To Beranes,

Unfortunately, between 1987 through the early 1990s, I do not recall any name who were good enough to fight in either the Lumpini or Radjamnern stadium. The majority of the fighters in those days, in my not-so-objective opinion, were kind of the Thai-wannabes. However, since the K-1 grabbed the attention of the general public, some potential athletes began to enter the world of muay thai. Among them were Takeda, Masato.

Changpuek Kiatsongrit was about to fight in Japan, not in the UWF mixed-match, but in the shootboxing ring with Caeser Takeshi. However, he soon realized he could get paid better in Las Vegas, he instead decided to fight Rick Roufus.

The whole Kameda phenomenon is nothing but a joke. The boxing commision in Japan have feared that the K-1 and PRIDE would eventually take place of boxing in near future. So they decided to promote some circus act to regain the status the sport of boxing once enjoyed. You cannot compared to the early champions like Harada and Ohba to those who are fighting today. Fighters like Harada grew up in the tough condition of the post-war Japan. There weren't many choices as far as their athletic careers were concerned. Today, we have lot more options available, and people are taller and bigger than before. They are more interested in other sports or other fighting medium. Plus, the boxing commision has been very tight-assed. They have stupid regulations (amateurs and pros cannot train in the same facility,etc). This also affects the lack of flow of new talents.