All the big fights this weekend seem to be coming from the same show as the boxing world turns it's attention to Chicago for a Warriors Boxing card that could very easily be mistake for a UN meeting of various nations. The card, which features two Japanese fighters, has a genuine host of international talent.

Of course our primary interest in the show is the WBO Bantamweight title bout between Tomoki Kameda and Alejandro Hernandez whilst Koki Kameda's US debut is also a major talking point. Aside from those two we do still feel excited about the show.

The main bout of note is a Light Heavyweight clash between Chicago based Polish fighter Andrzej Fonfara (25-3-0-1, 15) and unknown Frenchman Doudou Ngumbu (33-5, 12), who is originally from the Congo. Fonfara should be a recognisable fighter courtesy of his world title bout earlier this year against Adonis Stevenson, a bout that saw Fonfara giving Stevenson a real test but coming up short. Whether he can perform equally as well here against a lesser known opponent is a big question though the show does seem angled towards giving him a hero's return to his adopted home town. Ngumbu will be attempting to play the role of the party pooper, just as he did last year when he upset Vyacheslav Uzelkov in Ukraine. This is a tough ask for Ngumbu but it's likely an opportunity that he knows could open major doors for him in 2015. 

Another really interesting bout on this card will see the unbeaten Javier Fortuna (25-0-1-1, 18) of the Dominican Republic battle against Puerto Rican hopeful Abner Cotto  (18-2, 8) in a promising Super Featherweight bout that could decide which of the men becomes a world title challenger in 2015. Fortuna, a former WBA interim champion at Featherweight, has gone from looking sensational to awful. In bouts against Yuandale Evans and Cristobal Cruz he looked sensation whilst against Patrick Hyland he Luis Franco he looked frustrating. We're unsure how he would fit into the title picture though we suspect that he's the type of guy who will likely be splattered when he fighters a genuine strong Super Featherweight. As for Cotto his career has been a bit of a roller coaster recently with losses to Omar Figueroa and Francisco Vargas both being serious set backs that have been wiped over by a recent win over Jerry Belmontes. It's real cross roads fight and the loser may be need to give a serious consideration to where they stand in the sport.

(Image courtesy of http://www.warriorsboxing.com)

This past Sunday wasn't a busy day in international boxing circles but there was some small action in South Africa where we had one very notable Flyweight between a recent champion and a recent contender.

The former world champion was South Africa's very own Moruti Mthalane (31-2, 20), who retained the IBO Flyweight title with a decision victory over Mexico's Odilon Zaleta (15-5, 8) who will be memorable to Japanese fans for his effort against Akira Yaegashi earlier this year.

The win here for Mthalane keeps him as a relevant fighter in the division and we'll be honest we hope to see him getting a big fight in 2015. Whether that will be a fight with an active world champion, for example Roman Gonzalez or Juan Francisco Estrada, or just another contender, such as Kazuto Ioka, isn't much of an issue just as long as we get to see him fighting someone worth noting in or around the divisional top 10.

This past Saturday was a very busy day in the boxing world with numerous world level fighters in action around the globe. It was, in some ways, one of the most interesting days of the year for boxing fans despite a lack of elite level fights or huge name fighters.

One of the key bouts was a Middleweight clash between former world title challenger Martin Murray (29-1-1, 12) who scored a technical decision win over Italian tough guy Domenico Spada (39-6, 19). The bout, for the WBC silver Middleweight title, was certainly not the best fight of the weekend but was a very important one and it seems likely the winner , Murray, will be facing Gennady Golovkin next February, also in Monaco. That bout looks like one of the best that can be made in the division but can see past a Golovkin stoppage against the game British fighter.

Another bout on the same show saw Unbeaten Light Heavyweight contender Eleider Alvarez (16-0, 9) score a statement win by stopping previously unbeaten South African Ryno Liebenberg (16-1, 11) in 7 rounds. Liebenberg was attempting to defend the WBC silver Light Heavyweight title for the first time however the win for Alvarez is likely to put him right in contention for a WBC world title fight.

For us however the most interesting bout, both in the ring and in terms of general significance, was a Bantamweight bout between the unbeaten Randy Caballero (22-0, 13) and former champion Stuart Hall (16-4-2, 7). The bout was a very competitive and exciting one as both men gave their all, sadly for Hall his all wasn't enough to over-come the more technically capable Caballero who scored a second round knockdown and just edged the contest. For Caballero this opportunity was a well deserved one following his win in an eliminator against Kohei Oba earlier this year and now we're hoping Caballero will be considering a unification bout with Shinsuke Yamanaka.

In Montenegro we saw two other fringe world class fighters in action. 

One of those two fighters was Dejan Zlaticanin (20-0, 13) who dropped the teak tough Alex Bone (10-19-3, 4) twice on route to a very wide decision victory. Zlaticanin is a world ranked fighter and is best known for his upset win over Ricky Burns though it does seem likely that he could struggle to find other big fights due to a lack of a major backer.

The other man on the card was Super Middleweight contender Nikola Sjekloca (28-2, 8) who out pointed Jorge Rodriguez Olivera (25-10, 12) in a clear cut 8 round bout. Unlike Zlaticanin it's fair to say that Sjekloca isn't struggling to get big bouts and has fought both Sakio Bika and Arthir Abraham recently and will be back in the ring on November 22nd to fight Callum Smith.

One final bout of note was a female on in Mexico as Yazmin Rivas (31-8, 9) defended her WBC Bantamweight title with a 10 round decision over Australian veteran Susie Ramadan (23-2, 8). 

(Image courtesy of  http://www.goldengloves.co.za)

On Friday night we didn't have much in terms of notable bouts but Colombian fans did have two fights of interest, albeit bouts that were effectively under the radar of the typical boxing fans.

The most significant of the bouts saw WBA interim Lightweight champion Darleys Perez (31-1, 20) stopping former Super Featherweight world title challenger Jaider Parra (23-2-1, 12). Perez, defending the title for the first time, managed to record a 6th round KO over Parra who is best known for his previous loss in a world title fight to Takashi Uchiyama last year. Just like in the Uchiyama fight Parra was taken out by a body shot which left him in agony.

In the other bout, a female title bout, fans saw Liliana Palmera (23-11-3, 15) surprisingly upset Ana Lozano (8-3, 6) to claim the WBA interim female Super Bantamweight title. For Palmera this win stands out as somewhat of a career defining win though for Lozano this is not what she would have wanted and her career may never reach the heady heights that she was once promised. In fact a loss to Palmera suggests that Lozano isn't even close to being a world class fighter.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

There isn't much action this Sunday but one bout did catch our eye on the international scene. This bout will see former IBF Flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane (30-2, 20) battling against recent world title challenger Odilon Zaleta (15-4, 8) in what is really an interesting bout, even if Mthalane needs to be favoured. 

Both of these guys are known to Asian boxing fans. Mthalane gave Nonito Donaire one of his toughest bouts way back in 2008 in an IBF Flyweight title fight that Donaire won by 6th round TKO but was forced to work very hard for the win. Zaleta on the other hand was last seen fighting in a WBC Flyweight title fight against Akira Yaegashi and was very competitive prior to being stopped in the 9th round.

This should be a very good bout and we suspect the winner will move towards another world title fight in 2015, and we have no complaints about the winner getting a major fight next year.

This Saturday is a great day for boxing fans with a genuinely brilliant card coming from Monaco which is developing a real niche position in European boxing circles for some interesting international shows that show case many interesting fighters, some of which are getting their main exposure via these shows.

The headline bout here will see Middleweight hopeful Martin Murray (28-1-1, 12) battle against former contender Domeico Spada (39-5, 19) in a WBC Silver Middleweight title bout. In theory, and lets be honest boxing never does what it should, the winner of this bout should face the winner of a contest between Miguel Cotto, the WBC world champion, and Gennady Golovkin, the WBC interim world champion. We're hoping to see Spada and Murray put on a great fight but we do feel that Murray has been over-rated for a decent showing against a badly damaged Sergio Martinez and that Spada has had more chances than he actually deserves.

In a second Middleweight bout Britain's Nick Blackwell (15-3, 6) will be battling the under-rated Sergey Khomitsky (29-11-2, 12). This is a great bout even if no titles are on the line and we actually prefer it to the other Middleweight bout despite this bout being a level lower, that's because it's a more competitive match up. At least to us.

At Light Heavyweight we get another WBC silver title bout as Ryno Liebenberg (16-0, 11) faces fellow unbeaten fighter Eleider Alvarez (15-0, 8). This is a genuinely great bout between two top 15 Light Heavyweights and it's hard to call either way. Both men are looking for the "big win" to get them into the mix and a win here could well be that big one that they so desperately want.

Another bout on this card that looks very interesting will see the IBF Bantamweight title up for grabs as Randy Caballero (21-0, 13) battles against former champion Stuart Hall (16-3-2, 7). The belt, which was vacated by Paul Butler, was held by Hall earlier this year and we had hoped to see Caballero fighting Hall for the belt when Hall held it. Instead Caballero gets his chance now, a chance he earned when he went over to Japan and stopped Kohei Oba. We suspect this could be a good fight but we can't hide the fact that we are Caballero fans and hope that he can pick up the win here.

One other bout on this card will see China's Xiong Zhao Zhong (24-5-1, 14) battling against Hekkie Budler (26-1, 9) in a WBA Minimumweight title bout. Whilst this is in Monaco it does feature an Asian fighter and we have fully previewed this bout here.

As well as the action in Monaco we also have a very notable female title fight in Mexico as the very talented Yazmin Rivas (30-8, 9) battles the once beaten Susie Ramadan (23-1, 8) in a very interesting contest for the WBC female Bantamweight title. Both of these women are top tier fighters and both will come in to this bout with serious confidence and self belief. In many ways it's the bout of the day and we're expecting a very memorable contest between two equally talented fighters.

(Image courtesy of http://www.goldengloves.co.za)

This weekend kicks off a day early as Colombian action effectively begins a long weekend for hardcore boxing fans on Friday.

The most significant of the two bouts is a bout for the interim WBA Lightweight title as the once beaten Darleys Perez (30-1, 19) attempts to defend the title against former Takashi Uchiyama foe Jaider Parra (23-1-1, 12). Perez is best known for his loss to Yuriorkis Gamboa and he looked really gun shy in that bout. Despite losing to Gamboa however he is a decent fighter and has scored notable wins over Bahodir Mamadjonov and Argenis Lopez. As for Parra the Venezuelan challenger did look a talented fighter until almost being snapped in half by an Uchiyama body shot from hell. In all honesty this should be a really good and competitive fight, even if the title belt shouldn't really be up for grabs here

The other bout is a contest for the interim WBA female Featherweight title as current champion Dahiana Santana (34-6, 14) attempts to defend the title against the very limited Liliana Palmera (22-11-3, 15). Palmera has been a constant loser on and around the top of the tree and we suspect she'll suffer another defeat against a top fighter whilst fans wonder how she manages to get so many opportunities. Santana isn't an elite fighter but she is world class and shouldn't struggle in the slightest to defend her title here.

It's not too often that fans in Latin America have something to look forward to on a Sunday but this weekend is a little bit different courtesy of a very meaningful Minimumweight bout between unbeaten Peruvian hopeful Ricardo Astuvilca (13-0, 3) and Panama's fringe contender Carlos Ortega (10-3-2, 4) for the WBC Silver Minimumweight title. Effectively the winner of this will be the top contender to the winner of the upcoming world title fight between Oswaldo Nova and Wanheng Menayothin.

The unbeaten Peruvian is ranked #5 by the WBC and #11 by the WBA going into this bout but in all honesty Boxrec's ranking of 100 in the division seems more appropriate based on competition so far. This is a huge step up for him, then again fighting a ranked Japanese domestic contender would be a huge step up. Carlos Ortega on the other hands is ranked #2 by the WBC and #12 by the IBF, rankings slightly more in-line with his #25 ranking on boxrec, and certainly more deserved rankings given his his recent wins over Gilberto Pedroza and Leroy Estrada.

Don't get us wrong, we wouldn't either of these two to beat Kosei Tanaka, for example, but the significance of this bout is telling and the winner will be in an excellent place to challenge for a world title in 2015, unfortunately it will be an undeserving position. 

This coming weekend is a somewhat scarce one when it comes to interesting fights and unfortunately the biggest fight of the weekend, in regards to immediate significance is a probably stinker in Mexico. That's because the talented but frustrating Carlos Molina (22-5-2, 6) will be defending his IBF Light Middleweight title against the likable but limited and undeserving Cornelius Bundrage (33-5-0-1, 19). For Molina this will allow him to end a roller-coaster year, probably on a high, though it leaves the IBF open to some very problematic questions. Such as how is a man with just 1 win in the last 2 years, and only 2 wins in the last 3 years, being given a world title shot. We honestly like Bundrage as a person but he shouldn't be in a world title fight given his disappointing level of activity.

Whilst the most important bout of the weekend does look a stink there is another notable bout as we get an IBF Featherweight title eliminator in the UK. This bout will see unbeaten Australian Joel Brunker (27-0, 15) battle against once beaten British fighter Lee Selby (19-1, 7). For us this is the bout of the night and promises everything you could wish for. It has two young and hungry fighters both fighting for their shot at the big time, it has solid looking records, good fighters and real intrigue on both sides of the planet, and of course it adds to the general sporting rivalry of the UK and Australia.