Any thoughts on the two fights between Yuri Arbachakov and Chachai Sasakul? This would be Arbachakov's final fights before calling it quits but he still shows his brilliant skills even on his last legs. Sasakul himself was also a supreme technician himself and gives Arbahakov two hard fights and would be the one to dethrone him in their second fight. The first fight is fast paced with both great action and brilliant technical boxing from both guys. Arbachakov puts on a great performance and uses whatever he has left in the tank to win a clear decision. The second fight Sasakul outpoints the now spent Arbachakov, although the former champ still remains competitive throughout. Thanks to @scartissue for bringing this up in another thread. This content is protected This content is protected
Flo, here were my scores when I first saw these bouts. Just loved both these bouts. Although I had Sasakul winning both, one has to admit that Yuri was at the end of the line by this time. But two awesome fights. Yuri Arbachakov v Chatchai Sasakul I (flyweight title) I always felt some of the most highly skilled fights I have seen were Leonard-Benitez, Cervantes-Benitez and Napoles-Lewis I. And this bout joins them. Every round was so tightly-contested with nary a hair between them. I felt like applauding several times during the contest. Round 1: 10-10 Even Round 2: 10-9 Sasakul Round 3: 10-9 Yuri Round 4: 10-10 Even Round 5: 10-9 Sasakul Round 6: 10-9 Sasakul Round 7: 10-9 Yuri Round 8: 10-10 Even Round 9: 10-9 Sasakul Round 10: 10-9 Sasakul Round 11: 10-9 Yuri Round 12: 10-9 Yuri Total: 116-115 Sasakul (actual scores: 116-114, 116-112 and 117-113 all for Yuri) I can't gripe about the scores because it's like I said, a hair between them each round. Yuri the harder puncher and Sasakul the more skilled. One has to stay riveted to see the slightest nuance between these two. This was as good a draw as one could see, but it is what it is with the scores. I will also say each round was over before I knew it, which was how entranced I was. I always said the best pure boxers I've ever seen were Willie Pep, Lionel Rose and Albert Davila. But Sasakul joins them. He was also an amazing counter-puncher. Clearly I'm very impressed with what I've seen. @Flea Man ,who used to post here regularly, was well versed in Thai fighters. I'd love to hear what he thought of Sasakul. Again, I loved this contest and I will be reviewing the rematch. And the rematch.... Yuri Arbachakov v Chatchai Sasakul II (flyweight title) Round 1: 10-9 CS Round 2: 10-9 CS Round 3: 10-9 CS Round 4: 10-9 CS Round 5: 10-10 Even Round 6: 10-9 CS Round 7: 10-9 CS Round 8: 10-9 CS Round 9: 10-10 Even Round 10: 10-10 Even Round 11: 10-10 Even Round 12: 10-9 Yuri Total: 119-113 Sasakul (actual scores: 119-111, 117-111 and 116-113 all for Sasakul) Can't say much more about this fight than I did regarding their first encounter other than to say Chatchai Sasakul is one of the best pure boxers I have seen come out of the Orient. I felt Yuri, who was the harder puncher, should have worked harder with that hard jab of his. But then again, Sasakul let him get away with nothing. For every punch from Yuri, he followed with a clean counter-punch. It was just a remarkable performance and I can't say enough about Sasakul.
Great post. I thought Arbachakov’s more eye catching shots won him the first fight. The first fight doesn’t get enough attention but it really is a skillfully fought fight. Very aesthetically pleasing two way battle. Sasakul adjusted well in the rematch and outboxed Arbachakov impressively. Started to really appreciate Sasakul just last year and the more I see him box the more I’m impressed. Really like his pure boxing style. He’s one of the few Thai fighters that uses finesse, whereas most of them are usually brawlers.
I've said it before...Sasakul's career stalled out dramatically after the Pacquiao loss... I'm not 100% why but feel he was still young and not sure why it took him so long to finally get a major fight.... I did hear about health issues and hated to see how he was really too old to make an impact at his time... he trains fighters in Thailand and I'm glad to see that he is held in high esteem there as well
Such a shame that we didn't get to see Arbachakov or Sasakul face Mark Johnson while they were still active at Flyweight. Both might have given Too Sharp a really tough night.
