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We’re now into 2021 but before we leave last year behind there are a few more things we need to look back on for last year. Among those are the Monthly Award winners for December 2020, and it’s a month really dominated by Japanese action, with Japan hosting a large number of shows during the final part of the year.
Fighter of the Month Kazuto Ioka (26-2, 15) The fighter of the month for December was an easy one, but one we really needed to wait until the end of the month for, and that was Kazuto Ioka, who successfully defended his WBO Super Flyweight title with an excellent 8th round TKO win against Kosei Tanaka. The Japanese legend was put under pressure early in the bout, was left with double vision in round 2, and had clear damage around his eye soon afterwards. Despite that he stuck to a game plan, took away Tanaka’s best tools, dropped the younger man twice, and then forced Michiaki Someya to save Tanaka from further punishment. A fantastic performance in the final big bout of the year. Fight of the Month Masayoshi Nakatani Vs Felix Verdejo We genuinely had some amazing fights in December, such as the fantastic bout between Ioka and Tanaka fight, the sensational bout between Ali Akhmedov and Carlos Gongora and the brilliant clash between Ryoji Fukunaga and Kenta Nakagawa bout. The one that stood out above them all however was the amazing 9 round bout between Masayoshi Nakatani and Felix Verdejo in the US. The bout had 4 knockdowns, a huge shift in momentum and saw Nakatani pull himself off the canvas, twice, to stop Verdejo. This is up there with the very, very best of 2020 and is a bout that every fan should watch, if they haven’t already. A genuine fantastic fight. KO of the Month Etsuko Tada TKO9 Ayaka Miyao As well as great fights we also had some sensational KO’s. The best of the bunch came in the WBO female Minimumweight title bout with Etsuko Tada taking out Ayaka Miyao with a single, short, straight, left hand. This was a perfect KO, sending Miyao face first onto the canvas, and giving Tada probably the best KO win of her career. In a month where we had some sensational finishes this was really something special and stands up there with the best female KO’s ever, especially given the proven world class ability of Miyao. If you have a Boxing Raise account and haven’t seen this one already go and check it out! Prospect of the Month Ryosuke Nishida (3-0, 1) It’s rare to see a prospect fake on a former world title challenger in their first few fights but that’s exactly what we saw from Ryosuke Nishida on December 19th, when he beat Shohei Omori. Nishida, who was 2-0, and had only made his debut in October 2019, was too quick, too sharp, too hungry and too good for Omori who struggled to get anything going. Nishida started well as he established an early lead. He a little wobble in the middle of the fight, as Omori tried to turn things around, but roared back in the later rounds and came close to stopping Omori whilst securing himself a massive win. This was brilliant from Nishida in a massive step up, and it’s clear that the young southpaw from the Mutoh Gym has the potential to go a very, very long way. This was a performance that genuinely put him on the map and we’re looking forward to seeing the 24 year old return to the ring later this year. Upset of the Month Yuichi Ideta MD8 Ryota Yada When it comes to upsets few will rival the upset win scored by Yuichi Ideta against former Japanese Welterweight champion Ryota Yada. Coming into the bout Ideta had gone 1-15-1 in his previous 17 bouts. He hadn’t scored a win in almost 10 years and had lost 11 in a row. No one gave him a chance, especially not at the age of 36. But then he simply out worked, out fought, out battled, out gritted and out willed Yada en route to taking a truly unexpected decision win. The heavy handed Yada, who is best known for his brilliant 2019 war with Yuki Beppu, was expected to win this one and move on to an OPBF title bout in 2021, but this loss almost certainly ends those plans and leaves his career in a really precarious situation. Honourable mention: Carlos Gongora TKO12 Ali Akhmedov Round of the Month Ryoji Fukunaga Vs Kenta Nakagawa (Rd8) With a lot of brilliant fights taking place in December we also got a lot of excellent rounds and they came right through the levels of the sport, from some of the Rookie bouts world level bouts. For us however the bouts rounds came late in the fantastic bout between Ryoji Fukunaga and Kenta Nakagawa, with round 8 being the best of the bunch. The two men fought each other to a standstill, they each rocked the other and they went hammer and tong, beating the fight out of each other. This was brutal, it was thrilling, exciting, back and forth action. It was exactly what we needed to see. Not only was it great, but the stakes couldn’t be much higher, with the two men fighting for the WBO Asia Pacific, OPBF and Japanese Super Flyweight titles. This was amazing, and followed up by 2 more great rounds making for a real gem of a fight.
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This past week has been a strange one, it feels like we've had a lot happen and whilst it was a busy week, it was the under-the-radar stuff that really stole the limelight. We had novice bouts in Tokyo really shining a light on how great they are, a fantastic KO by a female, something we rarely see, and it was just a genuinely low key but entertaining week. With that in mind lets find out where out weekly awards are heading!
Fighter of the Week Masataka Taniguchi The newly crowned Japanese Minimumweight champion Masataka Taniguchi has had a few rough years in the sport. He turned professional along with Hiroto Taniguchi and was expected to pretty much lead the Watanabe gym with Kyoguchi. Since then he has come up short in a number of high profile bouts, and his most notable win was a low key WBO Asia Pacific title win in Thailand. He was 0-3 in title fights in Japan and he needed something big this week. Thankfully he got what he needed, dropping Hizuki Saso in the opening round and winning every minute of the fight after that until forcing a late stoppage. Fantastic week for a man who might, now, kick on and have the career we expected him to have. Performance of the Week Phongsaphon Panyakum We head over to Thailand for our performance of the week, which was scored by Thai youngster Phongsaphon Panyakum, who broke down the tough nosed Kompayak Porpramook on Saturday's WP Boxing event. The performance wasn't flawless from Phongsaphon but it was exactly what he needed, breaking down the smaller man and neutralising Kompayak's pressure. His his credit the veteran tried, as he always does, but met a stronger, younger, hungry man who just has too much in every area. This was the performance that suggested Phongsaphon has star potential, and fingers crossed we see him able to get a notable international opponent in 2021. Fight of the Week Tomoya Tanaka (0-2) vs Kenshiro Ishimori (1-0) In a week that big name fighters stole attention in the US and UK it was a hidden gem on a Japanese card that left us feeling fuzzy and warm inside and with good cause. There really wasn't another bout that we saw that matched the drama and excitement of the scheduled 4 rounder between Tomoya Tanaka and Kenshiro Ishimori. From the moment this started it was clear both men were confident they could pick up a win and they fought with that belief. The opening round saw them trading jabs and straights with a right hand from Tanaka dropping Ishimori. The tide was turned in round 2 and Ishimori dropped Tanaka. Yes these were novices, but man this was great! We often rave about novice bouts on social media and it's because of bouts like this! Round of the Week Takumi Hashimoto Vs Soshi Goto (Rd3) We're going to speak about Takumi Hashimoto in a bit more detail later on, but we need to give him credit here for the third round of his bout with Soshi Goto, which was 3 minutes of thrilling action. After taking the first two rounds Hashimoto looked to finish off Goto who realised the tide was well and truly against him. During round 3 he stood his ground more, partly a result of all the body shots he had taken, and it made for a great round of Hashimoto pressing forward like a baby terminator and Goto trying to create space and get his respect. This wasn't a hugely dramatic round, but it was a thoroughly entertaining one with both men needing to take some solid leather. A real joy to watch. KO of the Week Etsuko Tada TKO9 Ayaka Miyao We mentioned a women's KO in the opening paragraph and it really was the standout finish of the week. It was scored by veteran Etsuko Tada who landed a short, counter, straight left hand that dropped Miyao face first. It was genuinely one of the best female KO's we've seen in terms of both quality of finish and quality of opponent. This was perfect and a great ending to their 2 fight series, which had seen the women fight to a draw in February. If you missed this one it's worth hunting down on Boxing Raise, a true beauty! Prospect of the Week Takumi Hashimoto Sometimes the key to winning Prospect of the Week is to score the highest profile win by a prospect, other times however it's about the fighter who has left us most excited about them, and with that in mind we need to have Takumi Hashimoto as this week's prospect. The debutant was in an all novice bout, against Soshi Goto, and despite being in such a low profile bout Hashimoto made his TV time count. He was all action from the off, pressing forward with hunger and a high octane pressure style. Within a round he had caught the eye and then he kept it up for 4 rounds. He was giving up size, height, reach and physical maturity here, but really impressed. Make a note of his name going forward  December, the best month of the year! The part of the year where we get Christmas, New Year's Eve, the birthday of some awesome people (hint hint!), and a great array of match ups right through the month. We really do have a bit of everything in December with world class fighters, domestic and regional title bouts, prospects, intriguing rematches and bouts that are just...interesting.
December 3rd Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Masataka Taniguchi (12-3, 7) vs Hizuki Saso (12-6-2, 4) On December 3rd we'll see a new Japanese Minimumweight champion crowned as former world title challenger Masataka Taniguchi clashed with Hizuki Saso for the vacant title. The title has been vacant since January, when Norihito Tanaka gave it up, and it's great to see it getting a new champion here. On paper it's really hard to see anything but a win for Taniguchi, however we suspect Saso know his opportunities will be limited and he'll have put everything into preparing for this shot. Ayaka Miyao (23-8-2, 6) vs Etsuko Tada (19-3-3, 6) II - We'll also see a new owner of the WBO Female Minimumweight title on December 3rd when Ayaka Miyao and Etsuko Tada re-run their January bout. Earlier this year these two veterans fought to a draw, in what was a really, really good bout, and we're looking forward to this rematch. It seemed that Miyao was unlucky in the first bout between the two, and she'll be the favourite here, but Tada should never be written off and she has bounced back from multiple setbacks through her career. This promises to be competitive, exciting and high tempo, even if neither fighter has the power to really hurt the other. December 5th Workpoint Studio, Bang Phun, Thailand Apichet Petchmanee (7-0, 2) vs Musheg Adoian (7-2, 7) II Another notable rematch comes from Thailand on December 5th when unbeaten Apichet Petchmanee takes on Thai based Russian fighter Musheg Adoian. This should be really interesting, especially given the controversial nature of their first bout earlier this year. When the men first fought Apichet seemed to get very lucky on the scorecards after being dropped twice, and it's clear that Adoian will be out to avenge what he and his team will feel was an unjust loss. As for Apichet it's a chance to prove he's the better man. Sadly though the close nature of a number of Apichet's wins do suggest that if this goes the distance he'll take the decision and Adoian may well need to stop his man to home a victory. Phongsaphon Panyakum (10-1, 5) vs Kompayak Porpramook (60-10, 41) In an interesting match up 20 year old Thai prospect Phongsaphon Panyakum will take on former world champion Kompayak Porpramook. Originally Phongsaphon was supposed to be facing Sarawut Thawornkham on this card, but the bout was changed in mid-November when Sarawut's health forced him into early retirement. As a result Kompayak has stepped in and should make for an interesting test for the youngster. On paper Phongsaphon should be favoured, but we expect he will be given a real acid test here in a very interesting match up. Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Mikito Nakano (4-0, 4) vs Ruito Saeki (7-3-1, 1) Promising Japanese Featherweight Mikito Nakano returns to the ring in search of win #5 as he takes on Ruito Saeki. So far Nakano has looked like a star in the making, and it's a real shame his rise through the ranks has been slowed by 2020, or we'd likely be seeing him in title bouts in 2021. He's talented, quick, powerful and super sharp. In Ruito Saeki we have a capable domestic level fighter who came close to making the 2016 All Japan Rookie of the Year final, but has gone 0-2-1 in his last 3. Although struggling for form Saeki has shown that he's tough and is a clear step up for Nakano in a solid bit of match making. RCC Boxing Academy, Ekaterinburg, Russia Fazliddin Gaibnazarov (8-1, 5) vs Manuk Dilanyan (11-4-1, 4) Rio Olympic gold medal winner Fazliddin Gaibnazarov will be look to continue rebuilding his career following a 2019 loss to Mykal Fox. The talented Uzbek is being matched relatively easily here against Manuk Dilanyan, who hasn't looked all that impressive during his career. Although, on paper, an easy fight for Gaibnazarov it is worth noting that the Uzbek will be giving away around 5" in height and could find Dilanyan to be a tricky customer here. December 10th Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Daishi Nagata (15-2-1, 6) vs Akihiro Kondo (32-9-1, 18) Earlier this year this under-rated Daishi Nagata upset Koki Inoue to claim the JBC Light Welterweight title, which he'll defend for the first time on December 10th, when he takes on former world title contender Akihiro Kondo. On paper this looks like a really good first defense for Nagata, but digging a little deeper it's fair to say this is a calculated risk, with Kondo looking like a man who has seen better days. Given the styles of the two men this should be really fun, but the younger, fresher, champion should be strongly favoured against the tough veteran. Rentaro Kimura (2-0, 2) Vs Thunder Teruya (7-7-1, 4) Super prospect Rentaro Kimura has hardly put a foot wrong since turning professional earlier this year, and the man from Shizuoka will be looking to end the year 3-0 (3) as he takes on Thunder Teruya. This is expected to be a chance for Kimura to showcase his skills at Korakuen Hall in front of a paying audience, for the first time, and to get some more TV exposure, on Fuji TV, before bigger and tougher bouts in the new year. Teruya certainly shouldn't be a threat for Kimura but won't be there to roll over and Kimura will need to for his win. Tsubasa Murachi (5-1, 3) Vs Isao Aoyama (12-7-1, 3) Another prospect who'll have to work for a win will be Tsubasa Murachi, who looks to score his biggest win to date as he take on JBC ranked Super Flyweight Isao Aoyama from the Celes gym. Once touted as a future star Murachi bit off more than he could chew in 2019, when he was stopped by Froilan Saludar in a WBO Asia Pacific title fight, but is is looking to rebuild and looked solid last time out, against Ryotaro Kawabata. We expect another solid performance from him here. Aoyama is a veteran and a talented on, but has lost 4 of his last 4 and a win here would likely be his best to date. December 13th EDION Arena, Osaka, Japan Yumi Narita (4-4-3, 1) Vs Mont Blanc Miki (4-3-1, 1) Japanese female Minimumweight champion Yumi Narita looks to make her first defense as she takes on Mont Blanc Miki in a bout that won't get much attention based on records though should be an appealing match up when the two women get in the ring. Neither of these are the most polished of fighters but as with many limited level fighters in Asia they both come to fight, and with the title on the line we expect both to dig in deep. The challenger will be the under-dog but is a very, very live challenger here. EDION Arena, Osaka, Japan Miyo Yoshida (14-1) v Tomoko Okuda (6-2-2, 1) The once beaten Miyo Yoshida looks to record her second defense of the WBO female Super Flyweight title as she takes on gritty challenger Tomoko Okuda. Coming into this Yoshida will be strongly favoured, given she is riding a 10 fight unbeaten run, and has scored several very notable victories during that rung, including one against Tomomi Takano and another against Casey Morton, to win the title. Although the under-dog Okuda is now push over and she'll be hungry to make the most of her big opportunity, especially as she'll know there's a good chance she won't get a second shot at a world title, given she's 37.  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. 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!  The final 10 or so days of April are set to be packed with a fantastic variety of bouts, from national title fights, to world title fights. We see one of the most anticipated bouts of 2019, a female prodigy going for a world title in her 4th bout and the return of the WBSS. This is how you end a month!
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April 26th- California, USA
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 As, has become custom in recent years, the calendar for December is genuinely stacked, from wall to wall, making it probably the busiest month for us arguably ever! As a result we'll be breaking our "What's to come" into 3 different parts. The first part, this one, will look at the hectic start to the month, covering everything from a world title fight to a former world champion returning after more than a year away to great looking prospect Vs prospect match!
December 1st- Mark Anthony Barriga (9-0, 1) Vs Carlos Licona (13-0, 2)- USA A crazy December 1st starts Japan, but the highlight of the day is in the US due to a stacked American card. Among the bouts on that card is an IBF Minimumweight title bout, as the Filipino sensation Mark Anthony Barriga takes on Carlos Licona, for the title that was vacated by Hiroto Kyoguchi. We've not seen anything much of Licona but Barriga has always impressed and we're expecting this to be an excellent technical contest. Valentine Hosokawa (23-6-3, 10) Vs Takashi Inagaki (20-17-2, 9) -Tokyo, Japan Japanese Light Welterweight champion Valentine Hosokawa returns for his second defense as he takes on fellow veteran Takashi Inagaki. This bout looks like it's going to be one sided, at least on paper, but Inagaki will know that this will be his final shot, and will almost certain risk it all for a chance to become a champion, after previously coming up short twice. Yukinori Oguni (19-2-1, 7) Vs Arega Yunian (6-11, 1) - Tokyo, Japan Former IBF Super Bantamweight champion Yukinori Oguni returns to the ring after more than a year out, as he fights in a tune up bout against limited Indonesian visitor Arega Yunian. This really will be a mismatch, but it's great to see the popular Oguni back in the ring and he's seemingly got serious plans for 2019. Kayoko Ebata (12-7, 6) Vs Etsuko Tada (17-3-2, 5) - Osaka, Japan The Barriga Vs Licona bout isn't the only world title fight this coming Saturday, as WBO female Minimumweight champion Kayoko Ebata defends her title against former WBA and IBF champion Etsuko Tada. Ebata is looking to make her second defense of the belt, and if we're being honest a loss will almost certainly end her career. The talented Tada isn't the fighter she once was, but is the younger fighter and will likely be the crowd favourite here. Eri Matsuda (1-0) Vs Minayo Kei (6-3, 1) - Osaka, Japan Talented novice Eri Matsuda looks to claim her first title in just her second professional bout, as she takes on Minayo Kei in an OPBF Atomweight title fight. This could be a good test for Matsuda, who is tipped to have a very successful career, and if she wins she could well end up moving into world title bouts by the summer of 2019. For Kei this is a chance to over-come a touted opponent. Wakako Fujiwara (6-2-2, 2) Vs Kimika Miyoshi (13-11-1, 5) II - Osaka, Japan The relatively unknown Wakako Fujiwara shocked Kimika Miyoshi earlier this year, to claim the OPBF female Featherweight title. Now she'll be looking to repeat the feat in a rematch against the former champion, and former world title challenger. It's hard to see where the loser goes from here, whilst the winner may well end up moving in the direction of a world title fight in the new year. Kasumi Saeki (2-0, 1) Vs Wassana Kamdee (3-4, 2) - Osaka, Japan Matsuda isn't the only novice looking to claim their first title very early in their career as Kasumi Saeki looks to claim the WBO Asia Pacific Female Minimumweight in just her third bout. The talented Saeki will be up against Thai visitor Wassana Kamdee. We suspect Saeki will win, but we're more intrigued by her performance, rather than just the result. Reiya Konishi (16-1, 6) Vs Richard Rosales (13-7-2, 7) - Osaka, Japan Former world title challenger Reiya Konishi looks to make his first defense of the WBO Asia Pacific Light Flyweight, and move a step closer to a second world title fight as he takes on Filipino Richard Rosales. The talented Konishi failed to shine in his title win, but is expected to look really good against Rosales. To his credit Rosales has mixed with good opponents, but isn't expected to be a serious test here. Masao Nakamura (24-3, 23) Vs Carlo Magali (23-10-3, 12) - Osaka, Japan Another Japan Vs Philippines bout will see former OPBF Super Featherweight champions Masao Nakamura and Carlo Magali face off for the vacant WBO Asia Pacific Super Featherweight title. The heavy handed Nakamura was once tipped for big things, but has shown a frailty through his career, whilst Magali has a very misleading record and he can be a nightmare at this level. We're expecting a pretty exciting tear up when these two get in the ring together, and the winner will take a huge step towards a potential WBO world title fight. December 2nd- Arata Matsuoka (6-6, 4) Vs Hikaru Ota (9-8, 5) - Hyogo, Japan In a bout for the Japanese Youth Flyweight title we'll see Arata Matsuoka and Hikaru Ota face off. This bout doesn't scream amazing on paper, but these youth title bouts are typically very good to watch and this one looks amazingly competitive, with both being very limited fighters. In a way it's a shame that these two are fighting for a title vacated by the brilliant Junto Nakatani, but we should at leats get a 50-50 bout, something we wouldn't have got had Nakatani defended the belt against one of these two. Hikaru Matsuoka (14-4-3, 2) Vs Noboru Osato (10-6-4, 2)- Hyogo, Japan A second Japanese Youth title fight will see Hikaru Matsuoka take on Noboru Osato for the Super Bantamweight belt. Hikaru Matsuoka, is the twin brother of Arata Matsuoka, from the Flyweight bout, and we could potentially see twins ending the day as Japanese Youth champions. Osato is however a very capable fighter and footage of both men suggest that this will be a match up between two technically capable fighters each looking to box at range in what could an interest chess match. December 3rd- Satoshi Shimizu (7-0, 7) Vs Takuya Uehara (16-0, 10) - Tokyo, Japan Reigning OPBF Featherweight champion Satoshi Shimizu will be looking top make his 4th defense, and take a huge step towards a world title fight as he takes on unbeaten challenge Takuya Uehara. The champion, a 2012 Olympic bronze medal winner, is a technically flawed fighter, but one who has serious power and throws from awkward angles. Uehara is a more technically fighter, rather than the free swinging and unorthodox style of Shimizu, but it is the challenger who is taking a massive step up in class. Hinata Maruta (7-1-1, 6) Vs Tsuyoshi Tameda (18-3-2, 16) - Tokyo, Japan A brilliant prospect vs prospect bout for this part of the month will see the very highly regarded Hinata Maruta taking on the heavy handed Tsuyoshi Tameda in a really outstanding bit of match making. Maruta is the more naturally gifted, and when he made his debut he genuinely impressed, beating Jason Canoy, but has yet to really show what he can really do. Tameda is a real brutish puncher, with several wins of note, but he has come up short against the better boxers he's been up against. This could seriously be the bout of the month and is fantastically matched! |
Oriental Opinions
This is just an opinion, maaaan! It's easy to share our opinions, and that's what you'll find here, some random opinion pieces Archives
March 2024
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