Igarashi and Shimoda pick up wins in Japan, Yordan claims a close one, Sonsona fortunate in the US6/7/2015 This post Saturday was a hectic one for Asian fight fans who seemed to have action everywhere they looked. Tokyo, Japan For Asian fight fans the most notable show of the day was in Tokyo where two former world champions were in action. The most notable of those former world champions was former WBC Flyweight champion Toshiyuki Igarashi (21-2-1, 11) who took a very hard earned win over talented Filipino Renerio Arizala (12-2-1, 5). Igarashi was forced to work incredibly hard for this win, despite the fact Arizala took on the bout on just 3 weeks notice. Sadly for Igarashi the win seemed to prove that he was miles away from being at world level as a Super Flyweight and it seems clear he shouldn't be looking at a world title bout any time soon. The other former world champion was former WBA Super Bantamweight champion Akifumi Shimoda (29-4-2, 12) who out pointed former Japanese Featherweight title challenger Gosuke Seki (16-2-2, 3). For Shimoda this was his first fight in 16 months, following his spectacular KO loss to Marvin Sonsona, and whilst it was a win it's hard to imagine him ever mixing at the top level again. In the chief supporting bout fans saw the heavy handed Kenichi Ogawa (15-1, 13) score a 6th round KO against Raymond Sermona (17-6-5, 8). Sadly for Sermona this was a second successive stoppage loss and it's hard to see where he goes. As for Ogawa he's now in the mix for a domestic title fight at Super Featherweight. Another big puncher in action was Yuichi Yokoyama (15-3, 13) who was surprisingly taken the 8 round distance by Genki Horiuchi (5-2-3, 3). Another 8 round bout saw Musashi Suzuki (11-3, 4) take a technical decision over Hideyuki Watanabe (8-7-3, 6), in a bout that was taken the the cards in the 7th round. On the under-card the unbeaten Teppei Kayanuma (4-0, 2) extended his winning record with a decision win over Kanehiro Nakagawa (2-2, 2) whilst the hard hitting Masato Niikima (3-0, 3) continued his perfect start with a 3rd round KO against Fumihiro Ijima (4-3). Surabaya, Indonesia In Indonesia fans had a treat as two of the best local fighters were in action. Of the two notable Indonesian fighters in action it was Daud Yordan (34-3-0-1, 24) who stood out as he took a very hard earned victory over the tough Maxwell Awuku (40-3-1, 26). Yordan, a former world title challenger, was pushed all the way by his foe from Ghana but a did just enough to convince the judges hat he deserved the decision. With the win Yordan claimed the WBO Africa Lightweight title, some how, and added that belt to his WBO interim Asia Pacific Lightweight belt. The other Indonesian in action was the heavy handed Defry Palulu (12-1, 11) who easily saw off Kaenpetch Manonprungroj (4-4, 2) in the 3rd round. This was Kaenpetch's third stoppage loss and his third straight defeat. Cebu, Philippines In Cebu fans saw the unbeaten Arjan Canillas (11-0-2, 9) continue his unbeaten run as he scored a 5th round KO against former world title challenger Balweg Bangoyan (19-10, 8). Sadly for Bangoyan he is a long way removed from the fighter who once challenged Toshiaki Nishioka for the WBC Super Bantamweight title. Macao, Macao Fight fans in the growing Asian hub of Macau also got a show. This wasn't as big or as interesting as the Bob Arum shows in the area but did feature some title action and some interesting fighters. In the only 12 round bout fans saw Filipino hopeful Michael Enriquez (11-3-1, 7) score a 5th round TKO against Indonesian Oscar Raknafa (12-10, 5), who's career has totally fallen apart since his loss to Heri Amol back in July 2013. This was Enriquez's first bout since he was involved in a war with Rex Tso earlier this year and it's fair to say that he's going to be a fun fighter to follow. In a bout at Super Middleweight fans saw China's Liu Yu (0-2) fail to claim the IBF Youth title as he was stopped in the 9th round by Andrey Kalyuzhnyy (8-1, 6). We're not sure how the IBF sanctioned Yu to fight for the belt considering his record. Another title bout saw Filipino veteran Jujeath Nagaowa (13-15-1, 8) claim the WIBA International Light Flyweight title with a decision over Luo Yu Jie (3-7, 1). In an interesting 6 rounder Estoni Autida (8-3, 3) took a decision over Wang Xinghua (11-11-1). Technically this bout was a “majority” decision but with two judges scoring it 59-55 to Autida it's hard to believe this was really a close bout. In an all debutant bout Wang Jian Zheng (1-0, 1) took a 5th round TKO win against Sagidolla Muhamethali (0-1), in a bout scheduled for 6. Another all debutant match up saw Ye Rong Cheng (1-0) take a well fought 4 round decision against Anthony Waldon (0-1). One other debutant who picked up a loss was Li Le Shan (0-1) who was narrowly out pointed by Gabriel Royo (11-12-2, 8). Gauteng, South Africa South African fans got one of the highlights of the weekend as Kazakh prospect Roman Zhailauov (15-0, 9) scored a highlight reel KO against Luyanda Jako (9-10-2, 4). Zhailauov is tipped by some as the future of Kazakh boxing and his KO here showed just how under-rated his power is. Frightening KO and a genuine highlight of he weekend. California, USA The most notable Asian fighter in action in the US was former world champion Marvin Sonsona (20-1-1, 15) who narrowly over-came the under-rated Jonathan Arrellano (15-6-2, 3). On paper this looked like a mismatch but Arrellano gave his all and may well feel unlucky not to have had a draw, at the very least. New York, USA In New York fans saw Chinese Heavyweight hopeful Zhang Zhilei (4-0, 2) continue his perfect record as he dominated Glenn Thomas (1-4). The scorecards, all of which read 40-33, summed up just how one-sided the bout was. Zhilei, who may have been disappointed not to have scored the stoppage, now needs to take a step up in class rather than wasting time fighting at this level. Virginia, USA In Virginia fans saw Uzbek born prospect Zarifbek Nishanbaev (2-0, 2) score his second early victory as he saw off Norman Allen (6-15, 3) in the 3rd round of their bout. (Image courtesy of boxingews.jp)
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Tokyo, Japan Earlier today Japanese fans got a treat thanks to Ichiriki promotions who put on “Fighting Bee Vol 10” from the Korakuen Hall. The card wasn't a blockbuster card of international names and thrilling contests but was as good a domestic card as you are likely to see anywhere on the planet. It featured everything from former world title challengers to hungry young prospects, from former national champions to veterans looking to recapture some former glory. The card began with it's weakest contest. A 6 rounder between Tatsuya Otsubo (6-6-1, 3) and Yudai Tamagawa (6-6-1, 2). On paper it was was almost perfectly matched and it showed at Otsubo narrowly took home the win with a competitive unanimous decision. Whilst it was a “weak bout” in some ways it was the sort of competitive bout that you can't help but love and beats the typical prospect Vs loser that we see all too often in the west. A bout that ended up being well matched bout saw Tonko Nakagawa (12-6-2, 4) take an 8 round majority decision win over Ryuta Wakamatsu (10-11, 7). This was a third meeting between the two men and for the first time Wakamatsu managed to see out the schedule. Strangely upon entering all 3 bouts Wakamatsu had even records reading 4-4, 6-6 and now 10-10. For Nakagawa this was his first win in over 18 months, which may explain why he was matched with his old foe. The one bout that always looked like a mismatch ended the way many would have suspected as Yudai Arai (6-1-3, 3) easily over-came the limited but tough Yasuhiro Sakurai (7-18) with a very clear decision win. For us the most impressive result was scored by the hotly tipped Hikaru Marugame (3-0, 2) who made surprisingly easy work of the usually durable Ryoji Okahata (9-10-5, 1). Okahata had been stopped once in his previous 23 bouts, a 6th round TKO to Shingo Wake, though was no match for Marugame who took him out in just 2 rounds and sent out a real statement of intent. Aged 25 Marugame may well be amongst the best “hidden gems” in world boxing though this was his first fight in 13 months and hopefully they'll be no more long breaks like that. Marugame's stablemate Naoto Uebayashi (7-0-1, 4) scored the best win of his career as he clearly beat former world title challenger Oscar Blanquet (32-9-1, 23). Sadly whilst this looked great on paper it really was a case of Uebayashi being much too big for Blanquet. Uebayashi is a natural Bantamweight, though he has tested the waters at Super Bantamweight, whilst Blanquet is best known as a Flyweight, where he fought Akira Yaegashi and Roman Gonzalez, and that size difference really told in the end, despite Blanquet proving his toughness here and climbing off the canvas in round 7 In the chief support bout fans saw the return to the ring of Gosuke Seki (16-1-2, 3) who was fighting for the first time since he failed in a Japanese Featherweight title tilt to Satoshi Hosono back in June. Seki managed to bounce back with a win as he over-came the under-rated Yuta Nagai (28-11-4, 19) with a 5th round technical decision though things were close prior to the bout being stopped. Prior to the stoppage both men were bleeding and the cuts were getting worse. The main event ended with a genuine unset as the unheralded Tomoya Yamada (12-5, 3) managed to take a split decision over former Japanese Lightweight champion Akihiro Kondo (20-5-1, 9). Tomoya, a former Rookie of the Year winner, was dropped in round 4 though gritted his teeth and engaged in a war with Kondo to take a razor thin split decision. The win was Yamada's first in more than 3 years. Sadly for Kondo it was his second loss in 3 bouts and he may well be considering his future. Cebu, Philippines In the Philippines ALA put on a small 5 fight card that would have gone below the radar were it not for the fact that 8 of the 10 men involved were unbeaten going into the show. One of those bouts saw Jeffrey Concerman (2-0, 1) scoring his first stoppage as he over-came Adrian Paul Varona (0-1-1) in the 3rd round in a bout scheduled for 4 rounds. Notable the other two 4 round bouts both ended in draws with Ricardo Sueno (1-0-1, 1) fighting a level bout with Kenneth Neron (1-0-1) and Archie Moyani (1-0-1, 1) was unable to over-come Ronnie Campus (1-0-1, 1). As well as the 4 rounders the fans also got a pair of 6 round bouts. One of those ended in a small shock Rafael Sueno (3-1, 3) scored an opening round blow out against the previously unbeaten Robert Ates (3-1, 2). The remaining bout saw Peter Apolinar (4-0, 4) over-come the win-less Takaoki Noma (0-4-1), who was stopped in the 6th round. Eastern Cape, South Africa In South Africa fans saw Filipino fighter Roli Gasca (22-7-1, 6) come up controversially short against the heavy handed Lusanda Komanisi (18-3, 16) in a bout for the IBO Featherweight title. From the reports we've been sent Gasca was on the bad end of a poor decision that was similar to the recent Mauricio Herrera/Jose Benavidez one where by a light punching fighter seems to have been punished for not having KO power despite outlanding and out skilling his heavy handed foe. (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp, from the Uebayashi Vs Blanquet fight) |
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