I love the lower weights and there is no shortage of both great and exciting fights to be found if you enjoy these divisions. favorites Yoko Gushiken is probably my favorite to watch. Followed by Jung Koo Chang and Danny Romero, Vic Darchinyan and Nonito Donaire. Masoa Ohba has a brilliant jab as does Joey Olivo. others I enjoy: Sot Chitalada Yuri Abrachakov Mark Too Sharp Johnson Pongsaklek Wonjongkam Roman Gonzalez seems like a decent starting place.
Good, good picks. What did you think of Luis Bueno? He really fizzled after Moon and did not pick up another good win. He seemingly had one good performance against one great fighter a real hot and cold type.
Too many to list . I'll give a shout out to the legendary Midget Wolgast. Even in his way past prime footage you can see that unique aura and style. He was as natural a fighter as you can get - he even took a young Henry Armstrong the distance at Featherweight, way past his best weight and sell by date. He fought some of the best competition in 112lb history, such as Newsboy Brown (another badass you should look into) etc. It was an era of strong fighters and stronger personalities. This content is protected
Yeah, Midget Wolgast is probably my favourite to read about. And, you know, think about Right now it's Roman Gonzalez, Donnie Nietes and Juan Estrada and I like them as much as the guys from history, Gonzalez especially who may be my favourite fighter full stop. I also dearly love Miguel Canto and watching him, which has led to a fondness for Betulio Gonzalez.
Tons. Jimmy Wilde stands out from historical guys for me. If you include super flyweight there’s also Gilberto Roman who’s a joy to watch. One of Nacho Beristain’s favorite pupils. Chocolatito and Estrada are a joy and probably the two most enjoyable fighters of recent times. I was a big admirer of Mark Johnson too. Love his style. An athletically gifted boxer who loved to get inside and bang. Yoko Gushiken, Masai Ohba, Jung Koo Chang, Hiroyuki Ebihara all thrilling fighters to watch too.
For 115lbs, the super smooth and nasty yakuza Jiro Watanabe. His outside life is just as interesting as his in ring bouts. One of the best southpaws ever, and the possibly the best H2H at 115lbs. This content is protected
This content is protected I would loved to have seen he and Galaxy square off in more then just an exhibition- but alas the stars did not align and allegedly (I'm not sure personally) Jiro was chased off by Khaosai, Who do you think wins the bout if it had taken place when it could?
Romans bout against Moon was painful to watch- He was nothing short of an ATG that should be more well known like a lot of the FW-SFW cast.
Midget Wolgast became my favorite short fighter in the lighter weights when I realized there was no film of Barbados Walcott...
It was stupid sanctioning body stuff making everything awkward. Though I believe Poontarat ended up being the higher ranked guy / had the belt, which is why Watanabe fought him. I don't think there was ducking on either side. Personally, I think Watanabe would win. Also, here's Watanbe sparring with one of my all time favourites, a young Joichiro Tatsuyoshi. This content is protected
I could never see Wantabe ducking Galaxy- however i could see Khaosai as herculean as he was side stepping Jiro he seemingly made a career on the things we accuse Floyd of. I just do not think we have enough evidence for a case in Galaxys favor to obtain a win over Jiro like so many believe. Khaosai was never pushed into a higher gear, he seemed to just sleep walk waiting to throw bombs he was a boring fighter to watch for all the mystique around him being a soul eating Thai demon he just cashed in on his meal ticket (Power, chin,strength) and racked in the cash against soft oppistion he was more Ruddock then Thai Tyson. Khaokar against Jiro however would have been very interesting though. (NICE FILM BTW)
My favorite - bar none - was Halimi Gutierrez. A top contender for flyweight honors in the late 60s to early 70s. What drew me to him was the most incredible handspeed I ever saw before or since. It was off the charts. The only fighter I can actually say whose hands were nothing short of a blur. I was fortunate to be able to watch some of his prime from the old 'Boxing from the Forum' telecasts. I saw his fights with Felix Marquez, Erbito Sallaverria and Fernando Cabanela. The Sallavarria fight was especially endearing as Erbito was the world champ and Halimi decked him and beat him soundly in a non-title 10 rounder. Unfortunately for Halimi, that style will burn you out fast. He was done by '72 and hung on way too long. Venice Borkorsor was another. An absolute monster at flyweight who beat Cabanela, Sallavarria and actually stopped Betulio Gonzalez. And lets face it, no one stops Gonzalez, but Borkorsor really beat on him according to reports. His assault on the bantams was uncanny too. Roman Gonzalez in recent times. Such a beautiful blend of good hard, clean punching.