Satoshi Kobayashi vs Osman Yigin 2001

We visited Kobayashi previously in his bout against Namsaknoi. He paid for his loose style in that fight against a sharper, fast fighter. That style pays off in this fight, at least for the audience, though you can still see its shortcomings. I've only seen this one fight from Osman Yigin. He seems to be from the same school of thought in terms of boxing as Kobayashi, one where patience is deemphasized in favor of aggression and power. I think the closest parallel to Kobayashi we currently have is Badr Hari, a fighter with a loose, powerful style that emphasizes offense with the hands over defense. (Kobayashi actually trained in Holland early in his career, at Mejiro Gym where Andy Souwer came up.)

Kobayashi wears red gloves in this bout, Yigin blue.

Namsaknoi Yuttragarngamtorn vs Satoshi Kobayashi

This bout probably took place in the early '00s. It features Namsaknoi Yutthakarnkamtorn against one of Japan's best-known fighters, Satoshi Kobayashi. Kobayashi now works in some managerial capacity for the AJKF. Those who follow Muay Thai should know Namsaknoi as one of the most dominant fighters of his era, accumulating something like 280 wins to 15 losses with Lumpini belts in three weight divisions.

This fight shows a good contrast in fighting styles because, even without their obviously different training backgrounds, both these fighters have distinctive fighting styles in themselves. Kobayashi puts emphasis on speed, something common on the Japanese circuit, as well as combination boxing, throwing long combinations with body shots. His wide-open, freely aggressive stance he takes makes exciting bouts, and generates a lot of power, but it leads to him taking a lot of damage. The consequences pile up when his opponent is faster and smarter than him, or if he underestimates his opponent.

Namsaknoi wears white trunks in this match. Kobayashi has a rainbow on his shorts.