Is Masato in the same caliber as Buakaw/Sower/Petrosyan?
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I mean, he beat both Buakaw and Souwer, so yeah.
Never fought Petrosyan, would have probably lost but certainly still in the same caliber.
Never fought Petrosyan, would have probably lost but certainly still in the same caliber.
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Well, he was better matched and with Japanese K-1 behind. It is very hard to rank Petrosyan, Souwer, Buakaw, Masato and even Kraus. I feel Kraus could have also won more than 1 MAX trophy, but he dropped the level.
I watched the MAX finals but they didn"t come so close in terms of popularity with the heavyweights. I remember when Masato KOed Kraus in the 2003 final, at that time he wasn"t really legit. Less experience, Kraus was dominating the bout but got KOed.
Compared to Japanese like Noiri, this guy wrote history. Very smart fighter Masato, I think he was better and better in time with experience, but in fact he did not complete his potential entirely. For me he was one of the most talented. A real sniper. Far more talented than hardworking Buakaw. Maybe though Buakaw was a heavier hitter. Masato was very fun to watch.
I watched the MAX finals but they didn"t come so close in terms of popularity with the heavyweights. I remember when Masato KOed Kraus in the 2003 final, at that time he wasn"t really legit. Less experience, Kraus was dominating the bout but got KOed.
Compared to Japanese like Noiri, this guy wrote history. Very smart fighter Masato, I think he was better and better in time with experience, but in fact he did not complete his potential entirely. For me he was one of the most talented. A real sniper. Far more talented than hardworking Buakaw. Maybe though Buakaw was a heavier hitter. Masato was very fun to watch.
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The commentator said it was one of the finest exhibitions of use of leg kicks he had ever seen and I'd rank it as probably no. 1 in my book.
Masato said he wanted to emulate Tyson early in his career.
He had some performances against MMA fighters that he should have outclassed where he didn't look great spamming punches looking for the knockout too much instead of picking one big shot.
Masato said he wanted to emulate Tyson early in his career.
He had some performances against MMA fighters that he should have outclassed where he didn't look great spamming punches looking for the knockout too much instead of picking one big shot.
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he didn't really beat Buakaw.
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I thought that at the time when I was a big Buakaw fan. Watching it now, Masato won that fight.
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Petrosyan was better than all three, I dont think theres much of a debate to be had there
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Let's not forget the only reason Masato beat Buakaw in the rematch was because K1 changed the rules and banned clinching. Back when clinching was allowed, Masato couldn't do shit to Buakaw.
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I thought that at that time too. I didn't watch it again but don't feel the need to.
Aside from that, the first time was a beat down of an epic proportions.
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.
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Other than the fact that THEY WERE ALSO IN THE TOURNEY and Buakaw beat the living shit out of him.
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Your posts are clearly not meant to be taken seriously.
Styles makes fights and damage is relative. Buakaw and Souwer had much difficulty fighting Kalakoda, for example; whereas Masato KOed him in dominating fashion, while playing into Kalakoda's strength of boxing no less.
Buakaw's kicking and clinching game are topnotch, but he was shown to get outclassed by Masato in the boxing department. Masato's boxing is more limited in a tournament format, as the energy required to close the distance and generate punching power become greatly diminished with time and low kicks adding up. Those losses were hardly a representation of his true ability.
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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'
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I think Masato was better than Kraus, a lot of fighters were. I think Kraus was more of a "character" in the MAX division. Masato was the same caliber as Souwer, though Souwer was craftier and more seasoned. Not as good as Buakaw and definitely not on the level with Petrosyan, that's why he retired when Petro was coming up, he saw the Doctor dissecting his opponents and was like "nah, yakuza can't save me here."
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He still didnt in the rematch, and got destroyed in the first.
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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.
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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.
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