Harada #1 for me, followed closely by Hiroyuki Ebihara, a damn good and very dangerous fighter was Ebihara at his best, and the fact that Harada has a win over him albeit in a 6 rounder is a great scalp for him. I have Ebihara above the likes of Ohba, Gushiken and Watanabe as well as Shirai among others, the second best fighter ever to come out of Japan for my money.
Three pages and not one single mention of Koki Kameda...:sad In all seriousness, I think I'd rate my Top 5 Japanese fighters as follows... 1. Harada 2. Ebihara 3. Watanabe 4. Ohba 5. Gushiken The only pick I'm really hesitating on is placing Ebihara over a fighter with whom I'm more familiar, Watanabe. But he looks great in starching Kingpetch, and since every one of his losses seems to be either closely contested or controversial, I'm inclined to bump him up based on the work he got done in one of the better periods in the history of the flyweight division.
Agreed. Ebihara is among the top 5 finest Asian fighters, period. 1. Harada 2. Ebihara 3. Ohba 4. Watanabe 5. Gushiken That's how I see it.
Though if H2H considerations weren't included and we were going just off accomplishments, Shoji Oguma would probably be in the top 3. Probably should be regardless now that I think of it....
Was just about to mention Oguma`s name in this thread as I had completely overlooked him yesterday, but seems l**** you beat me to it S_S, he certainly earned himself a spot among the top ten of Japan`s best ever fighters, more like top 5 actually. His quality of opposition sets him head and shoulders above the other fighters listed in this thread imo, he ducked no one that I can think of and fought all comers and always came to fight, he is a personal favourite of mine. Loved the way he used to use his head like a Billy Goat when lunging in with his attacks, funny thing though half the time he butted himself open and not the other guy , Eijiro Murata reminded me quite a bit of Oguma, especially for his similar use of his head as a battering ram. Quality fighter was Shoji Oguma, I wonder how he is doing these days?
FFS, Shibata>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Gushiken, despite his lack of afro/tache combination. Seriously, Shibata is right up there with me. I'd probably have him over Watanabe (because I can) but below Ebihara, with Harada way above all of 'em.
Shibata was patchy but Villaflor 1 Saldivar Arrendondo As well a few other lesser wins is a solid ledger, and he was clearly a higly capable operator. Tough little ****er as well, despite his genetics telling him not to be. And yes, Oguma is a fantastic shout as well. Over Gushiken. 1. Masahiko 2. Ebihara 3. Shibata 4. Ohba 5. Oguma That'll do.
Fair do's, I haven't scored the second fight before, will do soon. Maybe that will....make things even more difficult for myself