Super Featherweight: The Overlooked Flyover Division Where Some Scary Monsters Dwell

The Super Featherweight Division has recently been somewhat of a forgotten division that the more prominent fighters at Featherweight leap over with a single bound preferring to fight at the less competitive Lightweight Division part of that may have something to do with this division containing quite a few nasty customers who may dole out a severe beating on anyone who floats through their division and it may a beating that's hard to recover from. Thankfully for most of the more well known fighters at Featherweight have the benefit of the Division being mainly populated with Japanese and Mexican fighters who barely get any attention on American television screens. So no one knows what they're missing and no one knows who's being ducked. So take some time and acquaint yourselves with some of the Scary Beasties that populate This Oft Forgotten Division.

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Takashi Uchiyama is a 35 year old 5'7.5 Super Featherweight. Born in Nagasaki Prefecture, grew up in Kasukabe, Saitama, and fighting out of Tokyo, Japan. 内山 高志 is a decorated amatuer with a 91-22 59 KO's record, which isn't that great looking but he managed to win 4 Lightweight titles along the way. While not the most technically gifted boxer out of Japan he is by far one of the most powerful, they don't call him KO Dynamite for nothing, he has very good defense, and is overall a solid fighter who is pretty good at everything. He went pro at the advanced age of 26 but as many fighters recently have proved Boxing isn't a young man's game anymore. Truly he's one of the more underseen and underrated fighters in all of the sport and should be considered for most P4P Top 20 lists but because he stays in Japan he's not very well known to the outside world which is quite a pity. So hopefully the feared Uchiyama can make his way to the states eventually and challenge Garcia, Barthelemy, Salido or rising star Estrella and maybe eventually some FW's will make their way up to challenge him as well like Mares, Loma, Walters or Gonzalez. So Check Out Uchiyama The Number 1 P4P Fighter in Japan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr5iDWvA7fM

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Takashi Miura 5'7 30 year old Super Featherweight. Born in Yamamoto, Akita Prefecture, Japan and currently fighting out of Tokyo. Miura is currently The WBO Super Featherweight Champion after taking it from Gamiliel Diaz by way of brutally knocking him the F out. He's currently the second best Boxer in Japan and ironically the second best Takashi in Japan as well. His one RTD loss is nothing to be ashamed of he was stopped by the great Takashi Uchiyama who is a bonafide KO artist and along the way managed to drop Uchiyama for the first time in his career. Dubbed The Mexecutioner because after losing to Uchiyama he's come roaring back with a vengeance knocking Mexicans out left and right. The only one that could withstand his wrath without being KO'd was the durable Sergio Thompson but he went down twice and he put Miura down once along the way. So Check Out this little Badass Jewel Of The Orient in Action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdAsu1HQPy0

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Francisco Javier Vargas Peláez is a 5'8 30 year old Super Featherweight. Born in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico and currently living in Mexico City. He's trained by Joel De La Hoya, Francisco is a very soft spoken guy, doesn't come across as arrogant in the least, Francisco isn't the flashiest boxer, he isn't the most skilled boxer, but he like most other Mexican Warriors he lets his fists do the talking for him, and puts forth the best effort he can to get the job done, and he did just that by absolutely annihilating the dried up corpse of Juanma Lopez, in what should have been his last fight Vargas nastily dispatched Juanma about as bad as Mikey and Siri did, however he was equaled a few months later by Cuellar. He turned pro far later than most other Mexican fighters at the advanced age of 26 but sofar he's racked up quite a few impressive wins other than Juanma, he shut out Jerry Belmotes far better than Panterita did, and outpointed Abner Cotto, and stopped Ira Terry as quick As Linares. So Check Out This Tough Mestizo Hombre At Work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaX4bgBC_Pg

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Jose Pedraza is a 26 year old, 5'9 tall for Super Featherweight. Born and raised and fighting out of Caguas, Puerto Rico. He's was so sought after he is co promoted by Universal of PR, Gary Shaw and Dibella. 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Gold Medalist, he's a Blue Chip prospect, A former long distance runner, with good stamina, and disciplined about his diet, which means he takes Boxing seriously which is a good sign for his Future. He's not really a prospect at this point, he already has a win over the tough as hell underrated Filipino Michael Farenas who gave Gamboa all he could handle. Can this switch hitter be the next in Puerto Rico's lineage of greats following in the footsteps of Tito and Cotto??? Possibly. He definitely has an interesting look. The Sniper is taking aim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or6NbSlSxlM

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfcIyG5cFiI

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Adrian Jaime Estrella is a 5'5ish 22 year old Super Featherweight. Born and fighting out of Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. I figured I 'd get this thread in before he becomes a legit contender, because he's looking pretty legit as a prospect after ruthlessly dominating a granted past his prime Celestino Caballero dropping him 4 times, and had Caballero out on his feet a few times the fight should have been stopped but Mexican referees tend to be a little too lenient. He has good head movement, doesn't charge right into punches like a lot of Mexican fighters has a decent jab and legitimate power, and on top of that he's a very good looking man that should be really easy to market to the general public if he ever reaches close to the top level. So will we be saying "Yo Adrian you did it" in a few years,? Check Out Adrian Yet Another "Diamante" Estrella his last name translates as Star that would work better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjc5nzxNZYA

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Javier Fortuna The 5'5 25 year old Super Featherweight 26-0 19 KO's, is a discovery of the great Uruguayan talent scout Sampson Lewkowicz, the man who brought us Pacquiao and Maravilla. Fortuna is aggressive, blisteringly fast, great at pot shotting with occasionally brutal KO power, who could be a possible nightmare for Mikey Garcia if he doesn't move up. La Abejon de La Romana has the goods to be at the top of his division for years to come, although I'm not entirely sold on him yet he's can be sloppy, he has great potential to be a new jewel in Dibella's faltering crown.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1rL-U83ul8

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v9are72fuE

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTGnJXwWzFc

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Liam Walsh is a 57.5 29 year old Super Featherweight. This Southpaw born in and fighting out of Cromer, Norfolk, United Kingdom turned pro back in 2008. Thus far he's been moved along slowly which is a pity since he's one of the better fighters in the lower divisions in the UK, hopefully this hard hitter will fulfill his nickname and become a champion in the division.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V93S5c89xUY

 

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Bryan Vasquez is a 5'5 27 year old Super Featherweight with a 34-1 18 KO's 1 KO loss record. Born and fighting out of San Jose, Costa Rica in Central America. Bryan is the Number One Ranked fighter in the tiny Central American Nation of Costa Rica and not only that but his wife is the most famous female boxer from Costa Rica as well the "Black Amazon" Hanna Gabriel, so I guess that makes them The King and Queen of Costa Rican Boxing. Bryan is a very skilled all around decent fighter he uses his jab well and is a little more rangy than your typical Latino fighter, also do not let the one KO loss fool you, it was to the Super Featherweight Monster of Japan Takashi Uchiyama and he was still standing and throwing punches when they stopped the fight, he didn't go down he has a good chin. Since then he's rebounded by taking the 0 of Jose Felix Jr. and making the very sturdy Sergio "Yeyo" Thompson throw in the towel. He was recently robbed in a match against Fortuna. So Check Out Tico Costa Rica's Mas Fina in Accion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJZ-Z14emoA

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Andres A. Gutiérrez Vera is a 5'6 22 year old Super Bantamweight with a 30-0 22 KO's record. Born in Queretero, Mexico and fighting out of Guadalajara. He's known as Jaguarcito The Little Jaguar, I don't think he'll perform very well against top competition in the division, he had far too many close decisions to good fighters to convince me he can shut out a great fighter. but there is something gritty and tough about him, I see a young Arce or Jhonny Gonzalez in the making, sure to have a few upsets along the way in his career. So keep your eye in this Young Mexican Super Bantamweight prospect
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2VcywvuqX8

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Rikki Naito is a 5'8 24 year old Super Featherweight. Born in and fighting out of Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The son of Japanese fighter Cassius Naito the afro wearing Featherweight with Featherfists is a very talented fighter, but will he be up for the challenge against The Two Takashi's that's a tough task for anyone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_Uo1rMIasA

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Thanakorn Pawachart is a 5'9 25 year old Super Featherweight with a 9-1 4 KO's 1KO loss record. Born in Yasothorn Province, Thailand and fighting out of Bangkok, Thailand. Pawachart is an old pro at the young age of 25, he started early as in really early he had his first professional fight at the ripe old age of 8 as a Muaythai fighter in his native Thailand's favorite fight sport, as a Kickboxer he racked up an impressive record of 193 wins 36 losses and 4 draws, and of the losses none of them were by way of Knockout, so he has a pretty damn good chin and body evidently. He turned pro as a Boxer in 2010 but has thus far had a relatively slow build since he's only fought 9 times so far, because he's doing double duty with continued forays into Muaythai its lessened the amount of fights he's had. He has a sharp Southpaw jab and is a very technically proficient fighter, he's fights intelligently good at setting the pace and controlling the distance, all of which he learned in his 100's of matches since he was a child. Whether he poses a real threat to Super Featherweight kingpin Takashi Uchiyama remains to be seen, it may be too soon, or Uchiyama may very well be ripe for the picking. His ring name Chuwattana comes from the Gym he trains in. So Check Out Chuwattana.

Postscript: He got KTFO by Uchiyama.:-(

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Romain Jacob is a 5'6.5 27 year old Super Featherweight. Born in and fighting out of Calais, Pas-de-Calais, France. He's incredibly featherfisted he only has a handful of KO's but just like Cuenca he got the skills to pay the bills. He's a member of a family of French Fighters the patriarch being Jacques Jacob.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqMX370w8Ag

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I'll flesh out this thread later on today.

 

Which matches would you guys like to see at SFW, which Featherweights do you want to move up?

 

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Orlando Salido Rivera is a 34 year old 5'6 Super Featherweight with a 42-12-2 29 KO's 5 KO losses. Born and raised in Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico and currently living and fighting out of Phoenix, Arizona. Never has a boxer done so much with so little, not many boxers who start their career with a 20-7-2 record could ever be expected to turn in to any thing worth a damn, yet instead of giving up, he's persevered and has turned into one of the best fighters to watch in the sport. Upending the careers of many young prospects along the way, I love that he destroyed Juanma which I predicted not once but twice, and as much of a fan as I am of Eastern European fighters I thought it was hilarious that he beat Lomachenko, because he is always written off as the go to professional victim, never seemingly given a chance, and somehow by hook or by crook Siri sometimes finds a way to rock the natural perceived order of things. He's as dirty and underhanded as they come, but the fighters who fight him should be aware of that by now, he's very adept at getting away with his tricks because he's made it into an art like BHop, he knows when and how to do it all the while the ref is none the wiser.

Even the matches he loses he makes it a tough fight Gamboa was supposed to steamroll him, but along the way Orlando got a questionable KD and made the fight a lot harder that it should have been, then Mikey Garcia it was a given he'd be wiped out by the new "it" kid and in spite of being dropped 4 times and having his orbital bone cracked still Siri kept coming eventually getting to and headbutting Mikey in the nose leaving him something to remember him by, and instead of finishing the match Mikey decided to take the easy way out. Along comes media darling Orlando Cruz highly touted because he was gay and Salido walked him down and knocked him out. He did Lomachenko really dirty by hitting him in the nuts more times than I could count, and came in as a Welterweight, well its serves them right for thinking Salido would be an easy fight that Loma would just roll over, well Salido never signed on that part of the plan and hopefully Loma will learn from this experience. So Check Out Orlando being a dirty rotten scoundrel Love Him or Hate Him He's Always Exciting and deserves more credit than he often gets.


Salido Vs. Kokietgym
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTSOtYWhtbo

 

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Jhonny González Vera is a 5'6.5 33 year old Super Featherweight with a 57-9 48 KO's 4 KO losses. Born in Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico fighting out of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. Jhonny is one of the most underrated Featherweights in the division and fighters in general. I picked Jhonny to KO Mares and no one believed me, but I stuck to my guns and it paid off. Jhonny has one of the highest KO ratios in the division with 73.85% so no matter what he should never be written off because he definitely always has a puncher's chance. As far as his chin goes it may not be granite but I'd say its pretty decent his first KO loss came at the hands of the great Israel Vasquez, the second came from Gerry Penalosa who's good and the last Nishioka (who was retired by Donaire) who was very good himself, so no great shame in losing to any of them. Most of his point losses came early in his career which started way back in 1999. Jhonny has gotten quite a bit better with age and especially since he teamed up with the legendary Nacho Beristain to add a few more skills to his repertoire. Jhonny may not be the greatest there is, but anyone who's fought as many times as he has and has 57 wins they should get a little more respect, but as its frequently the case many fighters like Jhonny get overlooked and ultimately forgotten because they lose one of their matches that the mainstream happens to see, not realizing what they've done leading up to their shot at the big time. So Check Out some of Jhonny's Greatest Hits and Misses along the way and pay tribute to this largely unheralded unsung Mexican Warrior who always usually puts on a good show. Guerra Jhonny.


Gonzalez Vs. Hasegawa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyJoWF-BBxk

 

A lot of these dudes are monsters, why doesn't anyone care.:conf

 

Personally I'd like to see Miura or Uchiyama end the reign of either Walsh and especially Fortuna.

 

Walters vs. Uchiyama would be great.:happy

Gonzalez has officially moved up. He just KO'd Hashimoto in 2.