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.

Just over a year ago we began our "Introducing" series, looking at a fighter that we thought needed a light shining on them, generally at the start of their career. Now, more than a year on, it makes sense to have a look back over some of those fighters, in what we're terming out "revisiting" feature. This gives us a chance to look at the progress the fighters have made since we first looked at them, and whether we are to re-evaluate their hopes in the sport.
 
Given we started the "Introducing" series with with Mikito Nakano (who was 1-0, 1 at the time) it makes sense to begin this new series by looking back over Mikito Nakano's 2019 and looking at where he is now.
 
In 2019 Nakano moved from 1-0 (1) to 4-0 (4) with a trio of stoppage wins. They weren't against sensational fighters, with his February win over Ekkalak Ratprakhon being particularly poor, but he did step up in class and stopped Filipino pair Arvin Yurong and KJ Natuplag, in what were very solid wins for this stage of his career.
 
At the time of writing Nakano has broken into the OPBF Featherweight rankings, and has a #8 ranking with the regional title body. That is based primarily on his 3rd round TKO win over KJ Natuplag last November, with Natuplag entering with an OPBF ranking himself. That ranking suggests that Nakano and Teiken will be taking him the Oriental title route rather than the Japanese title route, and in all honest it seems a more open title picture for him to attack.
 
As we write this the Japanese Featherweight title scene is an insanely tough one. The champion, Ryo Sagawa is a fringe world level fighter, his next defense will come in April against the very highly regarded Hinata Maruta, as part of the Champion Carnival. Below Maruta in the late rankings are Reiya Abe and Genesis Servania, with others ranked including Ryo Hino and Tsuyoshi Tameda. Whilst the OPF title scene isn't an easy one, one it's title is likely to become vacant sooner rather than later and it does give Nakano a way to move towards a belt. Another title option would be the WBO Asia Pacific title which we wouldn't be surprised by see Nakano look at as an option. This may be very tempting as some of the fighters ranked there are ones that Nakano would strongly favour himself against, even this early in his career.
 
So how has he actually looked? Well after being not too impressed by Nakano on his debut we really have been won over by his showings in 2019. His win over Yurong showed him applying smart pressure through out, fantastic punch variety, crisp punching and the ability to move through the gears. There was still areas for him to work on but there was a lot of improvements from his debut and he was neutralising a pretty solid fighter with genuine else. 
 
It's worth noting that Nakano was apparently under pressure against Natuplag, in a bout that wasn't televised, but that isn't a bad thing and seemed to tell those in the venue that he could fight on the back foot when he needed to. That's a good sign, showing that he can be versatile and soak up the aggression of a dangerous fighter when he needs to.
 
Nakano's first bout of 2020 hasn't been announced yet though it would seem likely he'd be fighting in the Spring, the Summer and then again towards the end of the year. Although we would plot his route for a title to one of the regional belts, it would be a surprise to see him fighting for a belt this year. Instead of fighting for gold in 2020 we would imagine Nakano and his team putting down a marker in the rankings and putting things in place for a shot in early 2021.
 
Although impressing, and looking like a fighter who is improving with every fight Nakano only has 8 rounds to his name, and the 24 year old certainly needs more ring time this year. We would imagine his team are going to look at getting him in with a solid guy to take him rounds, and a bout with someone like Ryo Hino, Nathaniel May or Eugene Lagos would do him the world of good.
 
We see Nakano as a future world champion, but only if he can get the tests he needs in the coming year or two. We'd like to see 2020 to be a year of development, 2021 to be the year in which he begins to make moves for his first titles, then potential world title fights in 2022 or 2023. We'd be surprised to see him being put on the super fast track, but we'd be equally surprised to see him fail to reach the top in the coming years.

One of the areas of professional boxing that has started to get more and more attention in recent years has been Japan, thanks in a big part to Naoya Inoue's growing success, and the great work CBC have done in making Kosei Tanaka fights widely available. Whilst a lot of the emerging Japanese talent is competing in the lower weight classes it doesn't change the fact the country is over-flowing with talented youngsters all looking to make their name and become one of the countries next big stars.
 
With that in mind it seems the perfect time to try and predict who will be the next big Japanese star, and bring attention to 5 of Japan's brightest young prospects.

Nakano looks to be a man with a real understanding of the ring, understands his advantages, and how to use them effectively. He's a very sharp puncher, a smart boxer and although he's certainly not untouchable he minimises the effect of shots when he has to take them. Fighting out of the Teiken gym it's clear he's getting top sparring, and with Kenichi Ogawa, Masaru Sueyoshi and Shuya Masaki there is real talent at the Featherweight and Super Featherweight divisions in the gym. Unlike many youngsters Nakano isn't in love with his power, but knows how to deliver it to head and body. ​

Limiting this list to 5 was incredibly difficult, given the likes of Ryota Yamauchi, Yuki Yamauchi, Seiya Tsutsumi, Rikito Shiba, Shu Utsuki, Tomoya Ishii, Kuntae Lee, Ryu Horikawa and so many others. What this proves, more than anything, is the depth in Japan and the future is very, very bright for fight fans in the Land of the Rising Sun.

We start the month of August by looking backwards, over what has been a rather emotional rollercoaster of a month of fight fans. Rather than focusing on the bad, the ugly and the negative we'll try to stay upbeat as we cover our monthly award winners for this past July.
 
Fighter of the Month
Ryota Murata
It's fair to saw that we, like many others, had written Ryota Murata off at the start of the month, and expected to see him sent into retirement by Rob Brant, the man who had taken the WBA "regular" Middleweight title form him last year. Instead we got a resurgent Murata who battered Brant to the point where Luis Pabon had no option but to step in. This wasn't just a man avenging a loss, this was a man telling the world his career had real legs left in it, and that he had a new found fire in his belly. If this Murata turns up against some of the better fighters in the division he could give some of those guys a real test, though the top 2 or 3 guys in the division would still be far too good for him.
 
Notables -
Kenshiro, Joe Noynay, Manny Pacquiao
 
Fight of the Month
Naoko Fujioka (18-2, 7) vs Tenkai Tsunami (26-12, 15)
Whilst female boxing is still criminally under-rated and over-looked there are bouts that really shine above the rest, and in the last few years we've had some amazing female contests. This month we actually had one as 5-weight world champion Naoko Fujioka battled in a thrilling 10 round battle against Tenkai Tsunami. The bout really swung with momentum shifting in the second half, when it became a question of whether Fujioka could do enough to reel in Tsunami's lead and what we ended up getting was a real treat, combining boxing with fighting. This wasn't an all out war, but it was a wonderfully balanced, competitive, exciting and thrilling clash. 
 
Notables-
Manny Pacquiao Vs Keith Thurman, Han Bin Suh Vs Jong Won Jung, Jin Minamide Vs Tetsu Araki
 
KO of the Month
Kanat Islam KO1 Julio De Jesus
Kazakh fighter Kanat Islam returned to the ring for the first time in almost 2 years and took part in one of the shortest bouts we've ever seen. In fact he only needed to land around 3 right hands and a short left hook to leave Julio De Jesus down, flat on his face. This a short fight but a brutal finish for Islam, who showed he still had it, despite having had his body ravaged by injury. Aesthetically this probably wasn't the most beautiful KO of the month, but it as vicious and truly nasty. A great KO.
 
Notable-
Roldan Aldea Vs Mikhail Alexeev, Ginjiro Shigeoka Vs Clyde Azarcon
 
Prospect
Mikito Nakano (3-0, 3)
We had a lot of prospects in action this month, a number of which took on their biggest opponents so far. For us the man that left impression from those who are clearly just prospects was Mikito Nakano, who scored his third win by taking out decent Filipino Arvin Yurong in impressive fashion. Nakano, who weren't sold on originally, looks very much like the real deal and we don't expect him to take long to reach title level as he is an excellent talent.
 
It should be noted that this month Ginjiro Shigeoka showed he is no longer a prospect, but a fully fledged contender, taking his first title. Despite being just 19 and fighting in his 4th bout it's hard to consider a regional champion as still a "prospect"
 
Notables - 
Andy Hiraoka, Koshin Takeshima
 
Upset
Roldan Aldea KO8 Mikhail Alexeev
Filipino fighter Roldan Aldea will never be a world beater but recent bouts proved he was a solid fighter, going the distance with Shawn Oda, Xiangxiang Sun and Kenichi Ogawa. Despite being solid no one would have given him any chance against unbeaten Russian hopeful Mikhail Alexeev, but he held his own through a brilliant and pulsating 8 round affair, before scoring a brutal KO of Alexeev. This was a shocker, even if Alexeev was never one of the most touted or Russian hopefuls, as Aldea seemed to have become little more than a journeyman.
 
Notables-
Sho Nakazawa v Jinya Ito 
 
Round
Manny Pacquiao Vs Keith Thurman (10)
We had some brilliant fights through the month but few rounds really stood out, with consistency over the course of a fight really being more notable than the actual rounds themselves. There was however a few rounds that did make us sit up, and the best of those was the 10th round between Manny Pacquiao and Keith Thurman. The round was at the very highest level and saw momentum swing, from being a Thurman round to a Pacquiao in the final moments. It was brilliant drama and although not a round with a phonebooth war it was compelling and absolutely worthy of a rewatch. 
 
Notables-
Jin Minamide Vs Tetsu Araki (6)

It feels like the last few weeks I've started our weekly awards by apologising for a lack of action, and interesting awards winners. It was as if I was making excuses for these articles not being the most interesting. This week however things have suddenly changed and we've had a lot of incredible action, compelling match ups and interesting fights. It's not been a perfect week, but given what we've had recently it has been a very solid week.

Fighter of the Week
Koki Inoue (13-0, 10)
After a couple of forgetful performances from Koki Inoue he managed to put on a show as he defended the Japanese Light Welterweight title and stopped Ryuji Ikeda. On paper this was an easy first defense, it was supposed to be, but he still put on the performance he needed, shining like the exciting fighter he proved to be earlier in his career. There was, obviously, areas to still improve on, but his ring IQ, control of distance and powerful flowing combinations were excellent, and it's obvious that matched with the right opponent he can be very fun to watch.

Performance of the Week
Kanat Islam (26-0, 21)
After being out of the ring for close to 2 years we saw Kazakh hopeful Kanat Islam return to the ring and put in one of the shortest bout's well see in 2019. In fact it lasted less time than it would take for most fans to sit down after the national anthem, but still put the 154lbs division on alert. Islam pretty hurt Julio De Jesus with the first connect then let only a handful of shots go before De Jesus hit the canvas and the referee instantly waved off the contest. Officially this was stopped after 14 seconds, and it was all Islam.
 
Fight
Tsuyoshi Tameda (19-4-2, 17) vs Tae Il Atsumi (16-2, 8)
We expected a great fight when Japanese puncher Tsuyoshi Tameda took on Japanese based Korean foe Tae Il Atsumi. There was something about the match up that got us really excited before a punch was thrown and it took only seconds to see that out expectations were pretty accurate. This bout was dominated by Tsuyoshi throwing bombs from the off, his lack of accuracy left him open but it was only a matter of time before he was going to land. When he did Atsumi tried to respond, and the touchpaper was lit! This didn't last long, but was thoroughly entertaining.
 
Round
Tsuyoshi Tameda vs Tae Il Atsumi RD1
Whilst we had some great fights no single round really stood out, with the best of them arguably being the pick of the bunch. It was a round that had some really fun back and forth moments, some knockdowns and some wild brawling as Tameda forced his fight on to Atsumi. The second round was too short to really steal the show, but the first round was damn good action!
 
KO
Kanat Islam KO1 Julio De Jesus
Whilst it wasn't beautiful it's hard to argue with the blow out KO that Kanat Islam scored as the best of the week, it was certainly the most impactful, eye catching and destructive. A huge right hand over the top started things and 2 more followed to send De Jesus crashing to the canvas. Yes this bout was an horrific mismatch, even when you accept the long lay off for Islam, but the finish was truly brutal.
​
Prospect 
Mikito Nakano (3-0, 3)
We had a lot of prospects in action over the last 7 days, and they included some sure fire stars like Taku Kuwahara, Kuntae Lee, Sultan Zaurbek and even the unheralded Mark Vicelles. The one who impressed the most however was Mikito Nakano, who took a huge step up and blew out Filipino Arvin Yurong in what was a really credible test. Yurong had shown some ability against Xiang Li back in January but Nakano went through him like a knife through hot butter to score a 2nd round KO. We knew Nakano was good, but this was special and the Asian scene at Featherweight is seemingly on the verge of a new star.
 
Upcoming fight 
Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa (11-4, 10) v Koki Tyson (14-3-2, 12)
This coming week has 4 male world title fights, a female world title fight and so much more, though for us the bout we're most excited about is the OPBF Middleweight title bout between Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa and Koki Tyson, in what we're expecting will be a full on shoot out. It's not the highest quality bout we're expecting to see, but it has the real potential to be the most exciting, the most fan friendly and the most entertianing. In fact if this bout doesn't end up being a shoot out we'll be truly surprised...and a little bit disappointed!
 ​

After a relatively quiet month of June we see things really pick up in July, with what looks to be a truly hectic schedule. We though May was busy but even the craziness of May could end up playing second fiddle to June which features everything we could ever ask for.
 
July 1st-

•  Koki Inoue (13-0, 10) Vs Ryuji Ikeda (14-5-3, 9) - Tokyo, Japan

The first title bout of the new month will see Japanese Light Welterweight champion Koki Inoue make his first defense, as he goes up against Ryuji Ikeda. This really should be a mismatch in favour of Inoue, though it seems like he's planning to make an exciting fight, after a couple of dull performances. The talented Inoue is a class fighter, and in Ikeda he may well have the perfect foil to shine against

• Tsuyoshi Tameda (19-4-2, 17) Vs Tae Il Atsumi (16-2,8) - Tokyo, Japan

A potentially amazing match up will see hard hitting Japanese national Tsuyoshi Tameda up against Japanese based Korea Tae Il Atsumi. This could end up being a sleeper classic, with the two styles being aggressive and both having heavy, thudding power. On paper Tameda is the younger and more powerful guy, but Atsumi is the naturally bigger man, and we should have something amazing here.

• Taku Kuwahara (4-0, 3) v Kyomu Hamagami (4-2-2, 4)- Tokyo, Japan

Touted prospect Taku Kuwahara is expected to be really let off the leash in the very near future, but for now he has to get past domestic foe Kyomu Hamagami. Although not the most skilled fighter out there Hamagami is heavy handed and could give Kuwahara a chin check if he lands clean. Kuwahara on the other hand really does look like he is "the goods".

• Sho Nakazawa (12-3, 6) v Jinya Ito (7-5-1, 2) -Tokyo, Japan

The once touted Sho Nakazawa, who was a fantastic amateur on the Japanese domestic scene, looks to continue his career rebuild after losing 3 of his last 7, including one loss to the previously mentioned Atsumi. Ito shouldn't be much of a test for Nakazawa, but it's hard to know what Nakazawa's future really holds after his recent defeats.
 
July 6th-

• Nordine Oubaali (15-0, 11) v Arthur Villanueva (32-3-1, 18) -Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan 

The biggest bout, for us at least, this Saturday will see Filipino fighter Arthur Villanueva getting a shot at WBC Bantamweight champion Nordine Oubaali in Kazakhstan. For Oubaali this will be his first defense of the title he won earlier this year, against Rau'shee Warren, and the plan seems to be for him to get some really big fights later in the year. For Villanueva the opportunity seems a lucky and underserved one, but we can't blame him for taking it. Notable the mandatory for the winner of this will be Takuma Inoue.

• Zhankosh Turarov (23-0, 16) v Mauro Maximiliano Godoy (31-4-1, 16) - Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan

Unbeaten Kazakh prospect Zhankosh Turarov was in the world rankings before a long break slowed his momentum, now however he is back and in the second bout of his return he takes on experienced Argentinian Mauro Maximiliano Godoy in a bout for the WBO Inter-Continental Light Welterweight. A win here does set Turarov up for bigger fights down the line, though we do wonder what his ambition is like and what condition his body will be in for big fights it, or when, they happen.

• Viktor Kotochigov (9-0, 4) v Jairo Lopez (24-10, 16)- Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan

In a good step up bout we'll see Kazakh hopeful Viktor Kotochigov take a steep up to face off with Mexican veteran Jairo Lopez for the WBC International Lightweight title. The unbeaten Kazakh has shown touches of real promise, but has also been a frustrating fighter to watch at times and looks like a man who needs to change his mindset if he's going to make the most of his ability. Lopez is no world beater, but has mixed with world class opposition during his long career, and has served the sport as a good gatekeeper. Sadly whilst Jairo was one a very solid gatekeeper he has gone 6-7 in his last 13. 

• Kenichi Ogawa (23-1-0-1, 17) Vs TBA - Tokyo, Japan

Originally Kenichi Ogawa was set to headline in Tokyo against Azinga Fuzile in an IBF world title eliminator, though plans were forced to change when Fuzile failed to secure a visa in time. Ogawa will instead face an opponent who hasn't been confirmed, though is expected to be a very limit import in little more than a stay busy bout for the former Japanese champion.

• Shuya Masaki (12-1, 5) Vs Al Toyogon (10-3-1, 6) - Tokyo, Japan

In a really interesting match up the once touted Shya Masaki, who has had some very hit and miss performances, will take on Filipino foe Al Toyogon. The once beaten Masaki has won 3 in a row since losing to Hironori Mishiro in early 2018, but did look like a star in the making in those wins. Toyogon on the other hand will be looking to bounce back from a recent loss to Ryo Sagawa. Toyogon showed his toughness and desire against Sagawa and if he shows that again here he could be a banana skin for Masaki.

•  Hayate Kaji (12-0, 9) Vs Rey Orais (20-18-2, 5) - Tokyo, Japan

Talented and unbeaten Super Flyweight puncher Hayate Kaji looks to take a huge step towards a potential title fight as he takes on Japanese based Filipino veteran Rey Orais. This is pretty much a Japanese Super Flyweight title eliminator, and a win for Kaji would almost certainly put him in the running for an eliminator at the end of the year. Orais has the experience to test the youngster, but with age and power on his side, we struggle to see Kaji losing to his veteran foe.

• Mikito Nakano (2-0, 2) vs Arvin Yurong (12-2, 3) -Tokyo, Japan

Touted Japanese youngster Mikito Nakano takes his a big step up in class as he goes up against Filipino foe Arvin Yurong in a mouth watering clash. The talented Nakano is tipped as one of the future stars of the world famous Teiken gym, following an excellent amateur career, but so far hasn't been tested as a professional. Yurong is a great test and he impressed us in his 4th round loss back in January against the fast rising Xiang Li. This should be a solid test for Nakano.

• Kuntae Lee (1-0, 1) Vs Marlon Paniamogan (9-0-1, 5) -Tokyo, Japan

Another of Teiken's highly regarded prospects, Kuntae Lee, looks to score his second win as he takes a massive step up in class and takes on unbeaten Filipino foe Marlon Paniamogan. Lee really impressed on his debut, but was sadly up against someone who posed no test at all and we really didn't learn much about Lee other than that he had a fantastic jab. Here we should see Lee answering a lot of questions. Not much is known about Paniamogan but he will not be in Japan to roll over and lose.
 
July 7th-

• Tibo Monabesa (19-1-2, 8) vs Omari Kimweri (17-4, 7) -Indonesia

In an IBO Light Flyweight title bout we'll see once beaten Indonesian Tibo Monabesa take on former WBCworld title challenger Omari Kimweri in what should be a very interesting match up. Monabesa was touted as one of the big hopes for Indonesia, but a loss to Hiroto Kyoguchi slowed his climb and it's now unclear what his ceiling is. Kimweri, although not a big puncher, is a nightmare to fight and should ask a lot of questions of the local favourite. This could be a very compelling contest.

• Defry Palulu (21-2-1, 13) Vs Pungluang Sor Singyu (53-6, 35) - Indonesia

Another once touted Indonesian fighter, Defry Palulu, will take on his most notable opponent to date as he battles former world champion Pungluang Sor Singyu for a couple of minor regional titles. The Indonesian was once seen as the successor to Chris John as the face of Indonesian boxing but but a loss to AJ Banal slowed his climb and he's struggled to build real momentum since then. He should have significant size advantage of Punluang, who made his name at Bantamweight, but this is no gimme for Palulu, given the power, experience and toughness of the Thai.
 
July 9th-

• Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa (11-4, 10) v Koki Tyson (14-3-2, 12) - Tokyo, Japan 

In an OPBF Middleweight title bout we'll see hard hitters collide with the all action Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa taking on the big punching Koki Tyson. With both of these men having vicious power we don't see anything but a thriller here, though Hosokawa does seem to have advantages in terms of toughness and work rate, whilst Tyson is the bigger puncher and the more technically sounded fighter. With the styles of Hosokawa's pressure and aggression going up against Tyson's movement and boxing we are expecting something absolutely brilliant to finish off the first part of the month.

Prospect 
Kuntae Lee (1-0, 1)
This was a strange week for prospects. You had two top Japanese prospects, Kuntae Lee and Mikot Nakano, in total mismatches against Thai's and the only other fighters you could regard as a prospect would be Takuya Mizuno, a who had his 17th fight and has bene a professional for more than 5 years, Junto Nakatani, who is now a Japanese national champion with 18 fights, or 25 year old former World Amateur Champion Janibek Alimkhanuly, who made his debut in 2016. Given those options we'll give this week to the debuting Lee. He was in a mismatch, and everyone knew it, but he showed a really sharp jab, lovely control of distance and lived up to the expectations put on his shoulders. Hopefully his next bout will be a more significant test though, as this was too easy.
 
Notable mentions: Mikito Nakano and Janibek Alimkhanuly

Upcoming fight 
Hiroki Okada (19-0, 13) Vs Raymundo Beltran (35-8-1-1, 21)
The coming week sees quite a lot of exciting action to come, with notable shows in Thailand, the US and the Philippines. The pick of the bunch, at least on paper, seems to be the final bout with an Asian interest of the week, and will see unbeaten Japanese fighter Hiroki Okada taking on Mexican veteran Raymundo Beltran, in what looks likely to be a really interesting war. Okada will be the betting under-dog, given how disappointing he was on his US debut, but Beltran has looked old and worn and knows he will be fighting for his career. A really good match up! Our preview of this bout can be read here Okada and Beltran set to battle in must win bout!

News
Srisaket to fight on DAZN, will be featured on Febaruy 8th charity show!
This past week was a busy one, out of the ring, for Thailand with numerous stories, the most significant, by some margin, was that Srisaket Sor Rungvisai's future lies with DAZN. The WBC and Ring Magazine Super Flyweight champion has signed up with the streaming service who will air his next official fight. We say "official" fight as he is set to take part in an exhibition before that with Nawaphon Pro Chokchai, in what will be a charity event to raise money for medical supplies.The rematch with Juan Francisco Estrada is now expected to take place in early April on DAZN US.

If we're being honest January was a bit of a slow burn month, with a lack of action at the start of the month before picking up over the last 2 weekends. There was action through January but it was very bitty and very slow to get going. Thankfully the same can't be said for February which starts hot and continues to be busy throughout, even if the action doesn't hit the same heights as January in terms of quality.
 
February 2nd
Junto Nakatani (17-0, 12) Vs Naoki Mochizuki (15-3, 8) - Tokyo, Japan
The first Japanese title fight of the new month sees Junto Nakatani and Naoki Mochizuki battle for the vacant Japanese fight title, which Masayuki Kuroda vacated in late 2018. Coming in to the bout Nakatani will start as the favourite but Mochizuki is a tough and underrated fighter who will know this is a huge opportunity to claim a national title, put himself in the mix for big fights down the line and impress on a televised Japanese card.
 
Kenichi Ogawa (21-1-0-1, 17) vs Roldan Aldea (12-6-1, 6) - Tokyo, Japan
Former Japanese Super Featherweight champion Kenichi Ogawa returns to the ring after more than a year out of action, following a failed drugs test. The hard hitting Ogawa, who is best known for taking a controversial win over Tevin Farmer that was later over-turned due to the aforementioned drug test, will be facing off with Filipino journeyman Roldan Aldea, in what is supposed to be a show case for the talented and returning Japanese fighter.
 
Gonte Lee (0-0) vs Aphisit Namkhot (1-1, 1) - Tokyo, Japan
One of the biggest debuts of 2019 will see Japanese-Korean fighter Gonte Lee, a former amateur standout, take on Thai foe Aphisit Namkhot. The talented Lee won over 100 amateur fighters, with 62 wins in a row, competed for North Korea and was expected to go to the 2020 Olympics. Instead he chose to go professional and his debut is something to be very highly excited about. The Thai foe is expected to provide little more than the perfect foil for Lee's debut.
 
Mikito Nakano (1-0, 1) vs TBA - Tokyo, Japan
Talking about amateur standouts it's worth noting that another Japanese amateur stand out will also be on this card, Mikito Nakano. Nakano, who debuted last year, is tipped for huge success and will be looking to score his second professional win. His opponent is currently unknown, though we do know it will be a Thai, and like Lee's bout this should be little more than a show case for a fantastically talented young prospects.
 
Janibek Alimkhanuly (4-0, 1) vs Steven Martinez (18-4, 13) - Texas, USA
In the US we'll see Kazakh fighter Janibek Alimkhanuly take a good step up in class as he battles Steven Martinez. The talented Alimkhanuly has yet to shine since signing with Top Rank in 2018, putting in two forgetable performances last year. Despite failing to look great recently we do have high hopes for the 25 year old Kazakh and we're expecting to see him show that potential sooner rather than later. Martinez is a tough opponent, with ambitions of his own, but we suspect that Alimkhanuly will have the skills to defeat the tough American.
 
February 9th-
Dave Apolinario (9-0, 6) vs Mark Vicelles (9-0-1, 5) - Metro Manila, Philippines
Young prospect Dave Apolinario takes on his stiffed test to date as he battled against fellow unbeaten Filipino Mark Vicelles, in what looks like an excellent bout on paper. Apoinarion, the younger brother of former world title challenger Mark John Apolinario, has looked like an excellent prospect since making his debut back in 2017 but has yeat to face someone looking to score a win of their own. Vicelles on the other hand has proven he can get through hungry fighters, taking the unbeaten records of Rey Tagulaylay and Roldan Sasan. He's a capable fighter himself and will know a win here would be huge. This has the hallmarks of a weekend stealing contest.
 
Reymart Gaballo (20-0, 17) vs Yuya Nakamura (9-2-1, 7)- Metro Manila, Philippines
WBA "interim" Bantamweight champion Reymart Gaballo is one of the forgotten men at 118lbs, due to the WBSS, but is building a reputation at home, a reputation he'll be looking to enhance here when he takes on charismatic Japanese warrior Yuya Nakamura. Gaballo is an excellent boxer-puncher with really crisp punching and he looks like one of the better contenders in the division. Nakamura on the other hand is a fun but limited fighter who we suspect will play his part in a fun fight, but a fight that he loses.
 
Romero Duno (18-1, 14) vs Kuldeep Dhanda (7-1, 1) - Metro Manila, Philippines
Filipino boxer-puncher Romero Duno put his name on the international stage when he travelled to the US and upset the much fancied Christian Gonzalez in 2 rounds. Since then he has fought only once in the Philippines, and 4 times in the US, whilst building his international presence. He returns "home" to face Indian foe Kuldeep Dhanda in what appears to be a stay busy contest for the Filipino hopeful, who will be expected to return to the US later in the year for potential world title eliminator, or minor title bout of some kind.