Bangkok, Thailand
The most notable of the day's action, for us, was in Thailand where Mono29 aired an interesting card. The main event was a highly anticipated bout that saw IBF Flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng (16-0, 5) successfully defending his title against explosive Filipino Johnriel Casimero (21-3, 13). On paper this was a fantastic match up but sadly it resulted in a foulfest with referee Larry Doggett acting as an enabler for Amnat's dirty style. There was no real doubting the winner but the bout really was badly marred by the poor officiating which did next to nothing to force “boxing” action and instead the bout resembled a street fight at times. Amnat wasn't the only “older fighter” in action in Thailand as 35 year old Manus Boonjumnong (1-0) made his professional debut. The Thai, who appeared to be fat as a well as old, was a 2004 Olympic champion who showed real touches of class as he dominated Indonesian veteran Jamed Jalarante (23-19-1, 11) in a very 1-sided 4 round bout. Manus, despite his age, still has speed but we do suspect it'll be too little too late for him to have a serious career. The televised portion of this card saw Atchariya Virotesunobon (4-0, 1) show traits of being a really exciting prospect as he easily out pointed Indonesia's Stevi Ongen Ferdinandus (16-9-1, 8) over 10 rounds. The unbeaten man really did look classy at times with a great variety of shots, lovely movement and an exciting ability to throw combinations, though we do wonder about his power at this early stage of his career. In a bout not shown on Mono29 former world title challenger Denver Cuello (36-5-6, 24) made light work of Boy Tanto (9-17, 1), who was stopped in the 5th round. The bout was a stay busy contest for the Filipino slugger who is now expected to return to Thailand to fight Wanheng Menayothin in December in a WBC world title fight. Metro Manila, Philippines In the Philippines fans got a small show in Metro Manila. It wasn't a big one but there title action and a couple of competitive under-card bouts. The title bout saw Japanese puncher Toshi Makoto Aoki (20-12-1, 17) retain his WBC Asian Boxing Council Lightweight title with a 3rd round victory over limited Indonesian Eddy Comaro (32-24-5, 13), who was stopped for the 10th time in his career. Coming into the bout Comaro had won his last 3 but the big punching Aoki was simply too strong from the off. On the under-card there was a couple of draws. One of those saw the unbeaten Prabhjot Singh (2-0-1, 2) fight to a 6 round majority draw with Jeffrey Garcia (1-3-1, 1). The other draw saw Jerwin Mejes (2-1-1, 2) fight an even bout with Jerwin Dela Rosa (2-5-1). Queensland, Australia There was interesting action involving Asian fighters in Australia where we had several Asian fighters in action, including an all-Asian bout and a genuine upset. The all Asian bout saw Aussie based Filipino Jack Asis (34-18-5, 18) continue his Cinderella man story with a split decision win over Indonesian visitor Hero Tito (10-7-1, 3). The bout, an 8 round contest, saw Asis taking a split decision win in a less than inspiring performance, though one that saw him extend his current unbeaten record to 14 bouts (13-0-1). The upset of the card saw China's Xu Chan (6-2) claim the WBA Oceania Light Welterweight title with a unanimous decision victory over the previously unbeaten Kris George (7-1, 5). Chan went into the bout as the clear under-dog though put on an inspiring performance to claim the biggest win of his career so far. The other Asian on this card was Wang Xinghua (11-12-1) who lost a competitive decision to Will Young (5-4, 2).
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One of the busiest days so far this for us came this Saturday with great action across Asia. Macao, China The major action of the day came from Macau where we really got a bit of everything. There was nothing lacking in a show that will have gone over-looked by many fans who really did miss out in some ways. The headline bout was supposed to be the fairy tale for Chinese boxing as their Olympic hero was supposed to become a professional boxing icon. In the end however is was a disaster as Zou Shiming (6-1, 1) failed to do much of anything against the relaxed, accurate and frustrating Amnat Ruenroeng (15-0, 5). Ruenroeng, defending his IBF Flyweight title for the 3rd time, hardly got out of first gear as he made Shiming look like a novice. The jab of Ruenroeng was effectively the key punch of the fight however it was the footwork of Ruenroeng that made Shiming look terrible, embarrassing in fact. This is the end of the Shiming hype, though we hope it's not the end of the Macau shows which have delivered action on a regular basis. Talking about action the show had a brilliant 4 rounds as the upset minded Paul Valenzuela (3-2-1, 2) managed to take a split decision over China's previously unbeaten Zhou Yun Fei (4-1, 1). The bout lacked skill but also lacked defense, with the commentary team joking about it being banned, which made for a really exciting 4 round war. The deciding fact was an opening round knockdown by the visiting Mexican. Another action packed bout saw Macau's very own Kuok Kun Ng (7-0, 3) score a 3rd round KO against Chingchai Kiatpracha (7-3, 3). Ng hit the canvas in the opening round but came back well to drop Chingchai twice in the 3rd round, with the Thai staying down after the second knockdown. This was short but sweet and highly entertaining. Another entertaining affair saw the Heavy handed Ik Yang (19-0-0-1, 14) put on a memorable bout against Thailand's Patomsuk Pathompothong (29-3-1, 18). The bout, an IBF Light Welterweight eliminator and Pan Pacific title bout, saw Yang start well before slowing down and taking a few rights hands from the Thai which cut him. Despite being cut Yang put on a show with show boating and a destructive finish that left the Thai needing to be saved by the referee. In terms of action however one fight stood out. That was the insanely fun Super Flyweight bout between Hong Kong's Rex Tso (16-0, 9) and gutsy Filipino Michael Enriquez (10-3-1, 6). Tso, who recently signed a professional deal with Top Rank, fought with pressure on his shoulders, a smile on his face and action through his veins as the two traded shots, round after round. The bout was an action war sadly decided by a knock down early on by Tso who again showed his excitement fact and flaws. The win saw the “Wonder Kid” claim the WBA International Super Flyweight title and although the aim is to get him a world title fight later in the year, he simply isn't yet ready for a bout at that level. One man who really did impress was Filipino puncher Aston Palicte (17-1, 15) who forced a mercy stoppage of gutsy Mexican Ismael Garnica (13-6-1, 5). Garnica looked out-sized and out powered but gave his best for 6 rounds before being stopped in the 7th by a man we want to see a lot more of. This was the 7th successive stoppage win for Palicte who holds a very notable blow out win against Gerpaul Valero. We'd suggest watching out for this kid as he is exciting. Sadly not all the bouts were exciting. One of the worse was the 106 blow out win by Jose Felix Jr (29-1-1, 24) who easily saw off the over-matched Raymond Sermona (17-5-5, 8) in a massive mismatch. Sermona landed little of note before being dropped and taking the full count. Another mismatch saw popular American Glen Tapia (23-1, 15) score a 3rd round TKO over Australian Daniel Dawson (40-5-1, 26), who has now suffered back-to-back losses. Tokyo, Japan Whilst the biggest action was in China there was notable action across Asia with title action in Japan where two national champions retained their belts, albeit in very different manners, and fans also got a bit of everything on the undercard. The most impressive performance on the card came in the main event as the heavy handed Hiroki Okada (10-0, 8) retained his Japanese Light Welterweight title with a 3rd round TKO victory against Hayato Hokazono (18-5-1, 11). Okada looked on fire from the opening bell and was ultra-aggressive with sharp, fast and accurate shots that quickly took their toll on the challenger who was bloodied earlier on. The blood however wasn't the end for Hokazono who was dropped hard in the 3rd and failed to recover to his feet in an orderly manner. The other title defense was less certain as Suyon Takayama (22-1, 7) narrowly over-came a spirited effort from Nobuyuki Shindo (16-3, 6) and retained the Japanese Welterweight title. Takayama was dropped hard in the opening round, cut early on and behind at the half way mark before fighting back hard to take a clear but close decision over Shindo. Unfortunately for Shindo this was his second loss to Takayama however he did give a credible performance in a bout that broke down into be a stinker after his good start. In a bloody contest Hisao Narita (9-1, 4) took a split decision over Yusuke Konno (8-2, 3) in a very competitive match up. In a minor shock Takumi Takahashi (7-4-1, 2) scored a 2nd round TKO over Yukinori Hisanaga (16-6-2, 9) as Takahashi resurrected his faltering career. The 33 year old victor had suggested he was going to return if he lost but this performance seems to show there is life left in his career. Sadly for Hisanaga, who came up short in a Japanese title bout in 2013, this was a painful loss and his first stoppage loss. Popular puncher Shuhei Tsuchiya (17-3, 15) bounced back from his loss to Ricky Sismundo last year in style as he destroyed Thailand's Singphayak Kokietgym (6-6-1, 5). Singphayak, fighting under the name “John Ford” has now been stopped in 3 straight. One other bout from this card saw Hideaki Yamaji (5-7, 2) score an upset win over Masayuki Ichikawa (5-2, 2) in a hard fought 6 round decision. Ichikawa had lost in the East Japan Rookie of the Year final last year and was expected to bounce back here. Unfortunately for him Yamaji was hungry for a win which was very well deserved. Bukidnon, Philippines In the Philippines ALA put on a small show of prospects. The most notable prospect in action was Jess Rhey Waminal (6-0, 4) who scored a 2nd round TKO against professional loser Rowel Garcia (6-17-3, 1). This was Garcia's 13 stoppage loss and his 4th in a row. We wonder what Garcia is really teaching a kid like Waminal who padded his record a little bit with a relatively pointless win against a man known as “Merciless”, we must admit we're unsure if that name was intentionally sarcastic. Another equally poor match up saw Gerard Suico (4-0, 3) blow away Sonny Boy Dasan (0-2) inside a round. This was Suico's 4th bout in as many months but the opposition so far has been pathetic for the promising 21 year old. Melvin Jerusalem (5-0, 4) was another man who scored an opening round stoppage as he stopped Rodante Suacasa (1-10-2, 1), who has now been stopped 5 times. Another opening round stoppage was scored by Michael Estrella (3-0, 1) who stopped Jessie Suacasa (3-5, 2). Another early win was scored by the hands of Mardie Muana (1-0, 1) who took 2 rounds to see off the win-less Sonny Basanez (0-4). In bouts that did go the distance fans saw Elmo Traya (8-1, 6) defeat Rodel Wenceslao (8-11-1, 2), who was fighting for the first time since he was stopped by Keita Obara, and Junder Gregorio (3-0) extend his winning run with a decision over Ronald Garcia (2-7). (http://www.boxeomundial.com) 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) Osaka, Japan The highlight of this boxing week was in Osaka as an Ioka promoted show attracted the attention of fans around the world courtesy of two world title fights, an OPBF title fight and one of the most out standing Japanese prospects. The aforementioned prospect was Sho Ishida (16-0, 9), the first of the notable fighters on the show. Ishida, one of most exciting Super Flyweight prospects, made light work of limited Thai foe Brukluk Kor Narong Service (0-1). Ishida may not be a major name, yet, but his potential is special and with his speed, skills, size and under-rated power it's going to take a very special fighter to stop his rise. Following Ishida's victory fans in the venue got to see the unbeaten OPBF Lightweight champion Masayoshi Nakatani (8-0, 5) defending his belt for the first time. The talented and rangy Nakatani was a clear winner as he out pointed a spirited challenger from Japanese based Filipino Ricky Sismundo (26-8-1, 12). We're surprised that Sismundo, who has been stopped in 4 of his previous losses, went the distance but a second successive 12 round distance fight for Nakatani will do him the world of good. Following those two bouts of note we then moved on to the first world title fight which saw IBF Minimumweight champion Katsunari Takayama (27-6-0-1, 10) defending his belt for the second time. Takayama, known as the "lightning kid", was given some issues from the straight lefts of challenger Shin Ono (17-6-2, 2) though was the busier, better and more effective champion, as shown when Takayama dropped Ono in rounds 10 and 12 to secure a clear decision victory over the game Ono. The second world title fight saw a genuine upset as Thailand's Amnat Ruenroeng (13-0, 5) successfully defended his IBF Flyweight title with a victory over the previously unbeaten 2-weight world champion Kazuto Ioka (14-1, 9). Ioka, attempting to become the quickest 3-weight world champion was unusually gun shy though the biggest talking point was the atrocious scorecard of Polish judge Pawel Kardyni, who some how managed to score the bout a shut out out to Ruenroeng leaving questions about whether or not he was even watching the action. Prior to the big bouts the card had 5 other bouts on it. The most notable of those saw Takahiro Yamamoto (13-3, 10) blasting out Thailand's Jakaratlek Sor Wankaew (0-2) in 3 rounds of a scheduled 8 rounder. In the sole 6 rounder Tomoya Itosu (5-2, 3) stopped Takeshi Nakayama (3-5-2, 1) in 2 rounds. The card opened with trio of 4 rounders. These saw Tesu Kanayama (1-0) scoring a decision victory on debut as he over-came Ryusuke Hosoki (3-5-1, 1), Takeru Kamikubo (2-0, 1) scoring his first stoppage victory as he stopped Takuya Sumiyoshi (0-4-1) in the second round and, in a female bout, Aiko Yamagishi (3-0-1, 1) stopped Tomomi Kida (1-1, 1) in 3 rounds. (Image, courtesy of boxingnews.jp, shows Takayama throwing a jab at Ono) |
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