This past Saturday was an interesting day in world boxing, though it was far from a key date for international fans. The one man who it as a very important day for was WBO Cruiserweight champion Marco Huck (38-2, 26) who made a record equalling 13th defence of his world title by out pointing the previously unbeaten challenger Mirko Larghetti (21-1, 13). The bout ended in confusing fashion with Huck looking like he had knocked out Larghetti at the end of the bout though the referee decided that the punch had come after the bell and we went to the cards which all favoured Huck. Although Huck was successful in the ring we felt he was disappointing and it appears he is struggling to continue at Cruiserweight. Although he likely wants to set a Cruiserweight record for most defences he really needs to pick his opponent carefully then move up rather than continue to drain himself to 200lbs. Whilst Huck retained his title we saw another man picking up a title. That man was the newly crowned WBA interim Bantamweight champion Yonfrez Parejo (16-1-1, 7) who scored an 11th round stoppage over Luis Hinojosa (25-8-0-1, 15) to claim the title. The loss for Hinojosa was his first loss in 27 bouts whilst it extended Parejo's current winning run to 5 bouts following his sole loss to Hugo Ruiz back in 2012. In a 10 round non-title bout WBA interim Super Flyweight champion David Sanchez (26-2-2, 20) stopped Anuar Salas (14-3, 10). The bout, which ended in round 5 after Salas was dropped and failed to fully recover, saw Sanchez move 1 step closer to getting a world title fight with Kohei Kono though at the moment the WBA have the issues surround Koki Kameda standing in the way of any prospective title fight. We suspect Watanabe would pay big money to get a Kono/Sanchez bout made for New Years Eve though at the moment they would still need the WBA to show some flexibility on the Kameda situation. In female title action fans in Venezuela saw Mayerlin Rivas (10-3-1, 7) stop Arely Valente (12-2-1, 6) in 9 rounds to claim the WBA interim Female Bantamweight title. A second female world title bout saw Peruvian Linda Laura Lecca (11-2-1, 3) retain her WBA interim female Super Flyweight title with a decision victory over Mexico's game but limited Guadalupe Martinez (7-7, 3). (Image courtesy of http://www.boxnews.com.ua)
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Last weekend was disappointing for boxing fans though this week we do have some interesting fights with various implications for the winner, the losers and those not involved in the bouts themselves. For many fans the most significant bout of the day takes place in Germany as the always fun to watch Marco Huck (37-2-1, 26) defends his WBO Cruiserweight title against the unbeaten but unproven Mirko Larghetti (21-0, 13). Huck, looking for his 13th title defence, is thought to be in easy here though Larghetti is unbeaten, confident and will know that this is his big chance to become a real player on the world stage. We favour Huck, we have to, though we always enjoy watching him and it's clear that this could be incredibly fun to watch, as long as it lasts anyway. Another notable male bout will see Yonfrez Parejo (15-1-1, 6) fighting against Luis Hinojosa (25-7-0-1, 15) in a bout for the interim WBA Bantamweight title. Yes adding another of the WBA's now prolific "interim" titles in the. The 28 year old Parejo has previously fought for the WBA interim Bantamweight title, though he was stopped in 8 rounds by Hugo Ruiz and since then his sole win of note came against Angky Angkotta. As for Hinojosa his record is very misleading and you'd look at it and suspect he wasn't a particularly good fighter, amazingly however he has gone 24-0-0-1 (15) in his last 27 fights following a 1-7 start, sadly however he hasn't beaten anyone of note. Ranked #5 and #6 by the WBA this bout really is a joke and should be little more than an eliminator. A poor, poor move from the WBA but it should be an interesting fight. On the same show as the Parejo/Hinojosa bout is a WBA interim female Bantamweight bout between the very under-rated Mayerlin Rivas (9-3-1, 6) and the promising though unproven Arely Valente (12-1-1, 6). This bout looks like one where Valente will start as the favourite but Rivas really is much better and we can't help but suspect Rivas will easily over-come Valente. Another female world title bout will take place in Peru as Linda Laura Lecca (10-2-1, 3) defends her interim WBA Super Flyweight title against the under-rated Guadalupe Martinez (7-6, 3). This looks like a serious test for the popular Lecca and we'd be shocked if Lecca took a comprehensive win here. (Image courtesy of http://www.boxnews.com.ua) This past Saturday may not have seen any fights in Asia though it did see some results that may have interested a number of Asian fans and fighters. The most notable bout of the day was in Buenos Aires, Argentina where Daniela Romina Bermudez (16-2-2, 5) claimed the WBO female Super Flyweight title. Bermudez stopped Peruvian opponent Linda Laura Lecca (8-2-1-3, 3) to claim the title and possibly paint a target on her back for a number of Japanese fighters. Whilst we'd expect Bermudez to do all she can to avoid the fearsome Naoko Fujioka, the WBC champion, bouts with any of Naoko Yamaguchi, Tomoko Kawanishi or Aniya Seki would be intriguing bouts. Unfortunately we don't imagine any of those bouts to happen, despite the fact that Yamaguchi was, at one point, scheduled to fight Bermudez in 2013, as seen in the poster opposite. Whilst the fight in Argentina was a world title fight, despite possible views on female boxing, a card in Mexico had an equally important contest on it. This bout, in Jalisco, saw Ganigan Lopez (24-5, 15), a former victim of Denver Cuello's, defeating former IBF Minimumweight champion Mario Rodriguez (16-9-4, 11). Rodriguez, who was beaten for his world title by Katsunari Takayama, In all honesty Lopez dominated the fight and took a very clear decision over his compatriot as he claimed the vacant WBC International Light Flyweight title and opened the door to a world title fight with Adrian Hernandez. Although this result may seem like one with little connection to Asia it's actually a very important result. With a number of Asian fighters world ranked by the WBC at Light Flyweight this could see their chance for a voluntary title fight pushed backwards. So this could effect the likes of Jonathan Taconing, Shin Ono and Naoya Inoue who are all highly ranked. Just a day after the first male title fight of the new year we get the first female title fight of 2014 as Argentinian Daniela Romina Bermudez (15-2-2, 4), pictured, takes on popular Peruvian Linda Laura Lecca (8-1-1-3, 3) in a battle for the vacant WBO Super Flyweight title. The title, which was last defended in October 2012 by Carolina Raquel Duer, is of course in the division that Japan has a number of notable fighters, including the incredible Naoko Fujioka. Sure we'd fancy Fujioka to do a job on either Bermudez or Lecca the winner of this bout would become a name that Fujioka would certainly have on her radar. Japanese fans may, ever so slightly, recognise the name of Bermudez. She was, in 2013, scheduled to fight the then WBC champion Naoko Yamaguchi before the fight fell through just days prior. That could well mean that a victory here for the Argentinian may see her become a target for Yamaguchi, or even OPBF champion Tomoko Kawanishi. Lecca, who will be the under-dog going in to this fight, is the naturally bigger fighter though will be the lesser experienced fighter and the one who will have the crowd against her. With the skills she has though, this could be competitive. As well as the female fight there is a second bout of note for Japanese fans as Mario "Dragoncito" Rodriguez (16-8-4, 11), the former IBF Minimumweight champion, fights for the 3rd time since being decrowned by the excellent Katsunari Takayama. Rodriguez, trying to re-establish himself on the world stage, will be be fighting fellow Mexican Ganigan Lopez (23-5, 15) in a bout for the vacant WBC Continental Americas Light Flyweight title. Whilst Japanese fans will be familiar with Rodriguez it's the Filipino's who will recognise the name of Lopez with Ganigan having been stopped by Danver Cuello in 2012 before defeating Mateo Handig in August last year. The winner of the All-Mexican fight would become a top WBC contender at 108lbs. This will be of interest to Jonathan Taconing, Shin Ono, Naoya Inoue and Nethra Sasiprapa who are all top 10 ranked by the WBC and may need to face the winner to get their hands on WBC champion Adrian Hernandez. |
InternationalWe know that not every fight involves an Asian fighter but a lot of fights do affect Asian fighter. As a result we've decided to add this new section to Asian boxing where we look at selected International bouts. Archives
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