As we head towards the new year we've had a big look at the current scene and come up with "20 fights we'd like to see in 2020", yeah another series ahead of the new decade! As is always the case with what we do, these articles will have an Asian flavour, and every bout we mention in the series will have at least 1 fighter from Asia involved. So for those of you expecting us to talk about Deontay Wilder Vs Anthony Joshua, that won't be listed. What we'll be looking at is well matched contests with either some form of back story, a great stylistic clash or bouts with some form of significant meaning. If they tick all the boxes then that is even better! Each fight will be given it's own article and each of these will come with an introduction to the fighters, and why the bout is being featured in the list. Fight #19 Kazuto Ioka (25-2, 14) Vs Kosei Tanaka (15-0, 9) Since late 2019 there has been one potential all-Japanese title clash which has been spoken about a lot, and it now seems to have taken a step towards reality thanks, in part, to a ruling the WBO made in regards to one of the two men involved in the potential match up. The bout would see Japan's only male 4 weight champion up against someone looking to match him, and would pit two of the most skilled body punchers against each other in a mouth watering contest. It's hard to believe that Kazuto Ioka only turns 31 this year. The talented Ioka turned pro all the way back in 2009 and fought through out the 10's, barring a short retirement that lasted less than a year. During the decade he won titles in 4 weight classes, unified belts at 105lbs, and scored a number of wins that aged really well, just look at what Akira Yaegashi and Felix Alvarado did as proof of that. He also became one of the foremost faces of the Japanese boxing scene, a huge draw, and a central figure for the New Year Eve shows that highlight the end of the year. As the current WBO Super Flyweight champion he enters 2020 with a lot of potentially thrilling match ups out there for him, but there is something about all Japanese title bouts that always excited us. When talking about exciting all Japanese world title bouts we can't forget how Kosei Tanaka introduced himself to the Flyweight division, having a barnstormer against Sho Kimura in the 2018 Fight of the Year. Now the talented "KO Dream Boy" is the WBO Flyweight "Super" champion he is linked to another move up, and a potentially thrilling encounter with Ioka. Tanaka, like Ioka, has raced through the weights and raced through competition that has later made his victories look better, with Vic Saludar and Angel Acosta both going on to win world title. He has also chased the big fights and become a man who's face we tend to see at the end of the year, with 3 New Year Eve bouts bouts in the last 5 years. A win over Ioka would make Tanaka a star, and essentially force TBS to push him nationally, not just in Tokyo and Chukyo, the two regions that tend to get his fights in Japan. With the talk of this bout starting way back in August 2019, then growing as the year went on, it does seem like there is real desire for these two to be matched. On paper it's a very, very, easy one to make as both fight for the same Japanese network, essentially the JNN which owns TBS and sister channel CBC, and there is desire from the WBO to make the bout. Of course both men have other options, but this seems to be getting a lot more talk and time than those other options in Japan, suggesting this is the bout the fans want first. Of course if we do have to wait we could end up with things like Tanaka Vs Moruti Mthalane or Ioka Vs Juan Francisco Estrada, and lets be honest, we wouldn't complain at those options, if we eventually got this all Japanese super fight later in the year!
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Another week is over and it's another week where we've had good, we've had bad and we've again had some ugly. In fact we seem to have some recurring uglies, sadly. Good 1-Roman Gonzalez gets another chance Roman "Chocolatito" is one of our favourite fighters, and we know we're not alone there, so to hear that he'll be getting another world title fight in February is great news. Better yet it's an a very winnable one for the little Nicaraguan master as he takes on the weak link of the Super Flyweight champions. Although Kal Yafai is unbeaten this is a step up for him, and a test to see what Gonzalez has left in the tank. An intriguing match up and something that we're looking forward to. Better yet this comes on a very good card, and it's a great sign that DAZN are eyeing up ways to keep hardcore fans onside. 2-The Champion Carnival Bouts Although the Champion Carnival bouts didn't have any actual surprises it's great to see them all, barring the Minimumweight bout, now being known and it's even better that so many of the bouts have the dates set. We've a lot to look forward to in the first half of 2020 and the Champion Carnival plays a major part in that. Special mention needs to go to the April 9th edition of Diamond Glove, which features a brilliant Champion Carnival double header and already looks like a highlight to mark on the calender, even this far out. Bad 1-Biney Martin's officiating in the Takahashi vs Doronio fight We want to start this by stating that we rate Biney Martin highly as a referee. This week however he "done goofed", big time. The veteran referee, himself a former fighter, really should have done more after unbeaten Japanese fighter Takuma Takahashi landed a combination on Leonardo Doronio, after Doronio was dropped. The fact Takahashi did it twice was a disgrace and it's a shame that Martin didn't take points and give Doronio time to recover what what were flagrant fouls. Regardless of Martin's officiating, this bout was tremendous and well worth a watch for those who missed it live. 2-Pedro Villegas getting world title shot Whilst it's great the WBO haven't gone the route of the WBA, with multiple "world" champions, or the WBC, with ceremonial titles left right and center, they don't really seem to value their own titles. This week we were informed that the 12-0 (4) Pedro Villegas would be getting a shot at WBO Minimumweight champion Wilfredo Vazquez in February. On paper that doesn't look like something to complain about, however the devil is in the detail of that 12-0 record. The unbeaten 21 year old Ecuadorian has scored just 5 wins over opponents with a win to their name, only 1 opponent with a winning record and has only been scheduled to do 8 or more rounds twice. The one fighter with a winning record he beat was 35-24-3 entering their bout, was 40 years old, 6 removed from a win and hadn't fought at all in over a year. According to the WBO rankings Villegas is unranked, so we do wonder if the plug will be pulled on this one, as it bloody should be! Ugly 1-Continued speculation of Alejandro Jimenez's gender Can we just fucking stop this? It was bad enough when she won the title but it's actually got to the point where the WBC, yes those ass clowns, have been able to get the moral high ground on boxing fans. Thankfully this did begin to subside at the end of the week, but in the middle of the week this was still a subject that boxing fans were being absolute imbeciles about. 2-Antonio Brown Vs Logan Paul We want to speak about boxers boxing. We want to talk about fighters fighting. This week however we've seen more talk about a former disgraced, but talented, NFL player fighting Logan Paul than we've seen talk about actual fights. DAZN and Eddie Hearn, have opened the floodgates to these freak fights on US soil and it's not a good thing. Japan had them in PRIDE and Australia have for Aussie rules players fighting quite often, but...yeah we shouldn't be encouraging this. 3-Wilder Vs Fury II Under(developed)card What the fuck is going on here? A massive card, with the eyes of the world boxing should be used as an advert for the sport. The main event will grab the fan attention and the under-card is a chance to show either great match ups or promising prospects. With 5 weeks go until February 22nd this card is still pretty much an undeveloped mess. Promising and good looking bouts have been linked to the show, but it appears they aren't going to be taking place on the show and instead we're left with a void. Awful work from the promoters who look like they have completely and utterly missed the opportunity to make this show something to build off. The name "Tadashi Yuba" might not be a big name in the Western world but among hardcore fans of the Japanese scene Tadashi was a Japanese domestic legend. He was, and still is, the only 5-weight Japanese National champion, and he enjoyed success from Lightweight to Middleweight. His career was synonymous with his multi-weight success, his hard swinging style and his huge popularity at Korakuen Hall, where he fought 32 times between 1999 and 2014.
The Yuba name lives on in boxing with Tadashi's son Kaiki Yuba (6-0-2, 4) currently making a name for himself as an an exciting and promising young prospect, tipped to go far in the sport over the coming years. On January 28th Yuba looks to claim his first professional title, as he fights for the Japanese Youth Lightweight title, in what is actually his second shot at the belt having been denied by a technical draw against Izuki Tomioka in 2018. With that in mind, now seems the perfect time to feature Yuba in our "Introducing..." series. As an amateur Yuba's record isn't too widely reported, though it is known that he reached the final of the 2016 Japanese High School final, losing to Issei Aramoto and a year earlier he was in another notable domestic High School tournament. Unlike many however he didn't stick around in the amateurs for long, making his pro debut at the age of 18, whilst still a student. Yuba's debut, in February 2017, saw him fighting out of the gym his father had set up after his retirement and score a 3rd round TKO win over Thai visitor Jakkraphong Arsapha. Despite it being Yuba's debut there was quite a lot of attention on the youngster due to his father and he looked solid, aggressive hard hitting and exciting as he easily over-came his Thai foe. Incidentally this win came on a really notable show that feature Hiroto Kyoguchi winning his first title, the OPBF Minimumweight title, Reiya Abe beating Joe Noynay and Masayuki Kuroda beating Yuta Matsuo for the Japanese interim Flyweight title. By the end of 2017 Yuba had moved to 3-0 (2), taking an opening round win over Bener Santig and a 6 round decision over the rugged Pablito Canada. Those wins lead Yuba to getting his first shot at the Japanese Youth title in February 2018, just a year after his professional debut. Sadly that bout ended in an inconclusive manner, after Yuba was badly cut over his right eye from a headclash. Notably just 1 fight later Tomioka challenged OPBF champion Masayoshi Nakatani, yes the guy that gave Teofimo Lopez fits, and Tomioka was really competitive with Nakatani before being stopped in the 11th round. Following his first draw Yuba signed with the well established Watanabe Gym, who he has been fighting for ever since. His first fight under Watanabe saw him defeat Chinese fighter Po Sang So with a clear 6 round decision, on a Japan Vs China show. Sadly for Yuba another bout against a Chinese fighter, this time He Lu in April 2019, resulted in Yuba suffering his second technical draw, this time due to a bad cut above his left eye from a clash of heads. Yuba, despite having success was a touch wild and reckless. He wasn't to blame for the headclashes, though his southpaw stance did added to his reckless aggression did lead to an increased risk of accidental headclashes. There was several cases of heads coming together against Tomioka whilst against Lu, in an all southpaw bout, it was the clumsiness of Lu that lead to a single nasty clash that ended the bout. Thankfully for Yuba he had rebuild well from the Lu bout, stopping Korean Jin Su Kim, in July 2019, and then blowing out Mikado Konishi inside a round in October, on the under-card of Hiroto Kyoguchi's bout with Tetsuya Hisada. Although a decent amateur Yuba very much fights like slightly more polished version of his father. Like Tadashi the young Kaiki is a rangy, long and tall fighter, who has solid power. He can box though often seems happier to force a fight of things, and come in behind heavy hooks, rather than really relying on his solid jab, solid but under-utilised. He looks like the sort of fighter that Watanabe gym could really polish into a fine young fighter, but it will take effort, and the gym will need to tame his aggressive tendencies to get the most from him. Despite that sounding harsh, his father had real success being a gunslinger, and if Kaiki has half the success his father had he'll be regarded as a successful fighter. He has the natural skills to go further than his father, but will need to hone those skills to get the most from his career. We expect Yuba to win the Youth title at the end of this month, when he faces Kanta Takenaka, and use that as a stepping stone towards bigger things, and despite his flaws and openess, it would be a massive surprise if Yuba doesn't advance from the Japanese Youth title scene to the Japanese title scene in the coming years. Whilst much of the action in early to mid-January was spaced out the end of January really sees things coming in at us thick and fast with a lot happening in the final week of the month, including some top unbeaten prospects, world, Japanese youth and Japanese female title fights and a tournament final! January 25th- Quebec, Canada Batyrzhan Jukembayev (17-0-0-1, 13) Vs Maximiliano Ricardo Veron (12-3-1, 4) Talented Canadian based-Kazakh hopeful Batyrzhan Jukembayev looks to kick his 2020 off in style when he meets 31 year old Argentinian fighter Maximiliano Ricardo Veron. A win for the Kazakh will move him a step closer to a potential world title fight later in the year, and will see him defending minor WBA and IBF titles. January 27th- Tokyo, Japan Yumiko Shimooka (4-7, 1) vs Yumi Narita (3-4-3, 1) On paper not something to be raving about, but Yumiko Shimooka and Yumi Narita will face off in the hope of crowning a new Japanese Female Minimumweight champion. The title was vacated by former champion Mizuki Chimoto, and whilst neither of these two are stellar fighters they should make for an interesting bout all the same. January 28th- Tokyo, Japan Kazuki Nakajima (8-0, 7) vs Seiya Tsutsumi (5-0, 4) One of the real standout bouts for Asia this month is the God's Left Bantamweight final, pitting unbeaten punchers Kazuki Nakajima and Seiya Tsutsumi against each other. This should be a very explosive bout, that could be a blink and you miss it affair. Both can bang, both have some question marks about their defense, both were solid amateurs and both will be looking to claim the God's Left crown. If you have Boxing Raise this is really the one you need to catch this month! Ayaka Miyao (23-8-1, 6) Vs Etsuko Tada (19-3-2, 6) Former female world champion Ayaka Miyao and Etsuko Tada clash for the vacant WBO Female Minimumweight title, which was vacated by Kasumi Saeki. Miyao is coming into the bout looking to become a 2-weight world champion, having previously reigned at Atomweight, whilst Tada is looking to reclaim the WBO title, the she previously vacated. This should be a very fan friendly bout between two women who like to let their hands go, and have styles that should work well together, with Miyao being a speed boxer-mover and Tada being someone who will apply pressure behind her volume. Kaiki Yuba (6-0-2, 4) vs Kanta Takenaka (7-4-1, 2) Second generation fighter Kaiki Yuba looks to claim his first title as he takes on Kanta Takenaka for the vacant Japanese Youth Lightweight title. Yuba's father, the legendary Tadashi Yuba, was a 5-weight Japanese national champion and dubbed "Mr Korakuen" due to his success as the Korakuen Hall. There is pressure on the 21 year old Kaiki but he should have too much for the tough but limited Takenaka here. Kanako Taniyama (2-0-1, 1) vs Tomoko Okuda (5-2-2, 1) II Another Japanese female title should see a champion being crowned as Kanako Taniyama and Tomoko Okuda battle for the second time, with the stakes being the Japanese female Bantamweight title. These two fought to a draw last year, with Taniyama somewhat unlucky not to pick up the win, and we expect another interesting contest this time around. Taniyama was the aggressive, front foot fighter whilst Okuda relied on keeping things long, making for an interesting dynamic that we expect to be repeated here. Could be a bit of a hidden gem here. January 30th- Florida, USA Daniel Roman (27-2-1, 10) vs Murodjon Akhmadaliev (7-0, 6) The highest profile bout for an Asian fighter in January is an obvious choice, as unbeaten Uzbek Murodjon Akhmadaliev takes on WBA "Super" and IBF Super Bantamweight champion Daniel Roman, in a truly mouth watering clash. These two were supposed to fight last year, before Roman suffered an injury in training. For Roman a win would continue an excellent run, which has seen him beat Shun Kubo, Ryo Matsumoto and TJ Doheny, and help stamp him as the #1 fighter in the division. For Akhmadaliev a win would be a huge statement from him, and from Uzbek boxing. Stylistically this is very interesting, with the fighters having styles that should gel, and very significant. One to be very excited about. Washington, USA Jade Bornea (14-0, 10) vs Ernesto Delgadillo (11-0-2, 2) Unbeaten Filipino fighter Jade Bornea features in his international debut at the end of the month when he takes on American for Ernesto Delgadillo in a bout for the NABF Super Flyweight title. The fight should tell us a lot about what both men have in their lockers and the winner will find themselves in the mix for a world title fight later in the year. This past week has been an interesting one with a lot of action at the end of it, some explosive action in the US and some real exciting and notable moments in both Japan and South Korea. With that said, lets take a look at this weeks award winners! Fighter of the Week Kazuto Takesako (12-0-1, 11) Japanese Middleweight champion Kazuto Takesako scored the biggest win of his career as he defeated Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa, unifying the Japanese and OPBF titles in the first OPBF title fight of the year. This was expected to be a total war but in the end Takesako was in control through out. Early on it was the body shots and combinations of Takesako that set the tone for the bout, before the contest descended into a bit of a mess. In the a very good win for Takesako even if the performance wasn't the most spectacular and the bout not that memorable. Performance of the Week Dong Myung Shin (3-0) With only 12 rounds to his name as a professional prior to yesterday we were expecting to see former amateur standout Dong Myung Shin being worn down and and eventually drowned by all action teenager Han Bin Suh. Instead it was Shin who handled the 10 rounder incredibly well, fighting hard to take a decision, and the KBM Super Bantamweight title. Shin proved he could fight, he could box and despite his record it does appears that he has a bit of pop as well, hurting Suh several times. At 31 Shin will likely be fast tracked this year, so do not be surprised to see him fighting for a regional title in the very near future. Fight Han Bin Suh Vs Dong Myung Shin We love Korean action and it was Korea that shone this week with a very good show that went under-the-radar. The show was stacked with title action and it the KBM Super Bantamweight title bout that delivered. Teenager Han Bin Suh showed the all action, come forward mentality that caught our eye big time last year, whilst former amateur standout Dong Myung Shin showed off his polished boxing skills in what ended up being a truly fantastic 10 round battle. This is one to hunt down when SPOTV or KBM upload it, and whilst not a FOTY contender it was a brilliant low level bout. Round Takuma Takahashi vs Leonardo Doronio (Round 3) One bout we didn't expect to be mentioning in our weekly awards was the 6 round bout between fast rising Japanese prospect Takuma Takahasi and Filipino journeyman Leonardo Doronio. It was however the hidden gem of the weekend, with 4 knockdowns, and some wild exchanges. The third round of the bout had everything. It hard a couple of knockdowns, some truly crazy 2-way action, drama, controversy and intensity. This was a round that deserves to be watched, rewatched, and watched again. The controversy, left by the referee Biney Martin not taking a a point from Takahashi for hitting Doronio when he was down leave a shadow over the round in some ways, but added to the drama of it in others. This is a round that we've included below and suggest every fan watches this week! KO
Shohjahon Ergashev KO1 Adrian Estrella Uzbek fighter Shohjahon Ergashev got the chance to show case what he could do on Friday night, as he took on Mexican fighter Adrian Estrella as part of a Shobox telecast. He really took his chance to showcase his power, taking out Estrella with a truly brutal body shot that will be replayed over and over during 2020. The sharp left hand, that sneaked in past the elbow of Estrella, left the Mexican in agony and really caught the eye. As fans of brutal body shot KO's this was spectacular. Prospect Min Jang (10-0-2, 2) We weren't mega blown away by 19 year old Korean Min Jang, though that was more due to the fact he didn't to blow us away. The talented southpaw showed glimpses of brilliance against the over-matched Junhui Zhao, but never needed to move through the gears. Jang looks like a confident, talented boxer-mover and someone we are very excited to see progress over the coming years. Fingers crossed we see what he can really do next time out, hopefully against a better opponent than Zhao. Upcoming fight Batyrzhan Jukembayev (17-0-0-1, 13) Vs Maximiliano Ricardo Veron (12-3-1, 4) After a blitz of action this past week things really drop off over the coming week, with only a very small number of fights taking place. As a result we were almost forced into a selection by default. Despite that we do still have an interesting one as unbeaten Kazakh contender Batyrzhan Jukembayev takes on upset minded Argentinian Maximiliano Ricardo Veron. With Jukembayev moving towards a world title fight this is a bit of a must win for the Kazakh and we suspect this will turn out to be a decent test for him, but a test he should pass. Expect a few tricky moments for Jukembayev, but overall a comfortable, yet exciting, win for the Kazakh hopeful. As we head towards the new year we've had a big look at the current scene and come up with "20 fights we'd like to see in 2020", yeah another series ahead of the new decade! As is always the case with what we do, these articles will have an Asian flavour, and every bout we mention in the series will have at least 1 fighter from Asia involved. So for those of you expecting us to talk about Deontay Wilder Vs Anthony Joshua, that won't be listed. What we'll be looking at is well matched contests with either some form of back story, a great stylistic clash or bouts with some form of significant meaning. If they tick all the boxes then that is even better! Each fight will be given it's own article and each of these will come with an introduction to the fighters, and why the bout is being featured in the list. Fight #18 Gennady Golovkin (40-1-1, 35) Vs Ryota Murata (16-2, 13) There aren't many bouts in this series that have been spoken about as real possibilities, instead we've tried to look outside the box, but as we come to the end of the series we do need to look at some of the super fights that have been on the mind of fans. Here we look at a bout that is rumoured to be pencilled in for June, in a dome in Japan. Today we look at a fight that would be brutal, heavy hitting, and would see both men taking serious punishment. Today we look at a Middleweight bout that would be truly spectacular. Former unified champion Gennady Golovkin has shown signs of being on the slide recently. He's no longer the "Big Drama Show" executioner who was scoring stoppage after stoppage, ripping through the contenders of the Middleweight division. He's still world class, and a win over Sergiy Derevyanchenko last October showed there is still more than enough in the tank for much of the division, but he has slipped significantly from the fighter he once was. Tough bouts against the likes of Derevyanchenko, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs have taken something out of him, and with his 38th birthday coming in April father time is also well and truly on his case. Japanese star Ryota Murata,with the backing of Top Rank and Teiken, appears to have the keys to the massive Tokyo Dome. What he needs is someone to have a dance with 42,000 seater "Big Egg", and Golovkin world be the ideal opponent. Although not the force Golovkin once was, Murata shouldn't be over-looked. The 2012 Olympic champion is a stronger, brutish fighter. Technically he's limited, he's slow, but he's so damn tough, strong and powerful that few will beat him by going head to head with him. To beat him a fighter really needs to move, they need to box, and they need to stop him from setting his feet. A 38 year old Golovkin isn't the type of fighter who will move around, and is instead the type of fighter who will fight fire with fire. Given the ageing of Golovkin, the slowing of his hands and feet, and the cracks slowly coming into his aura of invincibility he makes for a perfect foil for Murata. There is enough doubt about Golvkin now that Murata wouldn't be totally written off, as he would have been just a year or two ago. Despite slowing Golovkin is still a monster puncher, and could well be a more physically imposing fighter than Murata. It would be great to see these two heavy hitters go toe-to-toe. The loser of this would be looking down the barrel of retirement whilst the winner would be looking at a lengthy recovery from a bout that would see both men taking some bombs! This would be brutal, exciting, dangerous and thrilling. Putting this on at a huge venue, like the Tokyo Dome, would just add the occasion, and help give such a highly anticipated bout an incredible atmosphere. On February 22nd at the MGM Grand we get the long awaited rematch between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury, the first legitimate super fight of the decade. As we write this on January 17th the card has had 1 bout, just the main event, confirmed for it. With just 5 weeks to go to the show it seems unlikely the card is going to have a stacked under-card, and even bouts that have been linked to the show now look like they will end up being pushed back to more suitable dates. In fact from various reports not one of the 3 world title bouts that have been linked to the card have been signed as of yet. With two of them reportedly being pushed back to other dates and one fighter's team reportedly not being contacted at all for the fight they have reportedly accepted fight. The two that have been linked, and seemingly pushed back did so due to a lack of time to prepare. Something that was easily avoidable given the show was essentially known about late last year, and the promoted could have given fighters 8 weeks, if not longer, to prepare. We all know boxing isn't simple, we understand cards falling apart at the last minute, injuries and pull outs ruining shows, but to not have even put together the card 5 weeks out is totally different. This is just bizarre. Of course the defense many will give is "the under card doesn't matter" or "do you remember who was on such a such under-card? No...Exactly" but that totally ignores the actual issue here. The contempt of fans and the inability to actually give fans value. I often criticise Eddie Hearn in this weekly piece. After all his willingness to have cards with drug cheats, headlined by YouTubers, and chasing the almighty dollar from a regime that kills journalists is worthy of a rant or two. He does however manage to put on some good solid shows, not as many as he and his fans...yes promoters have fans as stupid as that is, want to believe but he does still do some good shows. The February 29th one that was recently announced for example is a genuine treat for fight fans, and even the January 30th show is a solid card, despite the YouTuber's seemingly being the focus of the marketing. Hearn, for the most part, puts his big cards together. There is coherency there. There is some match ups to back up the main event. Andy Ruiz Vs Anthony Joshua II had Alexander Povetkin Vs Michael Hunter whilst Joshua Vs Ruiz I had Katie Taylor Vs Delfine Persoon for support and the Srisaket Sor Rungvisai Vs Juan Francisco Estrada II card had Danny Roman Vs TJ Doheny. Yes, Hearn puts on a lot of shit, but when he goes big he tends to have at least 1 solid back up bout on the card to warm people up for the main event. Wilder Vs Fury II is as big as it's getting in terms of scheduled bouts so far. This is where the promoters should be delivering quality, especially at the $80 PPV price tag. This is where we, as fans, should be demanding quality, especially given the value DAZN are offering just a week after the Fury Vs Wilder card. Now before I go any further. It doesn't mean that we need top level bouts through the whole show with big names to make a great under-card. We really don't. We do however need good fights. Fights that will interest fans and make it feel like it was money well spent. Under-cards should do a lot more than just "be there", especially when there are millions of eyes on the show, from around the world. What better opportunity to have a prospect step up a level, a couple of contenders battle for a chance at a title shot, or a bout between two fan friendly fringe contenders, or even match a contender on the show along with someone you want them to fight. We don't need super cards with 6 world title fights as long as the show has some clear, well matched bouts. Given the window of opportunity this show was to highlight the best of Top Rank and the best of PBC, with a Top Rank Vs PBC under-card being the logical option, the promoters have dropped a wet fart on Christmas. In the media field one thing mentioned a lot is "exposure", and how doing something cheap can help in the long term. This was a card where anyone on it was going to get massive exposure. Instead of the promoters thinking long term, stacking a long under-card with prospects and hopefuls it appears that they have totally missed an open goal. For those who want to pull the "you don't remember who was on X under-card" that actually doesn't matter. You don't need to remember they were on the under-card to make a mental note of their name for the future. Mayweather Vs McGregor for example gave a chance for fans to see Badou Jack, Gervonta Davis, Yoerdenis Uga, and the debut of Savannah Marshall. Mayweather Vs Pacquiao had Vasyl Lomechenko making his second world title defense, Adrian Grandos proving his value in a close loss to Brad Solomon and Jesse Hart moving a step towards world title fight. If the under-cards aren't going to be stacked with big fights, which again they don't need to be, they should be stacked with talent. Give the up and comers the rub, let the spotlight shine on them for a moment, and let fans have a glimpse of the future. Undercards do matter. They are the first chance many casual fans have to see emerging fighters. They are boxing's version of movie trailers, they allow fans to get a name in their head. Whether they link that name and the main event, ever again, is irrelevant they just know that they saw the fighter, and that the remember that fighter in isolation. Undercards are important, and the fact Top Rank and PBC seem to think otherwise is not a good sign. As we head towards the new year we've had a big look at the current scene and come up with "20 fights we'd like to see in 2020", yeah another series ahead of the new decade! As is always the case with what we do, these articles will have an Asian flavour, and every bout we mention in the series will have at least 1 fighter from Asia involved. So for those of you expecting us to talk about Deontay Wilder Vs Anthony Joshua, that won't be listed. What we'll be looking at is well matched contests with either some form of back story, a great stylistic clash or bouts with some form of significant meaning. If they tick all the boxes then that is even better! Each fight will be given it's own article and each of these will come with an introduction to the fighters, and why the bout is being featured in the list. Fight #17 Bektemir Melikuziev (4-0, 3) vs Jaime Munguia (35-0, 28) One thing we don't see enough of in boxing is unbeaten fighters risking their "0's" against each other at a young age. Today we consider a bout where two men, both in their early 20's, clash risking their unbeaten records, in what would be a sure fire humdinger of a bout. Not only would it be a great bout but it would also see the potential winner proving a serious point about their skills and their durability. In one corner would be destructive Uzbek Bektemir Melikuziev, a former amateur standout who had turned pro and raced away with impressive performances. Unlike many prospect the talk with Melikuziev isn't just talk, but instead the Uzbek is chasing big fights early in the hope of becoming big news quickly. His first two wins both came against veterans at Light Heavyweight but the general view is that his natural weight is Middleweight, and he gradually move down to 160lbs as he gets closer and closer to big fights. In the other corner we get all action Mexican Jaime Munguia, a former WBO Light Middleweight champion who recently moved to Middleweight. Munguia is known as an all-action fighter, who will throw a lot of leather. He can be out boxed, as we saw against Dennis Hogan, but few will manage to match his out put, and it's that that he relies on to win bouts. With his output and durability being matched against the power and skills of Melikuziev we would expect a very exciting clash of styles, and the win would certainly end up taking shots on route to picking up a victory. Although lacking in terms of professional experience Melikuziev was a very accomplished amateur and has converted to the professional ranks with ease, looking like a natural. Munguia once looked like the next star of Mexican boxing but a few poor performances have seen fans cool on him quickly, and suggest that he's no longer improving. This would be a chance, on paper, for Melikuziev to score a win over former world champion, and get his name into the mix, or a chance for Munguia to show technical improvements against a former 2-time World Amateur Championship medal winner. No matter who wins we suspect this would be amazing to watch, and if it's delayed until later in the year in could have big stakes on the line, such as being a potential world title eliminator. (Image courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions and Olamsports) It could be be seen as being harsh to feature a 3-time world champion in our "Who are you?" series but when it comes to female boxing most female fighters are pretty unknown, even the ones who have stood out as being among the best over the last decade. One example of the is Japan's Etsuko Tada (19-3-2, 6), who has held WBA, IBF and WBO titles during her career, and she hunts another WBO belt on January 28th, when she faces Ayaka Miyao.
Tada took up boxing after being involved in a number of street fights during high school, and quickly excelled. Within just a few years of her taking up the sport, she had claimed a bronze in the 2001 Asian Championships and would lose only a handful of her 50 amateur bouts, including domestic losses to future world champions Naoko Fujioka and Momo Koseki. In 2008 Tada turned to the pro ranks, signing up with the Futur Gym and debuting in May 2008. Her ability was obvious and in just her second pro bout she set a Japanese record for the quickest win in a female fight, stopping Nonglek Sithsornpichai in just 31 seconds. Within just 5 months of her debut Tada had moved to 3-0 (2) and was racing towards a world title fight. To kick off 2009 Tada took a 6 round decision over Hye-Min Kim and then, in just her 5th bout, got a shot at the then WBA female Minimumweight champion ChoRong Son. Although Son was an unbeaten world champion with a 10-0 record she was easily beaten by Tada, who took a very clear decision to claim the title. Tada did what few wanted to do at the time and took on top competition straight away. Her first defense was against an unbeaten Thai, Yani Kokietgym, who was also the PABA champion, who she beat in a very competitive bout. Her second defense was in a unification bout with fellow Japanese world champion Naomi Togashi, in a bout that ended in a draw, before she travelled to Trinidad and Tobago and fought to another draw with Ria Ramnarine. Tada's reign as the WBA champion went from strength to strength as she notched notable wins over Ibeth Zamora Silva, Maria Salinas, Naoko Shibata and Yuko Kuroki, all of which look better now than they did at the time. Sadly though it did come to an end in 2013 we she lost the first of two bouts with Mexican starlet Anabel Ortiz. This was hotly contested through out with Ortiz getting a razor thin split decision, despite the bout being held in Tokyo. A return match the following year saw Ortiz take a second split decision over Tada, to retain the WBA title she had taken from Tada. Despite the loses to Ortiz it wasn't long until Tada recaptured gold, winning the IBF title in December 2015, when she beaten Kareli Lopez. Despite the win it was clear Tada wasn't the same fighter she had once been. She was slower, less busy, less sharp and at 34 years old was certainly not the fighter who had burst onto the scene 6 years earlier. Sadly her reign he wasn't one to remember, and after a stay busy fight 6 months after winning the title Tada would lose the belt in China in January 2017 to Cai Zong Ju. The loss to Cai Zong Ju seemed like a passing of the torch fight. The Chinese fighter was a rising star, and looked too young, too fresh, too fast for Tada, who was showing signs of her age. Sadly Though Cai never managed to kick on with her career whilst Tada has continued on, and bounced back from the loss by claiming the WBO Asia Pacific female Minimumweight title in November 2017. In 2018 Tada took her third step towards becoming a grandslam champion, a champion who has won all 4 major world titles, by beating Kayoko Ebata to claim the WBO Minimumweight title. Sadly she vacated this title, rather than defend it, to allow stablemate Kasume Saeki to win the belt and turn her own focus to a WBC title fight. The WBC shot never came, and instead Tada will look to become a 2-time WBO champion on January 28th when she takes on former WBA Atomweight champion Ayaka Miyao, in a mouth watering match up between two world class veterans of the Japanese scene. During her career Tada has moved from the Futur Gym to the Shinsei gym, she has changed from being a speedy boxer-mover, to more of a brawler-fighter, making up for her ageing legs. She's still world class, but there is a clear gameplan to beat her. It's not an easy gameplan to carry out, but it's a clear one. Few will have the tools to do it at the moment, but in a year or two, with Tada slowing down further she'll be there to be beaten. Although Tada is a faded force, she is still someone fans should be aware of. She's talented, she's fought a who's who, and she's always come to fight! As we continue into new year we've had a big look at the current scene and come up with "20 fights we'd like to see in 2020", yeah another series ahead of the new decade! As is always the case with what we do, these articles will have an Asian flavour, and every bout we mention in the series will have at least 1 fighter from Asia involved. So for those of you expecting us to talk about Deontay Wilder Vs Anthony Joshua, that won't be listed. What we'll be looking at is well matched contests with either some form of back story, a great stylistic clash or bouts with some form of significant meaning. If they tick all the boxes then that is even better! Each fight will be given it's own article and each of these will come with an introduction to the fighters, and why the bout is being featured in the list. Fight #16 Yuki Beppu (21-1-1, 20) Vs Kudura Kaneko (11-0, 8) The Welterweight scene in Jappan doesn't get much attention, but last year it gave us a legitimate Fight of the Year contender, and whilst the talent isn't the best it does have a nice mix of fighters who all appear to be pretty evenly matched. It's this competitiveness that has made the division interesting to follow, without having a star to really create attention there. Today's bout looks an interesting match up that could take place in the coming year for a regional title and would promise to be a very interesting contest. The hard hitting Yuki Beppu has had a really interesting career. He debuted in 2012 and won the Rookie of the Year in 2014, scoring his his 8th straight early win in the All Japan final against Hironobu Matsunaga. His KO run extended until he was 14-0, and then fought to a draw with Charles Bellamy, proving that he could box as well as punch despite only managing a draw. A loss to Yuki Nagano in a Japanese title eliminator in 2018 slowed his ascent but just 14 months later he won the WBO Asia Pacific title, winning a sensational bout with Ryota Yada. That Yada bout was truly amazing, with Beppu pulling himself off the canvas 5 times before stopping a swollen and tired Yada, in a remarkable come from behind win. Japanese based Afghan born Welterweight Kudura Kaneko is relatively unknown, unless you follow the Japanese scene in depth, but has been quietly impressing over the last few years with wins against domestic foes like Masaharu Kaito, Change Hamashima, Toshio Arikawa, Rikuto Adachi and Moon Hyon Yun. The next step for him seems to be a title bout of some kind. The 21 year old Kaneko has really impressed and seems well on his way to winning major silverware, and a shot at the WBO Asia Pacific title seems like a logical choice. He is less experienced than Beppu, but like Beppu he's a strong boxer-puncher and given his recent form, his record isn't actually much behind that of Beppu, in terms of quality at least. This would be two talented boxer-punchers against each other. Beppu is probably the more explosive, but Kaneko cannot be over-looked and he is a big, strong, powerful kid who is probably the more polished boxer of the two men. Beppu would find himself up against a guy who can box well, and throws everything with natural power, whilst Kaneko would be up against someone who could hurt him, something we've yet to see any opponent do so far. This would be a very, very interesting, explosive and exciting match up, which genuinely could see Beppu build on his huge win over Yada or help Kaneko announce himself as a legitimate one to watch. (Images courtesy of boxmob.jp) |
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