While nobody else from the Land of the Rising Sun in this era is likely to match the meteoric rise of Naoya "Monster" Inoue, parsing out whose ascension is the second most impressive (which still leaves plenty of room to be Great with a capital "G") still makes for an interesting thought exercise. I'd posit that Kyōguchi has a very strong case for the most dominant hit-the-ground-running pro campaign of any contemporary Japanese boxer aside from Inoue. They make for an intriguing contrast, as well. The Monster was groomed for success even before his pro debut, going 75-6 in the amateurs with a whopping 48 stoppages and participating in many international tourneys against the best in the world. Kyōguchi, on the other hand, did reasonably well for himself but not even close to as well, going 52-14 in the amateurs without any major distinctions or acclaim outside a few domestic and regional "cups". One year into the pros, Kyōguchi had quietly become OPBF straw champ and made a single defense, but as of mid-2017 was still largely unknown outside true Japanese boxing scene diehards before heading into an IBF world title opportunity. He beat the incumbent, José Eduardo “Tecuala“ Argumedo Barraza, handily to declare himself a global player - but it would be his first defense of the IBF belt that really began turning heads. Becoming the first person to knock out Carlos Alberto "Choccoroncito" Buitrago Rojas - for a time considered the heir apparent to Román "Chocolatito" González as Nicaragua's p4p king - was a big statement. As terrific as his 2017 was, however, in 2018 may have outdone himself. Two consecutive unbeaten victims - Filipino 105lb title challenger Vince Asuncion Paras, entering 13-0 (11), and Indonesian southpaw Tiburtius Monabesa, in Kyōguchi's light fly debut - were both dealt with as butter under a hot knife. The coup de grâce was a surgical demolition of longtime championship picture mainstay Hector Budler of South Africa, upon whom Kyōguchi performed a brutally surgical demolition job, making him quit after 10 rounds on New Year's Eve to claim the WBA Super belt at 108lbs. Next up is a defense of that belt, versus Tanawat "Satanmuanglek CP Freshmart" Nakoon on the Ioka vs. Palicte undercard a week from Wednesday, airing live on UFC Fight Pass. Nakoon is going to get absolutely destroyed. He went life & death with Indonesian journeyman Melianus Mirin last year, and escaped with a win thanks at least in part IMO to some last-minute tinkering by a corrupt Thai commission to reduce the scheduled length of the contest in processus. Hiroto is a stalker nonpareil, and dangerous with both hands - but his supreme weapon is the left hand, particularly when put to its optimal use in the form of a step-in lead upper-hook, of varying altitudes. He used this punch to shatter Hekkie Budler's orbital bone in the 9th round, and piled up body shots with it to eventually beat him into submission. I'm not sure he can follow Inoue's trailblazing quite as high as bantamweight, although he is only an inch shorter ...but super fly is definitely viable, which leaves room for him to become a four-division world champion. I honestly think his résumé is already superior to Ken Shiro's, leaving only Kosei Tanaka (currently nosed ahead of him, slightly, as 3-division champion) for him to contend with as the "best of the rest" in the pack of young Japanese talents left in Naoya's wake.
Nakoon isn't complete and utter trash, mind you - he is undefeated FWIW, and coming off a couple of victories over decent Pinoys in Marco John Rementizo and Crison Omayao (the former was a close decision in Thailand and thus may have been another gift, but he stopped the latter) but from what I've seen of him Kyōguchi ought to be levels above him. A blitz KO1 is the only way this could go from a routine defense to a "wow" moment.
