Tokyo, Japan This coming Monday attention returns to the Korakuen Hall for a title double header courtesy of the Kawasaki Nitta gym. The main event of the card will see Japanese Flyweight champion Masayuki Kuroda (29-7-3, 16) take on the under-rated Akinori Hoshino (13-7-2, 9). For Kuroda this bout will be his third defense of the title, which he won in June 2017 with a split decision win over Takuya Kogawa. Last time out the champion narrowly over-came Katsunori Nagamine in a thrilling 10 round war and he's currently in the form of his career as he chases a second world title bout, following on from a 2013 shot at the WBA Flyweight title. Hoshino fought in a title eliminator last year, fighting to a frustrating and sloppy draw with Nagamine, That draw ended a 3 fight winning run from Hoshino, who had upset both Kenya Yamashita and Shun Kosaka in recent contests. Hoshino is likely to be a stylistic nightmare for Kuroda, but we do suspect that the experience edge he has will help him score the victory. The chief support bout will also be a title fight, with OPBF female Featherweight champion Kimika Miyoshi (13-10-1, 5) defending her belt against Wakako Fujiwara (5-2-2, 2). The champion has held this title since June 2016 but this will be her first defense. Since winning the belt Miyoshi has fought twice, but lost both of those contests to Shannon O'Connell and Hyun Mi Choi. Although Miyoshi has lost at the higher level she is very good at Oriental level and has won titles at 3 weights. The 37 year old Fujiwara is the Japanese Female Featherweight champion, having won the title this past March, but this is a huge step up in class for her, and one we suspect she'll come up short in. In one of the leading supporting bouts fans will see Japanese ranked Featherweight Ryo Hino (11-1-2, 6) take on Toshizane Kinoda (6-4, 2). On paper it's hard to see how the talented Hino comes up short here. Hino has impressed against the likes of Sho Nakazawa, who he out boxed last September, and Coach Hiroto, who he drew with in January. Hino, from what we've seen of him, is a technically solid fighter who uses his jab brilliantly. Kinoda is pretty limited, and has lost 3 of his last 4 bouts, but has never been stopped so will be expected to go the 8 round scheduled with Hino, albeit come up clearly short. Another good looking bout on this card is a very evenly matched contest between Kosuke Arioka (7-3, 6) and Yui Oikawa (7-3, 4), who battle in an intriguing 8 rounder. The heavy handed Arioka won the 2017 Japanese Rookie of the Year at Lightweight, stopping Rikki Naito's younger brother Mirai Naito along the way. Although Arioka has nasty power he has been stopped in 2 of his 3 losses and can certainly be hurt. On the other hand Oikawa doesn't have a reputation as a puncher but has stopped his last 3 so seems to be developing belief in his power, and he's yet to be stopped, suggesting he could be a nightmare for Arioka.
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Eastern Cape, South Africa
In South Africa this coming Sunday fight fans will be able to see a very interesting looking IBO Minimumweight title fight. The bout will see South African Simphiwe Khonco (18-5, 7) look to make his third defense of the title, as he goes up against Filipino challenger Toto Landero (10-2-2, 2). The champion is best known for his 2015 loss to Hekkie Budler, in what was a thrilling all South African bout for the IBO and WBA Minimumweight titles. Since that loss Khonco has gone 3-0 with a very notable win over Nkosinathi Joyi. Landero on the other hand is best known in his homeland for a shock win over Vic Saludar and by fans outside of the Philippines for his very competitive bout with Knockout CP Freshmart from this past March. Given how Landero fought against Knockout we're expecting him to be very competitive here in what could be a very and hard to score bout. Bang Phun, Thailand The main card this coming Saturday is in Thailand, with Workpoint showing casing a hugely popular world champion, albeit in a non-title fight, and two former world title challenger. The world champion in action is Thai superstar Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (45-4-1, 40), who won't be defending the WBC Super Flyweight title, as he takes on Korean foe Young Gil Bae (28-6-2, 22), but will be fighting in front of a Thai crowd for the first time since December 2016. Sriskaet is expected to see off Bae with ease, especially given that Bae came up very short in a WBC Minimumweight title bout against Wanheng Menayothin. This really should be little more than a showcase for Srisaket who has another bout set for October 6th in Pak Kret as part of a ONE Championship card. A second bout of note on this card will see former WBC Flyweight title challenger Nawaphon Kaikanha (41-1, 33) take on Japanese visitor Shota Kawaguchi (21-10-1, 9) in a bout for the WBC Asian Boxing Council Bantamweight title. Nawaphoin is best known for his 2017 loss to Juan Hernandez for the WBC Flyweight title, but he has since bounced back with 5 straight wins, all by stoppage, including a thrilling win over Amnat Ruenroeng back in April. As for Kawaguchi he has struggled in recent bouts, going 3-5 in his last 8, and suffered losses to the likes of Sonny Boy Jaro, Rene Dacquel and Ryuichi Funai. Given the form of the Japanese fighter it's hard to see him coming out on top here, even if Nawaphon hasn't always impressed. Hyogo, Japan A card in Hyogo is also worth noting due to the main event, which will see WBC Youth Super Bantamweight champion Tenta Kiyose (14-2-1, 6) facing off with former WBC Minimumweight champion Oleydong Sithsamerchai (68-1-1, 28). The Thai is currently riding a 33 fight winning run since losing the WBC world title to Kazuto Ioka back in February 2011, but has mostly fought limited opponents, with his best wins during that run coming over the likes of Mark Anthony Geraldo, Jason Canoy and Hiroyuki Kudaka, all of which were years ago. The 21 year old Kiyose is stepping up in a huge way, but a win here could help put him on the boxing map and move him into the world rankings. Sadly the main event aside this card is really not worthy of a mention. Cavite, Philippines There's also a card in the Philippines. Sadly this is a card that features two talented Filipino's facing very limited Indonesian visitors. One of the local men is Ernesto Saulong (21-3-1, 8), who will be returning to the ring for the first time his loss to IBF Super Bantamweight champion Ryosuke Iwasa back in March. The talented, and tough, Filipino will be going up again journey Waldo Sabu (12-12, 2), who has lost his last 2 by stoppage and was taken out inside a round by Takuma Inoue in May. Given recent outings it's hard to see anything but a Saulong win, likely inside the distance. The other bout will see former OPBF champion Al Rivera (19-3, 17) take on Heri Andriyanto (23-26-2, 11). Rivera has been out of the ring since last October, when he stopped Rodel Wenceslao, but we don't expect the ring rust to be a problem here s he takes on a man was was banned from fighting in Japan back in 2016, when he give a poor effort against Koki Inoue. Since the loss to Inoue Andriyanto has gone 1-3 and it's hard to see what he has to test the very hard hitting Rivera. Connecticut, USA In the US fans will be able to see promising Uzbek hopeful Hurshidbek Normatov (6-0, 2) risk his unbeaten record against fellow unbeaten Alexis Gaytan (4-0, 2). The Uzbek fighter hasn't set the world on fire yet, but has looked competent against decent opponents, beating the much more experienced Ronald Montes last time out. Interestingly Gaytan will be up against his 3rd successive unbeaten opponent here, and will have the confidence of an upset win over Kendrick Ball Jr as he comes into this fight. We suspect Normatov will be too good, but we do hope to see him answering some new questions here. Iowa, USA
The most notable action for us this coming Friday is from Iowa, where fans will be able to see a couple of notable Chinese hopefuls in action. One of those Chinese fighters is Heavyweight hopeful Zhilei Zhang (18-0, 14), who takes on Kazakh Born German Eugen Buchmueller (11-2, 8). The Chinese fighter has long been tipped as a real hopeful, but at the age of 35 it's time that he really starts to step up in class and chase a world ranking, rather than fight in stay busy fights like this. Zhilei has been a professional for close to 4 years but really is lacking in terms of notable results, which hasn't been helped by the fact he's been out of the ring for 10 months. The 37 year old Buchmueller has never been stopped but is 0-2 outside of Germany and it's hard to imagine him giving Zhilei any sort of a real test here. The other Chinese fighter is 30 year old Light Heavyweight hopeful Fanlong Meng (12-0, 7) who takes on the limited but hard hitting Chris Eppley (11-4, 10). The Chinese fighter has shown some promising, and can box or fight, but has shown suspect punch resistance, especially notable when he was twice dropped against Zura Mekereshvili. Given Eppley's power he could give Meng real problems if he connects. Saying that however Eppley has has been out of the ring for over a year and has been stopped in 3 of his 4 defeats. New South Wales, Australia As well as the two Chinese fighters in the US it's also worth nothing that Indonesian veteran Aswin Cabuy (19-69-4, 7) will be in action in his adopted homeland of Australia. The 92 bout veteran will be going up against the debuting Dylan Vadnjal (0-0). At the age of 43 Cabuy is really just continuing to be a servant to Australian boxing, but doesn't have much left to offer, with 11 straight losses coming into this one. For Vadnjal this should be a pretty straight forward win. Bohol, Philippines
This coming Thursday attention turns to the Philippines for for a small card in Bohol. One of the most notable bouts on the card will see Joan Imperial (14-6-6, 9) take on the experienced Robert Awitin (10-26-2, 9). In the last few years Imperial has been matched ridiculously hard and has picked up losses to the likes of Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Nawaphon Por Chokchai and Palangpol CP Freshmart. Despite suffering losses against notable opponents Imperial is 5-1 (5) in his last 6 bouts. On paper Awitin looks very limited, but he comes into this bout on the back of a 4 fight winning run and will be hoping to extend it here against the beatable Imperial. Another bout of some note will see Angelito Merin (9-7-3, 3) battle against John Kenan Villaflor (6-5-3, 2). Merin has been a bit of a controversial figure, fighting without the GAB's permission in the past, but returned to a Filipino ring earlier this year, fighting at home for the first time in over 3 years. Villaflor has failed to win any of his last 5 bouts, and it would be a surprise to see him change that here. Sadly the fact we've picked probably the two best bouts from the card should show just how poor this card actually is. Osaka, Japan On Monday our attention turns to Osaka where we get the next Japanese title fight, sadly however the rest of the card is weak with little to really talk about. The main event from the card will see Japanese Light Flyweight champion Tetsuya Hisada (31-9-2, 19) defending his title against Koki Ono (12-4, 5). The world ranked Hisada won the title in April 2017 and has already ran up 3 defenses as he's not only distinguished himself as the leading domestic fighter but also a top contender for a world title fight, which could potentially be a shot at WBC champion Ken Shiro. Aged 33, and turning 34 in October, Hisada knows time is against him but he's staying active against decent Japanese challengers. As for Ono he comes into the bout, his first title bout, on the back of a razor thin loss to Koji Itagaki in a Japanese title eliminator. Prior to that loss Ono had been on a good run, with 5 straight wins including victories over the likes of Aiki Koto and Ryoya Ikema and at 27 years old he is right in his physical prime. For Ono this is a huge opportunity to break into the world rankings, but it would take a career best performance against a man who has gone unbeaten since March 2015. The only real under-card bout of note will see Yuki Takahashi (8-2, 4) take on Kazuaki Miyamoto (5-2, 4). Takahashi looked promising early in his career, winning his first 5 bouts. He has since had a couple of wobbles, but has shown power, and gone 3-2 (3) in his last 5 bouts. Miyamoto also started his career with some promise, starting off his career in 6 round bouts, and although he has suffered stoppage losses to Shuzo Inada and Seiichi Okada he is still a solid fighter at this level. Given what we know about the two fighters we're expecting a very good fight here with the potential for either man to be stopped. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia This coming Sunday we get one of the biggest shows of the year, possibly in fact the show of the year, as Pacquiao fever takes over Malaysia for a stacked card with 4 world title fights, and a number of notable under-card fights. The main event will see Manny Pacquiao (59-7-2, 38) challenge WBA Welterweight champion Lucas Martin Matthysse (39-4-0-1, 36) in what is really a must win for both men. The Filipino icon, 39, hasn't fought in over a year with his last outing being a controversial decision loss to Jeff Horn in Australia. In fact we now need to go back to November 2016 to find Pacquiao's last win, which came against Jessie Vargas. At his best Pacquiao was a destructive dervish in the ring, but he is several years beyond his best. Matthysse also looks to be on the slide, and looked like a shadow of himself last time out against Teerachai Kratingdaenggym. Although a dynamite puncher, with under-rated skills, Matthysse can be out boxed, and can be made to look slow and predictable. We're not sure what to expect here, but with both men being past their prime neither can really afford a loss. In another of the world title bouts we'll see former IBF Flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane (35-2, 24) look to reclaim that title as he faces South Korean based Pakistani Muhammad Waseem (8-0, 6). The IBF Flyweight title became when Donnie Nietes vacated it, to move up to Super Flyweight, and as a result we have a brilliant match up here. At his best Mthalane was a leading Flyweight, an aggressive but technically sound fighter with wins against the likes of Hussein Hussein, Julio Cesar Miranda, Zolani Tete, Johnriel Casime and Ricardo Nunez. Sadly though the former champion is now 35, ancient for a Flyweight. Waseem on the other hand was on the fast track to the top to begin his career, but financial issues have slowed his rise and he's spent the last year treading water to keep off ring rust. At his best Waseem is an excellent boxer, but this is easily his toughest test to date. This could be a really high class contest. Another of the title fights could, potentially, be an historic one. The bout in question sees WBA Light Flyweight champion Carlos Canizales (20-0-1, 16) defending his belt against Chinese novice Lu Bin (1-0, 1). The Chinese 23 year old is looking to become the new record holder for the fewest fights to win a world title, doing so in 2 fights, and the confidence of Bin suggests he believes he can do it. He was a former amateur stand out and, like Vasyl Lomachenko, wanted to be fast tracked in the professional ranks. A win for Bin really would raise the bar for what is expected of true “super prospects”. Canizales on the other hand is looking for his first defense, after winning the title against Reiya Konishi earlier this year. The Venezuelan puncher is a fearsome fighter who's only set back was a split decision draw with Ryoichi Taguchi, and coming into this bout he may well be the best fighter at 108lbs, though obviously has stiff competition from the likes of Ken Shiro. We suspect Canizales will be the favourite but Bin is not there to roll over and lose. The 4th world title bout will see Filipino Jhack Tepora (21-0, 16) battle against Mexican Edivaldo Ortega (26-1-1, 12) for the WBA “interim” Featherweight title. The talented Tepora has long been tipped as one of the most promising young Filipino fighters and has picked up a number of minor titles in recent years but this is a big step up from the likes of Lusanda Komanisi, who Tepora stopped in eye opening fashion last September. The Filipino is flawed but has lights out power and will be a very dangerous fighter to go toe-to-toe with. Ortega is an all-action fighter with a come forward pressure style. He has scored notable wins over the likes of Juan Carlos Carlos Sanchez Jr, Tomas Rojas and Drian Francisco, but has never been in with someone who has power like Tepora. We're expecting to see Ortega bring the action and Tepora look for counters in what could be an absolute barn burner. The under-card here is littered with great match ups, including a bout between unbeaten Chinese fighter Yongqiang Yang (10-0, 7) and once beaten Filipino Harmonito Dela Torre (19-1, 12), in what really could be a very special bout. Another good looking contest will see the hard hitting Filipino Jayar Inson (16-1, 11) taking on Aussie foe Terry Tzouramanis (20-3-3, 3) in what could be a very exciting contest. Aichi, Japan As well as the big Malaysian show there will also be a smaller, though somewhat notable, card in Aichi. The main event of this Aichi card will see 2017 Super Featherweight Rookie of the Year Musashi Mori (6-0, 5) battling against Filipino foe Allan Vallespin (12-2, 9). The 18 year old Mori is one to watch, blessed with natural power, speed and skills he appears to be a fighter who could find himself in the title mix in 2 or 3 years, if he can continue to rack up wins. On paper this is a notable step up in class for the Japanese teenager, given that Vallespin's only losses have come to very decent fights in the form of Masaru Sueyoshi and Denys Berinchyk. This is a a really interesting bout and a very tough test for Mori. Also on this card is the hard hitting Arashi Iimi (5-1, 5), who takes on Suntorn Panhom (2-2, 1) on Thailand. The Japanese fighter came runner up in the 2017 Rookie of the Year at Super Bantamweight and has since bounced back with a stoppage over Shuto Takase in April. This will be his first bout against a non-Japanese fighter. Panhom comes into this on the back of back-to-back losses and we're not expecting him to to handle the power of Iimi, at all. South Korea There is also a small card in Korea courtesy of the KBA. The headline bout here will see WBA female Super Featherweight champion Hyun Mi Choi (15-0-1, 4) defending her title against Argentinian challenger Mayra Alejandra Gomez (18-7, 4). Choi, the only current Korean world champion, will be looking to extend her reign and increase her profile with this win as she attempts to make her 6th defense of the title. The champion, a tall and rangy fighter, should be strongly favoured, but Gomez has fought at world level before and has proven to be no push over against the likes of Jackie Nava. Also on this card will be Ji Hyun Park (22-3, 6), who will be up against a Thai foe. The Korean is a IFBA, WIBA and WIBF world champion who will be looking to add a WBF International Minimumweight title to her collection. Although she's a multi-time title winner Park was beaten last time out in a WBO world title fight by Kayoko Ebata, in what was her first defeat in over a decade. We suspect she'll be back to winning ways here. This coming Saturday is a pretty busy day for Asian fight fans, with shows of note all across the globe. Hong Kong S.A.R., China In Hong Kong fans get a pretty notable, yet small, card as DEF HK continue their relationship with Japanese promotions. The main event of the card will see 22 year old local Raymond Poon KaiChing (5-1, 3) take on Japanese visitor Ryo Narizuka (8-7-1) in a bout for the WBC Asian Boxing Council Continental Light Flyweight title. KaiChing has won his last 3, but has been matched softly and it's hard to see why he's fighting for a title, even one as lightly regarded as this one. The light punching Narizuka is 1-3-1 in his last 5, but has been matched very hard with his last losses coming to Sho Kimura and Ryuya Yamanaka, both of whom are currently world champions. This has the potential to be a banana skin for the local fighter. Despite not being the main event the most notable bout, for us at least, will see Japanese tough guy Takuya Watanabe (33-8-1, 18) face off with Indonesian journeyman Hendrik Barongsay (29-27-3, 18). It's not a great bout, given how good Watanabe is, but it is a chance for Watanabe to return to the ring following his loss to Yongqiang Yang earlier this year. The Indonesian, who has lost his last 4, shouldn't pose any sort of a threat to Watanabe, who who is 3-0 in Hong Kong and looking for bigger and better fights than this. Baden-Württemberg, Germany Arguably the most significant single fight with an Asian this coming Saturday will see female Bantamweight champion Aniya Seki (33-3-2, 5) defending her WIBF title against the heavy handed Csilla Nemedi (8-1, 6). The bout isn't just for Seki's WIBF title but also the GBU and WBC Silver titles and should be a compelling match up between the skills and experience of Seki and the heavy handed power of Nemedi. Ekaterinburg, Russia We'll be able to see several central Asian fighters in action in Russia. One of those is 23 year old Kazakh Madiyar Zhanuzak (4-0, 1), who will be up against Filipino foe Alphoe Dagayloan (9-2-5-1, 3) in what looks like a really interesting match up. The unbeaten Kazakh has impressed us since his July 2017 debut, but this does look like a genuine step up, and the type of bout that should see him having to prove himself. Aged 26 Dagayloan is the reigning PBF Super Flyweight champion and has gone 5-0-1 in his last 6, including a win over Mateo Handig and Jayar Diama. Another notable one is Russian based Kyrgyzstan born Erzhan Turgumbekov (2-0), who is taking a massive step up in class to take on the experienced Andrei Isayeu (30-12, 9). The unbeaten Turgumbekov has began his career with back to back wins against limited novices, but this bout seems to suggests that he and his team are now comfortable on moving up against veterans. The 38 year old Isayeu is from Belarus and despite picking up losses he is a tough guy to stop, suggesting that he will take Turgumbekov the scheduled 6 rounds here. Pathum Thani, Thailand In Thailand fight fans will be able to see Macau born Lap Cheong Cheong (3-0, 2) look for his 4th straight win. The 21 year old Flyweight hopeful hasn't had his opponent named for the show but it's unlikely he'll be facing someone of any real note. California, USA Turning our attention Stateside there is several notable fighters from Central Asia, with two of those looking to shine in California. On paper the most exciting of those is the incredibly talented Murodjon Akhmadaliev (2-0, 2), who takes a small step up in class to face off with Luis Fernando Molina (7-4-1, 2). The very highly regarded Akhmadaliev, from Uzbekistan, shone on his debut in March and again in April with many now tipping him to become one of the faces of Uzbek boxing over the coming years. Argentinian fighter Molina showed his toughness last December, when he went 6 rounds with Michael Conlan and this bout gives Akhmadaliev a chance to earn some comparison to the popular Irishman. A stoppage for Akhmadaliev would be impressive, but wouldn't be a massive surprise. The other Asian fighter on this card is Kazakh Ashkat Ualikhanov (2-1, 2), who looks to record his third straight win as he battles Darel Harris (1-2-1, 1). On debut Ualikhanov was disqualified in 3 rounds and his career has been horribly stop-start since then, but he does have power and talent and will be looking to make an impression here against Harris, who has failed to win aby of his last 3 bouts. New Orleans, Louisiana, USA Staying in the US fight fans will be able to see 2016 Olympic Gold medal winner Fazliddin Gaibnazarov (4-0, 2), as he takes on Kevin Johnson (5-0, 4). The unbeaten Uzbek was dropped in the first round of his professional but since then has looked really promising and appears to be on the right track to success, even if he does look some way from a world title fight. On paper this is a step up for the Uzbek and Johnson, not to be confused with the Heavyweight of the same name, is a solid puncher with an unbeaten record of his own and will be coming into this bout on the back of a career best win over Flavio Rodriguez. The Uzbek should come out on top, but this is an interesting match up on paper. This coming Friday fight fans in Japan get two shows, whilst Korean fans get one, and even Indian fans have something worthy of their attention! Hyogo, Japan The biggest single show takes place in Hyogo where we get two title fights, a notable debut and a former Japanese champion all in action. The main event will be a world title fight, and will see talented WBO Minimumweight champion Ryuya Yamanaka (16-2, 5) battle against heavy handed challenger Vic Saludar (17-3, 10). The champion, who won the title last year, will be making his second defense and will be looking to shine again, just like he did in an eye opening domination of Moises Calleros back in March. Although seen as the less notable champion at 105lbs Yamanaka does look a very classy fighter. For Saludar this bout will be his second title shot, and he will be looking to prove that his performance against Kosei Tanaka wasn't a fluke performance, but a sign that he really should be competing at world level. This really is an excellent match up between a brilliant pure boxer, and a brutal puncher. In the chief support bout fans will see former world title challenger Reiya Konishi (15-1, 5) take on Filipino foe Orlie Silvestre (11-3-1, 7) in a out for the WBO Asia Pacific Light Flyweight title. Earlier this year Konishi came up short against Carlos Canizales, though really looked like a great little fighter with insane bravery and an incredible desire to win. The Japanese fighter will be the favourite here, but Silvestre has nothing to lose and everything to win. The Filipino fighter comes into this on the back of 5 straight wins and will feel confident of scoring a career best victory here. Former Japanese Lightweight champion Kazuhiro Nishitani (18-4-1, 10) looks to score his first win of 2018 and takes on limited Filipino foe Rey Ramos (8-8-2, 3). Nishitani really failed to build on his March 2017 upset win over Shuhei Tsuchiya, having scored only a single win since then over a limited Thai, but he has talent and shouldn't struggle to over-come Ramos here. The Filipino has lost 4 of his last 6, including 2 by stoppage, and it's hard to imagine him having anything to trouble Nishitani with. One other bout of note will see Yuki Yamauchi (0-0) make his debut, as he takes on Jimboy Rosales (3-2-1, 2). The Japanese debutant was a sensational amateur, with notable results on the high school, national and world university level. Aged 23 big things are expected of Yamauchi and this looks like a pretty interesting opponent for his debut, with Rosales having gone unbeaten in his last 4, following back-to-back losses to begin his career. If Yamauchi is as good as anticipated then he really could make an instant impact here. Tokyo, Japan A second Japanese show will take place in Tokyo, and was originally set to feature two former world title contenders in action. The planned main event was a bout set to have Akihiro Kondo (30-7-1, 17) take on domestic foe Quaye Peter (11-9-3, 6). Sadly for the teak tough Kondo, who is best known for his November 2017 loss to Sergey Lipinets, this bout has been cancelled due to Peter suffering an injury a a week or so before the show was set to take place. A a result of Peter's injury the card will now be headlined by former 2-time world title challenger Ryo Akaho (31-2-2, 20), who returns to the ring following medical problems that forced him to vacate the Japanese Bantamweight title. It was expected that Akaho would be matched incredibly easily but instead he will be up against Filipino Robert Udtohan (24-3-3, 15). At his best Akaho is a tough, aggressive fighter, who has beaten the likes of Yushi Tanaka, Hiroaki Teshigawara, Masaaki Serie and Yohei Tobe. Sadly though it's unclear how much the health issues has taken from the Japanese fighter. As for the visitor he has got a pretty padded record, and has lost recent bouts to Qiu Xiao Jun and Ryoichi Tamura, but is a tougher opponent than expected for Akaho's ring return. Seoul, South Korea In Seoul there will be a small card courtesy of former world champion Myung Woo Yuh and his Buffalo Promotion. The main event will be an interesting match up between 22 year old Ki Soo Lee (6-3) and 30 year old Hwan Young Jo (5-4, 1). The youngster has had mixed for, though showed he was a capable fighter last December when he ran the touted Katsuya Yasuda close in Yokohama and will look for his third win since that loss. On the other hand Jo hasn't really shined, but is certainly not going to be a push over here and should make for a good dance partner for Lee. Only real issue here is that neither man is much of a puncher. In another bout of note on this card fans will see unbeaten fighters collide with Do Jin Lee (5-0-2) taking on Jong Sun Gang (4-0, 1). Lin is a 17 year old who made his debut at the age of 16 and despite only fighting in 4 rounders so far is worth following as he moves into his first 6 rounder. As for Gang he has been a professional since November last year and has been busy, but will also be taking part in his first 6 rounder. London, United Kingdom As for Indian fans they will turn their attention to London, England, as national hero Vijender Singh (10-0, 7) takes on Lee Markham (17-4-1, 7) for the Commonwealth Super Middleweight title. The Indian star is now 32 years old and his team won't keep holding him back for long. A win here could well open big doors for him and takes him much closer to a potential world title shot. On paper Markham looks limited but he is a former English Middleweight champion who has score several notable results on the British scene, including a draw with Frank Buglioni. Singh should be favoured, but Markham is a very live under-dog coming in to this one. Tokyo, Japan After a few days of rest Japanese fight fans in Tokyo will get the chance for more fights this coming Thursday, with a card from the Misako Gym. The main event of the card will see JBC ranked Light Welterweight Daishi Nagata (10-1-1, 4) take on Filipino visitor Jimmy Borbon (7-5-4, 4). Last year Nagata suffered his first defeat, being battered into a 7th round TKO loss to Vladimir Baez, but since then he has bounced back well with two decent wins. He should be looking to continue that run here, as he takes on the naturally smaller Borbon. The Filipino has won 2 of his last 8 bouts, and we don't expect him to come out on top here against the talented Nagata. A really good looking bout will see the always fun to watch Gakuya Furuhashi (21-8-1, 10) take on the under-rated Gaku Aikawa (9-5-1, 3). The 30 year old Furuhashi is a 2-time Japanese title challenger, who has been matched softly since suffering a 10th round TKO loss to Yasutaka Ishimoto in 2016. Despite being matched softly Furuhashi is no push over and is clear stepping up in class here, compared to his last 3 opponents. Aikawa has been pretty inconsistent, but will be coming into this on the back of a huge December win over Shohei Kawashima, and he will know that a win over Furuhashi will move him very close to a Japanese title fight. Another excellent match up will see Daisuke Watanabe (6-4, 3) battle against Daiki Maniwa (6-2-1, 4). On paper this might not look like anything special but we really do expect an excellent bout. The 26 year old Watanabe has been matched insanely tough so far, battling the likes of Gakuya Furuhashi, Sho Nakazawa, Ryuto Araya and Reiya Abe in his first 10 bouts, and scoring wins against some of those. Maniwa on the other hand comes into the bout on the back of a loss in a Japanese Youth title fight, his most notable bout to date, but will take some confidence from that loss and come in here knowing that a win will get his career back on track. A really interesting fight between two men who will both believe they can come out on top here. One other bout of note will see former Japanese Light Flyweight champion Kenichi Horikawa (36-15-1, 10) take on Naoto Takanashi (5-12-3, 4). This will be Horikawa's 53rd career bout, his third this year, and he seems to be looking to get himself one more title fight. For Takanashi the bout is a huge ask, but a chance to take on a bit of a domestic legend. |
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