I have been pondering this matchup for awhile now, and I think this would have been one hell of a fight. Ohba is definately one of the finest fighters ever to come out of Japan... he had a beautiful jab and he had good ring generalship and fast hands. He could also think quickly on his feet and fought with a two-fisted windmill style like Fighting Harada did, while also being able to box very well when he wanted to. He also demonstrated a touch of vulnerability, especially in the early rounds of a fight. He was floored and badly hurt by both Orlando Amores and Chartchai Chionoi in the opening stanzas, but fought back bravely both times and weathered the incoming fire coming his direction before storming back to take out his foes, with Amores getting stopped in the 5th and Chionoi in the 12th of a fantastic fight.Fidel Bassa is one of my personal favourites and a rarely talked about fighter nowadays, but he was a very good fighter. Fidel was a slick yet explosive fighter, always moving in and out of range with his beautiful footwork and rattling off 5, 6 even 7 punch combinations. He reminds me a bit of Ernesto Marcel in this regard or an early version of Wilfredo Gomez if you will. He did not have the sturdiest set of whiskers however, and this almost cost him in his epic battle against Dave McAuley in their first meeting at King`s Hall in Belfast. However, Bassa won by TKO in the 13th of a thrilling fight in which he tasted the canvas no less than 5 times, 2 of which were ruled slips but were in fact legit knockdowns.Now, as to how a matchup between Bassa/Ohba would unfold, I lean towards Ohba winning by TKO sometime after the halfway point of the fight, say circa 12th. I think Bassa might get to Ohba early as he was a fast starter and he could score a knockdown or two in the first few rounds and have Ohba in some difficulty. But Ohba would get back up, clear his head like he always did and start pumping that piston-like jab of his followed by right crosses into Bassa`s face and look to swell up the tender skin around his eyes. The key to success here for Ohba would be to fight off the backfoot and pick his moments as to when he comes forward, and let Bassa come to him for the most part as he wasn`t as effective when pressing forward and chasing after his foe as Zapata demonstrated in their second bout. I envision Ohba`s jab doing a number on Fidel, possibly leading to a stoppage due to excessive swelling/bleeding around the eyes. But the more likely outcome in my opinion would be Ohba scoring a late rounds stoppage similar to the Chionoi fight. Once Ohba smelled blood he was a deadly finisher and would not let Bassa off the hook. Either way, this would have been a great fight, with lots of ebb and flow throughout. Any thoughts?
Haven't seen enough(any) of Bassa to judge, but based on what I've seen and know of Ohba, it looked like he could've become one of the greater fighters of the lower divisions if not for his untimely death.
Agreed about the Ohba-Bassa match. I'm thinking Ohba, once he got untracked, would wear Bassa down, and drop him a couple of times late, and score a stoppage after being a world of hurt in the opening two or three rounds.
Agree with everything RB said. What if Chang had moved up and faced Bassa in say, '87?How would he have fared?
