This past Sunday was one of the busiest and most exciting this year, at least on paper. Sadly many of the bouts did leave us feeling under-whelmed though there was still more than enough to talk about. Macau In an impressive performance the exciting Filipino fighter Jerwin Ancajas (22-1-1, 14) scored an excellent stoppage win over the generally tough, and under-rated, Fadhili Majiha (15-6-4, 7). Going in to the bout Majiha had only been stopped once, by Vusi Malinga, and had given fighters like Pungluang Sor Singyu very good tests yet couldn't handle Ancajas who stopped him with a beautiful straight left in round 3. In an enjoyable encounter fans saw Hong Kong star Rex Tso (15-0, 9) take a very well fought decision over Indonesian visitor Espinos Sabu (11-3-1, 5). The fight was very enjoyable from the opening round to the final bell as Tso again added his reputation for excitement though it does seem clear that Tso is a very, very long way from a world title bout. For Sabu this was great exposure and we suspect we will see him in more notable bouts in Thailand or Japan in 2015 whilst for Tso it continued his development though it does seem like he's pretty much hit his peak and it's hard to see just where he really goes despite clearly beating Sabu. Following Tso's bout we then saw another local star in action as the very popular “Macau Kid” Kuok Kun Ng (6-0, 2) took a unanimous but painful decision over Steve Attard (5-1-2, 2). The bout started well for Ng who rocked Attard twice towards the end of the opening round. Unfortunately however the local fighter had a cut to deal with from early on due to a head clash that his corner seemed to be unable to deal with, and it got significantly worse following subsequent headclashes that really left Ng's face a mess and his confidence looking like it was shattered. It seems almost certain that for Ng to go further he will need a more professional corner though we do genuinely like him, a lot, and see him as one of the better Chinese fighters who is currently making a name for himself. Hopefully he can he get a corner that can help him when a situation like this arises again in the future. We've got to admit we were surprised by how close two of the cards here were, with 2 judges handing in scores of 57-56 making the contest seem closer than it really seemed. It wasn't a great show for all the local talent however as Qu Peng (6-1-1, 4) suffered a split decision loss to Andrew Robinson (3-3, 2) in a 4 rounder. In the first of the show's main fights we saw Jessie Vargas (26-0, 9) battle against Mexican Antonio DeMarco (31-4-1, 23) as Vargas defended the WBA Light Welterweight title for the second time. The bout was a real gem to watch after a slow start and saw both men landing some cracking shots in the middle rounds as the defenses of both fighters left a lot to be desired. In terms of skills it wasn't the best fight we've seen recently but in terms of action and excitement this was fantastic and the Macau fans really did get a treat. Although Vargas was the winner here we do suspect his reign won't be a particularly long one considering the fact he lacks genuine power and always seems to make things into a struggle. The second of the world title bouts on the show saw Ukraine's exceptionally talented Vasyl Lomachenko (3-1, 1) defend his WBO Featherweight title with a dominant victory over Thailand's experienced Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo (52-2, 33). Piriyapinyo was dropped in round 4 and played with in every subsequent round despite the fact Lomachenko seriously damaged his left hand in the middle of the fight. How Lomachenko put on a 1-handed masterclass is a genuine mystery but it was incredibly impressive from the Ukrainian fighter who looks insanely talented. In the co-feature Zou Shiming (6-0, 1) showed off his ability at times as he dominated Thailand's previously unbeaten Kwanpichit OnesongchaiGym (27-1-2, 12). The first round was very quiet before Shiming began to let his hands go in round 2 and dropped the Thai fighter twice in what was a sensational round from Shiming who perhaps should have had a stoppage at the end of the round. Shiming again dropped Kwanpichit in round 6 and exploded with some lovely punches though didn't manage to sustain it enough to see off the Thai, who was also deducted a point in the 6th for low blows. Sadly a headclash later in the bout left Shiming fighting one eyed and when that happened he became rather negative. At times Shiming showed some world class ability though over-all it was. The main event on this show saw Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao (57-3-2, 38) put on a commanding performance on route to a very wide decision win over Chris Algieri (20-1, 8). The bout, for Pacquiao's WBO Welterweight title, was one sided with Algeiri's best “weapon” being his non-stop movement which seemed to neutralise Pacquiao at times, though the Filipino still managed to hurt the American numerous times and score 6 official knockdowns, albeit several were debatable. After the fight Pacquiao hinted at the long awaited Mayweather bout though it seems to us that that bout is no longer the “once in a generation” fight that it was a few years ago. Aichi, Japan Result from Japan were slow to reach us from this weekend. With the main event result reaching us days before the others, the main event saw an expected victory for Yushi Tanaka (13-0-3, 9). Tanaka successfully over-came Indonesian visitor Rendi Stone (3-3-1, 2) with a 3rd round KO to retain the WBC Youth Bantamweight title. Hopefully we'll get the other results from this show shortly. In the chief support bout Shota Hayashi (24-5-1, 15) had to struggle somewhat to over-come Indonesian visitor Jason Butar Butar (16-15-1, 12) in what was a tough test than expected for the Japanese fighter who we believe is hunting a title fight at some point next year. On the undercard fans saw 5 bouts, all of which were scheduled for 4 rounds. Of those bouts two managed to go the complete schedule. One of those bouts saw the previously win-less Takashi Kagamihara (1-1) take a decision over Tom Hamaguchi (1-2) whilst the other distance bout saw the debuting Yuta Ando (1-0) over-come the previously unbeaten Yuta Imaizumi (1-1). Of the stoppages the quickest was scored in the second round by the unbeaten Daiuki Ichikawa (3-0, 2) who took out Yoshihito Takahashi (2-3, 2). Another stoppage that occurred in the second round saw the debuting Takushiro Mizoguchi (1-0, 1) defeat fellow debutant Sho Yasuda (0-1). The remaining stoppage saw Naoki Miyagi (2-1, 2) stopping the win-less Mitsukazu Oshita (0-2) in round 3. (Image courtesy of Sumio Yamada)
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Although there wasn't a lot of action this past Saturday there was plenty for Filipino fans to be interested by with a full card in Davao del Sur and a Filipino fighting on the road in Mexico. Davao del Sur, Philippines Unfortunately on the domestic scene many of the Filipino in Davao del Sur were less than competitive, although fans did get the chance to see plenty of notable names in action they were really facing very poor foes in what were show case bouts more than really competitive contests. One of those mismatches saw the very talented Jerwin Ancajas (21-1-1, 13) stopping Ali Rochmad (20-3, 14) inside a round. On paper this was competitive though in the ring it was a pure mismatch and there was a huge gulf in ability between the two men as Ancajas just ripped Rochmad a new one. Sadly Ancajas wasn't the only man to be fighting an over-matched foe and it took the hard hitting Aston Palicte (14-1, 12) less than a round to dispose of Frans Damur Palue (7-4-2, 3) with Palue being stopped on the 3 knockdown rule. Likewise it took Filipino Light Welterweight champion Adones Cabalquinto (17-0, 10) a round to see off Elmer Legaria (13-8, 4) in what was a completely pointless match up. In all frankness Ancajas should be looking at world ranked foes right now, Palicte should be facing top domestic competition and Cabalquinto should be doing all he can to get himself a shot at an OPBF ranked opponent. Sadly we know the money behind these guys doesn't match their ability though there is nothing to be gained from this level of mismatches. Sadly it didn't take the highly talented Jack Tepora (11-0, 7) much longer to defeat Michael Escobia (10-8-1, 2). We had expected Escobia to provide some resistance here but he couldn't cope with "Golden Boy" Tepora who should turn his attention to top domestic foes now. On paper the most competitive bout was a domestic contest between Jetly Purisima (19-13-4, 5) and Jayson Rotoni (13-14-1, 7). This 8 rounder went the distance with Purisima taking home the win in a battle of "lesser fighters". The remaining 7 fights all featured unbeaten hopefuls in action the most experienced of whom was Jelbirt Gomera (6-0, 4) who went the 8 round distance with the tough but limited Jhun Ryan Quimbo (4-5-1). The bout will have done Gomera a lot for his development considering that he had never previously gone beyond 6 rounds. Likewise we feel that Jay-ar Inson (5-0, 3) will have learned plenty in his 6 round decision victory over Avelino Ramos (3-4), though this was the second time in as many fights that Inson had gone the distance. The same could be said for Marvillo Aballe (4-0, 2) who also got taken the distance for the second time in as many fights as Michael Padayag (3-2) offered a stern test. Another fight that went 6 rounds saw Genesis Libranza (4-0, 2) take a win over Edward Joaquino (2-2), this was he first time Libranza had gone the distance since his debut. The most notable bout was one that featured the recognisable name of "Pacquiao" as Joneil Dapidran Pacquiao (5-0, 3) stopped the usually durable Gabby Siempo (5-5-1, 1) inside a round, this was Pacquiao's third straight stoppage win suggesting he's finding his groove whilst Siempo suffered his 4th straight loss, though it was just his second stoppage loss. Another stoppage on the under-card saw Christian Araneta (5-0, 4) extend his winning run with a 3rd round stoppage over the previously unbeaten Melmark Dignos (2-1) In a 4 rounder we saw Renemark Cuarto (2-0) take a win over the debuting Gilbert Flores (0-1). México, Mexico Sadly the weekend wasn't a good one for the travelling Daniel Ferreras (13-9-2, 4) who went to Mexico in pursuit of the WBC Youth Silver Super Bantamweight title and came back with just another loss as the very promising Rey Vargas (21-0, 18) took him out in the second round. Ferreras finds his name added to a growing list of Filipino victims who have been stopped by Vargas who has previously stopped the likes of Juanito Rubillar and Silvester Lopez amongst others. (Image, of Jerwin Ancajas, courtesy of boxrec.com) This past Saturday may have been all about "The Moment" in terms of boxing but there was other, lower profile action in Asia. Cebu, Philippines The card we were looking forward to the most was in the Philippines. The show had promised a world title fight, a handful of top Filipino prospects and was expected to be a show to look forward to. Instead what we got was a disappointment. We still got the prospects but the world title fight was effectively taken from us after the the champion was stripped of their title. The man who was stripped was the now former IBF Light Flyweight champion John Riel Casimero (20-2, 12), who was stripped of his title for weighing more than 5lbs over the Light Flyweight limit. That weight advantage wasn't needed by Casimero and the class difference was quickly shown as he swiftly dispatched the hapless Mauricio Fuentes (16-3, 10) who was dropped 3 times inside a round. Although Fuentes was "able" to win the title in theory he really shouldn't have been given this opportunity and the fight really was a farce from the second it was announced to the second it was stopped. Whilst the "world title fight" was a farce we did get some interesting prospect action. Amongst the prospects in action was the very highly touted Harmonito Dela Torre (13-0, 8) who managed to score a 3rd round stoppage over the limited Gadwin Tubigon (10-9-2, 5). Dela Torre's win saw him claim the lightly regarded vacant World Boxing Federation International Super Featherweight title. Another of the prospects in action was former amateur stand out Jack Tepora (10-0, 6) who scored a 10th round stoppage over Jo-as Apericio (11-12, 8) to claim the World Boxing Federation International Super Bantamweight title. Tepora, dubbed "The Golden Boy", claimed his first title with this victory and seems set to move up a level or two in the next year. The same Filipino show had yet more title action as Rey Labao (26-5, 17) defended his Lightweight title with a 5th round TKO over Rodel Wenceslao (7-8-1, 2) in what was a mismatch, whilst Jessie Cris Rosales (14-0-1, 5) claimed the WBO Asia Pacific Youth Featherweight title with a hard fought 10 round victory over Anthony Sabalde (8-4, 4). Lower down the card, in 8 round bouts, Jessie Espina (7-1, 3) out pointed the debuting Philip Jun Pronco (0-1) whilst Joey Canoy (5-0-1, 3) out pointed Mark Anthony Florida (8-5, 7). In the only 6 rounder Jaybie Haya (3-1-1, 2) out pointed the previously unbeaten Carlo Demecillo (2-1, 1). Whilst over the 4 round distance Junuel Lacar (4-1-1, 2) wiped out Honorato Boc (0-1) inside a minute and the previously win-less Eduardo Joaquino (1-1) upset the previously unbeaten Ronnie Tanallon (3-1, 1). Davao Del Sur, Philippines On a second Filipino show we saw the return to the ring of the very talented highly promising Jerwin Ancajas (20-1-1, 12) who made very light work of Thai opponent Petchwanchai Sor Visetkit (14-7, 6), scoring an opening round stoppage. This was Ancajas's second stoppage this year over Thai opponents and it seems time that he was stepped up a level. There is little point in such a talented fighter running up a series of these type of wins when he could well be fighting his way to a world title fight. Tokyo, Japan Whilst the action in the Philippines stole the day in regards to the Asian fight scene there was two shows in Japan. One of those was in Tokyo as we got "Dangan 100". This show began with a female bout that saw Chie Higano (2-0) over-come the debuting Sayaka Aoki (0-1) in a clear decision over 4 rounds. The female bout was one of three 4 rounders with the others both seeing swift stoppages. The swiftest of those stoppages came inside a round as the debuting Ryu Ueda (1-0, 1) scored an 83 second victory over Taisho Sugano (0-2), the other stoppage came part way through the second round as Hisao Narita (5-1, 3) stopped Naoya Kaneko (3-2, 3). The only 6 rounder on "Dangan 100" saw the debut of the very highly touted former amateur stand out Kenya Noguchi (1-0) who out pointed Hideharu Takahashi (6-10, 2), Noguchi is a teenager we've been told is "an outstanding talent" and we'd advise fight fans to follow him intently. Following the under-card we than had a foursome of feature bouts. None of them featured world class fighters but all 4 were interesting contests on paper. The first of those bouts saw Johnreil Maligro (11-0, 8) out point the unbeaten Tatsuya Yanagi (10-1, 4) in a genuinely excellent match up. Maligro, known as Jun Sakura, got easily the most impressive victory of his career and the 19 year old really does have the potential to go on and win titles if he continues to develop like he seems to be. Following Maligro's fantastic victory we then saw former Japanese title challenger Ryuta Otsuka (14-6-2, 4) score a stoppage over Yosuke Fujihara (14-3, 4). For Otsuka this was his first stoppage in well over 2 years whilst it was Fujihara's second successive stoppage loss. In the chief support bout fans got to see former Japanese Super Bantamweight champion Masaaki Serie (25-6, 10) out point Filipino visitor Michael Escobia (10-7-1, 2) in what turned out to be an very hard fought and competitive match up. Although not an old fighter in terms of years, the 31 year old does look like an older fighter and perhaps needs a break from the ring. A former opponent of Serie was also in action on the card, that was Rikiya Fukuhara (29-7-1, 21). Fukuhara, a hard hitter, made light work of Filipino fighter Jaderes Padua (9-4-1, 6) scoring an opening round KO. After the fight Fukuhara called out Japanese Featherweight champion Satoshi Hosono. We can't help but think that Hosono would stop Fukuhara, as he did in a previous meeting between the two men, but it'll certainly be fun. Osaka, Japan A second show in Japan was headlined by Hiroshige Osawa (25-3-4, 14) stopping the game Kosuke Saka (8-3, 5). Saka fought well but was stopped due to a nasty injury. Osawa, a former OPBF champion, is really rebuilding his career after a year long suspension by the JBC for taking part in an unsanctioned contest in South Korea. (Picture, courtesy of Celes Boxing Gym, is of Noguchi) The biggest boxing news on Saturday was all about "Ring of Gold", the latest in Bob Arum's Macau shows. The shows, which may split opinion between fans have been fantastic for exposing some Asian talent to a new audience and we've got to admit that we're huge fans of them, obviously. Though we under-stand that many fans may not like the idea of headlining shows with certain fighters or having shows on at unusual times of the day for the typical US audience. Thankfully as fans of the shows we'll say that the latest was one of the most interesting and one of the shows that has really revealed just what you can do when you combine good amateurs with elite training. Macau, China The card kicked off with Filipino Jerwin Ancajas (19-1-1, 11) looking very impressive. Ancajas looked sharp, fast and skilled as he took apart the over-matched Inthanon Sithchamuang (20-7, 11). On this performance we're looking forward to seeing more of Ancajas and hopefully he will be on another of the Macau cards later this year. Although "pretty boy" Ancajas isn't ready for a world title fight, and won't be for quite some time, he does have all the traits of a man who could well move in to the mix at world level in a year or two. Saying that however the Filipino is the WBA #14 at Bantamweight. Following Ancajas's win we saw another clear mismatch as Ancajas's countryman Harmonito Dela Torre (12-0, 7) easily stopped Indonesia's Yakobus Heluka (7-6). Heluka came out swinging though was left out lying flat on the canvas before the first round was over and it seems likely that Heluka was still feeling the ill effects of being stopped just a few weeks back. The show's third contest saw Macau's own boxing prospect Kuok Kun Ng (3-0, 1) score his first stoppage as he defeated Indonesian Rocky Alap Alap (5-11) in 3 rounds. Kuok, known as "The Macau Kid" appears to be a very interesting prospect and although he's short for a Light Middleweight he does seem to be skilled and improving quickly making him a fighter that we have to keep an eye on, especially if he continues to improve. In the show's fourth contest, the first to feature an Olympic gold medal winner, fans got to see an improved Ryota Murata (3-0, 3) in action. Murata, a Japanese boxing icon, stepped up a level to fight Brazilian Carlos Nascimento (29-4, 23) though appeared to be well in his comfort zone as he let Nascimento hit him on the arms before firing back with heavier shots of his own. Those heavy shots broke down the Brazilian who was stopped on the ropes whilst taking an unanswered series of punches. Murata's contest was followed by the first title fight which saw Hong Kong's Rex Tso (12-0, 8) battling Japan's Mako Matsuyama (7-8-1, 3) in the stand out fight of the show. The two men willingly traded through out the contest though Matsuyama was eventually broken down, as much from exhaustion as Tso's shots. The fight, the highlight fight on the card, proved to be a much better match up than the records of the fighters indicated though perhaps suggests that Tso isn't as good as hyped. He is however very fun to watch and the type of fighter who we can't help but want to see in action again. The best fight on the card was followed by a KO of the year contender courtesy of a thunderbolt landed by former WBO Super Flyweight champion Marvin Sonsona (18-1-1, 15). Sonsona, a slight betting under-dog, left former WBA Super Bantamweight champion Akifumi Shimoda (28-4-2, 12) lying unconscious following one of the best uppercuts we're likely to see this year. This victory will likely see Sonsona given world rankings at Featherweight, where he is now the WBO International champion, and if given time there is no doubt that Sonsona can become a world champion for the second time. The second Olympic champion to fight on the show was Russian Egor Mekhontsev (2-0, 2) who stopped the previously unbeaten Thai Atthaporn Jaritram (4-1, 1) in a very 1 sided contest. Atthaporn was too small and slow for the very gifted Mekhontsev who clearly has the talent to be moved quickly in a relative weak division. Although Light Heavyweight does have some great champions it is weak below those champions and there is no reason Mekhontsev can't be threatening the top 10 by the end of the year. Unfortunately after an excellent card the life was sucked out of the venue in the only world title fight on the show. The bout in question was an IBF Lightweight title fight between the talented, yet thoroughly frustrating, Miguel Vazquez (34-3, 13) and Denis Shafikov (33-1-1, 18). Vazquez started well though as soon as he realised Shafikov could get close to him the fight became less about boxing and more about holding, clinching, hugging, spoiling and generally preventing the bout from having any semblance of a boxing contest. Vazquez, who retained his title, certainly won't be welcome to Macau again and Ernie Sharif, the referee of the bout, may well come in for a lot of questioning over the next few days. Thankfully the crowd came back alive for the show's main event which saw China's very own Zou Shiming (4-0, 1) put in a very impressive performance. Shiming, the reason for these Macau shows, may get a lot of hate internationally though appears to be a fighter making huge improvements between fights. That improvement was fully on show as he scored his first stoppage by wearing down and beating up Yokthong Kokietgym (15-4, 11). Yokthong, who had been stopped quickly by Ryuji Hara a few years ago, came to fight but was unable to cope with the ability of Shiming who appears to have really grasped the core concepts of professional boxing after looking very poor in some of his earlier bouts. With both Shiming and Murata showing real signs of improvement it's not a wonder both are having their names linked to world title fights already. The rumour seems to be that Shiming could be fighting Amnat Ruenroeng later this year whilst Murata will be hoping to claim a world title next year. Cotabato del Sur, Philippines Outside of Ring of Gold there were other contests involving Asian's. These included several bouts in the Philippines. One of the Filipino bouts saw former world title challenger Richie Mepranum (27-3-1, 6) putting in a very dominant display over Thailand's limited Phupha Por Nobnom (10-9-1, 9) who was dropped a staggering 6 times before retiring between rounds 4 and 5. Phupha was dropped in every round of the bout and showed that he really didn't belong in the ring with Mepranum. The only other bout we have the result for from this card saw Jetly Purisima (18-13-4, 5) out pointing Jerson Luzarito (8-4-3, 3) over the 10 round distance. Pennsylvania, USA In the US things were disappointing for Azerbaijan's Farid Aghayev (1-0-1, 1) who was held to a majority draw by Lanny Dardar (1-0-1, 1) over 4 rounds. (Picture courtesy of Toprank) |
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