Here's his two round blow out of Sakata to win a flyweight strap: YouTube - Takefumi Sakata vs Denkaosan Denkaosan Kaovichit Slow hands and slowish feet, not a brilliant defence, though he does slip a couple of punches nicely, he looks to me like a veteran fighter who's comfortable doing lots of different things and this could make him dangerous. He's good at all ranges here, is a cracking body puncher and seems to really understand when that punch should be thrown, he punches with good torque turning him from a stinging puncher into a concussive one - a newish development from what i can gather. Are we sleeping on this guy a little bit? Or are his speed limitations flat out ruling out the possibility of really big win in what is an excellent division?
He leans in way too much when he throws some punches giving him an awful centre of gravity, somebody with decent footwork and fast hands will pick him off with ease.
I liked Kaovicht's work in the 1st round, imposing his style, jab and body work with nice accuracy (when Sakata tried to slip the way Kaovicht did, he got hit harder and gave up on that tactic). Giving up that distance in the 2nd made Sakata look better; I wouldn't be surprised if the judges had him losing that round. Those slow hands will definitely be a problem and the balance will likely have him suffer a few flash knockdowns.
Love the Wladimir Klitschkoesque tree-branch-in-your-face "jab". I'm now curious to see their first fight to a draw from 07 to see what changes he implemented to get such different results. As it is, he looks like a bit of work in progress there, which means he's probably as good now as he's going to get at his age. Solid B anyway.
I think that's true for a lot of folks, but he's a world champion now and at his age may be looking to meet the best in a tough division. I wonder is he a soft mark for the top guys in the division, or are we sleeping on him a bit? I'm always wary of a veteran that comes good. This guys' been in a LOT of fights.
I don't mind it at all; it's effective. I don't knock things that are effective (ie Hopkins' cephalic battering ram, Spinks' "discretion is the better part of valour" approach, etc.) Some people really hate it though. :yep My gf's uncle gets hopping mad, saying "Okay, a rangefinder's one thing, but the jab's supposed to be a punch, not a hold! There oughtta be a rule that you can't just leave it out there like that!" to which I always reply "Be that as it may, there is not..."
Sakata was clearly the weakest champ in the division IMO though. His first fight with Parra was a ripper, one of my favourites from that year. But he is fairly basic and laboured past some fairly average opposition. Id love to see Naito in with Kaovichit. That would be a wild one.