Japanese Fighters Lording it Over; Remember Shinsuke Yamanaka?
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 14 Oct 2023
Brothers Yudai and Ginjiro Shigeoka won titles last week in Japan.
Japan has pulled away as the best pro boxing country in Asia with two more fighters, boxing brothers, becoming world champions in a single day bringing its current world titlists to seven holding about a dozen major belts from the minimumweight to super bantamweight.
Brothers Yudai and Ginjiro Shigeoka both claimed 105 lb world titles last October 7 in Tokyo, with Yudai taking the WBC belt from Thai Panya Pradabsri (aka Petchmanee CP Freshmart) and Ginjiro the IBF title from Mexico's Daniel Valladares.
The 23-year-old Ginjiro (10-0, 8 KO) took his belt first, stopping Valladares (27-4-1, 15 KO) at 2:15 of the fifth round. The two had previously met on Jan. 6 in Osaka, a fight that ended in a no contest in the third round due to injury. In the interim, Ginjiro beat Filipino ex-titlist Rene Mark Cuarto for the interim IBF title via ninth round knockout.
Not long after his younger brother’s triumph, the 26-year-old Yudai (8-0, 5 KO) snatched the WBC title from Pradabsri (40-2, 24 KO) by unanimous decision over 12 rounds.
Judges scored the fight 117-111, 119-109, and 119-109 for Yudai, who had beaten Wilfredo Mendez via seventh round knockout on Apr. 16 to win the interim WBC title, awaiting his proper shot at the real belt.
The brothers thus join WBC-WBO unified world super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue, WBA bantamweight titlist Takuma Inoue, WBO super flyweight kingpin Junto Nakatani, WBA super flyweight titlist Kaxuto Ioka and WBC-WBA and Ring world light flyweight ruler Kenshiro Teraji as Japan's reigning world champions.
Another Japanese top prospect Seguio Akui is aiming to make it eight as he challenges Russian long time WBA flyweight titlist Artem Dalakian in Japan in November.
On top of these, Naoya Inoue and Kazuto Ioka also are among the recognized top ten pound for pound fighters in the world today with Naoya competing with American undisputed world welterweight champion Terrence Crawford for top honors.
In comparison, the Philippines which had as many as five concurrent world champions a year ago is left with just one world champion, unified WBA-IBF titlist Marlon Tapales, like Thailand which is left with just WBA minimumweight titlist Knockout CP Freshmart as world belt holder.
Remember Shinsuke Yamanaka?
The exploits of Naoya Inoue has seemingly buried the memory of this fighter who had held the WBC bantamweight title for more than six years from 2011, barely missing a confrontation with and eventually inheriting the crown vacated by Filipino legend Nonito Donaire via knockout over Mexican Christian Esquivel.
Through that period, Yamanaka was seemingly unbeatable like Naoya is now, making 12 successful title defenses, including wins over the likes of Vic Darchinyan, Anselmo Moreno and Filipino Malcolm Tunacao who extended him almost the entire route before losing by stoppage.
But Mexican bruiser Luis Nery came along in 2017 and with alleged weight tampering or bullying, ended his reign by knockout which was repeated in their immediate title rematch also in 2017.
Yamanaka, now 41 years old, retired after those twin losses, with a record of just two defeats, both to Nery as against 27 wins, 19 by knockouts and two draws. His title reign is rated as the fourth longest in bantamweight history.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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