Japanese Scene: Kamegai, Yamanaka & Miyazaki Recaps, Plus News & Notes

Sidney Boquiren of RingwalkNippon has more recaps from this past weekend's Japanese boxing action along with additional news and notes.  For more Japanese boxing updates, you can follow Sidney on twitter: RingwalkNippon@Twitter

Kamegai earns biggest career victory over Alfaro

Top Japanese prospect and current national 140-pound titleholder Yoshihiro Kamegai passed his biggest test in the paid ranks on Sunday, stopping former world champ Jose Alfaro on the undercard of Nishioka-Munroe.

While the Teiken product was probably hit the most he had ever been in a pro bout during the six round war, the performance answered questions as to whether or not Kamegai would be able to handle the power of world-class competition and if his offensive capabilities would be effective at the higher level. The Hokkaido native not only showed a sturdy chin, but also earned a KO victory by battering Alfaro to a knee late in the sixth. Though the Nicaraguan rose to his feet, he was counted out by referee Kazunobu Asao at the 2:36 mark.

Known for his defensive skills, Kamegai has been lauded for his footwork and adept use of a shoulder roll. The torque he gets from using that style also allows him to deliver punishing left hooks and uppercuts, and keeps him in position to land the right at any time. Seamlessly blending offense and defense, the prospect boasted 14 wins within the scheduled number of rounds in 16 contests heading in to the ring Sunday.

The Nicaraguan also had his question marks when tabbed as Kamegai’s opponent. Alfaro lost by points in his most recent memorable appearance to an old and soft Erik Morales in March, fighting in a division well above the 135-pound weight class at which he earned his strap. Before that, he was dominated by Antonio DeMarco for nine rounds until stopped in the tenth, prompting a few pundits to write him off as a serious contender.

However, the former titleholder looked solid in the opening frames against the hometown pug, who was abnormally cautious from the outset. Maestrito (The Little Professor), as Kamegai calls himself, did not show the aggression and flair he had in previous outings once the opening gong rang, assuming a defensive posture and preferring to feel out his opponent while keeping his right hand glued to his cheek. Alfaro may have won the first with his activity.

Kamegai opened up in the second, and onlookers were soon given a taste of the variety of the 27-year old’s arsenal. Landing a short left and a right, the national champ began to find his range, dropping a counter right on his opponent as well. Left hooks to the body and uppercuts followed, as it appeared that Kamegai finally decided to turn his switch on. Alfaro responded with left hooks of his own, catching the local fighter with a hard one mid-round, and adding a straight right. It was a full-fledged firefight in the closing seconds as the combatants traded until the sound of the bell.

Excellent action going both directions continued in the subsequent two rounds, with the fourth featuring fierce exchanges of power punches. Maestrito was scoring with better blows, using both hands to touch up the Nicaraguan’s body, while effectively mixing in counter punches. Not to be outdone, the veteran retaliated with more left hooks and snuck in a few uppercuts as well. Though Kamegai was using his shoulder and front arm adequately for his defense, he was not able to pick off everything and showed great resolve in staying in range of his opponent. Alfaro may not have been the same guy he was when he earned his title, but he still had some of the power that produced 21 KOs on his ledger.

If it was unclear as to who had the advantage to that point of the fight, the prospect made it transparent in round five, as he beautifully transitioned between aggression and defense. Using the shoulder roll and giving Alfaro as small a target as possible, Kamegai unloaded uppercuts, hooks and crosses. A lead right, short left and a couple of hooks to the body would find their mark as well, and the Teiken product finished the round with a one-two.

The war was again tit for tat in what would be the final round. Though the Nicaraguan was landing right hands and working the prospect’s body, Kamegai simply had more on his punches, driving Alfaro back when shots landed cleanly. After eating a right hand and left hook, and unable to clinch, the visiting fighter felt he needed a breather. Taking a knee to pause the action, Alfaro watched as referee Kazunobu Asao counted to eight. Though the Nicaraguan rose to his feet, Asao must not have liked what he saw as he continued until he reached the full ten count.

Expectations for Kamegai (17-0, 15KO) are high among his handlers, as Teiken’s Akihiko Honda would like his raise his charge into a formidable title contender within the next year and a half. The hall-of-fame promoter, however, was rather down-to-earth in his comments after the contest, as he said that Kamegai does not yet have the name-value to challenge someone like current WBO champ Timothy Bradley. While that showdown is something to look forward to in the future, matching Kamegai with punchers like Juan Urango or Breidis Prescott would be interesting, as would Bradley victim Lamont Peterson.

Yamanaka stops Silveira in nine

Japanese bantamweight champ Shinsuke Yamanaka dished out a beating to NABA titleholder Jose Silveira for nine frames until the Mexican retired in his corner before the tenth. The lanky southpaw put on a nice show offensively, as he sits on his punches and throws in combination, hurting Silveira with straight lefts and body blows throughout the contest. The Mexican was more of a technician, trying to bob and weave into striking position, but clearly did not have the firepower to match the local fighter. The 28-year old Teiken prospect advanced to 13-0, 9KO, with the win.

Yamanaka, who owns an elite amateur background, leaped on the domestic scene by rolling up six consecutive wins by stoppage heading into Sunday, including formerly world ranked Mikio Yasuda in his title-winning effort in June. While his left hand carries some power, what stood out most to this writer was his inability to defend a lead right. The light-fisted Silveira snapped the prospect’s head back repeatedly over the course of the 27 minutes, and Yamanaka will need to learn how to avoid this blow if he is to take advantage of his southpaw stance.

Miyazaki dominates Ebisuoka over 11

The metamorphosis of Ryo Miyazaki continued last Thursday, as he put on another splendid performance in the first defense of his OPBF light flyweight title. The 22-year old prospect, who looked excellent in lifting the regional strap from fringe contender Katsuhiko Iezumi in June, used his advantage in speed and power to earn every point on the scorecards for the first eight frames. While his opponent, former world title challenger Junichi Ebisuoka, took the ninth after opening a cut over Miyazaki’s right eye with a punch, the remainder of the fight was all for the champ. The end came in round 11, when Miyazaki rocked the 37-fight veteran with a left hook, forcing referee Jun Kawakami to halt the bout.

Miyazaki, now 12-0-3 (7KO), is a gymmate of phenom Kazuto Ioka, and like his more famous cohort, could be in contention for a world title shot in the near future. As Ioka is targeting the WBC belt, Miyazaki is being guided to the WBA, where three pugilists hold a trinket from the Panamanian organization – Giovani Segura (unified champ), Juan Carlos Reveco (regular titleholder), and newly crowned interim strapholder Roman Gonzalez. With Segura likely booked until mid-2011, and with Reveco out as he is recovering from kidney stones, Gonzalez seems to be the man most available.

As much as I do believe that Miyazaki is a solid prospect, it is probably too early for him to square off with any of the three right now. Since he probably could not get dates with those opponents anyway, let’s hope that he is matched with the likes of Rodel Mayol or Juan Landaeta, both of whom have experience in Japan.

More boxing notes

• The day after a world title fight is almost as busy as the days leading up to the event, and that was the case for Toshiaki Nishioka on Monday. Reporters got a nice quote when the southpaw reiterated that he would like to fight Fernando Montiel, but the scoop was when Honda told the media that the short list also includes IBF beltholder Steve Molitor. Though representatives for neither Montiel nor Molitor have yet to be approached, Teiken plans on holding discussions in the near future. A showdown with the Mexican would probably do well in Japan, but the team would be willing to venture across the Pacific if that is what it takes to get the contracts signed. As for Molitor, Honda and company believe that The Canadian Kid is looking for a big fight and that an arrangement similar to one which was made for Hasegawa-Montiel in April could be possible.
• In the first fight on Sunday’s card, Shinsei Gym prospect Takahiro Shigee (2-0, 2KO) scored a first round TKO by destroying unfortunate Tetsu Fudanotsuji. The southpaw, who is being raised by the same lead trainer that guides Hasegawa, looks like he can be an offensive force in the future with power in both hands. He has a bit of a showman in him to boot, fighting with no guard and exuding confidence.
• Katsunari Takayama is set to challenge Nkosinathi Joyi for the South African’s IBF minimumweight crown on November 27. The former two-time titleholder has officially retired by Japan Boxing Commission standards and has moved his base of training to the Philippines in order to campaign for the non-JBC approved IBF and WBO crowns. Takayama won an eliminator against Joyi’s countryman Tshepo Lefele in August.

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