by Cliff Rold - One week later and it’s still the fight worth talking about.
Sandwiched between Keith Thurman’s coming of age win over Diego Chaves, and Jesus Soto Karass’s long in coming validation against Andre Berto, San Antonio native Omar Figueroa took a step towards hometown folk hero status in a Lightweight classic.
He didn’t do it alone.
One of the great thrills for any boxing observer is the moment of discovery. Nihito Arakawa has been a professional since 2004 but, in 27 previous fights, only one had been outside Japan. There were hardcore fight fans in the US who knew him but for most of the crowd last Saturday, for most of the televised audience, it was a debut.
It was a discovery.
The moments when Arakawa came off the deck in rounds two and six, rallying to stave off a knockout loss, were downright revelatory. Arakawa didn’t win, but he left new eyes outside his native Japan wanting more.
There are more discoveries to be had. [Click Here To Read More]
Sandwiched between Keith Thurman’s coming of age win over Diego Chaves, and Jesus Soto Karass’s long in coming validation against Andre Berto, San Antonio native Omar Figueroa took a step towards hometown folk hero status in a Lightweight classic.
He didn’t do it alone.
One of the great thrills for any boxing observer is the moment of discovery. Nihito Arakawa has been a professional since 2004 but, in 27 previous fights, only one had been outside Japan. There were hardcore fight fans in the US who knew him but for most of the crowd last Saturday, for most of the televised audience, it was a debut.
It was a discovery.
The moments when Arakawa came off the deck in rounds two and six, rallying to stave off a knockout loss, were downright revelatory. Arakawa didn’t win, but he left new eyes outside his native Japan wanting more.
There are more discoveries to be had. [Click Here To Read More]
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