Ginjiro Shigeoka Finally Gets Crack at World 105 Title (Without Passing Through Gaunlet of Pinoy Fighters)
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 17 Nov 2022
Ginjiro Shigeoka.
Since named by the Ring Magazine in 2018 as new face to watch out for and as one of Japan's prospective new world boxing champions, Ginjiro Shigeoka and his camp have endeavored to live up to this lofty billing and expectation.
Hence, Shigeoka and his people thoroughly studied and explored the environment in his weight class, the minimumweight or maximum weight limit of 105 lbs which at that immediate pre pandemic time was littered by top Filipino fighters, in certain instances as many as half a dozen rated by at least two world boxing sanctioning bodies.
Pedro Taduran was then the IBF titlist, winning the crown by besting fellow Filipino boxer Samuel Salva while another Filipino Vic Saludar was holding reign as WBO titleholder with wins over Shigeoka's countrymen Ryuya Yamanaka and Masataka Taniguchi. Then there's Melvin Jerusalem, Mark Barriga, Rene Mark Cuarto, Robert Paradero, ArAr Andales and Lito Dante who quashed the aspirations of another Japanese upstart Tsoubasa Koura with a brutal knockout.
They therefore decided that the shortest, surest route to at least a crack at any of the world championship would be to secure a fight or fights against one or some of these world rated Filipinos.
It seemed Shigeoka was not particularly targeting either of the then long reigning Thai world champions Wanheng Menayothin or Thamanon Niyomtrong who held the WBA and WBC belts aware that it would be hard to lure them to Japan and of Japan's losing record in world title bouts in Thailand.
Shigeoka representatives therefore had sought to reach out to rated Filipino minimumweight fighters as opponents, ideally in title eliminators, even expressing willingness to come to the Philippines for such fights if they could be arranged.
But opportunities eluded him. In fact, it was his fighting brother Yudai who even got the chance to gain the scalp of a rated Filipino outpointing Lito Dante in OPBF title fight.
Before the pandemic, Ginjiro had won the minor WBC Asia Pacific minimumweight title by first round knockout over Filipino Clyde Azarcon and retained it by 5th round KO over another Filipino veteran Rey Loreto in 2019 but those two were fringe contenders at best.
Then the pandemic struck with its stringent travel restrictions making it impossible for Shigeoka to leave Japan and hosting Filipino and other visiting foreign fighters.
Given the situation, Ginjiro had to persevere while making do with the best available Japanese opponents as he focused on first winning the Japanese national title which he succeeded to do.
He notched three impressive victories against fellow Japanese in the past two years and with the Japanese national title tucked under his belt which boosted his world ranking, Ginjiro is finally awarded a crack at the IBF crown held by Mexico's Daniel Valladares.
Curiously, Valladares himself had to struggle against Filipino opponents, first at light flyweight where he held hard earned wins over Merlito Sabillo and Christian Araneta and when he moved back down to the minimumweight where he was held to technical draw by Taduran in a failed first IBF title try.
Valladares succeeded in finally winning the IBF belt by outpointing Rene Cuarto early this year in Mexico. It was Cuarto who unseated Taduran in a closely fought title contest held in the Philippines.
It would appear that it's Ginjiro Shigeoka's luck to get the world title crack without going through a gauntlet of tough Filipino minimumweight opponents.
Incidentally, on the night on January 6, 2023 when Ginjiro faces Valladares, his countryman WBO minimumweight titlist Masataka Taniguchi will also be defending his belt against seasoned Filipino top world contender Melvin Jerusalem.
Will Ginjiro fulfill his potentials and become Japan's next world champion and ring hero?
And will Taniguchi hold off the challenge of the talented Jerusalem?
Those, we will know very soon.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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