I mean, he beat both Buakaw and Souwer, so yeah.
Never fought Petrosyan, would have probably lost but certainly still in the same caliber.
I thought that at the time when I was a big Buakaw fan. Watching it now, Masato won that fight.he didn't really beat Buakaw.
I thought that at the time when I was a big Buakaw fan. Watching it now, Masato won that fight.
Yes. His losses to Buakaw and Souwer were in the later rounds of tournaments where he already racked up damage. But when he fought them fresh, he came out the victor. He may have not have been as dominant and technically-superb; but he was a well-balanced fighter with a lot of heart, that could take the fight to his opponent, and play off their weak points.
Your posts are clearly not meant to be taken seriously.The Sato fight was clearly a work
Other than the fact that THEY WERE ALSO IN THE TOURNEY and Buakaw beat the living shit out of him.
he didn't really beat Buakaw.
He did. They both have clear wins over each other.
In answer to the original question though, yeah Masato was pretty much the best. There wasn't a clear best in the world like there was a few years later with Giorgio (although late in his career Giorgio was being accepted as the best). They were all fairly close in skill to each other and all beat each other but Masato didn't face a notable opponent that he didn't beat at least twice.
The reason he beat Buakaw in the rematch is that Buakaw for some reason forgot that his left kick existed and he didn't shut down Masato's punching with it like he did before. The clinching rules didn't really have much to do with it.
It was either him or Buakaw as the best of that era, wouldn't really argue the case for either one of them over the other, but yes, he was absolutely their 'caliber'
Obviously the knockdown solidified the win and forced Buakaw to head hunt and get out boxed in the process, but the flash knockdown certainly wasn't a slip. Buakaw got cleanly tagged with an impactful punch when he went down. This isn't Thailand where you can pop up really quick to negate it.If the knockdown would have been regarded as a slip, would you still say it was a clear win? I can believe that Masato won that fight, (haven't watched it in a while), but i'm not convinced that it was a "clear win"
I'm not so sure about that. Looks to me more like one of those cases when somebody falls to the ground from a teep to the head. Had he not been throwing a kick at the same time, i think it would just have pushed his head back.Obviously the knockdown solidified the win and forced Buakaw to head hunt and get out boxed in the process, but the flash knockdown certainly wasn't a slip. Buakaw got cleanly tagged with an impactful punch when he went down. This isn't Thailand where you can pop up really quick to negate it.