Knockout and Hosono retain belts, Okada's career on the rocks, Matsumoto makes a statement and more!3/6/2015 This past Thursday was a great day for fight fans in Asia with action in both Japan and Thailand Chonburi, Thailand The most notable action occurred in Thailand where fans got the chance to see a bit of everything, ranging from former world champions to novices beginning their careers. The former world champion was Indonesian veteran Muhammad Rachman (65-12-5, 35) who was hoping to call himself a world champion for the 3rd time as he went up against unbeaten Thai Knockout CP Freshmart (10-0, 5). Knockout, who was defending his WBA interim Minimumweight title for the first time, quickly showed that his 19 years of youth “advantage” was more than enough to over-come the Indonesian fighter who had previously held the IBF and WBA world titles. Knockout was too good, too energetic, too fast and over-all too good for his experienced for gave his best but was never really in the bout. In an under-card bout fans saw the highly experienced Panomroonglek Kaiyanghadaogym (44-2, 26) retain his PABA Bantamweight title with an 8th round KO against the smaller but game Mateo Handig (13-9, 7). Panomroonglek is said to be targeting a world title shot and this was more about ticking over than anything else, though the PABA title was on the line. Another bout on this card saw Noknoi Sitthiprasert (53-4, 30) extend his winning streak to 52 straight wins as he took a decision win over Filipino journeyman Donny Mabao (21-25-1, 4) in what was a third meeting between the two men. Noknoi had beaten Mabao in both 2009 and 2010 and is now 3-0 against the busy Filipino who has now lost 4 in a row. We are aware that there were other bouts on this show though unfortunately we've not had those results as of yet. From what we understand one bout involved Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep, who returned to the ring for the first time since he was stopped by Juan Carlos Reveco at the end of 2014, whilst another involved the exciting Chanachai Cp Freshmart. Hopefully we'll get those results shortly. Tokyo, Japan In Japan fans had a great day of action which culminated in a really exciting Japanese title fight though also showcased an OPBF title holder, a female world champion and a former Japanese title holder as well as several novices. The least experienced fighter on the card was Toru Kiyota (1-0, 1) who made a successful debut with an opening round victory over Kohei Isozaki (1-2). Although Kiyota now has some professional experience under his belt it is worth noting this bout lasted just 123 and was Isozaki's second successive stoppage loss. Another undercard bout that failed to last long was a Middleweight clash that saw Rasher Aoki (3-2, 1) blow away Tomoki Akutsu (1-2) in the second round. This Akutsu's first bout since he was stopped inside a round by Kenyu Ojima last June and it seems clear that his durability will hold him back. In an interesting Light Flyweight bout fans saw the promising Kenichi Miyazaki (8-1-1, 2) take a clear 6 round decision over the experienced Takuro Habu (11-10-2, 3). This was Miyazaki's 3rd straight since being stopped in the West Japan Rookie of the Year back in November 2013 and it seems clear that he has a lot of potential. Another 6 rounder saw WBA Atomweight champion Ayaka Miyao (20-5-1, 4) take a clear and comprehensive victory over Momoko Kanda (8-7-2, 2). The bout showed the class difference between a world champion and a domestic level fighter however it comments made after the bout that served as being notable with Miyao suggesting she was open to fighting WBC Atomweight champion Momo Koseki. If that bout can be made it would be the first ever Atomweight unification bout. In an 8 rounder fans saw Tatsuya Yanagi (11-2, 4) take a razor thin decision over the more experienced Toru Suzuki (24-5, 8) in a minor upset. Yanagi had entered on back-to-back losses, including a decision loss to the much touted Johnriel Maligro, though had won the 2012 All Japan Rookie of the year. Suzuki, the more experienced man, had been stopped in 3 of his previous 5 and appears to have found his level as being below national title level. Notably Suzuki was testing the water as a fully blown Super Featherweight having previously made his name as a Featherweight. In another 8 rounder we saw Masaki Saito (12-10-4, 3) score an upset win over former Japanese Super Featherweight champion Seiichi Okada (18-6, 11). Sadly for Okada, who made 3 defended of the national title in 2011, it appears this will have been the final nail in his coffin. The popular 32 year old has lost 5 of his last 7 now and has been stopped in 4 of those bouts suggesting it's time he though about retirement. It's a shame for Okada if that's it but he's had a good career over-all. For Saito this is a huge win and he's now 4-1-1 (2) in his last 6 suggesting he's turning his career around. The most notable of the 8 round bouts saw OPBF Super Flyweight champion Ryo Matsumoto (14-0, 12) make light work of Thai visitor Thanuthong Chor Kangwal (0-1) who was stopped after 33 seconds of round 2. The talented Matsumoto landed a liver shot that left Thanuthong in agony and showed the huge gulf in class between the two fighters. Prior to the fight Matsumoto had hinted at aiming for a Bantamweight world title later in the year and on this showing he does look healthier as a Bantamweight than as a Super Flyweight. In the main event the fans got a real treat as Japanese Featherweight champion Satoshi Hosono (27-2-1, 20) over-came a very spirited effort from Rikiya Fukuhara (30-8-1, 22). Fukuhara, who had previously been stopped by Hosono, started really well but had to pull himself off the canvas in round 4 as Hosono's power and toughness forced Fukuhara into the wrong type of fight. Late on Fukuhara managed to find some success but it was too little too late to over-come the tough Hosono who is hoping to get another world title fight, though seems unlikely to beat any of the current champions, sadly. For Fukuhara this may be the end of his long career, which has seen him claim the Japanese Super Bantamweight title and challenge for titles at both Featherweight and Super Featherweight. (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)
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This past Wednesday saw action in Japan and Thailand Hyogo, Japan The Japanese show was the most notable of the two shows on Wednesday despite not being a huge show on paper. The highlight for many was the retirement ceremony of former Japanese champion Kohei Oba who thanked his fans and family, did some shadow boxing in a suit before being handed a bouquet by Hozumi Hasegawa, who gave a speech about his friend and former stablemate. In terms of the actual boxing the biggest bout of the show saw former Japanese Lightweight title challenger Yuhei Suzuki (16-4, 12) state his case for another title bout down the line as he made light work over the over-matched Junki Oura (6-6, 2), who was stopped for the second time in his career. Oura was no match for Suzukin who has come up short in two title fights with Yoshitaka Kato. In a real upset Kenta Sugimoto (9-7-1, 1) managed to narrowly out point Tetsuya Hisada (21-9-2, 11) with a narrow split decision. Sugimoto had entered the bout with back-to-back wins but had never scored a win over someone like Hisada before. Sadly for Hisada his career really is on the rocks with just 1 win in his last 5, having now gone 1-2-2 in that stretch. A third notable bout saw Ryotaro Kawabata (11-2-1, 5) take a 4th round TKO win against the limited Ryuta Wakamatsua (10-12, 7), who has now been stopped 8 times. Kawabata's win was his 3rd in a 4 fight unbeaten streak dating back to a slim loss to Marjohn Yap back in 2013 and it's fair to say the 24 year old Japanese fighter will now be looking to move on to bigger and better things. On the undercard the promising Takuya Uehara (4-0, 2) blew away Thai visitor Fahkiangkrai Sithsaithong (0-1) in 101 seconds whilst the debuting Yuna Hara (1-0) took a 4 round shut out against Kojiro Furukawa (0-3) Chonburi, Thailand In Thailand we had mismatches galore, though thankfully many were over quickly The shortest bout lasted just 81 seconds as Chatpayak Sithkopon Nuengkawkawhok (3-9, 2) scored a rare win blowing away Yutthaphum Sithsuthiphan (0-2). On paper this looked like an even contest but Chatpayak, who has used numerous names though his career, really made things look easy against an opponent who was stopped in 3 rounds in his only previous “recorded” bout. A similarly quick bout saw Gurlal Rebluegym (5-0, 5) blast away Changsuk Nonphitayakhom (0-3) in 108 seconds. Indian born Gurlal has run up all 5 of his wins in in just 5 months and it seems that he could step up now, though competition in the Cruiserweight in Asia may not be great to him develop. A third opening round knockout came in the main event where he promising South Korean Hyun Woo Yu (3-0, 3) blew away Erawn Sithkongnapa (0-2) in 113 seconds. We like what we've seen of Yu and find him to be fan friendly though this bout was a mismatch from the second it was signed given that Erawan is a naturally several divisions smaller than the promising Korea. In bouts that went a little bit longer we saw two bouts reach the second round. One of those saw Filipino Joan Imperial (12-6, 7) take out Saming Sithachansanguan (0-2), as Imperial bounced back from a blow out loss to Myung Goo Yuh back in February. The other saw Joaquim Mahe (9-2, 5) stop the win-less Mongkolchai Sithsomchai (0-2) as Mahe ended a 2-fight losing streak to world level foes, Sod Kokietgym and Tepparith Kokietgym. It's now expected that we'll see Mahe fight Jaesung Lee in April. In an all debutant affair we saw Rivera AK Gym (1-0, 1) score a 4th round TKO against Kan Hamongkol (0-1). The only bout that actually went the distance was a female bout that saw the unbeaten Filipino Naome Tacda (4-0, 3) go the distance for he first time in her career as she over-came Nongploy Sithjemayurin (0-3). This was the only time either fighter had been the distance though it was far from competitive as a contest with Tacda winning all 6 rounds. (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp) Tokyo, Japan The only action this past Wednesday came from Tokyo where Kawashima put on a small 8 bout show that may have gone over-looked completely were it not for a few Japanese ranked fighters, two of whom met in the most notable bout, on paper. That bout saw Toshio Arikawa (10-4, 8) score a 4th round KO against Ryota Itoyama (10-7-1, 5) with Arikawa's power being a big difference between the two men. Itoyama was simply unable to cope with the power of his foe and was dropped several times, with the final one of those knockdowns coming at the very end of round 4. The final knockdown saw Itoyama being unable to beat the count and technically being counted out at the time of 3 minutes 10 seconds. The second most noteworthy bout saw Daisuke Sakamoto (9-8-2, 5) make exceedingly light work of Tomoyuki Omura (8-7, 4) who was stopped in just 147 seconds. On paper this looked an interesting bout though Omura has lost 3 of his previous 4 and Sakamoto was known to be “better than his record”. A third 8 rounder on this show ended in relatively disappointing fashion as Junnosuke Nagayasu (13-10-2, 3) scored a 5th round technical decision over Masahide Shinabe (7-12-2, 3). The bout had been one sided prior to the stoppage with none of the judges giving Shinabe a round out-right, though one judge did have it 50-47 at the time of the stoppage, which was due to Shinabe suffering a cut to his left eye. In a more competitive bout Masashi Odaira (4-5-2, 2) scored a 6 round majority decision over Masatoshi Tomita (5-8-2). The only other 6 rounder saw Keita Kurihara (5-4, 4) score a 4th round TKO of the usually durable Hirofumi Tachibana (3-10-2, 1), who was stopped for the 2nd time in his career. On the under-card there was a trio of 4 round bouts. One of these saw the debuting Yukai Sakurai (1-0) out point Hiromichi Komatsu (1-1, 1) in a really well fought decision, another well fought decision saw Rush Miyake (1-2) win a razor thin decision over Teruhisa Komori (1-1). The only stoppage came courtesy of a 4th round TKO by Masayuki Atari (2-0, 2) who saw off the win-less Katsuaki Kinoshita (0-6). (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp) This past Sunday was a busy day in Asian boxing with two shows from Thailand and another card from Japan.
Nakhon Pathom, Thailand The most notable of two Thai shows came from Nakhon Pathom where fans saw a combination of prospects and title holders. One of the prospects in action was Manachai Banchamek (3-0, 2) who blew away Saengpetch Kwanjaisrikot (0-1) in the second round of their Light Flyweight bout. This was Manachai's third bout this year and it seems clear he's going to be kept active through 2015. Another notable prospect in action was Petchchorhae Kokietgym (11-0, 7) who took a 6 round decision over Indonesian veteran Samuel Tehuayo (18-34-2, 3). This was Tehuayo's second loss in the space of a week, following a previous loss to Suriyan Sor Rungvisai, and was his 11th straight loss, all in the space of just 8 months. One of the title bouts saw PABA Flyweight champion Myung Goo Yuh (26-4-1, 21) successfully defend his title as he swiftly stopped Filipino fighter Richie Behec (2-3-1, 1) in the 3rd round of their bout. Behec, who has now lost his last 3 bouts, is likely to be forced into taking a break from the ring following this stoppage and that may not be a bad thing for the fighter who has managed to squeeze in 5 fights already this year. Despite being a Korean Yuh has impressively won 12 bouts in Thailand where he is now making a name for himself and moving towards a world title fight. The other title bout here saw Petchbarngborn Kokietgym (31-7-1, 14) successfully defend his PABA Super Flyweight title as he scored an 8th round TKO against Indonesian fighter Frans Damur Palue (10-7-2, 5). This was the 9th straight win by Petchbarngborn who has been on an excellent run since his knockout loss to Sho Ishida back in September 2013. Bangkok, Thailand In Bangkok fans saw a pair of fights with each of them featuring an experienced Japanese visitor battling against a Thai novice. One of the Japanese fights was Tatsuya Fukuhara (14-4-5, 4) who made very light work of Pangpormn Por Singdet (0-1). Fukuhara was returning to Thailand for his first bout in the country following his draw with Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr last September and is now 1-0-1 (1) in the country of smiles. The other bout saw Ryusei Yoshida (26-6, 13) take out Siangthip Sithbunkon (0-1) in the 3rd round. This is Yoshida's 4th straight win since coming up short against Paul Fleming back in April 2013 in Macau. Aichi, Japan As well as the action in Thailand there was also a show in Japan featuring 6 bouts, though none of them looked particularly notable. The main event here saw Japanese ranked Kazuya Maruki (18-3, 12) score an easy win over Thai visitor Mongoldam Sithwarunee (1-4, 1) with a 3rd round KO. This was Mongkoldam's 4th successive stoppage loss, according to boxrec.com, and in those 4 stoppages he has only survived a combined 15 rounds. For Maruki this is a good comeback win after he suffered a shock loss to Quaye Peter last December. The chief support bout saw Takashi Omae (13-4-5, 1) take a hard fought win over Thai visitor Petchnamchao Sor Sakulwong (1-2, 1). On paper this was a mismatch though Petchnamchai gave a solid account of himself and will likely be invited back to Japan having given two solid performances there. The under-card qas equally uninspiring. The most competitive of the bouts saw Yuta Imaizumi (2-1) take a split decision over the win-less Takumi Koroki (0-2) whilst another competitive match up saw Kohei Furusawa (4-6) take a narrow unanimous decision over the win-less Masahiro Hayakwa (0-5-1). Still on the under-card fans saw Tamaki Miwa (2-0, 1) score an opening round win over the debuting Takashi Arakawa (0-1). It took just a round longer for Shinpei Tominaga (2-2, 2) to take out So Watanabe (0-1). Jakarta, Indonesia In Indonesian fans saw Abdul Haris Sofyan (3-2, 1)* claim a variation of the Indonesian national Featherweight title with a 6th round TKO against Agus Kustiawan (13-3, 5)*. Not many details of this bout are known though it was the third meeting between the two men who first fought back in 2012. Notably both records are believe to be incomplete. This past Saturday was a hectic day in boxing with fights all over the place. Osaka, Japan On paper the most notable show came from Japan where fans had the chance to catch a couple of world title bouts and another bout featuring a 2-weight world champion. The show wasn't big or attention grabbing but for fans of female boxing it was a notable card. In one of the title fights everyone was left disappointed as a headclash brought a very early ending to the contest. This was a bout for the WBO Female Minimumweight title, with defending champion Kumiko Seeser Ikehara (6-1-2, 3) recording her first defense courtesy of a technical draw against Filipino challenger Jessebelle Pagaduan (7-1-1, 4). The headclash happened in the opening round and later required 10 stitches for Ikehara who as, clearly, disappointed about how she recorded the first defense of her title. The other title fight saw WBO Atomweight champion Nao Ikeyama (16-3-1, 4) successfully defending her velt for the second time. The 45 year old Ikeyama looked like she had the energy of a teenager as she thoroughly out worked, out fought and swarmed Filipino challenger Norj Guro (7-4-1, 4). Guro, more than 20 years Ikeyama's junior, was never in the fight after round 3 and was often forced to survive the assaults of the champion rather than really fight back. In the chief support bout fans saw former 2-weight world champion Mari Ando (12-7, 5) score a hard fought 6 round decision win over Jujeath Nagaowa (12-14-1, 8). This was Ando's first bout since she lost the WBC female Minimumweight title to Yuko Kuroki last year and it seems likely Ando will chase another title bout. Sadly for Nagaowa this was her 3rd straight loss and she is now 1-3 since losing to Momo Koseki back in June 2012. The under-card here featured 3 bouts each of which were 4 rounders. One of those was another female bout as the unbeaten Yu Shoji (1-0-1, 1) fought to a 4 round split decision draw with Wakako Fujiwara (0-1-1). Another of the bouts saw Daiki Miyayama (4-2-1, 2) defeat the debuting Yuta Teruya (0-1) whilst Hiroshi Takagi (3-4) defeated Naoki Okamura (1-2) in a close decision. Metro Manila, Philippines In the Philippines fans had an interesting show that featured a world ranked fighter and several others looking to prove themselves as “men to watch”. The world ranked fighter was the promising Rene Patilano (13-1-2, 7) who made extremely light work of domestic journeyman Aroel Romasasa (11-9, 5). Romasasa, who had entered the bout with 8 straight losses and that form showed as he was blown away in just 140 seconds. Sadly for Romasasa it now seems clear he needs to think about a new career. The Patilano/Romasasa was one of 3 bouts scheduled for 10 rounds and the others both went the distance. One of those saw the talented Randy Braga (15-0-1, 3) take a very clear decision win over Cristian Abila (24-16-3, 4) who struggled to win a round. Braga, who does seem to be better than many domestic Filipino's, now looks ready for a real step up. Sadly things weren't so successful for Jay Loto (9-0-1) who was held to a majority draw by JC Francisco (6-9-4, 2) in a genuine shock. For Francisco this was a great result considering he had lost 3 of his previous 4, for Loto however this is a big hit to his career. Lower down the card the light hitting Jeffrey Francisco (11-1-1, 1) scored his first stoppage as he forced Arjet Caballes (6-33-5, 3) to retire from their scheduled 8 round bout. In a 6 rounder the unbeaten Wilbert Berondo (6-0, 3) stopped the over-matched Ryan Medez (1-4-2) with less than a minute of their bout left whilst another 6 rounder saw Vergel Nebran (13-8-1, 8) out pointed Prell Tupaz (8-27-4, 1). A more competitive 6 rounder saw Roderick Flores (6-0-1, 2) narrowly out point Junjie Lauza (4-14-1, 1) in a surprisingly competitive contest. The begin the card there were 4 bouts scheduled for 4 rounds. One of those saw the unbeaten Abraham Bullagay (2-0-1, 2) score a 3rd round stoppage over the win-less Oscar Lim (0-3), who has now been stopped in all 3 bouts. Another contest that failed to go the distance saw Robin Langres (4-0, 1) take a 3rd round technical decision over the win-less Manny Mamamcquiao (0-5-1). Langres's win as one of two technical decisions on this part of the card as Bryan Ascano (3-0, 1) also went to the judges early in his win over Jerwin Dela Rosa (1-5). The only 4 round to reach the scheduled final bell saw Arvin Yurong (2-0, 1) take a wide decision over the debuting Raymond Dela Cruz (0-1). Pattaya, Thailand In one of two Thai shows fans saw a former world title challenger and an unbeaten prospect. The former title challenger was Samartlek Kokietgym (19-5, 5) who famously challenged Naoya Inoue last year. Samartlek scored his second win since that Inoue bout as he over-came Indonesian visitor Ichal Tobida (11-15, 8) in a 6 round bout. Of course it wasn't just Samartlek who had a high profile bout in Japan last year with Tobida being knocked out by former world champion Ryo Miyazaki last September. Sadly for Tobida he is now 0-4 in the last 12 months, though he did manage to see out the scheduled this time following successive stoppage losses. The unbeaten prospect on this card was Payu Sor Kulawong (3-0) who scored his third straight win as he over-came the win-less Somchay Sithhongkam (0-2), from nearby Laos. This was a rematch of a bout fought in January that saw both men making their debut against each other. Samut Songkhram, Thailand In a second Thai show fans saw the unbeaten and heavy handed Chalermpol Singwancha (12-0, 10) take out Indonesia's Wellem Reyk (17-12-3, 5) in the opening stages of round 5. This was Chalermpol's 4th straight KO though they have come against limited foes, such as Reyk here who has now lost 5 in a row with 3 stoppages in that run. Baja California, Mexico In Mexico we saw a disappointing defeat for Filipino fighter Jether Oliva (22-3-2, 10) who was stopped by unbeaten Mexican Luis Nery (16-0, 11). Oliva was returning to Mexico for the first time since his loss in an IBF Light Flyweight world title bout against Ulises Solis and it seems clear he was simply too small for the Mexican. Oliva was game early on but remained on his stool at the start of round 5 having taken enough from the promising Nery. Hamburg, Germany In a Cruiserweight bout fans saw the unbeaten Isa Akberbayev (15-0-0-1, 11) score an impressively quick victory over 40 year old Argentinian puncher Ruben Angel Mino (25-2, 25), who lasted less than a round. Mino's impressive record belies his inability to really fight and he has now been stopped in both of his step up bouts. As for the unbeaten Kazakh this is his best win on paper and is his 4th successive stoppage win. Managua, Nicaragua Teiken promoted Nicaraguan fighter Roman Gonzalez (42-0, 36) continued his long unbeaten run as he made light work of Valentin Leon (38-29-3, 21) in what was essentially a stay busy fight for the talented “Chocolatito”, who is now expected to make a mandatory defense of his WBC Flyweight title. (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp) |
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