This past week has been a busy one, an exciting one and an interesting one with a lot of action taking place right through the week, with a trio of notable mid-week shows in Asia. The bouts might have all been great but there was some outstanding fights, thrilling action, a huge upset, frighting KO's and some excellent rounds.
Fighter of the Week Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa (12-4-1, 11) The heavy handed Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa became a 2-time OPBF Middleweight champion this week due to an excellent win over Koki Tyson, in a bout that left Tyson looking disfigured which huge gruesome looking swelling around his right eye. The performance certainly wasn't flawless from Hosokawa, but he showed his fighters mentality and took his lumps before forcing the doctor to step in and save Tyson. Not only did Hosokawa become a 2-time champion but following the bout it was revealed he would be making his first defense in a unification bout Kazuto Takesako Performance of the Week Jhunriel Ramonal (16-8-6, 9) At the age of 30 Filipino, and fighting for just the 4th time in 4 years, Jhunriel Ramonal secured the best win of his career, by far. The rugged Filipino battled through a cut, battled through adversity and refused to accept defeat before finally breaking through and dropping the world ranked Shingo Wake. Wake would get up from the first knockdown but not long afterwards Ramonal would drop the former world title challenger, hard. The Filipino was bleeding badly by the time he scored the stoppage, but heart, determination and finish all roll into him earning the Performance of the Week. Fight Heuk San Lee vs Gyung Mo Yuh The KBF title might not have huge standing in the sport, but it's hard to refute the fact that some of the KBF title fighters are amazing fights. One great example of that happened this week, when Heuk San Lee and Gyung Mo Yuh tore lumps out of each other in all action 10 round war for the KBF Welterweight title. This bout swung from being a good fight for Lee boxing on the move to an all out war as his feet slowed and Yuh's pressure began to take hold. In the later rounds this was thrilling, none stop, crazy, crude slugging and a must watch bout for those who want to know what the KBF title means to fighters in South Korea. Don't get us wrong, this wasn't a technical show case, but it was thrilling action. Just a shame the judging was a little bit questionable. Round Kenichi Horikawa vs Yuto Takahashi (10) We had some solid rounds this last week, though the one that takes the award for us was the gruelling and tiring final round of the Japanese Minimumweight title bout between Kenichi Horikawa and Yuto Takahashi. This wasn't pretty, and it wasn't a round full of clean action, but this was two men fighting for the decision, using all their heart to try and win the bout. It was messy, it was rough, it was hard and was ugly. It was a exciting mess of a round, and fought at a high quality level than the bout in Korea, which had rounds were more wild, but less tough. KO Jhunriel Ramonal TKO3 Shingo Wake On paper it seemed Friday's bout between Shingo Wake and Jhunriel Ramonal was little more than a tune up for Wake against someone he had already beaten. Instead however it ended up being the worst night of his professional career. Was was supposed to be an easy win for sharp shooting southpaw ended with him being dropped twice, and being left flat out thanks to a huge left hook from Ramonal. The KO blow, at the very end of round 3, was a huge left hook right on the chin that dropped Wake hard. This was brutal, this visually impressive and this was nasty to re-watch with Wake dropping on the spot. This is up there with the best KO's of the year. Notable mention Shuichiro Yoshino TKO1 Harmonito Dela Torre Prospect Thanongsak Simsri (12-0, 11) The unbeaten Thanongsak Simsri saw his perfect KO start come to an end this week but he answered a lot of questions as he took a clear and wide decision win over fellow Thai Lerdchai Chaiyawed. The talented Thanongsak found someone he couldn't blow through and instead proved he could go rounds, and out-box a capable opponent. Lerdchai might not be well known but he's a very decent regional journeyman and the 19 year old Thanongsak really did well here to make things look as easy as they were. He's certainly one worth making a note of going forward. Upcoming fight Xiang Li (7-2-1, 2) vs Ryu Horikawa (2-0, 1) On Thursday we see a mouth watering WBO Youth Light Flyweight title bout as exciting Chinese fighter Xiang Li takes on fast rising Japanese teenager Ryu Horikawa. Neither of these men are big names, yet, but we suspect that both will go on to achieve notable success in the future. Li impressed in his title win, earlier this year in Hong Kong with a win over Raymond Poon KaiChing, whilst Horikawa, who has only been a pro since June, shone in August when he beat the touted Yuki Nakajima. This has the potential to be a thriller, and to put the winner on to the fact track for some very big regional fights.
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This past week has been a bit of a strange, and frustrating, one. We've had 2 legitimately fantastic bouts shown, but we've not had much else being shown, with the major Japanese card from the week being aired next week, and there was nothing of note featured on boxing Raise. There was a Filipino card, but the stream for it was poor to say the least, and it very much feels like a week where there was only the widely available stuff to watch.
Fighter of the Week Hiroto Kyoguchi (14-0, 9) Whilst the week wasn't great overall it's hard to deny that this was a week where two bouts stood out. One of those was the fantastic IBF Middleweight title bout between Gennady Golovkin vs Sergiy Derevyanchenko and the other was the equally as good WBA Light Flyweight "super" title bout between Hiroto Kyoguchi and Tetsuya Hisada. Both bouts saw the under-dog giving the favourite all they could handle over 12 amazing rounds, and these two bouts would have been highlights in any week. Of the two winners we have to give Fighter of the Week to Kyoguchi, who enhanced his reputation with his win, whilst Golovkin seemed to show that he was one step closer to retirement than anyone had anticipated. Performance of the Week Tetsuya Hisada (34-10-2, 20) One of the things that allowed Kyoguchi to take our Fighter of the Week award was his dance partner, Tetsuya Hisada. In the eyes of many Hisada was an undeserving challenger, an old man with 9 losses on his record going into the biggest bout of his career. He had never scored a win above domestic level, and was an unknown outside of Japan, and even that it was only the hardcore fans in the country who really much about him. What he did however was put up one of the best performance of 2019, holding his own with a much young fighter. For those who were impressed by Derevyanchenko against Golovkin, Hisada's effort was very, very similar. Fight Hiroto Kyoguchi vs Tetsuya Hisada It'll come as no surprise that there were really only 2 bouts in contention for the Fight of the Week, the Gennady Golovkin Vs Sergiy Derevyanchenko and the Hiroto Kyoguchi Vs Tetsuya Hisada fight. In many ways both were very, very similar. They both had the under-dog massively out performing expectations, despite being dropped. The winner of both fights were hurt and the fights were back and forth action fights. In reality the Golovkin fight was closer, and more competitive, but for us the better fight was actually the other one. Both were fantastic, both deserve to be in the fight of the year short list, but we we found Kyoguchi Vs Hisada more enthralling over the course of the fight. Round Gennady Golovkin vs Sergiy Derevyanchenko Round 8 With 2 great fights we were treat to some amazing rounds, for this however we have to side with Golovkin's big effort in round 8 against Derevyanchenko. It was one of the few rounds that the Kazakh seemed to put his foot on the gas and was one of the few rounds that saw both men going tit for tat, rather than than Golovkin being backed up and landing the better shots. This was a great round of action, both men were hurt and both looked tired, but they dug deep and delivered a fantastic 3 minutes of action. KO No suitable contender Prospect Ali Akhmedov (16-0, 12) The week was a really odd one for prospects. There was plenty in action, but they were in mismatches, and very few of them had to answer and real questions. For us Israil Madrimov isn't a prospect but a contender, and the we almost said the same of Ali Akhmedov. Problem is that if we had, we wouldn't have had a candidate for this category, as no one faced anyone of any note. Even then Akhemdov's opponent, Andrew Hernandez, almost saw him ruled out. Akhmedov stopped Hernandez with the only notable punch and took an opening round TKO. An awful week for prospects looking to announce themselves. Upcoming fight Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa (11-4-1, 10) Vs Koki Tyson (14-3-3, 12) II The first bout between Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa and Koki Tyson had the chance to be great, but fell short, in part due to a lack of fitness from Tyson who took the bout on short notice. This time both men have had plenty of time to prepare and we are expecting this to be a genuine thriller between two fighters who can bang, can fight and can put on a show. This might not be a major globally, but it has the fighters to be a truly excellent fight. This past week has been a strange one for Asian boxing, as very little notable action actually took place in Asia, with very few shows taking place in the Orient. There was the odd card, such as the Rookie of the Year shows in Tokyo and the show in Singapore, but in reality there wasn't much of note. As a result many of the awards winners this week fought outside of Asia, though really did provide so much excitement.
Fighter of the Week Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (15-0, 9) Tajik born Russian based Super Featherweight Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov proved his value with a great on Sunday when he stopped the previously unbeaten Azinga Fuzile in an IBF Super Featherweight world title eliminator. Rakhimov went in as the under-dog, fighting in Fuzile's back yard and for the most was out boxed, out sped, out thought and out fought. Fuzile's success left Rakhimov in a hole on the scorecards but the heavy handed fighter refused to accept defeat and in round 8 went about changing the nature of the fight, roughing up Fuzile. When he did that he broke through, dropping the South African twice to secure the win, and a huge title showdown with Tevin Farmer. Performance of the Week Batyr Akhmedov (7-1, 6) Whilst we were massively impressed with Rakhimov the performance of the week belongs to Uzbek born fighter Batyr Akhmedov, who put in an amazing performance against Mario Barrios in a bout for the WBA "regular" Light Welterweight title. Akhmedov was dropped in round 4 then seemed to come alive, setting an incredible pace from round 5 to the final bell. Sadly Rakhimov was dropped in round 12 but had put in a performance that will leave fans talking for a while. He may have lost the bout, by decision, but Akhmedov impressed, proved he belonged at world level and showed he had the energy and style to be a genuine fan favourite. The bout may have come a touch too early in his career, but he made the most of his chance and will almost certainly have improved his standing, despite the defeat. Fight Batyr Akhmedov vs Mario Barrios Akhmedov's effort in his loss to Barrios was incredible. The fight was fought at a high tempo through out, the momentum shifted, from a good start to Barrios, a strong middle for Akhmedov and then a big turn around in round 12 with Barrios knockdown. This was one of the most dramatic fights of the year, and it's just a shame that the judges scorecards left a bad taste over what had been an incredible fight, and a great showing of heart, determination and will from both. Round Batyr Akhmedov Vs Mario Barrios (Rd12) We stick with the Akhmedov Vs Barrios for the round of the week, which wasn't the most exciting round, but was the most dramatic. Akhmedov was in the ascendancy, he was pressing the fight and bringing the pressure. Barrios was badly swollen, looking tired and seemingly desperate to stay up right. Then with about 20 seconds left he scored his second knockdown of the fight. This wasn't an all action round, and put into isolation it wasn't an amazing round, but in context of the fight and the drama the round had this was amazing. KO Jin Sasaki TKO1 Tetsuya Kondo Although not the most significant KO of the week the one that really stood out as being the most aesthetically pleasing came in a Rookie of the Year bout, as teenager Jin Sasaki took out Tetsuya Kondo. Aftr just over 2 minutes Sasaki dropped Kondo for the first time. Kondo got back to his feet and about 20 seconds later Sasaki landed a truly sweet left hook that sent Kondo crashing to the canvas. This was a gorgeous KO, and whilst not the most destructive or important it was worth watching over and over. Prospect Rei Nakajima (2-0) Despite the Rookie of the Year action there wasn't much action featuring notable prospects. There was some talented Filipino's in mismatches at the start of the week but the mismatches certainly don't help their claim. Instead the one that stood out was was Rei Nakajima, who went 6 rounds in a clear win over Korean Se Yul Yang. Nakajima is a genuine talent and whilst Yang wasn't competitivehe did travel to win and forced Nakajima to remain sharp. It's a shame the top Filipino prospects didn't fight some what testing opponents at the start of the week. Upcoming fight Junto Nakatani (19-0, 14) vs Milan Melindo (37-4, 13) There are a number of compelling match ups over the next 7 days, including 2 world title bouts and numerous bouts featuring prospects. For us the bout that stands out the most is the cross roads bout between rising contender Junto Nakatani and former world champion Milan Melindo. For Nakatani this is expected to be a legitimate test, his first real test since his Rookie of the Year days, whilst Melindo is looking to keep his career alive, and move towards one final world title bout. This is a really intriguing bout, and although there's no world title up for grabs, we see this as being the best of this weeks upcoming fights and the one which has the potential to launch a new star. This week hasn't been a week with a huge amount of activity but there was a lot of talking points, some really amazing fights and some great performances. A week where quality certainly made up for a relative lack of quantity.
Fighter of the Week Bakhodir Jalolov (6-0, 6)* For the first time since we began doing these awards the Fighter of the Week has been won by someone who didn't fight in a professional bout. Instead it's gone to a man who picked up 4 wins in a week and won the World Amateur Championships. That is Uzbek Super Heavyweight Bakhodir Jalolov, who got people talking about the World Amateur Championships in a way that really did bring extra attention to the tournament. We know some are against professionals fighting in amateur tournaments but we've yet to see them have any notable success, that was until Jalolov, who won took gold and show that fighters can do both, pro and amateur boxing. Performance of the Week Taku Kuwahara (6-0, 4) Japanese hopeful Taku Kuwahara took a big step up in class and dominated Filipino foe Jonathan Refugio over 8 rounds. Kuwahara showed his technical ability, speed and movement against Refugio, who was tough but totally out fought, out boxed, out classed and out-sped. Although not one of the more well known prospects in Japan Kuwahara is making a mark and looks like a youngster who is going to be ready for title fights very soon. His performance here was excellent, and the only thing it missed was a stoppage. Fight Masataka Taniguchi Vs Kai Ishizawa We had some absolutely brilliant fights this past week, but the pick of them was then back and forth 8 round thriller between Masaka Taniguchi and Kai Ishizawa, who faced off in a Japanese title eliminator. Both of these men had a lot to gain from a win, and both fought as if winning was worth everything. The opening round saw both men being rocked, rounds 2-4 saw Taniguchi set a high pace and out box Ishizawa, before Ishizawa began to get close and dropped Taniguchi. The final rounds were all out action and the bout really exceeded all expectations. A truly fantastic fight Round Masataka Taniguchi Vs Kai Ishizawa (Rd 6) Our fight of the week also gave us the round of the week. The 6th round of the bout was something that was out of a movie. It was 3 minutes of back and forth brutality, both men hammering away with bombs. Whilst Minimumweights often have a reputation for not being able to punch both of these guys were rocked in the round, and both were fighting at such an incredible pace that you couldn't catch your breath. Notable - Kento Matsuoka vs Suguru Ishikawa (Rd4) KO Bakhodir Jalolov KO1 Richard Torrez The big fuss this week was whether amateur fighters should be allowed to fight in the amateurs, with the WBC stating they shouldn't due to one brutal incident. That was the opening round KO win for Bakhodir Jalolov, who took out Richard Torrez in frightening fashion. The 20 year Torrez, one of the big hopes for the US, had won his first 2 bouts in World Amateur Championships and reached the Quarter finals where he faced Jalolov. With less than a 20 seconds of the round left the lanky Uzbek landed a booming left hand that put Torrez down hard. Whether you're in the camp of not letting pro's in amateur tournaments or not, one thing is clear, this was a KO of the Year contender. Notable-Froilan Saludar KO8 Tsubasa Murachi Prospect Kudura Kaneko (11-0, 8) Japanese-Afghan Kudura Kaneko scored one of his best win to date as he stopped veteran Moon Hyon Yun, a man who had never been stopped and was pretty much known for his toughness. Kaneko boxed well behind his jab to begin with, then been Yun at his own game, fighting on the inside and breaking down the veteran. The stoppage seemed questionable, but it felt very inevitable that Kaneko was going to beat and stop Yun. Kaneko might not be well known internationally but we have a feeling that a lot of fans will hear a lot about him over the next 12-24 months. He is a class fighter, with a great back story and a very easy to watch style. Notable - Carl Jammes Martin Upcoming fight Azinga Fuzile (14-0, 8) vs Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (14-0, 11) Unbeaten men colliding in a world titlke eliminator is always a good thing, and next week end we see just that as South African Azinga Fuzile takes on Russian based Tajik Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in a bout that has all the ingredients to be something very special. The styles should gel, both men will be out there for a win and both are solid punching fighters with sound boxing skills. This might not be an all out war, but should be a very compelling, high tempo and hard hitting battle. This past week has been an interesting one in many ways. The quantity of shows has dropped off, noticeably, but the quality was high through out with two major Japanese cards from the Korakuen Hall as well as several other noteworthy cards.
Fighter of the Week Ryo Sagawa (8-1, 4) On Friday we had a hugely anticipated show at the Korakuen Hall, featuring a number of notable Japanese fighters, with many of them being in ultra competitive contests. The man who won the most significant of those was Ryo Sagawa, who defeated Reiya Abe for the Japanese Featherweight title. The bout was an ultra competitive contest over 10 excellent rounds, and for Sagawa it completes a remarkable run of results, which also includes a win over Ryo Matsumoto and Al Toyogon. Given how close it was it keeps Abe in the title mix, but Sagawa is well deserving of the Fight of the Week award, and we expect to see him in some much bigger bouts in the coming years. Performance of the Week Masanori Rikiishi (7-1, 4) Japanese fighter Masanori Rikiisi isn't someone Western fans will be too aware of, though they may see his name breaking into the world rankings sooner rather than later, especially his match makings, and this weeks performance. The unheralded 25 year old stepped up massively to take on his first non-Asian opponent, and completely schooled Nicaraguan Freddy Fonseca. Fonseca is best known by American fans for losing earlier in the year to the Jo Jo Diaz, and whilst Rikiishi couldn't stop Fonseca he did drop him twice and totally dominate him over 8 rounds to secure his best win to date. Fight Saemi Hanagata 915-7-4, 7) Vs Nao Ikeyama (18-6-4, 5) III After 2 thrilling bouts, both of which ended in draws, we got exactly what expected when Saemi Hanagata and Nao Ikeyama took to the ring to end their trilogy. From the first round to the last this was an engaging, competitive bout, that never seemed easy to score and always looked like both fighters felt they had what it took to take home the win. We love competitive back and forth and this was just that, even if neither fighter had the power to hurt the other. The momentum shifts, action and gelling of styles between these two is great, and it's a shame their rivalry now seems to be over after 30 extremely competitive rounds. Note - Unfortunately the A-Sign card hasn't been made available, had been out there there's a good chance that 3 bouts from that card would have been in the mix for this award. Round Ayaka Miyao vs Monserrat Alarcon (Rd 10) Fans of female boxing were treat this past week. Not only did they have the big Amanda Serrano Vs Heather Hardy bout in the US but there was also a Japanese card that completely focused on female boxing. The card didn't get a lot of attention, but it should have given the quality of action on the show. The highlight for us was the final round of the WBA Atomweight title bout between Ayaka Miyao and Monserrat Alarcon. This was a sensational round of action, with so much leather thrown as both fighters tried to secure victory in an incredibly close bout. If you like female boxing this is well worth hunting down. Note-As with the fight of the week some of the best rounds haven't yet been made available to watch due to one of the cards being put on a tape delay to much later in the month. KO Muhammad Waseem KO1 Conrado Tanamor Pakistani fighter Muhammad Waseem had been out of the ring for over a year until returning in a cameo on Friday in Dubai. The cameo was very short, lasting just over a minute with Waseem taking out Filipino fighter Conrado Tanamor with a brutal body shot. The bout was a mismatch, but the shot was still a beauty and it's clear that if Waseem can shake some ring rust, against a decent opponent, he could well find himself back in the world title mix before the end of the end of 2020. Prospect Iskander Kharsan (7-0, 6) Unbeaten US based Kazakh prospect Iskander Kharsan has some how remained under the radar despite showing the potential to be someone very special. That ability, power punching and confidence was on show this weekend when he stopped Isidro Ochoa in the 5th round. The Kazakh youngster applied intelligent pressure and sharp punching to take control, dropping Ochoa in round 5 with an excellent straight right hand. Ochoi, to his credit, saw out the round but retired in the corner as Kharsan picked up best win to date. Upcoming fight Taku Kuwahara (5-0, 4) vs Jonathan Refugio (21-6-5, 7) There are a number of solid bouts coming up over the next week or so, but the one that really stands out is a match up between fast rising Japanese hopeful Taku Kuwahara and experienced Filipino Jonathan Refugio. On paper this is a massive step up for Kuwahara, but the body punching phenom from the Ohashi gym is tipped for big things and will be expected take home the win here. Refugio is no world beater, but the Filipino is a durable, skilled and tough fighter, who can do enough to test rising hopefuls. This should be a great chance to see just how good Kuwahara is, and how quickly the Ohashi team can move him. This past week was a really crazy one with so many shows, especially over the weekend, making it almost impossible to watch everything. Over the weekend alone there were cards in Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and the Philippines in what was low key one of the busiest most hectic couple of days of the year. There wasn't just a lot going on but also some hidden gems, so thrilling performances and some exhilarating action.
Fighter of the Week Pedro Taduran (14-2, 11) The star for the weekend was Filipino warrior Pedro Taduran, who scored a TKO win over Samuel Salva to become the new IBF Minimumweight champion. Taduran set out his stall early on, applied constant pressure and despite being dropped in the opening round he eventually broke down Salva in very impressive, and destructive, fashion. In regards to the Fighter of the Week award he won the biggest fight of the weekend, and looked great doing it. He was exciting, aggressive, tough, rugged and very fun to watch, making the most of his second chance to win a world title. Performance of the Week Pedro Taduran (14-2, 11) We're sticking with Taduran again for the Performance of the Week as well the Fighter of the Week. His performance, where he simply walked through the unbeaten Samuel Salva was incredibly impressive. He didn't show a great deal of technical excellence, but fought to his strengths, broke down his more skilled foe and battered Samuel into submission with intense pressure and 2-handed offense. It was brutal, beautiful and brilliant from Taduran. Fight Tae Gwang Park (0-0) v Sang Min Oh (2-0, 2) Having just described something as brutal and beautiful it goes without saying that most fights in Korea are beautifully brutal, and that was the case in the 4 round rookie bout between Tae Gwang Park and Sang Min Oh. This 4 rounder wasn't a technical masterclass, in fact it wasn't technical in the slightest, but it was violent, exciting and all brutal, with heavy leather being thrown by both through the 4 round contest. It somewhat slowly but got better round by round and ended up being a very hard hitting and hurtful war. This is was rock em sock robots, with defense not really being in the vocabulary of either man. Round Pedro Taduran Vs Samuel Salva (Rd 3) We head back to Pedro Taduran's fight with Samuel Salva for our Round of the Week, and what a round it was! After Salva seemed to win the first two rounds we saw Taduran move through the gears in round 3, but eat a number of clean right hands at the start of the round. From there on however Taduran managed to hurt Salva, and kept the pressure on, through an insane amount of leather whilst Salva went into survival mode. How Salva stayed up right is a mystery, but over 3 minutes was wonderfully chaotic action and the success for Taduran was the momentum shift that lead to his victory. KO Hikari Mineta KO1 Yuji Oba The KO of the Week was an interesting category with a lot of eye catching finishes. For us however the one that stayed with us the most was the huge right hand KO of Hikari Mineta. She shot sent Oba crumbling to the canvas, his legs bending under his body as he went down. He was seemingly aware of his surroundings, but couldn't respond at all to the 10 count following one of the sweetest shots Mineta will ever land. This was a wonderful visual to see and a fantastic finish. We're also glad to report that Oba was complete fine and there was no leg injury, despite the was his body crashed to the canvas. Prospect Katsuya Fukui (1-0, 1) We're staying in Japan for our Prospect of the Week, Katsuya Fukui. The debuting Fukui, who was a solid amateur, was up against Korean visitor Sang Hoon Kim who we expected to give the new professional a decent test. Instead Fukui smartly boxed behind his jab, approached the bout with a real viciousness to his work and took Kim out relatively easily. The result, a 2nd round KO, wasn't the impressive thing however. What impressed was his approach to the fight. Despite being in total control the debutant didn't take big risks, instead boxing smartly to defeat Kim, applying smart pressure and boxing behind his jab. His performance showed a real maturity and it's clear that he's someone Teiken can get excited about. Upcoming fight Reiya Abe (19-2-1, 9) vs Ryo Sagawa (7-1, 4) This coming week sees things get a little bit crazy with a lot of potentially brilliant action coming up. Despite a host of great fights being on the docket the one that has us more excited than all the others is the Japanese Featherweight title bout between Reiya Abe and Ryo Sagawa. This bout is a 50-50 type match up, between two very skilled fighters, who have styles that should work well together. Sagawa is technically smart offensive fighter whilst Abe is a technically smart sharp shooting fighter, and when those styles gel we can get some thrillers. This should be hotly contested, highly skilled chess, and we're gonna love seeing how it goes! The past few days have been incredible ones in Asian boxing circles with so much activity that it's been hard to keep tabs on everything. Thanks to the incredible activity it's made the awards for this week really interesting, with some really hard competition in some of the categories!
Fighter of the Week Kosei Tanaka (14-0, 8) This week has been one of the weirdest in some ways with our Fighter of the Week being one who really under-performed yet turned it on when it mattered to grab victory from the jaws of defeat. That was Kosei Tanaka who seemed to realise the WBO Flyweight title was slipping from his grasp before turning it on in round 7 and stopping Jonathan Gonzalez to record his second defense. This was an really under-whelming performance, on the whole, but the way he stepped it up, Performance of the Week Jayr Raquinel (11-1-1, 8) This was arguably the toughest category this week, with great performances from the likes of Shakhram Giyasov, Shohjahon Ergashev, Ryota Yamauchi and John Riel Casimero. For us the winner, just, was Jayr Raquinel, who shines again on Japanese soil and became the first man to stop Takuya Kogawa. The talented and young Filipino was dropped in the opening round but bounced back brilliantly and took Kogawa out truly sickening fashion. At just 22 years old the Flyweight division has got a wonderful little talent in it's ranks, but one that needs just a bit more nurturing. Fight Orlie Silvestre vs Ronald Alapormina Despite us having some great performances the actual overall quality of bouts wasn't amazing with the 6 round bout between Orlie Silvestre and the upset minded Ronald Alapormina being the best of the bunch. This was just a really fun, low level action packed bout with the skills of Silvestre going up against the aggression and work rate of Alapormina. A very fun fan friendly bout. Round Alphoe Dagayloan vs Ryota Yamauchi (Rd8) Whilst overall bouts weren't amazing, on the whole, we did have some great rounds and the 8th round of a nail biter between Alphoe Dagayloan and Ryota Yamauchi was one such round. The bout had aggression from both, moments were both seemed to be exhausted, brilliant exchanges and bombs being thrown back and forth. Despite the high volume of power shots this wasn't sloppy, and instead the shots were being landed clean and hard, with high level of skills on show from both. KO Jayr Raquinel TKO8 Takuya Kogawa We've seen few KO's this year that have caused the rushed panic of a fighters team as Jayr Raquinels 8th round knockout of veteran Takuya Kogawa. The tough Kogawa was wobbled hard and responded by trying to throw big power shots, he was then countered by a monstrous straight left hand from Raquinel which dropped him hard. The referee instantly called off the bout, Kogawa's team rushed to his aide and Raquinel walked over to the corner to prey. Thankfully Kogawa is fine, and this KO will be one that deserves serious consideration at the end of the year. Notable mention - John Riel Casimero KO10 Cesar Ramirez Prospect Kento Hatanaka (10-0, 9) We love seeing prospects stepping up in class and that's what Kento Hatanaka did this week as he moved from young local hopefuls to the world ranked Jaysever Abcede, and was pushed all the way. This was a huge step up for the youngster and a step up he made, just. For the first time Hatanaka was forced to go to the final bell, was forced to pick himself off the canvas and was forced to fight against someone who was physically stronger. After the win Hatanaka seemed to realise he had been given a real test, but he it was just the next step forward in a very interesting career for the youngster who will likely find himself in, or near, the world rankings shortly. Notable mention - Criztian Pitt Laurente (3-0, 3), Charly Suarez (3-0, 3) Upcoming fight Fumiya Fuse (8-0, 1) vs Toshiya Ishii (1-0, 1) Not ever bout that intrigues us is at the highest level, and a Japanese Youth title eliminator between Fumiya Fuse and Toshiya Ishii is proof of that. Fuse really impressed us in his 2017 Rookie of the Year win and Ishii was a former amateur standout who has been tipped for big things. For Fuse this will be a real test, against a very capable and well schooled youngster whilst Ishii will be expected to answer some real questions. This is a bout that may not interest international fans in the same way that some of the other bouts coming up will, but for us this is a brilliant match up and something to geet very, very excited about. It's fair to say that this past 7 day weren't the best for boxing, but even then there was a solid amount going on for the hardcore fan who doesn't just want to see the big names in action. Just over the weekend alone there was action form Thailand, China, Philippines, Indonesia and Japan. Whilst the big names were lacking the smaller names were given a chance to chine.
Fighter of the Week Nursultan Zhangabayev (8-0, 5) Unbeaten Kazakh hopeful Nursultan Zhangabayev continued to build his reputation as he travelled to Australia and beat Steve Gago over 10 rounds. The Kazakh may have flirted with a DQ at times, due to accidental low blows, but there is no doubting his performance against a fellow unbeaten fighter and the way he further increased his profile, by fighting in a 4th country already. He may not be a world champion in the making, but this week he scored a big win and unified titles from 3 of the 4 world title bodies. Performance of the Week Xiao Tao Su (11-1, 6) We'd never really paid Chinese youngster Xiao Tao Su much attention until this week, when he really impressed with an opening round win over Shota Yukawa. He was in the ring for 150 seconds but that was enough time to impress as he wobbled Yukawa and then, only moments later, took him our with a brutal left hand. This was the sort of performance that made us sit up and take notice, and at the end of the day he did more than expected. Yes, Yukawa is no world beater but this was an excellent performance. Fight Apichet Petchmanee (4-0, 2) Vs Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo (61-4, 41) II For the second time this year Thai pairing Apichet Petchmanee and Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo gave us a bit of a thriller. Chonlatarn tried to force the pace and Apichet tried to make him pay, in the end both fighters had mixed success with their gameplan but both combined to make a great, competitive and action packed fight. Apichet again showed touches of brilliance but couldn't get rid of the veteran, who showed his toughness and will to win, making life very, very difficult for the rising hopeful. This was very good and very enjoyable Notable mention - Xiang Li vs Do Jin Lee Round Jing Xiang vs Jomar Caindog (Rd4) Whilst there was plenty of good action there was few rounds that really stood out, however we really enjoyed the 4th round of the Minimumweight bout between the world class Jing Xiang and the unheralded Jomar Caindog. Xiang, to us at least, always looked in control but the bout certainly had moments where Caindog showed real ambition. In round 4 we saw some brilliant exchanges, some great action and Xiang ended the round like he had a point to prove. This really was a lot of fun, and actually the entire bout was really compelling, even if it wasn't all action packed. KO Xiao Tao Su TKO1 Shota Yukawa We mentioned it earlier but we need to mention it again, Xiao Tao Su's KO over Shota Yukawa. The fight ended with a brutal, huge left hook from Su whilst left Yukawa flat out on the canvas. Technically this was a TKO, though Yukawa was out cold and the referee could have counted to 30 and not seen Yukawa beat the count. The shot was a peace and Su certainly seems like a very heavy handed young fighter. He may not be a big name but he's one to watch and we're going to be very excited to see where he goes following this win. Prospect Xiang Li (5-0, 4) We're not totally sold on Chinese prospect Xiang Li but it's hard to not be impressed by him at times. The 24 year old was given a test by Korean youngster Do Jin Lee but racked up the rounds with his hard, clean punching and despite being put on the back foot at times. Li closed the show with a barrages of right hands, and managed to shine, and answer some new questions. Given this was just his 5th bout we're happy to see him being pushed, for the second time this year. He might not have world class potential, at least not showing at the moment, but there's a lot to like about the youngster and he certainly has the ability to make a mark on the regional level in the years to come. Upcoming fight Kosei Tanaka (13-0, 7) vs Jonathan Gonzalez (22-2-1, 13) This has probably been the hardest week to pick a single fight for our "upcoming" fight, though it's hard for the right reason with a host of great fights coming up. If forced to pick a single one to get the most excited about it's the WBO Flyweight title bout between Kosei Tanaka and Jonathan Gonzalez, which should be a super-high speed chess match. Both guys are super quick, both were talented amateurs and it's hard not to get excited about every Tanaka fight. Since moving to Flyweight Tanaka's been even more entertaining than he was at the lower weights and Gonzalez should bring the best out of him. Even better yet, the bout will be shown live here on Asian Boxing for free! Other bouts considered here were: Ryota Yamauchi vs Alphoe Dagayloan, Shohjahon Ergashev Vs Abidel Ramirez, Kento Hatanaka Vs Jaysever Abcede, Vic Saludar v Wilfredo Mendez and Carlo Caesar PenalosaVs Maximino Flores This past week has been an odd one for Asian boxing, with a real lack of notable shows, but what we have had has been fairly interesting, and we certainly had two thrilling OPBF title fights, though was fought with out any TV footage being available.
Fighter of the Week Hiroaki Teshigawara (20-2-2, 13) Japan's Hiroaki Teshigawara has been on a roll since losing a split decision to Ryo Akaho in 2016, and this Thursday that roll sped up a bit more as he scored a 12th round TKO win over the talented Shohei Omori. The bout promised a lot and it delivered, with Teshigawara shining in terms of his toughness, his aggression, his fighting spirit and his ability to go to war. This was a great win, by a a fighter who really is now deserving of a big bout. Performance of the Week Akinori Watanabe (38-7-1, 32) Teshigawara came close to netting a double, that was until Akinori Watanabe became a 2-weight OPBF champion and stopped Jung Kyoung Lee on one of the very last bouts of the week. Watanabe had travelled to Korea and had seemingly had the deck stacked against him. He dropped Lee in round 2, with Lee reportedly getting a long count, appeared to be in control but was only level when the cards were announced after 8 rounds then managed to pull out two late knock downs to secure the win. A great performance by a 34 year old who had been out of the ring since a really hard fought war in December. Fight Hiroaki Teshigawara Vs Shohei Omori We've already mentioned Hiroake Teshigawara and his win over Shohei Omori but what we didn't mention is what an incredible fight it was.It was 12 rounds of action and violence that got better as the fight went on. It started rather technically but became a war as the two men, both of whom are solid punchers, increased the tempo in the middle rounds giving us some really brutal exchanges. This wasn't an all action battle of attrition but was a hard hitting, gruelling war, which featured a lot of mini battles and awesome back and forth sequences. Round Hiroaki Teshigawara Vs Shohei Omori (6) With the bout slipping away from his Omori set off for the middle part of his bout with Teshigawara by trying to up the pace, and for around a minute or so of the round he did he did that well, landing some of his dynamite left hands with Teshigawara on the ropes. Teshigawara did well to escape and fire back some solid right hands before a big finish from Teshigawara left Omori running for the bell. It wasn't an all out round of action, but it was a round that showed the story of the bout. Everytime Omori got a foot hold, he seemed to have it taken away before he got the chance to really build on things KO No bout was considered for this award this week. Prospect Masahiro Suzuki (3-0, 2) In just his third bout Masahiro Suzuki has made yet another statement as he beat JBC ranked Kosuke Arioka, doing so in 2 rounds to take a ranking and move closer to his first title fight. The talented, well schooled former amateur standout has so much upside right now and he's already showing himself to be a smart boxer-puncher, with real grit and toughness, solid power and a very smart boxing brain. Although he admitted to being buzzed by the hard hitting Arioka he got through the storm and stopped his man. This kid is special and it's really clear that he's going a long way in the sport. Upcoming fight Jing Xiang (16-4-2, 3) vs Jomar Caindog (10-1-1, 4) The best bout, on paper, is probably the WBO International Minimumweight title fight between Jing Xiang and Jomar Caindog, but for us it's the most interesting. Xiang, who is a fringe world class fighter at 108lbs, is dropping down to Minimumweight and, if he looks good at the weight, could find himself very close to landing a world title title bout. At Light Flyweight he was deep down the queue but at 105lbs he'll be well in the mix, and may well have the style to trouble anyone. Caindog on the other hand is a relative unknown, but a win here puts him on the boxing map, regionally at least. An really intriguing match up, as opposed to a thrilling one. But one we are really excited about. This past week has been a busy one, with fights all over Asia at various levels, from Rookie of the Year to world title bouts. It's not been the best of weeks at the top level, but it has been a very interesting week! Fighter of the Week Kazuto Takesaka (11-0-1, 11) After blowing out his first 10 opponents Kazuto Takesako found out that Shuji Kato couldn't be steam rolled when the two fought to a draw earlier in the year. This week Takesako and Kato had their rematch and Takesako showed so many new strings to his bow that he looked like a fighter who had not only vicious power but also added skills to go with that power and it was obvious from the performance that he has come a long way from their draw. He again struggled with Kato's jab, southpaw stance and movement, but went on to break down his man in a career best win. Performance of the Week ArAr Andales (10-1, 2) We often praise winners, and over-look the efforts of losers, but this week it was ArAr Andales that impressed, despite losing in a WBA Minimumweight title bout to Knockout CP Freshmart. The Filipino teenager really was up against it, and in fairness would likely have needed a KO to have had any chance of winning, but gave the bout everything he could, before the bout was terminated in round 8 due to a cut to Knockout, that the referee ruled was from a headclash. Prior to the early finish it seemed like Andales was coming on strong and he certainly looked like someone who was going to come again and win a world title in the future. A great performance, despite the loss. Fight Kazuto Takesako (10-0-1, 10) vs Shuji Kato (10-1-2, 6) II The Japanese Middleweight title really refuses to give us a stinker, and this Saturday fight fans at Korakuen Hall got a barn burner as Kazuto Takesako made his third defense of the title and beat Shuji Kato into submission. The bout wasn't a re-run of their first bout, which was an ultra-competitive back and forth, but it was a war and neither man came out of this unscathed with both looking like they had taken a lot of punishment at the end of the bout. After back to back wars against each other we now hope, for their health, they both avoid a war next time out. Round Shuhei Hamano vs Nobuo Maruoka (Rd1) We don't why but these year we've seen so many thrilling shoot outs between Japanese novices. The latest of those came on July 31st when Shuhei Hamano and Nobuo Maruoka met in an East Japan Rookie of the Year semi final bout. From the opening moment to the last these two were engaged in a phone booth tear up. The quality of punching might not have been amazing but the heart, desire and action were brilliant. This is Rookie of the Year action, and this is why Rookie of the Year is always worth following. KO Lee Si-Woo KO1 Jeong Ho-Jun Korean fights tend to be worthy of attention due to the Korean mentality of "punch, punch, punch". They tend to be action fights, with exciting back and forths and high intensity action. This week however it delivered one of the best KO's of the Year, if not the best, as Lee Si Woo brutally took out Jeong Ho Jun in a KBC Rookie of the Year fight. The two men were in the first round of their bout when they started to fight up closes, with Woo landing two right followed by a huge left that sent Jun falling face forward. The only thing breaking Jun's fall was Woo's shoulder, and even that didn't stop Jun from eventually face planting the canvas. A truly sensational KO and one we need to thank @Hock1717 for bringing to our attention. Prospect Takuma Takahashi (4-0, 4) As seems to be a regular thing recently there was a number of prospects in action the last week. One who caught our attention was Japan's Takuma Takahashi, who answered a lot of questions and really showed that he is one to watch. The hard hitter from the World Sport Boxing gym scored a career best win as he stopped tough Thai foe Sitthidet Banti, who had never previously been stopped. Takahashi, who had only a handful of rounds as a professional prior to this bout, showed he has a decent gas tank, that his power is legitimate and that he can mix up his work more than previously thought. There are still flaws, but this was a very good win for the 25 year old. Upcoming fight Hiroaki Teshigawara (19-2-2, 12) vs Shohei Omori (20-2, 15) This coming Thursday we get a truly amazing OPBF Super Bantamweight title fight as hard hitting champion Hiroaki Teshigawara takes on former world title challenger Shohei Omori. This is as good a bout that we'll see at OPBF level all year, and on paper might be the best since Kosei Tanaka challenged Ryuji Hara. Both "Teshi" and Omori have eyes much bigger things than the OPBF title but they will have to get through the other man to get there. |
Oriental Opinions
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March 2024
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