The 112-pound flyweight division: boxing’s most underappreciated asset

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The 112-pound flyweight division: boxing’s most underappreciated asset

What division is there in boxing where you could match any of the fighters ranked numbers one through ten and get basically an even-matched and consistently action-packed fight? Many would probably jump to the quick conclusion that would be the 140-pound junior welterweight division. While that division features name recognition and a number of exciting fighters, it is actually the deeply talented and entertaining 112-pound flyweight division that fits this description.

It’s almost unbelievable that a major US premium cable network has overlooked the flyweight division as long as it has. Showtime was invested heavily in Vic Darchinyan years ago, and rode him to his knockout loss to Nonito Donaire in July 2007. Showtime stuck with both Donaire and Darchinyan and followed them up the scales as they soon left the 112-pound division in the dust. Donaire moved to HBO once he reached the bantamweight division, usually as low as HBO’s regular airwaves will televise.

There’s a thought that the regular joe can’t get invested in watching 112-pound guys fighting, as though in an actual fight, these 5’5″ warriors wouldn’t do a number on them. If any of these guys saw Roman Gonzalez against Juan Francisco Estrada, or Estrada against Brian Viloria, or Viloria against Hernan Marquez, they’d have a different opinion. Gonzalez against Estrada took place at 108 pounds, but with the Nicaraguan hero Gonzalez moving to 112 after officially dropping his junior flyweight title, an Estrada rematch is one of the most enticing fights available.

It’s possible that neither Gonzalez or Estrada are the best flyweight in the world. That title could perhaps belong to Akira Yaegashi, a Japanese fighter who began his career 7-2 and has put together a more than credible run since. Yaegashi pushed unbeaten Kazuto Ioka to the limit at minimumweight in June 2012 and went 4-0 in 2013, closing the year with an impressive win over Edgar Sosa. Prior to that fight, Sosa was in consideration for Fighter of the Year honors by die-hard boxing scribes like Boxingscene.com’s Cliff Rold as well as others.

Ironically, I recently watched a couple of fights late in the career of Humberto “Chiquita” Gonzalez, one of the men who laid the groundwork for the smaller fighters to make a decent living as paid pugilists. Gonzalez fought a busy schedule, many times in front of raucous Mexican crowds in Los Angeles, at the famed Great Western Forum. A junior flyweight, Gonzalez’s trilogy with US Olympian Michael Carbajal put the little guys on the map in a big way. Gonzalez’s 1995 Fight of the Year with relatively unknown Saman Sorjaturong of Thailand headlined a Showtime pay-per-view and saw what looked to be a sellout crowd at the venue. Gonzalez never fought after that loss again.

Though a veteran of 37 fights, Roman Gonzalez is just 26 years old. Juan Francisco Estrada is just 23 years old with 27 fights. Coincidentally, The Forum just re-opened last week and could immediately become a big player in the fight game. In this writer’s opinion, it would be the perfect venue to try and build competitive bouts in the 112-pound division in the United States. Who knows, maybe it could get to the level where challengers from the Pacific Rim can be lured out of their home country for a big fight.

-Mark E. Ortega / @MarkEOrtega

-Managing editor at www.BehindTheGloves.com