By Marcus Bellinger 

After a dry spell the last week or so has been a hectic one in Japanese boxing with significant bouts both at domestic and world level.

The only place to start is at the Kokugikan in Tokyo where Luis Nery rematched Shinsuke Yamanaka for the WBC bantamweight title on 1 March. There was already a cloud of suspicion hanging over Nery after he tested positive for Zilpaterol after dethroning Yamanaka last August.

Things then took a huge twist as Nery came in 5 pounds overweight on his first attempt and was only able to shed around 2 pounds a couple of hours later and was stripped of his belt without even making a defense. Coming in a few ounces or even a pound overweight is a real annoyance and has become a far too often occurrence nowadays but coming in a pound over the next weight division is simply unforgivable.

Despite the events from the previous day the fight went ahead with only Yamanaka eligible to win the now vacant belt. Whilst the home man was given a rapturous reception on the way to the ring, Nery was roundly booed which is highly unusual as visiting fighters are always given respect from the fans in the land of the rising sun.

Yamanaka actually began well, landing with the jab and some body shots but Nery soon took the play away from him and scored a knockdown in the opening round. Realising he was there for the taking Nery overwhelmed Yamanaka, scoring 3 more knockdowns in the second round before the contest came to a conclusion in what was actually pretty painful viewing given the circumstances that had occurred.

Yamanaka announced his retirement soon afterwards and the Teiken southpaw can leave with his head held high and will definitely go down as one of Japans greatest world champions. The 35-year-old was a huge draw, pulling in TV audiences of 7 and 8 million more than once and he made 12 successful defences of the WBC 118 lb strap scoring wins over the likes of Vic Darchinyan, Suriyan Sor Rungvisai, Malcolm Tunacao and Liborio Solis. Although unification alluded him his defining victory came in one of the best bantamweight title bouts seen in recent times against Anselmo Moreno in their thrilling up and down rematch in September 2016.

As for Nery despite the 2 wins over Yamanaka he leaves Japan with his reputation in tatters and he has since subsequently been put on the Japan Boxing Commissions banned list and been suspended indefinitely by the WBC. Going forward it will be extremely difficult to route for the Mexican and Cliff Rold summed it up perfectly in his Boxing Scene column late last week, “Yamanaka deserved better”.

The other world title contest on the show saw Ryosuke Iwasa score a wide unanimous decision against Ernesto Saulong in his first defense of the IBF super bantamweight trinket. The fight was a forgettable one and Iwasa failed to build on the momentum of his terrific 6th round stoppage of Yukinori Oguni last September. Next up for the Japanese southpaw is a mandatory defense against TJ Doheny who should provide a more willing opponent and make for a far more entertaining encounter.

The last day of February saw Ohashi protégé Ryo Matsumoto step up for his first world title tilt when he faced super bantamweight titlist Daniel Roman at the Korakuen Hall. The fans in attendance were treated to 12 rounds of absorbing action as the pair went back and forth throughout. At the final bell it was Romans hand who was raise with cards of 119-109 twice and 118-108 although these didn’t tell the full story of what was a competitive scrap where with many close rounds.

Matsumoto in spots had real success but the champion’s methodical and more consistent pressure saw him get the nod and going forward the American will be a tough out for any super bantamweight especially if you aren’t able to dissuade him from coming forward. Matsumoto can certainly come again and after avenging his only previous loss to Victor Uriel Lopez then having an operation for hyperthyroidism this experience for the 24-year-old will be invaluable and bouts against the many countrymen at the domestic and regional level would be the wise next step.

On 3 March at the Korakuen Hall Masayuki Ito was aiming to maintain his world title dreams and avoid any banana skins when he squared off against Vergil Puton. The super featherweight controlled proceedings throughout, eventually securing a 9th round stoppage and with Vasyl Lomachenko almost certain to vacate Ito's number 1 spot with the WBO should secure him a shot at the vacant belt.

Since losing a razor thin split decision to Rikki Naito back in February 2015 the 27-year-old has strung together 7 straight wins capturing the OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific trinkets in the process. He has more than served his apprenticeship at the domestic and regional level with victories over the likes of Shingo Eto, Ernie Sanchez, Takuya Watanabe and Lorenzo Villanueva and he is as ready as he’ll ever be for a world title crack.

On the same day over in Kanagawa Masayuki Kuroda defended his Japanese flyweight crown against mandatory challenger Katsunori Nagamine. This was expected to be one not to miss and it proved to be the case with Kuroda keeping Nagamine at bay early on with a busy jab before the challengers incessant pressure began to tell as he put the champion on the floor in round 8. Kuroda managed to survive the storm and took the decision with judge’s tallies of 96-93, 96-94 and 95-94.

Given his high ranking a world title shot is a solid possibility for Kuroda in the near future. Nagamine has gained a reputation as a real crowd pleasing operator and despite the loss this should remain intact and he can be in many more enjoyable fights going forward. On the same bill Kazuto Takesako blitzed Hikaru Nishida inside a round to claim domestic honours at middleweight, extending his record to 8-0 8 KOs and could be one worth keeping an eye on.

Finally on 26 February back at the Korakuen Hall in what looked a tasty matchup on paper for the Japanese Youth lightweight title unfortunately didn’t live up to those expectations as Izuki Tomioka fought to a second round technical decision versus Kaiki Yuba. It has since been revealed that Tomioka will be moving down to 130 pounds in search of a shot at the national super featherweight title.

To read more from Marcus follow him on twitter @marcusknockout

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

By Marcus Bellinger

This past weekend saw the second instalment of the Superfly series take place at the Forum in Los Angeles. Headlining proceedings was the clash for the WBC super flyweight title with champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai defending against Juan Francisco Estrada.

Unfortunately the card wasn’t picked up by a broadcaster in either the UK or Japan which considering both are strong boxing markets was very disappointing. And there was a genuine outpouring of frustration from fans on social media throughout the week. Thankfully for those of us in the UK ringtv.com streamed the fights to many people’s delight.

Before the main 3 bouts there was a contest for Kazuto Ioka’s vacated flyweight strap as unbeaten Ukrainian Artem Dalakian squared off against experienced operator Brian Viloria. Dalakian dominated from the off, making his extra height and reach advantages count to full effect. Viloria was completely off the pace and simply wasn’t able to close the distance and his only major success came in round 7 when he landed a big right hand but Dalakian managed to see out the storm.

Despite having a point deducted in round 9 Dalakian remained in control and deservedly took the unanimous decision with all 3 cards reading 118-109. For the new champion there are many intriguing options available especially against fellow belt holders Daigo Higa, Donnie Nietes and Sho Kimura. As for Viloria if it is to be the end then what a fabulous servant he has been to the sport and the lower weights in particular and it’s a real shame that TV channels in America never showed any interest in showcasing him in his prime.

Next up was a mandatory defense of the IBF flyweight crown as titlist Donnie Nietes took on Juan Carlos Reveco. The bout started off slowly with both men looking to gain the upper hand. Over the first 4 rounds there was plenty of high level boxing on display but the crowd grew restless and began to boo although I’m not sure what they expected as this encounter was never going to be a toe-to-toe brawl.

Nietes picked up the pace in round 5 and he was having real success with his excellent jab. Reveco was then visibly buzzed right at the end of round 6 and had the shot come earlier then there was a distinct possibility of him being stopped. The Argentinian struggled to get back to his corner and Nietes took full advantage as he took out Reveco in the very next round, providing a very good statement finish to a solid all round performance.

After over a decade of world title fights it’s wonderful to see the Filipino being showcased on such a big stage and hopefully he now begins to receive the recognition that he deserves and even at35 there still seems to be plenty left in the tank. He has talked about moving up to 115 lb and whilst there are a cluster of solid wins on his record a defining fight has for whatever reason escaped him so hopefully this will now come before he retires.

The co-main event saw Carlos Cuadras go up against McWilliams Arroyo over 10 rounds. Having watched both Arroyo brothers early on in their career their talent was obvious but long spells of inactivity have badly plagued their careers’. The first 2 rounds were very exciting with both men hurting each other but then the Puerto Rican assumed command and rightfully claimed the majority point’s decision and he is now in line for another significant fight.

It was then time for the main event between Srisaket and Estrada. The Mexican got off to a positive start as he countered effectively over the first 2 rounds. The champion, who can be a slow starter clicked into gear in round 3, landing some thudding body shots and as the middle rounds progressed Estrada struggled with his timing and became more hesitant about throwing having felt the power of the Thai.

The challenger had some decent success in rounds 8 and 9, bringing loud cheers from the predominantly Mexican crowd who were in attendance. Estrada managed to sustain the momentum throughout much of the last quarter of the contest and the final stanza was a memorable one as both fighters fought tooth and nail until the final bell.

In what was a close fight, Srisaket had shown more wrinkles to his game and Estrada showed the toughness to go with his boxing acumen and we were treated to a fantastic bout and yet again it had demonstrated that the little men usually deliver. Whilst Steve Morrow’s card of 117-111 for Srisaket wasn’t at all a fair reflection the other tallies of 114-114 and 115-113 Srisaket were in line with most observers.

As for what’s next, personally I would love to see the champion have a homecoming defense against a lesser opponent but it was correctly pointed out to me on twitter by respected Thai based journalist James Goyder that the financial rewards for this would be minimal however, it would be interesting to see how big a crowd the big punching southpaw was able to draw. Otherwise a rematch with Estrada sounds great and as for the overall card promoter Tom Loeffler deserves an immense amount of credit in coming up with the concept and giving boxers in the lower weights who have been ignored for far too long a platform to demonstrate their skills.