 November is very much a top heavy month, starting with pretty the best of what we're going to be getting. Despite there is some solid action in the second week of the month, thanks to a fantastic Dangan card.
November 9th Taiki Minamoto (16-5-1, 13) Vs Takuya Watanabe (36-9-1, 21) - Tokyo, Japan This part of the month has a sensational Japanese Super Featherweight title eliminator as former Japanese Featherweight champion Taiki Minamoto takes on the always tough Takuya Watanabe. The hard hitting Minamoto moved up in weight earlier this year, after defending the Featherweight title against Reiya Abe, and will be hoping his concussive power carries up to Super Featherweight. For Watanabe another loss here will likely end his hopes if ever becoming a Japanese champion, but given his style and toughness he certainly has a chance against Minamoto. Seiya Tsutsumi (5-0, 4) Vs Kenya Yamashita (14-5, 11) - Tokyo, Japan A potentially thrilling God's Left Bantamweight tournament semi-final will see the unbeaten Seiya Tsutsumi take on the much more experienced Kenya Yamashita in a bout we're expecting to be short and explosive. Both of these men throw bombs, both are aggressive and exciting and both come to fight. It's worth noting that this will be Tsutsumi's first bout since transferring to the Kadoebi gym though we don't expect them to have tempered his aggressive mentality. Jin Minamide (4-0, 3) Vs Kuzuki Nakajima (7-0, 6) - Tokyo, Japan The second God's Left Bantamweight tournament semi-final will be a clash of unbeaten men as the explosive pairing of Jin Minamide and Kazuki Nakajima clash. Both of these men solid amateurs and have been destructive professional fighters so far in their career's. Although Nakajima is the more experienced of the two we feel that Minamide is the more accomplished, and he answered a number of real questions against Tetsu Araki in his tournament quarter final bout. Expect this to be a highly skilled, big hitting war. November 10th Alie Laurel (16-4-1, 10) vs Ernesto Saulong (22-5-2, 9) III - Gumaca, Philppinee An all Filipino bout for the WBO Oriental Super Bantamweight title will see Alie Laurel take on Ernesto Saulong in a very interesting clash, though one at a sub regional title level. Notably this will be the third clash between the two men, with Sualong having won the first two, and this is supposed to be the final clash between the two Pinoy pugilists. West Japan Rookie of Year finals- Osaka, Japan Exactly 1 week after the East Japan Rookie of Year finals we get the West Japan Rookie of the Year finals. As with the show a week earlier we're expect a lot of great action as fighters compete for the chance to become the All Japan Rookie of the Year in December. This is set to be a great card for emerging young fighters, and we would suggest every fight fan keeps an eye on this show, even if the bouts won't be televised until the following week. November 14th Mercito Gesta (32-3-2, 17) Vs Carlos Morales (19-4-3, 8) - California, USA Former world title challenger Mercito Gesta was upset last time out, when he was stopped by Juan Antonio Rodriguez, suffering his first stoppage loss. Now the 32 year old Filipino is pretty much in the last chance saloon, and another loss would almost certainly spell the end for the southpaw. Morales isn't particularly well known but the 29 year old will know that a win over Gesta will put his name on the map, and although he's the under-dog he is a very, very live fighter here, following competitive bouts with Rene Alvarado and Ryan Garcia. Gesta might be expecting a win here, but we certainly wouldn't be surprised if Morales had too much for him here.
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Although the last week has lacked world title bouts for Asian fighters it has been a exciting one, with several fantastic shows from around the continent. Better yet a lot of those shows were available to watch, with YTV, Boxingraise and Paravi all having cards from Japan available live. That has allowed us a good feel for what has been an unheralded week of action, and a week that has seen more attention given to the negative issues of boxing.
Fighter of the Week Ginjiro Shigeoka (4-0, 3) The fighter of the week, for us, was teenage sensation Ginjiro Shigeoka, who only needed 72 seconds to wipe out Clyde Azarcon and become the new WBO Asia Pacific Minimumweight champion. The youngster, who has been hyped since his debut, was expected to be asked serious questions by the much taller and more experienced Azarcon, but a great body shot put the Filipino down for the count and it's now clear that Shigeoka is deserving of the plaudits. This kid isn't just good, he's very, very special and it's going to be hard to predict just how far he can go. Performance of the Week Ginjiro Shigeoka (4-0, 3) For a second week running our Fighter and Performance awards are won by the same fighter. Last week it was a man who, at the age of 40, is coming to the end of his career, rolling back the clock to score one of his most notable wins to date. We wouldn't say Pacquiao's win over Thurman was one of his best, but at the age of 40 it was notable. For Shigeoka however it was picking up his first regional title after just 10 months as a professional that impressed and taking out a fighter who appeared to have so many advantages, so quickly, so easily, really was a performance that made us realise this kid is for real. Shigeoka has predicted a 4th or 5th round finish, but even he has to have been impressed by finding the killer blow after just over a minute. Fight Jin Minamide (3-0, 3) Vs Tetsu Araki (14-1-1, 2) The God's Left Bantamweight tournament is a really good idea, a brilliant concept in fact and we can't wait for the other divisions to be covered, something that has been announced but yet to be put into action. The best bout from the recent quarter finals was the 6 round war between Jin Minamide and Tetsu Araki. On paper this was, by far, the best of the quarter final bouts and it delivered in the best way, giving us competitive, exciting action right through the contest. This won't go down as a Fight of the Year contender, but it will go down as a fantastic example of what good match making and a shared winners mentality can give us. Round Jin Minamide vs Tetsu Araki (Rd6) The fight of the week also had the round of the week, with the 6th round of Minamide's bout with Araki being insane, bloody, wild, exciting action. It wasn't a pretty round, and wasn't a round you'd show to any prospect looking to develop their skills form watching a battle, but it was amazing.The round was 3 minutes of violent chaos, with the final seconds just having the two men stand and trade blows in what may go down as the Japanese sequence of the year. This was brilliant and well worth the Boxing Raise subscription price for the month. KO Unfortunately no KO really stood out, though Shigeoka's KO of Azarcon with a body shot was impressive it wasn't really something we felt deserved a KO of the week award. Prospect Yusuke Mine (1-0) Turning professional after a notable amateur career can be tricky, especially to deliver a great performance on your debut. For Yusuke Mine the biggest issue he had was a cut caused by the head of Jesel Guardario, a cut that curtailed the bout in round 4. Prior to the conclusion Mine showed a lot to get excited about, with his skills, movement, timing and jab, a really clean and crisp jab. The youngster would likely have wanted to score a stoppage here, and failed, but did look every bit of a super prospect, and it's clear that the Mutoh Gym will be pushing him hard going forward. Upcoming fight Kazuto Takesako (10-0-1, 10) vs Shuji Kato (10-1-2, 6) II This coming week we see a lot of really interesting match ups, including two really intriguing rematches. One of those is rematch between Koki Eto and Jeyvier Cointron and the other is the Japanese Middleweight title bout between Kazuto Takesako and Shuji Kato. We're picking the second one of those bouts as out one to watch due to the fact their first one was so brilliant. Their first didn't end with any weird and bizarre ending was instead a 10 round war that swung one way then the other, with Takesako narrowly retaining his title with a draw. We know these two are well matched, we know they are ultra-competitive and we know we could be set for something very, very special.  The end of July is upon us and we see another surge in action, especially in Japan, with tournaments, titles, prospects and a touted debutant!
July 23rd On July 23rd we get something a little bit different as Dangan put on the quarter final bouts for their God's Left Bantamweight tournament: Gaku Aikawa (9-7-1, 3) Vs Kenya Yamashita (13-5, 10) - Tokyo, Japan Kazuki Nakajima (6-0, 5) Vs Kenichi Watanabe (8-4-1, 4) - Tokyo, Japan Jin Minamide (3-0, 3) Vs Tetsu Araki (14-1-1, 2) - Tokyo, Japan The three matches above are all part of the God's Left tournament and on paper the stand out match up is the Minamide Vs Araki bout, pitting one of the most touted prospects against the man with the most success at title level, with Araki having been a Japanese Youth champion. It's hard to imagine anything but a win for Kazuki Nakajima in his bout with Kenichi Watanabe, with Aikawa Vs Yamashita has the potential to be an all out thriller.
July 26th
July 27th
This past week hasn't been the most packed, and sadly a lot of what did take place, at leats in Japan, wasn't made available live. As a result this week has been an awkward one to follow, but we have still had some pretty notable activity.
Fighter of the Week Vic Saludar (19-3, 10) The clearest category for the week was that of Fighter of the Week, which was won by WBO Minimumweight champion Vic Saludar, following his impressive title defense on Japanese soil against Masataka Taniguchi. The champion was asked a few questions, and certainly slowed down at times, but was the clear winner and did so by out boxing Taniguchi in what was a very good fight. Saludar could end up back in Japan to defend his title again later in the year, and it does seem that he is building a reputation there following 3 strong performances in Japan in recent years. Performance of the Week Shuji Kato (10-1-2, 6) Whilst Saludar was impressive his bout was widely seen as a 50-50 bout going in. We, and many others, had however expected Shuji Kato to become the 11th victim of Kazuto Takesako. Instead however the 2017 Rookie of the Year came within a hair of dethroning the Japanese Middleweight champion, fighting to a very good draw. It wasn't the result that either man wanted, but the performance of Kato, to move, box and take the power of the champion was impressive and he certainly deserves some serious consideration for performance of the month and not just the week. Fight Vic Saludar (18-3, 10) vs Masataka Taniguchi (11-2, 7) There wasn't any FOTY contenders this week, but there was two talented, boxer punchers performing at the highest level. Sure the champion, Vic Saludar, took a clear win over the game but less experienced Masataka Taniguchi, but the bout was high level stuff from start to finish, with shifts in momentum, action and excitement. This won't be a bout remembered massively at the end of the year, and if we're being honest is one of the weaker Fight of the Weeks of 2019 so far, but was still a very good contest. It should also be noted that the Korean action which took place on Sunday and the Japanese card from Saturday haven't yet been made available to watch widely, so none of those fights were considered here. Round Vic Saludar vs Masataka Taniguchi - Round 8 We again had a lack of rounds to watch, and even things like Boxingraise have lacked new footage this past week. We suspect that, had the Korean card form Sunday been made available a round from there would have won Round of the Week. Instead we've gone with round 8 of the Saluda Vs Taniguchi bout. It was one of the most hotly contested bouts of the fight and was a pretty even round, with Taniguchi having some of his best successes. It's not a round that will live long in the memory, but sadly it's not been a week where we've been given much to view. KO No fit contender Unfortunately a lack of footage has been a problem again here. There was certainly plenty of KO's in the two notable Japanese cards of the week, but with so few fights being shown we were unable to see many KO's. Prospect Jin Minamide (3-0, 3) Whilst we lacked footage of fights there was a lot of prospects in action, and by a lot we really do mean a lot with around 10 notable hopefuls fighting in the space of just a few days. Although we've got to revert to selecting by results, and not the overall performance it's hard to deny how impressive Jin Minamide's TKO win over Marjun Pantilgan was. The Filipino is a durable opponent but was stopped by Minamide in 3 rounds, who really does look like one to watch. His win will be shown on Monday on G+. Upcoming fight Dmitry Bivol (15-0, 11) vs Joe Smith Jr (24-2, 20) It's hard to not be excited by Dmitry Bivol and how his career is going to unfold. Next Saturday he will be defending the WBA Light Heavyweight title against the hard hitting Joe Smith Jr, in what could be a real fire cracker of a bout! We're looking forward to this one, a lot!  March is always an interesting month in Asian boxing, as bouts across the globe began to ramp up, after a relatively quiet start to the year. The month this year is packed with bouts right across the continent, including a lot of promising prospects.
March 2nd- Kazuto Takesako (10-0, 10) Vs Shuji Kato (10-1-1, 6) - Tokyo, Japan The first major bout in March will see unbeaten Japanese Middleweight champion Kazuto Takesako defending his belt against mandatory challenger Shuji Kato. The bout is expected to be another KO win for the champion, but the champion is certainly not unbeatable and Kato comes into this bout full of confidence following an upset win over former champion Hikaru Nishida. Takuma Takahashi (2-0, 2) Vs Jonel Dapidran (10-3, 6) - Tokyo, Japan Touted and unbeaten prospect Takuma Takahasi made his debut last year, and has scored back to back early wins against visitors. Now he takes a step up in class going up against Filipino opponent Jonel Dapidran. Dapidran was beaten in 3 rounds last October, by Rikuto Adachi, but we're expecting a better performance form him here. It's also worth noting that this will be Takahashi's first 8 round bout. Masahiro Suzuki (1-0, 1) Vs Kelvin Tenorio (4-4, 2)- Tokyo, Japan We were incredibly impressed by Masahiro Suzuki on his debut, showing all the touches of a future star, and we're really excited to see him return to the ring here as he takes on Filipino foe Kelvin Tenorio. We suspect this will be easier for Suzuki than his debut, which came against a very dangerous foe, but he's certainly not being matched softly at this early stage. Jin Minamide (2-0, 2) Vs Marjun Pantilgan (18-7, 14) -Tokyo, Japan Unbeaten Celes Kobayashi managed fighter Jin Minamide has fought for just over 3 minutes as a professional, taking out two experienced Filipino's already. Now he'll be taking a major step up in class to take on Marjun Pantilgan, who has been brought over to Japan a couple of times and tested very good prospects. Pntilgan is tough and will come to win, making this a very risky bout for Minamide at this stage in his career. March 5th- Charly Suarez (1-0, 1) Vs Justin Cabarles (4-0, 2) -Davao del Norte, Philippines We travel over to the Philippines for the next notable bout, as former Olympian Charly Suarez goes for his first title. The 2016 Olympian will be up against fellow unbeaten Justin Carbarles in a bout for the MinProBA Lightweight title. It's hard to imagine Suarez losing, but he will need to be fast tracked after this bout if he's to make the most of his talent, as he is already the wrong side of 30. March 8th- Denver Cuello (36-5-6, 24) Vs Jack Amisa (21-45-2, 14) - Philippines Former world title challenger Denver Cuello has been out of the ring for well over 3 years but returns this month to take on Indonesian journeyman Jack Amisa. Cuello was once seen as a potential star of the Minimumweight division, and had huge support from Filipino fans due to his hard hitting style, but injuries destroyed a number of his prime years. It's unclear what he has left, but it is great to see him return, and give the sport one last chance. Sonny Boy Jaro (44-14-5, 31) Vs Frans Damur Palue (15-21-3, 10) - Philippines Cuello isn't the only Filipino veteran in action today, as former WBC Flyweight champion Sonny Boy Jaro returns to the ring for his 64th professional bout. Jaro has been a professional since 2001 and faced a real who's who, so Indonesian journeyman Frans Damur Palue will not pose much of a threat. At the age of 36 however we do wonder how much longer Jaro has left in the tank. Robert Paradero (17-0, 11) Vs Wilfredo Mendez (11-1, 4) - Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico The on again off again match up between Filipino Robert Paradero and Puerto Rican Wilfredo Mendez is pencilled in again here, in what will be a WBO Inter-Continental Minimumweight title bout. This bout was supposed to take place in December, being arranged for, then re-arranged for the month, so we'd not be shocked to see this being cancelled, but it is a very good match up and hopefully does take place this time around. March 9th- Dmitry Bivol (15-0, 11) vs Joe Smith Jr (24-2, 20) - Verona, USA Kyrgyzstan born Russian Dmitry Bivol will be making his next defense of the WBA Light Heavyweight title as he takes on big punching American Joe Smith Jr in what should be a very exciting contest. Bivol is the much more rounded fighter, but Smith is tough, heavy handed, and has proven to be very dangerous at the fringe world level. This should be a clear win for Bivol, but he won't be able to get cocky against someone who hits as hard as Smith does. The Celes Gym isn't a particularly well known one, in fact other than Ryosuke Iwasa we would be pretty surprised if Western fans recognised anyone else from the gym. Despite that it is pretty popular and the gym Chairman, Celes Kobayashi, is a notable figure in Japanese boxing. He is a former world champion, and someone who regularly shows up on G+ broadcasts, where he does commentary. Whilst the Celes isn't too well known it does have a really exciting prospect rising through the ranks, Jin Minamide (2-0, 2) [南出仁]. To date he has only had 2 cameo appearances, but has looked destructive in both and is obviously a fighter that Celes have very big plans for. As an amateur Minamide ran up a respectable 43-22 (15) record. That record lead to him turning professional as a B class fighter, meaning he started his career fighting in 6 round bouts rather than the 4 rounders that we typically see for novices. Minamide made his debut back in June of 2018, when he faced Indonesian foe Anthony Holt. On paper this looked like a good test for Minamide, given that Holt was 5-3-1 (3), but instead Minamide made things look too easy, a he applied intelligent pressure, and landed a brutal straight left to the body to drop Hold in the first minute. Holt recovered to his feet but was dropped by a left hand to the head just moments later. A third knockdown followed as Minamide cornered his man and unloaded on the Indonesian, with the referee stopping the bout as soon as Holt dropped to the canvas. Despite needing less than a round to score his debut win Minamide would be out of the ring until November, when he returned with dyed hair and a cocky swagger to take on Filipino foe Conrado Tanamor. Tanamor was 10-2 (4) and showed some ambition in the first 30 seconds. Sadly he was quickly put on the foot after that and ambitious start and would be dropped a little more than a minute into the bout. From then on Tanamor looked beaten and would be dropped again soon afterwards, taking the 10 count in the neutral corner. Although Minamide has only had around just over 3 minutes of in ring action as a professional he has looked powerful, destructive and exciting. The 23 year old southpaw looks like a real prospect and a the potential face of the Celes gym. However his competition hasn't looked like they really wanted to be in the ring with him, they looked like they were hit and didn't like it before looking for a way out. It's going to take a durable and skilled opponent for us to really know what Minamide has in the locker, and too see if he has the skills to go with his power. If he does then, he's going to be a real threat and a major prospect. Minamide will be back in the ring on March 2nd, when he face Marjun Pantilgan and hopefully he'll fit 3 or 4 fights into 2019 en route to taking a huge step towards getting into the title mix. We're also hoping he faces significantly better opposition than he's had so far. |
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