As we head towards the new year we've had a big look at the current scene and come up with "20 fights we'd like to see in 2020", yeah another series ahead of the new decade! As is always the case with what we do, these articles will have an Asian flavour, and every bout we mention in the series will have at least 1 fighter from Asia involved. So for those of you expecting us to talk about Deontay Wilder Vs Anthony Joshua, that won't be listed. What we'll be looking at is well matched contests with either some form of back story, a great stylistic clash or bouts with some form of significant meaning. If they tick all the boxes then that is even better! Each fight will be given it's own article and each of these will come with an introduction to the fighters, and why the bout is being featured in the list. Fight #20 Naoya Inoue (19-0, 16) Vs John Riel Casimero (29-4, 20) to finish this mini series we look at a bout that has been rumoured for a while, and by the time you read this it may actually have been officially announced. Despite that it's a bout that seems an obvious one to make and is one we're very excited to see, pitting two hard hitting Bantamweights against each other to unify 3 of the 4 major titles. It's an all Asian bout and continues the long and stories Japan Vs Philippines rivalry. One of the fights probably needs no introduction. Naoya Inoue, the Monster, the face of Japanese boxing, is one of the most notable fighters on the planet right now. He's cemented a legacy as one of the Japanese greats, despite being a professional for less than a decade. He only has 19 fights to his name but 14 have been at world level and he has gone 8-0 (6) against world champions, including established international names like Adrian Hernandez, Omar Andres Narvaez, Jamie McDonnell and Nonito Donaire. He's skilled, quick and freakishly destructive for a fighter of his size, with some of the most brutal body shots in the sport. In the other corner we have Johnr Riel Casimer, a fighter who should be more well known than he is, but has long been under-the-radar despite notable success for over a decade, often on the road. The 30 year old Casimero has won world titles at Ligth Flyweight, Flyweight and Bantamweight whilst showing freakish power himself, an unorthodox offense and skills that are still developing this far into his career. Casimero has proven himself against the likes of Luis Alberto Lazarte, Amnat Ruenroeng, Charlie Edwards and Zolani Tete, all of whom felt the power of the Filipino. At his best Casimero is a threat for anyone at Bantamweight, and only needs a split second to turn a fight around. Sadly though he is inconsistent, and when he's off form he really is poor. This is arguably the most interesting possible bout at Bantamweight. It pits two men with fight changing power against each other, it unifies titles, taking us a step closer to an undisputed champion, and it's a fantastic all Asian fight that looks set to headline a card in the US. The bout is said to be pencilled in for April 25th in Las Vegas, and is likely to be announced any day soon. It will be a great test for two men each looking to make a statement. Inoue would clearly be the favourite but as we see time and time again, we can never write off Casimero, who loves to give the boxing world a shock every time fans see him as the under-dog.
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As we head towards the new year we've had a big look at the current scene and come up with "20 fights we'd like to see in 2020", yeah another series ahead of the new decade! As is always the case with what we do, these articles will have an Asian flavour, and every bout we mention in the series will have at least 1 fighter from Asia involved. So for those of you expecting us to talk about Deontay Wilder Vs Anthony Joshua, that won't be listed. What we'll be looking at is well matched contests with either some form of back story, a great stylistic clash or bouts with some form of significant meaning. If they tick all the boxes then that is even better! Each fight will be given it's own article and each of these will come with an introduction to the fighters, and why the bout is being featured in the list. Fight #19 Kazuto Ioka (25-2, 14) Vs Kosei Tanaka (15-0, 9) Since late 2019 there has been one potential all-Japanese title clash which has been spoken about a lot, and it now seems to have taken a step towards reality thanks, in part, to a ruling the WBO made in regards to one of the two men involved in the potential match up. The bout would see Japan's only male 4 weight champion up against someone looking to match him, and would pit two of the most skilled body punchers against each other in a mouth watering contest. It's hard to believe that Kazuto Ioka only turns 31 this year. The talented Ioka turned pro all the way back in 2009 and fought through out the 10's, barring a short retirement that lasted less than a year. During the decade he won titles in 4 weight classes, unified belts at 105lbs, and scored a number of wins that aged really well, just look at what Akira Yaegashi and Felix Alvarado did as proof of that. He also became one of the foremost faces of the Japanese boxing scene, a huge draw, and a central figure for the New Year Eve shows that highlight the end of the year. As the current WBO Super Flyweight champion he enters 2020 with a lot of potentially thrilling match ups out there for him, but there is something about all Japanese title bouts that always excited us. When talking about exciting all Japanese world title bouts we can't forget how Kosei Tanaka introduced himself to the Flyweight division, having a barnstormer against Sho Kimura in the 2018 Fight of the Year. Now the talented "KO Dream Boy" is the WBO Flyweight "Super" champion he is linked to another move up, and a potentially thrilling encounter with Ioka. Tanaka, like Ioka, has raced through the weights and raced through competition that has later made his victories look better, with Vic Saludar and Angel Acosta both going on to win world title. He has also chased the big fights and become a man who's face we tend to see at the end of the year, with 3 New Year Eve bouts bouts in the last 5 years. A win over Ioka would make Tanaka a star, and essentially force TBS to push him nationally, not just in Tokyo and Chukyo, the two regions that tend to get his fights in Japan. With the talk of this bout starting way back in August 2019, then growing as the year went on, it does seem like there is real desire for these two to be matched. On paper it's a very, very, easy one to make as both fight for the same Japanese network, essentially the JNN which owns TBS and sister channel CBC, and there is desire from the WBO to make the bout. Of course both men have other options, but this seems to be getting a lot more talk and time than those other options in Japan, suggesting this is the bout the fans want first. Of course if we do have to wait we could end up with things like Tanaka Vs Moruti Mthalane or Ioka Vs Juan Francisco Estrada, and lets be honest, we wouldn't complain at those options, if we eventually got this all Japanese super fight later in the year! As we head towards the new year we've had a big look at the current scene and come up with "20 fights we'd like to see in 2020", yeah another series ahead of the new decade! As is always the case with what we do, these articles will have an Asian flavour, and every bout we mention in the series will have at least 1 fighter from Asia involved. So for those of you expecting us to talk about Deontay Wilder Vs Anthony Joshua, that won't be listed. What we'll be looking at is well matched contests with either some form of back story, a great stylistic clash or bouts with some form of significant meaning. If they tick all the boxes then that is even better! Each fight will be given it's own article and each of these will come with an introduction to the fighters, and why the bout is being featured in the list. Fight #18 Gennady Golovkin (40-1-1, 35) Vs Ryota Murata (16-2, 13) There aren't many bouts in this series that have been spoken about as real possibilities, instead we've tried to look outside the box, but as we come to the end of the series we do need to look at some of the super fights that have been on the mind of fans. Here we look at a bout that is rumoured to be pencilled in for June, in a dome in Japan. Today we look at a fight that would be brutal, heavy hitting, and would see both men taking serious punishment. Today we look at a Middleweight bout that would be truly spectacular. Former unified champion Gennady Golovkin has shown signs of being on the slide recently. He's no longer the "Big Drama Show" executioner who was scoring stoppage after stoppage, ripping through the contenders of the Middleweight division. He's still world class, and a win over Sergiy Derevyanchenko last October showed there is still more than enough in the tank for much of the division, but he has slipped significantly from the fighter he once was. Tough bouts against the likes of Derevyanchenko, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs have taken something out of him, and with his 38th birthday coming in April father time is also well and truly on his case. Japanese star Ryota Murata,with the backing of Top Rank and Teiken, appears to have the keys to the massive Tokyo Dome. What he needs is someone to have a dance with 42,000 seater "Big Egg", and Golovkin world be the ideal opponent. Although not the force Golovkin once was, Murata shouldn't be over-looked. The 2012 Olympic champion is a stronger, brutish fighter. Technically he's limited, he's slow, but he's so damn tough, strong and powerful that few will beat him by going head to head with him. To beat him a fighter really needs to move, they need to box, and they need to stop him from setting his feet. A 38 year old Golovkin isn't the type of fighter who will move around, and is instead the type of fighter who will fight fire with fire. Given the ageing of Golovkin, the slowing of his hands and feet, and the cracks slowly coming into his aura of invincibility he makes for a perfect foil for Murata. There is enough doubt about Golvkin now that Murata wouldn't be totally written off, as he would have been just a year or two ago. Despite slowing Golovkin is still a monster puncher, and could well be a more physically imposing fighter than Murata. It would be great to see these two heavy hitters go toe-to-toe. The loser of this would be looking down the barrel of retirement whilst the winner would be looking at a lengthy recovery from a bout that would see both men taking some bombs! This would be brutal, exciting, dangerous and thrilling. Putting this on at a huge venue, like the Tokyo Dome, would just add the occasion, and help give such a highly anticipated bout an incredible atmosphere. As we head towards the new year we've had a big look at the current scene and come up with "20 fights we'd like to see in 2020", yeah another series ahead of the new decade! As is always the case with what we do, these articles will have an Asian flavour, and every bout we mention in the series will have at least 1 fighter from Asia involved. So for those of you expecting us to talk about Deontay Wilder Vs Anthony Joshua, that won't be listed. What we'll be looking at is well matched contests with either some form of back story, a great stylistic clash or bouts with some form of significant meaning. If they tick all the boxes then that is even better! Each fight will be given it's own article and each of these will come with an introduction to the fighters, and why the bout is being featured in the list. Fight #17 Bektemir Melikuziev (4-0, 3) vs Jaime Munguia (35-0, 28) One thing we don't see enough of in boxing is unbeaten fighters risking their "0's" against each other at a young age. Today we consider a bout where two men, both in their early 20's, clash risking their unbeaten records, in what would be a sure fire humdinger of a bout. Not only would it be a great bout but it would also see the potential winner proving a serious point about their skills and their durability. In one corner would be destructive Uzbek Bektemir Melikuziev, a former amateur standout who had turned pro and raced away with impressive performances. Unlike many prospect the talk with Melikuziev isn't just talk, but instead the Uzbek is chasing big fights early in the hope of becoming big news quickly. His first two wins both came against veterans at Light Heavyweight but the general view is that his natural weight is Middleweight, and he gradually move down to 160lbs as he gets closer and closer to big fights. In the other corner we get all action Mexican Jaime Munguia, a former WBO Light Middleweight champion who recently moved to Middleweight. Munguia is known as an all-action fighter, who will throw a lot of leather. He can be out boxed, as we saw against Dennis Hogan, but few will manage to match his out put, and it's that that he relies on to win bouts. With his output and durability being matched against the power and skills of Melikuziev we would expect a very exciting clash of styles, and the win would certainly end up taking shots on route to picking up a victory. Although lacking in terms of professional experience Melikuziev was a very accomplished amateur and has converted to the professional ranks with ease, looking like a natural. Munguia once looked like the next star of Mexican boxing but a few poor performances have seen fans cool on him quickly, and suggest that he's no longer improving. This would be a chance, on paper, for Melikuziev to score a win over former world champion, and get his name into the mix, or a chance for Munguia to show technical improvements against a former 2-time World Amateur Championship medal winner. No matter who wins we suspect this would be amazing to watch, and if it's delayed until later in the year in could have big stakes on the line, such as being a potential world title eliminator. (Image courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions and Olamsports) As we continue into new year we've had a big look at the current scene and come up with "20 fights we'd like to see in 2020", yeah another series ahead of the new decade! As is always the case with what we do, these articles will have an Asian flavour, and every bout we mention in the series will have at least 1 fighter from Asia involved. So for those of you expecting us to talk about Deontay Wilder Vs Anthony Joshua, that won't be listed. What we'll be looking at is well matched contests with either some form of back story, a great stylistic clash or bouts with some form of significant meaning. If they tick all the boxes then that is even better! Each fight will be given it's own article and each of these will come with an introduction to the fighters, and why the bout is being featured in the list. Fight #16 Yuki Beppu (21-1-1, 20) Vs Kudura Kaneko (11-0, 8) The Welterweight scene in Jappan doesn't get much attention, but last year it gave us a legitimate Fight of the Year contender, and whilst the talent isn't the best it does have a nice mix of fighters who all appear to be pretty evenly matched. It's this competitiveness that has made the division interesting to follow, without having a star to really create attention there. Today's bout looks an interesting match up that could take place in the coming year for a regional title and would promise to be a very interesting contest. The hard hitting Yuki Beppu has had a really interesting career. He debuted in 2012 and won the Rookie of the Year in 2014, scoring his his 8th straight early win in the All Japan final against Hironobu Matsunaga. His KO run extended until he was 14-0, and then fought to a draw with Charles Bellamy, proving that he could box as well as punch despite only managing a draw. A loss to Yuki Nagano in a Japanese title eliminator in 2018 slowed his ascent but just 14 months later he won the WBO Asia Pacific title, winning a sensational bout with Ryota Yada. That Yada bout was truly amazing, with Beppu pulling himself off the canvas 5 times before stopping a swollen and tired Yada, in a remarkable come from behind win. Japanese based Afghan born Welterweight Kudura Kaneko is relatively unknown, unless you follow the Japanese scene in depth, but has been quietly impressing over the last few years with wins against domestic foes like Masaharu Kaito, Change Hamashima, Toshio Arikawa, Rikuto Adachi and Moon Hyon Yun. The next step for him seems to be a title bout of some kind. The 21 year old Kaneko has really impressed and seems well on his way to winning major silverware, and a shot at the WBO Asia Pacific title seems like a logical choice. He is less experienced than Beppu, but like Beppu he's a strong boxer-puncher and given his recent form, his record isn't actually much behind that of Beppu, in terms of quality at least. This would be two talented boxer-punchers against each other. Beppu is probably the more explosive, but Kaneko cannot be over-looked and he is a big, strong, powerful kid who is probably the more polished boxer of the two men. Beppu would find himself up against a guy who can box well, and throws everything with natural power, whilst Kaneko would be up against someone who could hurt him, something we've yet to see any opponent do so far. This would be a very, very interesting, explosive and exciting match up, which genuinely could see Beppu build on his huge win over Yada or help Kaneko announce himself as a legitimate one to watch. (Images courtesy of boxmob.jp) As we head towards the new year we've had a big look at the current scene and come up with "20 fights we'd like to see in 2020", yeah another series ahead of the new decade! As is always the case with what we do, these articles will have an Asian flavour, and every bout we mention in the series will have at least 1 fighter from Asia involved. So for those of you expecting us to talk about Deontay Wilder Vs Anthony Joshua, that won't be listed. What we'll be looking at is well matched contests with either some form of back story, a great stylistic clash or bouts with some form of significant meaning. If they tick all the boxes then that is even better! Each fight will be given it's own article and each of these will come with an introduction to the fighters, and why the bout is being featured in the list. Fight #15 Kenshiro Teraji (17-0, 10) Vs Hiroto Kyoguchi (14-0, 9) The Light Flyweight division might go over looked by many fans in the West but it is among the deepest divisions in the sport right now, and the one that is screaming out for a WBSS style tournament putting all the top guys in against each other and seeing who comes out the blender on the other side. It has a great mix of fighters, styles and a lot of fighters who want to make a statement, and that is what we need to see more of. Sadly we've not had any unification bouts in a while, but the fighters all seem to be up for prove who's the best, and there's a chance we will see the top guys facing each other in 2020. With that in mind we have picked the division's dream bout here. Kenshiro Teraji, also known as Kenshiro by many fans, is the WBC champion and the longest reigning active champion in the division. The unbeaten 28 year old has held the title since May 2017, and although yet to unify had scored some genuinely top level wins, beating the likes of Ganigan Lopez, Pedro Guevara, Milan Melindo, Saul Juarez, Jonathan Taconing and Randy Petalcorin, whilst racking up 7 defenses. He had been pencilled in to unify just before Christmas by Felix Alvarado was forced to pull out of that bout. In the ring Kenshiro is a fantastic boxer-puncher and not only has one of the sports most under-rated jabs and body attacks, but also some of the smartest foot work in the game, dictating the distance brilliantly behind his feet, which allow him to set up his offence with ease. Hiroto Kyoguchi is currently enjoying a world title reign in his second weight class, and although he's looked solid at 108lbs, notably gate crashing the division with a stoppage against Hekkie Budler, he hasn't really built on his title win. Defenses against Satanmuanglek CP Freshmart and Tetsuya Hisada, are both decent but not the wins that will define a legacy, to do that Kyoguchi would need to beat another top name, and fighting Kenshiro would give him a chance to do that. At his best he's a physical pressure-boxer, with explosive combinations and under-rated skills, but we really don't quite know how good he's going to be at 108lbs until he faces another solid name, similar in stature to Budler. Standing toe-to-toe with Kyoguchi is generally a mistake, but when he's faced boxers his defensive flaws have been shown up, and he's still got some polishing to do before he really peaks. What we'd get here is an excellent boxer mover, in Kenshiro, who can stick a jab in the opponents face whilst on the move and switch to the body at any second, taking on a fantastic pressure fighter, who can box really well on the front foot. This would be a wonderful mix of styles, and it would also have a great backstory running through it due to the amateur rivalry the two had. It's not the only great bout that could be made at 108lbs, but to us it's the most interesting, by far. (Images courtesy of Watanabe Gym and Boxmob) As we head towards the new year we've had a big look at the current scene and come up with "20 fights we'd like to see in 2020", yeah another series ahead of the new decade! As is always the case with what we do, these articles will have an Asian flavour, and every bout we mention in the series will have at least 1 fighter from Asia involved. So for those of you expecting us to talk about Deontay Wilder Vs Anthony Joshua, that won't be listed. What we'll be looking at is well matched contests with either some form of back story, a great stylistic clash or bouts with some form of significant meaning. If they tick all the boxes then that is even better! Each fight will be given it's own article and each of these will come with an introduction to the fighters, and why the bout is being featured in the list. Fight #14 Can Xu (18-2, 3) Vs Josh Warrington (30-0, 7) We love chaos, we love high volume fighters and we love unification bouts. Few bouts tick those boxes as much as this potential Featherweight bout between two men who lack in terms of concussive power, but make for it in terms of volume, and willingness to let their hands go very freely. Given that one of the aims of this series is to talk about fights that would be exciting, we don't think we could come up with a more sure fire war than this one! In one corner is Chinese "Monster" Can Xu, a 25 year old who burst on to the scene in 2019 and wowed with his his incredible work rate. He shocked the division by out pointing Jesus M Rojas in January for the WBA "regular" title before making two defenses, against Shun Kubo and Manny Robles III. Xu is a willing participant in a fire fight, and is capable of throwing in excess of 1500 punches in a 12 round fight. On paper his KO rate suggests he lacks power, but the reality is that he hits hard enough to get respect, and often enough to keep that respect. In many ways he hurts people by simply wearing them out, and mentally defeats them as much as physically. Few will have the gas tank to keep up with him, and few will deter him from unleashing his whirlwind of shots In the other corner is Englishman Josh Warrington, the IBF champion and a man who has a solid following in the UK. Warrington won his title in May 2018 and has defended it against Carl Frampton, Kid Galahad and Sofiane Takoucht. Like Xu we've seen Warrington try to give the people counting punch numbers a heart attack with incredible volume and has proven to be capable of throwing a silly number of punches himself. He's got more experience and has fought better fighters than Xu, so will be full of confidence, though for the first time he would be in with someone who would be able to match in terms of volume, and that would be really interesting to see how he'd respond, especially given that Xu is the naturally bigger man. If this was made it would be incredible fun to watch. It would be very much like a fight from some sort of movie, with two men letting go of shots incredibly freely. Compubox, or whichever system is employed to count the punches thrown, would likely see their operators want to find a new job afterwards. They would be two men unleashing a non-stop fury of punches at each other at close to mid range and would be a clear Fight of the Year contender. If we got this one we suspect that we'll have something we'll be talking about for years afterwards. At the moment it seems like Warrington is eyeing a fight with Shakur Stevenson, but if that falls though sign us up for this one! As we head towards the new year we've had a big look at the current scene and come up with "20 fights we'd like to see in 2020", yeah another series ahead of the new decade! As is always the case with what we do, these articles will have an Asian flavour, and every bout we mention in the series will have at least 1 fighter from Asia involved. So for those of you expecting us to talk about Deontay Wilder Vs Anthony Joshua, that won't be listed. What we'll be looking at is well matched contests with either some form of back story, a great stylistic clash or bouts with some form of significant meaning. If they tick all the boxes then that is even better! Each fight will be given it's own article and each of these will come with an introduction to the fighters, and why the bout is being featured in the list. Fight #12 Wilfredo Mendez (15-1, 5) Vs Hasanboy Dusmatov (1-0, 1) We love history and we love records, and when historical records can be broken, we get excited. Here we look at a potential bout that could see a long standing historical record be broken, if the bout can be made. And we truly believe that if the bout is indeed made, a record, which has stood for over 44 years, could be broken! Of course the bout isn't a given, but it's something that certainly needs to be thought about by at least one of the two teams in the potential match us. The 23 year old Wilfredo Mendez is a talented Puerto Rican boxer who claimed the WBO Minimumweight title last year with a win over Vic Saludar. That was the third of 4 wins for Saludar in 2019, when also defended the title 2 months later, with a narrow technical decision against Mexican teenager Axel Aragon Vega. Although talented Mendez is light hitting, posses little real threat to an opponent and relies on his speed and movement, rather than anything physical. He's talented but we can't help thinking that the title will be a target for all emerging fighters at 105lbs who will be licking their lips and seeing him as the low hanging fruit in the division. In steps 2016 Olympic gold medal winner Hasanboy Dusmatov, who made his professional debut in November 2019, when he almost gutted Jesus Cervantes Villanueva. Dusmatov, from Uzbekistan is a special talent, a sharp shooting southpaw who was a sensational amateur, and is now looking at being fast tracked as a professional. There were rumours in the Uzbek press of him wanting a world title fight on debut, though that never came to fruition. Now the talk is that he wants to fight WBA champion Knockout CP Freshmart in his third or fourth professional bout. There is nothing bad with that idea, though the reality is that he could, potentially, pick up the WBO title in his second, then even unify with Knockout later in the year. If Dusmatov can get Mendez in the ring we have no concerns at all about the Uzbek being too good for the Puerto Rican, and doing that in just his second fight would be a huge statement of intent. It would set a male record for fewest fights to a world title, and could well set the record for least time from debut to a world title as well. It would also see him being among the first of this new Uzbek wave of fighters to reach the top. Technically the fight wouldn't be the best. We're next sure if Mendez will ever be in a fun to watch bout. But it would be an historic one, and for that we suggest they get this one made and give us all a slice of boxing history. Dusmatov's team should do all they can to secure this, and to get their man in to the history books in a way that few have ever attempted! If successful Dusmatov would break the 1975 record of Saensak Muangsurin, who won his first world title in fight #3, a record that Vasyl Lomachenko matched 2014! As we head towards the new year we've had a big look at the current scene and come up with "20 fights we'd like to see in 2020", yeah another series ahead of the new decade! As is always the case with what we do, these articles will have an Asian flavour, and every bout we mention in the series will have at least 1 fighter from Asia involved. So for those of you expecting us to talk about Deontay Wilder Vs Anthony Joshua, that won't be listed. What we'll be looking at is well matched contests with either some form of back story, a great stylistic clash or bouts with some form of significant meaning. If they tick all the boxes then that is even better! Each fight will be given it's own article and each of these will come with an introduction to the fighters, and why the bout is being featured in the list. Fight #11 Shohjahon Ergashev (17-0, 15) vs Zhankosh Turarov (24-0, 17) All Central Asian bouts don't seem to be a common thing, sadly, but on paper they could make for some really interesting fights, as they often do in the amateurs. In the unpaid ranks Uzbekistan Vs Kazakhstan is a regular sight, often in medal bouts, and the winners often walk away with not only a medal but also a huge glowing boost of national pride. We'd love to see a lot more of those types of bouts in the professional ranks, and today's fight is one such example! Heavy handed Uzbek southpaw Shohjahon Ergashev is certainly not a fighter many would rave out in terms of skills, but in terms of aggression, power and excitement he is brilliant value. We've seen him struggle against boxers, but anyone who stays and has a fight with him can quickly find themselves in trouble. In 2020 we want to see him tested, and we want to see him in interesting bouts. We know that Salita promotions has some interesting plans for him, but we dare saw we have the perfect bout for him here against another unbeaten Central Asian fighter with ambitions of their own. Unbeaten Kazakh Zhankosh Turarov was once on the verge of a world title fight before his career got derailed by recurring injuries. He returned to action in 2019 and took two rather meaningless wins to get some moment going in his career, whilst beginning a run at Lught Welterweight. At 29 years old, and with his history of injuries, he really can't continue wasting time. Intead he needs a bout that can help shoot him towards a world title bout, and a win over Ergashev would do that. In fact we believe a bout against Ergashev would get the best out of Turarov, and vice verse with Ergashev needing to up performance to have a chance with the talented Kazakh. In terms of selling this bout in the West, it wouldn't be impossible, but it may be easier to actually sell it in Asia it's self, with MTK, who handle Turarov, running shows in Kazakhstan. If they can get one of the world title bodies to accept the fight as a world title eliminator it would give both teams a reason to say yes, it would give the fighters a fight with meaning and a hot crowd. The action may not be the tidiest, with Ergashev fights often being messy if he can't blast his opponents out in a round or two, but the between the moments of messiness we would expect a hotly contested fight that could end at any moment. This would be a gut check for both, it was be a test for both and it would be exactly what both men need ahead of a bigger fight for a world title. As we head towards the new year we've had a big look at the current scene and come up with "20 fights we'd like to see in 2020", yeah another series ahead of the new decade! As is always the case with what we do, these articles will have an Asian flavour, and every bout we mention in the series will have at least 1 fighter from Asia involved. So for those of you expecting us to talk about Deontay Wilder Vs Anthony Joshua, that won't be listed. What we'll be looking at is well matched contests with either some form of back story, a great stylistic clash or bouts with some form of significant meaning. If they tick all the boxes then that is even better! Each fight will be given it's own article and each of these will come with an introduction to the fighters, and why the bout is being featured in the list. Fight #10 Wanheng Menayothin (54-0, 18) Vs Ginjiro Shigeoka (5-0, 4) The Minimumweight division seemed to be on standstill for much of 2019 with the two longest reigning champions really....not doing much. The WBO title was fought for a few times but hardly set the world on fire and IBF title was vacated before Pedro Taduran claimed it in the summer, then sat on it and didn't do anything with it. We expect changes in 2020 and there are 3 very notable novices sniffing big chances in the new year. Here we look at one of those novices, and a bout against the longest reigning male world champion currently in the sport! Wanheng Menayothin, the man who broke Floyd Mayweather's 50-0 record, may not be well known in the west but the Thai is a solid fighter. His 54-0 record might not be the strongest record out there, but he's managed to run up 12 defenses and is actually a very good fighter, even if his performances are inconsistent at times. During his reign he has beaten a mix of world class challengers, like Tatsuya Fukuhara, Simpiwe Konkco and Pedro Taduran, as well as lesser challengers, like Go Odaira and Jerry Tomogdan. A lack of unification bouts has hurt his career, but at 34 it's now likely too late for him to land the divisional super fights, and it may be best for his career to repeal the next generation of fighters. Score wins that will age well, if you will. In Ginjiro Shigeoka Japanese boxing has a fast tracked sensation. The 20 year old boxer-puncher has been a sensation since turning professional in 2018 and has made it clear that he wants to fight for a world title as soon as possible. At the end of 2019 he became only the second man to stop Rey Loreto and a that win, although tough, would likely have helped solidify his belief that he's ready for a world title fight. Stylistically the champion that makes the most sense for him to fight would maybe not be Wanheng, but if he wishes to make the biggest splash, which he appears to want to do, then there probably isn't a better option for him than the unbeaten Thai. The match up would pit a defensively sound, sharp combination punching Thai veteran, who turns 35 in October, against a young sharp prodigy who is lightning quick, bullish strong and full of confidence. It would, on paper, be either a passing of the torch fight for the Minimumweight division or an old lion repelling the challenge of a young cub, too eager to make his mark. Either way the bout would have real intrigue. Whilst this bout likely wouldn't occur early in the year, there's no reason this couldn't be set up for later in 2020, potentially after both men have fit in a bout earlier in the year, moving to 55-0 and 5-0. Both men seem to want an international bout, so maybe even popping this on the lower end of a DAZN card Stateside wouldn't be impossible either, given that Wanheng has signed with Golden Boy Promotions. |
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March 2024
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