Tokyo, Japan In Japan this past Tuesday fans got the chance to see a Japanese title double at the Korakuen Hall on a show that really was a significant one for the Japanese domestic scene. The main event of the card saw Japanese Super Bantamweight champion Yukinori Oguni (15-1-1, 4) successfully retain his title with a clear decision win over the heavy handed Taiki Minamoto (10-5, 9). Minamoto tried to use his power early on, and had some success, but over-all his attacks were blunted by Oguni's intelligent boxing, moving and jab which were his keys to winning. In the co-feature Japanese Welterweight champion Suyon Takayama (23-1, 7) retained his title with a clear decision win over Ryoji Tanaka (8-5-1, 2). Tanaka showed some desire but on the whole was unable to really establish himself against the champion, who has now racked up 6 defenses of the title that he won back in December 2012. In a minor upset Noriyuki Ueno (18-13-5, 5) took a split decision win over Yuki Ogata (21-2-1, 3). This bout, between former Japanese title challengers, was a must win for both if they were hoping to rejoin the title mix, and unfortunately for the light punching Ogata it really is a loss that send him down the pecking order. Ueno on the other hand is now likely to be one good win from a title fight in 2016. Another competitive 8 rounder saw Kyosuke Sawada (4-2, 2) claim a majority win over Tonko Nakagawa (13-7, 5) in what was a major win for the novice. Sawada, who lost his first 2 bouts, wasn't expected to win here and is now likely to try and keep the momentum going as he steps up and looks to continue his winning run. For Nakagawa this will be a hard loss to take. The only stoppage on this card saw the hard hitting Ryota Yada (9-3, 7) claim a 7th round TKO win over Ryota Itoyama (10-8-1, 5), who was stopped for the 4th time. Yada's win was his 6th in a row and it's clear that he has really began to find form. In the only other bout on this card fans saw Yasuki Katagiri (5-2, 1) claim a technical decision win over Kazuki Kobayashi (4-9). (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)
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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) 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) |
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