Who among these boxers are your favorite and most exciting to watch? Akira Yaegashi Alex Sánchez Chana Porpaoin Donnie Nietes Eagle Den Junlaphan Fahlan Sakkreerin Hekkie Budler Ivan Calderón Jose Antonio Aguirre Katsunari Takayama Kazuto Ioka Keitaro Hoshino Knockout CP Freshmart Kosei Tanaka Leo Gamez Noel Arambulet Oleydong Sithsamerchai Ratanapol Sor Vorapin Ricardo López Román González Wanheng Menayothin Yutaka Niida
Ivan Calderon and Roman Gonzalez are my two favourite fighters from that list. Calderon I was obsessed with. Up in the middle of the night for all of his fights, sometimes in very difficult circumstances and in foreign languages. He remains one of my very favourite fighters in history. Watching him go off the cliff was probably my biggest heartbreak as a fight fan since Micahel Watson. Gonzalez has been a favourite for years. I was prepared for (and even predicted) the precise nature of his downfall so that eased the blow, it was no surprise. Top ten faves: 01 - Roman Gonzalez 02 - Ivan Calderon 03 - Akira Yaegashi 04 - Donnie Nietes 05 - Katsunari Takayama 06 - Ricardo Lopez 07 - Wanheng Menayothin 08 - Kazuto Ioka 09 - Kosei Tanaka 10 - Knockout CP Freshmart
I'm not familiar with most of the pre 2000 ones, but out of those I saw fight or followed - Akira Yaegashi and Kosei Tanaka were probably the best guarantee for "value for money" or great action. Personally, I liked Kazuto Ioka. His win over Oleydong in his 7th fight got me interested in lower weight-classes. I enjoyed fights of Eagle Kyowa/Den Junlaphan as well when I went back to watch them. Smart fighter with interesting style and qualities. His fight with Mayol I'd particulary recommend. I always appreciated the skillset of Knockout and Wanheng, but them having fought at home (almost) exclusively, against mostly unspectacular challangers, made their career a bit uneventful and not as interesting to follow.
Finito for sure. He was one of my absolute favorite fighters through the 90s. Had the pleasure of meeting him too and he’s a very nice guy.
Finito and Chocolatito are my absolute favorites of the division but I also really enjoy Ivan Calderon, Kazuto Ioka, Donnie Nietes, Kosei Tanaka, and Akira Yaegashi
