This past Friday was a hectic day with action in Thailand, Japan, Dubai and Asian fighters fighting in Australia. Ratchaburi, Thailand The most significant card of the day was in Thailand where we got the only world title bout of the day. The show, like many in Thailand, began with a single preliminary bout. This saw WBO Asia Pacific Featherweight champion Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo (56-2, 37) score a 6th round TKO win over Indonesian visitor Boido Simanjuntak (18-29-1, 7). It seemed clear from the opening bell that Chonlatarn was too good for the Indonesian who showed some guts but was eventually ground down in the 6th round. Whilst this was an expected win for the former 2-time world title challenger the result was rather disappointing given that Super Flyweight contender Srisaket Sor Rungvisai stopped Simanjuntak in in just as many rounds a year ago. The main event was the aforementioned world title bout. The contest was for the WBO Bantamweight title and saw Pungluang Sor Singyu (51-3, 35) become a 2-time champion as he stopped Japan's Ryo Akaho (26-2-2, 18). On paper it looked a really good bout but unfortunately Akaho was never really able to get into it before being stopped in the second round. There were complaints about infringements from Pungluang but it seemed like Akaho had lost the bout before a punch was even thrown. Amazingly this continues the terrible run that Japanese fighters have had in world title fights in Thailand. Another notable name on this card was “Manny Pacquiao Look-a-like” Kwanpichit OnesongchaiGym (32-1-2, 17) who defeated journeyman Thaminkhao Sor Tharnthip (4-14-1, 3) by stoppage early in their bout. Kwanpichit, who lost to Zou Shiming last year, is now 5-0 (5) since his loss to the Chinese star. The undercard here featured two prospects. One of those was Saentanong Onesongchaigym (7-0, 3) who continued his perfect start by over-coming Teeradech Sor Praithong (0-1). On paper Saentanong looks like a genuine prospect but sadly digging below the numbers shows that all 7 recorded bouts have come against debutants. The other prospect was Thewa Onesongchaigym (10-2, 5) who scored a stoppage win against Saksiam Or Sompote (0-1). Although Thewa has a couple of losses on his record he is on a 5 fight winning run and has seemingly put back-to-back defeats to Xian Wei Qian well behind him. Dubai, United Arab Emirates Whilst the most significant single bout was in Thailand it's fair to say that some of the most notable fighters were actually in Dubai as part of an ALA promotions show. The main event of the evening saw the fast rising Albert Pagara (24-0, 17) make very light work of Mexico's Jesus Rios (31-8-1, 25). Rios, who had failed to make weight for the bout, had talked a good fight in the build up but lasted less than a round with the talented Pagara who really does look like one of the sports top prospects. Albert wasn't the only Pagara in action as older brother Jason Pagara (36-2, 22) managed to take a technical decision win against Ramiro Alcaraz (15-5-1, 9). Pagara, who is world ranked at 140lbs by the WBO, really isn't up to the same level as his younger brother though will likely more attention when ALA make their promotional debut in the US. A third main bout on this card resulted in an 8 round decision win for veteran Jimrex Jaca (40-8-4, 22) who out pointed Pablo Lugo Montiel (21-6, 17) in a relatively competitive bout. This card also had 4 bouts on the under-card. One of those saw Larry Abarra (4-3-1, 3) score a stoppage against the fragile Tony Arema (3-7-1), who has now been stopped in 5 of his losses. Another stoppage on this card saw the promising Deo Krizito (2-0, 1) take out Thailand's Fapetch Manopchaigym (1-1). The only other stoppage on this undercard saw the debuting Lasisi Bamidel (1-0, 1) defeat Singnoi Simanasak (1-2). In a bout that went the distance Muhammad Akram (4-0-1, 1) out pointed Nicholas Mwangi (0-1). Tokyo, Japan The Thai show was probably the one with the highest profile single bout and the show in Dubai was probably the strongest in terms of over-all name appeal. It was however a show in Japan that left a lasing impression, despite it being a flop for the promoter who saw only one of their 7 fighters pick up a win. The one fighter to win from the promoter who put the show on was Hikaru Nishida (13-8-1, 5) who stopped former world title challenger Makoto Fuchigami (21-11, 12) in the 5th round of their bout. The contest was a rematch of their 2014 bout, which saw Nishida claim a narrow win. For 3 rounds it seemed like Fuchigami was going to avenge his loss as he boxed beautifully against a strong and determined, but basic, Naishida. In round 4 however Nishida began to turn the tide before forcing the referee to save Fuchigami in round 5, ending what was a Round of the Year contender. The Nishida/Fushigami rematch was the co-main bout along with a brilliant Super Bantamweight bout between Yasutaka Ishimoto (26-8, 7) and Gakuya Furuhashi (17-6-1, 7). Whilst the the other main bout was a 5 round round war this one was a tactically sharp, high octane boxing contest with both men throwing a lot of leather in a brilliant, competitive and genuinely enthralling contest. The result was a close win for Ishimoto, who took the decision despite being deducted a point for holding in the penultimate round. The two main bouts were both streamed on a ustream channel along with one of the under-card bouts. That under-card bout saw the much talked about Kohei Kashino (2-1, 1) suffer his first defeat at the hands of the under-rated Hizuki Saso (5-1, 1). Saso took over this bout in round 3 before stopping a tired Kashino in the 4th round of their Rookie of the Year bout. Another much talked about fighter being stopped here was Riyako Goshi (3-4) who was stopped in round 3 by Chie Higano (4-3, 1). Goshi has been popular due to her out of the ring activities and her unusual ring outfits but the attention she got was massively more than her talent deserved. Kashino wasn't the only fighter to lose his unbeaten record here as stablemate Yui Oikawa (2-1) also suffered his first defeat. Oikawa was relatively unfortunate to lose a very close majority decision to Sho Nagata (5-1, 2), who advanced to the next round in the Rookie of the Year. Another bout with novices saw teenager Taiju Shitatori (2-0, 1) out point Ryo Nakano (1-3) whilst a 6 rounder saw Masayuki Ichikawa (6-2, 2) take a wide decision win over Masayuki Sakurai (3-9-2). Victoria, Australia In Australia we saw two title bouts featuring Asian fighters. The more significant of those two bouts saw Czar Amonsot (29-3-3, 17) retain his PABA Light Welterweight title as he took a 4th round technical decision win over Rusmin Kie Raha (14-8-2, 3). Amonsot, a Filipino based in Australia, managed to add the lightly regarded WBA Pan African title to his collection, though we do wonder how a Filipino and an Indonesian qualify to fight for an African belt. The other bout saw another Australian based Filipino in action, sadly however Roberto Lerio (16-22-1, 6) couldn't match the result of Amonsot. Instead Lerio was on the end of a clear decision loss to the unbeaten Ibrahim Balla (8-0, 5), who claimed the Australian Super Bantamweight title with this win.
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The weekend is just around the corner but we've already seen several notable fights on a Thursday that was packed with fighters worth giving plenty of attention to. In fact in Japan there was 3 national title bouts whilst in the US fans had the chance to see a former world title challenger continue his ascent back to the top. Tokyo, Japan In the Japan the card began with a pair of intriguing non-title bouts before a trio of bouts for belts. Although it's fair to say it was the title action that got the attention the under-card was certainly not something that could have been ignored. One of the under-card bouts saw recent Japanese Flyweight title challenger Yusuke Sakashita (13-5-2, 8) score a 6th round TKO against the tough but very limited Yasuhiro Sakurai (7-19). Sakashita, who was last seen being stopped by Suguru Muranaka, was too good for Sakurai and it showed here in what was, essentially, a comeback fight for Sakashita. The other under-card bout saw former Japanese Featherweight title contender Yuki Ogata (21-1-1, 3) take a clear decision win over Kentaro Yamada (8-6-1, 6). Ogata had narrowly beaten Yamada last year with a split decision last year but this time he was a clear winner with no doubting the result. The first of the title bouts saw Yukinori Oguni (14-1-1, 4) successfully retain his Japanese Super Bantamweight title with a 10 majority draw against Gakuya Furuhashi (17-5-1, 7). This was Oguni's first defense since winning the belt late last year with a narrow decision victory against Yasutaka Ishimoto and although it's a successful defense it's clear Oguni is a long way from being ready to move up a level. For Furuhashi it's clear that he'll feel he deserves a rematch even if he's not likely to get one any time soon. The second title bout saw Kota Tokunaga (15-2, 10) claim the biggest win of his career as he stopped Yuya Sugizaki (20-10-1, 6) in the 8th round of their bout and claimed the Japanese Lightweight title. Toklunaga was narrowly behind at the half way mark but turned the screw from round 6 and eventually forced the referee to save Sugizaki. Impressive for Tokunaga's gym, WOZ Boxing, this is their second title win in the space of a few weeks following Shohei Omori's excellent victory over Kentaro Masuda for the Japanese Bantamweight title. Notably this title was vacated by Yoshitaka Kato, a stable mate of Sugizaki's. In the main event fans saw Japanese Heavyweight champion Kyotaro Fujimoto (12-1, 6) narrowly retain his title with a split decision win over Nobuhiro Ishida (27-11-2, 11). This bout was nip and tuck through out and whilst it wasn't a classic it was compelling with neither man really knowing if they'd done enough to deserve the win and title. Sadly following the bout it's been revealed that Ishida is now likely to retire from the sport and wave good bye to what has been a genuinely memorable career. California, USA In the US fans saw the popular and exciting Mercito Gesta (28-1-2, 16) fight to a split decision draw with Carlos Molina (17-2-2, 7) in a solid fight that was genuinely entertaining. Going in Gesta did look under-sized and, especially early on, seemed to struggle but he found his range and rhythm in the middle rounds to get a well deserved draw. The only issue with the bout was the appalling 98-92 score card in favour of Molina from judge Eddie Hernandez, a genuinely shocking card for such a close and well contested bout. (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp) Tokyo, Japan On Tuesday in Japan fans at the Korakuen Hall had the opportunity to see a Kaneko boxing show. The show wasn't a big one but was still on paper with a few decent names on it. The most notable name on the card was Gakuya Furuhashi (17-5, 7) who, earlier this year, was scheduled to fight Hidenori Otake in a Japanese Super Bantamweight title fight. Sadly prior to that contest Otake was injured and Furuhashi saw his opportunity fade away. Sadly for Thai novice Worawut Or Spojgym (0-1) he appears to have taken the brunt of Furuhashi's disappointment as he was taken out inside a round and left in agony around the mid section. After the fight Furuhashi announced that his attention was back on to the Japanese Super Bantamweight title, and he will certainly be interested in the upcoming bout between Yukinori Oguni and Yasutaka Ishimoto who battle for the now vacant belt on December 6th. As for Otake, we're sure you're all aware that he fights this coming Saturday in WBA world title bout with the unbeaten Scott Quigg. In the main support bout fans actually did get a competitive contest as Yusuke Konno (8-2, 3) was pushed hard by Shusaku Fujinaka (10-5-2, 6). The scorecards may not full reflect how close the bout was but Konno certainly got a great work out in this one. The rest of the bouts on the card were all 4 rounders. These included a majority draw between Makoto Iitsuka (1-1-1, 1) and Koji Okubo (2-1-2), this was the only one of the 5 under-card bouts that actually went the scheduled distance. In a female bout the debuting Jun Yabuki (1-0, 1) stopped fellow debutant Chiaki Takagi (0-1) in the second round of their bout in what was one of two second round stoppages, along with that of Atsushi Kudo (3-3-2, 2) who defeated Ryota Harukawa (3-4, 2). The other bout went into round 3 with the more interesting of those seeing the unbeaten Noko Takagi (3-0, 2) scoring a win over Teppei Tsukamoto (2-5), the other saw Tatsuhiro Toguchi (1-1, 1) stopping Kenji Suzuki (0-7-1). (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp) |
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