Ohba, as some might know, was the WBA flyweight champion at the time of his death. At 23, he was at, or near, his prime, and had scored a thrilling off the canvas victory over Chatchai Chianoi three weeks prior to his fatal auto accident. He'd already scored victories over Betulio Gonzalez and Fritz Chervet and Sasumu Hanagata & Vinice Borkasor was about ready to move up to bantamweight. So, who else was there for Ohba to face? Well... Miguel Canto was just starting to come into his own at this time. He'd just avenged to earlier blemishes by defeating Tarcisc Gomez for the Mexican flyweight title, and had drawn with a very tough Ignacio Espinal. He was already considered something of a defensive wizard...so how would he have fared had he met Ohba in 1973 (had masao lived)? And, how do you think this fight would have gone prime-for-prime?
Now here is a fantasy matchup that actually interests me, well done Drew! I think Ohba would have had a hard time against Canto at any point in their respective careers, as Canto was so defensively sound and elusive, but I do think he had enough physical advantages over Canto to beat him. The way to beat Canto was to smother him and throw a high volume of punches to keep him constantly on the defensive, which was not really Ohba`s style although he could fight aggressively when the mood struck him. I think Harada had the perfect style to beat someone like Miguel, with his tremendous workrate and volume punching. Ohba had the height and reach advantage over Canto, as well as having the superior jab in my opinion. Both fighters had great ring mobility, although I would give the slight edge to Canto in that regard. The key to victory for Ohba would be his jab, and he would have to keep throwing it all night to offset Canto`s rythmn and not let him get into his groove. I see Ohba staying on the outside and constantly circling Canto while sticking out that great jab of his, and picking his spots as to when to come forward and force the fight. If Masao fights smart and uses his height and reach to maximum effect, I think he can win a close decision. But I can just as easily picture Canto frustrating the hell out of Ohba with his defensive prowess, and go on to win a decision too. Whoever would win it would be very close on the cards, and I think a series of fights between these two is a very likely possibility here, as neither man would truly distinguish himself from the other in my opinion. If it comes down to a three fight series I really can`t tell who would win it, but I do know that every fight would be very close with the victor winning by the narrowest of margins. I`ll go with Ohba by decision, even though Canto was the more proven performer of the two.
Canto, barely. I think if Oba was more frantic with his pace, he'd take it, but as it were; Canto's jab and feet let him out-manoeuvre Oba. Obs's own lead gives Canto's tremendous issues, obviously, but I think the pace would end up controlled by Canto, meaning he'd take the W. Enforcing a high-pace wasn't really Oba's style.
Ohba would have been a bad style matchup for Canto imo. Shades of Hearns vs Benitez and Jibaro Perez vs Happy Lora. Canto was obviously well used to fighting and beating taller Flyweights, but the ones he could mesmerize, drag around the ring and show all his offensive skill on were usually the more technically limited brawling and pure punching stalker types (Vargas, Avelar etc) or just lesser talented and composed boxer-punchers that were usually lacking consistent footwork, a good jab and/or combination throwing ability. Against the better boxer-punchers he defeated like Gonzalez(though he had become more of a straight forward, hittable trading focused fighter by mid-70s than the smoother compete boxer-puncher he was against Ohba....i always suspected the bad beating he was supposed to have taken against Bhorkhorsor took a fair bit out of him) Hanagata, Oguma and Park his height and reach disadvantages tended to come more distinctly into play and though still looking excellent, many rounds became tight. His offensive output became a lot more measured and left-hand dominant in order to control the higher class of boxer-puncher that had a height and reach advantage on him. Though slightly past his prime against the gifted Park, that fight did indicate a lot of the issues he could have against someone with offense, skill and speed enough to ensure he can't simply outbox and beat to the punch for long periods at his own pace. Ohba was tall and a great textbook boxer-puncher offensively that can match Canto in having one of the divisions great lead hands. That jab was an educated piston he would double and triple on regularly. His long outside combinations were formidable and he could match Canto for speed, poise, 15 round stamina and workrate. He had good mobility and spring in his legs, very good footwork and threw all his punches equally well circling or on the front foot. I see an outside fencing match where Ohba has the physical and technical tools to intelligently work that height and reach advantage with his great jab, finding a distance after 4-5 rounds where he can control being in his own punching range and outside Canto's with little half-steps back and pivots when Canto tries to slide into his own jabbing range or counter. I don't see Canto having the versatility or right offensive mindset to turn more aggressive boxer-puncher and offset enough the kind of outside comfort zone Ohba has well within his skills to establish. A greatly skilled fight, plenty of close rounds with Ohba missing a lot, but ultimately keeping Canto too often on the defensive focusing on avoiding those long sharpshooting straight punches. Any extended exchanges will be very competitive and Ohba could be defensively sloppy against the left-hook so Canto will definitely have success there, but the sort of punches Ohba showed some vulnerability to over his defences tended to come from fighters that matched him much closer for height and reach. Chionoi, Gonzalez etc could whip in a left-hook or long overhand right from typical circling distance or sometimes even if Ohba had taken a half step back thinking he was out range. Canto would have to work much harder to get in range with his shorter slip and counter left-hand work. Canto is just as great a fighter and of course accomplished more due to Ohba's early death, but just a bad style for him here as Ohba is particularly well suited to light hitting, methodical pure boxers that are thinking defence and counter first. However comparing them against the historical field, there are just as many Flyweights i think he would do better against than Masao would.
