The Overlooked Japanese Boxing Scene is on FIRE: A Closer Look

By Jeremiah “Griffo’s Handkerchief” Preisser

With so heavy a presence, it seems a wonder that the current Japanese boxing scene gets so little attention. But then again, maybe it isn’t. Throughout the course of boxing’s history, the “little men” have always received less observation and ink, especially in the United States of America. Men like Jimmy Wilde, Eder Jofre, Ricardo Lopez, etc., seemed just as capable as many of the “big men” who competed in their eras (more so in many cases), but their in-ring exploits were largely overshadowed, even by less formidable fighters. Today, the same can be said of a man like Roman Gonzalez, a Nicaraguan flyweight who sports a stellar record of 47-0 with 37 knockouts. “Chocolatito”, as he is known, is a three-division champion, a feat not seen by a fellow countryman since Alexis Arguello turned the trick back in 1981. Only recently has the pound-for-pounder started to receive the credit and attention he deserves. More prudent to my story, however, and back to the original point, is the lack of coverage excellent Japanese boxers get.

The lighter divisions are saturated with talent from the “Land of the Rising Sun”. Men like Shingo Wake, Tomoki Kameda, and Kazuto Ioka occupy top-ten slots on Transnational’s rankings board; and Takashi Uchiyama, Takashi Miura, Shinsuke Yamanaka, Kohei Kono, Naoya Inoue, Ryoichi Taguchi, Katsunari Takayama, and Kosei Tanaka have shown themselves worthy of holding world championship belts. This grand total of eight titleholders is double the amount of belt holders Mexico currently has and is second only to the United States’ overall of fifteen. Moreover, when evaluating the pound-for-pound lists of Transnational and The Ring, and despite their lesser amount of titleholders, Japanese fighters occupy three slots on these lists, the same sum the United States has.

Naoya “Monster” Inoue, 8-0, 7 KO’s, one of the men to crack one of these pound-for-pound lists, is young at only twenty-two years of age, yet he is already a two-division champion and won his first belt in his sixth professional match. On top of his natural gifts, his age indicates that he has time to develop and his resounding triumphs over then WBC 108-pound champion, Adrian Hernandez, and long-time 115-pound titleholder, Omar Andres Narvaez, have created a minor buzz amongst boxing’s hardcore to have him square off with the aforementioned, Roman Gonzalez. Granted both keep winning, this bout could potentially generate interest even among casual fans of the sport and put them on a Carbajal-Gonzalez-type plane.

Ruling the class above Inoue’s is Shinsuke Yamanaka, 23-0-2, 17 KO’s, a hard-punching southpaw. At 5’7” with a 69” reach (one inch longer than Rocky Marciano’s), he’s big for 118 and it shows. But his size isn’t the only thing which has brought him to the attention of the voters at The Ring magazine. Much of it is his title reign, which is one of the best in the business. His eight title defenses is right behind men such as Gennady Golovkin and it hasn’t been all fluff either. Yamanaka has beaten two-time champion, Tomas Rojas; former belt holder, Malcolm Tunacao; another former champion in Suriyan Sor Rungvisai; and Vic Darchinyan, a well-known power puncher and two-division king. And of these eight defenses and nine total championship fights, only two men have seen the final bell, Suriyan Sor Rungvisai and Vic Darchinyan.

As good as Yamanaka’s bantamweight run has been, his fellow countryman, Takashi “KO Dynamite” Uchiyama, 23-0-1, 19 KO’s, might have an edge, hence his inclusion on one of the previously mentioned pound-for-pound lists. Uchiyama has more successful title defenses than Yamanaka (10) and has allowed only one man to last the distance, Daiki Kaneko. He has been utterly dominate throughout, though his name, oddly, is barely mentioned.

As can be seen, the Japanese fight scene is brimming with talent. Of course talent in itself isn’t reason for people to tune in. Wonderfully skilled operators like Guillermo Rigondeaux and Erislandy Lara don’t sell big. Fans want to see scraps. They crave action. The best Japanese fighters are a combination of the two. Not only do they possess the ability to dispense of world class opposition, but they bring the heat while doing so. Look at their knockout numbers, rarely do their foes last the distance. So do yourself a favor, youtube some of these men and watch their fights. The realization may come that they are every bit as worthy as the “big men”.

Finally, in light of Nicholas Walters’ failure to make weight, 130 may be calling his name. If that is the case, it is disappointing that he may not get the chance to fight Vasyl Lomachenko in a match that would determine who the best of the best is at featherweight. The upside is that Uchiyama could be a potential target, which is a mouthwatering proposition.

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