105lbs: Is Francisco Rodriguez No.1 if he KOs Takayama?

He needs to beat Raymi.

 

He stands an excellent chance, based on their recentest form.

Takayama looked very beatable in his last defense against Ono (letting his journeyman countryman - with only two professional knockouts - surge in the mid-rounds and bully him, making the champ look vulnerable and helpless at times. Without the knockdowns - neither of them very authoritative, more down to Ono's exhaustion - this would have been an extremely close shave of 115-113 on my card and two of the judges'...and if you subtract those Ono may well have swept the championship rounds and deserved the nod himself as he did win the eleventh...), while Rodriguez looked spectacular in whipping the unbeaten Sabillo from pillar to post.

 

The actual h2h best and uncrowned man at straw is Buitrago (anyone know what's up with his lengthy absence since getting robbed in that draw with Sabillo in the Philippines last November? :huh) but the winner of this unification is the clear #1, with the loser #2 and the remaining top five rounded out in no particular order by Oswaldo Novoa, the winner of Hekkie Budler vs. Xiong Zhao Zhong in October, and Buitrago.

 

If Takayama wins he wants to fight Budler at the end of the year so we COULD get a definitive #1. I love Takayama but feel his days at 105lbs are numbered.

RE his upcoming fight, I'd like to say that Rodriguez would be #1 on RESULTS but it's worth noting Takayama has had some AWFUL preparation.

 

I'm okay with that for now, but even if he dominates Zhong (which is no given! - though with his quick and relaxed style the Hexecutioner will be a rightful fave over the game but diminutive Chinese Mini Tyson) he should drop below the Rodriguez vs. Takayama winner IMO.

Rodriguez or Takayama is a better win than Zhong, and Takayama's résumé now + Rodriguez (or Rodriguez's now + Takayama) is better than Budler's résumé now + Zhong.

 

I agree there is noticeable rot setting in with Takayama. He barely squeaked by Ono, which is bad.

 

i would say so. rodriguez is a very good fighter

 

RE his preparation: I'm talking about how his trainer/mentor has had to under-go surgery to remove an aneurysm recently and how Naoya Inoue re-opened a cut in sparring a couple of weeks ago.

Really nice guy by all accounts and one of my favourite fighters out there but I think his hard career might be set to catch up with him

 

I was responding to you feeling his days at 105 are numbered (based on looking very beatable against Ono) and not so much to what you said about his preparation, although that piece is useful information as well. Rough break for him there. :think

 

Actually, I neglected to mention this - but if Zhong does spring the upset on Budler he might actually have a case for best overall résumé at straw, if not the actual #1 spot. (unless he were to avenge the Novoa loss, or unify...)

That's even despite his recent losses being the least flattering of any top guys down there. Dropping a decision to Ono and getting shellacked and stopped relatively early by Novoa are pretty ugly results, compared with Rodriguez's very respectable losing effort against Chocolatito at just twenty, or Takayama's loss in Joyi II (though Handig is every bit as ugly a loss as Novoa, if not more)

That's based on comparing everybody's signature W, and really nobody in the division at present has more than one.

Zhong's = Cuello. (next best - Resendiz)
Budler's = Joyi. (next best - Rubillar x2 ..trust me, some of the other guys on there have prettier looking records, but...)
Takayama's = Mario Rodriguez. (next best - Isaac Bustos, actually better than Rodriguez but a long time ago...)
Rodriguez's = Sabillo. (next best - toss-up between Ruiz and Chango Vargas)
Novoa's = Zhong. (next best - Resendiz)

Zhong would have the best pair of recent scalps: Cuello & Budler, trumping potentially Rodriguez & Rodriguez for Takayama, or Zhong and Resendiz for Novoa, or even Sabillo & faded Takayama for Rodriguez.

 

Have you managed to see the Takayama/Handig fight? I've heard it was a robbery but not seen it. I've managed to see Ono/Zhong and Zhong pretty clearly lost it (Kimweri was jobbed to Ono IIRC though).

Wanheng Vs Novoa in September will be a good one too...few major months coming down there

 

I heard it will be aired on beIn Sport. :good