UNBEATEN DAIGO HIGA EYES OPBF TITLE FIGHT AGAINST CHAMPION ARDIN DIALE IN JULY
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 08 Mar 2016
Unbeaten Japanese flyweight Daigo Higa who has a stunningly impressive record of 9 knockouts in 9 fights is hoping to get a crack at the Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation champion Ardin Diale in July.
Higa who battered Filipino challenger Romel Oliveros to score a 2nd round knockout after dropping the hapless Filipino four times in their WBC Youth flyweight title defense in Tokyo last Saturday is an awesome puncher and is expected to give Diale a tough test should they clash in July.
Higa dropped Oliveros with a vicious body shot early in the second round and sent the challenger to the canvas three more times before the Filipino failed to beat the count at the 2:19 mark.
Handled by former world champion Yoko Gushiken, the hard-hitting Higa hopes to overcome Diale who is a crafty veteran before going after a world in the hope of matching Gushiken?s record of becoming a world champion at the age of 21.
Higa was coming off a 10th round TKO over another Filipino Renren Tesorio last November 7 in Tokyo while Oliveros who dropped to 6-2-1 with 1 knockout following his loss was beaten in his last fight by another Japanese Takayuki Okumoto on December 5, 2015 dropping a unanimous ten round decision.
The best fight of Higa?s impressive young career so far was when he travelled to Thailand to face a fellow unbeaten fighter, impressively bullying Kongfah CP Freshmart, bludgeoning his rival into a seventh round defeat.
The 20 year old Oliveros who has been a pro for some twenty 20 months which is the same as Higa was 6-1 with 1 knockout going into the clash with Higa with his only loss being in his last contest just before Christmas in his only fight outside the Philippines. Oliveros fought in Japan and lost an eight-round decision to Takayuki Okumoto.
Prior to the fight Higa said he intended to go about his business in the typical manner: ?I would like to attack him in a bold way from the first round with a challenger?s mentality as usual.?
He added ?My strength is my aggressive fighting style and mental toughness not to lose.?
He has backed that up by winning on the road in South Korea and Thailand. Higa is managed and promoted by 2015 International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Yoko Gushiken. Gushiken (23-1, 15 KOs) made 13 successful defenses of his WBA 108-pound title ? a Japanese record ? before retiring in 1981. ?His strength is aggressiveness not to run away from an opponent,? Gushiken said. ?Power, hard punches, honesty and strong mind.?
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