Japan’s Shigeoka Brothers Fight for Titles This Weekend

Published

2 years ago

April 10, 2023

Japan’s Shigeoka Brothers Fight for Titles This Weekend

For the experienced Sweet Scientist, the early manifestation of a Japanese prospect among the world-class is hardly a matter for remark anymore. Naoya Inoue has battered his way to the very top of the pound-for-pound list in just twenty fights after being matched for the Japanese 108lb title in his fourth fight. Kenshiro Teraji currently sits upon the 108lb throne after being matched for his first “world” strap in just his tenth fight.

So, for her next trick, on the same day, on the same card, this coming weekend in Tokyo, Japan will match two brothers for straps although their records currently stand at just 8-0 and 6-0.

The Shigeoka brothers may sound like a writer’s dream, but there are difficulties. Born two years apart in Kumamoto, the two, naturally enough, look rather alike – but they also box in the same weight division (105lbs), are both southpaws, and have the same knockout ratio (66.67%). Telling their story is more a matter of separating them then joining them so that is what I will do, starting with the younger of the two brothers, Ginjiro, who has been matched to face Rene Mark Cuarto of The Philippines for the interim IBF belt.

Ginjiro Shigeoka vs Rene Mark Cuarto

Ginjiro (8-0, 6 KOs) is twenty-three years old, two years younger than his older brother Yudai, and, at five-foot nothing, the shorter of the two. Ginjiro is also the more accomplished of the two Shigeokas, having found himself ranked at the bottom end of the 105lb top ten in the first months of 2021after dispatching Rey Loreto in five brutal rounds. Ginjiro was something of a bouncer at this time, boxing with the false economy of the amateur, affordable in the world of the unpaid ranks where fights are short and less brutal. Ginjiro was a success there – indeed, the only loss on his amateur ledger came against Yudai, against whom he threw in the towel before the first bell after being drawn against him in a national tournament. Loreto was boxing his fortieth professional contest and had lost just one of his last ten, that coming to the current divisional number one Thammanoon Niyomtrong (aka Knockout CP Freshmart), but despite Ginjiro’s posturing, the more experienced man still struggled with Ginjiro’s blinding southpaw jab and the left he often tossed in behind.

“Tossed” is the right word. Ginjiro is perhaps too relaxed in the ring, but the variety is already there on the jab, up and down, fast or hard, blinding in support of other punches or a scoring shot on its own; the left hand goes straight, but he also comes squarer to throw it, just as he did for a first-round knockdown against Loreto who made the mistake of stepping inside and being rattled to the canvas in short order. Hurt twice in the third by straights, Ginjiro’s propensity for over-aggression and retreating with speed rather than technique was briefly uncovered, but he won every other round. When he stopped Loreto in the fifth he became the first man to do it since 2011 – and he has improved since then.

We got a glimpse of these improvements most recently in January when Ginjiro matched IBF world title-holder Daniel Valladares, the excellent Mexican minimumweight. They split the opening two rounds but the southpaw-orthodox headclash seemed inevitable, Valladares looping in overhand rights while Ginjiro drove forwards with his southpaw straight. Sure enough, two accidental headbutts in the third brought the bout to a premature ending and a No Contest verdict. Ginjiro’s first tilt at a belt ended in disappointment.

This is how Rene Mark Cuarto (21-3-2) has entered the picture. With Valladares in injury-bound limbo, the ABC in question has just happily replaced him with Cuarto, a man Valladares defeated last July. That match, a split decision victory for Valladares in Mexico, was a chaotic affair filled with chaotic refereeing and even more chaotic fighting, Cuarto steaming in two-handed and being countered by left hands. In the end the decision was probably just but Cuarto had no luck, scoring a knockdown which was incorrectly ruled a slip and bizarrely having a point deducted for suffering repeatedly loose tape on his glove.

He is made for Ginjiro in two senses of the word. First, the inexperienced Japanese will not have to unlock Cuarto. He is not going to hide, move, or box, he is going to attack and will do so with wide, big punches; he will give up chances and Ginjiro will take them. The other sense in which Cuarto is made for Ginjiro though is that he is made to test him. Ginjiro is no defensive mastermind, and this is matter of style, of choice, before it is a matter of technical capability. Ginjiro will choose a firefight against Cuarto, who has been beaten, but never stopped. The winner will find out much about himself in this contest, and so will we.

Much is at stake. I rank Cuarto one spot higher at number eight so the loser will exit the top ten, and the winner will rematch Valladares in one of the few 105lbs contests that can deliver a healthy purse bid. That winner will be Ginjiro but he must be able to hold Cuarto’s punches, and as is always the case when a top prospect is moved into the top ten for the first time, we will know when we know. This match, though, is the headliner and it should be a savage and exciting contest.

Yudai Shigeoka vs Wilfredo Mendez

Yes, Ginjiro-Cuartes is the main attraction but that is not by design. Yudai (6-0, 4 knockouts), for the first time in a long time, was supposed to step out from his younger brother’s diminutive shadow in a match against the brilliant Panya Pradabsri, who has been ruled out of a rare journey from his native Thailand to defend his number two ranking on Japanese soil. Strep throat, for which he has apparently been hospitalised, is the culprit.

So Yudai must satisfy himself with a chief supporting act once more against late substitution Wilfredo Mendez (18-2) out of Puerto Rico. In fairness to Yudai and his team, this is likely as excellent a late replacement as they could have uncovered. Mendez cannot punch but comes with real pedigree and ranked among the four or five best 105lb boxers in the world up until his 2021 elimination at the hands of Japanese deluxe gatekeeper Masataka Taniguchi, in what was a major upset.

Since, Mendez has put himself back together boxing wide decision victories against overmatched opposition on undercards in Santo Domingo. Here, he has honed an odd southpaw style, perched over a front leg in a deep stance, almost square, elusive with his upper body, fighting aggressively on the inside while awaiting chances on the outside. Patient and experienced at title-level, he is a far cry from the merciless Panya, but he is exactly the type of late substitute that brings promoters out in a cold sweat – adaptable, something of a spoiler and not a man who will travel to Tokyo to lose.

To understand the level of risk that is being encountered here, we need to take a quick look back at Yudai’s 2021 match with Tsubasa Koura. Koura was a risky fight in and of itself, matching Yudai in just his fourth fight against a fighter who had essentially been him a few years prior. Japan’s Rookie of the Year in 2015, Koura had been found out against Lito Dante, who stopped him in 2019 in a real upset. Career stalled, Koura fought Yudai like what he was – a man who had seen his dreams dashed and was handed one more chance at redemption. The majority decision win that went Yudai’s way was fair, but he was literally one point away from the draw and he needed a very strong finish to get there after being out-muscled and out-hustled in the first half of the fight.

Now, another man who has had his dreams dashed and been handed one more chance at redemption is headed for town and it may require another strong finish to stop him.

Yudai has a heavier jab than his brother and is more measured when he throws it. At 5’3” he is the taller and rangier of the two and also the stronger, I think, certainly he is bodily the more aggressive, more given to grappling and wrestling and trying to dominate when he grapples and wrestles, although this did not serve him well against Koura. Indeed, prior to the Koura fight I saw Yudai as the greater potential success story. I thought of him as more measured both offensively and defensively, already given to more arbitrary movement of the head and body, he seemed the more technically systematic of the pair. Although his trials and tribulations have been far less dramatic, I was reminded of my feelings regarding Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko before Wladimir started posting knockout losses in that the more correct, technically layered Wladimir seemed the more likely to achieve great things until he wasn’t – but then, of course, he did. Yudai may also yet prove to be the more storied of the two Shigeokas but he could use something definitive this weekend in a WBC interim title fight that has tricky written all over it. I suspect he will triumph, however, the question being whether he can achieve the stoppage. Given that Mendez is most likely to achieve his greatest success stalling on the inside, this will be a challenge. He will require adjustments to get there and will have to make a decision about whether or not to try to contest range, but he has the offensive capability to score the stoppage.

“As long as we both win,” has been the Shigeoka party line, spoken most recently by Yudai. “If not, it’s worth nothing.”

“The two of us can take over the world at the same time,” Ginjiro recently told nikkansports. “I’m happy that the two of us can start together and achieve our dreams at the same time.”

As likeable as they are skilled, the Shigeoka brothers are about to receive the most thorough examination of their fledgling careers.

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Ringside at the Fontainebleau where Mikaela Mayer Won her Rematch with Sandy Ryan

Published

3 days ago

March 30, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Ringside-at-the-Fontainebleau-where-Mikaela-Mayer-won-her-Rematch-with-Sandy-Ryan

LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryan’s WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.

The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.

Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in women’s boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.

Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.

Co-Feature

In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.

The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.

A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxing’s youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.

Other Bouts

In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.

Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadn’t previously been stopped.

Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.

Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.

Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, California’s Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.

Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.

Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.

Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.

There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

Published

3 days ago

March 29, 2025

David A. Avila

William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.

There were no knockdowns in this rematch.

The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.

It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.

Nothing changed in their second meeting.

Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.

The blows came in bunches.

In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his corner’s appeals to stop.

Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.

Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.

During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.

But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.

“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.

Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.

“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.

Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.

“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.

Female Flyweight Battle

Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.

Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.

Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.

The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.

Neither fighter could take over the fight.

After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.

Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? That’s the question.

Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.

Puerto Rico vs Mexico

Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.

Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 319: Rematches in Las Vegas, Cancun and More

Published

4 days ago

March 28, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-319-Rematches-in-Las-Vegas-Cancun-and-More

Rematches are the bedrock for prizefighting.

Return battles between rival boxers always means their first encounter was riveting and successful at the box office.

Six months after their first brutal battle Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) will slug it out again for the WBO welterweight world title this time on Saturday, March 29, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.

ESPN will show the Top Rank card live.

“It’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,” Mayer told the BBC.

If you follow Mayer’s career you know that somehow drama follows. Whether its back-and-forth beefs with fellow American fighters or controversial judging due to nationalism in countries abroad. The Southern California native who now trains in Las Vegas knows how to create the drama.

For female fighters self-promotion is a necessity.

Most boxing promoters refuse to step out of the usual process set for male boxers, not for female boxers. Things remain the same and have been for the last 70 years. Social media has brought changes but that has made promoters do even less.

No longer are there press conferences, instead announcements are made on social media to be drowned among the billions of other posts. It is not killing but diluting interest in the sport.

Women innately present a different advantage that few if any promoters are recognizing. So far in the past 25 years I have only seen two or three promoters actually ignite interest in female fighters. They saw the advantages and properly boosted interest in the women.

The fight breakdown

Mayer has won world titles in the super featherweight and now the welterweight division. Those are two vastly different weight classes and prove her fighting abilities are based on skill not power or size.

Coaching Mayer since amateurs remains Al Mitchell and now Kofi Jantuah who replaced Kay Koroma the current trainer for Sandy Ryan.

That was the reason drama ignited during their first battle. Then came someone tossing paint at Ryan the day of their first fight.

More drama.

During their first fight both battled to control the initiative with Mayer out-punching the British fighter by a slender margin. It was a back-and-forth struggle with each absorbing blows and retaliating immediately.

New York City got its money’s worth.

Ryan had risen to the elite level rapidly since losing to Erica Farias three years ago. Though she was physically bigger and younger, she was out-maneuvered and defeated by the wily veteran from Argentina. In the rematch, however, Ryan made adjustments and won convincingly.

Can she make adjustments from her defeat to Mayer?

“I wanted the rematch straight away,” said Ryan on social media. “I’ve come to America again.”

Both fighters have size and reach. In their first clash it was evident that conditioning was not a concern as blows were fired nonstop in bunches. Mayer had the number of punches landed advantage and it unfolded with the judges giving her a majority decision win.

That was six months ago. Can she repeat the outcome?

Mayer has always had boiler-oven intensity. It’s not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. It’s something that can’t be taught.

Can she draw enough of that fire out again?

“I didn’t have to give her this rematch. I could have just sat it out, waited for Lauren Price to unify and fought for undisputed or faced someone else,” said Mayer to BBC. “That’s not the fighter I am though.”

Co-Main in Las Vegas

The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in a contest for the WBO welterweight title.

Norman, 24, was last seen a year ago dissecting a very good welterweight in Giovani Santillan for a knockout win in San Diego. He showed speed, skill and power in defeating Santillan in his hometown.

Cuevas has beaten some solid veteran talent but this will be his big test against Norman and his first attempt at winning a world title.

Also on the Top Rank card will be Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.

Golden Boy in Cancun

A rematch between undefeated William “Camaron” Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and ex-champ Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) headlines the lightweight match on Saturday March 29, at Cancun, Mexico.

In their first encounter Zepeda was knocked down in the fourth round but rallied to win a split-decision over Farmer. It showed the flaws in Zepeda’s tornado style.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also includes a clash between Yokasta Valle the WBC minimumweight world titlist who is moving up to flyweight to face former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.

Both Valle and Esparza have fast hands.

Valle is excellent darting in and out while Esparza has learned how to fight inside. It’s a toss-up fight.

Fights to Watch

Fri. DAZN 12 p.m. Cameron Vuong (7-0) vs Jordan Flynn (11-0-1); Pat Brown (0-0) vs Federico Grandone (7-4-2).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. William Zepeda (32-0) vs Tevin Farmer (33-7-1); Yokasta Valle (32-3) vs Marlen Esparza (15-2).

Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Mikaela Mayer (20-2) vs Sandy Ryan (7-2-1); Brian Norman Jr. (26-0) vs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1).

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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