It was a crunch clash at the Martial Arts Palace in Kazan as the Patriot Boxing Team hosted the China Dragons with both sides needing a win to keep their quarter final chances alive.
The evening’s action began at light flyweight (49kg) with Tamir Galanov up against He Junjun. Both men were determined to get their respective teams off to a winning start which lead to plenty of great action during the 5 rounds. Junjun continued to put pressure on his Russian opponent but Galanov’s greater accuracy was enough to earn him a hard-fought unanimous decision victory and give the Patriots a 1 nil lead. Attention then switched to the bantamweights (56kg) with Bakhtovar Nazirov facing Wang Long. Nazirov asserted his authority on the contest from the start and never let up to record a unanimous points win to leave Wang still looking for his first WSB victory and also put the home side 2 nil up. The third bout was at light welterweight (64kg) with Aleksei Mazur versus Meng Caicheng. Knowing that the Dragons needed a win to stay afloat in the contest Caicheng made a strong start and was quicker to the punch in the early stages. Mazur, who was making his WSB debut managed to work his way in to the contest and he gained in confidence as the fight went on. Mazur eventually took a very close split decision to secure all 3 points for the Patriot Boxing Team. Up at Middleweight (75kg) it was the turn of Petr Khamukov and Zhao Minggang. Khamukov proved to be the superior fighter and the Russian coasted to a unanimous decision win to make it 4 nil. Last up it was the return of Heavyweight (91kg) Rio gold Medallist Evgeny Tishchenko who took on Guo Jin. Tishchenko was assured throughout and defensively sound, giving Jin very few opportunities to get off with his own punches and Tishchenko eased his way to a unanimous point’s victory to make it a whitewash to the Patriots. It was the battle of the giants at the Universal Sport Complex in Tashkent as the Uzbek Tigers hosted group C leaders the Astana Arlans. Opening up proceedings at light welterweight (64kg) were Elnur Abduraimov and Dilnurat Mizhitov. Both men came out with a positive intent and the first 2 rounds were keenly contested. The pair continued to trade big shots but as the bout wore on it was the slightly better movement and sharp left hands of Abduraimov that proved to be decisive as the Uzbek southpaw claimed a unanimous decision to give his side the early advantage. Next up at bantamweight (56kg) Abdulkhay Sharakhmatov squared off against Ilyas Suleimenov. Both men had been in cracking form in this season’s competition and an intriguing contest was expected. Sharakhmatov started brightly but Suleimenov began to time his man as he was coming forward. Sharakhmatov then managed to cut off the ring and find his range and despite being cut he turned things around to win a unanimous decision to extend the Tigers lead to 2 nil. The third bout was a battle of the WSB unbeatens at middleweight (75kg) with Israil Madrimov up against Saparbay Aidarov. Madrimov was quick out the traps, letting rip with the explosive combinations which made him stand out on his WSB debut. After Aidarov enjoyed an excellent round 2 Madrimov regained control with the visitor struggling to contain the marauding attacks of the Uzbek. The pace slowed in the final 2 rounds but it was the faster hands of Madrimov that won him the contest via unanimous decision and all 3 points were now in the bag for the Tigers. The heavyweights (91kg) were up next as Zukhriddin Makhkamov faced Anton Pinchuk. Makhkamov was consistently looking to land with the big right hand but Pinchuk managed to avoid the majority of them. Pinchuk then opened up as the fight progressed and it was the superior movement and classier shots from the Kazak that gave him a deserved unanimous decision victory in a rather scrappy encounter. Finally at light flyweight (49kg) Olympic gold Medallist from Rio Hasanboy Dusmatov took on Temirtas Zhussupov. Dusmatov was made to miss quite a lot in the opening stanza with Zhussupov offering very few openings. After a tactical second round Dusmatov began to land with more regularity and at the final bell of what had been a cagy affair it was Dusmatov who prevailed on points to make it 4-1 to the home side. The final round of fixtures see the China Dragons host the Astana Arlans and the Patriot Boxing Team are at home to the Uzbek Tigers in a winner takes all match for a guaranteed quarter final spot.
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This past weekend saw the 4thround of fixtures in the Asian group of the WSB and with quarter final places still to be determined there was much to play for.
Group leaders Astana Arlans aimed to tighten their grip on group C when they hosted the Patriot Boxing Team at the Taraz Arena. At flyweight (52kg) Olzhas Sattibayev faced Viacheslav Tashkarakov. Tashkarakov got off to a bright start, managing to close the distance on his taller opponent before Sattibayev established the range with the left jab proving to be highly effective. The Russian enjoyed great success in round 3 landing with right hands repeatedly before a bad cut suffered by Tashkarakov unfortunately brought a halt to proceedings and Sattibayev won on all 3 cards. It was then on to the lightweights (60kg) as Zakir Safiullin squared off against Artur Subkhankulov. The pair exchanged shots in a high calibre opening stanza before Safiullin pulled ahead, bloodying his opponent’s nose in round 3. Safiullin dominated round 4 and although Subkhankulov went for the KO and landed with some heavy shots in the final round the Kazak saw it through and won a unanimous decision putting the Arlans 2 nil up. The 3rdbout was at welterweight (69kg) with Aslanbek Shymbergenov versus Shakhabas Makhmudov. Makhmudov, who was making his WSB debut proved to be an easy target for Shymbergenov who found plenty of openings against a rather crude opponent. To his credit the visitor never stopped coming forward but the far greater experience and no how of the home man proved to be the difference and the unanimous point’s victory for Shymbergenov wrapped up the match for the Astana Arlans. It was then the turn of the light heavyweights (81kg) as Arman Rysbek went up against Pavel Silyagin. Rysbek flew out of the blocks landing with heavy punches in a really entertaining opening 3 minutes. Silyagin showed some nice skills but it was Rysbek’s powerful eye catching single shots that were winning him the contest. Just as it looked like Silyagin was beginning to adapt and gain some ascendancy Rysbek forced a standing count in round 4 and he claimed a deserved split decision to make it 4 nil to the hosts. Finally it was the Super heavyweights (+91kg) who took to the ring with Olzhas Bukayev against Magomed Omarov. Bukayev had some success on the inside in the opening stages but Omarov’s longer straighter shots then took over. As Bukayev began to tire things only got more difficult for the WSB debutant and Omarov ran away with the contest winning a unanimous decision to prevent a clean sweep for the Arlans who extend their lead at the top of the Asian group and look a formidable force and one of the favourites for this seasons competition. The Uzbek Tigers were looking to build on their 5 nil clean sweep of the Patriot Boxing Team last time out when they took on the China Dragons at the Universal Sport Complex in the capital Tashkent. First up at flyweight (52kg) Abrorjon Kodirov took on Yong Chang. Both men were looking to counter which lead to a very tight and closely fought bout. Kodirov’s speed then began to tell as the contest wore on and despite a late charge from Chang it was the Uzbek who claimed the unanimous point’s decision. Next up at lightweight (60kg) Murodjon Akhmadaliev was up against Sen Wang. Having lost his opening bout in the 2017 season Akhmadaliev had a point to prove and he immediately stamped his authority on Wang, forcing him backwards. The world and Olympic Medallist continued to land powerful combinations and despite the visitors best efforts Akhmadaliev won a unanimous decision, putting the Tigers 2 nil up. Up at welterweight (69kg) Shakhram Giyasov had the chance to put the match beyond doubt against Wei Liu. Giyasov quickly assumed command and never let go and dominated across all 5 rounds winning another unanimous decision for the hosts. Liu, who is an experienced WSB campaigner never got going and simply couldn’t find his way in to the fight and the Uzbek’s had an unassailable 3 nil lead. The penultimate fight of the evening saw Bektemir Melikuziev square off against Jiabin Huang at light heavyweight (81kg). Not much of note was landed early on but Melikuziev soon got in to his stride and things were looking ominous for Huang. The Chinese boxer was clearly out of his depth and the Olympic and world Silver Medallist piled on the pressure to force a stoppage in round 2. With the match long gone there was only pride at stake in the super heavyweight (+91kg) bout between Bakhodir Jalolov and Haipeng Mu. Jalolov took the opening round and the golf in class between the pair was evident. The Uzbek continued to score freely and 2 counts in round 3 brought an end to the contest sealing a whitewash for the home side in the process. After a sticky start the Tigers look to be back to their best and next up they host group leaders Astana Arlans. As for the Dragons, a win on the road against the Patriot Boxing Team is now crucial. We’ve now reached the 3rd round of action in the Asian group of the World Series of Boxing and with much to play for this was a pivotal weekend with all 4 sides jostling for a spot in the quarter finals. Group leaders Astana Arlans took on the China Dragons at the Culture and Wellness Centre in Atyrau The 1st bout of the evening was at light flyweight (49kg) as Temirtas Zhussupov went up against He Junjun. The opening stages were closely contested with little to separate the pair. As the fight progressed Zhussupov engaged his opponent and forced him on to the back foot. The visitor attempted to counter but only left himself open and Zhussupov picked off his man to win a unanimous decision. Up at bantamweight (56kg) Ilyas Suleimenov faced Wang Long. Suleimenov has been in good form in the WSB and this good form continued as Wang struggled to get anything going at all throughout the contest. The Kazak dominated proceedings and won a unanimous decision leaving Wang still winless in the WSB and the Dragons facing a mountain to climb if they were to take anything away from this encounter. In the nights 3rd bout at light welterweight (64kg) Dilnurat Mizhitov had the chance to seal the points for the home side against Liu Yang. Mizhitov started the contest brightly and after 3 rounds he look to have the ascendency. 2 knockdowns in round 4 left no doubt who would be victorious and Mizhitov cruised to a unanimous decision, putting the points in the bag for the Arlans in the process. At Middleweight (75kg) Saparbay Aidarov made his WSB debut against Zhao Minggang. Aidarov looked to dictate the distance early on and managed to establish a lead. Despite the best efforts from the Chinese boxer the Kazak southpaw remained in control and earned a unanimous point’s victory to make it 4 nil to the Arlans. With not even the possibility for a point for the Dragons it was only pride to play for at heavyweight (91kg) as Anton Pinchuk faced Siarhei Novikau. Pinchuk displayed a solid temperament and a good array of skills on the road in his win in Russia in the first round of this year’s competition. Pinchuk carried on from where he left off showing excellent movement and landing with classy combinations to leave the Dragons Belarussian import in a daze. Novikau was unable to get in range often enough and Pinchuk was declared a unanimous decision winner to make it a clean sweep for the home side and barring something dramatic the Arlans will reach the play-offs and look a force to be reckoned with this season. Still looking for their first win in this season’s tournament the Uzbek Tigers badly needed the points against the Patriot Boxing Team at the Universal Sport Complex in Tashkent. To kick things off Abdulkhay Sharakhmatov squared off against Dmitrii Sharafutdinov at bantamweight (56kg). Both men enjoyed success in a tight opening stanza before Sharakhmatov stepped up the pace landing with stinging southpaw left hands and driving Sharafutdinov backwards. Despite possessing a height advantage Sharafutdinov failed to turn the tide and Sharakhmatov dominated proceedings to score a shutout on the cards and give the Uzbeks the ideal start. Attention then switched to the light welterweight (64kg) division as Elnur Abduraimov took on Radmir Abdurakhmanov. Having been unable to box against the China Dragons Abduraimov was looking for his first win of WSB 7 and landed the cleaner more memorable punches to shade a close opening round. Abdurakhmanov landed some good right hands in round 2 and there was very little to split them going in to the last round. Abduraimov showed his class to land with the decisive shots in round 5 to prevail via split decision in a gruelling and absorbing encounter. Middleweight (75kg) Israil Madrimov had the chance to sew up the points for the Tigers when he went up against Radzhab Radzhabov. Madrimov showed no nerves on his 1st WSB appearance drilling Radzhabov with explosive combinations constantly throughout the 1st 3 rounds. Radzhabov showed nowhere enough urgency and simply allowed Madrimov to do as he pleased and the debutant eased his way to a shut out on the scorecards, giving the Tigers all 3 points in the process. It was then on to the Heavyweights (91kg) as Zukhriddin Makhkamov fought Islam Tekeev. Both men came out with aggressive intent and landed plenty of power punches in the opening 3 minutes. Tekeev continued to pour forward but Makhkamov picked off his opponent showing terrific movement and punch variety. The Russian never stopped pressing and showed an incredible engine but it was the home man who got the unanimous verdict in what was a high quality affair. It was now time for Olympic gold Medallist Hasanboy Dusmatov to take to the ring with Bator Sagaluev the man in the other corner at light flyweight (49kg). Having not seen much action since Rio Dusmatov took his time early on but it wasn’t long before the supreme boxing ability that makes him one of the finest fighters in the unpaid ranks was on full display. Sagaluev, a quality operator in his own right was made to look second best and Dusmatov won every round to give the Tigers a 5 nil victory and put them right back in contention in group C. A huge thanks to Marcus Bellinger for this guest article, for those interested in following Marcus his twitter handle is @marcusknockout This past weekend saw the 2nd round of fixtures in the Asian group of the World Series of Boxing.
At the Yalong Bay Conference Center in Sanya the China Dragons took on the Patriot Boxing Team. The first bout of the evening saw Yong Chang take on Ovik Ogannisian at flyweight (52kg). There really was very little to separate the pair and going in to the last round the contest was up for grabs. The Russian showed good movement throughout the bout and landed some nice shots in the final round but it was Yong who prevailed via split decision in a fight that really could have gone either way. At lightweight (60kg) talented Rio Olympian Shan Jun met WSB debutant Shahriyor Akhmedov. Akhmedov came out with plenty of intent but some balance and defensive frailties allowed the man from China to land the better punches through the first 2 rounds. The visitor continued to take risks to try and land his wide punches with Shan countering with more orthodox straight shots. Akhmedov showed some improved head movement in round 5 but Shan seemed to have done more than enough to claim the victory however, rather surprisingly the away man was awarded the split verdict in what was a thoroughly entertaining encounter. With the scores now level it was Hu Richabilige against Artem Zaytsev at welterweight (69kg). Hu was on the front foot early on forcing his opponent on to the ropes and shading the opening round. Zaytsev then began to really grow in confidence and his work was far more accurate and eye catching than Hu’s. Despite attempts to up the tempo from the Chinese boxer Zaytsev’s greater variety won him a deserved unanimous point’s victory giving the Patriots a 2-1 lead. If the Dragons had any chance of claiming their 2nd WSB win Light heavyweight (81kg) Shi Guojun simply had to overcome Danil Shved. Shved totally dominated proceedings from start to finish and the Patriot’s now had an unassailable 3-1 advantage. The final bout was at super heavyweight (+91kg) as Wang Leilei faced Maxim Babanin. A height disadvantage didn’t prevent Babanin from constantly getting in to range and Wang’s poor work rate and stamina allowed the Russian to dictate terms and coast to an easy points win, giving the Patriots a 4-1 away victory and securing their first WSB win of the season. Over at the Zhastar Sport Palace in Taldykorgan the Astana Arlans squared off against the Uzbek Tigers. The home side were looking for their 2nd straight win whilst a strong looking Uzbek side were aiming for their 1st victory in WSB 7. In what looked an evenly matched bout on paper at flyweight (52kg) Olzhas Sattibayev faced Aborjon Kodirov. Kodirov was quicker out the blocks and won the first 2 stanzas with some rapid fire combinations however, Sattibayev wasn’t deterred and took control from round 3 and won a unanimous decision to get the Kazaks off to the perfect start. At lightweight (60kg) experienced WSB campaigner Zakir Safiullin took on Olympic Bronze and world Silver Medallist Murodjon Akhmadaliev. Akhmadaliev, who was moving up in weight never got going at all and was thoroughly outboxed by Safiullin who put in a fantastic display to put his side 2 nil up. The visitor had a brief moment of success in round 3 but it was nowhere near enough to thwart Safiullin from taking the spoils. In now a must win situation, welterweight (69kg) Shakhram Giyasov took on Aslambek Shymbergenov. Similar to Kodirov, Giyasov was dominant over the first 2 rounds but was pegged back leaving the fight in the balance after 4 rounds. In an incredibly tight final 3 minutes it was Shymbergenov who got the nod via split decision and the points were now safely in the bag for the Kazaks. At light heavyweight (81kg) Nurdaulet Zharmanov was up against Olympic and world Silver Medallist Bektemir Melikuziev. Melikuziev, who was also moving up in weight was in total control of the bout and won a unanimous decision to get the Tigers on the board. The chance of grabbing a point for the away side was snuffed out as Super heavyweight (+91kg) Kanshybek Kunkabayev overcame WSB debutant Bakhodir Jalolov via a unanimous decision to give the hosts a 4-1 victory, leaving them with 2 wins from 2. Next up for the Arlans is another home tie against the China Dragons and the Tigers have their first home bout against the Patriot Boxing Team. A huge thanks to Marcus Bellinger for this guest article, for those interested in following Marcus his twitter handle is @marcusknockout This past weekend saw the start of season 7 of the World Series of Boxing. For those unfamiliar with the concept which is under the auspices of AIBA, the governors of Amateur boxing, participants don’t wear head guards or vests and bouts are 5 3-minute rounds giving a more pro-style feel to proceedings. In a change to this year’s format the 12 teams are split zonally in to 3 groups, Europe, Americas and Asia.
The action in the Asian group kicked off at the Yalong Bay Conference Center in Sanya as China Dragons took on the Uzbek Tigers. The visitors, who reached the semi-finals in their debut season in WSB last year got off to the perfect start with light flyweight (49kg) Nironshokh Ibragimov defeating Xin Huang in his first WSB outing via a unanimous decision. Things got even better for the Uzbeks as Addulkhay Sharakhmatov dominated Long Wang to win a unanimous decision at bantamweight (56kg) to make it 2 nil. The Dragons then received 2 slices of fortune as the very talented Elnur Abduraimov was unable to box in his light welterweight (64kg) contest with Qianxun Hu and Ulugbek Khakberdiev suffered a foot injury in the 4th round of his middleweight (75kg) bout with Mingang Zhao. With the scores now level it was left up to heavyweights (91kg) Jin Guo and Boburbek Yuldashev to decide who prevailed. Yuldashev took the initiative in the first 2 rounds before Guo managed to push the Uzbek on to the back foot to win the next 2. With both men feeling the effects of a tough fight defences became very ragged but Guo landed the cleaner blows to claim a split decision and give the Chinese team an unlikely victory and get them off to a winning start, causing an upset in the process. A few hours later in Moscow the newly named Patriot Boxing Team faced the Astana Arlans. At light flyweight (49kg) Bator Sagaluev got the home side off to the ideal start by out-pointing Temirtas Zhussupov. Sagaluev was on the front foot early on and although the visitor attempted to turn the tables he was countered well with left hands and after 3 rounds Zhussupov had a mountain to climb. Despite a late rally from the Kazak Sagaluev held on to take the spoils via split decision in a solid and competitive fight. The Arlans hit back immediately with bantamweight (56kg) Ilyas Suleimenov simply out-hustling Artem Khotenov over the 5 rounds. The Russian started well behind the jab but the Kazak soon found his way inside and landed some solid body shots in round 2. Things became rather messy but with Khotenov unable to create enough distance it was Suleimenov’s kind of fight and a dominant final stanza sealed the unanimous point’s victory for the away man. At light welterweight (64kg) Radnir Abdurakhmanov prevailed via split decision in an extremely close affair against Dilmurat Mizhitov. Abdurakhmanov began impressively landing some hurtful looking blows to the mid-section before Mizhitov picked off his opponent from range with some crisp shots. As both men began to feel the pace the action became quite untidy but with it all to play going in to the final round Abdurakhmanov’s greater work rate was enough to impress the judges and put the Patriots 2-1 up. In a must win bout at middleweight (75kg) Abilkhan Amankul levelled things up for the Arlans by defeating Radzhab Radzhabov. Amankul was in complete control for the first 6 minutes and looked a level above his Russian foe. Radzhabov turned up the aggression but Amankul remained calm and composed and a standing 8 count in round 4 really put the bout beyond doubt. Radzhabov did well to survive the 5th round as the Kazak youngster landed some classy combinations in a highly impressive performance. Like the earlier contest in the Asian group it was left to the heavyweights (91kg) to decide things as Ilia Kvasnikov took on Anton Pinchuk. Pinchuk’s greater volume and hand speed saw him jump out to an early lead before Kvasnikov won round 3 to make things interesting. Unfortunately for the Russian he was unable to build on that success and Pinchuk won the next 2 rounds to take a unanimous decision and give the Astana Arlans a hard-fought 3-2 away win and get their WSB campaign up and running. Welcome to part 2 of my 10 all Japanese bouts I would like to see for this year and if you missed part 1 then click here to read it.
Masayuki Ito 20-1-1 9 KOs v Kenichi Ogawa 20-1 16 Kos. Over the last couple of years we’ve seen a number of competitive and well matched super featherweight contests involving the domestic and OPBF titles and in a sense the 2 men to have emerged from the pack are Ito and Ogawa. There would also be an intriguing style clash with Ito’s smooth skills and excellent movement versus Ogawa’s power and bull like strength. On current form you would have to favour Ito but there’s a reason why the fights take place in the ring and with both highly ranked by the WBO an eliminator could feasibly be arranged. After losing a razor thin majority decision to Rikki Naito for the national crown in February 2015 Ito rebounded excellently to claim the vacant OPBF strap 6 months later, stopping Dai Iwai in 10 rounds. 4 months later the 26-year-old won a unanimous decision against Shingo Eto. Ito’s 2016 campaign consisted of an 11th round stoppage of Ernie Sanchez in July and on New Year’s Eve he scored a wide points victory over Takuya Watanabe on the undercard of Takashi Uchiyama’s rematch with Jezreel Corrales. The win over Watanabe saw Ito add the WBO Asia Pacific bauble to his OPBF title and 2017 should be a big year for the Tokyo man. After an early career set back Ogawa regrouped and in December 2015 he snatched the Japanese super featherweight strap from Rikki Naito taking a 5th round technical decision. Naito was down early and Ogawa’s strength simply was too much for the then champion and it looked like we had another hard hitting exciting 130 pounder from the land of the rising sun. There was much expectation going in to 2016 and despite scoring stoppages against Satora Sujita and Kento Matsushita some glaring flaws were being exposed with a leaky defence and slow feet being obvious to viewers. Ogawa then took on Naito for a 2nd time in December 2016 and won a unanimous decision with all 3 cards reading 96-94 in a very tight contest. The 28-year-old rematches Sugita on April 1st and was recenlty in a training camp in Okinawa with Teiken stablemates Jorge Linares and Shinsuke Yamanaka and will hope for improved performances in 2017. Shun Kubo 11-0 8 KOs v Kazuki Tanaka 6-0 5 Kos. These 2 unbeaten prospects are a little way off challenging for world titles but both are highly gifted and are part of the new wave of exceptional young fighters coming out of Japan. Unfortunately Kubo only fought twice in 2016, pounding out a hard-fought unanimous decision against Benji Suganob in May and easily dispatching the overmatched Jin Wook Lin in 4 rounds 6 months later. The 26-year-old captured the OPBF 122 lb title scoring a 5th round knockout over Lloyd Jardeliza in December 2015. With the retirement of Hozumi Hasegawa Kubo is now the spearhead of the Shinsei Gym and will have to carry that expectation on his shoulders. More activity should be the aim in 2017 for the promising southpaw as he aims to work his way up the rankings. Tanaka endured a frustrating 2016 only having 2 ring appearances with the most significant being a 2nd round stoppage versus Denkaosan Kaovichit in April. The Thai was well passed his best but the way the Osakan dealt with the former world champion was impressive all the same. The 24-year-old was forced to pull out of a scheduled August 2016 clash with Hideo Sakamoto which would have been a good step up for the Green Tsuda Gym fighter. An 8 round decision win over the durable Monico Laurente in December 2015 showed Tanaka’s quality and if he can stay injury free then this year should be a break out one for the youngster. Hinata Maruta 4-0 3 KOs v Kentaro Masuda 26-7 14 Kos. This would be the ultimate youth versus experience contest and would show us where both men are in their respective careers. Japanese boxers being fast tracked through the ranks at an insanely rapid pace has become the norm with Kazuto Ioka, Naoya Inoue and Kosei Tanaka being examples in recent times and teenager Maruta looks to be the next one to follow. Professional debuts only usually receive much attention if it is an elite amateur or a big ticket seller but Maruta’s November 2015 debut against tough Filipino Jason Camoy caused more than a few ripples amongst Japanese boxing circles. Canoy have never been stopped, was world ranked and was coming off a 1st round KO of Drian Francisco but he was no match for the 19-year-old who won a unanimous 6 round decision also scoring a knockdown along the way. In just his 3rd bout in July 2016 Maruta captured the WBC Youth bantamweight strap stopping the unbeaten Wilbert Berondo in 6 rounds and 4 months later he took care of his first southpaw opponent Joe Tejones in 7 rounds. Maruta is a terrific body puncher and possesses huge height and reach for a bantamweight and will inevitably go through the weights as he matures. Masuda has been a great servant on the Japanese circuit but as shown in his loss in 7 rounds to Ryosuke Iwasa and his crushing 3rd round defeat to Shohei Omori he has never managed to make it past domestic level. A 2 time national bantamweight champion Masuda has notched up wins over the likes of Tatsuya Takahashi, Konosuke Tomiyama and Yu Kawaguchi and has been in plenty of entertaining scraps. In his 2nd stint as Japanese champion he impressively beat the unbeaten Yushi Tanaka, stopping him in 8 rounds in March 2016 to take the vacant crown. 3 months later he won a split decision over Yu Kawaguchi and in December 2016 he knocked out Satoshi Ozawa in 2 rounds. In a slightly surprising announcement Masuda vacated his title and the 33-year-old is now in search of opportunities at the regional and world level. Riku Kano 11-2-1 6 KOs v Ryuya Yamanaka 13-2 3 KOs. In slightly different ways both these 2 stepped up to the plate in 2016 and will have their eyes set on world glory this year and with both being world ranked this could be made as an eliminator as well as for the OPBF belt. Neither has KO power but this shouldn’t take away from what would be an intriguing high speed chess match of 2 skilful operators. Having turned pro at just 16 Kano’s first 7 bouts were on the road in Thailand and the Philippines with the young southpaw running up a record of 5-1-1. His Japanese debut finally came in June 2015 and in December of that year he scored his most significant victory, an 8 round decision over forma world title challenger Pigmy Kokietgym. Kano stepped up to title level in May 2016, earning a 12 round split decision over forma world champion Merlito Sabillo to grab the interim OPBF bauble at 105 lb. By now his desires of becoming the youngest ever world champion from Japan were looking more of a distinct possibility and in August 2016 he took on Katsunari Takayama for the vacant WBO minimumweight belt. Despite securing home advantage in Hyogo it wasn’t to be for Kano as Takayama prevailed via a 6th round technical decision. Although the loss would have been disappointing the 19-year-old certainly wasn’t out of his depth and should only grow from sharing the ring with a quality veteran like Takayama. Yamanaka suffered an early career setback in just his 5th bout with Kenta Shimizu stopping him in a round back in April 2013. The 21-year-old was beaten again in August 2014 losing a split decision over 8 rounds to Roque Lauro. Thankfully Yamanaka persevered and in November 2016 he was granted a shot at the vacant OPBF strawweight strap against Merlito Sabillo. Yamanaka used his speed and movement expertly to leave the Filipino floundering and despite being cut in the 2nd half of the contest he remained composed and calm to take a wide unanimous decision. With only 3 KOs power could be an issue going forward but Yamanaka will have to rely on his boxing skills if he’s to succeed in capturing a world title. Masayoshi Hashizume 12-0 9 KOs v Katsunori Nagomine 13-1 9 KOs. I’ll admit this final selection is a little out of left field but for pure action I think this would be a guaranteed war and would produce fireworks in abundance. Hashizume won the all Japan rookie of the year final at super flyweight in 2014 and looked to be a serious prospect. Since then he has for some reason been matched softly facing a number of modest Thai imports and his career has really stagnated. Fighting out of the Ioka Gym Hashizume isn’t short of quality sparring and has fought on many high profile shows which is a valuable experience. At times he has showed some defensive flaws but unless there’s something glaringly obvious in regards to his chin and has been spotted whilst in the gym it really is time to let the 23-year-old off the leash. Nagomine was stopped in 7 rounds by the outstanding Ken Shiro in March 2015 and sustained some bad injuries during the contest. After taking some much needed time out of the ring he returned in February 2016 to face Kenya Yamashita. The pair produced an unforgettable up and down thriller with Nagomine eventually prevailing in round 3. The 25-year-old scored 2 more stoppage wins in 2016 over Yuki Yonaha and Mako Matsuyama and is more than deserving of some sort of title tilt at either domestic or regional level. A huge thanks to Marcus Bellinger for this, and for the first part, and for those interested in following Marcus his twitter can be reached at @marcusknockout As we commence 2017 boxing in Japan could hardly be in a better place with 8 full world champions, a number of contenders capable of challenging and winning world hardware and a slew of phenomenally talented youngsters tearing through the ranks at a rapid pace. 2016 also saw more free streams made available and the edition of paid services Boxingraise and Asign gave some much needed exposure to fighters below world level. Crowds were healthy throughout the year and TV ratings were among the best in the world however, high profile all Japanese bouts have been at a premium with the June 2012 unification between Kazuto Ioka and Akira Yaegashi and the December 30th Naoya Inoue Kohei Kono contest for the WBO super flyweight strap standing out in recent times. In this guest article we look at 10 all Japanese dust ups that would be a ratings winner on TV and would put plenty of bums on seats. The 10 fights are split in to 2 categories with the first 5 involving at least 1 world title and the other 5 for either domestic, regional or world title eliminator status. In part 1 we feature the 5 potential world title scraps. Katsunari Takayama 31-8 12 KOs v Tatsuya Fukuhara 18-4-6 7 KOs Despite double digit losses between them and neither being a big puncher you would do well to come up with a more fan friendly fight than this one and the chances of it happening are strong if Fukuhara can overcome Moises Calleros on February 26. After back to back losses to Yu Kimura and a debuting Takuma Inoue in 2013 the career renaissance of Fukuhara has been remarkable with the first signs coming on the road in Thailand with an 8 round majority draw against Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr in September 2014. The upward curve continued for the 27-year-old in November 2015 as he picked up the vacant domestic 105 lb crown outpointing Hiroya Yamamoto. The Kumamoto man enjoyed a quite brilliant 2016 taking the unbeaten records of both Takumi Sakae and Genki Hanai and a win over Calleros in his back yard will make him mandatory challenger for Takayama’s WBO strawweight belt. Takayama needs no introduction for readers of this site and fans of the lower weights having shared the ring with the likes of Roman Gonzalez, Nkosinathi Joyi twice, Eagle Den Junlaphan and Utaka Niida. Few will also forget his epic 12 round battle with Francisco Rodriguez in August 2014 which saw both the WBO and IBF minimumweight titles on the line in a rare unification bout in boxing’s’ lightest division. After losing his IBF strap to Jose Argumedo on the last day of 2015 in another gruelling encounter some may have wondered about the Osakan’s future at world level but as he has done on a number of occasions Takayama bounced back to earn a technical decision over talented teenager Riku Kano to grab the vacant WBO 105 lb belt in August 2016. Due to injuries suffered in the bout with Kano, Takayama has been side lined since with a May returned being targeted and if it is indeed Fukuhara in the other corner the 33-year-old will again need all of his resolve and warrior traits to prevail but write off Takayama at your own peril. Kosei Tanaka 8-0 5 KOs v Ken Shiro 9-0 5 KOs. This clash would pit 2 of Japan’s outstanding young phenomes against each other and would be one of the best fights in a congested light flyweight division. Tanaka snatched the vacant WBO 108 lb strap on New Year’s Eve in Gifu taking Moises Fuentes apart in 5 rounds sending out a message to the rest of the division in the process. The forma WBO strawweight champion seem to really benefit from the extra 3 pounds of replenishment as he retained his blistering speed and carried plenty of power up with him as was seen against Fuentes. There were more than a few sceptics after the 21-year-old had to climb off the floor to eventually overcome Vic Saludar in their December 2015 meeting with Tanaka fighting with his heart rather than his head but his supreme display this past New Year’s Eve should quell any of those doubters. Having already become a 2 weight world champion in just 8 fights Tanaka has stated his desire to win world titles at 5 weights and if he is intent on expanding his fan base outside of Gifu and Nagoya then a first defence against a hungry unbeaten challenger like Shiro would easily fit the bill. Shiro has been matched brilliantly during his short career facing a variety of styles and showing all the necessary ingredients to succeed at the world class level. His power was on full display with early stoppages of Lester Abutan and Atsushi Kakutani and his beat down in 7 rounds of the naturally much bigger Katsunori Nagamine was highly impressive. The 25-year-old survived an early flash knockdown to prevail on points against the then unbeaten Rolly Sumalpong in his first 10 rounder and also was victorious on points in a local derby versus Kenichi Horikawa to win the Japanese title. The Kyoto born man showed an improved gas tank in the later stages against Toshimasa Ouchi with the BMB Gym fighter pressing for the stoppage in the championship rounds of the pairs OPBF contest. Shiro defends his national title on April 12th in Osaka versus Tetsuya Hisada before hopefully moving on to the world stage. Akira Yaegashi 25-5 13 KOs v Ryoichi Taguchi 25-2-2 11 KOs. This contest would draw extremely well both at the gate and on TV in the Tokyo area and would be a long overdue unification at 108 lbs. Yaegashi was pushed all the way by Martin Tecuapetla in May 2016, eventually taking a split decision in his first defence of the IBF light flyweight crown. Having suffered injuries during the bout with the Mexican Yaegashi didn’t return until the end of the year where he stopped Samartlek Kokietgym in the 12th round of a routine defence. Next up is a tricky mandatory against Milan Melindo and if he can come through that the Ohashi fighter certainly won’t shy away from anyone. The 33-year-old is much respected and revered for his warrior mind set and the bouts with Kazuto Ioka and Porsawan Porpramook will live long in the memory for Japanese boxing fans. Taguchi fought 3 times in 2016 with mixed results and clung on to his world title drawing with Carlos Canizales on New Year’s Eve. The champion was surprised by the Venezuelan’s insane work rate but remained composed and dominated the later stages. 4 months earlier Taguchi produced arguably his career best performance to earn a unanimous decision over Ryo Miyazaki in a mandatory defence. An 11th round stoppage over Juan Jose Landaeta in April 2016 was indicative of a disappointing run of opposition since the 30-year-old won his world title in December 2014. Since Yaegashi has a mandatory next this gives Taguchi the chance to fit in another contest before the possibility of this unification is even discussed but with him being the Gyms only world champion it’s doubtful that Watanabe would take a risk before their crop of young talent is ready to take over the mantel of Taguchi, Kohei Kono and Takashi Uchiyama. Kazuto Ioka 21-1 13 KOs v Daigo Higa 11-0 11 KOs. With Roman Gonzalez, Juan Francisco Estrada and John Riel Casimero all having moved a division north this is the most appetising flyweight dish on the menu and there’s no doubt it would fill any arena in the land of the rising sun especially in Osaka. After being totally out foxed by Amnat Ruenroeng for the IBF flyweight strap in May 2014 Ioka managed to regroup and score a pair of wins over Juan Carlos Reveco in 2015 with the second being an impressive stoppage victory over the solid Argentinian on New Year’s Eve. Unfortunately the 27-year-old wasn’t able to build on that success with KO wins over the plucky Keyvin Lara and the very talented but inexperienced Stamp Kiatniwat being his ring appearances for 2016. With limited options at 112 lb and falling TV ratings in recent times a bout with a dangerous hard hitting foes such as Higa would surely regain the interest of the Japanese public. Higa continued his rampage through the flyweight ranks in 2016 with a 4th round demolition of OPBF champion Ardin Diale being a stand out performance. In his last outing Filipino southpaw Felipe Cagubcob caused a few minor issues before being overwhelmed by the relentless youngster. The 21-year-old returns on February 4th in a non-title encounter against Jayar Estremos before awaiting the winner of the March 4th Nawaphon Por Chokchai Juan Hernandez clash for the vacant WBC belt. If Higa gets by the March 4th winner and he’d be a solid favourite against either then the Yoko Gushiken protégé would be in line for big fights and a victory over a leading light such as Ioka would propel him to super star status in Japanese boxing. Yukinori Oguni 19-1-1 7 KOS v Ryosuke Iwasa 22-2 14 KOs. This bout is already mandated by the IBF and should take place within the first half of the year. Oguni suffered a few injuries in his amazing New Year’s Eve title winning effort so will be out of the gym for the next few months. Few if any gave Oguni a prayer against Jonathan Guzman but his all-round performance to relieve the hard hitting Dominican of his IBF super bantamweight belt was simply outstanding with the man from Japan proving everybody wrong. After being stopped in 11 rounds for the OPBF strap by Shingo Wake back in March 2013 the 28-year-old is proof that a loss isn’t the end of the world and that you can actually learn from the experience, rebuild and still enjoy a successful career and become a world champion. After being knocked out in 6 rounds by Lee Haskins in June 2015 for the interim IBF trinket Iwasa has had to do some rebuilding himself. The southpaw has rebounded with 3 victories, 2 coming via stoppage over Dennis Tubieron and Patomsith Pathompothong and the move up from bantamweight has proved fruitful for now. Iwasa travelled to the US in November 2016 to compete in a final IBF 122 lb eliminator but saw his training camp come to nothing as Luis Rosa failed to make weight but thankfully Iwasa was made mandatory challenger for Oguni and when this contest does take place we should be in for a treat. Stay tuned for part 2 of my 10 all Japanese fights I would like to see occur this year. A huge thanks to Marcus Bellinger for this, for those interested in following Marcus his twitter can be reached at @marcusknockout
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