BoxingScene 2008 Year in Review: The Flyweights

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

By Cliff Rold - Like most of its nearby weight classes, the Flyweights completed another year with some good fights but less of the high quality drama in larger realms. Unification has avoided 112 lbs for close to two generations even if the lineage of the World title; the trend continued. The regionalization of markets and titles in class doesn’t look to be changing soon and it’s too bad. Like Jr. Bantamweight three pounds higher, Flyweight features a deep top ten. It has been deep for most of the decade. The depth was on display up to the last day of the year as, in a rematch of a battling 2007 draw, Thailand’s Denkaosan Kaovichit upset Japan’s Takefumi Sakata in two rounds. It was Kaovichit’s third overall try at the WBA crown. [details]

[giacomino]

Re: Fighter of the year. So Naito gets a lucky hometown draw against a washed up former champ he beat the previous year, then defends against two Japanese bums and he's Fighter of the Year? Hmmm.

[cool-jupiter]

It wasn't a lucky hometown draw for Naito. The judges were all fair and firm to my eyes. My scorecard was 114-113 (10-10 for the 9th) in favor of Wongjongcam. So that split draw was within a margin of understanding. It deserves Fight of the Year, but I don't think Naito was the Fighter of the Year though. With Darchinyan and Donaire moving on up to superflyweight contention and Sakata being knocked out, Naito is the only flyweight to win the award. That is all there is to it.

[warp1432]

I had Naito beating Wonjongkom 116-112 or 115-113 I can't remember, but I know he definietly should have gotten the decision. I'm surprised that he didn't get the decision.

[giacomino]

It wasn't a lucky hometown draw for Naito. The judges were all fair and firm to my eyes. My scorecard was 114-113 (10-10 for the 9th) in favor of Wongjongcam. So that split draw was within a margin of understanding. It deserves Fight of the Year, but I don't think Naito was the Fighter of the Year though. With Darchinyan and Donaire moving on up to superflyweight contention and Sakata being knocked out, Naito is the only flyweight to win the award. That is all there is to it.

Being in Japan I can understand how you'd surmise that, but even giving Naito the win against Wongjongcam, his opposition wasn't all that much better (if at all) than Narvaez's, who nearly shut out one pretty good up-and-comer and two mediocre opponents in WBO title defenses. Naito "beat" a past-his-prime former champion and two local-level fighters who had lost previous title fights. I'm not sure anybody stood out in the flyweight ranks in 2008