Genki Yamamoto vs Chakapop 2004

Genki Yamamoto is a recently retired fighter formerly of the NJKF (New Japan Kickboxing Federation). That federation is now defunct and Genki has not fought in some years. That said, he is worth visiting because of the sheer aggressiveness in his style and the high caliber of his opponents. He's had bouts with Masahiro Yamamoto, Wanlop Weerasacreck, and Kaew Fairtex. Genki wears red in this match.

I don't have much information on Chakapop. He is not a well known fighter internationally but I would assume he is of a fairly decent level if he's fighting at Lumpinee. Size-wise, he looks similar to Genki and is a good fit for the 135-140 lb range. He wears the blue.



Thanks to GalaxyJill for the upload. She gets a lot of fight videos out from Japan before other uploaders. This video was an exciting find because it was obviously not a television broadcast. I'll admit it is something of a showcase for Genki's skills, but that in itself is something of note. Internationally, in the sport of Muay Thai, we're used to seeing Thais travel abroad and annihilate foreign competition. This is an interesting case where a foreigner comes to fight in a premier stadium in Thailand and demolishes his opponent. It is positive for the sport that the level of players is rising internationally.

The fight puts Genki's ferocity on display and shows how much power he packs into his frame. He is not the smoothest or slickest of fighters but, as the saying goes, gets the job done. His fighting style was supposedly pioneered decades ago by Toshio Fujiwara who is reportedly the first foreigner to win a Rajadamnern belt. Since then, the punches and low kicks style has spread and the dynamic we see in this fight has become quite common when a more traditional stylist fights a stylist in what we now call "Dutch style" Muay Thai.

A recent high level example of this is Singthonoi Por Telakun vs Pornsaneh Sitmonchai, who is known for his punching and low-kicking style. Generally, if the more traditional fighter can last until the decision without taking a down, he wins the fight. Sometimes they're successful in suppressing the forward movement of the aggressive puncher with kicks and knees. Of course, when two fighters in the mold of Fujiwara or Dekkers meet, they tend to clash quite entertainingly. More rare are instances when a retreating fighter decides to counter punch, as is common in English boxing. Good examples of this are Genki's two matches with Kaew Fairtex.