 Although November has been a rather bitty month, with a great start and a weak middle, there is plenty to be excited about in the last couple of weeks of the month, with a very interesting mix of fights coming through in what's left of the month.
November 17th Eruka Hiromoto (5-0) vs Sana Hazuki (7-4-1, 2) - Yamaguchi, Japan In Yamaguchi on the 17th we'll see OPBF female Minimumweight champion Eruka Hiromoto defending her title for the first time, as she takes on the aggressive Sana Hazuki in a very interesting match up. The teenage champion looked less than spectacular in her title win, but is a very clear talent with a lot of potential and ambition, and her team have spoken about her challenging for a world title in 2020. Hazuki isn't a big name but she's a handful at this type of level, win or lose, and she could be the sort of fighter who makes Hiromoto pay for her lack of power. Riku Kano (15-4-1, 8) Vs Tetsuya Mimura (8-1, 1) - Kobe, Japan Former world title challenger Riku Kano looks to continue his career rebuild as he takes on the once beaten Tetsuya Mimura, a 2018 Rookie of the Year finalist. This should be a really interesting fight between two talented youngsters, and although it's unlikely to end early it is a really meaningful fight, and the winner will almost certainly see themselves in the mix for some form of regional title in 2020. Daud Yordan (39-4-0-1, 27) Vs Michael Mokoena (15-4, 10) - Batu, Indonesia It's hard to deny that we all love Daud Yordan, the Indian veteran has been flying the flag almost solo for Indonesian boxing the last few years. Here we see him look to claim the WBO Oriental Light Welterweight title as he takes on Tanzania's Michael Mokoena. We suspect Yordan will have to much for Mokoena, but the Indonesian has taken a lot of punishment during his long career and he could end up feeling the effects of that long career at any point. Ongen Saknosiwi (7-0, 7) vs Marco Demecillo (24-8-1, 19) - Batu, Indonesia Whilst Yordan has flown the flag solo for Indonesian boxing several prospecta have come and gone, including the likes of Iwan Zoda, Defry Palulu and most recently Jon Jon Jet. The latest rising Indonesian looking to make their mark is Ongen Saknosiwi, who takes a massive leap up in class here as he faces Filipino veteran Marco Demecillo. A win here will give Saknosiwi's career a monster boost and put him on the fast track, whilst a loss will see him become the latest Indonesian prospect to have his career derailed before it really got going. November 23rd Can Xu (17-2, 3) vs Manny Robles III (18-0, 8) - California, USA One of the biggest bouts from the second half of November will see China's Can Xu defending his WBA Featherweight title against the unbeaten Manny Robles III. On paper this looks brilliant, and in the ring we expect it to be even better. Xu, despite his lack of power, is a very strong fighter who walks through hell fire and brimstone if he needs to. Robles is a more technically capable fighter, but often finds himself fighting the wrong fight and if he gets into a war with Xu we could have a legitimate contender for Fight of the Year on our hands. Xu's pressure will be key as will Robles' concentration, and we are expecting a very, very fan friendly bout here. November 30th Zolani Tete (28-3, 21) v John Riel Casimero (28-4, 19) - West Midlands, United Kingdom Another world title towards the end of the month will see South African fighter Zolani Tete return to face Filipino John Riel Casimero. Tete, who has been out of the ring for more than a year, enters the bout as the WBO Bantamweight champion whilst Casimero is the interim champion and will be looking to pick up another big win on the road. Coming in to this both men will be looking at a potential showdown with WBA and IBF champion Naoya Inoue, and will need to win here to keep that potential bout alive. Zhilei Zhang (20-0, 16) Vs Sergey Kuzmin (15-1, 11) - Monte Carlo, Monaco There is, of course, something about the Heavyweight division that intrigues us all and we'll actually have a rare bout with an Asian interest in the division at the end of November when unbeaten Chinese hopeful Zhilei Zhang take on once beaten Russian Sergey Kuzmin. Both of these fighters were former amateur standouts, and although both are the wrong side of 30 this could still be a very significant bout, with the winner likely to find themselves in the world title mix. Sadly coming into this Zhang has been out of the ring for more than a year whilst Kuzmin was beaten last time out, with both of those facts taking some shine off what this contest could have been 6 months ago. Andy Hiraoka (14-0, 9) v Rogelio Casarez (13-8, 5) - Nevada, USA Unbeaten Ohashi gym prospect Andy Hiraoka makes his US debut at the end of the month as he takes on Rogelio Casarez in what looks like an easy introduction to the American boxing scene. Hiraoka, a Japanese-Ghanaian fighter, has trained over in the US in the past and is regarded highly in Japan, though this will be a very different test to anythign he's faced before. Casarez will be the under-dog but will come out looking to upset the unbeaten hopeful. A nice teast for Hiraoka's first bout on US soil.
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 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.  Sandwiched between an awesome October and a brilliant looking December is a somewhat more normal November. It's not a bad month, by any stretch, but it does look a lot less interesting than the month that has come before it, and the month that is set to follow it. Despite that it does start in amazing fashion with a very hectic start to the month!
November 2nd Jerwin Ancajas (31-1-2, 21) Vs Jonathan Javier Rodriguez (21-1, 15) -California, USA Jerwin Ancajas looks for his next defense of the IBF Super Flyweight world title as he takes on Mexican challenger Javier Rodriguez. The talented Ancajas should have no problem at all with the Mexican, who has just a single win of note on his record, though we do wonder what motivation Ancajas has after a string of less than great challengers. He's a very talented fighter, but he needs to question why his team aren't matching him with any of the other notable fighters in the division. Hiroki Okada (19-1, 13) Vs Javier Molina (20-2, 8) - California, USA Japan's Hiroki Okada returns to the US for his third bout in the country as he takes on 2008 Olympian Javier Molina. For Okada the bout will be his first since being stopped by Ray Beltran in a thriller earlier this year, and it'll be interesting to see how he bounces back from that loss. For Molina the bout will be seen as a very winnable one, and a chance for him to continue a nice little winning run that's been going for a coupel of years. Neither man can really afford a loss here and so we're expecting a very good contest. Romero Duno (21-1, 16) Vs Ryan Garcia (18-0, 15) - Las Vegas, USA Months after the bout was first touted we now get Romero Duno against Ryan Garcia, in what looks like a mouth watering clash. The Filipino is a huge puncher, but technically rough around the edges, a bit crude and open and not particularly polished in how he fights. Garcia on the other hand is a talented pretty boy, who has a very flash and quick style. It'll be Duno's heavy hands against the speed and combinations of Garcia, in what could be one of the most intriguing bouts of the month. Meiirim Nursultanov (12-0, 8) vs Cristian Olivas (16-5, 13) - Las Vegas, USA Talented Kazakh Meiirim Nursultanov looks to continue his unbeaten record as he faces off with Cristian Olivas, a very tough guy. Nursultanov will be going into this with momentum behind him and will know that if he keeps winning a big fight will come his way, but this is legitimately a tough one. Olivas has lost his last 3 but has never been stopped, is tough and rugged and will see this as a great chance to pick up a win against a touted prospect. We expect to see Nursultanov have to work for the win here. Hironobu Matsunaga (15-1, 9) Vs Koki Koshikawa (9-1, 6) - Tokyo, Japan The once beaten Hironobu Matsunaga will look to make his first defense of the Japanese Light Middleweight title as he goes up against Koki Koshikawa. The talented Matsunaga has rebuilt amazingly well following a loss, years ago, to Yuki Beppu in the Rookie of the Year final and his current run has been excellent. Koshikawa on the other hand was tipped for success when he turned professional but has yet to really live up to the expectations put on his shoulders when he began his pro career. On paper this is a decent bout and we expect it to be even better in the ring. This could be a very fun title bout. Nobuyuki Shindo (20-5-2, 8) Vs Yuto Shimizu (13-4-2, 5) - Tokyo, Japan Interestingly the Japanese Middleweight title bout is joined on the same show by a Japanese Light Middleweight title eliminator, as former champion Nobuyuki Shindo takes on Yuto Shimizu. Both of these are big Light Middleweights, at least by Japanese standards, though they have very different styles. Shindo a very rangy southpaw who will look to back off the back foot, whilst Shimizu is a more come-forward slugger. We don't expect this to be a great gelling of styles, but it should be a compelling match up and both men will be battling hard to secure a Japanese title fight at the Champion Carnival in 2020. November 3rd East Japan Rookie of the Year finals - Tokyo, Japan We won't go into all the bouts, but Korakuen Hall plays host to the East Japan Rookie of the Year finals and there are a number of excellent match ups on this card. The show is full of promising young fighters and this should be a very good watch, albeit on tape delay a week later. November 7th Naoya Inoue (18-0, 16) vs Nonito Donaire (40-5, 26) - Saitama, Japan The biggest bout of the month, by far, will see the IBF/WBA Bantamweight titles being unified in WBSS final between unbeaten Japanese sensation Naoya Inoue and Filipino icon Nonito Donaire. This bout is one of the most anticipated bouts of 2019 and whilst it's taken a long time to get to the bout it's still a huge contest, and has sold out the venue weeks in advance. The winner of this will be seen as the de fact #1 in the division, though we wouldn't be surprised to see the winner move up in weight in 2020. This is a huge bout, and something we're really looking forward to. Nordine Oubaali (16-0, 12) vs Takuma Inoue (13-0, 3) - Saitama, Japan A second Bantamweight title bout will see WBC Bantamweight champion Nordine Oubaali take on interim champion Takuma Inoue. This is a fantastic match up and will put two very skilled, though often over-looked, fighters against each other. For Oubaali the bout will be his second defense whilst Inoue will be fighting for the first time since winning the interim title back in December, though has been out some of that time due to an injury. Whilst this bout will be over-shadowed by the WBSS bout we do expect a fantastic, high skilled and very good match up between two legitimate top 10 Bantamweights. |
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