This past week has been a pretty low key yet interesting one for Asian boxing, with a really interesting Korean show, some Japanese action and various fights across the rest of the world with Asian fighters involved in them.

Fighter of the Week
Yuki Nonaka (33-10-3, 10) 
Japanese veteran Yuki Nonaka rolled back the clock on Sunday, at the age of 41, to outpoint Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa and claim the OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific Middleweight titles. The Osakan veteran had been regarded as the under-dog but dropped Hosokawa in the opening round and went on to take a clear decision over the hard hitting Hosokawa, in what was a really brilliant performance from the veteran. Given how Nonaka had lost 2 of his last 3 and had been a career Light Middleweight this result really was a surprise and the way he fought was fantastic, a great display of boxing skills, timing, control of distance and crisp punching.
 
Notable mentions: Downua Ruawaiking, Shakhram Giyasov
 
Performance of the Week
Downua Ruawaiking (15-0, 12)
To begin the week Thailand's Downua Ruawaiking, aka Apinun Khongsong, put himself on the boxing map with a KO win over durable veteran Akihiro Kondo. Kondo had been regarded as the favourite, he had proven his toughness through 39 previous fights including a loss to Sergey Lipinets, and this was Downua's first international fight. Despite being the under-dog the Thai was sharp, accurate and closed the show in style, sending Kondo down hard with an excellent uppercut. This was a performance that really caught the attention and showed that Downua deserved to be in the mix with bigger fights, in fact the win has made him the mandatory IBF title challenger at 140lbs.
 
Fight
Hyun Je Shin (10-8, 2) vs Dong Kwan Lee (9-2-2, 4)
It's rare that we get fights of real quality in Korea but this week we got something special as Hyun Je Shin and Dong Kwan Lee took part in a sensational 10 round war for the BoxingM Super Featherweight title. The pace the two men set was incredible from the opening round and they never really slowed down at any point, as both gritted their teeth and fought with an exceptional desire. This is probably not going to be mentioned much internationally but SPOTV really did have a cracking bout on their hands.
 
Due to SPOTV's youtube setting's we can't embed the video, but feel free to watch the video on youtube, here.
 
Round
Hyun Je Shin vs Dong Kwan Lee (round 3)
The aforementioned BoxingM Super Featherweight title fight had a number of rounds that could have been the round of the week. We've gone with the third, but there really was so many options from the same fight. The action was a phone booth war and is something that had so much intensity, action and excitement. It's a bit of a shame that neither man had the power to really hurt the other, but the high intensity action made up for that.
 
KO
Downua Ruawaiking KO5 Akihiro Kondo
We will struggle to find a more aesthetically pleasing KO this year than the one scored by Downua Ruawaiking against Akihiro Kondo. Kondo may not have been out cold, some how getting to his feet, but it was nothing short of a spectacular shot, and will something we expect to see replayed time and time again this year. The fact Kondo had never been stopped prior to this KO is a testament to how well Downua caught him, and the way Kondo went down was genuinely amazing.
 
Prospect 
Jeong Han Cha (5-0, 5)
Back to Korea for our Prospect of the week, in what was a really stacked category. We've gone with aggressive and exciting Korean teenager Jeong Han Cha. He was up against a fellow unbeaten and in fact his opponent, Yun Seong Kim, look really goo in the opening round. In round 2 however Cha scored two different knockouts. The first was from a brutal body shot, that seemed to be incorrectly ruled a low blow and allowed Kim a chance to recover, whilst he would later finish the bout with some huge head shots. It's hard to get too excited about Korean prospects, but Cha really does look like he has something special about him, and is really worthy of serious attention.
 
Notable mentions: Sultan Zaurbek, Tanawat Nakoon, Ravshanbek Umurzakov
 
Upcoming fight 
Vic Saludar (18-3, 10) Vs Masataka Taniguchi (11-2, 7)
The bout we're most excited about this coming week is the WBO Minimumweight title bout between defending champion Vic Saludar and Japanese challenger Masataka Taniguchi. This bout has the potential to be a FOTY contender. Both have exciting styles, under-rated power and skills and they should make for a thrilling war of attrition. Something for us to be very, very excited about.

News
Kuroda to face IBF champion Mthalane on May 13th!
This week we had the official announcement that Masayuki Kuroda (30-7-3, 16) would challenge IBF Flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane (37-2, 25) on May 13th at the Korakuen Hall. The full details of the show and the broadcast are yet to be announced, but this is a great bout and something we're looking forward to. It's not like the bout was a secret, but to have a date and venue confirmed this week is great news, and the result of the details will be announced over the coming weeks.

Having already looked at 12 rumoured bouts, it makes sense to cover more bouts that appear to be getting spoke about, before we start to see action picking up in the coming days.

If you missed part 1 and part 2 they are available:
​6 bouts rumoured to be in the works for 2019
​6 more bouts rumoured to be in the works for 2019 (AKA Part 2!)
 
Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (47-4-1, 41) vs Jerwin Ancajas (30-1-2, 20)
In part 1 of this mini-series, if you will, we mentioned that IBF Super Flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas had a mandatory title defense against Ryoichi Funai hanging over his head. In part 2 we mentioned that WBC Super Flyweight Srisaket Sor Rungvisai had his own mandatory looking against Juan Francisco Estrada. Interestingly however both Srisaket and Ancajas have expressed a desire to unify the WBC and IBF titles, and that bout has been rumoured as being something both fighters are targeting for March. It would seem likely that the two world title bodies would allow the champions to unify if, and only if, they can get the bout sorted sooner rather than later. We suspect March has been given to both parties as a sort target with April likely the hard deadline for the bout. If it gets made it will be a very special bout and we've got out fingers tightly crossed that this one does get made sooner rather than later!
 
Kosei Tanaka (12-0, 7) Vs Ryoichi Taguchi (27-3-2, 12)
WBO Flyweight champion Kosei Tanaka and countryman Ryoichi Taguchi were meant to meet when both were Light Flyweight world champions, but injuries suffered by Tanaka derailed those plans, before he moved up in weight. Now the two are supposedly targeting in a late Spring date for the match up, with Taguchi moving up to chase Tanaka. Of the two Tanaka is the more naturally gifted talent, and the more internationally well known due to his rapid rise to being a 3-weight world champion. Taguchi on the other hand is the naturally bigger fighter, the more experience man and arguably the fighter the fighter who's body will suit Flyweight better. The teams are said to be working on this bout and it's one both fighters want, and one without any TV issues, with the two fighters essentially both fighting on the same network. There really is no reason for this bout not to get made this year!
 
Moruti Mthalane (37-2, 25) Vs Masayuki Kuroda (30-7-3, 16)
At the end of 2018 we saw Moruti Mthalane make his first defense, of his second reign, of the IBF Flyweight title, stopping Masahiro Sakamoto. Going in to that bout the two men knew he would have a mandatory defense against Japan's Masayuki Kuroda in 2019, with the IBF giving the winner 90 days to make that defense. Mthalane is one of the most over-looked and under-rated fighters out there, and although he has spoke about unification bouts it's unlikely he'll get one without facing his mandatory first, as the IBF do tend to enforce mandatory defenses. Kuroda is best known for losing in a WBA Flyweight world title bout against Juan Carlos Reveco, though has since re-established himself with a number of decent performances on the talent laded Japanese scene. Mthalane would be the favourite, but Kuroda is a live under-dog.
 
Ryosuke Iwasa (25-3, 16) Vs Cesar Juarez (23-6, 17)
Originally rumoured for December 2018, though now seemingly delayed until 2019, is a world title eliminator between former IBF Super Bantamweight champion Ryosuke Iwasa and exciting Mexican warrior Cesar Juarez. When the bout was first mentioned it appeared Iwasa was still unsure about his future, but in recent weeks he has been training for a comeback to the ring. This is the sort of stylistic match up where we see heavy handed fighters face off, one is a more pure boxer, Iwasa, whilst the other is an aggressive pressure fighter and together it should make for some real fireworks. 
 
Shakhram Giyasov (6-0, 5) Vs Shohjahon Ergashev (15-0, 14)
A lot of the Uzbek fighters seem to be good friends, however in recent weeks we've seen 2016 Olympic Silver medal winner Shakhram Giyasov and fellow unbeaten Light Welterweight puncher Shohjahon Ergashev doing a TV Face-Off and allowing a lot of talk about the two fighting each other. The two are already world ranked, both had huge 2018's, with both climbing into the world rankings and scoring notable wins, and both can bang. It's hard to predict a winner between these two, but it would certainly be a very special bout between two fantastic fighters. Although they are already building hype in the bout there is a chance that the bout will be held off until one, if not both, hold a world title, adding a even more prestige to the contest.
 
Floyd Mayweather Jr (50-0, 27) Vs Manny Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39) II
​Although it's unlikely, at the time of writing, there has been talk of a rematch between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao, with the Filipino recently signing with Al Haymon, something that was seen as making the bout even more likely. These two clashed in a massive, yet well over-due, bout in May 2015 and could end up rematching again this year. Both are said to be keen on raising their profiles in Japan, with Mayweather recently featuring on Rizin 14 and having business interests in the country and Pacquiao also stating he wanted to fight in the country, following a deal with a fitness company. They could also fight in the US, where both are major names, even if fans are cynical based on their original contest. This has been rumoured, and we wouldn't be surprised if it's not rumoured every year going forward, even as the men both slide further and further beyond their primes.