Whilst the start of May was exciting, with a number of notable bouts taking place in the first few days of the month things go off the charts in the middle portion of the month with a string of major bouts, and some very, very exciting lesser bouts. May 10th- Keita Kurihara (13-5, 11) Vs Warlito Parrenas (26-9-1, 23) - Tokyo, Japan In a potentially thrilling bout for the OPBF Bantamweight title fight we'll see defending champion Keita Kurihara defending his title, for the first time, and battle against Filipino slugger Warlito Parrenas. The champion is really exciting, and although not the most technically complete fighter is a really brutal puncher. The challenger, who also has brutal power, is regarded as a bit of a glass cannon, and will feel like he's in last chance saloon. This is set to be a really thrilling, all action shoot out. Of the two Kurihara is the younger, fresher, man but Parrenas has got experience at a very high level and will be looking to rely on that experience here. We're expecting fireworks aplenty here. Nobuyuki Shindo (20-4-2, 8) Vs Hironobu Matsunaga (14-1, 8) - Tokyo, Japan A second title bout on this day will see Japanese Light Middleweight champion Nobuyuki Shindo defending his belt, for the second time, as he takes on mandatory challenger Hironobu Matsunaga. Shindo made his first defense late last year, fighting to a draw in a ridiculously good bout with Akinori Watanabe, and will be looking to build on some recent results as he takes on the in form Matsunaga is riding an 8 fight winning streak, including notable wins over Sanosuke Sasaki, Je Ni Ma and Koshinmaru Saito. May 11th- Mark Anthony Geraldo (37-9-3, 18) vs Neil John Tabanao (17-4, 11) - Davao del Norte, Philippines An interesting GAB Super Bantamweight title bout will see talented Mark Anthony Gerlado take on Neil John Tabanao. It's rare we get really good GAB title fights, but this one is worthy of some noting, partly due to the level that Geraldo has fought at, sharing the ring with a real who's who including McJoe Arroyo, Takuma Inoue and Nordine Oubaali in recent years, and partly due to the fact Tabanao is a solid challenger. The champion is a good gatekeeper, and only tends to lose to people who can compete at the top. Tabanao on the other hand is a tough, game foe who has never been stopped and comes into this bout knowing a win could boost his standing. Charly Suarez (2-0, 2) Vs Waldo Sabu (13-14, 3) - Davao del Norte, Philippines A second notable bout on this card will see highly regarded former Filipino amateur standout Charly Suarez take on Waldo Sabu. This is a huge mismatch, but given how we're expecting to see Suarez make a mark at a higher level later in the near future this bout is pretty significant. We're going to be really excited to see where Suarez goes, but his next bout really does need to be a big step up in class, as he can't waste any more time at this level. May 13th- Moruti Mthalane (37-2, 25) Vs Masayuki Kuroda (30-7-3, 16) - Tokyo, Japan One of the biggest bouts for this portion of the month will see IBF Flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane defending his title, for the second time. The talented South African will take on mandatory challenger Masayuki Kuroda. The champion looked sensational in December, when he defended the title against Masahiro Sakamoto, but at the age of 36 father time will likely catch up with him before long. The talented Kuroda is solid, but this will be a big step up for him, and he will need a career best performance to even be competitive with the champion. May 14th- Ryusei Kawaura (5-0, 4) vs Renoel Pael (23-8-1, 12) - Tokyo, Japan Charly Suarez isn't the only hotly tipped former amateur stand out to be in action in the coming days, with Ryusei Kawaura set to take a notable step up in class and take on talented Filipino Renoel Pael. The unbeaten Japanese youngster is tipped for really, really big things and this is the next natural step forward for him. Pael has never been stopped, and has shared the ring with several notable fighters including Andrew Moloney. A stoppage for Kawaura here would be a huge statement, though a win would certainly be impressive at this early point in his career. May 17th- Ryan Burnett (19-1, 9) vs Jelbirt Gomera (14-5, 7) - Belfast, Northern Ireland Filipino fighter Jelbirt Gomera is certainly not a big name, though has shared the ring with the likes of Can Xu and Hidenori Otake, and will now be taking on former world champion Ryan Burnett, in what will be Burnett's first bout since losing to Nonito Donaire last year. Gomera will clearly be the under-dog, but will come into the bout knowing that this is the perfect time to face Burnett, after his lay off and injury. May 18th- Ryoichi Tamura (12-3-1, 6) Vs Yusaku Kuga (17-3-1, 11) II -Tokyo, Japan A really interesting rematch that we'll see this month will pit Japanese Japanese Super Bantamweight champion Ryoichi Tamura against former champion Yusaku Kuga. These two had an absolute war in their first bout, and we're expecting another brutal brawl here. Both are technically limited, but very aggressive and exciting. Tamura is a volume guy, who marches forward through an insane amount of thudding leather, whilst Kuga is a puncher, who looks to take opponents out. With that combination of styles we may be set for something really, really special here. Naoya Inoue (17-0, 15) Vs Emmanuel Rodriguez (19-0, 12) - Glasgow, United Kingdom One of the most anticipated bouts of 2019 will see top Bantamweights collide, as Naoya Inoue takes on Emmanuel Rodriguez in a WBSS Semi-final bout, which will have the IBF and Ring magazine titles up for grabs. Inoue will be looking to create history, as the first Japanese fighter to win a world title in Europe, whilst Rodriguez will be looking to destroy the all-Asian WBSS dream final between Inoue and Nonito Donaire. Whilst the WBSS has had it's issues with this season, this semi-final, and the eventual final, are going massively anticipated by fans, and really can't complain about quality of this bout, or the final.
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This past week has been one that has mixed disappointing performances and frustrating broadcasting with some great action, exciting fights and under-rated performances. We're not going to say it's been one of the best weeks of the year, but it has given us a lot to talk about and plenty of fighters to recognise in our weekly awards. Fighter of the Week Hiroaki Teshigawara (19-2-2, 12) One of the hardest categories for the week was the Fighter of the Week, with a number of fighters really impressing. For us the winner, by a nose hair, was Hiroaki Teshigawara, who retained the OPBF Super Bantamweight title fight with an exciting with against Yuki Iriguchi. The bout saw Teshigawara show a little bit of everything, from brawling at times to show casing his boxing skills with his left hand, after injuring his right hand in round 2. His battle through adversity was impressive and the way he essentially beat the fight out of Iriguchi in the end was fantastic, gritting his teeth to launch a 2 handed assault late on. It wasn't a flawless performance, but it was the performance of a fighter, and someone who is now deserving bigger fights. Notable mentions: Edward Heno, Kenichi Horikawa, John Riel Casimero, Dave Penalosa Performance of the Week Dave Penalosa (15-0, 11) Whilst Teshigawara won the Fighter of the Week the Performance of the week was, clearly, the one put on by Dave Penalosa. Penalosa showed his calculating side early on, but was tagged in round 4 and went full on into fighter mode destroying Marcos Cardenas through the round, dropping the Mexican 3 times. Whilst Cardenas had been stopped before this was still a statement, and sees Penalosa joining Miguel Marriaga, Carlos Diaz Ramirez and Rey Vargas as the only fighters to stop the 29 year old Mexican. Penalosa provided excitement, action and real killer instinct, with gut busting body shots. A fantastic performance. Notable mentions: Carl Jammes Martin, Edward Heno, Kenichi Horikawa, Erika Hanawa Fight Dave Penalosa (14-0, 10) vs Marcos Cardenas (19-6-1, 15) What allowed Dave Penalosa to win our Performance of the Week was also what made his fight the Fight of the Week. His perfect foil. Cardenas didn't come to play second fiddle. He hadn't travelled to roll over and lose to Penalosa, instead he had come to win, advance his own career and move towards big fights of his own. This lead to a fantastic fight, with good skills, a real gritty toughness from Cardenas and of course the impressive 4th round destruction from Penalosa. The fight had everything, with Penalosa being wobbled in a moment of drama that worried the local fans, the fight back from that wobble and the skills that came earlier in the fight. A brilliant bit of match making lead to a fantastic fight. Notable mentions: Hiroaki Teshigawa Vs Yuki Iriguchi, Kenichi Horikawa Vs Satoru Todaka, Carl Jammes Martin Vs Petchchorhae Kokietgym Round Carl Jammes Martin Vs Petchchorhae Kokietgym (round 3) Watching Carl Jammes Martin make his televised debut this weekend showed that he is going to be one of the most TV friendly fighters on the planet in the years to come. He showed that especially well in round 3 of his bout with Petchchorhae Kokietgym, when he set an electric pace and pinned the Thai on to the ropes, unloading an incredible amount of shots. The Thai tried to fire back but was essentially handcuffed by the volume from Martin, who was relentless. Despite the one-sided nature of the round it was all action, edge of your seat stuff, with the potential that Martin would catch one clean himself in his pursuit of an early finish. This is must watch action, and a great example of what the Filipino scene is bringing through, and how good ESPN5 are doing in giving fighters like Martin time to shine. (Due to the fight being uploaded by ESPN5 we've had to include the full fight and not just the single round) KO Hyun Joon Lee TKO1 Hyun Moo Yang Come the end of 2019 we don't expect to see many people raving about this obscure bout from Suwon in Korea, but it was hard not to be impressed by the visually brilliant KO scored by the debutant Hyun Joon Lee, against fellow Korean Hyun Moo Yang. The KO came from a hard straight right hand as the two men traded and left Yang out cold before he hit the canvas. It was one of those blows that for a moment or two was a little worrying, though Yang did seem fine before he left the ring under his own steam. Hard to read much into the value of the win for the debutant, but this was a clean a right hand as he is ever likely to land. Notable mentions - Carlo Penalosa KO3 Watana Phenbaan, a perfect body shot from Penalosa (Again full fight has been included, though this one does end inside the opening round) Prospect
Carl Jammes Martin (12-0, 11) Filipino teenager Carl Jammes Martin made his TV debut, fighting against Petchchorhae Kokietgym on ESPN5, and took full advantages of the opportunity putting on a fantastic, all action performance to stop the Thai. It wasn't punch perfect, but it was the type of exciting "come and watch me" performance that Martin would have wanted. He set a high pace, showed lovely uppercuts, and essentially bludgeons the Thai into submission in 3 rounds. At just 19 he is one of the most promising Filipino fighters out there and combines power, speed and work rate, and looks destined to become a must watch TV attraction Upcoming fight Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa (11-3, 10) Vs Yuki Nonaka (32-10-3, 10) When a really aggressive fighter takes on a technically sound defensive fighter we tend to end up with some pretty fun fights, event though thinking about it they probably shouldn't deliver the action that they do. Next Sunday we see the aggressive, heavy handed and exciting Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa defending his WBO Asia Pacific and OPBF Middleweight titles against the very technical and sharp Yuki Nonaka in a bout that really excites us. This one could be something very, very special. A full previeew of this bout can be read here - Regional champion Hosokawa takes on veteran Nonaka! News Inoue Vs Rodriguez confirmed for May 18th in Glasgow! It's fair to say only one story was ever going to be the new story of the week, and that was the WBSS announcement that Naoya Inoue (17-0, 15) and Emmanuel Rodriguez (19-0, 12) would be having their semi-final in Glasgow, in what will be an historic event for Japanese boxing. It is not only the first time a Japanese world champion will be defending their title in Europe a, but also the first time a Japanese fighter has fought in a world title unification bout in Europe. A win for Inoue, who is the clear betting favourite at this moment in time, would also see him become the first Japanese fighter to win world title bouts in 3 continents. Rodriguez is, of course, not push over and should make the bout interesting, in what looks like a fantastic match up. The full story is available to read here - Inoue Vs Rodriguez confirmed for May 18th in Glasgow! Other ESPN5 For a second time this month the Filipino broadcaster not only televised boxing, but put on an international stream for fans wanting to get a glimpse of the talent the Filipino scene has to offer. It wasn't a seamless or perfect broadcast, though it appears that it was due to reasons out of their hands with a long pause caused by a cancellation during the show, but it was a fantastic card well worthy of the time fans invested in watching it. It's amazing to think what ESPN5 are currently doing for the Filipino scene and long may it continue. We really can't help but feel these broadcasts are a much needed boost to the Filipino scene, that for far too long only really showed ALA cards live. A new month is upon us and once again we have a lot to look forward to, in fact just over the first 8 days of the month we have more action than we typically get in a month, with some absolutely huge bouts taking place in Japan and in Thailand! October 5th Joana Pastrana (13-1, 4) Vs Samson Tor Buamas (40-4, 22) – Spain The month, for us, kicks off on Friday in Spain and will see Thai female veteran Samson Tor Bumas, aka Siriporn Taweesuk, take on IBF female Minimumweight champion Joana Pastrana. The Spanish fighter will be making her first defense of the title whilst Samson will be looking to roll back the clock and score her biggest win in over a decade. October 6th Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (46-4-1, 41) Vs Iran Diaz (14-2-3, 6) – Thailand Thai icon Srisaket Sor Rungvisai returns to ring Saturday to make his third defense of the WBC Super Flyweight title, taking on Mexican foe Iran Diaz. The destructive Thai had a huge 2017, defeating Roman Gonzakez twice, and began thus year with a win over Juan Francisco Estrada. This bout however is huge for another reason, with it headlining a One Championship card. For Diaz this is a huge step up in class but he has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Hironori Mishiro (6-0, 2) Vs Masaru Sueyoshi (18-1, 11) – Japan Srisaket's bout isn't the only major bout on Saturday as OPBF Super Featherweight champion Hironori Mishiro takes on Japanese champion Masaru Sueyoshi in a compelling title unification bout. The unbeaten Mishiro claimed his title in June, when he defeated Carlo Magali, but this is a very tough first defense. On the other hand Sueyoshi on the other hand has made two defenses of the title and is much more experienced in the professional ranks. October 7th Kirill Relikh (22-2, 19) Vs Eduard Troyanovsky (27-1, 24) – Japan The first part of a triple header in Yokohama on the first Sunday of the month will see WBA Light Welterweight champion Kirill Relikh defending his title against Eduard Troyanovsky, in a bout that will see both men kick off their WBSS campaign. This has the potential to be very explosive, given that both have solid power, and being a real treat for fans tuning in. We know the WBSS is a big attraction and this bout could well be the real gem of the first round bouts Ken Shiro (13-0, 7) Vs Milan Melindo (37-3, 13) – Japan The second part of the Yokohama triple header is a brilliant looking Light Flyweight title bout between WBC champion Ken Shiro and former IBF champion Milan Melindo. The bout pits two very high skilled fighters against each other and although neither is a huge name on the global scene but are notable fighters globally. Both are genuine top 10 fighters in one of the toughest divisions in the sports and both are continuing to face tough opponent after tough opponent to make a name for themselves. Naoya Inoue (16-0, 14) Vs Juan Carlos Payano (20-1, 9)– Japan The final part of the triple header sees WBA “regular” champion Naoya Inoue take on former champion Juan Carlos Payano in another WBSS bout. The “Monster” is hotly tipped to win the WBSS tournament but is up against a talented southpaw here, who has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Payano is a former 2-time Olympian but is seen as being as little more than fodder for the Japanese sensation. Unfortunately October looks to be a somewhat front heavy month with a lot of the highlights coming in the first weekend. We will however cover the rest of the month in part 2, which should be available to read in a couple of weeks time! With it being 5 years to the day that Naoya Inoue [井上尚弥] claimed his first professional title, defeating Ryoichi Taguchi [田口良一] for the Japanese Light Flyweight title we thought it an ideal time to look at what we feel were Inoue's 5 best career performances, and document some major events in the “Monster's” career so far.
the right eye from the relentless jabs and hooks Inoue had landed. It was a performance that instantly turned Inoue from a prospect to a contender, winning the Japanese title just a few months later.
The win got Inoue some consideration for the 2014 Fighter of the Year awards, completing an astonishing rise to stardom, and saw him begin his second reign as a champion. Narvaez has since gone on to fight for the WBO Bantamweight title, sharing the ring for 12 tedious rounds with Zolani Tete.
The bout was the gut check that Inoue really needed, and a chance to show that he was more than just an offensive monster. It wasn't a flawless performance but it was a big win, and statement, stopping a fighter who had never been stopped before and had been a staple at the world level for close to a decade.
McDonnell's camp had been confident of making the weight with no issues but the reality was that McDonnell was unfit getting into the ring. He looked like he was mentally and physically ruined and as soon as Inoue tagged him clean he looked like he had felt something he had never felt before. It wasn't a 100% fit McDonnell, but Inoue's performance but the Bantamweight division on alert and secured his place in the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) as the tournament favourite.
In the last few years we've seen more and more bouts between Asian fighters and European fighters. Unfortunately it hasn't often been the best from the two continents colliding, but it has been a start with two continental forces of world boxing clashing and opening the doors for inter-continental growth between the scenes which have often been kept away from each other. Sadly we have typically seen a lot of mismatches. These have included bouts like Naoya Inoue's recent defence against Yoan Boyeaux, Daigo Higa against Thomas Masson, Jerwin Ancajas against Michael Conlan, Scott Quigg against Hidenori Otake and Kal Yafai against Suguru Muranaka. Bouts where the favourite wasn't really given too much of a challenge by the under-dog. Sure we have seen some interesting bouts, such as the two bouts between Ryota Murata and Hassan N'Dam and, on paper, the Lee Haskins Vs Ryosuke Iwasa bout, but they haven't been as regular as they really should be. And that's not due to a lack of possible match ups. In fact right now there is a real host of fantastic fights that could be made at the world level between the two continents. Here we'll look at some of those possible bouts. Flyweight At the moment there is two Flyweight bouts that have some talk behind them, and they would both be very interesting. One of those is a proposed WBC title bout between destructive world champion Daigo Higa (14-0, 14) and unbeaten Welshman Andrew Selby (10-0, 5). This bout was spoken about during 2017, though Selby seemed to suggest that he was against travelling to Japan where Higa is now a break out star and backed by the financially solid Fuji TV. The bout would put the most destructive fighter at Flyweight against one of the most decorated European amateurs, and would be a real clash of styles between ultra-aggressive champion and silky outside fighting challenger. With a high WBC ranking it does look like this would be the shortest route to a world title for Selby, but he would be up against arguably the best Flyweight on the planet, and would almost certainly have to travel. The other bout, and one that has had a public call out of sorts, is a WBO title fight between Sho Kimura (16-1-2, 9) and 2-time Olympic bronze medal winner Paddy Barnes (5-0, 2). Interestingly if this bout was made it would see Kimura taking on a third Olympian, following stoppage wins over Zou Shiming and Toshiyuki Igarashi, and a win could see him continue what has been a really surprising run of results. Barnes had targeted former amateur rival Zou Shiming earlier in his career, but may now see the man who stopped his amateur nemesis as the man to fight. Given that Barnes is 31 later this year he may not want to wait around long for a fight at world level and Kimura hasn't been a fighter making big purses so far. A large offer could get Kimura over to Ireland for the fight, though he has got other options, including a domestic showdown with 2-weight world champion Kosei Tanaka and may look to delay a showdown with Barnes for now. Super Flyweight In 2017 there was several obvious bouts to make at 115lbs. That's because we have a world champion from Europe and several from Asia. But for whatever reason we never saw them face off. Thankfully however not all the doors are shut here, despite the fact Naoya Inoue is leaving the division rather than continue to get frustrated at the other top fighters. Arguably the most even of the match ups we could get here would be an IBF/WBA unification bout, with Jerwin Ancajas (28-1-1, 19) defending the IBF title against WBA champion Kal Yafai (23-0, 14). Both men seemed to turn down Inoue, and it'd be very hard to favour either man against WBC champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (44-4-1, 40), but against each other they should make for a compelling contest. The bout shouldn't be too tricky to make, with both fighters looking to make a huge name for themselves this coming year. The two teams, Top Rank and Matchroom, have worked together in the past and both could see this as an opportunity to get their guy in a position to make big money. Sadly lower weight unification bouts have long been a troublesome issue. Both fighters will want to be financially compensated for taking on another top rival, and with the talent in the division it may make more sense to milk a title for a little while longer. A bout between the two is one that we'd love, and we suspect most fans would love to see, but it may be that the two men simply have other plans and too many other options. Bantamweight Having mentioned Naoya Inoue (15-0, 13) a few times above it only makes sense to mention him here, seeing that he has stated his intent is to fight at Bantamweight in 2018. The “Monster” has been linked to pretty much every notable Bantamweight since mid-December. Two of these options have some British link. One of those is WBO champion Zolani Tete (26-3, 21), who is South African but is promoted out of the UK and has began to build a cult status in the country. The bout has been spoken about by both teams and Inoue has stated he's willing to travel to the UK for the bout, showing his hunger for a big contest and a third divisional world title. The other British option would be a bout with the talented Northern Irishman Ryan Burnett (18-0, 9), the current WBA and IBF unified champion. A bout with Tete seems the most likely given that the two teams are talking about the contest. However Inoue could get a unified title by beating Burnett, and get some revenge for the struggles he had at Super Flyweight. The one big spanner in the work for the Burnett bout may be Burnett's promoter Eddie Hearn, who seemed happy to keep Kal Yafai away from Inoue and would likely want to do the same for Burnett, unless life changing money was on offer for his man. Given that financial issue we're much more likely to see the Tete bout than the Burnett one. Super Bantamweight Inoue isn't the only fighter moving up in 2018, another is Englishman Jamie McDonnell (29-2-1, 13). The former Bantamweight champion scored notable wins over Tomoki Kameda at Bantamweight and is now moving up to Super Bantamweight, which is stacked with Asian fighters. The amount of interesting match ups McDonnell could have at 122lbs really is huge, and he could have fights with someone like IBF champion Ryosuke Iwasa (24-2, 16) or the skilled and sharp shooting Shingo Wake (23-5-2, 15). For us though the bout that has the most interest here would be a bout between McDonnell and Filipino warrior Marlon Tapales (30-2, 13). The bout may not have the big name quality of others, but stylistically this would be a lot of fun. Both men can let their hands go, both have pretty good styles and when put under pressure McDonnell can be involved in some real thrillers, as his first bout against Liborio Solis was. Although not a star Tapales is a tough, come forward fighter and could well bring the best out of McDonnell in a back and forth war, with the winner well deserving of a world title fight, and a chance to become a 2-weight world champion. Middleweight Unification bouts feel natural for us fans, and there are few more enticing than a Middleweight clash between IBF/WBC/WBA Middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (37-0-1, 33) and WBO counterpart Billy Joe Saunders (26-0, 12). The bout would leave us with an undisputed champion at 160lbs and would be a brilliant match up between two unbeaten men with very different styles. On one hand Kazakh fighter Golovkin is one of the sports purest punchers, with thudding power, a chin of rock and a very high intensity pressure style. One the other hand Saunders is a southpaw boxer-mover who moves like a much smaller man, and at his best is one of the purest boxers in and around the division. The questions about the contest would be whether or not Golovkin could cut the ring off and break down Saunders, or whether the fleet footed Englishman could avoid the Kazakh for 12 rounds. On a much lesser level we'd also love to see a clash between Irishman Jason Quigley (13-0, 10) and Japanese champion Hikaru Nishida (17-8-1, 8). On paper this bout wouldn't get much attention in the build up but the action in the ring would be sensational, as would a bout between Nishida and Gary O'Sullivan (27-2, 19). If either of the Irish fighters are looking for someone with a fan friendly style they could do a lot worse than taking on the aggressive Nishida in a sure fire barn burner. (Images courtesy of boxmob.jp and boxrec.com) Fans of “the little guys” have had a wonderful few weeks with a load of notable bouts across 108lbs, 112lbs and 115lbs but maybe what the future holds is even better than what we've just had, and what we've just had is a huge shake up at both Flyweight and Super Flyweight. For those who are perhaps just dipping your toes into the lower weight class lets go back a few weeks. On August 31st Ryoichi Taguchi (25-2-1, 11) successfully defended the WBA Light Flyweight title defeating mandatory challenger Ryo Miyazaki (24-2-3, 15) with a 12 round decision. This now leaves Taguchi open to defend his title on December 31st on a yet to be announced show in Tokyo in a voluntary defense of the title. On the same day the WBA Super Flyweight title changed hands, with Taguchi's stablemate Kohie Kono (32-9-1, 13) losing the title to Nicaraguan slugger Luis Concepcion (35-4, 24) in a 12 round decision. The future for Kono now looks unclear, with some suggesting he may be heading for retirement, or an easy bout at the end of the year. For Concepcion the rumour is that a world title unification may be around the corner with the WBO champion, but more about that later. On September 3rd we saw a second Super Flyweight title change hands with Filipino Jerwin Ancajas (25-1-1, 16) announcing himself to the international boxing world by claiming the IBF title. The unheralded Filipino took a miniscule payday to face the unbeaten McJoe Arroyo (17-1, 8) but made the most of his chance and clearly beat the Puerto Rican. The following day we saw a champion actually retain a title at Super Flyweight as WBO kingpin Naoya Inoue (11-0, 9) over-came the gutsy but outclassed Petchbarngborn Kokietgym (38-8-1, 18), scoring a 10th round win. After the win it reported that Inoue was seeking a unification bout and it now seems like terms are set for him to face Concepcion in December, with December 30th looking the most likely. The bout would see two of the titles unified and should see us move into 2017 with 3 title holders. On September 10th we saw Filipino road warrior Johnriel Casimero (22-3, 14) travel to the UK where he notched the first defense of his title, with a 10th round TKO win against the previously unbeaten Englishman Charlie Edwards (8-1,3). The win saw Casimero being too good and too powerful for the novice and since the win he has called pretty much everyone else at the weight claiming that he now wants to unify the titles. The very same night we saw Roman Gonzalez (46-0, 38) become the third new champion at Super Flyweight in the space of 2 weeks as he defeated Mexican Carlos Cuadras (35-1-1, 27) in a 12 round war. The win netted Gonzalez the WBC title and saw him become a genuine 4 weight world champion. Since Gonzalez's win we've seen the team of his mandatory challenger, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (41-4-1, 38), state they would be happy to travel to the US to face the Nicaraguan. We've also seen Gonzalez's promoter suggest late 2017 would be the ideal time for their man to face Naoya Inoue. Earlier today, September 14th, we saw further developments in the ever changing picture of the lower weights with former Gonzalez foe Juan Francisco Estrada (33-2, 24) vacating the WBA “super” and WBO Flyweight titles as he joins the fray at Super Flyweight, in pursuit of a rematch with Estrada. Gonzalez's WBC title is also expected to be made vacant in the coming days. With all the title changes, vacating, weight changes and the such we have seen a real shake up at both 115lbs and 112lbs. Essentially we have seen Super Flyweight become, arguably, the hottest division in the sport and we've seen Flyweight suddenly become one of the most open with a title dash expected over the next 12 months. At Super Flyweight we have a division with a leading list of Inoue, Gonzalez, Ancajas, Concepcion, Cuadras, Srisaket and Estrada. Below those we have fighters looking for opportunities like Sho Ishida, Khalid Yafai, Aston Palicte, Rex Tso, Norasing Kokietgym and Jose Martinez At Flyweight we could end the weekend with only two recognised champions, Kazuto Ioka and Johnriel Casimero. However the division will be blown wide open with fighters like Donnie Nietes, Brian Viloria, Pedro Guevara, Moruti Mthalane, Takuya Kogawa, Juan Carlos Reveco, Daigo Higa, Zou Shiming, McWilliams Arroyo, Nawaphon Por Chokchai, Giemel Magramo, Muhammad Waseem, Andrew Selby, Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep, Kwanpichit OnesongchaiGym and Kompayak Porpramook all likely looking at joining the mad dash for title fights. At the moment the rumours are that the WBO title will be fought for in November between Zou Shiming and Kwanpichit OnesongchaiGym and that the WBC title will be on the line between Nawaphon Por Chokchai and Juan Hernandez, also in November, though there is a good chance both the IBF and WBA titles will be defended before the year is out. Despite Estrada and Gonzalez both moving up in weight they have arguably made Flyweight more interesting, with the mad dash for world glory almost certain to give us some great fights, and have strengthened the already brilliant Super Flyweight division. At 108lbs it seems like we could see Taguchi, Akira Yaegashi and Kosei Tanaka all in action in December, with potential unification bouts coming in 2017. For most boxing fans in the west the year effectively comes to an end in mid-December with December 19th and 20th being the final couple of days with notable fights. Whilst we'll admit we're looking forward to a number of those contests, including the bout between Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar and Ruben Tamayo and the contest between Bryan Vasquez and Sergio Thompson, we've got to say they pale in comparison to what comes from the east in the days following. Sunday December 21st [Tokyo] The first of the days that we're looking forward to from Japan is more of an event than a single fight. That's because we get the All Japan Rookie of the Year on December 21st with 12 major domestic bouts involving some of the sports possible future stars. We won't go through all 12 bouts here, we have a special feature coming later in the month regarding that, though it's hard not to get excited about some of those bouts, including a Welterweight clash between the heavy handed Yuki Beppu (7-0, 7) and fellow unbeaten fighter Hironobu Matsunaga (6-0, 3) and a Flyweight contest between Kenya Yamashita (6-0, 4) and Shun Kosaka (9-0). The show is one of those traditional shows that Japanese boxing holds annually and although the fighters aren't big names they tend to have the ability to progress and numerous Rookie of the Year winners of the past have gone on to win world titles. We'd be shocked if we didn't get at least one world champion from this years batch of winners. Sunday December 28th [Osaka] The run in to the new year really kicks off after Christmas and the first of 4 notable cards comes on December 28th as we get 2 very interesting bouts. The most notable of the bouts is a Japanese Light Middleweight title contest between the talented boxer Yuki Nonaka (26-8-2, 9), the current champion, and former title holder Charlie Ota (24-2-1, 16), who is best known by western fans for putting Jermell Charlo on his backside. The bout might only be a Japanese national title fight but it's an intriguing contest all the same and both men are expected to carry a low world ranking into this bout come fight night giving the bout extra significance. The chief under-card bout here looks like a genuine thriller as Japan's “KO King” Masao Nakamura (18-2, 18) battles against Filipino tough guy Rey Labao (26-6, 17). Nakamura will be hoping to bounce back from a decision loss to Masayuki Ito and although Labao is tough he should make for a better opponent, stylistically at least, for Nakamura who will be happy to have a war with Labao, who was himself out pointed last time out by Roman Andreev. Don't be surprised if this ends up being an all out war. Tuesday December 30th [Tokyo] (Fuji TV) The first, of 3, genuinely huge shows left this year comes on December 30th as Ohashi gym put on what may well be the best show this year. It features another potential FOTY contender and possibly a fight involving a young man who could be the 2014 Fighter of the Year. The weakest bout on the card, at least in our eyes, is a Middleweight contest between Ryota Murata (5-0, 4) and Jessie Nicklow (24-4-3, 8). When you consider that's probably the worst bout then it really does dawn on you how good this card is. The Murata/Nicklow bout is one of just 2 non-title bouts with the other being a huge step up in class for Takuma Inoue (3-0, 1) who will be fighting former world title challenger Nestor Daniel Narvaes (20-2-2, 9). In an OPBF title bout the much touted Ryo Matsumoto (12-0, 10) will be fighting against Thailand's world ranked Rusalee Samor (25-5-2, 11) in a bout for the recently vacant OPBF Super Flyweight title. For Matsumoto a win here will likely push him towards a world title bout in 2014 whilst for Samor we suspect he'll defend the belt several times before even thinking about a world title fight. Talking about world title bouts we get a trio on this show. The lesser of the 3 will see Jorge Linares (37-3, 24) attempting to become a 3-weight world champion as he battles Javier Prieto (24-7-2, 18) for the vacant WBC Lightweight title. This bout is rather weak over-all though should move the winner, we suspect Linares, onto a bout with WBC Emeritus champion Omar Figueroa in what could be a really exciting fight. What is certain to be an exciting fight is the contest between Akira Yaegashi (20-4, 10) and Pedro Guevara (23-1-1, 15) for the vacant WBC Light Flyweight title. For Yaegashi this is a chance to become a 3-weight world champion though he'll have to go through hell to defeat his Mexican opponent who gave Johnriel Casimero a tough bout in an IBF title fight back in 2012. This has all the ingredients to be a FOTY type of fight and is, in terms of the styles, the most exciting bout in the final days of the year. Whilst we are massively excited about the contest between Yaegashi and Guevara we're even more excited about this show's main event which will see Japanese wunderkind Naoya Inoue (7-0, 6) battling against WBO Super Flyweight champion Omar Andres Narvaez (43-1-2, 23). This bout will see Inoue moving from Light Flyweight to Super Flyweight and if he wins we suspect he should be the 2014 Fighter of the Year and be a man breaking into the top 10 pound for pound fighters. In Narvaez wins then this will be a genuinely huge win for the Argentinian veteran who has been criticised in recent times for the level of his opposition. Wednesday December 31st [Tokyo] (TV Tokyo) The final day of the year really sends us off in brilliant style with 2 separate Japanese shows that deserve a lot of attention. In Tokyo we get another world title triple header headlined by Super Featherweight kingpin Takashi Uchiyama (21-0-1, 17) who will be defending his WBA world title against Argentinian challenger Israel Hector Enrique Perez (27-2-1, 16). Although the challenger is relatively unknown outside of Argentina he is unbeaten since 2003 and is on a 19 fight unbeaten run. For Uchiyama it will be his return to the ring after a year of inactivity following his hard fought win over Daiki Kaneko. On paper this is a genuine banana skin and a measuring to see just what Uchiyama has left. The second world title will see 2-time Super Flyweight champion Kohei Kono (30-8, 13) defending his WBA world title against Norberto Jimenez (20-8-3, 10) for the first time. Kono, who won the belt earlier this year stopping Denkaosan Kaovichit, has had a frustrating year due to issues regarding Koki Kameda and will be hoping to take those frustrations out on his 23 year old Dominican foe who is stepping up massively for this fight. Whilst Jimenez is stepping up he is active and this will be his 11th fight in less than 24 months. Like Perez we also see Jimenez coming into the ring on the back of an impressive undefeated streak running back 20 bouts! The third world title bout in Tokyo is easily the most interesting of the show as former Japanese Light Flyweight national champion Ryoichi Taguchi (20-2-1, 8) steps up to the world level to fight WBA Light Flyweight champion Alberto Rossel (32-8-0-1, 13). This is Taguchi's chance to follow in the footsteps of Kono and Uchiyama, stable mates of his at the Watanabe gym, and to move away from just being “the man Naoya Inoue beat”. For Rossel this will be his toughest bout since he was stopped in 9 rounds by Hugo Fidel Cazares back in October 2010. This is a brilliant match up and should tell us a lot about both men. Wednesday December 31st [Osaka] (TBS) On the same day in Osaka we get another 2 world title fights, a Japanese title fight and a world title “prelude”. The “prelude” will see former 2-weight world champion Kazuto Ioka (15-1, 9) battling against former WBA interim Flyweight champion Jean Piero Perez (20-7-1, 14) in a bout expected to prepare Ioka for a WBA Flyweight world title bout next year. Ioka moved to Flyweight earlier this year though has yet to shine at the weight and will be hoping to have filled into the weight this time around. Perez on the other hand needs a win just to remain relevant in the world of professional boxing given that he has lost his last 2 bouts, both by stoppage. And has won just twice in the last 6 bouts. The Japanese title fight on this show will see Japanese Super Flyweight champion Sho Ishida (17-0, 9) defending his belt for the first time. The talented Ishida, one of the top prospects at the Ioka gym, will be battling against the relatively unknown Masato Morisaki (9-3-1, 5) in what should be a straight forward defense for the touted champion who has shown some touches of sheer brilliance so far in his career. We suspect that if Ishida wins here, as he should, he'll be moved towards a world title bout in 2015 with opponents like Kono and Inoue both being possibilities, if they both win. In a bout for the vacant IBF Minimumweight title fans will see the always exciting Katsunari Takayama (27-7-0-1, 10) battle against Japanese compatriot Go Odaira (11-3-3, 1) in what looks likely to be an all-action bout between two men who lack power but have amazing engines and activity. This is unlikely to end in a knock out but should be like watching a boxing equivalent to “Rock em Sock em robots”. Whilst Takayama and Ioka are both solid names it's fair to say that the attention here will be focused on a Super Bantamweight world title bout between Cuban boxing sensation Guillermo Rigondeaux (14-0, 9) and Japan's relatively unknown Hisashi Amagasa (28-4-2, 19). The bout as has been a major talking point since the story was first mentioned and although Rigondeaux will be expected to do a number on his Japanese foe it's still great to see such an internationally regarded fighter travelling to Japan. For Amagasa this is a great chance to make a name for himself and will know it only takes 1 punch to become a star whilst Rigondeaux may be hoping to impress the local fans enough for them to want to bring him back and have him fight the likes of Shingo Wake in what would be an interesting contest. (Images courtesy of boxmob.jp) The reports of boxing's death are greatly exaggerated, in fact it's well and truly alive!9/24/2014 "Boxing is dead", screams the horrified fan who believes the sport they follow is about to have the death knell rung up on it for the 10 count. "The fighters don't fight each other any more" screams another fan, whilst a third chimes in with "all they do is hold and run like a combined event involving wresting and track running". If you use any forum, any social media or almost any place where boxing fans can join each other to share an opinion you would assume that the fight game is on it's last legs. You would, if you listened to those supposed fans, believe that by 2016 there will be no professional boxing, fan numbers will have bottomed out to the point where running shows is no longer profitable, where TV figures will have dissipated to the point of extinction and where a fight fan will only be tuning in to see either MMA or professional wrestling in the hopes of getting their kicks from a boxing substitute. Those fans are misguided and often less fans of the sport and more interested in hypothetical matches rather than what fights we actually get. They are, in many ways, ignorant of the sport at large and sadly stuck within the confines of fights shown on HBO and Showtime. We know the biggest names in the sport fight on those networks, we know that those networks cover Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Gennady Golovkin, Saul Canelo Alvarez, Amir Khan and other big names. They cover the "big fights" and spend the lavish sums of money on advertising and purses so large that they sums dwarf what an average person can make in decade. We know they are the "big boys" of entertainment. But we also know that the big fights aren't often the best, we know that the fans complaining about the lack of great fights sadly aren't aware of them and most importantly they aren't being given a chance to see what they want to see because the networks are too busy pushing their agenda's for a quick buck rather than giving people what they want with a longer term pay-off.
And of course it's not just been those two bouts either. We've had things like the vicious war between Koki Eto and Ardin Diale, a bout so intense that the winner was rendered unconscious just moments after the fight from over-joyous celebration, the back-and-forth Minimumweight unification bout between Katsunari Takayama and Francisco Rodriguez Jr that could well have put the often over-looked Minimumweight division on to the radar of numerous fans it and the bloody and brave bout between Takuya Watanabe and Jaesung Lee that saw the winner look like he had come straight from a slasher film.
We know that not everyone will have seen these fights but at the end of the day no body gets the chance to watch every fight. However if you're one of the people who believes that boxing is dying we hope you will actually take a bit of time to see just how alive it really is beneath the surface. The sport isn't dying at all. It may not be on the verge of a true global golden age but it's still as strong as it usually is with great fights taking place almost weekly somewhere on the planet.
Also, before we finish, we would like to give a massive thank you to the channels showing some of these bouts, channels like Canal 4 Nicaragua, Channel 11 Thailand, Fuji TV, Channel 7 Thailand and BeIN Sports Espanol. We would also like to thank those fans who have recorded bouts from ringside and Channel Gushiken. These are all the people who are helping to show off the great fights that many seem to think have become an endangered species. HBO and Showtime may boast the biggest pockets buyt they certainly don't boast the best fights. In July 1975 Thailand's Saensak Muangsurin, pictured, shocked the world by winning a world title in just his third professional contest. For much of the last 40 years fans thought that record was an untouchable record, one that would never be beaten and very few fighters would have either the testicular fortitude or skills to even dream about challenging it. Just this past weekend however a fighter came very close to beating that record. Vasyl Lomachenko (1-1, 1), fighting for just the second time as a professional after a stunning amateur career, was just a single judge away from managing to win the WBO Featherweight world title in his second bout. Lomachenko's failure to win the world tile might have been "bad" for his legacy and for those hoping to see "history" created that night, though in another way it may have been one of the greatest things to happen in recent memory for professional boxing. Lomachenko's competitive effort signalled that professional novices could hold their own against experienced championship level fighters. Although Lomachenko may have been an exceptional amateur he was still a baby in terms of professional experience and he showed that a fighter doesn't need to have been a professional for years to have world class skills. In failing to secure the record Lomachenko has actually left the door open to others wanting to tie, or even beat the record. One man who seems interested in trying to tie the record is Japanese teenage Takuma Inoue (1-0), pictured below, who faces the world ranked Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr (23-2, 15) on April 6th. Sakkreerin Jr is currently ranked by all 4 organisations and a victory over him would open up doors with any of the WBA, WBC, WBO or IBF. Whilst some of these doors won't be worth trying open for obvious reasons, for example having a champion that you simply wouldn't risk a young novice against, others are very much open. In fact some of these possibilities are so open that it's hard to imagine Inoue refusing to consider them. At the moment the WBA have a vacant title at Light Flyweight. If Inoue gets past Fahlan in their encounter it's hard to imagine Inoue not being rewarded with a top 5 rankings with the WBA. A top 5 ranking would surely leave Inoue in a position to challenge for either the vacant title, if it's still vacant, or have a shot at the next champion. It may seem an extreme way to treat an 18 year old but with Inoue holding his own in sparring with WBC Flyweight champion Akira Yaegashi it's hard for Ohashi Gym and Inoue himself not to at least consider trying to tie the world record. He'd be in an ideal position, if he beats Sakkreerin Jr, to tie the record and most importantly he'll know a loss isn't a huge set back. He could easily rebound, like Lomachenko, at either the OPBF or Japanese level and rebuild from their. Of course there is risk there for Inoue though the youngster will surely be aware that he could cement his place in the history books if he takes the risk and the gamble pays off. The interesting thing for Inoue though isn't just that he'd be in a position to challenge for a world title in his third fight but that he's the next in the line of Japanese fighter who are swiftly coming through the ranks with ideas of grandeur. We all know how great Joichiro Tatsuyoshi was and his rapid climb up the ranks back in the early 1990's was brilliant. Though of course his national record was beaten a few years back by Kazuto Ioka. Joichiro's national record had stood for almost 20 years before Kazuto Ioka burst on to the scene and defeated Oleydong Sithsamerchai to break "Jo's" record. Now, just over 3 years after Ioka set a national record, Naoya Inoue (5-0, 4) is trying to beat Ioka's achievement. If Naoya is successful and claims a world title in his 6th fight, when he battles Adrian Hernandez for the WBC Light Flyweight title, then one must wonder what is next. For me, and knowing what Takuma has been involved in in the gym, the next step is for Takuma to either get a world title fight in fight #3 or fight #4, if he gets past Sakkreerin Jr. There is every chance that if Takuma does manage to fight for, and win, a world title in his third bout then more fighters will be looking to try and break the record and claim a world title in their second bout. On paper it's beyond what is currently allowed in Japan, due to domestic rules, but it's a marker set down to suggest that in this day and age Muangsurin's record is there to be challenged, not just admired. (Pictures courtesy of boxrec and Ohashi Gym) |
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