This past Wednesday saw two low level Asian shows with one in Japan and one in the Philippines. Tokyo, Japan The more significant of the two shows was broadcast, in part, on ustream with the streamer in questioning focusing their attention on two bouts in particular. The card kicked off with a pair of 4 round Minimumweight bouts. One of these saw Desierto Nagaike (2-1-1) defeat fellow novice Shuri Hasebe (1-2) via a clear cut decision. The other bout saw the more experienced Masayuki Sakurai (3-7-2) take a much more competitive decision against Naoki Akagi (2-5-2). The first of the notable bouts, and one that was streamed over the aforementioned ustream channel, saw the very interesting Riyako Goshi (2-2), fighting in very unusual attire, defeat Thai debutant Kanittha Saknarong (0-1) with a close decision. This was Goshi's second win this year after starting her career 0-2 and whilst she's far from a talented fighter she is very interesting and it's going to be an interesting journey to follow her. The man that stream was dedicated to was chartered accountant Kohei Kashino (1-0, 1) who began his professional career with a 2nd round KO against win-less Thai Phetsaifar Lukmaelamperigym (0-5) who has now lost 5 straight fights. Kashino managed to drop his Thai foe twice before the referee stopped the action. The first of the 6 rounders saw Hiroki Saito (6-8-1, 4) score a 6th round stoppage against the fragile Yoshiyuki Suzuki (4-7-5, 1) who has now been stopped 5 times in 16 professional bouts. The second 6 round bout was the second female bout on the show and saw Emika Himuro (4-1-1, 1) take a split decision over the much more experienced Kimika Miyoshi (9-8-1, 4). The bout was competitive though the win for Himuro is a huge one given that Miyoshi is a former OPBF champion and a former world title challenger. The co-feature of the show saw former world title challenger Masayuki Kuroda (22-5-3, 13) score his first win in almost 3 years as he stopped Thai debutant Pongpayu Chaiyonggym (0-1) in the second round of the bout. Kuroda had, prior to this bout, gone 0-2-3 in his last 5 bouts and many, including ourselves, felt that his career was on the rocks. The main event of this show saw Akihiko Katagiri (15-7-2, 5) scoring a 7th round stoppage against Yudai Koizumi (11-8, 4). This win for Katagiri saw him extending his unbeaten run to 4 whilst Koizumi has now suffered back-to-back losses. Camiguin, Philippines In the Philippines there was a small, 2 fight, show. The first of those bouts saw novice fighter Melvin Jerusalem (2-0, 1) score an opening round KO against Christian Solatorio (0-1). The second of these bouts saw the heavy handed Jenny Boy Buca (9-1, 9) take a 2nd round TKO against Arnold Garde (3-3-2, 1). (Image, from Katagiri's bout with Koizumi, courtesy of boxingnews.jp)
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Tokyo, Japan Earlier today in Tokyo Japanese fans were treat to a very interesting show courtesy of Ioka Gym who show cased a trio of former world champions. The card began with the sole 4 rounder which saw the unbeaten Shoma Okamoto (4-0) continue his unbeaten run with a clear decision over win-less Thai Jakarachlek Sor Wankaew (0-4) . A second man continuing his unbeaten run on this under-card was fellow Japanese fighter Takeru Kamikubo (6-0, 4) who scored a second round TKO against Thailand's win-less Prabpram Sithsaithong (0-3). The first of 3 bouts scheduled for 8 rounds saw the heavy handed Takahiro Yamamoto (14-3, 11) blow away Indonesia's experienced but limited Panca Silaban (26-18-6, 12) in the second round. Yamamoto has now won his last 8 and looks to be a better fighter than his record indicates, though he does still need a break out win before we get too excited about the 23 year old Super Bantamweight hopeful. The second 8 rounder featured former WBA Minimumweight champion Ryo Miyazaki (21-1-3, 12) who scored an excellent stoppage against Indonesian fighter Ichal Tobida (10-13, 8). Miyazaki was fighting for the first time since his loss to Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr on New Years's Eve and looked really sharp considering he had been out of the ring for well over 8 months. After the fight Miyazaki indicated that he was wanting to fight for a Light Flyweight world title and if he can make the weight we imagine that there are titles out there for him, especially if he's as good as he looked today. Following Miyazaki's bout, which was shown on tape delay, fans in the venue got the chance to see former WBC Flyweight champion Malcolm Tunacao (35-3-3, 20) take a 5 round decision over Ryuta Otsuka (14-7-2, 4). Tuancao, originally of the Philippines though now based in Japan, showed off his skills and experience against Otsuka who was stepping up massively for this fight and came up very short as a result, prior to a nasty clash of heads midway into round 5. The main event of the show saw former 2-weight world champion Kazuto Ioka (15-1, 9) take a clear decision over Colombian tough man Pablo Carrillo (15-3-1, 8). Early on Ioka looked apprehensive, as if memories of his loss to Amnat Ruenroeng were on his mind, though by the end of round 7 he was really in his groove and looked genuinely world class. Sadly for Ioka he still doesn't look ready to win a Flyweight world title and although he's spoken about a rematch with Ruenroeng in December we tend to feel he'll need another 6 months to fill out into a fully fledged Flyweight fighter. (Image, from the Ioka/Carrillo fight, courtesy of boxingnews.jp) This past Sunday was a busy day in the Japanese boxing scene with 3 notable domestic shows. Although the shows weren't attention grabbing on an international scale they were big enough to feature some well known fighters. Osaka, Japan The most well known fighter in action was Nobuhiro Ishida (26-10-2, 10), who was on one of two separate shows held at the Bodymaker Colosseum in Osaka city. Ishida, pictured, was fighting for the second time as a Heavyweight and managed to out point Frenchman David Radeff (5-8-2, 2) in an 8 round bout. The win for Ishida was his first win as a Heavyweight and has seen him taking a step towards a rematch with Kyotaro Fujimoto, a bout that Ishida wants so as to claim the Japanese Heavyweight title and avenge a close loss from earlier this year. Without a Fujimoto rematch the odds are that Ishida will have to think very hard about his future. Another man thinking about his future right now is former Japanese Bantamweight champion Kohei Oba (36-3-1, 14) who announced his retirement following a hard fought decision win over domestic rival Keigo Soma (6-11-1, 3). This 8 round bout was Oba's first following his stoppage loss to Randy Caballero earlier this year and it's clear that the loss to Caballero took a lot out of "The Mayweather of Nagoya" who at just 29 has called an end on his career. On the same show we also saw a return to the ring for recent Japanese Bantamweight title contender Yu Kawaguchi (21-6, 9) who looked less than impressive in scoring a narrow 8 round win over Seizo Kono (14-7-1, 9). For Kawaguchi this was his first bout following a 10 round loss to Kentaro Masuda in a bout for the vacant Japanese national title at Bantamweight and although he was competitive in that one the bout appears to have taken it's toll on him here. The undercard of this show featured 5 bouts all scheduled for 4 rounds. These saw a pair of blow out wins for debutant fights. The quickest of the debutants to record a win was Yuto Nagano (1-0, 1) who took just 34 seconds to blow through Norio Shimizu (0-1). It took just 2 minutes for fellow debutant Tomoaki Matsumura (1-0, 1) to get off the mark with his own opening round victory which came against Shuichi Inagaki (1-1, 1). The other 3 bouts all went the distance as Hirohide Murakami (2-2) took a clear decision win over Masatetsu Hirano (1-2, 1). A second, closer, decision saw Ryosuke Nasu (1-0-1) score his first win as he over-came Yuki Sueyoshi (1-3, 1). The closest of the 3 decisions saw Genki Inoue (1-3-1, 1) fight to a draw with Ryota Shimizu (3-5-1, 1). Osaka, Japan The other show at the Bodymaker Colosseum was the Rookie of the West finals with 10 bouts on the show, all featuring novices competing for their chance to be Rookie of the Year later this year. The lowest weight featured was Minimumweight where we saw the unbeaten Reiya Konishi (5-0, 4) continue his unbeaten run with a 2nd round stoppage against the win-less Naoki Yoshimura (0-2-1). Konishi kicked off a good run for unbeaten fighters with unbeaten men winning every division from Minimumweight all the way up to Super Flyweight, as well as Super Bantamweight. At Light Flyweight that saw Seigo Yuri Akui (2-0) over-come the previously unbeaten Michitaka Muto (3-1-1) with a 4 round decision, Flyweight saw a 5 round decision for Shun Kosaka (8-0) who managed to rack up his 8th straight decision win with a clear victory over Takahiko Nakajima (4-5-1). At Super Flyweight we saw Ioka prospect Masayoshi Hashizume (5-0, 3) blow away Takeshi Kajikawa (3-1, 2) in very impressive fashion, this win notably won Hashizume the MVP for the show. The Bantamweight bout was won by the heavy handed Keisuke Tabuchi (7-1-2, 5) who took a very narrow majority decision over Takaaki Kitagawa (4-3, 2) in one of the more exciting bouts on the show. At Super Bantamweight we saw another unbeaten winner as Shohei Kawashima (7-0-2, 1) took a 5 round decision over the heavy handed Kohei Iwai (4-3-1, 4). The remaining 4 bouts on this show were all very competitive with little to split the fighters. These included a Featherweight bout that saw Kyohei Tonomoto (4-1, 2) take a very narrow split decision over Toru Kageyama (5-6-1, 4) whilst Chocoboy Oizumi (4-2-2, 2) took the Light Welterweight crown with a split decision over Kazuma Fukuyama (3-3-3). In a unanimous decision Shota Yamamoto (5-1, 3) defeated the previously unbeaten Ryo Kanda (2-1, 1) for the Welterweight crown. Arguably the most surprising result came at Middleweight where the previously win-less Ryota Ikawa (1-5) over-came American Brandon Lockhart Shane (3-3, 2) in a narrow split decision. Hyogo, Japan The third Japan show was in Hyogo and was headlined by former world title challenger Atsushi Kakutani (15-4-1, 7) who scored a 4th round TKO against Thai visitor Dawut Manopkanchang (10-7-1, 3). After the fight Kakutani, who is best known for his loss to Adrian Hernandez in a WBC Light Flyweight title fight, hinted strongly that he was wanting to get an OPBF title fight for December. In the chief support bout we again saw a Japanese fighter fighting a Thai. This time however the bout was much more competitive with Yuichi Arai (9-8-1, 2) narrowly over-coming Saensak Sithvarunee (0-2) with an 8 round majority decision. The only 6 round bout on the show saw Yushi Fujita (6-6-3, 1) defeat Takuya Hashimoto (4-5, 4) in 3 rounds. Fujita scored his first stoppage though it shouldn't be taken as too much of an impressive achievement considering Hashimoto has now been stopped in all 5 of his losses. The card kicked off with a trio of 4 rounders. These saw Kazuki Kimura (3-2) take a 4 round unanimous decision over Naoya Hamaguchi (4-2-1, 1) in a minor upset, Kazuyoshi Toguri (3-6) managed to take a narrow split decision over Tomohiro Tatani (3-9, 2) and a split decision draw between Kenta Ide (1-1-1) and Keigo Yokoyama (1-1-1). Jakarta, Indonesia In Indonesia fans saw Ruben Manakane (14-11-1, 9) score a 5th round TKO against Egy Rozten (3-6-1, 3). (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp) This past Saturday saw two low level shows in Asia.
Cotabato del Sur, Philippines The most notable of the two shows was in the Philippines as we had 7 bouts, two of which involved very interesting prospects that some are tipping as future world champions. The most notable of those two prospects that were in action was the unbeaten Harmonito Dela Torre (14-0, 9) who made relatively light work of Indonesian visitor Isack Junior (22-6-2, 8) as he defended the interim World Boxing Federation Super Featherweight title. This was Junior's 5th loss in 7 bouts and he is now 0-5 when fighting outside of his homeland. As for Dela Torre it's time he stepped up and perhaps began to focus on the OPBF title scene. He's not ready for the likes of Daiki Kaneko or Jomthong Chuwatana but he is clearly more than capable of stepping up from this level. The other prospect of note here was John Vincent Moralde (11-0, 6) who easily out-pointed Jason Butar Butar (16-14-1, 12) to claim the World Boxing Federation International Super Bantamweight title. Moralde dominated much of the bout to take a near shut out over Butar Butar and although it was 1-sided it was at leasta bout between similarly sized men and Moralde will have learned more here than Dela Torre did in his bout. Another title bout on this show saw Danny McDermott (11-5-2, 5) stop Filipino fighter Ronnel Esparas (10-15-1, 2) in 6 rounds to claim the WBC Asian Boxing Council Silver Light Welterweight title. Although this was a nightmare result for Esparas things weren't good before the bout with the Filipino fighter weighing a full 5lb over the Light Welterweight limit. The undercard here kicked off with a four-some of 4 rounders, each of which included an unbeaten fighter. One of those unbeaten men was Raymart Gaballo (5-0, 5) who continued his stoppage run by taking out the limited Zaldy Jordan Jr. (1-5, 1) in the second round. It took just 2 rounds for Rod Michael Sarguilla (2-1, 1) to lose his unbeaten record as Junel Lacar (5-1-1, 3) was too good for him. Romeo Duno (2-0, 1) maintained his 100% win record with a 4 round decision over fellow novice Frejun Dela Cruz (2-3-1) whilst Romeo Duno (2-0, 1) maintained his 100% win record with a 4 round decision over fellow novice Frejun Dela Cruz (2-3-1) whilst Markquil Salvana (4-0, 1) continued his winning run by over-coming the still win-less Rodel Garde (0-10-1). Sanaa, Yemen In Yemen the fans had a 3-fight show in the 22 May Sports Stadium. The most notable of the bouts here saw former Ali Raymi victim Yaser Dalbant (1-2) suffer his second stoppage loss as the interesting Hani Ansi (3-0-1, 2) scored an opening round TKO. We like Ansi despite the fact he's a clear boxing clown and as long as he entertains us we have no problem with his bizarre theatrics. One of the other bouts on this card saw Muhammad Harazi (2-0) take a surprise decision over the more experienced experienced Omar Awdan (9-2, 5) whilst the legendary name of Muhammad Ali (1-0) lives on following a debut win over Abdu Sameer (5-5, 1). Samut Prakan, Thailand
This past Friday was far from a busy day in the boxing world with only one notable Asian card, a card in Samut Prakan, Thailand. Although the card was televised it was still a small one with only 3 bouts on it, or at least only 3 bouts on it being recorded on boxrec.com. The most significant of those bouts saw the highly talented and hard hitting Paipharob Kokietgym (26-0, 20) successfully claim the PABA Light Flyweight title with a 12 round decision victory over Indonesian hardman Faris Nenggo (8-6-3, 2). The bout was the 4th time Paipharob had completed the 12 round distance and it was the 4th time that he looked to be shattered going in to the championship rounds. Although blessed with heavy hands Paipharob certainly needs to work on either his stamina or pacing if he's to progress to the next level. Another Thai Vs Indonesian bout on this same card saw the highly experienced Pigmy Kokietgym (53-7-2, 22) take a decision win over popular Indonesian journeyman Samuel Tehuayo (18-25-2, 3). This bout was a mismatch on paper though Tehuayo made things interesting as he happily traded with the Thai in an entertaining contest. The other bout on this show saw Fonluang KKP (21-1-1, 9) take a decision victory over Boido Simanjuntak (18-22-1, 7). This was the 5th successive loss for Simanjuntak whilst Fonluang is now 11-0-1 in his last 12 bouts. Today was a busy day in Asian boxing with several shows and some very notable bouts in what has been a long day. Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand Action kicked off with a bout between former foes of Takuma Inoue as Thailand's Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr (24-3-1, 15) battled against Japan's Tatsuya Fukuhara (13-4-5, 4). The men fought to a draw, very fun fight but neither of the men had the power to hurt the other so it was action packed bu lacked real drama. We wouldn't mind seeing a rematch of this one as bother were pretty much at the same level and botu fought to win, though neither should be considering a fight for a world title, at best they regional title level. Following the under-card bout we then moved on to the day's big bout as IBF Flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng (14-0, 5) retained his title with a very narrow split decision win over Puerto Rican puncher McWilliams Arroyo (15-2, 13). The bout was a frustrating one to watch, especially considering how how fun the under-card bout was, though was highly competitive with several momentum shifts in the action. Amnat got off to a solid start before Arroyo came back into the fight and scored a knockdown in round 6, Amnat then bounced back brilliantly to win round 7 before both men struggled through the championship rounds. Ruenroeng was probably lucky to be at home and had he been away from Thailand there is every chance he'd have lost his title, especially considering that the split decision win only saw him winning courtesy of cards that read 115-114 and 114-113 whilst the third judge had the bout 114-113 to Arroyo. It's fair to say that on the back of Amnat's win he has painted a bulls eye on his back and fighters like Naoya Inoue, Zou Shiming, John Casimero, Takuya Kogawa and Suguru Muranaka will all be eyeing him up as a clear target for a Flyweight world title. A third bout on this card saw Mike Tawatchai (34-7-1, 21) take an 8 round decision victory over popular Indonesian fighter Rasmanudin (18-6-3, 9). Sadly we've not managed to see this one. Tokyo, Japan Soon after the action in Thailand we then got action in Japan at the Korakuen Hall. The Japanese show kicked off with a 4 rounder that resulted in a draw between Souther Sawada (1-0-1, 1) and Toshiro Tarumi (1-0-1, 1). The draw saw both men retaining their unbeaten records though neither will have been too happy about the result of the bout. The bulk of the card was bouts scheduled for 8 rounds. These were mostly KO challenge bouts where fighters were to be rewarded for knockout wins by the promoter. Amazingly however the promoter didn't have to pay a single bonus as not one of the 8 round bouts was ended in a conclusive stoppage fashion. Although none of the 8 rounders saw stoppages 2 of them did fail to go the scheduled distance. One of these saw Daisuke Sakamoto (8-8-2, 4) fight to a 3rd round technical draw with Shiro Saito (7-4-2, 2) whilst the other bout that failed to reach the final bell saw Yuki Nasu (24-8, 16) take a 7th round technical decision win against Jonathan Ligas (8-6-1, 1). The other 8 rounders were both competitive. The most competitive of those saw recent Japanese Featherweight title challenger Yuki Ogata (20-1-1, 3) take a split decision over the unheralded Kentaro Yamada (8-5-1, 6). The other bout saw much touted Kenji Kubo (5-2-1, 2) take a narrow decision over Kota Sato (9-6-2, 4), this was the second meeting between these two after fighting to a draw earlier this year. The Kubo/Sato bout wasn't the only rematch on this show and the main event was also a rematch. This saw Japanese Heavyweight champion Kyotaro Fujimoto (10-1, 6) forcing a stoppage of #1 challenger Kotatsu Takehara (10-10-3, 4). Fujimoto had struggled in his first defence against Takehara late last year though looked like a completely different fighter here as he landed heavy and sharp shots from the off. Takehara was cut over both eyes and eventually saved from further punishment as Fujimoto really showed off his ability in a dominant performance. From what we under-stand this win will likely lead to Fujimoto rematching Nobuhiro Ishida in another defence of his Japanese Heavyweight title. Minsk, Belarus In Belarus fans saw the heavy handed Kazakh Bantamweight Zhanat Zhakiyanov (23-1, 16) make very light work of the previously unbeaten Gagi Edisherashvili (7-1, 6). Edisherashvili came into the bout unbeaten but lasted less than a round with Zhakiyanov who claimed the WBC Eurasia Pacific Boxing Council Bantamweight title with this win. (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp) Cotabato del Sur, Philippines
On Tuesday Filipino fans got the chance to see a small, 5 bout, show in Cotabato del Sur. This show kicked off with Adam Diu Abdulhamid (3-1, 1) taking a 4 round decision over the limited but more experienced Gabby Siempo (5-6-1, 1). The only 6 rounder on the show saw the heavy handed JR Edurot (10-2, 9) stopping the light hitting and limited Rolando Omela (5-11-3, 1) in 4 rounds. In the middle of the card we saw a pair of 8 rounders. One of these went the distance as Daryl Basadre (13-1-1, 9) took a decision over the limited but tough Philip Parcon (26-19-2, 8). The other 8 round saw Engelbert Moralde (8-2, 6) blast away Paul Apolinario (10-12-2, 6) in the second round. The main event saw Raymond Tabugon (14-3-1, 6) score a second round KO over Thai visitor Kaichon Sor Vorapin (25-13, 9). This was Tabugon's third win this year whilst Kaichon is now win-less in over 7 years. We're sorry for having results up late though this past Monday featured two low level
Kunming, China The main action of the day was in China as Zovi promotion showcased some of their most promising fighters. The most promising of those fighters in action was Qiu Xiao Jun (14-2, 6) who successfully defended his WBC Asian Boxing Council Continental Super Bantamweight title with an excellent opening round KO against Ruslan Berchuk (8-4, 4). Jun, one of the most talented prospects plying his trade in the Chinese mainland, looked sensational here though the fight was too short to really learn anythign new about Jun. A second title fight on this show saw Yang Xing Xin (9-3-2, 6) retained his WBC Youth World Welterweight with an 8th round TKO against Kongsuk Patanakan Gym (3-3-1, 1). Xin isn't as promising as Jun though this is still a good win for the 22 year old dubbed "The Chinese Warrior". On the undercard we had 3 low level bouts. One of those was a 6 rounder that saw the debuting Bao Dong (1-0) take a majority decision over the previously unbeaten Xu Chan (4-1). In a female bout Cai Zong (1-0) took a 4 round decision over Li Yun Ting (0-1) whilst in a second 4 rounder saw the debuting Shi Hao Tian (1-0) out pointed Yang Hui (0-2). Misamis Occidental, Philippines In the Philippines fans got a small but entertaining show as part of the continuing ALA shows sponsored by a local energy drink company. The main event on this show saw the very promising Mark Magsayo (8-0, 6) blast out Jessie Tuyor (6-13-4, 3) inside a round. The victory was eye catching and show case the ability of Magsayo who looks like one of the most promising young Filipino's out there. Other KO's on this show included Geo Santisima (3-2, 2) taking out Roland Magluyan (3-6-1) in the 2nd round, Peter Apolinar (3-0, 3) stopping Jhofel Camo-Camo (4-7, 2), also in the second round. Another bout saw Vicente Casido (3-0, 2) taking out the debuting Edgar Emperoso (0-1) inside a round and a 3rd round stoppage victory for Ryan Canillas (4-2-3, 3) who defeated John Dax Zamoras (0-1). Two bouts on this show went the distance. These saw Takaomi Naoma (2-3) take a victory over Jason Orteza (0-1) and Kazuma Ijiri (1-0) take debut victory over Johnrey Lorico (2-6). Tokyo, Japan Just a day after Tokyo had hosted a world title double header action returned to Japanese capital and the Holy Ground of Japanese boxing, the Korakuen Hall. It wasn't just boxing that returned to the "Hall" but also former WBC Flyweight champion Toshiyuki Igarashi (19-2-1, 11) who had been forced out of the ring for almost a year following damage to his left shoulder. The Japanese southpaw, now campaigning at Super Flyweight, was less than spectacular though he did take a 9th round technical decision over Filipino fighter Renren Tesorio (13-5-3, 4). Following the win Igarashi indicated that his intention was to win a world title at 115lbs to become a 2-weight world champion. Whilst Igarashi has proven his ability at the world level he wasn't the only world class fighter on the show as the highly ranked Ryosuke Iwasa (18-1, 11) made very light work of the over-matched Rommy Wassar (10-17-7, 5). The bout was a stay busy contest for the OPBF Bantamweight champion who hinted that he wanted to fight for a world title fight with the IBF belt the likely option for "Eagle Eye". The chief support bout to the two big names was an 8 rounder bout that saw the talented Masaru Sueyoshi (7-1, 5) take a clear decision win over Yuta Nagai (28-10-4, 19). This was Sueyoshi's first bout in almost 16 months and the 23 year old didn't really miss a beat as he scored the best win of his career. The show's 6 rounders both saw stoppages as Manato Honma (7-3, 4) stopped the limited Yuzo Mitani (5-4, 2) in 4 rounds and the heavy handed Heisuke Ono (5-2, 5) scored a 3rd round KO against Tatsunori Yoshizaki (4-5, 2) The show's opening bouts also saw stoppages as the unbeaten Ryusei Nakajima (2-0, 1) stopped the debuting Junpei Tsujimoto (0-1) in 2 rounds and the once beaten Yoshinobu Kakinaga (3-1, 1) scored his first stoppage by defeating Shogo Shigyo (1-5-1), also in the second round. (Image, of Iwasa and Wassar, courtesy of boxingnews.jp) This past Friday was an amazing day of boxing in Asia with a number of major cards through Asia and a lot of very notable bouts. Tokyo, Japan Although there was 3 notable cards today there was only 1 standout card, the Ohashi promoted "The Fight" card in Tokyo. The card not only had the best fights on it but also the best prospects. The show, which had several televised bouts, began off TV with a number of bouts of varying levels. The least significant bout on the show saw Kazuki Sanpei (3-2, 1) score his first stoppage with a 2nd round TKO over fellow unknown novice Genji Ishida (1-4). The bout really was a preliminary bout but it was the only contest on the card that didn't excite us in one way or another. The first of the 5 significant bouts on the show saw Takuma Inoue (3-0, 1) score his first stoppage as he beat Thai debutant Chanachai Sor Siamchai (0-1) in 2 rounds. The contest was by far the easiest of Takuma's young career though it was still an impressive performance by the 18 year old who is tipped to go a very long way in the sport. It's a shame this bout was such a huge step backwards from his last fight, an 8 round decision win over Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr, though it seems likely that Inoue will take a big step up in his next bout with a possible title fight looming. Following Takuma Inoue's win fans then saw the highly touted Ryo Matsumoto (12-0, 10) blow away Thai veteran Denkaosan Kaovichit (63-5-1, 26). Kaovichit, a former Flyweight world champion and an interim world champion at Super Flyweight, was supposed to be a good test for Matsumoto though the touted Japanese fighter dropped the Thai in the opening round and then crumpled him in round 2 with a devastating body shot. After the fight it was strongly hinted that Matsumoto would be challenging for the Japanese Super Flyweight title currently held be fellow unbeaten prospect Sho Ishida. The first televised bout, at least in Japan, was a Middleweight contest between Olympic champion Ryota Murata (5-0, 4) and Mexico's Adrian Luna Flores (17-3-1, 11). The bout saw Murata score a clear 10 round decision over his Mexican foe though look less than impressive with serious questions be asked about his stamina late in the contest. The Mexican looked ready to go in round 10 though Murata was out of gas and had to coast the final round. The official cards were all in favour of Murata, 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92 though it's clear that he has a lot more work to do before stepping up to world level. After just 5 fights however no one will begrudge Murata more developmental fights. Murata's bout was followed, at the venue and on Japanese TV, by the first of two world title fights. This contest saw Japanese star Naoya Inoue (7-0, 6) in action defending his WBC Light Flyweight title against Thailand's limited but tough Samartlek Kokietgym (17-5, 5). Inoue was in control through out the bout though he looked more flawed than he had in his previous 6 bouts. Fighting with the intention of putting on a show Inoue neglected his defensive duties more often than not as he loaded up with big shots, devastating combinations and some very eye catching offence. At the end of the day however it was a clear case of Inoue trying to entertain the fans and post-fight he admitted that it was a "garbage fight", an honest admission from a young fighter who is chasing genuine greatness. Whilst it was a poor bout it was Inoue's final one at 108lbs and he's now going to be moving to Flyweight where bouts against Juan Francisco Estrada and Amnat Ruenroeng were both mooted. Another man who Inoue could fight is Roman Gonzalez (40-0, 34) who over-came Inoue's friend and stablemate Akira Yaegashi (20-4, 10) to claim the WBC Flyweight title in one of the best bouts of the year. The fight started slowly though quickly heated up with both Yaegashi and Gonzalez trading combinations through out the fight. Unfortunately for Yaegashi his warrior's mentality let him down in the end and he was eventually stopped after being dropped for the second time in the bout. Prior to the stoppage he had began to look exhausted and it was clear that he wasn't going to last the course against arguably the #1 offensive fighter in the sport. Unlike many fighters these two showed respect to each other before and after the bout knowing that the fight sold it's self on paper and didn't need hyping. In the ring both were warriors and both gave their all, though for Yaegashi he was simply up against a better warrior with bigger weapons. Nonthaburi, Thailand In Thailand fans got the chance to see a low profile show headlined by the very promising Teerachai Kratingdaenggym (27-0, 21) who retained his PABA Welterweight "super" title once again. Teerachai became the first fighter to stop Filipino Nelson Gulpe (8-3, 3) who has now lost 3 successive bouts though never has been bossed around as he was here. Sadly it's a shame that Teerachai still isn't stepping up when he has the potential to be so much more than he is showing. We understand there is a lack of Welterweights in the Orient though he needs to find someone better than Gulpe to fight next time out. Another prospect ready to step up is Eaktawan Mor Krungthepthonburi (5-0, 4) who continued his winning run with an easy stoppage over Indonesian visitor Gaspar Ampolo (2-25-2, 1). Eaktawan didn't look great but didn't really struggle struggle. Like Naoya Inoue however it seemed that Eaktawan ignored his defensive responsiblities in the aim of entertaining fans. A third bout on this show saw Inthanon Sithchamuang (23-7, 13) defeat the always game Indonesian journeyman Heri Amol (34-19-4, 14). Unfortunately for Amol this was his 5th straight loss and comes just a month after he was defeated by Japanese debutant Ken Shiro. Dubai In Dubai fans saw the international debut of ALA who took their "Pinoy Pride" shows on the road for the first time and saw their trio of fighters all come back with victories. The first of those Filipino's to notch up a victory was the popular Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista (36-3, 25) who took a 7th round technical decision over Juan Jose Martinez (19-2, 15). The fight was entertaining with both men loking for the knockout and although Bautista did score a knockdown in round 5 he was badly cut from a punch. The fight however came when the cut was worsened by a headclash that left the doctor with no decision but to take the fighters to the cards early where Bautista took a majority decision for the win. One of the two co-features saw the unbeaten Arthur Villanueva (26-0, 14) claim the IBF International Super Flyweight title with a very narrow split decision win over the heavy handed Henry Maldonado (19-4, 14). The bout, refereed by British veteran Mickey Vann, saw an amazing second round which featured a knockdown against Villanueva though again saw many questioning Villanueava's world class potential. On the back of this fight and Villanueva's narrow win over Fernando Aguilar we're starting to think that he's either not as good as advertised or really struggling at Super Flyweight. Whatever it is, something is going to stop "King Arthur" from reaching the heady heights expected of him. In the other co-feature we saw the ultra-talented Genesis Servania (25-0, 11) successfully retain WBO Inter-Continental Bantamweight title with a retirement victory over Jose Cabrera (22-5-2, 10). Cabrera had been dominated through out the early portion of the fight and had been dropped in round 2 and battered in rounds 3 and 4 though the bout swung in round 5 and Servania became hesitant after feeling the power of his Mexican foe. From round 8 the bout swung back in favour of the Filipino and Cabrera was eventually pulled between rounds 9 and 10 to give a relatively disappointing ending to the contest. Prior to the bouts with the Filipino star trio there was a trio of under-card bouts. One of these saw another Filipino, Larry Abarra (3-2-1, 2), take a decision victory over Thailand's limited Chatpayak Sithkopon Nuengkawkawhok (2-8, 1). Another of the undercard bouts saw Dubai based Ugandan Deo Kizito (1-0) take a very narrow decision win over the previously unbeaten Anusher Abdullaev (4-1, 4). The remaining bout was a 1-sided beat down as Mohammad Akram (2-0-1, 1) dominated Thailand's Kong Windy Sports (1-6) to record a 2nd round victory. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso Another title fight took place in Burkina Faso as Filipino Silvester Lopez (22-8-2, 16) attempted to claim the WBC International Super Bantamweight title. Sadly for Lopez he suffered a wide loss to Alexis Boureima Kabore (23-1, 6). Lopez, now fighting way above the division that he first made his name, really is too small for Super Bantamweight and should be looking to move back down to Bantamweight, at the highest. Of course however he'll fight where opportunities arise. Lombardia, Italy In Italy fans saw the return to the ring of Japanese born European based Aniya Seki (25-3-2, 2) who took a decision over journey-woman Claudia Ferenci (8-36-5, 3). This was Seki's first bout following her stoppage loss to Judith Rodriguez a few months back and although Seki won here few will feel she will be a world champion before she calls it quits on a long career. (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp) |
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