This content is protected I say let him in! The expatriated Filipino boxer-puncher is on a very solid run of form in the last few years and has cleaned out the domestic scene in his adopted home of Japan with multiple OPBF title defenses. It would be a shame to see him frozen out as he's legitimately among the strongest h2h in the division right now. I'm not sure he can hang with or beat the upper echelon (Inoue, Tete, Burnett & McDonnell) but he's probably the "best of the rest"!
My understanding is that he will be in. BTW do you think Emmanuel Rodriguez can hang with or beat those four?
Manny has only really ever fought two people worth a damn (Alberto Guevara on the Barthelemy vs. Bey undercard a couple of years ago, then Paul Butler just last week) and I happen to have missed both of those cards, so I don't think I have ever actually seen him in action.
He looked a million dollars against Butler, dominated every minute and looked levels above. Could've got the stoppage if he'd wanted it.
I take it back, I've seen him once before, against Eliecer Aquino in the walkout bout on the Lara vs. Zaveck card. https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/erislandy-lara-vs-jan-zaveck-rbr.553134/page-5 I guess that performance was impressive, albeit taken with a grain of salt because Aquino isn't much to write home about.
Interesting. That's a solid result but at best it pulls him level in accomplishments with Zolani Tete...from three years ago. (curiously, Butler against Tete was 2 fights removed from his first victory over Stuey Hall...and now against E-Rod was 2 fights removed from his rematch over Stuey Hall, still to date his best scalp twice over) @CST80 assuming you did the RBR for that one, how would you compare his Butler performance with Tete's?
Rodriguez looked really good against Butler, but the weight issues of Babyface place a rather large asterisk on that result. Not sure that would have mattered anyway, though- I think Rodriguez presents monstrous challenge for even an ideally trained Butler based on styles alone. Yap would certainly bring the fight the Emmanuel and it would make for compelling viewing.
Ugh, you know what I just realized? Inoue will doubtless be top-seeded, and very plausibly Yap would be the bottom seed. What **** luck to get drafted into a big potentially-life-changing-opportunity tourney like this - only to draw the Monster first match.
Pretty similar level of performance btx Rodriguez and Tete. Rodriguez did more damage early but seemed cognizant of the fact that this was his first 12 rounder and took the pedal off the medal as a result. Tete was dominant throughout and made a point of putting an exclamation point on the performance, rather than a period.
MKY's last victory came a year and two weeks ago, in his native Cagayan de Oro City. He them made his United States debut in June, but lost that contest at super bantam (on a Mayweather Promotions card) as well as one at lightweight five months later (on the Wilder vs. Ortiz II PPV undercard) - both in Las Vegas. He looks for his first win on American soil on Saturday, taking on José "Karma" Guillermo Alvarado Rivera who is 4-0 (4) and fully a decade Yap's junior at 21yo.
