Japan's Weak Underbelly
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 02 Aug 2024
Pedro Taduran (R) pummels Ginjiro Shigeoka.
The minimumweight and flyweight remain as Japan's weak underbelly as it lost its hold of the last world 105 lbs title in its possession and its bid for a second world crown at 112 lbs came crashing down in stoppage defeats recently.
Ginjiro Shigeoka failed in the second defense of the IBF minimumweight championship he won merely nine months before, getting stopped in the ninth round by Filipino former titlist Pedro Taduran.
On the same card, fellow Japanese Riku Kano fell in his attempt to bring home the vacant WBO flyweight crown, losing by 4th round knockout to Los Angeles based bomber Anthony Olascuaga.
Four months before in March, Ginjiro's older brother Yudai Shigeoka ceded his WBC minimumweight title by decision to another Filipino ex-world titlist Melvin Jerusalem, getting dropped to the canvas two times in the process.
The Shigeokas however remain as Japan's best bets at the minimumweight though the brothers would have to come back strong from their bad losses to Jerusalem and Taduran. Which is not very hard as Japanese fight promoters have clout and strong connections with the world boxing bodies.
In other weight classes:
Seigo Yuri Akui is Japan's lone world champion at flyweight. Akui won the WBA crown by defeating Russian long serving champion Artem Dalakian in a huge upset in January this year. He made his first defense by outpointing bitter domestic rival Taku Kuwahara. He has only been beaten thrice, twice by fellow Japanese including Junto Nakatani. Two of his losses came by knockout though including to Filipino Jaysever Absede in 2018. But as many Japanese world titlists, he has never fought outside Japan.
At the moment, Akui's hold of the WBA title seemed safe as most of the division's big guns are committed to fight for the remaining vacant crowns left by Bam Rodriguez who has moved up at super flyweight and is now WBC champion.
Filipino Dave Apolinario and Mexican Angel Ayala are tangling for the vacant IBF title. There is no official announcement yet as who will vie for the vacant WBC crown left by long time Mexican champion Julio Cesar Martinez though popular British ex champion Sunny Edwards could be in the running. Olascua as mentioned has won the vacant WBO title over Kanu.
To show how weak Japan is at flyweight, no Japanese fighter apart from the fallen Kanu has credentials or ranking high enough to vie for the other vacancy.
Kenshiro Teraji, the long time WBC and WBA unified light flyweight champion, has earlier expressed desire to vie for the vacant WBC flyweight crown but he is reportedly unwilling to vacate his twin titles, leaving Japan without world crown at 108 lbs.
Perhaps he is awaiting the outcome of Masamichi Yabuki's IBF title challenge versus South Africa's Sivenathi Notshinga before he moves up. Teraji could also challenge Olascuaga for his WBO title as he has beaten Olascuaga by TKO in a title defense early last year.
The WBO light flyweight title is vacant as Puerto Rico's Jonathan Gonzalez has moved up to 112 (but was chosen over by Olascuaga in the fight versus Kanu for fhe vacant WBO flyweight crown). Japan's Shochiki Iwata is the top rated WBO contender at 108 lbs but has previously lost to Gonzalez in failed title try.
Japan has just one world titlist at super flyweight in Kosei Tanaka who holds the WBO belt. This after Kazuto Ioka lost his WBA belt in unification with Argentina's Fernando Martinez, the IBF champion. But Tanaka is considered the weakest of titlists at 115 lbs. One option is for Ioka to challenge Tanaka to become world champion again.
Japan holds all belts at bantamweight but except for perhaps Junto Nakatani (WBC), its other titlists can be vulnerable to and beatable especially by tough Latino challengers that could include Bam Rodriguez, Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman Chocolatito Gonzalez, the last two reportedly having moved up to 118.
No one is capable of threatening Naoya Inoue of course in his reign as undisputed super bantamweight champion.
Despite the warts and all, it is still a glorious era for Japanese boxing.
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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