There is no denying that Philippine pro boxing is currently in a state of calamity, what with our marquee fighters (Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire Jr.) in hibernation following disappointing performances and our top prospects (Milan Melindo, AJ Banal) getting fried in their bids to bring home the bacon.
Don’t look now, but while our fighters are licking their wounds, Japanese boxers are riding on the wave of an unprecedented fistic resurgence. As of the last count, Japan has a total of 9 reigning world boxing champions, the most recent being Tomoki Kameda, who collared the World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight title (118 lbs.) with a 12-round unanimous decision over Paulus Ambunda in Cebu City on August 1. The remaining 8 incumbent champions are: “Ryo Miyazaki” Ryo Miyazaki; “WBA” WBA minimumweight; 105 lbs.), “https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Katsunari_Takayama”, “Katsunari Takayama” Katsunari Takayama (IBF minimumweight; 105 lbs.), “Kazuto Ioka” Kazuto Ioka (WBA light flyweight; 108 lbs.),“Akira Yaegashi” Akira Yaegashi (WBC flyweight; 112 lbs.),“Koki Kameda” Koki Kameda (WBA bantamweight; 118 lbs.), “Shinsuke Yamanaka” Shinsuke Yamanaka (WBC bantamweight; 118 lbs.), “Takashi Uchiyama” Takashi Uchiyama (WBA super featherweight; 130 lbs.), and Takashi Miura (WBC super featherweight; 130 lbs.)