Hard punching brute against southpaw boxer-puncher. How do you see this fight play out? Can Moon bulldoze his way and stop Watanabe or can the Yakuza out-finesse him with his superior boxing skills?
Great matchup indeed. I can see a case for either, but I'm more leaning Watanabe. At his peak I see his wonderful skill and accuracy outclassing Moon in a competitive scrap.
The typical version of Moon going in against the typical version of Watanabe, I'd pick Moon probably. You knew what you were going to get with him every fight whereas Watanabe was far more inconsistent and lazy, which would be a big red light against Moon. Watanabe could be sloppy too and sometimes allowed his form to slip when he couldn't be arsed, which was more over the second half of his title run. Things like squaring up, leaving himself open on the inside, not slipping punches or tightening his guard and defensive radar. Moon would just able to hit him repeatedly in that scenario and would just keep coming at him and outworking and probably hurting him. If you got the Watanabe of the second Poonterat fight, Ballad, Oguma etc where he fought like he a point to prove, I might back him. A great arsenal of punches, able to keep to keep timing and countering incoming fighters when on the move, turning them and keeping his defensive shape while still letting his fists go etc. All of which would be key to disrupting Moon's formidable natural rhythm and exploiting his poor defence. Watanabe still wasn't the best infighter though imo so would need to keep sliding away at an angle if Moon got too close, or maybe try to shove him backwards and off balance like Khaokor did before backing him further with combinations. It'd be a great fight whatever
