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 Akira Yaegashi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Akira Yaegashi. 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
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.
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