Ring Ratings Update

Toshiaki Nishioka became the 11th RING-rated contender from Japan when he knocked out Jhonny Gonzalez Saturday.

Toshiaki Nishioka’s spectacular one-punch KO of Jhonny Gonzalez on Saturday earned the unheralded 122-pound beltholder a place in THE RING’s junior featherweight rankings.

Nishioka’s third-round stoppage victory, which took place in the respected former bantamweight titleholder’s home country of Mexico, also added the Japanese veteran’s name to a growing number of bona fide contenders from Japan who are making their presence felt in the featherweight and sub-126-pound divisions.

Nishioka is now one of 11 RING-ranked contenders -- a mix of titleholders, veterans and up-and-comers in their 20s -- from Japan.

Where does he rank among his countrymen?

Here’s a top 10 list, according to this fight scribe (it has not been compiled or approved by THE RING’s editorial board or THE RING’s Ratings Panel of boxing journalists from around the world. Just have fun with it, OK?):

1. Hozumi Hasegawa (26-2, 10 knockouts), Nishiwaki -- The talented long-reigning WBC bantamweight titleholder is also No. 1 in THE RING’s 118-pound rankings. The 28-year-old southpaw won his title from Thailand’s respected Veeraphol Sahaprom and has made eight defenses of the belt against solid opposition. He will attempt to make a ninth defense against prospect Nestor Rocha (21-1, 7 KOs) in Kobe, Japan on July 14.

2. Daisuke Naito (35-2-3, 22 KOs), Hokkaido -- The current WBC 112-pound titleholder who dethroned Thai legend Pongsaklek Wonjongkam is the No. 2 RING-ranked flyweight. The 34-year-old veteran recently made the fifth defense of his belt against China’s Xiong Zhao Zhong.

3. Nobuo Nashiro (13-1, 8 KOs), Nara -- The two-time 115-pound titleholder, the No. 3 RING-ranked junior bantamweight, won his first major belt by upsetting Mexico’s excellent Martin Castillo in his eighth pro bout. The awkward 27-year-old pressure fighter’s only loss is a decision to former titleholder Alexander Munoz.

4. Takefumi Sakata (33-5-2, 15 KOs), Hiroshima -- The former titleholder is THE RING’s No. 6-ranked flyweight. The 29-year-old vet owns victories over talented former titleholders Lorenzo Parra and Roberto Vasquez. Three of his five losses are to Parra (twice) and Vasquez.

5. Toshiaki Nishioka (34-4-3, 21 KOs), Kakogawa -- The 32-year-old southpaw assumed the WBC 122-pound title from inactive (due to surgery) RING champ Israel Vazquez in January with a 12th-round TKO of slightly faded vet Genaro Garcia. But he turned heads in the boxing world, and garnered THE RING’s No. 8 ranking at junior featherweight, with his brutal KO of Jhonny Gonzalez. Two of Nishioka’s four losses and the two draws on his ledger were title bouts with long-reigning Thai legend Veeraphol Sahaprom.

6. Hirouki Enoki (28-1-2, 20 KOs), Akita -- The talented 29-year-old vet’s only loss is a decision to respected WBA featherweight titleholder Chris John. THE RING’s No. 5-rated featherweight also fought newly minted beltholder Takahiro Aoh to a draw.

7. Takahiro Aoh (17-1-1, 8 KOs), Ichihara -- The current WBC featherweight titleholder won the belt by outpointing slightly faded former beltholder Oscar Larios. The popular former amateur star’s only loss is a controversial split decision to Larios. The 25-year-old southpaw is THE RING’s No. 8 featherweight contender.

8. Kohei Kono (23-4, 8 KOs), Osaka -- THE RING’s No. 7-rated junior bantamweight contender is 9-1 in his last 10 bouts. The 29 year old’s only loss is a razor-thin split decision to Nobuo Nashio in a 12-round bout for the vacant WBA title.

9. Koki Kameda (20-0, 13 KOs), Osaka -- The popular former 108-pound titleholder is THE RING’s No. 7-ranked flyweight contender. The 22-year-old southpaw won his belt from Venezuela’s experienced Juan Landeta with a hotly contested split decision that many observers (mostly the record Japanese TV audience) believed the veteran deserved the win. Kameda fought Landeta in an immediate rematch in defense of the title and won a decision without controversy. Kameda is very talented but his lack of solid opposition since his back-to-back bouts with Landeta in 2006 hurt his ranking on this list. He’s finally fighting a live body in Omar Salado (21-1-2, 12 KOs), for the “interim” WBA belt, in Mexico on June 27.

10. Katsunari Takayama (23-3, 9 KOs), Osaka -- The young (26) vet is THE RING’s No. 7-ranked strawweight contender. The southpaw has gone 8-2 in his last 10 bouts; and the two losses were close decisions to excellent titleholders Eagle Junlaphan and Yutaka Niida. Takayama has a tough assignment on July 14, when he challenges THE RING’s No. 1-ranked 105 pounder Roman Gonzalez for the WBA title.

(Honorable mention: Kameda’s infamous little brother, Daiki, THE RING’s No. 8 junior bantamweight contender, barely missed making the list. Kameda’s only loss in 15 pro bouts is decision to Naito in a flyweight title bout in which the 20-year-old prodigy employed a number of roughhouse tactics (including blatant body slamming) that outraged Japanese fans and resulted in his father/trainer’s license being indefinitely suspended for suggesting the dirty fighting between rounds. Kameda, who is known for singing to the audience after his fights, is young and talented enough to redeem himself.)

Nishioka wasn’t the only Japanese titleholder or 122-pound standout in action this past weekend:

JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHTS:

Nishioka entered the rankings at No. 8 on the strength of his KO of Gonzalez, who falls from No. 8 to No. 10. Nishioka’s debut forces out Rendall Munroe (No. 9 last week) and advances Ricardo Cordoba from No. 10 to No. 9.

“Former RING Magazine 122-pound world champion Rafael Marquez retuned to action for the first time since losing to reigning RING junior featherweight champion Israel Vazquez on March 1, 2008, stopping Jose Francisco Mendoza,” said Nigel Collins, editor of THE RING magazine. “Although Marquez’s comeback was at featherweight, we will continue to rank him among the 122-pounders until Rafael announces a permanent move to the 126-pound division.”

FLYWEIGHTS:

“Although WBC titleholder Daisuke Naito (No. 2) and WBA titlist Denkaosan Kaovichit (No. 4) both defended their alphabet straps with 12-rounds decisions over unranked Xiong Zhao Zhong and Hiroyuki Hisataka, respectively, the quality of the competition did not warrant a ratings advancement.”


Homepage photo of Nishioka by Chris Cozzone/Fightwireimages.com

Doug Fischer can be reached at dougiefischer@yahoo.com