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Next Sunday we'll see a new Japanese champion being crowned as Ryoki Hirai (10-4-1, 4) takes on Shin Ono (21-9-3, 5) in a bout for the vacant Japanese Minimumweight crown, which was vacated earlier this year by Reiya Konishi. The bout is a make or break bout for the relatively unknown Hirai whilst Ono is essentially fighting to keep his career after recent set backs in 4 other title bouts.

Of the two men it's Ono who is the more well known. He's a former OPBF Light Flyweight champion, having won that title back in 2013, he has twice fought for world titles, losing to Katsunari Takayama and Knockout CP Freshmart, and come up short in 3 Japanese title bouts, losing to Kenichi Horikawa and Reiya Konishi and fighting to a draw with Tatsuya Fukuhara.

At his best Ono was a skilled boxer-mover, and he holds notable wins over Yu Kimura, Xiong Zhao Zhong and Omari Kimweri. Sadly however he is now 35 years old, ancient for a Minimumweight, and with 203 rounds under his belt he has taken a lot of punishment. That has included 3 stoppage losses, with the most recent coming in 2015 to Kenichi Horikawa, and a lot of other accumulative damage from tough fights with Konishi, Knockout and Takayama. What hasn't helped has been his lack of power and despite scoring stoppages in his last 3 wins they have come against frankly terrible opposition.

We know Ono will be hungry, with this almost certainly being his final chance to claim a Japanese title but he has a lot of things going against him here, including his age, wear and tear and generally lacking the power he'd need to get the respect of any decent domestic opponent.

Whilst Ono has been fighting at title level for years the same can't be said of Hirai, who will be fighting in his first title fight here. The 27 year old from Kobe made his professional debut in late 2011 and struggled to find his groove, going 3-3-1 in his first 7 bouts as he bounced from Minimumweight to Super Flyweight. Following 3 successive losses he returned to Minimumweight and rebuilt his career by winning 7 of 8 bout. Those wins have shot Hirai up the Japanese rankings and have included recent victories over Takimi Sakae and Ryoya Ikema, which have helped him break into the WBO top 15 and earn this title fight.

Although relatively unknown we have been impressed by what we've managed to see of Hirai. That included his win over Ikema in which Hirai showed good composure when Ikema looked to him out early, smart movement, a good judgement of distance, lovely speed and some very sharp punching, especially to the body. Those are tools that he will be looking to use against Ono, who like Ikema is a southpaw.

Whilst this is a slight step up in class for Hirai, following his wins over Sakae and Ikema, it's hard to imagine his current 5 fight winning streak coming to and end to Ono, who has looked like a man on his way down for a while. Ono won't be there to lose, but we suspect Hirai will have a bit too much of everything for the veteran, and will score a late stoppage of Ono to send the Watanabe man into retirement.

On April 17th fight fans at the Korakuen Hall will see OPBF Minimumweight champion Tsubasa Koura (12-0, 8) return to the ring the make the second defense of his title, as he goes up against veteran Norihito Tanaka (16-6, 9). For Koura the bout will act as his next step towards a potential world title fight, a chance to shine on the global stage, whilst Tanaka will be looking to claim his first professional title more than 13 years after his debut!

Aged 23 Koura is one of the rising stars of Japanese boxing. He made his debut in August 2014 in a low key 4 rounder but the following year he announced himself as a key prospect in Japanese boxing by being crowned the Minimumweight Rookie of the Year. That Rookie of the year win, which saw him defeat Ryusei Kitamura in the final, saw Koura catch the attention of a number of fans going into 2016.

In 2016 we saw the youngster go from strength to strength, adding 3 more wins to his record including an excellent 2nd round TKO win over former world title challenger Jeffrey Galero, who had gone the championship distance with Wanheng Menayothin. In 2017 he further enhanced his reputation by stopping Jaysever Abcede in 4 rounds for the OPBF title, which he defended with a razor thin win against the talented Masataka Taniguchi.

In the ring Koura is an aggressive, hard hitting youngster who has impressed fight after fight. He's only got 48 rounds under his belt though has already gone 12 rounds at a high pace and shown his grit and determination to over-come Taniguchi. Despite being a puncher he does have under-rated skills, and those skills will have been kept in check by the Taniguchi fight, which will have done Koura the world of good, especially given that he had stopped his previous 6 opponents in a combined 14 rounds. He's far from flawless, and certainly has some rough edges, particularly defensively, but he's young, talented and improving fight on fight.

Most fight fans won't be familiar at all with Norihito Tanaka, despite the 33 year old being a genuine veteran of the Japanese scene. As previously mentioned he debuted back in 2005 and had a good winning run to begin his career, winning his first 9 fights and being crowned the East Japan Rookie of the Year in 2006. Sadly though that great start was followed by 3 losses in 4 fights, including defeats to Kenichi Horikawa and Ryoichi Taguchi, which seriously slowed his rise. A short winning run saw him claim the Strongest Korakuen in 2010 before losing in a Japanese title fight to Akira Yaegashi back in 2011, a loss that was then followed by defeat to Takashi Kunishige.

With a record of 14-5 (7) Tanaka stepped away from the ring for over 5 years, before returning in 2017, and since then he has gone 2-1 (2), with the only loss being a razor thin one to Naoya Hariguchi. It's worth noting that given his long break from the ring Tanaka is a very young 33, and his only loss not to have gone the distance was a DQ loss to Taguchi, who he hit on the break. He has never been stopped, and went the distance with two future world champions and a former world title challenger. His toughness really can't be questioned.

Whilst it's clear that Tanaka is tough he does lack experience against real punchers, like Koura, and at 33 the question really is whether or not his body can handle not only the power but the high energy offense of Koura. When Koura has a man hurt he doesn't really let off and instead lets the punches fly, which will be a major problem if Tanaka can't get his respect. Taniguchi could get Koura's respect, and had the skills to really push Koura, we don't think that'll be the case here with Tanaka who we see being stopped in the middle rounds as Koura takes a huge step towards getting a shot at a world title.

On Monday we get Christmas, and it's fair to say we're in for some treats away from the world of boxing. Just a day later however action returns to the ring and our attention turns to Kobe for a Japanese Minimumweight title fight. On paper the match up, between defending champion Reiya Konishi (14-0, 5) and challenger Kenta Matsui (8-6, 1), looks likes a mismatch but the reality is that it could very well be an incredibly competitive contest between two men looking to prove themselves.

The unbeaten champion won the belt in April, with a razor thin decision win over Masataka Taniguchi, and made his only defense in September, when he took a majority decision over Shin Ono. Together those two wins are less than amazing and suggest that Konishi, whilst unbeaten, isn't an elite fighter in the making. Instead the 24 year old looks like a talented fighter who could mix at world level, but is unlikely to become a long term champion.

In the ring Konishi is a decent boxer-fighter who has a good engine, nice technique but really lacks power, even at this domestic level. He doesn't mind having a war but no one is going to be afraid of his power, and he has scored just 1 stoppage in his last 9 bouts, and that came against a very limited Thai. Whilst going the distance with Ono and Taniguchi isn't a bad thing there is just a general feeling that he doesn't have the physicality to go to the top, or the power to make domestic type of fighters really respect him.

Aged 22 Matsui is a proverbial boxing baby but is also a man who has had more than 5 years professional experience and has also mixed with good company. His early career saw him having very mixed results, including a close loss to Jun Takigawa in November 2013 and a loss in a rematch in 2015. That mixed form would later lead to Matsui fighting Riku Kano in 2015, losing to the then fast rising Kano. In his last 3 bouts he has gone 2-1, with his only loss coming to current Japanese Light Flyweight champion Tetsuya Hisada and scoring wins over Rikito Hattori and Genki Hanai.

Having scored big upsets over Hattori and Hanai we've seen that Matsui is a very upset minded fighter, who fights with the intention of beating better fighters. It's a nice mentality and one that needs to be applauded, rather than seeing him come in to pick up more losses. He'll be fully aware that no one is giving him a chance, given his record, but he'll know that he has the ability to shock opponents, and will also know that Konishi isn't as good as his record suggests.

On paper it's easy to feel like Konishi will win, with little problems. The reality however is that whilst we do believe that Konishi will win, we think he'll be forced to work very hard for the victory. Matsui will be there to win, he's tough enough to take the shots of Konishi and will be in his face. Matsui's ability will make things very tough for Konishi, but we think Konishi will again retain his title.

Although widely over-looked in the West the Minimumweight division is one of the more interesting right now, with a lot of good looking match ups that could be made, and could be made very easily given the promotional situation of many of the divisions top fighters. It's funny that the division has been so over-looked despite 3 unbeaten world champions, including the 48-0 Wanheng Menayothin. Not does it have unbeaten champions but also a number of unbeaten contenders, including OPBF champion Tsubasa Koura (11-0, 8), who looks to make his first defense of the title this coming Saturday. In the opposite corner to the unbeaten champion will be once beaten challenger Masataka Taniguchi (8-1, 6), with both men looking to secure a world title in 2018.

Of the two men it's been Koura who has been the most impressive. He turned professional in 2014, as a 19 year old, following a 29 fight amateur career that saw him going 19-10 (6). Given his lack of amateur success Koura turned professional with a C class licence and entered the 2015 Rookie of the Year, which he would win with a decision victory over Ryusei Kitamura in the final.

Since winning the Rookie of the Year we've seen Koura go 5-0 (5) with wins over the likes of former world title challenger Jeffrey Galero and the upset minded Jaysever Abcede. He has shown raw power, good boxing and an aggressive mentality that makes for fan friendly bouts. There are flaws with Koura, who can be reckless and open at times, but he has that type of power which is rarely seen at 105lbs. That power of Koura's has caused one or two problems, and although an OPBF champion, and Rookie of the Year winner, he has only had 35 combined career rounds and has never been beyond round 5. That may well be hiding issues with stamina or pacing, though at the moment it's not yet been a problem.

The challenger turned professional in early 2016, passing his B grade test on the same day as current IBF world champion and fellow Watanabe gym fighter Hiroto Kyoguchi. He took that exam following a notable amateur career in which he went 55-19 (16) and had captained his University team whilst fighting at a consistently high level. In the professional ranks he took 4 quick blow out victories before battling hard to over-come the talented Dexter Alimento with a split decision. In 2017 we've seen him come up just short against Reiya Konishi, in a bout for the Japanese title, and follow that loss up with two blow out wins.

In the ring Taniguchi is a technical but aggressive fighter. His power is probably not as good as his record suggests, but is still very good, with issues regarding potential stamina problems also possible. Taniguchi has done 10 rounds once, in his loss and perhaps needs a little bit more seasoning before a potential world title fight, if he over-comes Koura. The problem with the youngster is that too many of his bouts have come against hapless foes's and he already has 4 opening round stoppages, and has scored no wins over fellow Japanese fighters. That's not to say he can't, but he really should have faced some domestic opponents rather than so many limited Thai's and Filipino's.

Although both men are aggressive, heavy handed, flawed and both are 23, there is a lot of differences. Taniguchi is the more well schooled from an amateur perspective and is a southpaw, whilst Koura is arguably the more impressive with his wins over Galero and Abcede over shadowing Taniguchi's wins, and Koura is also the man with the confidence of being a champion.

It's a 50-50 type of fight, and at the time of writing that is a view shared by a members poll on boxmob who have Taniguchi narrowly ahead 51-49. We do favour Koura, but it's likely to be either a very close decision, or a bout decided on a single moment of genius. We feel that Koura's power makes him the more likely to do something magical, but really there is very little to split the guys here.

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 Minimumweight division has long been one of the most over-looked in weight classes in the sport, and we suspect it will remain that way going forward despite the division having some of the most exciting fighters of the last decade, such as Katsunari Takayama and Akira Yaegashi both feature in some simply amazing fights at 105lbs.

This coming Saturday we see a bout to crown a new OPBF champion champion at the weight as Tsubasa Koura (10-0, 7) takes on unheralded Filipino Jaysever Abcede (14-6, 9) for the currently vacant title, which was vacated by current world champion Hiroto Kyoguchi prior to his bout with Jose Argumedo. The bout may not set pulses going around the boxing world, but for fans who have seen the two men in action, this really looks like something that could be very enjoyable, and a potential coming our party for Koura. That however isn't a given, as Abcede has the potential to spring the upset, which he's done in the past, notably against Pigmy Kokietgym.

Of the two fighters it's Koura with the most upside. He's unbeaten, good looking and developing a fan base which has grown since he won the 2015 Rookie of the Year tournament. Since then he had gone 4-0 (4) including a big stoppage win over former world title challenger Jeffrey Galero. That win over Galero is his best to date, and came less than 2 years after Galero had challenged WBC champion Wanheng Menayothin.

Blessed with natural power Koura looks like a puncher on the rise, and couples that with good development out of the ring, at the E&J Cassius Gym. In the ring he's blasting away opponents at a lightning quick speed, taking just 10 rounds to stop his last 4 opponents, but he has shown the stamina to go 5 rounds before and is likely able to go deep in to the bout. The question does remain in regards to “how far?” but so far he's not shown any issues with stamina, and at 22 years old we're not expecting him to have issues in regards to going 10 or 12 rounds.

Filipino road warrior Abcede is also 22 and is a talented southpaw with an upset based mentality. That mentality was seen most notably against Pigmy Kokietgym, who Abecede stopped in 11 rounds back in 2015 in Thailand. That win is Abecede's only win on the road, but he has shared the ring with Petchmanee Kokietgym and Wanheng Menayothin, and didn't look dire against either of those unbeaten men. His record looks marked up, but he did begin 3-3, including a loss to the talented Dexter Alimento, since then there was the losses to Petchmanee and Wanheng as well as a surprise stoppage loss to Lito Dante. They aren't bad losses to have on your record, and really show that he has just been matched hard, rather than carefully developed.

Whilst Abecede has been matched hard he has proven a number of things. He has shown he can fight well on international soil, with his win over Pigmy essentially costing Pigmy a world title fight, he can go the distance, stopping Pigmy in round 11 and going 12 with Petchmanee just 2 months later. Those could be significant coming into this 12 round bout with Koura, and will leave him feeling that if he can see out Koura's early surge he can come on strong and take the Japanese fighter into deep water late on.

This bout really could be a very interesting one. It'll test Koura's power for sure,and potentially check his stamina and heart, and if he goes on to win late he could end up answering a lot of questions fan have of him. However it's not a foregone conclusion and Abecede will not turn up to just roll over. Instead he will look to see out the early power of Koura and take the fight to him late, likely making for a fun fight, especially in the middle and later rounds.

We suspect Koura will win, but he will be forced to really prove himself to come out on top here, in a really good match up.

The rise of Hiroto Kyoguchi (6-0, 6) has been something special to watch and this coming Tuesday we get the chance to see it continue as he looks to make his first defense of the OPBF Minimumweight title, a title he won in just his 13th professional round! In the opposite corner to the destructive Watanabe gym prospect will be Filipino southpaw Jonathan Refugio (16-5-5, 4), the third successive southpaw foe for Kyoguchi.

Kyoguchi turned professional last year to some notable fan fare and expectation with many in Japan tipping the youngster as a special talent. His first two bouts however were low key, and a little bit under-whelming as he despatched hapless Thai's in a combined 3 rounds. In his third bout however he shone, stopping the capable Kenichi Miyazaki in 3 rounds,then blowing away Michael Camelion in just 33 seconds before ending 2016 with a 3rd round KO win over Junuel Lacar. To begin 2017 he claimed the OPBF title by stopping veteran Armando De La Cruz in 3 rounds.

Despite being a novice professional Kyoguchi has been nothing less than sensational so far and looks like another top Japanese pressure fighter, like Daigo Higa. He uses a lot of educated pressure, under-rated defensive work, frightening combinations and some of the best body work in the sport. He's a pure offensive machine, and fans of Roman Gonzalez should be following Kyoguchi's rise through the ranks, with Kyoguchi's style being similar to that of the Nicaraguan star.

Whilst Kyoguchi has looked amazing so far he has still got a lot of questions to answer. He's not been hit cleanly much, with De la Cruz having tagged him clean once and then being given a battering in the moments that followed. He has also never proven his stamina, with his longest fight to date not lasting more than 3 rounds. That's likely to change in the future, but we really don't know how well his style and stamina hold out in the later rounds.

Filipino fighter Refugio has been a professional for close to 7 years and has mixed with a number of top class opponents. Those opponents include current world champions Wanheng Menayothin and Knockout CP Freshmart, as well as former world champion Merlito Sabillo and world title contender Melvin Jerusalem. He may have lost to those notable names but only Menayothin and Sabillo have managed to stop him so far, and he does hold a notable win over Richard Claveras.

In the ring Refugio is a well schooled fighter. He moves well, has good technical ability and plenty of heart, having pulled himself off the canvas to fight on in the past. He's show a good attitude and a will to work hard to avoid a loss, but he lacks power and will struggle to force his will on good regional level fighters, despite his solid skills and work rate. If he can't make top fighters then he's set for problems here when he's taking on the likes of Kyoguchi.

Although Refugio is a quality operator it's hard to see anything but a win for Kyoguchi. We think he will have to prove his stamina, but will eventually break down Refugio with body shots to retain his title and his 100% stoppage record, before looking towards a potential world title fight later in the year.

The Minimumweight division has been one of the most interesting in Japan in recent times. It has not only seen the country develop world champions, like Katsunari Takayama and Tatsuya Fukuhara, but also top contenders like Riku Kano and Go Odaira. At the moment the country also boasts a huge number of prospects in the division, such as OPBF champion Hiroto Kyoguchi and Tsubasa Koura.

This coming Sunday we see a new fighter being crowned as the national champion, as unbeaten youngsters collide for a title previously held by Fukuhara. In one corner will be Masataka Taniguchi (6-0, 4) whilst in the other will be Reiya Konishi (12-0, 5). Both men are 23 years old, unbeaten fighters and fighters who are not only fighting for the Japanese title, but also looking to take a huge step towards a world title fight.

Having been a professional for just over a year Taniguchi has been a fast riser. He was touted as a top prospect when he turned professional and raced away to a 4-0 (4) record between April and June last year. His KO run came to an end in October when he scored a statement making win over Dexter Alimento, taking a razor thin 8 round split decision over the then 11-0 Filipino prospect. In his most recent bout Taniguchi defeated Vincent Bautista, claiming a 6 round decision.

At the start of his career Taniguchi looked like a wrecking ball, much like stable mate Kyoguchi. He showed free flowing combinations and an aggressive in ring style. In more recent bouts however his power hasn't carried up, and instead he has been relying more on his boxing ability. That's not to say he doesn't have solid power, as he showed when he dropped Alimento, just not the vicious power that Kyoguchi seems to have.

Taniguchi may only have 22 rounds to his name as a professional but he has had top sparring at the Watanabe gym, which has been fire this year, and was a former amateur stand out running up a 55-19 (16) record in the unpaid ranks. He is more experienced than his record suggests and as a southpaw he is also naturally a tricky proposition than an orthodox fight. The one flaw her perhaps has is that he's never been beyond 8 rounds, and this is likely to be his second toughest bout to date.

Hailing from the Shinsei gym Konishi is the far more experienced fighter as a professional. He debuted back in mid 2013 but really came to the attention of fans in 2014, when he claimed the All Japan Rookie of the Year crown. That marked Konishi was one to watch going forward, but sadly his career has since been a bit of a slow burner. He picked up 3 wins in 2015 against domestic foes, and two more wins last year against limited opposition. Although many of his opponents have been limited, with his 2011 win over Jun Takigawa being arguably his best, he has been racking up ring time with 55 professional rounds under his belt, and 4 complete 8 rounders.

Unlike Taniguchi there isn't much information available on Konishi's amateur credentials, but given he competed in the Rookie of the Year it's safe to say he didn't have much of an amateur pedigree. Despite that he looks to have learned his trade on the job and does look like a solid fighter who uses a lot of upper body movement and physical strength. He might not be a big puncher but he is a strong fighter who uses a lot of pressure. Sadly whilst he is strong he is flawed, his defense is lacking and he's not particularly quick compared to other fighters in the division.

Coming in to this bout there are a lot of questions to be asked about both men. Can they both go12 rounds? What happens when Taniguchi is under pressure? Can Konishi take the combinations of Taniguchi?

Sadly for Konishi we think that he'll come up short here. He'll certainly have moments, and will likely be the naturally stronger fighter, but in the end the more complete skills, power and speed of Taniguchi will be the difference with the Watanabe man taking a clear, yet competitive, decision win.

In 2016 we saw the Watanabe gym have a year to forget with both Takashi Uchiyama and Kohei Kono losing world titles, whilst other notable names like Shin Ono, Akio Shibata, Ayaka Miyao, Sansosuke Sasaki and Hayato Kimura all suffered notable defeats. Despite last year being an horrific one for Watanabe it's fair to say that 2017 has started with some promise for the gym with title wins already this year for Nihito Arakawa and Yusaku Kuga.

Looking to extend that success for Watanabe will be fast rising youngster Hiroto Kyoguchi (5-0, 5), who looks to claim his first title at the end of the month, when he takes on Filipino veteran Armando Dela Cruz (25-14-3, 11) in a bout for the vacant OPBF Minimumweight title.

Kyoguchi turned professional last year, following a solid amateur career, and was quickly on the road to success. His first two wins, in April and May, were against obscure Thai foes but in August he stepped up to take on Kenichi Miyazaki, who he dismantled in 3 impressive rounds go claim his first notable scale. In November Kyoguchi scored an excellent KO against Filipino Michael Camelion and in December followed that win with a win over Junel Lacar.

In the ring Kyoguchi is an aggressively minded fighter who can counter punch, as the win over Camelion showed, but call also go on a seem and destroy mission, as he did against Miyazaki and Lacar. His combinations are some of the most beautiful in Japanese boxing and his shots just flow together. Sometimes those combinations, and flowing shots, do end up making him look a bit wild and reckless but he never looks worried and appears to be full of confidence. Worryingly for opponents he appears to be improving every fight and is genuinely looking like a world champion in the making.

Although Kyoguchi is a novice,with just 5 fights and a total of just 10 rounds, the same cannot be said of Dela Cruz who has 42 bouts under his belt and an impressive 282 rounds of experience. Not only has the 32 year old Dela Cruz got experience, from a career that dates back to 2001, but he has also shared the ring with a who's who of the lower weight classes. That's seen him battle the likes of Oleydong Sithsamerchai, Florante Contes, Denver Cuello, Wanheng Menayothin, Marlon Tapales, Sonny Boy Jaro and Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr.

Although highly experienced it should be noted that Dela Cruz is very fortunate to have an OPBF ranking, never mind the bizarre #2 ranking he has coming in to this bout. He has gone 2-4 in his last 6, dating back 7 years, and has scored just 2 wins in the last 6 years. Through his 42 fight career he has been stopped 4 times, showing that he was tough, and he has been the distance with Marlon Tapales among other. However with his inactivity one could question his toughness, and whether could with stand the blistering assaults of Kyoguchi.

Whilst Dela Cruz did have a fun, almost warrior like, style it's not a style that will work work well against Kyoguchi who we suspect will be too quick, too sharp and too powerful for the Filipino veteran. Dela Cruz might have some moments but we really don't see him lasting long with the exceptionally talented Kyoguchi. We might be surprised, and Dela Cruz might put in a great showing, but we suspect the body shots of Kyoguchi will help take their toll on the Filipino and he'll be put away within 5 rounds.

Whilst fans outside of Asia may not follow it too much the Minimumweight division has been one of the most interesting in recent years with top fighters facing off in bouts like the unification contest between Katsunari Takayama and Francisco Rodriguez Jr, the WBA unification bout between Knockout CP Freshmart Vs Byron Rojas and the WBC mandatory title bout between Wanheng Menayothin Vs Saul Jaurez. Whilst only one of them was a unification bout all of them featured top 5 guys facing off in really good bouts.

It's not only had great world title bouts but also has promising fighters breaking through the ranks and enough veterans for the novices to really test themselves against. That's going to be seen this coming Friday as Japanese youngster Ryuya Yamanaka (12-2, 3) takes on former world champion Merlito Sabillo (25-3-1, 12) in a bout for the OPBF title.

Aged 21 Yamanaka is one of a rising number of Japanese youngsters looking to carve out a place at 105lbs, along with the likes of Riku Kano, Hiroto Kyoguchi, Reiya Konishi, Tsubasa Koura and Masataka Taniguchi. Despite his age he's a 4 year professional who is at the well regarded Shinsei Gym and has rebuilt wonderfully after a 142 second loss to Kenta Shimizu in April 2013. Although he's rebuilt well, winning 7 of his 8 bouts, there is still a lot that he needs to prove if he's to become a major force on the world scene.

Coming in to this bout Yamanaka has won his last 5 bouts, though the competition hans't been geat with his most notable victory being a decision over Ronelle Ferreras. Unfortunately though his losses really stand out, with the opening round stoppage to Shimizu, who was 2-3-1 entering that bout, and a decision loss to Roque Lauro, who was 10-16-4 entering their bout. Whilst he has certainly improved from those defeats questions are to be asked about just how much improvement has been made by him. Worrying, given his competition, he holds several world rankings and there is talk of him potentially getting a world title fight in 2017.

Whilst the Japanese fighter is seen as an emerging hopeful the same cannot be said of Sabillo, who some feel is actually on the final stages of his career, despite only being 32 years old. The Filipino is being written off as a shot fight due to a 2-3-1 run in his last 6, however things aren't as simple as the numbers may suggest and the former WBO world champion isn't yet proven to be “washed up”. His during during that 2-3-1 run came to the brilliant Carlos Buitrago, in a bout many felt he deserved to lose, the first of the losses came to Francisco Rodriguez Jr who later proved his value in unifying the WBO and IBF titles, the second loss was a freak stoppage loss to Ellias Nggenggo whilst the third was a decision loss to Riku Kano. He might be done, but we can't say for sure.

At his best Sabillo was a fighter with respectable power, a crude but offensive style and although nothing outstanding he was a handful, as seen in his win over Luis de la Rosa. Sadly though it's hard to say how good he really is as so many of his bouts have been at Filipino domestic level or against top drawer opponents, like Buitrago and Rodriguez Jr. There are very few fringe contenders on Sabillo's record for us to know just how good he is, despite 29 career bouts.

On paper the bout is supposed to be the next step on the ladder for Yamanaka, as he moves towards a world title bout, but the reality is that this is much more of a cross roads bout. Yamanaka is certainly stepping up, and a win would be the best of his career, but Sabillo isn't a pushover and is looking to give fire to a career that is currently dwindling away. Unfortunately for Yamanaka there is nothing to suggest he's ready to face a guy like Sabillo, and we're thinking the visitor comes out with the win here to claim the OPBF title, and actually become a 2-time OPBF champion.