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Earlier today in Japan fight fans saw talented youngster Kosei Tanaka (10-0, 6) [田中恒成] score his toughest win to date as he stopped heavy handed Thai challenger Palangpol CP Freshmart (14-2, 8) [คู่เอก พลังพล ซีพีเฟรชมาร์ท] to defend his WBO Light Flyweight title, in a bout which saw Tanaka dropped, cut, and looking the more beaten up man by the end.

The bout started very slowly, in fact for the two minutes there was almost no action to be excited by. It showed Tanaka was quicker but that was it. Close to the end of the round however Palangpol's power told as he dropped Tanaka with a single right hand that really turned the round on it's head, and secured a 10-8 round for the Thai.

Tanaka never seemed hurt by the knockdown and over the following few rounds found his groove, taking rounds 2-5 with no issues, as he used his speed, skills, movement and variety to look several levels above the Thai. Palangpol however knew his advantage was in his power and strength and every shot he seemed to land seemed to take a more telling toll on Tanaka who's left eye was looking bruised from early in the bout.

After a huge 5th round for Tanaka, which saw him hurting the Thai with body shots several times, it seemed like the end was nigh. Instead however Palangpol gritted his teeth and took the fight to Tanaka, cutting the champion on his right eye, leaving both of Tanaka's eyes a mess. The Japanese fighter suddenly looked worried, and as if his entire self belief had vanished. All the confidence and fire had been taken out of his sails and Palangpol looked like a fighter who was starting to take over.

Bizarrely Palangpol didn't push his advantages in rounds 7 or 8, in fact he seemed too relaxed to press the fight and was perhaps just too tired to take the fight to Tanaka. Had he take it to Tanaka there is a chance we'd have seen a new champion being crowned with Tanaka looking like a man who felt sorry for himself. By the end of round 8 however the chance for Palangpol had gone. Tanaka had started to rebuild his confidence and that showed to begin round 9, as he took the fight to the Thai.

A headshot from Tanaka dropped Palangpol, who seemed to bounce up in a matter of seconds. Tanaka then jumped on him, and they threw shots at each other with reckless abandon. Sadly for the Thai he seemed to still have his head full of cobwebs and he struggled to connect whilst Tanaka landed some huge bombs, eventually forcing the referee to step in after the Thai had stumbled twice.

For Tanaka the win was obvious vital, but given the facial damage he suffered he may well find his proposed December showdown with WBA champion Ryoichi Taguchi being delayed until 2018. That damage is going to take a long time to heal. For Palangpol he really put himself on the map. He lost, but he showed everything needed to be given another shot at a champion down the line, even if he was a real unknown to those outside of Thailand before today. Like Srisaket Sor Rungvisai we saw Palangpol get a chance and shine, despite failing to score the win, and he will be seen as a notable player at Light Flyweight following this contest.

A bumper weekend of Japanese fights kicked off earlier today with WBO Light Flyweight champion Kosei Tanaka (9-0, 5) [田中恒成] making his first defense of the title as he over-came Puerto Rican challenger Angel Acosta (16-1, 16), in a genuinely exciting mandatory title bout.

The challenger started really well, using his aggression early and putting a slow starting Tanaka on the back foot frequently with his combinations. It seemed as if Acosta's reputation as a huge puncher had worried Tanaka, who tried to fight off his jab but was often swarmed by the Puerto Rican. It wasn't until round 3 that Tanaka began to find his feet in the bout and he certainly warmed to the task, specifically in the second half of the contest as he began to back up Acosta and land some nasty body blows.

Tanaka's improvement in round 3 continued through much of the bout, as he used his speed, strength and more accurate punching to pick away at the challenger and land some solid shots to head and body, including an uppercut in round 5 that helped drop the challenger, in what was the bouts only knockdown.

Acosta recovered really well from the knockdown, and reapplied his pressure as he began a valiant fight back, but was again damaged to the body by Tanaka, despite some solid flurries from the Puerto Rican. It was back and forth action, but it always seemed like Tanaka's shots were having more of an effect than Acosta's, which were wide and looping and seemed unable to hurt the champion. What also didn't help the challenger was that he began to look incredibly tired, and in rounds 8 and 9 he looked like a man who was seriously wilting.

Despite being clearly tired Acosta refused to back down from the fight, and ended strongly, arguable doing enough to deserve either of the final rounds, both of which were close with Acosta doing everything he could to try and change the bout around. Sadly for his effort he was unable to ever hurt Tanaka, never mind secure the stoppage that he was needing.

At the end of the bout there was no questions over who had won, with Tanaka winning clearly on the scorecards, with scores of 117-110, twice, and 116-111.

Following the bout Tanaka was joined in the ring by WBA champion Ryoichi Taguchi, and it seems clear that a unification bout between the two is something that the camps will begin working on in the near future.

When we talk about young Japanese stars the first name is Naoya Inoue, the WBO Super Flyweight champion who become a 2-weight champion in just 8 professional bouts. Today we saw another Japanese youngster match that achievement as 21 year old prodigy Kosei Tanaka (8-0, 5) [田中恒成] dismantled Mexican veteran Moises Fuentes (24-3-1, 13) to claim the WBO Light Flyweight title.

Tanaka, who had previously held the WBO Minimumweight title, set the tone from the opening round as he used his speed to befuddle Fuentes and land hard right hands up top as well as piercing jabs to the body. Fuentes had no real answer other than to stay there and take them whilst offering an occasional wild swing in return. The second round was marginally better for the Mexican as he had a few moments of his own, but it was another round where Tanaka's speed and accuracy was the key with the Mexican's successes, all early in the round, being over-shadowed by Tanaka's more consistent showing.

Sadly for Fuentes round 3 was a horror round as Tanaka began to not just out box and out speed him but also out fight him, forcing him on to the ropes and landing some massive shots to head and body. Although not quite a 10-8 round it was one where some judges might have leaned that way due to just how one sided things were becoming. It was the same again in round 4, when Fuentes looked totally out of his depth and seemed to be needing a miracle. That miracle was never to come and in round 5 Tanaka let his shots go, hurting Fuentes who backed up to the ropes and took a huge right before being taken down by a flurry of lightening quick shots. With Fuentes down,and having been beaten up, the referee quickly waved off the bout.

With the win Tanaka further cements his place as one of the hottest emerging talents in boxing. A 2-weight champion in just 8 fights and at the age of 21 his career has so much potential and he seems to be improving with every contest. As for Fuentes it's hard to see him bouncing back from a beat down like this.

As we all know 2015 is coming to an end, however to end the year boxing fans get 5 world title fights in Japan. The first of those happened earlier today in Aichi where fans saw a WBO Minimumweight thriller between Kosei Tanaka (6-0, 3) and Vic Saludar (11-2, 9).

The fight started fast with Tanaka looking the more polished, faster and intelligent fighter, however Saludar took the shots well, mostly on the guard, and looked like the sort of strong and tough fighter who was going to take a lot to stop. He also looked very dangerous every time he let his hands go, though did struggle to land much of note. It was a round where Tanaka's movement and speed were his key weapons.

The challenger may not have shined in round 1, but he did in round 2 as he gave Tanaka absolute hell. Tanaka gave away his advantages in footspeed and decided to trade on the inside which was a foolish game plan giving Saludar a chance to use his strength and power up close and prove that he wasn't there to just make up the numbers, he was instead there to become a world champion. The success of the challenger continued in round 3 where he finished the stronger man and left Tanaka with a bloodied nose and left fans wondering why Tanaka was continuing to to brawl with a brawler.

The in fighting continued in round 4, a pretty even and exciting round, and again in round 5, a round in which Saludar's power finally told as he dropped Tanaka with an very solid right hand. It was the first knockdown of Tanaka's career and came from as much from his wrecklessness as it did from Saludar's power, as he left himself wide open. Whilst Tanaka was to blame for the knockdown he was up quickly, at the count of 5, and showed his survival skills to see out the round.

By the following round it seemed like Tanaka had recovered his senses, but not his pure boxing, and instead of boxing and moving he continued to apply the pressure and force a fight on the inside. Although, still, fighting the wrong type of fight he did quickly find a home for his left hand into the body of Saludar. The Filipino continued to fight back, but was, eventually, caught by a peach that dropped the Filipino for the count.

It's fair to say that Saludar was over-looked by Tanaka, who was seemingly looking beyond him, towards a move to Light Flyweight. It was however a mistake to do so and it almost cost him, whilst also showing up the champion as a fighter who still has real maturing to do. He needs to get back to what he's good at, which is out boxing, being speedy and not brawling. In fairness to Saludar however, there is a good chance he will have a title reign in the future.

(Image courtesy of Nikkan Sports)

In late 2013 we began raving about a Japanese youngster who was preparing to make his professional debut. At the time he was just 17 or 18 and was just getting his B class license. That was Kosei Tanaka (5-0, 2), now just 5 fights later the youngster is the WBO Minimumweight champion, and the new Japanese record holder for the fewest fights to win a world title.

Earlier today Tanaka took the title with a dominant win over Mexican Julian Yedras (24-2, 13) in a performance that could be described as “comfortable but flawed”.

The early going was perfection from Tanaka who claimed the first couple of rounds with amazing boxing. It was the sort of boxing that every fan wishes to see. It saw Tanaka using his movement to open up opportunities for his lightening quick hands, making Yedras look incredibly slow and showing signs of not just being a special talent but a future pound-for-pound level boxer. There really was every thing you could ask for, world class foot work, frightening combinations and sharpness on every punch. It was near flawless for the first 6 minutes.

In the third round things began to change, significantly, as Yedras found a way to cut the distance with his pressure. In theory the close Yedras could get the more the bout favoured him, in reality however Tanaka showed he could more than hold his own on the inside or in a brawl. Yedras was beginning to have success but was forced to take some solid shots in return as Tanaka showed he was capable of beating Yedras up close.

The success for Tanaka appeared to go to his head slightly and it saw rounds 4, 5 and 6 become more and more tricky as Yedras seemed to build on his success round after round. Tanaka's lovely movement was becoming less visible and instead he seemed to hunt the knockout and allow himself to take some silly shots that really weren't necessary. That was particularly clear in round 6 as Tanaka seemed to take a lot of flush shots in the final minute of what was Yedras's first “clear” round, though could well have been his third on the spin if you'd felt like being generous, as one judge seemed to but more about that later.

Having clearly realised he was making this harder for himself Tanaka got back to his boxing in round 7 and seemed to thoroughly dominate the round with his speed, power, shot selection and accuracy which were all sensational. It was a round that ended in brawling though had seen Tanaka showcase everything about himself as a fighter and even seemed to show him hurt Yedras at one point. It was a round that seemed to show Tanaka had plenty in the tank but wasn't willing to show his hand all the time.

Sadly the seventh round was followed by another disappointing round from the youngster who seemed to take more than he needed. It was a close round, and could easily have gone Yedras's way, though it seemed like Tanaka was fighting in neutral as opposed to letting his hands go as he had the previous round. It was also another round that Yedras got inside and had success, particularly to the body.

Having looked slightly tired in round 8 there could have been questions about the youngster's energy reserves but then, in round 9, he came alive and had a thoroughly dominant round. We saw a return to the hurtful but lightning quick flurries, the smart movement, the breath taking accuracy and the skills that will take the young man very far. It was one of the clearest rounds of the fight and was a round that seemed to show Tanaka had a lot in reserve. The same skills were again on show in round 10 as Tanaka continued to show case the skills that had excited the hardcore Japanese fans prior to his debut.

The big question, for many, was how Tanaka would handle the championship rounds. Prior to this bout he had never been beyond 10 rounds. It then seemed very clearly he could handle the distance with ease as he toyed with Yedras in the eleventh. The Mexican looked like an amateur as he missed time and time again whilst being picked off at range and tagged up close. It was showcase stuff from the youngster who looked like an experienced, championship level fighter.

Going in to the final round it was clear that Yedras would need a knockout, even the most generous of judges had to have had him behind by a sizeable margin. Unfortunately for the Mexican he never came close to landing anything to turn the fight around. That was despite Tanaka show boating right in front of him, trying to draw a lead which was eventually punished by another amazing combination. The final round was full of magical moments from Tanaka which also included him turning the Mexican on the ropes whilst making it look effortless.

After the final bell we had it 118-110 to Tanaka, having given Yedras rounds 6 and 8. The closest we could possible see it was 116-112, having given Yedras rounds rounds 4 and 5, though that was being generous. Two of the judges had it in the middle of that window with scores of 117-111. Those cards really couldn't be argued with. The third judge however managed to score the bout a very confusing 115-113 to Tanaka, some how finding another pity round for the Mexican.

The close card, turned in by Puerto Rican Luis Ruiz, was far too close. We know he's not got much experience at this level but with a performance like that we can see why.

Despite the poor card of Mr Ruiz he couldn't take away from the performance of Tanaka which was, at times, amazing. The youngster is now likely to fight in a much bigger bout, possibly against IBF champion Katsunari Takayama who was ringside for television channel CBC, and whilst he showed some flaws here we suspect they came out of contempt as much as anything else. It was clear early on that Yedras couldn't hurt Tanaka and the Japanese fighter didn't seem to mind taking a few shots. The only major flaw was that the youngster got a bit too reckless when he thought he had Yedras hurt, but for a young man competing in just his 5th professional bout there's no real shame in being a little bit excitable.

It's clear than Tanaka doesn't have the KO power of fellow Japanese youngster Naoya Inoue, who's record Tanaka broke with this win, but he has everything else a fighter could want and at just 19 years old the world really is his proverbial oyster. Unification and multi-weight titles are certainly in his future.