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Dear everyone,
It seems like an annual tradition now, me writing an open letter to you, our readers, but it's a tradition I don't want to ignore. For me 2018 has been horrific. I have battled depression, had my grandmother die, lost my previous stable job and generally fought with some demons. It has however been an amazing year for "Asianboxing.info". We have taken on contributors on a regular basis, have seen our page views increase drastically (with about 10 hours of 2018) left we have seen an increase of about 40% from last year, and seen a 6th straight year growth in terms of page views, we have managed to increase our facebook fans and twitter followers, increase subscribers across our youtube accounts, we've worked with CBC to help bring you the Sho Komura Vs Kosei Tanaka fight and my voice has been heard on youtube and on a podcast (thanks Kyle!) The successes of the site have helped put some personal problems on the back burner, whether that's right or wrong is for another time. We managed to run a survey that has helped with the direction of the site, have managed to upload copious videos and have managed to further build what we do, what we stand for and what we are wiling to cover. There is still a long, long, long way for us to go, but this year has been a huge one for the site. I'd like to see see us cover more in 2019, grow more in 2019 and begin to see more and more contributors from around Asia. I'd love to have the confidence in "our" size to approach more people for interviews , content, and continue the development we've had over the last 6 months, which has been massive. To do that we'll be depending on your help, like we have the entire time we've been up. So please continue to support Asianboxing.info with retweets, likes, share, interesting stories and getting on board with what we've done. So to all of you, our readers, thank you. Please don't think we're done, please don't think we're sitting back, and please get in touch with ideas of what you want to see. We are willing to try different things, we are willing to listen entirely to our audience and let you folks guide us. And given how shit 2018 has been on a personal level, thank you, thank you for making this worth doing. Thank you for not making this feel like a waste of time. It's worth more than you'll know. We want to thank everyone, but specifically those who have helped over the last 12 months, such as Marcus Bellinger, Eric Armit, George Delis, Kyle McLachlan, Julius Julianis, Nick Skok and Massimo Parlachi, Ian Melodillar as well as Fayon Igarashi, the brilliant CBC executive who helped us stream our Fight of the Year, and I know I'm forgetting people. We want to thank those who have joined what we do and will continue to support what we do. When we started this back in 2013 we expected a small, small following, and this year we've realised there's a market for what we do. Thank you, thank you everyone. Hopefully by the end of 2019 we'll be able to run this site as a full time operation, and be able to continue our growth and the exposure of fighter from across Asia, something we've tried to do with more of a focus on Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. One more. Thank you! Scott.
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 As I'm writing this we're about 15 hours away from the Fuji TV show on December 30th, a card that will feature 3 world title bouts. After that show there is still a trio of world title bouts set to take place in Macau, as the year, once again, ends with a bang due to Asian fighters.
Sadly as I'm writing this various media outlets have already announced their Fight, Fighter, KO, Prospect, Upset, Comeback and Round of the Year, completely ignoring what may happen in the final days of the year. Whilst some of those awards really won't change based on what we have to end 2018 others potentially could. We notably saw this in 2014, when Naoya Inoue announced himself on the world stage. In early 2014 the "Monster" had beaten Adrian Hernandez to become the WBC Light Flyweight champion, on December 30th he stopped Omar Andres Narvaez to become the WBO Super Flyweight champion, completely skipping the Flyweight division to stop a man who had never been stopped. He failed to get any consideration for Fighter of the Year from publications who had already announced their 2014 award winners of the Year, though was considered by those who did wait until the year was over. Whether Inoue deserved to win is a different is one question, but he should certainly have been in the conversation. This year we almost all accept that Oleksndr Usyk has been the Fighter of the Year. He's had a really stellar year unifying all 4 Cruiserweight titles, and scoring bit wins in Latvia, Russia and the UK. He's one of the few fighters who has scored 3 world class wins in the year and done so in very impressive fashion. There's nothing anyone fighting on the final days of the year can do to change that. Likewise, there is no prospect in action at the end of the year who would be in the running for Prospect of the year, , nobody on the planet would make a case for Lap Cheong Cheong to be the Prospect of the year regardless of how his December 31st goes. There's also really no argument about whether or not there can be an upset of the year contender. The widest odds on a year ending bout this year is the Kenshiro Vs Saul Juarez bout, with Kenshiro being 1/16 to win. Lewis Ritson was 1/33 to beat Francesco Patera and Sam Eggington was priced at 1/100 with a number of bookies to beat Hassan Mwakinyo, in two upsets that really won't be matched over the coming few days. That's massively different to 2014 when Hisashi Amagasa took on Guillermo Rigondeaux, and amazingly dropped the Cuban twice in round 9 before being stopped himself. There is however real potential for Fight of the Year, especially with Donnie Nietes Vs Kazuto Ioka and Hekkie Budler Vs Hiroto Kyoguchi both being fantastic match ups. Both of those fights could also provide at least 1 round of the year contender between them. There's also the potential for a KO of the Year, though it's a slim chance, given the competition we've seen through the year. We understand publications, magazines and websites want to get their articles out before the end of the year, but we do wonder whether they could perhaps hold back a few days and wait until the year ends. (Image, of Inoue stopping Narvaez on December 30th 2014, courtesy of boxmob.jp)  After the hectic new year period we do see boxing slow down as we begin 2019, with January being a particularly quiet month. That's not to say there's nothing happen, just a lot less than we see in the usually busy months of September, October, November and December.
January 5th- Suzhou, China Wenfeng Ge (11-0, 6) vs Giemel Magramo (22-1, 18) - WBO International Flyweight title The notable Asian card of the year features number of interesting match ups, including a fantastic Flyweight bout between unbeaten Chinese fighter Wenfeng Ge, who holds solid wins over Amnat Ruenroeng and Ivan Soriano, and the once beaten Filipino Giemel Magramo. The winner of this bout will immediately find themselves on the verge of a WBO title fight, and it's hard not to think this is a huge way to start the new year. Jiang Xiang (15-4-2, 3) Vs Kompayak Porpramook (59-6, 40) - WBC silver Light Flyweight On the same card fans will see Chinese hopeful Jiang Xiang take a huge step up in class to take on former world champion Kompayak Porpramook. The Chinese fighter is a relative unknown but will see this as a huge chance to climb up the WBC rankings, and towards a potential world title fight. Kompayak is well beyond his best, though is well known for his great fights with Adrian Hernandez and Koki Eto. If Kompayak can roll back the clock and put in solid performance here there is a very real chance that he could derail Xiang's charge. This a really interesting match up, and should be a very exciting one. January 12th- Tokyo, Japan Mugicha Nakagawa (24-5-1, 14) Vs Ryoichi Tamura (11-3-1, 6) - Vacant Japanese Super Bantamweight title The Japanese Super Bantamweight title was vacated in late 2018 by Shingo Wake, who now looks to chase a world title. To fill the vacancy we'll see Mugicha Nakagawa take on Ryoichi Tamura, in what should be a genuinely excellent contest between a boxer-puncher and an aggressive pressure fighter. On paper Nakagawa is the more experienced and more proven man, but Tamura is aggressive, hard hitting and gave Yusaku Kuga hell when they fought in 2018. This could be a very exciting match up. Shin Ono (23-9-3, 6) Vs Norihito Tanaka (17-7, 9) - Japanese Minimumweight title On the same card in Tokyo we'll also see Shin Ono defending the Japanese Minimumweight title in a mandatory title defense against fellow veteran Norihito Tanaka. This will be Ono's second defense of the title, following his title win in 2018 against Ryoki Hirai and his TKO8 win over Riku Kano to defend the title in October. Ono is thought to be pursuing another world title fight in 2019 but will know that he needs to win here. For Tanaka this shot comes on the back of an upset win over Takumi Sakae in October, and is his third title fight, following losses to Akira Yaegashi and Tsubasa Koura. Ono will be the favourite, but this is a very competitive looking match up, and one that should deliver a lot of action! Recently we looked at songs inspired by Asian boxers, in what turned out to be a surprisingly well liked article. Whilst doing the research for that we also discovered that a number of Asian fighters have actually proven their talents with a microphone in their hand and gone on to sing themselves. For this list we're not including the likes of Yuki Kurei, who was a musician as part of Kimaguren before turning to boxing, but instead focusing on those who were boxers first. Note - The nationality along with the song title and fighter refers to the language of the song, not the nationality of the fighter.
 It's also worth noting that former Japanese Middleweight champion Sansosuke Sasaki also released a single, featuring 2 totally separate tracks and an instrumental cover version of both of them
Sadly we've not been able to track them down, though the main track is a love from what we under-stand. Sasaki recorded this after losing the Japanese title, but his career would continue afterwards, potentially due to the low interest his musical career had. We at Asian boxing are always looking to do something a little bit different and bring attention to things that are perhaps not the most well known. With that in mind we though we'd put together a small list of songs about Asian boxers. We know this is a long way from a complete list, but we do think it's a pretty varied list.
 As we into the middle of December we need to remember there's a lot to look forward in the back end of the month. Here we take a look at the final week or so of the month.
If you missed part 1 that's available here - What's to come in December...Part 1 and part 2 is here - What's to come in December...Part 2 December 23rd- All Japan Rookie of the Year Finals - Tokyo, Japan Professional boxing's biggest annual tournament comes to a close on December 23rd in Tokyo, as we see the latest All Japan Rookie of the Year champions being crowned. The tournament might not make much of a mark internationally but it puts the winners on the fast track to domestic success and with the whole card being shown live on G+ it goes us a brilliant pre-Christmas being treat. December 24th- Keita Kurihara (12-5, 11) Vs Yuki Strong Kobayashi (14-7, 8) - Osaka, Japan The final major bout for us before Christmas comes from Osaka and sees the hard hitting Keita Kurihara take on Yuki Strong Kobayashi for the vacant OPBF Bantamweight title. The match up is a solid looking lower tier match up, though what needs to be noted is that both men are better than their records suggest, with both suffering a number of defeats early in their careers, and to good fighters. We're expecting a hard hitting affair here and it should be very exciting. December 30th- Masayuki Ito (24-1-1, 12) Vs Evgeny Chuprakov (20-0, 10) - Tokyo, Japan After a little bit of a break for Christmas big action returns on December 30th, as we run towards an explosive end to 2018. One of 3 title bouts on the penultimate day of the year will see Masayuki Ito make his first defence of the WBO Super Featherweight title, as he takes on unbeaten mandatory challenger Evgeny Chuprakov. A win here will open up some big fights for Ito in the new year, and he has stated that he intends to return to the US, where he won the title, to make future defenses. For Chuprakov the bout is a big step up in class, but he is certainly a live challenger. Kenshiro (14-0, 8) Vs Saul Juarez (24-8-2, 13) - Tokyo, Japan The longest reigning Japanese champion Kenshiro will also be on the December 30th card, defending his WBC Light Flyweight title against Mexican veteran Saul Juarez. Kenshiro has been incredibly impressive recently, beating the likes of Ganigan Lopez, Pedro Guevara and Milan Melindo, and this looks like a step backwards, unfortunately. Juarez is a good fighter, or rather was a good fighter, but his form has been less than great recently and he is 2-4-2 in his last 8 bouts. Juarez, at his best, would be a good opponent for Kenshiro, but he looks to be beyond his best, even if he is only 28. Takuma Inoue (12-0, 3) Vs Petch Sor Chitpattana (48-0, 33) - Tokyo, Japan The third major bout on December 30th will see the unbeaten pairing of Takuma Inoue and Petch Sor Chitpattana facing off for the WBC "Interim" Bantamweight title, a title that's an interim belt whilst the WBC wait to sort out the mess of their vacant "regular" title. This is a brilliant match up, between two talented youngsters, though sadly the politics of the WBC have left this bout feeling less glamorous than it should be. The winner will get a shot at the full WBC title in the new year, if and when the WBC actually get around to crowning an actual champion. With a combined 60-0 record these two do make for an interesting fight, but this is a huge step up in class for the Thai, whilst Inoue, the younger brother of Naoya Inoue, has fought a number of world class opponents during his short career. December 31st- Kazuto Ioka (23-1, 13) Vs Donnie Nietes (41-1-5, 23) - Macau It's not just December 30th that will be delivering a triple header, but also December 31st, which has one of the very best match ups of the year. The match up in question pits a couple of 3-weight world champions against each other, with Japan's Kazuto Ioka taking on Donnie Neites for the Vacant WBO Super Flyweight title. Both fighters are looking to become only the third man in history to win titles in the lowest 4 weight classes, both are looking to etch their names into the history books and help set up major bouts in 2019. Amazingly this will be the first time Nietes has ever faced a Japanese fighter whilst Ioka hasn't fought a Filipino in over 8 years! We expect to see a lot of skill on show here in what coul be a potential FOTY candidate. Hekkie Budler (32-3, 10) vs Hiroto Kyoguchi (11-0, 8) - Macau The second best bout on New Year's Eve will see WBA Light Flyweight champion Hekkie Budler defending his title against former IBF Minimumweight champion Hiroto Kyoguchi. This will be Budler's first defense of the title, which he won earlier this year in Japan by out point Ryoichi Taguchi, and he will be facing a stablemate of the man he beat for the belt. For Kyoguchi it's a great chance to become a 2-weight champion and to score a massive win to end the year. A win here for either man will set them up for massive bouts in 2019, with possible unification bouts in the new year. Moruti Mthalane (36-2, 24) Vs Masahiro Sakamoto (13-1, 9) - Macau A second South Africa Vs Japan bout will see IBF Flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane defending his title against little known Japanese fighter Masahiro Sakamoto. The South African is enjoying his second reign as the IBF champion, having won the title earlier this year in a nail biter against Pakistani fighter Muhammad Waseem, but at the age of 36 we do wonder what he has left, and he certainly looked like he was aging in the final rounds against Waseem. Sakamoto really is only known in boxing circles for losing to Sho Kimura, in a regional title bout, but has impressed since then and is a smart fighter who will know he has the opportunity of a life time here. Recently we did a list on 5 world title bouts we want to see in the new year, which can be read here 5 bouts we want to see in 2019 (World title version) for those who missed it. Now we're going to look at some All Japanese bouts we'd like to see in the new year. These bouts are all possible, so for example there is no issue with men being from the same gyms, and would all be really interesting fights, for at least one reason.
Kai Ishizawa (5-0, 5) Vs Daiki Tomita (12-1, 4) - Minimumweight Back in July we were expecting the heavy handed Kai Ishizawa take on a then unbeaten Daiki Tomita. That bout was sadly cancelled when Ishizawa suffered a nose injury in the build up to the contest. Since then Ishizawa has become the Japanese Youth Minimumweight champion, stopping Yuga Inoue for the belt, whilst Tomita has challenged for the OPBF title, losing a decision to the world class Tsubasa Koura. Getting this bout remade in the new year would be brilliant, and something to really look forward to. Both men have enhanced their reputations since the originally scheduled bout in the summer and we'd certainly love to see the power and desire of Ishizawa up against the skill and speed of Tomita. Taku Kuwahara (3-0, 2) Vs Kenichi Horikawa (38-15-1, 12) - Light Flyweight We believe that Taku Kuwahara maybe one of the very best prospects in world boxing today, and think it would be great for him to prove that in 2019. A bout against Japanese veteran Kenichi Horikawa, potentially for the Japanese title late in the year. Kuwahara has proven his value as a prospect, was a stand out amateur and is an exceptional talent. Horikawa is a faded veteran, but a nightmare to fight and this would be a potential passing of the torch. This isn't a bout that would make sense for early in the year, given that Horikawa has a Japanese title fight assured in the Champion Carnival, but towards the end of 2019 this bout would be a very good one, and could well be for the national title, if Horikawa wins his title shot. Katsunori Nagamine (15-2-1, 11) Vs Ryota Yamauchi (4-0, 4) - Flyweight In 2017 we were impressed by the hunger and desire of Ryota Yamauchi. Sadly 2018 hasn't been the break out year we had anticipated from him, however that's not to say 2019 can't be. He does need a really good win next year however, and a real 50/50 bout with him would see him take on the exciting, hard hitting and talented Katsunori Nagamine, in what could be a very interesting match up between talented fighters looking to make a point in the new year. Although we'd like to see this bout in the first half of the year, putting the winner in the mix for a title fight later in the year, it would be a very interesting title eliminator towards the end of the year, and potentially put the winner into the 2020 Champion Carnival. Akira Yaegashi (27-6, 15) Vs Hiroyuki Kudaka (26-18-2, 11) - Super Flyweight When we started this list there was a bout that really whet our appetite, and looked like a potential FOTY candidate. That was a bout between former 3 weight world champion Akira Yaegashi and 4 time world title challenger Hiroyuki Kudaka. Both men have styles should gel perfectly, both are certainly shop worn, and both are a bit on the older side, still they should match up almost perfectly for an all out action packed bout. The loser really has no where to go, but the winner will potentially be on the fringes of a world ranking. With Yaegashi turning 36 in February and Kudaka turning 34 in April the hope is that this bout will take place as soon as possible. Kudaka does have a bout in December, potentially delaying this showdown, but there's no reason why we can't have this treat in late Spring or early Summer. Shohei Omori (20-2, 15) Vs Hiroaki Teshigawara (18-2-2, 11) - Super Bantamweight When we talk about potential fights of the year it's hard to really know what bout will click. One we think will click perfectly is a show down between former world title challenger Shohei Omori and current OPBF Super Bantamweight champion Hirokia Teshigawara. Omori is the more skilled man, and the bigger puncher, but Teshigawara is a proven tough guy, who will press the fight, throw a lot and really try to take the fight to Omori. In theory this would make for a really interesting bout, with both men knowing a win would take them towards a world title fight. Neither man has their first bout of 2019 organised, and despite both fighting in the second half of 2018 neither took much punishment in their latest bout. If they can fit this bout in Spring it really would set up their year perfectly. Masao Nakamura (25-3, 24) Vs Takuya Watanabe (35-8-1, 20) A bonus fight for this list really excited us when we thought about it, and that is a show down between Super Featherweight's Masao Nakamura and Takuya Watanabe. Nakamura is a very heavy handed boxer-puncher, who can be hurt himself, whilst Watanabe is a rugged tough guy with under-rated boxing. Given Nakamura's power and Watanabe's proven durability we'd expect a war here, a bout that would really have fans on the edge of their seat. Interestingly This bout would see the WBO Asia Pacific champion, Nakamura, taking on the OPBF "silver" champion, Watanabe, and would renove the loser from the mix domestically, potentially setting the winner up for a unification bout with Hironori Mishiro or Masaru Sueyoshi. Of the bouts on this list this may be one of the easier ones to make, and one of the most exciting all-Japanese bouts that could be made right now.  Female boxing is growing in attention in the West, with various outlets now giving it more and more time. It's not given the respect that male boxing is, but it is certainly being given time with fighters like Claressa Shields, Katie Taylor, Nicola Adams and Mikaela Mayer all get attention in the US and UK.
In Japan there also have some brilliant emerging talent, that are starting to rise through the ranks. In fact right now Japan may be about to hit their golden age of female boxing with so many talented fighters coming through the ranks. Kasumi Saeki (3-0, 2) Arguably the pick of the bunch from this rising generation is the fantastic Kasumi Saeki from the Shinsei Gym. Saeki was a stand out amateur before turning professional earlier this year and has raced away to claim the WBO Asia Pacific female Minimumweight title in just her third professional bout. Saeki is a product of the brilliant Japanese amateur system, and has a style that looks professional. She's quick, aggressive, accurate, has smart foot work and is very sharp with her punching. We're waiting for her competition to improve, but really can't see any reason why she can't be fighting for world titles in the next year or two, and with Shinsei known for not holding fighters back they may even move her quicker than that. Eri Matsuda (2-0) Another sensationally talented Japanese fighter is Eri Matsuda, who has a boxer-mover style. She's been matched hard straight away, but has impressed with wins over with wins against Sana Hazuki and Minayo Kei. In those bouts her lack of power is about the only thing that needs questioning, but she showed remarkable improvement, from a narrow in over Suzuki to a dominant win over Kei. Not only has Matsuda looked talented but she has claimed the OPBF Atomweight title, racked up 14 professional rounds already and shown a combination of great outside fighting skills, fantastic composure and the ability to tie up when she's under pressure. She's clearly got a lot of room for improvement but already looks like a future champion in the making, and Team 10 Count know they have a real prospect on their hands here. Kanako Taniyama (1-0, 1) Kikcboxer-turn-boxer Kanako Taniyama turned professional earlier this year and despite being 32 years old the expectation is that she will be fast tracked. We know for men 32 year old fighters are fighters in the latter part of their prime, but we've been seeing more and more female boxers having success into their 40's so Taniyama shouldn't be written off due to her age. On debut Taniyama took on experienced Thai Sumalee Tongpootorn and really looked the part. She was sharp, quick, accurate, moved well and looked very comfortable in the ring. It's clear she has work to do, and there are flaws she has carried over from her transition from kickboxing, but she looked very good on debut and looks like Watanabe could develop her into a very good fighter. Airi Motoki (1-0, 1) The Featherweight division in female boxing lacks the depth of the divisions below it, and lacks the big names that are making a mark in the West. It's a strange division with only a handful of fighters of any real note there, such as Jelena Mrdjenovich, Heather Hardy and Jennifer Han. This means there is room for someone to quickly climb through the rankings, especially domestically. One fighter who could make their mark there is Airi Motoki, who is part of the T&T gym. She looked very good on debut, with heavy hands and good technical ability. There is certainly a rawness to her, but her right hand looks like a potentially potent weapon and she seems to have good stamina. It's worth noting that the gym she fights out of has really developed male fighter Ikuro Sadatsune and have shown they can take natural talent and polish it. Eruka Hiromoto (4-0) At 18 years old Eruka Hiromoto is the youngest fighter on this list, by far, but is also the most experienced as a professional having debuted in October 2017, taking a close win over Kisara Okamoto. Since her debut she has stepped up her competition and moved into a 6 round bout last time out. Despite being a novice she has already beaten 3 unbeaten fighters and shown quite a lot to get excited about. Hiromoto has a lot of her bouts available on Boxingraise and in that footage she has looked quick, aggressive and sharp. She lacks physical maturity, but at just 18 years old we are expecting to see that change at she matures from a girl into a woman, and hopefully that will see her adding some power to her speed and skills. Of all the fighters on the list Hiromoto seems like the one who will need the most time, but given her youth she has that time to be matched well, developed and given time to mature. (Image, of Saeki, courtesy of boxmob.jp) With 2018 coming to a close we're already excited about the coming year and what the sport may have in store for us in 2019. Here we look at 5 potential bouts involving Asian fighters at world level, we'll be doing a similar article at Oriental/Asia Pacific level in the coming days. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (47-4-1, 41) Vs Kal Yafai (25-0, 15)
The Super Flyweight division is one of the most packed at the moment, with a good handful of fighters who could all mix in some interesting fights. Among those possible fights is a WBC/WBA unification bout that would pit Asia Vs the UK. The match up in question would see murderous puncher Srisaket Sor Rungvisai take on unbeaten boxer Kal Yafai, in a bout that could go some way towards sorting out the division. In theory it's not the out and out best bout the division could give us, or even the most obvious, but we would love to see this bout, and suspect it could end what has been a poor reign from the Englishman. It would also leave Juan Francisco Estrada available to have a long awaited rematch with Roman Gonzalez and a potential WBO/IBF unification with the winner of Donnie Nietes Vs Kazuto Ioka taking on Jerwin Ancajas. Wanheng Menayothin (52-0, 18) Vs Tsubasa Koura (14-0, 9) The Minimumweight division is particularly exciting right now with a lot of young talent emerging to challenge the champions at the top of the division. The longest reigning champion in the sport right now is Thailand's unbeaten Wanheng Menayothin, who has held the WBC Minimumweight title since November 2014 and already ran up 10 defenses. One of the most promising of the emerging contenders is Japan's Tsubasa Koura, who is exciting, skilled, hard hitting and one of the brightest youngsters in Japan. This bout has been mooted for Spring 2019, and seems almost certainly a done deal to our understanding. It would be a big step up in class for Koura but he's really looked tremendous so far and if he can lure Wanheng to Japan he has a great chance. For Wanheng it'd be another bout against a young upstart, but one that could see him silencing more of his doubters and further extending his impressive unbeaten record. Tomoki Kameda (36-2, 20) Vs Shingo Wake (25-5-2, 17) Back in November Tomoki Kameda claimed the WBC "interim" Super Bantamweight title, he's expected to face "regular" champion Rey Vargas in 2019, however there is some talk that bout may not be next for either man, with Vargas expected to face WBA champion Daniel Roman. If that happens it could open the door for Kameda to defend the interim title before facing Vargas. There's one man who has been very public about fighting him, and that's Shingo Wake, who has publicly called Kameda out, a number of times. If this All Japanese Super Bantamweight clash was made it would pit two skilled fighters against each other in a mouth watering bout that could end up deciding the #1 Japanese fighter in the division, though Ryosuke Iwasa and Yukinori Oguni could also involve themselves in that argument. It would however have to wait until late Spring given that Wake will be fighting on January 19th and would need time to prepare for Kameda, who doesn't seem to have been excited about facing Wake in the past. Vic Saludar (18-3, 10) Vs Masataka Taniguchi (11-2, 7) Filipino fighter Vic Saludar travelled to Japan earlier this year to rip the WBO Minimumweight title from the hands of Ryuya Yamanaka, and sadly retired Yamanaka in the process. A return to Japan to defend the title against Masataka Taniguchi would be a potential FOTY candidate with Saludar and Taniguchi both being heavy handed fighters, with solid boxing skills, a good amateur pedigree and exciting, free flowing attacking styles. It's rare to get two solid punchers up against each other at 105lbs and this bout would give us just that. This bout had been rumoured for New Year's Eve but didn't come off, it could however end up taking place in 2019, with Taniguchi having won the WBO Asia Pacific title since the bout was first rumoured. This could be put on a bumper card in the Golden Week and would make for a great supporting world title bout. Angel Acosta (19-1, 19) Vs Jonathan Taconing (28-3-1, 22) It's hard to say what the best bout possible to make at Light Flyweight really is, with a number of match ups that could end up being FOTY contenders featuring many of the top fighters in the division. Not only are there a lot of fantastic fighters at 108lbs but there are a lot that stylistically match up for great fights. One such fight would see WBO world champion Angel Acosta taking on Filipino slugger Jonathan Taconing, who would be getting his third world title fight. This wouldn't be a mega skilled bout, but would be ultra exciting, with both being heavy handed, tough, and having solid stamina. On paper this is a real possibility, given that Taconing is ranked #2 by the WBO, though Acosta is pencilled in to make a mandatory defense against Ryuji Hara in Spring. If the bout takes place in Summer 2019 then we'd be ecstatic and looking forward to some real unbridled violence. This really would be something special, though either man could be replace with Felix Alvarado, Carlos Canizales, Hiroto Kyoguchi or Christian Araneta and we'd still get a very special bout! |
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