Earlier today in Shizuoka we had the latest Koki Kameda promoted 3150 x Lush Bomu show, and on paper it was a really interesting one with a world title, and a number of touted prospects all in action.
Bizarrely the show opened with the world title fight as Mexican’s Rene Calixto Bibiano (23-0-1, 9) and Willibaldo Garcia Perez (22-5-2-1, 13) fought for the vacant IBF Super Flyweight title. Sadly we were left with the title remaining vacant as the two men battled to a thrilling 12 round draw. The bout started relatively slowly, as Calixto looked to get control with his jab, but as the rounds went on Perez's output forced a higher, more exciting tempo on to the action, with the fight really coming alive in rounds 3 and 4 thank's to Perez's work rate. Calixto had success with good counters, but he couldn't hurt Perez, who kept coming forward, forcing to stand and fight as the rounds went on. In round 8 a clash of heads left Calixto cut above the right eye, which seemed to spur Perez on even more, as he showed boundless energy, pressing, throwing and trying to break down the unbeaten man, who landed some great counters in return.
Given the tempo of the bout, both seemed tired in the final round, a round that was marred by some very messy action, It was very much a case of the judges picking what they liked. The aggression, which at times was ineffective, but intense, from Perez or the clean, counters of Calixto. The very different styles and mentalities of the two resulted in some very differing scores. One judge having it 118-110 to Perez, one having it 116-112 to Calixto and the third having it 114-114, for a split decision draw.
One of the many prospects on the show was 23 year old Ryusei Miyagawa (5-0, 1) [宮川竜成] who was given a real work out by Thailand's Thitikorn Ratanakun (5-6, 5). On paper it looks like an easy win for Miyagawa, who got the decision with scores of 60-54 and 59-55, twice, but he really was made to work for the fight with the visitor not travelling to lie down, and really giving this a genuine effort, which would have surprised some given he was stopped in the opening round of his last fight, just 4 months ago.
In a case of a fighter biting off more than they could chew, Ryusei Moriwaki (2-1, 2) [森脇流星] suffered his first loss, as he took on the world ranked Salvador Juarez (20-9-2, 4). Moriwaki wasn’t badly beaten or stopped, or anything like that, but his lack of seasoning was partly why he lost a very close decision to the Mexican, with scores of 77-74, either way and a 76-75 card being the decider for Juarez. Moriwaki, who had only fought 5 professional rounds before this bout, will have learned a lot from the loss, and will feel glad to get an 8 rounder under his belt. Saying that however Moriwaki was ruled down in round 8, with the knockdown deciding the fight, and giving him his first loss. It’s not the first time Kameda has matched a young novice tough, and wasn’t the only time on this card, and whilst competitive match ups are great, we do wonder if he’s going to end up taking the shine off prospects a bit too quickly with this level of tough match making. Had this bout come in 6-9 months, Moriwaki, after having had another 2 fights against a lower level of competition, would likely have picked up a win, and been in the world rankings after just 5 or 6 pro bouts.
One man who did what was expected was Kyonosuke Kameda (15-3-1, 9) [亀田京之介], who stopped Filipino Angelo Beltran (10-3, 8) in the opening round. The hard hitting Kameda forced the action early and landed a great right cross dropping Beltran, who seemed to have a delayed reaction to the shot, took the 10 count in agony. Whilst we complained about Moriwaki being raced into fights that he wasn’t ready for, we can’t help but feel the opposite is somewhat true about Kameda, who should be facing top domestic foes now and moving into the mix for the Japanese or regional titles.
Another early finish was recorded by Japanese Heavyweight hopeful Mitsuro Brandon Tajima (11-1, 9) [但馬ブランドン ミツロ] who made lightwork of Venezuelan, Rosmen Brito (11-2, 9) in just 81 seconds. Tajima took down his foe with body shots early on, and whilst Brito beat the count he was dropped again with a right hand, which saw the referee wave the bout off
In the main event Aoi Yokoyama (2-0, 1) [横山葵海] narrowly over-came Denmark Quibido (13-4-2, 7), in another case of the prospect being moved a little bit too quickly, though this time it paid off, just. Yokoyama looked fantastic at times, though Quibido wasn't there to just make up the numbers and at times we had a very tactical battle , with both using subtle movements and feints as they looked to fight their range. Yokoyama was the first to really strike, doing so in round 2 and 3, but Quibido was always in there and the Filipino landed an excellent left hand. The warning from the left should have been noted, but it wasn;t and in round 7 Quibido dropped Yokoyama with a series of left hands. Quibido again had success with his left hands in the final round, with Yokoyama eking out the win 76-75, twice, and 78-73.
Whilst we do love to see prospects tested early, we do wonder whether the team at 3150 are trying to rush fighters a little bit too quickly. The loss for Moriwaki, the very close shave for Yokoyama, and the loss last year of Hayate Hanada, who lost to Calixto, are signs of a team who have big ambitions for their young fighters. And that is amazing. However it might be best, for their development, to hold them back a fight or two longer, rather than have them pick up a loss, and take extra punishment too early on. We’re not suggesting moving them slowly, but giving the top prospects 2 to 3 fights more, before facing OPBF or even world ranked fighters, just to get some extra seasoning, especially in 8 rounders.
