the final 4 rounds the WBC opening scoring had left us in no doubt that Sosa would need a KO. Unfortunately it seemed almost impossible. Unless Yaegashi had used up his entire there was no chance of Sosa forcing an early conclusion to the bout.
Rounds 9, 10 and 11 went on the same script as many of the previous rounds with Yaegashi boxing on the move. This changed however in round 12 as the men spent the final minute beating 7 shades out of each other in the longest action sequence of the fight.
With the decision already known before being announced due to the open scoring the question wasn't who had won but more, about the future. At 34 this could well be the end for Sosa who has a fantastic career, for Yaegashi this victory may well lead to a second contest with Kazuto Ioka and in all honesty, that's a fight I want to see all over again
Showing posts with label WBC Flyweight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WBC Flyweight. Show all posts
Friday, 6 December 2013
Monday, 12 August 2013
Akira Yaegashi v Oscar Blanquet
If I was to say one of my favourite fights is Akira Yaegashi (18-3, 9) then that it's fair to assume that I was really looking forward to the first defense of his WBC Flyweight title. Unfortunately however the Japanese action man's fight with Oscar Blanquet (32-6-1, 23) really failed to live up to expectation as they styles completely failed to gel.
The first few rounds were by far the most competitive with the scores through 4 showing a genuinely close contest with the open scoring showing 39-37 once to each man a 38-38 score card leaving us effectively with a split draw through the first 4 rounds.
After the competitive nature of the opening few rounds Yaegashi started to turn up the screw and built on his crisp jab by landing lovely sweeping counter left hooks. Unfortunately the more Yaegashi the more and more negative Blanquet became with the Mexican beginning to hold, spoil and turn to the referee after every hurtful body shots. It was obvious from about round 6 onwards that that Blanquet felt he was unable to win and was instead going to make things difficult for Yaegashi.
Despite being held constantly Yaegashi would continue to land the bouts only notable shots which included a low blow and a knockdown both in round 8 which saw the round scored 9-8 in favour of Yaegashi who by now had established a notable lead on all 3 cards.
With the open scoring having Yaegashi well out in the lead he made sure he won round 9 and then almost cruised the final 3 rounds picking his spots and effectively telling Blanquet that he was no longer going to force a fight and be thwarted by a man who wasn't there to fight. As we all know Yaegashi is an action fighter but it was obvious through the later rounds that he was a frustrated fighter and refused to let Blanquet further frustrate him.
Unfortunately this may well go down as Yaegashi's least entertaining televised fight, though on the whole it was due to the negativity of Blanquet as opposed to anything Yaegashi did or could have done. Hopefully next time out he'll face a more willing dance partner.
The first few rounds were by far the most competitive with the scores through 4 showing a genuinely close contest with the open scoring showing 39-37 once to each man a 38-38 score card leaving us effectively with a split draw through the first 4 rounds.
After the competitive nature of the opening few rounds Yaegashi started to turn up the screw and built on his crisp jab by landing lovely sweeping counter left hooks. Unfortunately the more Yaegashi the more and more negative Blanquet became with the Mexican beginning to hold, spoil and turn to the referee after every hurtful body shots. It was obvious from about round 6 onwards that that Blanquet felt he was unable to win and was instead going to make things difficult for Yaegashi.
Despite being held constantly Yaegashi would continue to land the bouts only notable shots which included a low blow and a knockdown both in round 8 which saw the round scored 9-8 in favour of Yaegashi who by now had established a notable lead on all 3 cards.
With the open scoring having Yaegashi well out in the lead he made sure he won round 9 and then almost cruised the final 3 rounds picking his spots and effectively telling Blanquet that he was no longer going to force a fight and be thwarted by a man who wasn't there to fight. As we all know Yaegashi is an action fighter but it was obvious through the later rounds that he was a frustrated fighter and refused to let Blanquet further frustrate him.
Unfortunately this may well go down as Yaegashi's least entertaining televised fight, though on the whole it was due to the negativity of Blanquet as opposed to anything Yaegashi did or could have done. Hopefully next time out he'll face a more willing dance partner.
Monday, 8 April 2013
Shinsuke Yamanaka v Malcolm Tunacao
WBC Bantamweight champion Shinsuke Yamanaka (18-0-2, 13) successfully retained his world title as he stopped Filipino challenger Malcolm Tunacao (32-3-3-, 20) in the 12th and final round.
Yamanaka started the bout well and not only established his pace on the bout with his 2 handed attack but also dropped the challenger twice in round 3 as he built up a solid lead on the score cards in the early portion of the bout. Tunacao, who had been blasted out in a round in his last world title bout back in 2001 showed real heart to not only survive but to start to battle back.
Tunacao who had been forced to wait a long time for another world title bout refused to just let his chance slip away and he battled back hard and in round 7 he appeared to genuinely hurt Yamanaka. The success Tunacao had had in round 7 saw a notable momentum shift and the Filipino came out for round 8 with real vigour as he claimed another round and seemed to be in the ascendency.
Sadly for the challenger his work in rounds 7 and 8 failed to wear out the champion who got a second wind in round 9 as Tunacao appeared to be running out of steam. The Filipino refused to just back down though was looking like he had given it his all and Yamanaka moved up a gear as he took rounds 10 and 11 before dropping Tunacao in the final round. The bloodied challenger attempted to get to his feet but the referee had seen enough and saved him from any more damage.
For Tuncao this is probably the end. The Filipino has been a great servant to the sport though sadly was forced to wait too long for his chance. Yamanaka on the other hand is perhaps looking to old foe Ryosuke Iwasa for what could be a rematch of their memorable clash from a few years back.
Yamanaka started the bout well and not only established his pace on the bout with his 2 handed attack but also dropped the challenger twice in round 3 as he built up a solid lead on the score cards in the early portion of the bout. Tunacao, who had been blasted out in a round in his last world title bout back in 2001 showed real heart to not only survive but to start to battle back.
Tunacao who had been forced to wait a long time for another world title bout refused to just let his chance slip away and he battled back hard and in round 7 he appeared to genuinely hurt Yamanaka. The success Tunacao had had in round 7 saw a notable momentum shift and the Filipino came out for round 8 with real vigour as he claimed another round and seemed to be in the ascendency.
Sadly for the challenger his work in rounds 7 and 8 failed to wear out the champion who got a second wind in round 9 as Tunacao appeared to be running out of steam. The Filipino refused to just back down though was looking like he had given it his all and Yamanaka moved up a gear as he took rounds 10 and 11 before dropping Tunacao in the final round. The bloodied challenger attempted to get to his feet but the referee had seen enough and saved him from any more damage.
For Tuncao this is probably the end. The Filipino has been a great servant to the sport though sadly was forced to wait too long for his chance. Yamanaka on the other hand is perhaps looking to old foe Ryosuke Iwasa for what could be a rematch of their memorable clash from a few years back.
Toshiyuki Igarashi v Akira Yaegashi
In a hugely impressive performance former WBA Minimumweight champion Akira Yaegashi (?-?) jumped 2 weights and claimed the WBC Flyweight title and defeated Toshiyuki Igarashi (?-?) in a thoroughly enjoyable battle, the type of which Yaegashi has been making his name.
The challenger got off to a lightning quick start taking the fight to the champion who looked sluggish in the early part of the bout. Yaegashi was like a terrier and refused to give Igarashi the room he needed to work and instead got close and worked hard with the mindset of "I'm not just going to beat you, I'm going to beat you up". It was thrilling to watch.
Yaegashi continued to wail away in the middle rounds though Igarashi started to slowly come in to the bout and land his own shots which began to mark up the 30 year old challenger who seemed to wear his swelling as badges of honour rather than act concerned about the markings adorning his face. In fact the swelling and blood may well have driven him on as the bout became a brutal war in the later rounds with both men shedding claret as the fight started to become more of a back and forth war with the younger Igarashi having some real success late.
With both men looking like they had been in a war there was only ever going to be one winner. A war was always going to favour Yaegashi who had shown his love of in ring warfare with his famous victory over Pornsawan Porpramook. This bout may not have quite lived up to the Yaegashi v Porpramook bout though it wasn't down to trying on Yaegashi's part, in fact it was only his domination in the early rounds that prevented such a FOTY candidate.
This ends Igarashi's 9 month reign as the WBC and the Linear Flyweight champion and possibly ends his career at the top level. He's a talented fighter though in a division like Flyweight you've got to be a great fighter right now to be at the top, not just good.
Yaegashi, now a 2-weight world champion is a fighter who appears to have options aplenty. He could look for not only a rematch with Ioka (either at Flyweight or Light Flyweight where Ioka holds the WBA title), a fight with fellow champions Juan Francisco Estrada and Moruti Mthalane (both of which would be amazing to watch) or take a deservedly easily fight after 3 very tough bouts in the last 18 months.
With his style and mindset Yaegashi may not have a many years left at the top though I've got to admit he's become one of the sports must watch fighters in the past few years with his toughness and his aggressive style both of which should help him grow a cult following in the west.
The challenger got off to a lightning quick start taking the fight to the champion who looked sluggish in the early part of the bout. Yaegashi was like a terrier and refused to give Igarashi the room he needed to work and instead got close and worked hard with the mindset of "I'm not just going to beat you, I'm going to beat you up". It was thrilling to watch.
Yaegashi continued to wail away in the middle rounds though Igarashi started to slowly come in to the bout and land his own shots which began to mark up the 30 year old challenger who seemed to wear his swelling as badges of honour rather than act concerned about the markings adorning his face. In fact the swelling and blood may well have driven him on as the bout became a brutal war in the later rounds with both men shedding claret as the fight started to become more of a back and forth war with the younger Igarashi having some real success late.
With both men looking like they had been in a war there was only ever going to be one winner. A war was always going to favour Yaegashi who had shown his love of in ring warfare with his famous victory over Pornsawan Porpramook. This bout may not have quite lived up to the Yaegashi v Porpramook bout though it wasn't down to trying on Yaegashi's part, in fact it was only his domination in the early rounds that prevented such a FOTY candidate.
This ends Igarashi's 9 month reign as the WBC and the Linear Flyweight champion and possibly ends his career at the top level. He's a talented fighter though in a division like Flyweight you've got to be a great fighter right now to be at the top, not just good.
Yaegashi, now a 2-weight world champion is a fighter who appears to have options aplenty. He could look for not only a rematch with Ioka (either at Flyweight or Light Flyweight where Ioka holds the WBA title), a fight with fellow champions Juan Francisco Estrada and Moruti Mthalane (both of which would be amazing to watch) or take a deservedly easily fight after 3 very tough bouts in the last 18 months.
With his style and mindset Yaegashi may not have a many years left at the top though I've got to admit he's become one of the sports must watch fighters in the past few years with his toughness and his aggressive style both of which should help him grow a cult following in the west.
Saturday, 3 November 2012
Toshiyuki Igarashi v Nestor Daniel Narvaes
In a much closer than expected bout Japanese WBC Flyweight champion Toshiyuki Igarashi (17-1-1, 10) struggled past Argentinian challenger Nestor Daniel Narvaes (19-1-2, 9) in a bout that perhaps shows up the problem with the "Linear" championship. I'm sorry but there is no way on earth that we can really claim that Igarashi is better than either Brian Viloria or Hernan "Tyson" Marquez (who meet each other to decide the division's true #1 in my eyes, later this year).
Narvaes, the younger brother of current WBO Super Flyweight champion Omar Andres Narvaez, started the bout quickly and forced Igarashi to fight back from the opening bell as he really brought the fight to the champion with a very high work rate.
If things were hard for the champion from the off, they just got harder as Igarashi suffered nasty cuts over both eye brows and had to fight back with claret covering his eyes and his face noticeably marked up. It appeared that Narvaes, a real unknown in the boxing world, was on his way to an upset before Igarashi bit down hard and did just enough to claim the victory despite being deducted a point for a head clash.
The hellacious action and back and forth nature of the bout was always going to lead to close scores and it showed with Igarashi taking a majority decision with cards of 114-112 (twice) and 113-113.
For Igarashi my advice is stay from the other other top fighters in the division. He was lucky to be in the right place at the right time after Sonny Boy Jaro defeated a fading Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (who lost again earlier this week) and really shouldn't be regarded as the divisions best fighter. In all honesty, at best, Igarashi is the fourth best fighter in the division (also behind South African Moruti Mthalane). He could well do with a number of easier defenses in Japan to help him mature into a real champion thankfully the WBC rankings do have a few weaker options such as Oscar Blanquet (who has already fought in Japan) and Anuar Salas (who's ranking I simply cannot explain).
It's strange to have a "Linear" and "Ring" champion who isn't ready for a genuine top tier fighter, such as the other 3 "real" champions or the top contenders such as Rocky Fuentes or Milan Melindo, however as I said Igarashi was simply a lucky man to be in the right place at the right time.
For Narvaes this fight should really be a sign that he can copy his brother and become a world champion, however he's unfortunate to have lost here against the weakest champion in the division. It's fair to say that the other 3 champions would almost certainly have had an easier night with Narvaes than Igarashi did. If the little Argentinian cannot force a rematch I'd advise him to look towards an all Argentinian battle with current WBA "regular" champion Juan Carlos Reveco, as long as Reveco gets past Julian Rivera next weekend.
Narvaes, the younger brother of current WBO Super Flyweight champion Omar Andres Narvaez, started the bout quickly and forced Igarashi to fight back from the opening bell as he really brought the fight to the champion with a very high work rate.
If things were hard for the champion from the off, they just got harder as Igarashi suffered nasty cuts over both eye brows and had to fight back with claret covering his eyes and his face noticeably marked up. It appeared that Narvaes, a real unknown in the boxing world, was on his way to an upset before Igarashi bit down hard and did just enough to claim the victory despite being deducted a point for a head clash.
The hellacious action and back and forth nature of the bout was always going to lead to close scores and it showed with Igarashi taking a majority decision with cards of 114-112 (twice) and 113-113.
For Igarashi my advice is stay from the other other top fighters in the division. He was lucky to be in the right place at the right time after Sonny Boy Jaro defeated a fading Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (who lost again earlier this week) and really shouldn't be regarded as the divisions best fighter. In all honesty, at best, Igarashi is the fourth best fighter in the division (also behind South African Moruti Mthalane). He could well do with a number of easier defenses in Japan to help him mature into a real champion thankfully the WBC rankings do have a few weaker options such as Oscar Blanquet (who has already fought in Japan) and Anuar Salas (who's ranking I simply cannot explain).
It's strange to have a "Linear" and "Ring" champion who isn't ready for a genuine top tier fighter, such as the other 3 "real" champions or the top contenders such as Rocky Fuentes or Milan Melindo, however as I said Igarashi was simply a lucky man to be in the right place at the right time.
For Narvaes this fight should really be a sign that he can copy his brother and become a world champion, however he's unfortunate to have lost here against the weakest champion in the division. It's fair to say that the other 3 champions would almost certainly have had an easier night with Narvaes than Igarashi did. If the little Argentinian cannot force a rematch I'd advise him to look towards an all Argentinian battle with current WBA "regular" champion Juan Carlos Reveco, as long as Reveco gets past Julian Rivera next weekend.
Friday, 20 July 2012
Toshiyuki Igarashi v Sonny Boy Jaro
Back in March the boxing world got it's first big upset of the year as one of the all time great Flyweights, Pongsaklek Wonjongkam was stopped in just 6 rounds by the unheralded Sonny Boy Jaro (34-11-5, 24). With the win over Wonjongkam, Jaro claimed the WBC and Ring Flyweight titles and was now making his first defence of the title as he took on the highly regarded Japanese fighter Toshiyuki Igarashi (16-1-1, 10), a former Japanese champion.
The fight started with Igarashi controlling the range well with his more controlled and accurate boxing but every so often Jaro would catch Igarashi with a solid shot as both men repeatedly tested the others' resolve. What started out as a high paced boxer v brawler contested would soon become an incredibly competitive war of wills as both men banged solid shots off the other head. It swiftly become Igarashi's crisper punching and superior handspeed against Jaro's teak tough chin and wild but thudding swipes as neither man took a step backwards. After 4 rounds the judges were split, with a score of 39-37 either way and a draw on the 3rd card.
During the middle rounds it seemed as if Igarashi started to pull ahead of the champion managing to show some glimpses of genuine class but then every time he looked like he was starting to control the bout Jaro would come charging back and try to steal the round. It seemed as if the world title meant everything to both men as neither man backed down. After 8 rounds it appeared as though we were set to crown a new champion then out of nowhere Jaro produced easily his best round and it suddenly appeared as if Igarashi, who had only gone 9 rounds 3 times in his career was starting to tire. Jaro seemed to be coming back into the bout and in a big way.
Going into the championship rounds it was anyone's game and whilst we had Igarashi in a slight lead we could see an argument for almost any score possible with only 3 or 4 clear rounds in the first 10. The 11th round however was, like round 9, a clear Jaro as he caused a nasty cut on Igarashi's eye and landed a number of heavy shots, it seemed as if Jaro was trying to close the show and whilst Igarashi wasn't badly hurt he struggled to get much off offensively.
Knowing the bout was close both men put it all on the line in round 12 with Igarashi taking the round and almost forcing down at one point as Igarashi turned up the heat and took the round with a blistering final 90 seconds.
The fight, one of the best of the year, was competitive through out with the score cards (116-112, 115-113, 112-116) all reflecting the competitive nature of the bout though it was Igarashi's work that was preferred by 2 of the judges with him taking the title back home. For Jaro it may well be his farewell, for Igarashi however it may be his coming out party. Whilst it's unlikely we would love a rematch between these two before Jaro hangs them up.
The fight started with Igarashi controlling the range well with his more controlled and accurate boxing but every so often Jaro would catch Igarashi with a solid shot as both men repeatedly tested the others' resolve. What started out as a high paced boxer v brawler contested would soon become an incredibly competitive war of wills as both men banged solid shots off the other head. It swiftly become Igarashi's crisper punching and superior handspeed against Jaro's teak tough chin and wild but thudding swipes as neither man took a step backwards. After 4 rounds the judges were split, with a score of 39-37 either way and a draw on the 3rd card.
During the middle rounds it seemed as if Igarashi started to pull ahead of the champion managing to show some glimpses of genuine class but then every time he looked like he was starting to control the bout Jaro would come charging back and try to steal the round. It seemed as if the world title meant everything to both men as neither man backed down. After 8 rounds it appeared as though we were set to crown a new champion then out of nowhere Jaro produced easily his best round and it suddenly appeared as if Igarashi, who had only gone 9 rounds 3 times in his career was starting to tire. Jaro seemed to be coming back into the bout and in a big way.
Going into the championship rounds it was anyone's game and whilst we had Igarashi in a slight lead we could see an argument for almost any score possible with only 3 or 4 clear rounds in the first 10. The 11th round however was, like round 9, a clear Jaro as he caused a nasty cut on Igarashi's eye and landed a number of heavy shots, it seemed as if Jaro was trying to close the show and whilst Igarashi wasn't badly hurt he struggled to get much off offensively.
Knowing the bout was close both men put it all on the line in round 12 with Igarashi taking the round and almost forcing down at one point as Igarashi turned up the heat and took the round with a blistering final 90 seconds.
The fight, one of the best of the year, was competitive through out with the score cards (116-112, 115-113, 112-116) all reflecting the competitive nature of the bout though it was Igarashi's work that was preferred by 2 of the judges with him taking the title back home. For Jaro it may well be his farewell, for Igarashi however it may be his coming out party. Whilst it's unlikely we would love a rematch between these two before Jaro hangs them up.
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