Japan's only 3-weight world champion Koki Kameda (30-1, 17) looks to make the 7th defense of the WBA Bantamweight title that he claimed back in December 2010. Kameda will be facing Filipino challenger John Mark Apolinario (17-2-3, 4) who is getting his third bite at a "world title" in as many fights.
Apolinario will be a recognisable name to those who have been visiting this site over the past year. He has twice faced, and drawn with, Roberto Vasquez in successive bouts for the WBA "interim" Bantamweight title.
Sadly for Apolinario the only bouts of any note on his record are those draws with Vasquez, unless you include his bout with Menard Zaragosa who left the ring to answer the call of nature, which lets be honest many felt he lost.
What the 23 year old Filipino does bring to the ring is toughness-having not been stopped since he was a 19 year old, heart and as always with Filipino's, the hunger to win. He may not have the greatest of power or even the greatest of skills but he's unwilling to be intimidated and will always try to be competitive despite his limitations.
In the champion, Koki, we have a man who widely splits opinion. To some he is the most interesting fighter in the East with his arrogance, loud mouth and general attitude. To others Koki is little more than a fortunate fighter who is comparable to some one like Sven Ottke, a paper champion who has been matched easily, kept at home and been given highly questionable decisions.
Whilst Kameda may be a 3-weigth world champion his reigns have never been that great. His first title, the WBA Light Flyweight title, was won on a highly controversial decision over Juan Jose Landaeta, his second title, the WBC Flyweight title, was lost on his first defense and his reign as WBA Bantamweight champion is one of the most controversial current reigns.
As the WBA Bantamweight champion Kameda has been fortunate to claim victories over David De La Mora, Hugo Ruiz and Panomroonglek Kaiyanghadaogym. That's half of his defense of the title.
Despite the controversy that is eternally linked with Kameda he is a genuinely talented fighter. Defensively he is sound, perhaps a little too much at times, he's offensively smart with quick hands a lovely straight left and whilst he doesn't have concussive power (at least not at 118) he's a clean puncher who does hurt when he lands.
Due to the lack of power of Apolinario I really can't see how he can upset Kameda. Kameda is more skilled, he's at home and he's actually "not that bad". Sure he's not genuine "world class" at Bantamweight (in fact he may only be the fourth best in Japan) and his title may be an alphabet one (due to Anselmo Moreno being the true WBA champion at the weight) but he's not a terrible fighter.
Kameda should certainly have more than enough in the locker to overcome Apolinario, in fact he should really in this at a canter. Although Apolinario is tough I can actually see Kameda wanting to put on a show late and force a stoppage especially given the poor performance against Kaiyanghadaogym, a performance that Kameda actually apologised for.
Prediction-Kameds TKO10
Showing posts with label John Mark Apolinario. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Mark Apolinario. Show all posts
Sunday, 21 July 2013
Friday, 15 March 2013
Roberto Vasquez v John Mark Apolinario II
Panamanian Roberto Vasquez (32-5-1, 22) and Filipino John Mark Apolinaro (17-2-2, 4) meet for the second time in a little over 4 months after fighting to a draw in November 2012. Like in their first fight the men will be battling for the WBA "interim" Bantamweight title though unlike last time, they will be fighting in Vasquez's native Panama as opposed to the more neutral Argentina (where their first fight was).
Going in to their first bout I felt Vasquez would simply have too much experience and skill for the untested Apolinario who in all honesty had never fought at Vasquez's level before. In fact Apolinario's losses to Marvin Tampus and Jessie Albaracin were pretty damning results in my eyes, despite this however Apolinario put on the performance of his life and held Vasquez in a hard fought bout.
This time I think Vasquez will know what to expect from the young Filipino and, roared on by the Panamanian fans I think he'll raise his game. Whilst Apolinario fought his best fight last time I don't think Vazquez did and although Apolinaio is the naturally bigger man the experience edge and home advantage makes it hard not to favour Vasquez again this time around.
Going in to their first bout I felt Vasquez would simply have too much experience and skill for the untested Apolinario who in all honesty had never fought at Vasquez's level before. In fact Apolinario's losses to Marvin Tampus and Jessie Albaracin were pretty damning results in my eyes, despite this however Apolinario put on the performance of his life and held Vasquez in a hard fought bout.
This time I think Vasquez will know what to expect from the young Filipino and, roared on by the Panamanian fans I think he'll raise his game. Whilst Apolinario fought his best fight last time I don't think Vazquez did and although Apolinaio is the naturally bigger man the experience edge and home advantage makes it hard not to favour Vasquez again this time around.
Thursday, 1 November 2012
Roberto Vasquez v John Mark Apolinario
This weekends most "overlooked" title fight is the WBA "interim" Bantamweight title bout between Panamanian Roberto Vasquez (32-5, 22) and Filipino John Mark Apolinario (17-2-1, 4), that is scheduled to take place in the Argentinian city of Colón. As with many "interim" title bouts, the fight really lacks too much to get excited about, however could it be a sleeper classic?
With the belt being a vacant one, both men are challenger, however one man has a bit more pedigree to than the other, in fact poor John Mark Apolinario is so unknown that...well I'd never heard of him (or most of his opponents) until I saw this bout listed. So lets look at him first.
Aged 22 the Filipino challenger John Mark Apolinario has been a professional for almost 6 years (making his debut on November 25th 2006) and since then has compiled a list of fights against very limited opposition.
Apolinario's career started well as he ran up 11 straight wins in the first 15 months of his career before suffering a loss to the novice Jessie Albaracin (who would later go on to claim the WBO Oriental Super Bantamweight title). Sadly for Apolinario this loss soon put the breaks on his rapid climb up the rankings and a year later his record fell to 12-2 as he suffered a stoppage loss to Marvin Tampus.
Since the loss to Tampus, Apolinario's career has recovered somewhat with a several wins, including a notable one in 2010 which saw him claiming his first professional title, the WBO Oriental Super Flyweight title. As well as the wins Apolinario also has a draw on his record, coming in November 2010 to the tough Armando Casa.
Whilst the highlight of Apolinario's career so far may have been the WBO Oriental Super Flyweight title fight, the most interesting thing about his record was actually his last fight. Last time out Apolinario scored a 2nd round TKO over Menard Zaragosa...who had to run off to the toilet forcing the referee to end the bout whilst Zaragosa, relieved himself. Worryingly however this means Apolinario has only fought 2 rounds in the last year and in fact Apolinario has only fought 12 rounds (2 bouts) in the past 24 months!
From what I can see with Apolinario we have an inactive fighter, who lacks any power and has only really been beating very low level domestic opponents. It's with good reason that Boxrec.com rate him as the 71st Bantamweight on the planet (the 12th in his homeland!) and whilst I'll admit I've not seen footage of him, it's fair to say that he's not fought the competition with which to really create a true opinion of just how good he actually is. The lost to Tampus, his most notable opponent so far is perhaps the most telling result with Tampus himself losing 7 of 13 since then.
With the Filipino being pretty unknown it's fair to admit that the co-challenger Roberto Vasquez is much more known and well respected. The 29 year old Panamanian has been a professional for over 11 years and despite starting his career with a loss (a controversial one to Angelo Dottin) he has really forged a solid record.
After losing his debut on points, Vasquez would go 6 years before suffering his next loss. In that time he would record 23 straight victories including 16 by T/KO. Vasquez wasn't just beating scrubs though, he was quickly rising through the rankings and stopping the likes of Beibis Mendoza to claim the WBA World Light Flyweight title, a title he would defend 3 times before moving up to Flyweight.
After moving up to Flyweight in 2006 Vasquez swiftly moved on to the title scene and claimed the interim WBA World Flyweight title thanks to a victory over Japanese fighter Takefumi Sakata. Sadly a rematch the following year saw Sakata earn some measure of revenge by defeating Vasquez to end the Panamanian's long unbeaten run.
Since losing to Sakata, Vasquez has had mixed fortune winning 8 of his subsequent 11 bouts. Whilst his wins have come at a "lesser" level two of his losses have come at the highest level thanks to Hugo Fidel Cazares and Drian Francisco, however his most recent loss, to Oscar Gonzalez is highly debatable.
Vasquez is currently on a 2 fight winning streak, including a notable victory over Mario Briones, however both of those fights too place well above the Bantamweight limit. It's fair to assume that that if Vasquez has any real problem with this bout, it may well be in making the 118lbs limit as I don't think Apolinario will have anything to worry Vasquez.
In terms of Vasquez as a fighter, the southpaw is a hard hitting fighter who despite having been down a number of times in his career is durable with only the monstrously hard hitting Drian Francisco managing to stop him. It's fair to say that Vasquez will bring the pressure here and look to take Apolinario out within 6 rounds, he certainly has the power to do it and certainly has the experience to know that Apolinario isn't going to be able to throw anything new at him.
Prediction-Vasquez TKO5
With the belt being a vacant one, both men are challenger, however one man has a bit more pedigree to than the other, in fact poor John Mark Apolinario is so unknown that...well I'd never heard of him (or most of his opponents) until I saw this bout listed. So lets look at him first.
Aged 22 the Filipino challenger John Mark Apolinario has been a professional for almost 6 years (making his debut on November 25th 2006) and since then has compiled a list of fights against very limited opposition.
Apolinario's career started well as he ran up 11 straight wins in the first 15 months of his career before suffering a loss to the novice Jessie Albaracin (who would later go on to claim the WBO Oriental Super Bantamweight title). Sadly for Apolinario this loss soon put the breaks on his rapid climb up the rankings and a year later his record fell to 12-2 as he suffered a stoppage loss to Marvin Tampus.
Since the loss to Tampus, Apolinario's career has recovered somewhat with a several wins, including a notable one in 2010 which saw him claiming his first professional title, the WBO Oriental Super Flyweight title. As well as the wins Apolinario also has a draw on his record, coming in November 2010 to the tough Armando Casa.
Whilst the highlight of Apolinario's career so far may have been the WBO Oriental Super Flyweight title fight, the most interesting thing about his record was actually his last fight. Last time out Apolinario scored a 2nd round TKO over Menard Zaragosa...who had to run off to the toilet forcing the referee to end the bout whilst Zaragosa, relieved himself. Worryingly however this means Apolinario has only fought 2 rounds in the last year and in fact Apolinario has only fought 12 rounds (2 bouts) in the past 24 months!
From what I can see with Apolinario we have an inactive fighter, who lacks any power and has only really been beating very low level domestic opponents. It's with good reason that Boxrec.com rate him as the 71st Bantamweight on the planet (the 12th in his homeland!) and whilst I'll admit I've not seen footage of him, it's fair to say that he's not fought the competition with which to really create a true opinion of just how good he actually is. The lost to Tampus, his most notable opponent so far is perhaps the most telling result with Tampus himself losing 7 of 13 since then.
With the Filipino being pretty unknown it's fair to admit that the co-challenger Roberto Vasquez is much more known and well respected. The 29 year old Panamanian has been a professional for over 11 years and despite starting his career with a loss (a controversial one to Angelo Dottin) he has really forged a solid record.
After losing his debut on points, Vasquez would go 6 years before suffering his next loss. In that time he would record 23 straight victories including 16 by T/KO. Vasquez wasn't just beating scrubs though, he was quickly rising through the rankings and stopping the likes of Beibis Mendoza to claim the WBA World Light Flyweight title, a title he would defend 3 times before moving up to Flyweight.
After moving up to Flyweight in 2006 Vasquez swiftly moved on to the title scene and claimed the interim WBA World Flyweight title thanks to a victory over Japanese fighter Takefumi Sakata. Sadly a rematch the following year saw Sakata earn some measure of revenge by defeating Vasquez to end the Panamanian's long unbeaten run.
Since losing to Sakata, Vasquez has had mixed fortune winning 8 of his subsequent 11 bouts. Whilst his wins have come at a "lesser" level two of his losses have come at the highest level thanks to Hugo Fidel Cazares and Drian Francisco, however his most recent loss, to Oscar Gonzalez is highly debatable.
Vasquez is currently on a 2 fight winning streak, including a notable victory over Mario Briones, however both of those fights too place well above the Bantamweight limit. It's fair to assume that that if Vasquez has any real problem with this bout, it may well be in making the 118lbs limit as I don't think Apolinario will have anything to worry Vasquez.
In terms of Vasquez as a fighter, the southpaw is a hard hitting fighter who despite having been down a number of times in his career is durable with only the monstrously hard hitting Drian Francisco managing to stop him. It's fair to say that Vasquez will bring the pressure here and look to take Apolinario out within 6 rounds, he certainly has the power to do it and certainly has the experience to know that Apolinario isn't going to be able to throw anything new at him.
Prediction-Vasquez TKO5
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