Hardman vs Kyohara: ‘Ticks all the boxes’ – Could Hardman replace Aokuso?
No Limits lost one of its drawcards with the Paulo Aokuso split. Isaac Hardman believes he’s the perfect replacement.
Boxing/MMA
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Issac Hardman says he’s the prime candidate to replace Paulo Aokuso on No Limit’s roster of rising fight stars after an impressive sixth round TKO win over Kazuki Kyohara on Wednesday.
Hardman dominated the tough Kyohara, whose only previous defeat was to the current Japanese middleweight champion.
A huge right hand nearly ended it in the first round, and Kyohara left the ring bloody, bruised and well-beaten.
Not only can Hardman deliver knockouts, but he’s also a natural entertainer who took his fight shorts off in the ring to gain some exposure for his sponsors.
Hardman’s impressive performance came a day after promoters No Limit parted ways with light-heavyweight prospect Paulo Aokuso, who headlined his own fight card just three weeks ago.
Hardman is confident he’s the man to fill the gap ‘Sweet P’ will leave.
“George, Matt, Trent Rose, all the boys believe in me,” he said. “I want to sit down in the office on Thursday and see the numbers.
“I want to see who did the best numbers, me, Aokuso or Tayla Harris. Let’s see.
“I feel like it’s me, for sure. I’m charismatic, a little bit of flamboyance, I take my shorts off.
“Who doesn’t want to tune in to the Headsplitter? Love me or hate me, I don’t care.”
Asked whether Hardman fits the bill as a future headliner, No Limit CEO George Rose said he was already planning for it.
“He’s a headliner, he’s a talker, a knockout artist. He ticks all the boxes you want for a headliner,” Rose said, adding: “He said all week that he’s not going to box anymore, he’s not messing around with this boxing thing, he’s here to knock heads off.
“That’s the best I’ve seen him box for quite some time.”
The hard part is securing domestic fights for Hardman, with very few Australians or New Zealanders willing to step into the ring with him.
Hardman called out Joel Camilleri, the Auckland’s Andrei Mikhailovich and the Sydney-based Alex Walters, but is also chasing a rematch with Michael Zerafa.
After a bitter build-up – which included baseless racism claims from Zerafa – Hardman was stopped in the second round in their April 2022 grudge match. He said the racism claims shook him and he lost his head on fight night, but wants to run it back.
“I’d love to get that fight back,” Hardman told this masthead. “A fight with me and him would sell again.
“I’m good for business because I can talk. He’s good because no one likes him. Well, maybe a few people like him, like his mum and sister … but I doubt it.”.
Not my type of person
Issac Hardman isn’t overlooking Kazuki Kyohara – his opponent tonight – but he does have unfinished business.
In March, Hardman dropped a controversial decision to Rohan Murdoch on the undercard to Tim Tszyu’s blockbuster with Tony Harrison in Sydney.
Hardman moved up a weight class for the grudge match with Murdoch, and there were ugly scenes backstage following the bout.
After losing the first few rounds, Hardman felt he fought back well, pushing Murdoch onto the back foot and forcing the Gold Coast local to spit out his mouthguard.
After their angry interaction backstage, an emotional Hardman called for a complete overhaul of boxing in Australia, focusing specifically on judges and referees.
Five months on, and the loss still irks Hardman.
“Good on him, but f**k him, he’s just not my type of person,” Hardman said of Murdoch. “He’s a Gold Coast, Burleigh boy with a six pack.
“That’s not who I am. I’m rough around the edges. I’m from Caboolture.
“I’ve got nothing against him, I’m sure I’d shake his hand and have a beer, but he’s just not the type of bloke I’d ever be friends with.”
The loss taught Hardman, 13-2, a valuable lesson.
“I’ll never wave off a knockdown again. I hit him in the chin, he had his feet tangling all around him, so that’s a knockdown,” he said. “That’s what happened.
“Lesson learned, never wave off a knockdown.
“But along with the point being deducted, with the mouthguard getting spat out, it annoys me.
“He won the jab contest, I lost the jabbing match. But I held my own. I went up to a division that’s not mine and held my own.
“If that’s middleweight, I put them to sleep. If that’s any middleweight in the world, they go to sleep.”
The racism claims driving Hardman’s push for Zerafa rematch
Issac Hardman hasn’t forgotten about the baseless racism claims former rival Michael Zerafa sent his way ahead of their 2022 fight.
And the ‘Headsplitter’, who will headline Wednesday night’s No Limit card against Japan’s Kuzuki Kyohara, wants to make Zerafa pay.
The build-up to their April 2022 fight was already toxic when Zerafa poured gasoline on the situation by hurling accusations of racism Hardman’s way during a press conference.
It remains unclear what basis Zerafa had for the serious claims, which Hardman has always vehemently denied.
“My wife’s Papua New Guinean, she’s of colour,” the father of one told this masthead. “My best mates are Samoan.
“I don’t have a racist bone in my body, and he goes up there and says that in front of everybody.
“In this day and age, with the internet, with social media, the accusation is almost as bad as the act itself. It’s hard to get back.”
The comments threw the Caboolture-based Hardman, who fought poorly and was stopped in the second round.
“I remember the last thing I said to Blair (coach Blair Studley), when I walked out of the tunnel was, ‘I’m walking up to him and I’m gonna punch his f***ing head in’,” Hardman said. “He just did all the right things to get under my skin and throw me.
“I didn’t have a proper handle on it. I didn’t think I was emotional, but clearly I was. He didn’t beat me, I beat me.
“He’s just a germ. He’s a wanker. To claim someone’s a racist and to have no validation, no evidence, it’s bad.
“His day will come. Karma’s a thing, and his time will come.”
Since that fight, Hardman got married to his wife Jiville, had a daughter, Evander, and earned an impressive first round knockout over Beau Hartas.
He says the defeat was a big learning curve and hopes a victory on Wednesday night against the 6-1-3 Kyohara will put him one step closer to making things right against Zerafa.
“I’d love to get that fight back, but I know he’s chasing Tim Tszyu,” he said. “He had a world title shot against (Erislandy) Lara, but took step aside money because he’s a coward. He’s so obsessed with chasing Tszyu, but a fight with me and him would sell again.
“This is a business, and I’m good for business because I can talk. He’s good because no one likes him. Well, maybe a few people like him, like his mum and sister…but I doubt it.”
Before a rematch can happen though, Hardman must dispatch Kyohara on Wednesday night.
Coming off a hugely contentious decision defeat to Rohan Murdoch, where he went up a weight division to get a fight, Hardman knows exactly how much is on the line, including money, world rankings, and even bigger fights at home and abroad.
“This is do or die, I can’t be losing here in Australia anymore,” he said. “I lost the boxing match (against Murdoch), but won the fight – have a look at his head compared to mine.
“So, this is do-or-die. I’m putting all the pressure on myself. Pressure makes diamonds and I always rise to the occasion.
“He’s tough, he comes from a country with a lot of pride and they’re warriors at heart.
“But come Wednesday, I’m going to steamroll this man and send him home with a headache.”
Kyohara’s only defeat as a professional came to current Japanese middleweight champion Riku Kunimoto in 2021, and the 26-year-old has found it difficult getting fights back home.
Speaking to this masthead through an interpreter, Kyohara said he’d never heard of Hardman before taking the fight, but has watched a few of his highlights on the internet.
“He’s kind of like me, we have a similar style,” he said. “I come forward, I’m aggressive. I’m confident. I have a jab, a one-two.
“But it’s no problem. I don’t think he’s going to be a problem.”
Watch Hardman-Kyohara no Kayo Sports and Fox Sports 503 from 7pm on Wednesday, August 9
Originally published as Hardman vs Kyohara: ‘Ticks all the boxes’ – Could Hardman replace Aokuso?
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