In the western world boxing seems to
take a break over the Christmas and New Year period however in Japan
New Year is a whole different ball game with an amazing 5 world title
fights all on the New Years Eve. For me personally the stand out of
those fights is the WBA Featherweight bout between regular champion
Takashi Uchiyama (18-0-1, 15) and former interim champion Bryan
Vasquez (29-0, 15).
Of the two fighters it's the Japanese champion who is much higher regarded than the challenger with some regarding him as one of the hardest punchers pound-for-pound in the sport. Although aged 33 Uchiyama is actually a very young 33 with just 118 rounds under his belt (around 6 rounds a fight) thanks to his fearsome power which has seen him move in to the top spot at 130lbs.
Whilst not well known in the west Uchiyama has a very respectable record with victories over proven world class fighters such as Juan Carlos Salgado and Jorge Solis as well as solid rivals like Takashi Miura and Roy Mukhlis. Though maybe the most telling thing on his record in regards to his up coming fight is the 3rd round technical draw he suffered last time out at the hands of tough Filipino Michael Farenas, who recently gave Yuriorkis Gamboa a tougher than expected bout. That bout saw a clash of heads opening up a nasty cut around Uchiyama's eye that may not have fully healed.
As well as being hard hitting Uchiyama is also very fun to watch. He's not the slickest and he can be drawn in to a tear up, however with his power he always has the ability to end the fight at any moment, a trait that everyone at 130lbs needs to be fully aware of.
Whilst we know enough about Uchiyama to make an opinion that he's a top guy at the weight, we really don't know a lot about Costa Rican Bryan Vasquez who despite his long unbeaten record really hasn't faced anyone of note. In fact the best victory on the record of the 25 year old challenger came last time out against Jorge Lacierva who had previously challenger for silverware way down at 115lbs.
Despite not being really known about, Vasquez has actually looked like a “decent” fighter with good all round skills and respectable speed, though his lack of power is a trait that does stand out as being a key weakness. Although his record is littered with opening round wins (7) they have come at a very low level with no noteworthy stoppages other than the one against Lacierva (who interestingly had only been stopped once in his previous 55 bouts). This will be a real problem again Uchiyama who will try to establish his type of fight and try to land his booming shots.
For me the class and power difference as well as home field advantage should be far more than enough to see a clear winner. I imagine Vasquez will be game but out classed in the early rounds before fading in the second half and getting stopping by Uchiyama's very hurtful power.
Prediction-Uchiyama TKO8
Of the two fighters it's the Japanese champion who is much higher regarded than the challenger with some regarding him as one of the hardest punchers pound-for-pound in the sport. Although aged 33 Uchiyama is actually a very young 33 with just 118 rounds under his belt (around 6 rounds a fight) thanks to his fearsome power which has seen him move in to the top spot at 130lbs.
Whilst not well known in the west Uchiyama has a very respectable record with victories over proven world class fighters such as Juan Carlos Salgado and Jorge Solis as well as solid rivals like Takashi Miura and Roy Mukhlis. Though maybe the most telling thing on his record in regards to his up coming fight is the 3rd round technical draw he suffered last time out at the hands of tough Filipino Michael Farenas, who recently gave Yuriorkis Gamboa a tougher than expected bout. That bout saw a clash of heads opening up a nasty cut around Uchiyama's eye that may not have fully healed.
As well as being hard hitting Uchiyama is also very fun to watch. He's not the slickest and he can be drawn in to a tear up, however with his power he always has the ability to end the fight at any moment, a trait that everyone at 130lbs needs to be fully aware of.
Whilst we know enough about Uchiyama to make an opinion that he's a top guy at the weight, we really don't know a lot about Costa Rican Bryan Vasquez who despite his long unbeaten record really hasn't faced anyone of note. In fact the best victory on the record of the 25 year old challenger came last time out against Jorge Lacierva who had previously challenger for silverware way down at 115lbs.
Despite not being really known about, Vasquez has actually looked like a “decent” fighter with good all round skills and respectable speed, though his lack of power is a trait that does stand out as being a key weakness. Although his record is littered with opening round wins (7) they have come at a very low level with no noteworthy stoppages other than the one against Lacierva (who interestingly had only been stopped once in his previous 55 bouts). This will be a real problem again Uchiyama who will try to establish his type of fight and try to land his booming shots.
For me the class and power difference as well as home field advantage should be far more than enough to see a clear winner. I imagine Vasquez will be game but out classed in the early rounds before fading in the second half and getting stopping by Uchiyama's very hurtful power.
Prediction-Uchiyama TKO8
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