This weekend is awash with major fights across the world but the one that stands out for me is in Japan on Friday as WBC Flyweight champion Akira Yaegashi (18-3, 9) defends his title for the second time. Yaegashi, a former Minimumweight champion and current Flyweight champion, takes on Mexican Edgar Sosa (49-7, 29) a man who was a former stand out at Light Flyweight.
Yaegashi has quickly become one of my favourite fighters. He's a certified warrior who goes to war on a regular basis and seems unhappy when fights don't result in both men landing bombs on each other. Thankfully Sosa, at his best, is a similar sort of fighter. Sosa is more rounded as a boxer with better straight shots, but on the flip side Yeagashi seems to have a way to turn fights into wars.
Sosa, at his best was a phenomenal Light Flyweight who boxed excellently, could hold his own in a war and at one point was on the verges of the pound-for-pound lists. That came to an end when Sosa was beaten in a highly controversial bout with Rodel Mayol, a bout saw Mayol headbutting Sosa and breaking his nose before stopping him.
Following the loss to Mayol we've seen Sosa moving to Flyweight. At 112lbs we've seen him fall short against Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, though that was 2 years ago and since then he has scored notable victories over Ulises Solis and Giovani Segura. Those two victories have seen Sosa working his way to this world title fight and really have a year to remember, just as many were about to write him off.
Going in to this fight I think if Sosa loses it's the end of his career. He's had 46 fights already, he's 34, has 415 rounds and has been a professional for over 13 years. That type of career takes a lot out of a fighter and Sosa isn't the fighter he once was. He may well have some of the traits that made him so good but he's not that fighter.
The biggest problem for Yaegashi will be getting around the reach of Sosa. Sosa holds a major reach advantage and if he can use that to establish his jab then Yaegashi will really struggle. Saying that however I think Yaegashi will manage to get inside and turn this into a toe-to-toe brawl and if he can then this has FOTY contender written all over it.
If Yaegashi can't cut the range then this will be a long night for the champion and the title will be changing hands, saying that though I do think Yaegashi will be able to inside and we'll have a fight that no fan should miss.
Prediction-Yaegashi UD12 (Close)
Showing posts with label WBC Flyweight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WBC Flyweight. Show all posts
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
Sunday, 11 August 2013
Akira Yaegashi v Oscar Blanquet
One of my favourite fighters right now is Akira Yaegashi (17-3, 9) who is with out a doubt one of the most fun to watch fighters in the sport. Yaegashi is not just fun to watch however but he is also incredibly talented ans is a former WBA Minimumweight champion and the reigning WBC and Linear Flyweight champion.
It's those Flyweight titles that Yegashi defends for the first time this coming week as he takes on Mexican challenger Oscar Blanquet (32-5-1, 23).
Yaegashi is a true warrior who gets in the ring and looks for a fight. He won't run if an opponent hits him, he won't try to avoid a tear up and although he can box he seems to know that his best weapons are his work rate, toughness and ability to turn almost any fight into a war.
It's the ability to have a war that has helped make Yaegashi such a cult fighter. His 2011 battle with Pornsawan Porpramook was arguably the fight of the year, his 2012 bout with Kazuto Ioka was absolutely breath taking and his 2013 fight with Toshiyuki Igarashi was again something special. Those 3 bouts have really turned Yaegashi into a lower-weight fan favourite.
Despite his ability to make a war with anyone Yaegashi doesn't have huge fire power. He's not going to knock anyone out with a single shot. In fact Yaegashi has only stopped 2 of his last 8 opponents. Though what he lacks in power he makes up for in heart and energy. He's relentless on offense, tough in defense and has an insatiable appetite for victory.
Not many "world champions" deserve an easy fight. Carl Froch is one, Abner Mares another and, in my mind, Akira Yaegashi is another considering the opponents he has fought in 3 of his last 4 bouts. It's fair to say that Blanquet, despite his record, is an easier opponent.
The 28 year old Mexican, who has been a professional for a little over 10 years is with out a genuine world class victory on his record. He has fought a real mixed bag of opponents though the one standout guy was Ricardo Nunez who stopped Blanquet in 7 rounds back in 2011. Aside from Nunez the best opponents are Wilbert Uicab, who defeated Blanquet in his last bout.
On the Mexican domestic scene Blanquet is a hard hitter, though above the Mexican domestic level it doesn't seem like he has any real power. Certainly not the sort of power than would make Yaegashi turn to plan B, or in fact discourage the Japanese fighter in anyway at all.
Against a fighter unable to hurt him or out maneuver him, Yaegashi is scary fighter. In this particular bout I can't imagine anything but a marauding Yaegashi steam rollering forward from the off with the intention to break Blanquet either physically or mentally.
Whether Blanquet sees the final bell or not is the only real question here. My guess is that he doesn't, he eventually wilts under the onslaught of the Japanese fighter and Yaegashi successfully makes the first defense of his Flyweight titles. He could survive, but I'm doubting it.
Prediction-Yaegashi TKO10
It's those Flyweight titles that Yegashi defends for the first time this coming week as he takes on Mexican challenger Oscar Blanquet (32-5-1, 23).
Yaegashi is a true warrior who gets in the ring and looks for a fight. He won't run if an opponent hits him, he won't try to avoid a tear up and although he can box he seems to know that his best weapons are his work rate, toughness and ability to turn almost any fight into a war.
It's the ability to have a war that has helped make Yaegashi such a cult fighter. His 2011 battle with Pornsawan Porpramook was arguably the fight of the year, his 2012 bout with Kazuto Ioka was absolutely breath taking and his 2013 fight with Toshiyuki Igarashi was again something special. Those 3 bouts have really turned Yaegashi into a lower-weight fan favourite.
Despite his ability to make a war with anyone Yaegashi doesn't have huge fire power. He's not going to knock anyone out with a single shot. In fact Yaegashi has only stopped 2 of his last 8 opponents. Though what he lacks in power he makes up for in heart and energy. He's relentless on offense, tough in defense and has an insatiable appetite for victory.
Not many "world champions" deserve an easy fight. Carl Froch is one, Abner Mares another and, in my mind, Akira Yaegashi is another considering the opponents he has fought in 3 of his last 4 bouts. It's fair to say that Blanquet, despite his record, is an easier opponent.
The 28 year old Mexican, who has been a professional for a little over 10 years is with out a genuine world class victory on his record. He has fought a real mixed bag of opponents though the one standout guy was Ricardo Nunez who stopped Blanquet in 7 rounds back in 2011. Aside from Nunez the best opponents are Wilbert Uicab, who defeated Blanquet in his last bout.
On the Mexican domestic scene Blanquet is a hard hitter, though above the Mexican domestic level it doesn't seem like he has any real power. Certainly not the sort of power than would make Yaegashi turn to plan B, or in fact discourage the Japanese fighter in anyway at all.
Against a fighter unable to hurt him or out maneuver him, Yaegashi is scary fighter. In this particular bout I can't imagine anything but a marauding Yaegashi steam rollering forward from the off with the intention to break Blanquet either physically or mentally.
Whether Blanquet sees the final bell or not is the only real question here. My guess is that he doesn't, he eventually wilts under the onslaught of the Japanese fighter and Yaegashi successfully makes the first defense of his Flyweight titles. He could survive, but I'm doubting it.
Prediction-Yaegashi TKO10
Sunday, 7 April 2013
Toshiyuki Igarashi v Akira Yaegashi
After yesterday's upset with Juan Francisco Estrada defeating Brian Viloria for the WBO and WBA "super" titles at Flyweight we now see WBC champion Toshiyuki Igarashi (17-1-1, 10) attempt to avoid a similar fate when he faces former WBA Minimumweight champion Akira Yaegashi (16-3, 9) in an enticing all Japanese dust up.
Going in to the bout Igarashi is not only the WBC champion but also the Linear champion and the bigger man being a natural at Flyweight. He's not only the naturally heavier man but he also has height and reach advantages over Yaegashi as well as a being a year younger and a southpaw. Despite this however there are plenty of question marks over Igarashi who has defended his belt once.
The champion has been a professional since 2006 and has rebuilt his career well since suffering his lone defeat, a decision loss in 2008 to Tomonobu Shimizu. He has claimed both the Japanese and WBC titles at Flyweight over the past 2 and a bit years and scored notable wins over Wilbert Uicab and Sonny Boy Jaro as well as a title defense over Argentinian Nestor Daniel Narvaes (the younger brother of Omar Andres Narvaez).
Igarashi is a good boxer, he uses he feet well and can box from a distance with his sharp long shots that he bounced of Jaro's head last year. Sadly up close Igarashi can be dragged in to a war and notably in his last 4 bouts he has struggled over the finishing line as his lack of power has failed to keep opponents at bay, in fact opponents have been giving him a real nightmare time and time again. That's not to say Igarashi has no power, but it's certainly not world level power and his last stoppage came 2 years ago against Takayasu Kobayashi who had been stopped 3 times previously.
Igarashi goes into this bout as a small favourite though that's more down to the fact he's a natural Flyweight. Yaegashi, jumping up from Minimumweight however is worthy of a small bet if you can find anyone with odds available on the bout.
Like Igarashi he's a tough fighter, in fact Yaegashi may well be one of the toughest men in the sport. He's never been stopped in a career that dates back to 2005 and has featured memorable bouts against Pornsawan Porpramook and Kazuto Ioka (both FOTY candidates for their respective years). Unlike Igarashi however I feel Yaegashi prefers a war to a boxing contest and if he can cut the distance on any opponent he will give them a real nightmare with his toughness and relentless work rate which is designed to break fighters down (as he did against Porpramook).
If a fighter can keep Yaegashi at range I think they could beat him relatively easily, but keeping him at range is much easier said than done, in fact at the moment I don't think any fighter could keep Yaegashi at range.
For me I can't see Igarashi keeping Yaegashi off him and I think up close it's a no contest, Yaegashi's work rate will simply swamp the more technically skilled fighter. Igarashi may have some success but I think Yaegashi will put on a performance similar to that of Katsunari Takayama recently with his work rate just being too much for his opponent.
Prediction-Yaegashi UD12
Going in to the bout Igarashi is not only the WBC champion but also the Linear champion and the bigger man being a natural at Flyweight. He's not only the naturally heavier man but he also has height and reach advantages over Yaegashi as well as a being a year younger and a southpaw. Despite this however there are plenty of question marks over Igarashi who has defended his belt once.
The champion has been a professional since 2006 and has rebuilt his career well since suffering his lone defeat, a decision loss in 2008 to Tomonobu Shimizu. He has claimed both the Japanese and WBC titles at Flyweight over the past 2 and a bit years and scored notable wins over Wilbert Uicab and Sonny Boy Jaro as well as a title defense over Argentinian Nestor Daniel Narvaes (the younger brother of Omar Andres Narvaez).
Igarashi is a good boxer, he uses he feet well and can box from a distance with his sharp long shots that he bounced of Jaro's head last year. Sadly up close Igarashi can be dragged in to a war and notably in his last 4 bouts he has struggled over the finishing line as his lack of power has failed to keep opponents at bay, in fact opponents have been giving him a real nightmare time and time again. That's not to say Igarashi has no power, but it's certainly not world level power and his last stoppage came 2 years ago against Takayasu Kobayashi who had been stopped 3 times previously.
Igarashi goes into this bout as a small favourite though that's more down to the fact he's a natural Flyweight. Yaegashi, jumping up from Minimumweight however is worthy of a small bet if you can find anyone with odds available on the bout.
Like Igarashi he's a tough fighter, in fact Yaegashi may well be one of the toughest men in the sport. He's never been stopped in a career that dates back to 2005 and has featured memorable bouts against Pornsawan Porpramook and Kazuto Ioka (both FOTY candidates for their respective years). Unlike Igarashi however I feel Yaegashi prefers a war to a boxing contest and if he can cut the distance on any opponent he will give them a real nightmare with his toughness and relentless work rate which is designed to break fighters down (as he did against Porpramook).
If a fighter can keep Yaegashi at range I think they could beat him relatively easily, but keeping him at range is much easier said than done, in fact at the moment I don't think any fighter could keep Yaegashi at range.
For me I can't see Igarashi keeping Yaegashi off him and I think up close it's a no contest, Yaegashi's work rate will simply swamp the more technically skilled fighter. Igarashi may have some success but I think Yaegashi will put on a performance similar to that of Katsunari Takayama recently with his work rate just being too much for his opponent.
Prediction-Yaegashi UD12
Monday, 29 October 2012
Toshiyuki Igarashi v Nestor Daniel Narvaes
This coming weekend sees Ring, Linear and WBC Flyweight champion Toshiyuki Igarashi (16-1-1, 10) making the fist defense of his titles as he faces little known Argentinian Nestor Daniel Narvaes (19-0-2-1, 9). Despite being unbeaten Narvaes is a hugely underwhelming opponent for a Linear title bout such as this, however could he spring an upset?
Although most boxing fans won't really know who Igarashi is, the Japanese fighter is a well regarded fighter who ran up an impressive amateur record of 77-18 and competed at both the 2004 Olympic games and the 2005 World Amateur Championships.
Aged 28 Igarashi is seen as one of the rising stars of Japanese boxing and despite having been a professional since 2006 it's only been in the last year or so that he's really made any sort of an impact on the world stage. In fact Igarashi's rise to success seems to have arisen from his short reign as the Japanese Flyweight champion in early 2011, a title he would defend just once.
After defending the Japanese title Igarashi was swiftly pushed up the WBC rankings and given a title eliminator against highly rated Mexican Wilbert Uicab. Igarashi managed to claim a narrow decision victory over Uicab to earn his shot at the WBC Champion, and after Sonny Boy Jaro defeated Pongsaklek Wonjongkam for the title the match up was made for Igarashi to face Jaro.
Igarashi made the most of his opportunity against Jaro and claimed a narrow decision to win the titles in an enthralling battle between two tough men. Although Igarashi was tagged numerous times he never seemed that hurt as he landed his own flush shots on Jaro in a genuinely fun to watch fight and one that told us a lot about Igarashi's heart as well as his skills. He appeared to be a powerful punching, tough fighter who had very solid boxing skills even if he lacked a massive work-rate, however he still looked "fresh" in rounds 11 and 12 which would suggest he probably could go up a gear if he felt he needed to.
Whilst we might not know a huge amount about Igarashi we certainly know more about him than we know about Nestor Daniel Narvaes a fighter who has yet to face anyone with a pulse. Despite being unbeaten Narvaes hasn't faced anyone to really gauge him against and as a result it's hard to really tell how good, how powerful and how durable he actually is.
From the footage I have seen of Narvaes he appears to be crude and very open. He does have some hurtful body shots though against the likes of Marcelo Antonio Gomez it's hard to really see just how hard he actually hits. Despite this it's worth noting that Narvaes has fought as high as Super Bantamweight, perhaps suggesting that he will be the naturally bigger man against Igarashi.
So far the best win on Narvaes' record has come against Luis Singo, a veteran Ecuador and this really says everything about this match up. One man has beaten Jaro, and Uicab the other has beaten nobody of worthy, with this is mind I have to go with Igarashi to score the victory, almost certainly by stoppage. When Igarashi lands a solid shot I expect Narvaes to crumble.
Prediction-Igarashi TKO4
Although most boxing fans won't really know who Igarashi is, the Japanese fighter is a well regarded fighter who ran up an impressive amateur record of 77-18 and competed at both the 2004 Olympic games and the 2005 World Amateur Championships.
Aged 28 Igarashi is seen as one of the rising stars of Japanese boxing and despite having been a professional since 2006 it's only been in the last year or so that he's really made any sort of an impact on the world stage. In fact Igarashi's rise to success seems to have arisen from his short reign as the Japanese Flyweight champion in early 2011, a title he would defend just once.
After defending the Japanese title Igarashi was swiftly pushed up the WBC rankings and given a title eliminator against highly rated Mexican Wilbert Uicab. Igarashi managed to claim a narrow decision victory over Uicab to earn his shot at the WBC Champion, and after Sonny Boy Jaro defeated Pongsaklek Wonjongkam for the title the match up was made for Igarashi to face Jaro.
Igarashi made the most of his opportunity against Jaro and claimed a narrow decision to win the titles in an enthralling battle between two tough men. Although Igarashi was tagged numerous times he never seemed that hurt as he landed his own flush shots on Jaro in a genuinely fun to watch fight and one that told us a lot about Igarashi's heart as well as his skills. He appeared to be a powerful punching, tough fighter who had very solid boxing skills even if he lacked a massive work-rate, however he still looked "fresh" in rounds 11 and 12 which would suggest he probably could go up a gear if he felt he needed to.
Whilst we might not know a huge amount about Igarashi we certainly know more about him than we know about Nestor Daniel Narvaes a fighter who has yet to face anyone with a pulse. Despite being unbeaten Narvaes hasn't faced anyone to really gauge him against and as a result it's hard to really tell how good, how powerful and how durable he actually is.
From the footage I have seen of Narvaes he appears to be crude and very open. He does have some hurtful body shots though against the likes of Marcelo Antonio Gomez it's hard to really see just how hard he actually hits. Despite this it's worth noting that Narvaes has fought as high as Super Bantamweight, perhaps suggesting that he will be the naturally bigger man against Igarashi.
So far the best win on Narvaes' record has come against Luis Singo, a veteran Ecuador and this really says everything about this match up. One man has beaten Jaro, and Uicab the other has beaten nobody of worthy, with this is mind I have to go with Igarashi to score the victory, almost certainly by stoppage. When Igarashi lands a solid shot I expect Narvaes to crumble.
Prediction-Igarashi TKO4
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)