Japanese Scene: Smimizu & Serie Defend National Titles, Kameda off to Philippines for Training Camp

Sidney Boquiren of RingwalkNippon recaps this past weekend's Japanese boxing action.  For more updates, you can follow Sidney on twitter: RingwalkNippon@Twitter

Shimizu stops over-matched Kanazawa, defends Japanese 112-lb title

Attempting to show that he could plant his feet and hold his own fighting inside, two-time world title challenger Tomonobu Shimizu over-powered game, but limited opponent Kewpie Kanazawa over five rounds to make the fourth defense of his national title yesterday. Primarily known as a boxer who works from the outside to maximize his advantage in speed, Shimizu made a conscious effort to stand his ground while working combos to the body as well as one-twos to the challenger’s head. The fight came to an end 36-seconds after the start of the sixth stanza as Kanazawa’s corner had seen enough of the one-sided bout.

After using the first round to feel out his opponent, Shimizu took control from the second as he began to consistently land his jab and one-two. The 29-year old, one of several Japanese boxers regularly called "Speed Star," then took advantage of opportunities to set his feet and unload left and right hooks to Kanazawa’s body. The previously charging challenger’s feet stopped, making him a sitting target for the accurate champion.

Heading into the middle rounds, the fight was well on its way to a blowout as Shimizu was landing at a furious rate while his opponent offered little in return. The one instance in which Kanazawa could have turned the tide was in the middle of the fifth when he seemed to buckle the champion with a shot that Shimizu likely did not see. However, the speedster quickly regained his bearings and closed out the round strong.

Though Kanazawa came out for the sixth, the pattern had been set and the challenger was taking a beating. The referee called the bout as Kanazawa’s corner threw the towel to save their charge at 0:36.

Shimizu, now 17-3-1 (8KO), has reeled off three consecutive stoppages including a decent showing against former world ranked Takayasu Kobayashi in February. A victim to current Ring Magazine and WBC titleholder Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (TKO7, November 2006) and Daisuke Naito (KO10, July 2008), the native of rural Fukui Prefecture is hoping to land his third title shot.

While sharpening his skills inside the pocket should make Shimizu more well-rounded, he gets hit a bit too much for the tastes of this writer and his recent success could invite danger if he gets too bold against a more able puncher. Finding spots to come inside to land salvos of punches should improve his ability to stay at a distance, but blessed with neither an iron chin or stones for hands, Shimizu had better not lose track of what he does best.

Serie retains title, sends Fukushima to retirement

Japanese Super Bantamweight champ Masaaki Serie, who fights with a wild, unorthodox style that can be maddening, sent 35-year old Manabu Fukushima to retirement on yesterday’s undercard. Though the savvy veteran attempted to put on a final showcase performance, he could not avoid the right hands launched from the younger, bigger, faster titleholder. Scoring a knockdown in the fourth, Serie bludgeoned the former world title challenger until he retired on his stool at the end of the seventh.

The 27-year old champ (17-4, 7KO), while far from being an elite fighter, has put on a nice 12-fight win streak after losing four in a row back in 2005-2006. That includes victories over former national champs Mikio Yasuda and Shoji Kimura, as well as rugged contenders Kyohei Tamakoshi and Mikihito Seto. Though his stance and footwork are not going to be tabbed as prime examples of textbook sweet science, Serie can be surprisingly accurate with his straight right and fights with intensity and quickness.

Debuting in May 1994, Fukushima held the national and regional 122-lb belt during his 16-year career. He was tabbed as the opponent for Oscar Larios in August 2002, but was stopped in eight frames. Fukushima ends his career with a record of 36-11-4, 20KO.

Kameda sets off for camp in the Philippines

Yesterday, Koki and Daiki Kameda departed for the Philippines, as has been a part of their training regiment for recent fights, to prepare for latter’s bout with Takefumi Sakata.

Koki, whose next fight has yet to be arranged, will be serving as his younger brother’s de facto head trainer for the camp and revealed to reporters that he has already laid out a fight plan for the showdown on September 25. The Kamedas had been gym mates with Sakata at Kyoei Gym a few years back, with the older having extensive sparring experience with the former titleholder.

As Daiki is usually one to shy away from the spotlight in the presence of his older brother, Koki stepped up to say that Sakata will not last the full twelve rounds.

Though the current WBA Flyweight champ never forced the issue against Rosendo Vega in his non-title bout last month, he looked pretty good - showing versatility in style and at least tried to mix up his offense instead of relying solely on his left hook. Kameda’s camp expects that Sakata will come forward to apply pressure, and they may try to set up a strategy that utilizes more footwork and attempt to look for counter-punching opportunities. It should be a stern test for the 21-year old who will have to be much more patient and poised than he was against Denkaosan Kaovichit in his title-winning effort in February.

More Boxing Notes

• It looks like OPBF Featherweight strapholder Naoki Matsuda (33-8-4, 13KO) is finally getting a world title shot, as he is being mentioned as an opponent for Jorge Solis (39-2-2, 28KO) on September 4. At 34-years of age and struggling a bit in recent fights, it is likely the Teiken Gym fighter’s last chance at glory. Though Solis, who holds the WBA Super Featherweight interim title, is not a young buck either, he should be too much to handle for Matsuda. I would be surprised if 12-year vet makes it out of the middle rounds.
• A bit of news flying under the radar (at least my radar, which is, admittedly, selectively functional at best), The Bangkok Post reported that Super Bantamweight beast Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym (41-1, 29KO) will face Ryol Li Lee (16-1-1, 8KO) on October 2 in Tokyo. The current Japanese Featherweight champ has had success on the domestic level, making a brief appearance in Ring Magazine’s top ten of the 126-pound division after upsetting Hiroyuki Enoki in July 2009. However, Poonsawat is a pretty special fighter at 122. Considering the level of competition in both fighters’ careers as well as their current skill level, not to mention that Lee will have to shed an additional four pounds to make weight, expect the odds to be heavy in the Thai’s favor.
• Though I have not been able to find video of the Serie-Fukushima fight yet, feel free to see the wildman in action here. This is the last round of his fight this past spring against Tamakoshi.

e-mail Sidney Boquiren

For more coverage of Japanese boxing, follow Sidney on Twitter: RingwalkNippon@Twitter