The top 5 Asian prospects...that we've over-looked

We have often been accused of being focused on several countries, particularly Japan. As a result we've decided to try and bring your attention to the 5 best Asian prospects, from countries we tend not to focus on. That means no fighters from Japan, Thailand or the Philippines.

Tugstsogt Nyambayar (3-0, 3)
Mongolian boxing hasn't had a great deal of attention in the professional ranks. There was, of course, Lakva Sim but other than that the success stories are few and far between with the popular Choi Tseveenpurev being possible the second most notable Mongolian pro. Notably however the country has had success in the amateurs with a number of Olympic medal winners. One of those is 23 year old hopeful Tugstsogt Nyambayar, a Super Bantamweight prospect who really could be the real deal.

Nyambayar is based in America and has links with Joe Goosen, who trains him, and Al Haymon, who acts as his advisor. With those connections he has a real foot up the proverbial ladder and the ability to be moved quickly and matched hard.

Not only does he have great connections but he also has a sensational background. That background is highlighted by Silver medals at both the 2012 Olympics and the 2009 World Amateur Championships. His amateur background has obviously come from his great skills and they have already been on show since he turned professional earlier this year. To date his competition hasn't been the best but his 98 second blow

 out of Manuel Rubalcava was incredibly impressive given that the Mexican had never previously been stopped.

In regards to footage of the Mongolian the best we have is of his most recent bout, a victory over Arturo Badillo, which is listed incorrectly on boxrec.com. In the footage you can see a lot of promise in Nyambayar, but still improvements will be made before he's moved into 10 round bouts, never mind the all important 12 round title bouts.

Roman Zhailauov (15-0, 9)
It's fair to say that everyone has heard the name Gennady Golovkin, the Middleweight destroyer is widely regarded as one of the most exciting and destructive fighters in the sport. Whilst he is the Kazakh star he's not the only fighter of note from the trans-continental giant. Of course there is also the well known 2-weight “world champion” Beibut Shumenov. For us however the most interesting is 21 year old prospect Roman Zhaulauov, who some are tipping as the hidden of Western Asia and as one of the once to watch in the 140lb and 147lbs weigh classes.

The youngster turned professional very young, in fact it was less than 3 months after his 18th birthday that he made his professional debut. Originally he was fighting at home, with his first 6 bouts taking place in his birthplace of Shymkent. Since then however he's fought in Ukraine and South Africa, where he has began to work with rising promoter Golden Gloves.

Youthful, talented, promising and developing as a man there really is a lot to be excited by when it comes to Zhailauov. It's fair to say his competition still hasn't been great but he's still a boy and is not yet a man. He is, slowly but surely, growing 

and last time out he scored a KO of the year contender against Luyanda Jako suggesting that he is beginning to find his man strength. Sadly though his best win is still a 2013 victory over compatriot Kanat Kartenbayev and since then he has gone backwards in terms of competition.

Dmitry Bivol (4-0, 4)
The rising Russian boxing scene is really exciting though of course not all the “Russian” fighters are actually Russian fighters. One such case is the sensationally talented Light Heavyweight prospect Dmitry Bivol, who is originally from Tokmak in Kyrgyzstan.

He is now fighting out of Russia though for many, including ourselves, he is regarded as one of the few real hopes of Kyrgyzstan.

Bivol has been matched hard from the off and began his career by fighting in 6 round bouts, showing his teams confidence in him. Each of his opponents so far have had winning records, each has had double figure wins and in total his combined oppositions record was 79-34-3. Despite his stiff competition he has genuinely looked like a star in the making and at just 24 years old he has a long time to reach the top at Light Heavyweight.

Blessed with heavy hands, in-ring confidence, a good boxing brain and the will to entertain, rather than just pick up a decision win, it's fair to say that Bivol combines boxing with excitement and his ceiling really is insanely high. There are some minor issues, such as the fact he sometimes moves up the gears a bit slowly, though we expect they'll be sorted with more experience which of course he's getting by going rounds. It's hard to say how far he'll go, but if he fails to become a world champion he'll be hugely disappointed.

Iwan Zoda (7-1, 6)
Indonesian boxing has been rather flat since the retirement of the legendary Chris John. The “Emerald of the Equator” may not be a huge boxing country but it has given us the occasional fighter of note, such as John and the thunderously hard hitting Elly Pical.The next one appears to be 18 year old puncher Iwan Zoda who may have a loss on his record but appears to be the best thing in Indonesian boxing since Chris John.

Zoda first came to the attention of fans in his homeland last yea, as a 17 year old, when he was featured in a bout shown on TVRI. His second bout saw him travel to Thailand and suffer a decision loss to the then 8-0 Petchchorhae Kokietgym. It was the loss that made him and since then he has rattled off 6 straight stoppages, including a stoppage in a return bout with Petchchorhae in Thailand in a bout that really helped him catch the attention of hardcore fans world wide.

Although still a relative unknown to many Zoda has shown a solid chin, a real desire to win and serious power. His arsenal of punches is wonderful with his uppercuts especially spiteful and although there is still a long way to go before he becomes a 

feature on the world stage we'd certainly advise keeping an eye on him. He may fall short, but we're excited about a new Indonesian star and really hope that it will be Zoda who has the style to excite fans in a major way.

Kyoo Hwan Hwang (2-0, 2)
We've always loved South Korean boxing. The country was, historically, one of the Asian boxing powerhouses like Japan, the Philippines and Thailand, however in recent years the country's boxing scene has all but vanished. The disappearance of Korean boxing has many causes but it right now it really needs a star. Their best hope appears to be exciting 18 year old Kyoo Hwan Hwang who looks like a charismatic and exciting youngster.

Hwang debuted earlier this year, beating Jung Ho Jang in 4 rounds, and quickly claimed the South Korean Light Middleweight title I just his second bout, a 6th round KO of Chan Hee Park. In both of those bouts he showed some world class glimpses though also showed some massive flaws, giving away his technical ability, size and speed to engage in a shoot out. At 18 it's understandable that he lacks maturity but this will hopefully change with experience and growing up.

If Hwang can focus on what he's good at, ignore the “Korean mentality”, and really move on with his boxing he could well be the best thing in Korean boxing since the emergence in In Jin Chi back in the 1990's. If he can't control his warrior mentality

he may well be the next bust but we really hpe his handlers and team can keep him on the straight and narrow and help him work his way through the ranks and help put Korea back on the boxing map. The jury is out on what he'll do, but there is certainly real potential there.

Others that we would like to make a note of-
Muhammad Waseem (0-0)
Boxing has a number of untapped markets, one of those is Pakistan which really only has British-Pakistani fighter Amir Khan to look up to. That's despite the fact the country has a population of around 192,000,000. With so many people there it seems clear that there will be boxing talent, it just needs to be given a chance. The first Pakistani born fighter who really seems to have some potential is Muhammad Waseem.

Waseem is a little older than some of the others on this list, at 27/28, but his potential to open up a new market is incredibly exciting. That of course isn't the only reason to be excited about him, another reason is his amateur pedigree which includes medals at the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games, the World Combat Games and the South Asian Games.

The talented and speedy Pakistani fighter isn't going to begin professional life in his native country but instead in South Korea where he will develop under the guidance of AK Promotions, who have lined him up for a South Korean title fight on his debut. A win there will likely lead to bigger fights down the line, so our fingers are crossed for that. Having not yet made his debut however the jury is, rightfully, out on the Pakistan speedster.

Uktamjon Rahmonov (4-0, 1)
Uzbekistan are missing a boxing star. They have WBA Heavyweight “regular” champion Ruslan Chagaev but they don't have an actual “star” as of yet. One man hoping to change that is 23 year old Uktamjon Rahmonov, a former Olympian who is slowly making strides in Russia and his homeland. It's fair to say that he's not yet broken through as a star but he is starting to make a name for himself and he has already competed in 23 rounds since turning professional in November 2013.

At the 2012 Olympics Rahmonov reached the quarter final before coming up short against eventual Gold medal winner Roniel Iglesias, one of the real stars of the games. Whilst he did fail to medal he did show some real ability. That ability has taken him to 4 straight wins in the professional ranks, including a genuinely solid 8 round decision win against Ukrainian Oleg Korobko.

So far it's hard to get a real understanding of his ability. He's looked like a man with a lot of skill in footage, but also some really irritating flaws including a willingness to run, a jokers attitude in the ring and a frustrating laziness. At times however he looks magical with a wonderful variety of shots, a natural calmness and good movement.

Vijender Singh (0-0)
Above we mentioned Waseem Muhammad, the man tasked with developing Pakistani boxing. It's also fair to say that Vijender Singh could be described as the man with an even bigger task, kick starting Indian boxing. Unfortunately he's not regarded as one of our “ones to watch” as he's now closing in on his 30th birthday and has various issues ahead of his professional debut.

The talented Indian recently signed professional papers with British promoter Frank Warren and is likely to make his debut later this year. Sadly though given his age it's unlikely he'll become the star that many hope. That's not to say that he's not going to have success in the professional ranks but it's unlikely to be enough to kick start an Indian boxing revolution.

Whilst we're not hugely excited by Singh's debut his amateur background is brilliant and he has claimed a trio of medal at the Commonwealth games, an Olympic games medal, a World amateur Champion medal and a couple of Asian games medals. It's a real shame however that he didn't turn professional after the 2008 Olympics.