AsianBoxing.info- The Site for Asian Boxing News, Results and Profiles

The Light Flyweight division might not be getting much attention in the Western boxing world right now, with even the Mexican interest in the division seemingly on the wane a little. But it's a division that is really interesting, with a trio of Japanese champions who have all spoken about unification and a Filipino champion who is set to make his first defense against a really highly regarded challenger. Below world level there are a host of contenders and prospects looking to make their mark and earn a world title fight of their own.

Two of those hopefuls are Edward Heno (10-0-5, 4) and Seita Ogido (11-2-3, 3), who will be fighting for the OPBF title, and essentially looking to distinguish themselves as a top contender. Not only will this be an OPBF title fight, but it will be a second meeting for the title between themselves this year, after the two fought to a draw way back in May. Originally Heno was declared the majority decision winner of that contest, before a judging error was found, resulting in the decision being reversed to a draw.

In their first fight it seemed like Heno was the better fighter. He was more aggressive, seemed like the boss and was really unlucky not to get the win. Whilst he was a complete unknown going in he really proved himself as a potential nightmare on the regional scene. It'd take a lot of improvement for him to become a world champion, but at the age of 24 he does have time on his side.

Fighting from the southpaw stance and with both a good work rate and unexpected power Heno is a real handful. His KO win over Cris Ganoza is a really impressive win and although he was held to a draw by Roque Lauro that really says more about how under-rated Lauro is. Heno is a prospect, but an incredibly good, and over-looked, one.

As for Ogido his career was a slow burner and he was 6-2-1 (1) after 9 bouts, though those set backs included a draw with Seigo Yuri Akui and a razor thin loss to Kenii Ono. Since that “weak” start he has gone 5-0-2 (2) , with his most notable win coming against Jeffrey Galero last year. That win proved there was some real quality with him,but overall the rest of his record is somewhat limited with little to get excited about.

At the age of 24 there is potential for Ogido to improve, but the reality is that draws in his last two bouts, to Jonathan Refugio and to Edward Heno really suggest that he's fortunate, with both results arguably losses. He lacks fight changing power, and doesn't appear to have the aggression, or work rate to really come on strong and turn fights around, with his next looking like it's around the corner, and could well come to someone like Heno in a bout where his opponent is just too hungry.

Coming in to this one Heno will feel aggrieved by his draw in the first meeting with Ogido. He deserved the win, he knows he deserved the win, and this time we suspect he will be even more aggressive and determined, and will come out there hunting a stoppage. Whether he gets the early win or is a hard call,depending on how tough Ogido is, but we struggle to see anything but a win for the visitor.

The Minimumweight division right now is quite a frustrating one with the title picture being a fractured one where unification doesn't look like any time soon and where the top contenders really are struggling to break out from the crowd. It's not a bad division as such, but one that is certainly not as exciting as it was a few years ago, and that's despite having 3 unbeaten world champions with fan friendly and hugely different styles.

This coming Sunday we see another unbeaten fighter look to put themselves into the mix for a world title fight as they take on a veteran, who has challenged for world titles on multiple occasions. For the unbeaten Reiya Konishi (13-0, 5) the bout serves not only as a bout against a recognisable challenger, and a chance to put his name into the mix, but also as his first defense of the Japanese title, and a way to legitimise his standing domestically. For his foe, Shin Ono (28-8-3, 4), the bout essentially a chance for him to prove that he deserves another chance and that at the age of 34 there is still life in the old dog.

Of the two men it is the challenger that is the more well known. He's a former OPBF Light Flyweight champion and is a 16 year veteran of the ring who has been in there with a string of notable foes. They have included Yu Kimura, Masayuki Kuroda, Yuki Sano, Xiong Zhao Zhong, Katsunari Takayama, Kenichi Horikawa, Tatsuya Fukuhara and Knockout CP Freshmart. Unfortunately for Ono his best wins are over Kimura, back in 2008, and Zhong, back in 2012, with most of his other recent bouts against notable foes being losses.

At his best Ono was a tough, skilled but very light punching fighting who could fight and move for for distance with a lot of energy. At the age of 34 however he's not going to have that same level of incredible fitness and he has been given some serious punishment in recent years, with Takayama, Horikawa and Knockout all giving him some real miles on the clock. It also needs to be noted that Ono's last 3 wins have been over limited Thai's and have been spread out over the last 3 years!

Aged 24 Konishi is one of the rising breed of young Japanese fighters looking to make a mark at 105lbs, along with IBF champion Hiroto Kyoguchi and OPBF champion Tsubasa Koura. Unlike those two Konishi doesn't have fight changing power, but with Shinsei gym behind him he has the support of Hyogo and a great team, who are currently having a small boom period thanks to Shun Kubo and Ryuya Yamanaka. Like many youngsters in Japan Konishi first made his mark on the Rookie of the Year scene, claiming the 2014 Minimumweight crown with wins over the likes of Jun Takigawa and Yuki Kubo, before spending 2015 and 2016 gaining valuable in ring experience. That experience paid off earlier this year when he took a razor thin win over former amateur stand out Masataka Taniguchi to claim the Japanese title.

In the ring Konishi has shown a lack of power, with only one stoppage since he won the Rookie of the year, and that came against a very poor Thai foe, but he's shown a gritty toughness, an impressive work rate and a refusal to lose, which was shown against Taniguchi.

With Ono having so many miles on the clock, and with Konishi looking at this bout as a chance to make himself a world title contender it's hard to see anything but a stirring performance from the champion. He may not stop Ono, who is tough, but with his energy and work rate Konishi should be too young and too hungry for the challenger, who will likely be considering retirement in the near future.

The Lightweight division in Asia is relatively frustrating at the moment, despite a lot of depth just a few pounds lighter at Super Featherweight. That frustration has been highlighted in some ways by the long OPBF title reign of Ioka gym's Masayoshi Nakatani (14-0, 8), who won the title back in January 2014 and has racked up 7 defenses already. Despite making so many defenses he hasn't really been able to prove himself as a credible future world title challenger and his last few defenses have felt like he's a fighter who's been going through the motions.

This coming Sunday we see Nakatani return to the ring for his next defense, as he takes on 29 year old Filipino challenger Ryan Sermona (20-8-1, 13), another under-whelming foe for Nakatani.

The champion won the title by defeating Yoshitaka Kato, and made his first defense against Ricky Sismundo. Two solid wins, which actually followed a stoppage victory against Shuhei Tsuchiya, and at the time it looked like Nakatani was going to be fast tracked to a world title fight. In those bouts he good speed, power and ring IQ, to keep opponents at range and box to his strengths. Since then however he beaten lesser quality foes like Kazuya Murata, Allan Tanada and Tosho Makoto Aoki.

At his best, and when he's really on it, Nakatani looks like someone who can step up to fight pretty well at world level. He's heavy handed, moves well, has solid stamina, fights to his strengths and is huge for a Light, standing at just shy of 6'. Unfortunately if Ioka can't break the bank to get him a major fight there is a real risk that Nakatani will stagnate, if not regress, and fail to reach the heights once expected of him.

Sadly Sermona won't be expected to provide any sort of a test for Nakatani. The Filipino has been a professional since 2008 and has had very mixed success. His best wins to date have been over Roberto Gonzalez, Balweg Bangoyan, Matt Gartlett and Taek Min Kim. Sadly those wins have been over-shadowed by losses to the likes of Masayuki Ito, Corey McConnell, Viorel Simion and Jose Ocampo, among others. The mixed results have come with 4 stoppage defeats and given how hard Nakatani hits, it's hard to see anything but another stoppage loss for the Filipino here.

The name “Inoue” obviously makes fans think of Naoya Inoue, the WBO Super Flyweight champion and one of the most notable fighters in Japanese boxing. Naoya however is one of many with the surname, including his brother Takuma Inoue and cousin Koki Inoue. Outside of that particular clan there is one other Inoue making a name for himself, and that's Japanese Light Middleweight champion Takeshi Inoue (10-0-1, 5), who returns to the ring this coming Thursday for his first defense of the title. That will see the unbeaten champion take on fellow unbeaten Riku Nagahama (7-0-1, 3).

The champion was a solid amateur, running up a 39-16 record and captaining a University team, which saw him mixing with solid amateurs on a regular basis. He turned professional in 2014, fighting to a 6 round draw with Daishi Nagata on debut, and since then has found his grove, settled into the sport and become a really talented hopeful.

In the ring Inoue has shown a bit of everything. He can box, and is pretty solid behind his jab, he can fight on the back foot and he can bring the action with a pressure style, a style that helped him score a brilliant win earlier this year against Akinori Watanabe and really break away from the other domestic contenders. Last time out he again impressed as he stopped the usually tough and highly experienced Koshinmaru Saito.

Although not a puncher Inoue has enough power to keep opponents honest, he has a great engine, a good work rate and can either box or fight. His problem, going forward, is that he might look to fight with the wrong type of opponent, being dragged into wars when he doesn't need to be, he's also not really proven his ability to go 10 rounds or his ability to take a really good shot. We suspect he can, at least at domestic level, but we've not got proof he can.

Ranked #1 by the JBC Nagahama is a fighter getting a huge chance to claim his first title, despite having only been in one bout scheduled for 8 rounds or more. That leaves questions about his stamina, and with only 26 total bouts, including an 11-7 amateur record, to his name he also lacks experience.

Whilst it's easy to pick flaws with Nagahama there is a fair bit of positivity to take from his career so far. He debuted in June 2015 and by the end of the year he had claimed the Rookie of the Year crown at Middleweight. The following year he dropped down in weight and began to find his grove, stopping Tetsuya Kawabata in July 2016 and then Koji Kase in November. That win showed that Nagahama was an aggressive and exciting fighter, who liked to come forward and let his hands go, though he did so with mixed success and often missed the target all together.

For Nagahama the bout is a massive step up in class. He's now up against his first opponent with real proven ability. More worryingly for the challenger is that his style should gel with Inoue's too well, and they could be almost like mirror images in the middle of the ring, with Inoue have almost every advantage. If that's the case then there will only be one winner, Inoue, and that win will likely be by late stoppage from accumulation.

This coming Saturday we'll see Japanese Bantamweight champion Ryo Akaho (30-2-2, 19) defending his title against under-rated challenger Yuta Saito (10-7-3, 7). On paper the bout is a horrible mismatch, with the champion being a 2-time world title challenger, a former Oriental title holder and a current national champion whilst the challenger has only won 50% of his bouts, but the challenger will know this is likely to be his only shot at a title.

Akaho is relatively well known by fight fans across Asia, and may well be on the radar of some Western fans. His first shot at a title came way back in 2009, fighting to a draw with Daigo Nakahiro for the Japanese Super Flyweight title, before capturing an OPBF title 18 months later, stopping Fred Mundraby in 5 rounds. As the OPBF champion Akaho ran up 3 defenses before earning a shot at the then WBC champion Yota Sato, who took a clear win over the challenge who subsequently moved up in weight.

Less than 3 years after moving up Akaho earned his second world title fight, though was stopped in 2 rounds by Thai Pungluang Sor Singyu in Thailand. Since that loss he has gone 4-0 (1), with the highlights being a very fun bout with Hiroaki Teshigawara last October and a win over Yushi Tanaka this past March for the Japanese Bantamweight title.

In the ring Akaho is a rough and tumble fighter. He's heavy handed, but not a KO artist, a bit wild and a bit loopy, but a tough warrior who's only stoppage loss came from a brutal barrage by Pungluang. As with many crude fighters he's not very quick, and he can be countered and caught, but getting into a fire fight with him is rarely a smart idea, and it makes a lot more sense to outbox him, rather than try to out fight him.

With a 10-7-3 record Saito looks like a really low level challenger. It should however be noted that he is the #1 ranked Japanese contender and he could easily have had a very different looking record. Of his 7 defeats they have all been close, with only a round or two separating him and his opponent. He has never been stopped and seems to be a fighter who is easy to over-look, something Tatsuya Takahashi perhaps did back in January when the two fought to a majority decision draw.

Although not a naturally gifted fighter Saito is, like the champion, a rough and tumble fighter with an aggressive mindset, heavy hands and the willingness to have a fight. That has seem him go to war with decent domestic talents like Takayuki Okumoto, Yuta Nakagawa, Yushi Tanaka and the aforementioned Takahashi. Although he's yet to beat one of those men, they have all known that they had a real tough time with Saito.

Aged 29 perhaps the best is yet to come from the challenger though the reality is that this is a huge step up in class, and one we don't think he's ready for. We're expecting a lot of action, with the styles gelling well, but Akaho will have a bit too much of everything for the challenger, en route to either a very late stoppage or a wide decision win

This coming Friday we get the chance to see an OPBF Super Middleweight title bout, as Australian fighter Jayde Mitchell (14-1, 8) defends his title against Chinese challenger Ainiwaer Yilixiati​ (10-0, 8). For Mitchell the bout will be his first defense of the title whilst Yilixiati will be looking to score a career defining victory and prove that he is one of the most promising fighters from China.

The champion won the title last year, when he travelled to Japan and out pointed the limited Shintaro Matsumoto in Tokyo. Since then he has been busy, racking up 4 wins, all by stoppage, but not defending his OPBF title. His competition during those 4 stoppages hasn't been great, but he has been staying busy, staying fresh and preventing any risk of ring rust, whilst also gaining some valuable ring time.

In the ring Mitchell is a really nice to watch boxer. He's not a big puncher, despite his run of 4 stoppages, but he is a sharp and accurate fighter, with a solid work rate, nice movement and solid technical skills. Defensively he's a little bit lapse at times but throws nice counter shots and will tough to beat at this level, unless a fighter can either out work him and neutralise his counter punching, or can physically bully him.

Although talented Mitchell does always seem like an under-sized Super Middleweight. He seems to carry a bit of flab around the mid-section and looks like someone who could drop a weight, or two, if he really wanted to. At the age of 31 however it may well be a simple case of not wanting to move down, and being happy at 168lbs.

Aged 24 Yilixiati is one of a number of rising Chinese fighters who began to create a buzz for themselves as part of the “League of Fists” tournaments. He won the Super Middleweight crown there last year, and proved he could go 8 rounds in the final when he beat Chaogun Dong to score one of his most impressive wins to date. Since then he has gone 2-0 (2) with a notable stoppage against once promising Thai Chaloemporn Singwancha back in February.

Through his career so far the Chinese fighter has never fought outside of China, so fighting in Australia will be a big difference and will be one of the big things that he will have to adapt to. He has also never faced a fighter as skilled, or as sharp as Mitchell. If the location of the fight doesn't bother him he will potentially have a chance, however we have seen fighters travel horribly in the past, and that could be a problem here.

Stood at around 6” and with a long reach the Chinese fighter is a fully fledged Super Middleweight, with wide shoulders and a naturally powerful frame. In the ring he's slightly on the slow side but is very powerful, with even his jab looking like a hurtful shot. Although powerful he doesn't have the natural snap on his punches that the best schooled fighters do and a fighter like Mitchell could take advantage of that with his counters.

If Mitchell can control the range it's hard to see him losing here. However Yilixiati has got the power, size and strength to hurt him and if he can land his shots with regularity he has got the potential to break down and wear out the champion in the later rounds.

We suspect Mitchell will retain, though for the sake of Chinese boxing it would be amazing to see the challenger pick up the victory here.

(Image courtesy of ​https://aus-boxing.com/)

This coming Sunday fight fans in Osaka should be in for a thrilling OPBF Bantamweight title fight, as under-rated champion Mark John Yap (26-12, 12) takes on former 2-time Japanese champion Kentaro Masuda (27-7, 15). On paper the bout might might not look amazing, especially given the relatively poor records of both fighters, however the styles of the men should make for something special, and both fighters are far better than the numbers suggest.

Japanese based Filipino Yap is a true veteran, despite only being 28. He debuted way back in 2007 and had some early success before his career started stumbling. He went from 8-0 (2) to 17-7 (8) and later 19-12 (10). At that point it looked like Yap's career was going to swirl down the drain and go nowhere, with the fighter being written off despite only being 26.

Instead of fading away Yap has been on a charge over the last two years, having some of the best performances of his career. They have included a shock win over the then unbeaten Tatsuya Ikemizu, a pair of wins over former world title challenger Hiroyuki Hisataka, a win over Juan Jose Landaeta and, most notably, a win over Takahiro Yamamoto for the OPBF title last November, in which he showed surprising power.

Like many Filipino's in recent years, such as Rey Loreto, Sonny Boy Jaro and Rey Megrino, we've seen Yap learn a lot from his losses before finding his groove in the sport. Now he's find it it's leading to a snowball effect of better performances and better results, and of course the OPBF title.

In the ring Yap isn't a fighter that stands out as “world class” in any area, however he is tough, strong, heavy handed, has a good engine and is incredibly determined. He can be out boxed, he can be out slugged, but he has solid all-round skills and is real nightmare for fighters, especially though who just look at his record, and over-look him. He's developed some great skills and has 261 rounds of professional experience to rely on in the ring, which has clearly helped him develop into a very good Oriental level fighter.

Masuda has been like a fine wine, developing into a very good fighter whilst getting older and older. He's now 34, so probably in the twilight of his career, but is riding a good 6 fight winning run, including stoppages over Hideo Sakamoto and Yushi Tanaka and a decision over Yu Kawaguchi. Not only is he on a 6-0 run but he's actually gone 13-1 (7) over the last 5 years, with his only loss being to Shohei Omori.

In the ring Masuda is a solid battler, who can box, hits harder than his record suggests and can brawl. He's a little on the small side for a top Bantamweight, at 5'5”, but often uses that lack of size to his advantage, making him a harder target and getting on the inside with out taking too much damage on the way in, then darting out. It's something that has got him a lot of success, and will likely continue to do so.

Whilst Masuda did suffer a number of early career losses they included defeats to the likes of Akihiko Katagiri, Hidenori Otake and Ryosuke Iwasa. Experience at that level will mean a lot and it's fair to say that Masuda has learned from his set backs. That's likely to show again here, but there is also the toll father time takes and it could be that Masuda has got wear and tear on his body that could show against a strong and powerful guy like Yap.

Given that both men enjoy a fight, both are criminally under-rated, both can punch and both are physically strong this is likely to be a gruelling and tough war. Don't expect this to be a beautifully boxed contest, but do expect it to be exciting, and a real hard scrap.

When it comes to a hard scrap like this we have to favour the younger man, and feel that Yap's freshness and lack of miles will be the difference, but this will be an incredible fight, with both men dealing out some incredible punishment. Masuda's older legs will likely hold him back in the later stages, and that will be the difference, but we can never write the old dog off and an upset certainly isn't off the cards.

The Oriental Light Middleweight scene is a bit of a mess at the moment, with the Oriental title being passed around as it looks for a steady champion to take the belt forward. Since Charles Bellamy vacated the title more than 4 years ago it has had 5 champions, and only a single successful defense. It has been vacated by Koji Numata and lost by Dennis Laurente, Takayuki Hosokawa and Yutaka Oishi.

Now that's not to say there's no good Oriental fighters at 154lbs, but no one seems to be chasing the Oriental title, which is currently held by limited Thai Ratchasi Sithsaithong (8-3, 6). The Thai will be making his first defense this coming Sunday as he takes on the biggest name in Japanese boxing, well actually the longest, Jumbo Oda Nobunaga Shoten Petagine (10-4, 8). The bout will be Petagine's first title bout and could see the title change hands, once again.

The Thai won the title earlier this year, when completed one of the biggest comebacks in recent memory and stopped Oishi in the 12th round whilst 11, 5 and 3 points behind. That win was a second successive one for Ratchasi who beat Cobra Suwa last December, avenging his most recent loss. Interestingly the Thai's only other losses are a decision to the unbeaten Atchariya Virotesunobon and Japanese Middleweight champion Hikaru Nishida.

Ratchasi is limited, no one would suggest other wise. However he showed last time out that there is no quit in him and he's a long way removed from the fighter who was 4-2 (3). He can hit, he can take a shot, and he keeps coming, refusing to give up until the final bell. Oishi out boxed him with relative ease, but in the end the Thai's stamina and will to win were too much, and it's clear that if a fighter can't get him out of there early, he's going to be on the front foot in the later stages looking ti turn a bout around, and he hits hard enough to do just that.

Aged 29 Petagine is coming in to his prime though he's a real unknown in many ways. He claimed his most significant win almost 4 years ago, winning the 2013 “Rookie of the Year” crown at 140lbs. That win saw Petagine move to 8-1 (7) and look like he was set for an interesting career. Sadly however he has gone 2-3 (1) since then, split a series of close decisions with Shohei Kanemoto, losing to Valentine Hosokawa, being stopped by Jay Solmiano and beating a Thai novice. Hardly the form of an Oriental title contender.

Through his career Petagine has fought mostly at Light Welterweight, a genuine achievement given that he's more than 6'0” tall. His body shouldn't struggle to fill into a Light Middleweight, but his power is unlikely to carry up, and against Solmiano it was clear that he didn't like taking shots from a big punching Welterweight, though he did get stopped standing after taking some huge bombs. His body may have filled out a bit more, and he may be more physically developed than he was against Solmiano but it's still going to take a career best performance to win here.

With so many title changes in recent years it's almost like we'd expect Ratchasi to lose the belt here. The reality though is that he should be favoured here, and he should have the power to stop Petagine. Saying that Petagine does have power himself, and if he's got some self belief he may well score the upset.

Our prediction a stoppage for the Thai, but the bout is a hard one to call with neither man being hugely proven, or particularly consistent.  

This coming Sunday we'll see a trio of OPBF title fights in Osaka. On paper the biggest mismatch of those bouts will see Middleweight champion Koki Tyson (12-2-2, 11) make his second defense of the title and take on Japanese based American Brandon Lockhart Shane (8-5-1, 7). The bout really is a straight forward, looking, second defense for Tyson but it's fair to say the challenger will be fired up knowing this could be his only title bout, and at the age of 36 this actually could be the final bout of his career.

Tyson won the title last year year, when he upset the previously unbeaten Dwight Ritchie. In that bout Tyson proved he was more than just a puncher, as he out boxed, out fought and out slugged the Australian, en route to a clear yet competitive decision. It was a win that showed Tyson was improving as a fighter, and although he was still rough around the edges there was a genuine talent in there.

Prior to winning the title Tyson had had flaws exposed. He had been easily out boxed by Akio Shibata, before being stopped by the then Oriental and Japan champion, and prior to that he had been stopped Keisuke Kanazawa was back in 2013, in a result that now looks pretty irrelevant to Tyson as fighter today. The one big recent blemish however is a lucky draw against Korean journeyman Joon Yong Lee, in a bout that many including ourselves felt he was not to lose.

In the ring Tyson is a boxer-puncher who, at 6'3”, is a huge Middleweight and as a southpaw is a tricky, rangy fighter. He's only 24, and is certainly still improving, but looks like the type of fighter who could dominate on the domestic and regional scene for years to come. It's hard to see him mixing globally, but regionally he's likely to lead the pack at 160lbs and in the future 168lbs.

The challenger is one of the nice guys of boxing, and we have interviewed him and he really did seem like a person. Sadly though he's giving away pretty much every everything here. As mentioned he's 36, he's 9” shorter than the champion, has the shorter reach, he's a natural Light Middleweight and he lacks the power and speed of Tyson.

Don't get us wrong, Lockhart can fight, he can punch, and he can take a shot. But the truth is that he's not proven to be on the same level as Tyson. His most notable bout was a 3rd round loss to Makoto Fuchigami last year, in which he dropped Fuchigami several time, and other than that he's faced other novices and hopefuls, pushing Riku Nagahama close in one of his best performances. He's aggressive and fun to watch, with nasty power, but we can't see him getting close enough for long enough to land his power on Tyson.

We suspect Tyson will show a lot of respect to Lockhart early on, break him down from range with his spiteful jabs and then pick it up when Lockhart begins to slow down, stopping the challenger in the middle rounds.

The Super Bantamweight division is one of the most interesting around Asia, with Japan in particular having a very strong base for fighters. At the moment the country boasts two world champions, Shun Kubo and Yukinori Oguni, along with a host of contenders, like Ryosuke Iwasa, Tomoki Kameda, Hidenori Otake and Shingo Wake. Below those men are a number of rising fighters, looking to make their mark and move themselves into global contention.

Among those rising fighters is heavy handed Japanese champion Yusaku Kuga (14-2-1, 10) who looks to make his first defense of the title this coming Saturday, as he takes on the under-rated Ryoichi Tamura (8-2-1, 5). On paper the bout is “just” a Japanese title defense for Kuga, but an impressive win could see him jumping into the fringes of the world rankings, whilst Tamura will be looking to score a career best win and get his career rolling with a big win.

Earlier this year Kuga won the Japanese title stopping the popular Yasutaka Ishimoto in 2 rounds, announcing himself as a real dangerman. Prior to that he had been on the radar for a while. For most that was due to a loss to Ishimoto in 2015, though for others it was back in 2013 that he started to capture the imagination with a good win over former amateur standout Yusuke Suzuki and an unfortunate draw against Naoto Uebayashi. Those bouts began a run of solid performances that lead to Kuga getting his first bout with Ishimoto, which he lost narrowly.

The rematch with Ishimoto came after an impressive stoppage win over Jonathan Baat in 2016 and saw a more mature and more aggressive Kuga fight with the intention of taking Ishimoto out early, and he did drop him very quickly. With that aggression and power Kuga is a handful for many, and although he's flawed, with rough edges, he's a really dangerous fighter and not someone to have a war with.

Tamura made his debut back in May 2013 and lost to Wataru Miyasaka in a very competitive debut bout. That loss could have been it but instead Tamura's team showed their belief in him and kept putting him in hard fights. That resulted in a few early set backs, with Tamura being 3-2-1 (1) after 6 bouts, but developing massively into a solid professional during those early set backs. The tough love and hard development paid off and in 2015 Tamura beat Yusuke Suzuki, before following it up with stoppages against domestic foes like Yuki Matsuda, Ryoji Okahata, and Renji Ichimura. Those wins saw Tamura shoot up the rankings, and earn a shot at the title.

Although not the smoothest fighter Tamura is a strong and powerful fighter, with a very heavy right hand which he constantly looks to set up. Like Kuga he's more on the “crude” side of the spectrum, more so than Kuga in fact, and he can certainly be out boxed, but he does have some nice boxing skills and knows how to use his jab well, even if he under utilises it. Although he can jab and move he does seem to prefer fighting at close to mid range, and often looks like a fighter looking for a war.

With both fighters being crude, heavy handed sluggers this really could be a fire fight, and we'll admit that's what we're hoping for. If it is a fire fight we do suspect that Kuga will come out on top, making the most of his edge in speed and better accuracy and timing, , but with Tamura's power there is danger there that Kuga himself will be hurt. We don't see anyway this one can go the scheduled 10 rounds, but we also have no idea how this one can be anything but explosive given the two men involved.