Tomas Rojas v Suriyan Sor Rungvisai/The Steady Deterioration Of The 115lbs Division.

Discussion in 'British Boxing Forum' started by jpab19, Aug 29, 2011.


  1. jpab19

    jpab19 Exploding Muffin Dad Full Member

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    When Suriyan Sor Rungvisai was drafted in to take on Thailand's favourite Pongsaklek Wonjongkam in August of last year, the general consensus seemed to be that the only thing that made him any different from the spate of soft-touches the champion had been facing was the fact that he was actually getting a shot at the WBC title at flyweight.

    Such was the regularity that Wonjongkam would take fights with unworthy adversaries, Suriyan's sterling effort(which, for the life of me, I can't find anywhere) was dismissed by most as Pongsaklek merely looking past the man who was formerly known as Suriyan Por Chokchai, and that a fully focused Pong would never have had such difficulty with the raw aggression and enthusiasm of the Nakhon Ratchasima native.

    Perhaps that is still the case, but Rungsavai certainly made those who had written him off entirely look very short-sighted ten days ago when he wrested the WBC title at super-flyweight from the popular and always entertaining Tomas ''Gusano'' Rojas. Very much the underdog, despite home advantage the Thai was seen as a stop-gap for Rojas before he continued on with his, to that point, impressive reign which consisted of wins against Nobuo Nashiro and Juan Jose Montes.

    It was expected that Gusano may suffer some early discomfort, and that he did, but, to the shock of many, not in the way it was anticipated. The aforementioned rough style of the challenger was quenched by the surprisingly efficient display of ring IQ from Suriyan many felt he didn't possess. The home fighter made the five-inch height advantage in Rojas' favour redundant due to his ability to stay out of Tomas' range before jumping in with flurries of thunderous shots whenever Rojas was in the process of pulling his hands back. Keeping his hands rotating, never allowing Rojas to find his rhythm, it was an oddly dominant opening six rounds for Suriyan.

    However, as much as the term is overused, it was without doubt a fight of two halves, as Rojas ditched his attempt at out-boxing his slippery foe and instead used his size advantage to rough the Thai up on the inside rather than controlling him from long-range. Fighting from distance worked in Rungvisai's favour in the early going, it was now to his detriment as he didn't have the footwork to evade an onrushing opponent who towered above him. He began to trade as he began to give up more and more rounds over the latter half, making an already fun fight all the more enjoyable. Meeting Rungvisai up close he enjoyed greater accuracy, and, in in contrast to what we're used to seeing, the smaller Suriyan found it harder to let his shots go and have success on the inside, leading to a nervy wait for the judges decision in a razor-thin contest.

    Emerging with the unanimous decision win(115-114 and two off the mark scores of 116-112 and 117-111[a draw or a round either way is fair IMO]), Rungvisai has now further contributed to the impressive number of Thai champions in the lighter divisions, and while not being the most polished little fighter, he certainly guarantees a bout that's enthralling to watch.

    [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N7NfEk9O5k&feature=related[/ame]

    But where does that leave us in a division that, only a few months ago, was one of the best in the sport? While it's clear who the main man is, fighters leaving to campaign elsewhere and others maybe not being quite the talents we assumed they were have left several question marks hanging around. The way the division stacks up now is not quite as pleasing to look at as it was only a few months ago, entertaining fights are still there to be made in abundance, but not quite the quality in terms of the fighters to match the violence that will be on show.


    The Lone Ranger - Hugo Cazares

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    Holder of the WBA title, the fan-friendly Mexican always looks to press the action, and doesn't mind taking a few to land his own. Hugo doesn't give you a second to rest, is always in your face, and times his assortment of bombs very well, a predominently orthodox fighter, he isn't adverse to switching stances for a brief period to further offset an opponents rhythm to set up his assaults even more sufficiently from either side. A former champion at light-fly, where he was massive at the weight, he stepped up after his second narrow defeat to Ivan Calderon. Since his ascent he's had two contenders for fight of the year against Nobuo Nashiro and dominated all other opponents that have crossed his path, the departures of the only other fighters there to rival him have solidified his position as the divisions top dog.

    The Dearly Departed:

    Cristian Mijares:

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    A man who, if you hadn't noticed, I have a partiality for, Mijares has made one of the best comebacks seen in recent years. A Pound for Pound contender until a demolition at the hands of Vic Darchinyan and an ill-fated move up to bantam, Mijares was written off as shot until an impressive run of victories, the defining one being against Topo Rojas for the IBF title, where he turned back the clock, and once again looked like the great fighter he was, diffusing the aggressive Rosas' offence and wearing him down with some new-found expert body work, he earned a wide decision. After fights with both Malik Bouziane and Raul Martinez fell through, he won just about every round against late replacement Carlos Rueda, he's given up his belt in another attempt at glory at bantamweight, as opposed to fighting his mandatory Martinez.

    Omar Narvaez:

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    The second of the two men(Mijares being the other) who I believed to be the best in the division, the undefeated Argentine has too move up to the stacked 118lbs class, to take a likely first defeat against the sublime(and beneficiary of a massive size advantage) Nonito Donaire. It's a shame that a man who took so little risks in a division that he naturally fit in to is finally doing so in a fight fight where he shall be undersized to a large extent. His defense is one of the best in boxing, with the ability to slip, pick off and block the opponent's flurries all with equal expertise, he displayed this in a magnificent, possibly career-best display earlier on this year against Cesar Seda, where he gave a clinic against a fighter who was huge in comparison(OMEN?), nullifying the Puerto Rican's offense and even hurting Seda on a few occasions.

    Cesar Seda:

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    The 25 year old has looked one of the future best in the division, giving a more than decent account of himself against Narvaez. Though his move up isn't official, it is inevitable, he's truely massive at 115 and has outgrown it by this stage, having had his last fight against Jose Silveira closer to super-bantam than super-fly. A busy southpaw who likes to let punches fly with regularity from range, he may very well be a surprise package at bantam, where he will still benefit from being significantly bigger than most opponents, still allowing him to impose his style, all the while having the added experience from the Narvaez battle.

    Remaining Contenders/Pretenders?

    Suriyan Sor Rungvisai:

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    The man mentioned at the top of the thread, he's not quite proven to be anywhere near Cazares' league yet at the weight. He has a modest record but seems to have really grown in the past year from the Wonjongkam fight, fighting a tinge smarter than he had previously shown, while still retaining the typical Thai qualities that'll make any fight against him a tough task, with his enthusiasm and not-so-refined aggression. At only 22 the short, compact Suriyan still has time to improve, so don't expect a plethora of quality defences from the get-go.

    Tomas Rojas:

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    Doesn't seem to have made quite the improvement that he seemed to have, unless he looked past the young Thai, which I believe to be unlikely. Still has plenty of strings to his bow, he without doubt made a sterling effort to get himself where he is today, improving his ring generalship, jab and his overall abilty to fight with ease from range whilst staying patient amongst other aspects. There's a chance that after a 15 year career he may haved burned himself out, which would be unfortunate considering he's only had a short stint at the top compared to the time he spent on the fringes of world-class.

    Nobuo Nashiro:

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    Looks like his career will follow a similar trend of ''forever the bridesmaid'' as things stand, having been toppled by Cazares in their rematch(first fight being a draw) in close fashion, and a little bit more clear cut fashion to Rojas. Aggressive, but somewhat slow-paced at times, he also promises that there will never be a dull moment when he enters the squared battlefield, forcing Cazares into two all out wars of attrition and ensuring Gusano had to stick around the danger zone longer than he would've liked. He's got some decent wins in his own right, but at 29 you'd have to think now is his chance to pick up a title if he ever will. A move up to bantam has also been mooted though, so we may have to move him also into the above category.

    Part two to ensue............
     
  2. jpab19

    jpab19 Exploding Muffin Dad Full Member

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    Part two:

    There are of course others, Martinez and Rodrigo Guerrero are set to collide once again and Yota Sato, Tepparith Singwancha and Drian Francisco too deserve mentions. As it stands though they aren't exactly inspiring names, having watched most of them look lacklustre in excess of one occasion. There's a derth of encouraging talents emerging also, Leo Santa Cruz is sure to join the other quality young fighters who reside at bantam, leaving Daniel Rosas as one of the very few left that has any real real promise.

    Just found this a bit interesting as it seems to have snuck up on me a little bit. Not too long ago I was hoping for all of the four champions to cross paths, but with two leaving and one being defeated by unheralded opposition that dream died a quick death. As a result the division looks nowhere he as imposing as it once promised to be, while still ensuring some intriguing match-ups at the same time.

    Then again, is this a positve? Is one division being depleted to add to a division that is already the best in the sport a good thing? Or does it make bantam too top-heavy and the talent not as evenly distibuted across the two divisions?
     
  3. Flea Man

    Flea Man มวยสากล Full Member

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    Really good thread that sum up my thoughts completely.

    Mijares Vs Narvaez/Cazares would've gave some real worth to the division.

    As it stands, Cazares is looking the best. I've never really rated him to be honest, only had his moments against Calderon when he was a freak at the weight. I guess now the shackled are off he can do a lot more (not seen ANYTHING of him since the 2nd Calderon fight admittedly, help please :good)

    So, yeah, not looking great, especially as Narvaez is now being sacrificed and will probably be ****ed should be return to 115 (hope not)

    Will watch this later :good Always good to see a Thai fighter wearing a strap :good
     
  4. BoxingAnalyst

    BoxingAnalyst Obsessed with Boxing banned

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    ^^^ Agree with everything Flea says.
     
  5. jpab19

    jpab19 Exploding Muffin Dad Full Member

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    You haven't seen the Nashiro double?:scaredas: Mate, get on it!

    Two really good fights, the 12th round of the rematch was ROTY in my opinion. Good fights, but they reaffirm my beliefs that Cazares couldn't touch Mijares or Narvaez(sorry Greg). I mean, his offense was almost diffused by Nobuo Nashiro, who is a come forward-type with very little defensive know-how, can you imagine what would happen if he came up against Diamante or El Huracan?:lol: He'd get handled, with ease IMO, his only chance would be to land a Michael Nunn.

    He's not a bad fighter, far from it, but a level or two below the aforementioned pair. He's still the one-dimensional hard-hitting aggressor he was at light-fly, but he just doesn't possess the same physical pressence. I suppose you could say he's improved his boxing ability to a degree, I mean, he wasn't going to get away with the bull-rushing he did against light-fly's at the higher weight, so he's got a tad more smarts about him, though not any kind of inspirational amount, just enough to provide him with the success he's acheived thus far.

    His record at 115lbs is overrated also, the only real fighter of note he's fought there is Nashiro, and he drew and beat him by split decision, which was put into perspective when Gusano beat Nashiro much more comfortably. Narvaez has a better 115lbs ledger IMO, it's just that the good victories are, unfortunately, strung out over long periods, one very rarely followed another. Mijares too, with his wins over Rosas and Arce(which isn't that great a win, though it beats all that Hugo has barring Nashiro), though it's understandable not to have had him over Cazares as Hugo was already #1(for some) before Diamante had recorded any of his decent comeback victories.

    You'd have to think he was there for the taking if the division hadn't become so underwhelming all of a sudden, 33 isn't young for anyone in and around those divisions, particularly an in your face type. I'd still like him to fight Rojas, that'd still be close I think. As it stands he's fighting another Japanese challenger, who he'll beat comfortably(I think this guy has lost to Pong and Naito at some point, I'd appreciate if someone could tell me if I'm wrong though).

    Hopefully Rungvisai will actually fight some decent opposition to get me pumped at the prospect of this.
     
  6. Bajingo

    Bajingo Boxing Junkie banned

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    Quality read as always, and as always far too comprehensive for me to have anything to add :oops:

    I have sent you a PM you might appreciate though (No Manilow)
     
  7. jpab19

    jpab19 Exploding Muffin Dad Full Member

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    Thanks.:yep:good

    I didn't actually intend to write another uber-long thread, I was only going to say that the result surprised me(plus knew I wasn't really going to get feedback so didn't see the point), but then I watched the fight, and then I got thinking, and then my mind ran away with itself.........
     
  8. Mandanda

    Mandanda SkillspayBills Full Member

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    *I Enter Thread. Learn About a Division i know very little about and then leave as i have nothing to add but top thread as always* :good
     
  9. jpab19

    jpab19 Exploding Muffin Dad Full Member

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    :yep I've been learning from the best thread starter around here.;)
     
  10. WalletInspector

    WalletInspector Obsessed with Boxing banned

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    White Tiger?
     
  11. jpab19

    jpab19 Exploding Muffin Dad Full Member

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    Yep, a load of mindless **** spewed out.

    Only difference is people seem to care about his threads.

    :conf
     
  12. SportsLeader

    SportsLeader Chilling Full Member

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    :lol:
     
  13. Mandanda

    Mandanda SkillspayBills Full Member

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    :good
     
  14. SportsLeader

    SportsLeader Chilling Full Member

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    Fantastic avatar.
     
  15. Mandanda

    Mandanda SkillspayBills Full Member

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    :lol::good Cheers Mate. Dusted the DVD off yesterday and ain't laughed like that for a while.