Kuniaki shibata

Good quick fisted, agressive boxer who used some pretty sound in and out movement when he was at his best. There were some issues related to his durabilty, especially when he moved up in weight, and that's always got to be taken into consideration when making fantasy match-ups. Still, once he got into a rhythm, he was tough to beat. Could see him giving Famechon fits, actually.

 

Shibata's main problem was his chin. It wasn't fragile, it only let him down against the big bangers (Hawkins, Sanchez, Villaflor and Escalera). However, when he was on and tightly composed, he handled some of the big bangers himself, beating Saldivar, Villaflor (in their 1st fight) and Arredondo. He was very strong, a good boxer and unafraid to mix it. I don't see Famechon posing a problem. It wouldn't be a walkover of course, but I see it as Shibata W15 over Famechon.

Scartissue

 

Here is annihilating Raul Cruz, a real touh Mexican who fought the best throughout his career

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kGhVV6PBmc&feature=related[/ame]

 

Shibata was very good, but i tend to think Famechon would have outmaneuvered him and won by 3 or 4 points.

 

At his very best, Shibata would have given Famechon a very close battle, but like lora said, it would have gone to Fammo by a close margin of 3 or 4 points.

 

Shibata's only real weakness (and it was a sometimes fatal one, unfortunately) was that he was susceptible to quick KOs. Outside of that, he was a very well-rounded fighter - quick, skilled, aggressive, tough, and gutty. He basically beat Saldivar at his own game of aggressive counterpunching. I think he would've been a big problem for someone like Fammo, who probably didn't have the style or power to capitalize on Shibata's shaky starts in fights.

 

Very succinctly put.

 

I agree, though i think it should be mentioned Saldivar was looking pretty worn out physically by then.Looked like he used up a lot of what he had left beating Legra and Fammo.Still a top performance by Shibata though.

 

Yep, I don't see Shibata having nearly as much success against the Saldivar who beat the likes of Ramos, Winstone and Laguna, or even the slightly dwindling version who faced Famechon and Legra. Still, Shibata did the job when it mattered and looked good to boot even if Saldivar was clearly losing what made him great in the first place.