The middle portion of July is incredibly packed with a lot of action coming in just a few days, including 4 world title bouts, a regional title bout and several notable hopefuls. It really is set to be an insanely busy few days. July 12th-
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It's fair to say that 2019 has been a really good year for boxing so far, with some great fights, brilliant KO's amazing upsets and exciting youngsters breaking through. Sadly however this past June was a less than great one for Asian boxing, with not a lot really happening. As a result our awards for the month are probably the least impressive ones of the year so far.
Fighter of the Month Kazuto Ioka The fighter of the month was an obvious pick, with Kazuto Ioka becoming the first Japanese man to become a 4-weight world champion, and doping so in a brilliant win over Aston Palicte. The bout perhaps won't be as fondly remembered as Ioka's achievement, though was a fun bout that we'll talk about more shortly, but was the culmination of all of Ioka's work so far and really did show the technical ability of his against the strength and toughness of Palicte. The options for Ioka, now at Super Flyweight, are plentiful and both Akira Yaegashi and Kosei Tanaka are known to be sniffing around for a fight, both of which would be huge in Japan. Fight of the Month Kazuto Ioka Vs Aston Palicte Having just mentioned Kazuto Ioka's win over Aston Palicte we'll also award that bout our fight of the month award. It wasn't the most amazing and nail biting of bouts, but it was an excellent match up that saw skills, power, speed, excitement and the eventual breaking down of a bigger man but a more technically sound fighter. The bout won't be in the running at the end of the year for Fight of the Year but in a relatively weak month it was, for us, the bout that stood out the most in June. KO of the Month In Duck Seo KO1 Tysinn Best Whilst the month didn't have many amazing KO's in Asia it did see an absolute beauty from Korean fighter In Duck Seon as he bested Tysinn Best in spectacular fashion. Seo was being out boxed, out thought and out sped, but had the toughness and the power so turn the tables, and boy did he turn the tables in an eye catching fashion. Best was sent crashing, face first, to the canvas and was down for quite some time whilst Seo knew he had just put his name on the regional boxing map.A huge win and a brilliant KO. Prospect Dave Apolinario (11-0, 6) Filipino fighter Dave Apolinario still isn't getting the buzz and fanfare he clearly deserves, though it seems like it's only a matter of time before the "Doberman" is on the mind of every knowledgeable fight fan. The talented youngster Adrian Lerasan and had to show what he could do against a solid southpaw foe. The unbeaten Apolinario couldn't blow his man out the water but showed he could do 10 rounds, at a decent pace, against a good, tough, rugged southpaw and clearly answered more questions. Their are still tests for the unbeaten Apolinario to answer, but so far he is looking like the goods.One to keep a serious eye on in the coming years. Upset Whilst the biggest upset in boxing occurred at the start of the month, when Andy Ruiz stopped Anthony Joshua in the US. Sadly there wasn't a big upset in Asian boxing, and whilst not everything went as expected there wasn't an sizable upset worthy of much attention. Round Kazuto Ioka Vs Aston Palicte Round 7 We are back to that excellent WBO Super Flyweight title bout between Kazuto Ioka and Aston Palicte, which had a round of the year contender in the 7th. The round really saw Palicte attempt to turn the tide, and went after Ioka, hurting him early in the round before Ioka fought back. Whilst it's fair to say that June was a weak month this was still a great round, and would have been in the mix for month of the year. We spend so much time talking about the Ohashi Gym in Yokohama that it can be really hard to truly grasp how much great talent is under the guidance of the legendary Hideyuki Ohashi. One of the many fighters at the gym looking to make a mark in the coming years is Light Welterweight Andy Hiraoka (13-0, 9), who already looks he could be a very special young fighter, though clearly needs time and work to get the most of his ability. Although well known as a boxer now Hiraoka was a standout track athlete, and didn't really have much of an amateur career. His athletic background over-lapped with the early part of his boxing career and obviously he was a natural athlete, who was pushed into learning boxing by his father. Hiraoka made his professional debut back in 2013, whilst not actually an Ohashi gym fighter. He was originally signed to the Hanagata gym, run by former Flyweight world champion Susumu Hanagata. It was under Mr Hanagata that Hiraoka first made his mark on the sport, winning the 2014 East Japan Rookie of the year crown at Lightweight, beating Shintaro Nakamura in the final. That had set him up for an All Japan Rookie of the Year, whilst aged just 18. Sadly Hiraoka's dream of becoming the Rookie of the Year champion came to an end early as illness left him unable to compete in the All Japan final against Shogo Yamaguchi. Notably around the same time he took part in a major distance race, seemingly unclear on what option he wanted to do. After missing out on the Rookie of the Year final it was almost 2 years before we saw Hiraoka return to a boxing ring. When he did return, in 2016, he was signed to the Ohashi gym, and had returned following a lengthy stay in the US, where he trained at the Floyd Mayweather Gym in Las Vegas, and worked with the likes of Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and Roger Mayweather, really working on his skills and ring craft. Upon Hiraoka's return to competition he quickly took out a pair of Thai novices, getting a feel of the ring again. After a couple of straight forward bouts he finally faced Shogo Yamaguchi, the man he was supposed to fight in the Rookie of the Year tournament, and despite some struggles he managed to see off Yamaguchi in the 6th round. The win over Yamaguchi seemed to expunge some frustration of missing out in 2014. Following his win over Yamaguchi we then saw Hiraoka enter a 4 man tournament to crown a Japanese Youth Light Welterweight champion. In his first bout of the tournament Hiraoka scored a 3rd round TKO over Ukyo Yoshigai in August 2017. That win netted him a bout against Takahiko Kobayashi for the Japanese Youth title just weeks later. Despite having been stopped twice to facing Hiraoka we saw no fear from Kobayashi who got off to a great start, out boxing and out landing Hiraoka who really struggled through the first 4 rounds. Thankfully for Hiraoka the effort of Kobayashi took it's toll on him, and he would slow down,allowing Hiraoka's strength and stamina to play a part. In round 5 Koabayashi fell apart with Hiraoka forcing a stoppage win and claiming the title, and his biggest win to date. Having won the Japanese Youth title in November 2017 Hiraoka would kick off his 2018 with an 8 round decision win over Fumisuke Kimura, in a none-title fight. The win was a really mature one from Hiraoka, but one that did really excite many at the time, with Kimura not being regarded very highly. It is worth noting however that since that bout Kimura has gone on to stop Hayato Ono and Giraffe Kirin Kanda. Hiraoka would then make his first defense of the title, defeating Ukyo Yoshigai last September in his only defense of the belt so far. Like their first bout Hiraoka would stop Yoshigai in the third round to retain his title. Later this month Hiraoka takes a huge step up in class to face off with former world title challenger Akihiro Kondo. The bout is set to be a massive test for Hiraoka, who knows that a win will boost his career in incredibly ways, but is certainly a a tough test and a win is far from a given, even with Kondo being stopped earlier this year by Downua Ruawaiking. A win and he is immediately in the OPBF title picture, however a loss will be a big set back for the confident youngster. Aged 22 has over-come battles from child hood. His mother is Japanese and his father is from Ghana, giving him darker skin than most in Japan, and he is also very tall for someone in the country. He stands out from most in Japan, but given his athletic background it should be little surprise that he has fought to the point where he is now and looks to be fighting towards big success. He's a really strong, powerful kid, and despite being rough around the edges he has the build and athletic ability to go a long way. It's now just a case of whether those at the Ohashi can smooth off his rough edges and develops him from the diamond in the rough that he is today. |
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