Shigeoka Brothers Score Impressive Knockouts in Tokyo

Published

2 years ago

April 16, 2023

Shigeoka-Brothers-Score-Impressive-Knockouts-in-Tokyo

The Shigeoka brothers Yudai and Ginjiro have both delivered on the biggest nights of their careers in Tokyo, and as per last week’s preview, in impressive fashion. Ginjiro Shigeoka, now 9-0, took out Rene Mark Cuarto (The Philippines, now 21-4-2) with Yudai Shigeoka , now 7-0, scoring his victory over late substitute Wilfredo Mendez (Puerto Rico, now 18-3).

First to the ring was Ginjiro (pictured on the right), resplendent in gold gloves and trim, followed closely by Rene Mark Cuarto who appeared grim but confident. It felt clear form the first that this would be the predicted war, but what followed was as savage and complete an engine and gut-check as any young fighter might wish for. Cuarto stayed close, and Ginjiro welcomed him; the two were so close that they could comfortably tap gloves, Ginjiro’s southpaw right in direct weave with Cuarto’s orthodox left. Their first contact on the inside was dominated by Cuarto who landed a beautiful uppercut to the body that prompted a wild response from Ginjiro, one that underlined his immaturity. A feature of the first three rounds of this fight was a determination on Ginjiro’s part to even-up the cards after any negative contact, and it made him wild.

Ginjiro visited the deck twice in the first round, a slip, but then, overeager, under-corrected, Ginjiro was flashed to the canvas by a straight right hand to find himself facing the first genuine crisis in his fledgling career. He did not respond as his corner might have wished, throwing wildly, affording Cuarto chances for roughhousing, and throwing the fight into the type of abject chaos that a veteran was much more likely to profit by. It was Ginjiro, though, who won out in a violent clash of heads that left a spot of blood on Cuarto’s left cheek, a wound that would swell as the fight progressed.

In the third, Ginjiro made a meaningful and impressive adjustment, targeting the body, slotting them in behind minor feints with the jab and Cuarto, perhaps feeling the effects of the head-clash in the second, perhaps failing to digest these early sorties to the body, gave ground. Through the third and the fourth it felt as though the epic sweep of the violently contested sections were up for grabs among wild exchanges, but when he laid down his jab, Ginjiro dominated and seemed always just in control enough that he bagged these rounds. In the fifth, Cuarto managed to land a right uppercut to the body that impressed, prompting his corner to demand a further body attack, but it was Ginjiro, now calmer, more certain, that dominated the round with bodypunches, mostly left hands, as Cuarto appeared for the first time uncertain.

More pertinently, he had not won a round since the first. Truthfully, the more controlled Ginjiro’s attack became the more dangerous he became, and the straight punches he landed to the body in the sixth had Cuarto covering up in earnest for the first time. In fact, Ginjiro appeared to drop Cuarto with such a punch in the final minute of the round but while Cuarto’s corner bellowed loudly that this had been a slip, the ringside instant replay did indeed strike it off, the referee correcting his decision with the judges before waving the fight on. The referee, Katsuhiko Nakamura, was called to action again in the seventh, rightly issuing a stern warning to Cuarto who locked and then held Ginjiro in a guillotine. Ginjiro responded in the best of ways: a counter left to the pit of Cuarto’s gut that dropped him for a legitimate count.

It should be stated now: Cuarto, who had never been stopped going into this fight, is a very tough man. He fought back hard off the ropes despite Ginjiro continuing to target his body with severe punishment. Covering up in the eighth, he also refused to surrender but his tenderness in returning fire gave Ginjiro free reign to risk more. Adding to Cuarto’s misery was another clash of heads that left him with another cut, this time on the forehead.

Bloody, badly beaten to the body, but unbowed, he stepped out of his corner in the ninth ready to fight but unable to do so. He was a sitting duck for vicious left hands to the body and Ginjiro took full advantage, ripping into him and ripping him to the canvas not once, but twice. Cuarto, who had no quit in him, and made this fight every bit as much as Ginjiro, was waved off by the referee in the ninth round.

This was too one-sided an affair to be mentioned as a fight of the year contender, but it had everything. It saw a weak start from a favoured son who rallied violently in a fight that seemed poised on a knife’s edge, who then took control of the affair with superior technical boxing matched to the violence of the early rounds bound up in a vicious, measured body-attack.

A hugely impressive performance from Ginjiro then, it only remained to see if his brother could match it. As discussed in my preview last week, Wilfredo Mendez was a late-substitute for Panya Pradabsri and as difficult a late-substitute as could be roused. The test here was Mendez’s awkward, birdlike, crouching southpaw stylings in addition to his vaster experience. Yudai, all in silver, cut a far more cautious figure than his brother early, clearly out-speeding and out-touching his opponent but taking far fewer risks, relying in the main upon his own southpaw jab.

Yudai had Mendez running and holding as early as the second, one hoped in keeping with a plan that saw him rally late given that apart from some lefts to the body, Yudai’s offence was in the main still under wraps. Seemingly wanting to counter, Yudai was forced to wait for the Mendez attacks, which were intermittent to say the least, and although he inevitably won these exchanges, Mendez’s quickness on defence seemed to demand more from the Japanese. The best he could do in the fourth was beckon Mendez in before shipping the best punch of the round (a straight to the head) although he bagged this round along with the other three simply by out-sniping his man.

His patience was finally rewarded in the fifth, however, Mendez over-reaching with the left, a punch Yudai slipped to deliver a pair of beautiful, hard, narrow left hands to drop Mendez on his backside. Mendez escaped to his corner at the end of the count, but Yudai targeted his body with the same punch in the sixth, and Mendez, already in need of a knockout, seemed less keen to engage than ever.

It was something of a relief then when Yudai landed a whipping left to the body and Mendez took a crouch and stubbornly refused to abandon it until the referee had said “ten.” It is hard to say whether Mendez had been capable of beating the count, of course, and it was impressive to see Yudai feint him back into the corner right-handed before unleashing the final punch – but it did look like most of the finishing blow was captured on Mendez’s defences.

That said, it must be remembered who it is the brothers have knocked out today. Mendez was nothing less than the number twelve at 105lbs, whereas Cuarto could in no sensible sport be excluded from the top-ten. Cuarto had never been stopped, Mendez had been stopped just once, in eleven. These were impressive results posted by inexperienced fighters who have now made this division their playground.

Ginjiro, who has broken into the top five with this showing, is now impossible to ignore. He will presumably be re-matched with Daniel Valladares, in a rerun of their fight from January, abandoned after a clash of heads; Yudai meanwhile will presumably be matched with Panya Pradabsri, for whom Mendez was a late substitute. This though, underlines the division’s current problem.

The Thai twin-towers who rule over the division, Pradabsri and Thammanoon Niyomtrong, seem less than keen to leave their strongholds. Japan, meanwhile, holds the heavier promotional firepower and are likely to win any purse- bid. This situation might be manageable were it not for the atrocious reputation Thailand has as a fistic host currently, Erick Rosa, seen as a live threat to Thailand’s divisional hegemony, not just refused entry to the country but detained at the border when attending for a fight with divisional number one, Niyomtrong. Certain accusations have been made. Pradabsri’s withdrawal from the Yudai fight with a sore throat has not helped matters.

But it is a deep division, not always the case for 105lbs, and there are many pleasing fights to be made. If regional politics can be placed to one side there is room in the imagination for a Pradabsri-Yudai, Niyomtrong-Ginjiro showdown. The most difficult task in boxing is to place minimumweight at the centre of the fistic world; it can only be hoped that the powers that be don’t pass up such a rare opportunity.

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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

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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

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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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