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Something we've wanted to do for a while, but never got round to it, was look at some cases of boxers who share the same name. It's not a big thing, or the most exciting thing ever, but it's an oddity that has been on our radar for a few years now and something we've wanted to cover. Today, we're going to do just that and look at 10 names that were used by multiple fighters, with two of them being used by 3 fighters. Some of these fighters had careers that were similar, whilst others were cases where one fighter has certainly made the name synonymous with themselves.
10- Sho Nakazawa One of the first names we had in mind for this article was Sho Nakazawa, a name shared by a once touted Super Bantamweight come Super Featherweight and a former Japanese Flyweight contender. Of the two it's the modern day one, who was born in 1992 and began his career in 2013, who is the more notable, but that was more as an amateur, where he won a number of domestic trophies. As we write this he is 12-4 (6) and fighting out of the Ohashi gym, though did begin his career as Osaka Teiken. His career has failed to hit the heights expected of him, sadly, though is still an active fighter and is still a genuine talent, despite not becoming the fighter many had hoped. The other Sho Nakazawa went was born in 1984 before debuting in 2004. He fought through to 2014 whilst running up a professional record of 17-11-2 (1). During his career he fought some notable names, including Ryoichi Taguchi, twice, and Kenichi Horikawa but was more regarded as a durable fighter than someone capable of going places with his career. Notably in his 30 bout career he was stopped just once, by Shota Kawaguchi in 2013. 9-Daisuke Watanabe We stick with Japan again for this name as we look at Daisuke Watanabe, a name shared by two Japanese fighters, born 10 years apart. As with Sho Nakazawa one of the men with this name is still an active fighter, and in fact has a direct link to Nakazawa, but more about that in a minute. The first of the Daisuke Watanabe's was born in 1981 and made his professional debut in 2004. He only fought for a few years before leaving the sport in 2008 with a 3-4 (2) record. His record doesn't have anything of note on it, though his final bout took place on a card that featured Hozumi Hasegawa, Takashi Uchiyama and Edwin Valero. Very much an obscure fighter The second Daisuke Watanabe is a currently active fighter who was born in 1991 and began his career in 2014. His career is ongoing and we still suspect some notable achievements from him. Among his bouts so far he has faced Sho Nakazawa, the second one, early in his career and is currently scheduled to compete final of the Hajime No Ippo 30th anniversary tournament. fighter. He's aggressive, heavy handed and has been matched hard, leaving him with a 10-4-2 (6) record as we write this. Aged 29 we see him still having a notable future in the sport. 8-Kenji Ono A really interesting name to consider is Kenji Ono, which was a name shared by two different fighters. One is a rather recent fighter whilst the other is a less well known but, is somone one who etched his name into the boxing history books way back in 1986. Neither men had a stellar career, but both are very notable fighters. The original Kenji Ono was born in 1959 and fought as a professional from 1981 to 1988, running up a 17-11-4 (6) record. During his career he fought some genuinely notable fighters including Samuth Sithnaruepol and Hiroki Ioka. As well as those opponents he also holds two notable distinctions. Firstly he was the first ever Japanese Minimumweight champion, beating Missile Kudo for the title in 1986, and he also lost in the first ever OPBF Minimumweight title bout. The second Kenji Ono was born in 1988 and fought from 2011 to 2019, and may well continue his career going forward, though it does seem somewhat unlikely given recent results. His most notable achievement was winning the 2014 All Japan Rookie of the Year, beating Seita Ogido in the final and in 2016 he was involved in a sensational bout with Jun Takigawa, which saw both men hitting the canvas. Sadly in recent years his form has suffered and he has gone 0-2-2 in his last 4, including a stoppage loss to Seigo Yuri Akui. 7-Xiang Li Maybe the strangest case of two fighters with the same name comes from China, where we currently have two Xiang Li's, making things incredibly complicated. Not only are they both active fighters but both are still very early in their career's and it's hard to say who is the more accomplished, or even the most promising. One of the Xiang Li's is a 22 year old Light Flyweight, who is currently 8-2-2 (3) and is a southpaw. So far in his career he's had some really interesting results, including a very controversial draw with Ryu Horikawa, a win in Hong Kong against Raymond Poon and he's hard fights in Thailand, Hong Kong and the Philippines. Although no world beater he has picked up a number of minor titles. The other Xiang Li is an unbeaten Super Featherweight who was born in 1995 and currently sports a 6-0 (5) record. On paper he looks the more notable but in reality he hasn't hasn't looked as skilled as the younger, smaller man. What he does have is power and that power has seen him stop his last 5 opponents. He's one to watch, as he's fun and heavy handed, but he's further away from a world title fight than the other Xiang Li. Notably this is the only case we can think of where two current Asian fighters share the same name. 6-Ji Hoon Kim The first of a three-fer in this article is Ji Hoon Kim. We know some will recognise the name, after all there was a former world title challenger by the name who was a popular TV level fighter, but they may not be aware that there was other Ji Hoon Kim's out there. The more notable of the 3 is the Lightweight known as "Volcano", who was born in 1987 and fought as a professional between 2004 and 2013. This Kim is one of the last notable Korean fighters and was a very much a TV friendly warrior who managed to make a name in the US, before fighting for a world title and then retiring due to an issue with his eyes. When he retired his record was 25-9 (19) A second Ji Hoon Kim was a lower weight fighter who typically fought at Super Flyweight. This Ji Hoon Kim went 3-4 (1) and fought entirely in South Korea between 2011 and 2013 he was born in 1992 and whilst his career over-lapped with the more famous Ji Hoon Kim his career never really took off, with the fighter ending his career after 3 straight losses. The third Ji Hoon Kim is even less notable than the other two, going 0-2 in his very brief career in 2013. He fought between Super Bantamweight and Featherweight and really, if we're being honest, did nothing of note in the sport. Strangely his career final bout was the final one of all 3 of these Kim's, who all fought in 2013. 5-Koji Matsumoto As we write this Keisuke Matsumoto is only days away from his professional debut as he looks to follow in the footsteps of his father, Koji Matsumoto. Well that's one of the two Koji Matsumoto's who are known to have fought in Japan. The most famous of the due, by far, is the former southpaw form Yokohama who was a 3-time world title challenger and a multi-time Japanese Featherweight champion. This Koji Matsumoto, Keisuke's father, was born in 1969 and fought as a professional from 1989 to 1998. During that time he went 26-6-1 (15) and shared the ring with the likes of Freddie Norwood, Yong Soo Choi and Young Kyun Park. The second Koji Matsumoto was a Super Bantamweight who fought from 2005 to 2006 and was from Saitama. This Koji Matsumoto went 2-2 (1) with his final professional bout coming against a then 21 year old Takuya Kogawa. Compared to the other Koji Matsumoto this is a mismatch. 4-Ric Magramo We're going to cheat a little bit here though we'll explain why. There has not been a notable boxer born with the birth name "Ric Magramo", there is however two men who fought under that name, and both are pretty notable fighters from a very interesting fighting family. In fact they may well be the case where both men are more notable, than any other 2-fighter pairing. The "original" Ric Magramo was born Endrikito Magramo, though is better known as Ric Magramo. His date of birth isn't clear but he debuted in 1961 and fought through to 1970 whilst running up a solid 35-17-5 (15) record. During his career he fought the likes of Bernabe Villacampo, Walter McGowan, Tsuyoshi Nakamura, Hiroyuki Ebihara, Kiyoshi Tanabe, Erbito Salavarria and Berkrerk Chartvanchai. He actually took a few from those guys as well, won a Filipino title and fought for the OPBF Flyweight title 3 times. The other Ric Magramo was born Renato Magramo in 1961, and had a career that spanned from 1982 to 1998. He ran up a record of 34-22-5 (9), which sounds poor but included bouts, like the other Ric Magramo, against a who's who of who. His opponents included Gerry Penalosa, Chana Porpaoin, Chatchai Sasakul, Joma Gamboa, Sompoch Harnvichachai, Paul Weir and Jacob Matlala. He even got a world title fight, when he fought Weir. 3-Hiroshi Kobayashi Like a few others in this list there is a huge gulf in how well known the two Hiroshi Kobayashi's are. One is regarded as one of Japan's greatest fighters, a former world champion and one of the great Japanese fighters from the past. The other is, sadly, a domestic journeyman who fought a number of top fighters but fail to score a win of note. The original Hiroshi Kobayashi was a great Super Featherweight was born in 1944, made his debut at the age of 17 and was a professional from 1962 to 1971. He won his first 18 bouts before suffering 4 straight losses. In the years that followed however he rebuilt brilliantly and won the Japanese Featherweight title before dethroning Yoshiaki Numata for the WBA and WBC Super Featherweight titles. He would defend the WBC title once and the WBA title 6 times before losing his final 3 bouts in 1971, with the final loss coming to Roberto Duran. He retired with a 61-10-4 (10) record. The other Hiroshi Kobayashi was born in 1969, whilst the first was still a world champion, and would make his debut in 1989, at the age of 19. He would go 12-15-2 (3) in a 29 fight career that ended in 2000. Although his numbers don't stack up he was a well trusted domestic level fighter who shared the ring with Hyung Chul Lee, Rolando Pascua, Rolando Bohol, Yuri Arbachakov, Hideki Todaka and Celes Kobayashi, among others. Very much a journeyman, but a good, domestic one. 2-Ki Soo Kim We're back in South Korea here for another case of a fighter with a name being much, much better known than the other, with the name Ki Soo Kim. Unfortunately this is probably one of the most unfair in this list, with one being a national hero and the other being an unfortunate fighter with the same name. The original Ki Soo Kim was born in 1939 and would go on to be a successful amateur and even more successful professional winning the Light Middleweight world titles in 1966. He was the first Korean to win world titles and fought as a professional from 1961 to 1969, running up a 33-2-2 (17) record and paving the way for the Korean fighters to follow him in the years ahead. As well as the Light Middleweight world title he also held the OPBF Middleweight title and would often switch between the two division's. Among his big wins were decisions against Nino Benvenuti, who had beaten him in the Olympics and Freddie Little. The other Ki Soo Kim went 3-2 (1) and fought between 1982 and 1983. His achievements in the ring amounted to nothing, and he really didn't do much of note at all. The one thing noteworthy about his career, other than his name, is that he fought a then 18 year old Myung Woo Yuh, the future Light Flyweight great. Sadly it's unclear when Kim was born, though we suspect it was around the time that his name sake was a top fighter 1-Takashi Miura The final name on this list again comes from Japanese boxing, and that is Takashi Miura. We suspect everyone reading this will know of one Takashi Miura but amazingly there has been three of them, two of whom fought at the same time, in the same division. Those two also share an opponent, and amazingly neither of them were the original Takashi Miura! Let us explain. The first Takashi Miura was a Super Bantamweight who fought in the late 1990's. His career record is possibly incomplete, though boxrec have him going 1-4 between 1997 and 1999. His most notable opponent was probably Jun Toriumi and he is very much a forgotten man. The second Takashi Miura was a Super Featherweight who born in 1980 and made his professional debut in 2002. This Takashi Miura was an orthodox fighter had some solid success, including a win over Kinji Amano. After going 7-1-1 (4) his career capitulated and he would end with an 8-6-1 (5) record, including losses to future Japanese national champions Yosukezan Onodera and Yoshimitsu Yashiro. His career came to an end in 2007 after a 4th straight loss. The third Takashi Miura was also a Super Featherweight, who debuted in 2003 and fought all the way up to 2017. He was born in 1984 and would become the most notable of the Takashi Miura's winning the Japanese and WBC titles, and became a fan favourite among the hardcore fans. Interestingly he twice fought Yoshimitsu Yashiro, ending Yashiro's national title reign, and would go on to fight a real who's who. He first made a mark internationally in 2011, when he fought Takashi Uchiyama, and would later face Gamaliel Diaz, Sergio Thompson, Billy Dib, Francisco Vargas, Mickey Roman and Miguel Berchelt. *Please note some records may be incomplete, all records used as boxrec records as per August 2020.
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This past week hasn't been the busiest, yet there was still a lot to talk about, and whilst the bouts that took place weren't high profile, it was a week that delivered a lot of interestings action.
Fighter of the Week Kudratillo Abdukakhorov (17-0, 9) Unbeaten Uzbek fighter Kudratillo Abdukakhorov did amaze or blow anyone away, but did look very good in taking a wide technical decision over former world champion Luis Collazo. The Uzbek fighter moved excellently, threw lovely little combinations on the back foot and simply used Collazo's pressure against him, until a head clash in the 10th round curtailed the bout a minute early. We don't think Abdukakhorov has proven he has the talent to win a world title, but this was still a very good performance from a very good fighter and someone who deserves to be inside the division's top 15, albeit at the lower end of the top 15. Performance of the Week Tuguldur Byambatsogt (1-0) Aged just 20 years old Tuguldur Byambatsogt really, really impressed us, and yet seemed to fight well within himself as he easily out pointed Japanese veteran Shusaku Fujinaka. What was more impressive than just beating Fujinaka was the fact that Byambatsogt did it on his debut, and did with relatively ease. He out boxed, out fought and out brawled Fujinaka and although he was a bit too cautious and negative at times this was still a very accomplished performance for a young man making his debut. Keep an eye on this youngster going forward. Fight Xiang Li Vs Ryu Horikawa We'll admit we had very high hopes for this one going in and in fairness it exceeded our expectations. It started relatively slowly but built into a very, very entertaining and exciting fight. As the fight went on and Li began to tire Horikawa tried to turn it on, going for the stoppage, making for some amazing action up close and some fantastic heart from Li, who tried to always fire back. The final rounds were amazing, and it really did get better and better as the fight went on, making for a fantastic bout. Rounds 9 and 10 of this were both great, even if they were a little on the sloppy side, and we would happily watch these two fight again in the future. Round Marvin Esquierdo vs Koichi Ito (Round 1) The first ever round of the Knockout Dynamite Tournament kicked off the tournament in style, with Marvin Esquierdo and Koichi Ito standing and unloading bombs on each from the opening seconds. This was thrilling action, with both men looking to claim the top reward for an opening round win. The fight may not have been a technical show case but it was all action and very, very exciting. Well worthy of a watch, and despite being on Boxing Raise the website has made it available for none-subscribers, so we suggest you check it out here. KO Sadly there was no valid KO this week. Prospect Suzumi Takayama (3-0, 3) Whilst Tuguldur Byambatsogt and Ryu Horikawa were both in the running for this, as was Chainoi Worawut, we've gone with the newly crowned Japanese Youth Super Flyweight champion. Takayama got off to a great start, dropping Tetsuro Ohashi in the first round, got knocked down himself in round 2 but eventually broke down Ohashi in an excellent performance over 8 rounds. This was a great bout, with a great performance from both and Takayama really does deserve a lot more attention than he appears to be getting. Keep an eye on him over the coming years. Upcoming fight Seigo Yuri Akui (13-2-1, 9) vs Shun Kosaka (16-5, 4) There is a lot of good fights coming up over the next 7 days. For us the best one is likely to be the Japanese Flyweight title between the fast starting and all aggression Seigo Yuri Akui and tough guy Shun Kosaka. This should be a lot of fun, and a real test to see how legit Akui's power is. Whilst Akui's record only has 9 T/KO's in 16 bouts, 8 of those were scored in the opening round and he is very much a fast starter. Kosaka is rugged and could be the sort of fighter to get the very best out of Akui. This past week has been a busy one, an exciting one and an interesting one with a lot of action taking place right through the week, with a trio of notable mid-week shows in Asia. The bouts might have all been great but there was some outstanding fights, thrilling action, a huge upset, frighting KO's and some excellent rounds.
Fighter of the Week Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa (12-4-1, 11) The heavy handed Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa became a 2-time OPBF Middleweight champion this week due to an excellent win over Koki Tyson, in a bout that left Tyson looking disfigured which huge gruesome looking swelling around his right eye. The performance certainly wasn't flawless from Hosokawa, but he showed his fighters mentality and took his lumps before forcing the doctor to step in and save Tyson. Not only did Hosokawa become a 2-time champion but following the bout it was revealed he would be making his first defense in a unification bout Kazuto Takesako Performance of the Week Jhunriel Ramonal (16-8-6, 9) At the age of 30 Filipino, and fighting for just the 4th time in 4 years, Jhunriel Ramonal secured the best win of his career, by far. The rugged Filipino battled through a cut, battled through adversity and refused to accept defeat before finally breaking through and dropping the world ranked Shingo Wake. Wake would get up from the first knockdown but not long afterwards Ramonal would drop the former world title challenger, hard. The Filipino was bleeding badly by the time he scored the stoppage, but heart, determination and finish all roll into him earning the Performance of the Week. Fight Heuk San Lee vs Gyung Mo Yuh The KBF title might not have huge standing in the sport, but it's hard to refute the fact that some of the KBF title fighters are amazing fights. One great example of that happened this week, when Heuk San Lee and Gyung Mo Yuh tore lumps out of each other in all action 10 round war for the KBF Welterweight title. This bout swung from being a good fight for Lee boxing on the move to an all out war as his feet slowed and Yuh's pressure began to take hold. In the later rounds this was thrilling, none stop, crazy, crude slugging and a must watch bout for those who want to know what the KBF title means to fighters in South Korea. Don't get us wrong, this wasn't a technical show case, but it was thrilling action. Just a shame the judging was a little bit questionable. Round Kenichi Horikawa vs Yuto Takahashi (10) We had some solid rounds this last week, though the one that takes the award for us was the gruelling and tiring final round of the Japanese Minimumweight title bout between Kenichi Horikawa and Yuto Takahashi. This wasn't pretty, and it wasn't a round full of clean action, but this was two men fighting for the decision, using all their heart to try and win the bout. It was messy, it was rough, it was hard and was ugly. It was a exciting mess of a round, and fought at a high quality level than the bout in Korea, which had rounds were more wild, but less tough. KO Jhunriel Ramonal TKO3 Shingo Wake On paper it seemed Friday's bout between Shingo Wake and Jhunriel Ramonal was little more than a tune up for Wake against someone he had already beaten. Instead however it ended up being the worst night of his professional career. Was was supposed to be an easy win for sharp shooting southpaw ended with him being dropped twice, and being left flat out thanks to a huge left hook from Ramonal. The KO blow, at the very end of round 3, was a huge left hook right on the chin that dropped Wake hard. This was brutal, this visually impressive and this was nasty to re-watch with Wake dropping on the spot. This is up there with the best KO's of the year. Notable mention Shuichiro Yoshino TKO1 Harmonito Dela Torre Prospect Thanongsak Simsri (12-0, 11) The unbeaten Thanongsak Simsri saw his perfect KO start come to an end this week but he answered a lot of questions as he took a clear and wide decision win over fellow Thai Lerdchai Chaiyawed. The talented Thanongsak found someone he couldn't blow through and instead proved he could go rounds, and out-box a capable opponent. Lerdchai might not be well known but he's a very decent regional journeyman and the 19 year old Thanongsak really did well here to make things look as easy as they were. He's certainly one worth making a note of going forward. Upcoming fight Xiang Li (7-2-1, 2) vs Ryu Horikawa (2-0, 1) On Thursday we see a mouth watering WBO Youth Light Flyweight title bout as exciting Chinese fighter Xiang Li takes on fast rising Japanese teenager Ryu Horikawa. Neither of these men are big names, yet, but we suspect that both will go on to achieve notable success in the future. Li impressed in his title win, earlier this year in Hong Kong with a win over Raymond Poon KaiChing, whilst Horikawa, who has only been a pro since June, shone in August when he beat the touted Yuki Nakajima. This has the potential to be a thriller, and to put the winner on to the fact track for some very big regional fights.  Following a pretty interesting start to the month things get really intense in the days to come with a lot of notable action, in not a lot of time.
October 11 Tokyo, Japan Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa (11-4-1, 10) Vs Koki Tyson (14-3-3, 12) II - Tokyo, Japan In a rematch for the OPBF Middleweight title we'll see Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa take on Koki Tyson, with both men looking to take the currently vacant title. These two fighters fought to a draw earlier in the year and will be going in again to try and take the title that was vacated by Yuki Nonaka. Given that both Hosokawa and Tyson are aggressive, heavy handed but technically flawed fighters we are expecting a very exciting contest here, and hopefully it avoids some of the messy action that their first bout had. Shingo Wake (26-5-2, 18) Vs Jhunriel Ramonal (15-8-6, 8) II - Tokyo, Japan Former world title challenger Shingo Wake is pursuing a second world title fight, and to tick over he will eb facing former foe Jhunriel Ramonal. These two fought back in in 2013, when Wake stopped Ramonal in 3 rounds, and it's hard to imagine anything other than a repeat here. Wake should be far too good for the Filipino visitor, but it's still a botu worthy of noting given that Wake is likely to fight for a world title sooner rather than later. October 12th Dmitry Bivol (16-0, 11) Vs Lenin Castillo (20-2-1, 15) - Illinois, USA Unbeaten WBA Light Heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol was hoping for a big fight but will likely close out his 2019 with a bout against Dominican challenger Lenin Castillo. The champion has improved his resume with solid wins in recent years, but hasn't looked the dynamic and exciting fighter he once was, instead looking to win rather than to dazzle. He should have too much in the locker for Castillo, but the challenger is no "bum" and could give Bivol a genuine test herein he's being over-looked. October 17th Wulan Tuolehazi (12-3-1, 5) vs Satoshi Tanaka (7-5, 1) - Shanghai, China China's Wulan Tuolehazi has been carving out a solid resume in recent years, with wins over the likes of Jayr Raquinel, Kwanthai Sithmoseng, Ardin Diale and Ryota Yamauchi. He's now looking likely to get a world title shot sooner rather than later and will be defending his WBA International Flyweight title here against Satoshi Tanaka, a relatively weak Japanese challenger. This should be a show case for the champion if we're being honest. Xiang Li (7-2-1, 2) vs Ryu Horikawa (2-0, 1) - Shanghai, China We love seeing youngsters face off, with questions being asked of fighters when they are young, rather than seeing records padded before a fighter steps up. With that in mind we love the WBO Youth Light Flyweight title match between China's crafty Xiang Li and Japanese skillster Ryu Horikawa. This should be a real test for both, and despite the risk of some monkey business with the scorecards we're really excited by the contest, which should be a genuinely intriguing one from the first bell to the final bell. October 18th Kudratillo Abdukakhorov (16-0, 9) vs Luis Collazo (39-7, 20) - Pennsylvania, USA Unbeaten Uzbek Welterweight contender Kudratillo Abdukakhorov looks to continue his drive towards a world title fight as he takes on former world champion Luis Collazo. The unbeaten Abdukakhorov has shown a lot of promise, but has also shown flaws, and issues, and his lack of power is something has left some questioning whether or not he can make it at the top. At his best Collazo was world class, but at the age of 38 there are question marks about just what he has left in his legs. Collazo is a very skilled fighter, and should test the Uzbek in what is a very interesting match up. October 19th Tetsuro Ohashi (7-0-1, 2) Vs Suzumi Takayama (2-0, 2) - Hyogo, Japan The Japanese Youth title scene continues to give us great fights, and here we'll see the unbeaten pairing of Tetsuro Ohashi and Suzumi Takayama clash for the Youth Super Flyweight title. The 20 year old Ohashi won the Rookie of the Year back in December and this will be his second bout since that win, as he looks to build on his growing reputation. Takayama on the other hand lacks the experience of Ohashi in the pro ranks, but was a solid amateur and has looked very impressive since making his debut this past February. This will be Ohashi's boxing against Takayama's aggression in what should be an excellent match up. October 21st Yusuke Sakashita (18-8-3, 13) vs Naoki Mochizuki (16-4, 8) II - Tokyo, Japan In a really interesting rematch we'll see Yusuke Sakashita make his first defense of the WBO Asia Pacific Flyweight title as he takes on Naoko Mochizuki. These two fought back in December 2016, when Mochizuki took a clear win over Sakashita, but since then the two men have had contrasting careers. Mochizuki has gone 5-3, struggling for momentum and was stopped in February by Junto Nakatani. Sakashita however has gone 4-0-1 and claimed his title last time out in May, stopping Masahiro Sakamoto. This could be one of the real hidden gems of the month. Cristiano Aoqui (14-7-2, 10) vs Daishi Nagata (13-2-1, 5) -Tokyo, Japan Every so often we see a fight that gets us really excited due to the style match up and the mentality of the two men involved. That is the case here as the exciting Cristiano Aoqui and the rugged Daishi Nagata battle in a Japanese Light Welterweight title eliminator, with the winner getting a shot at the belt in the 2020 Champion Carnival. This bout has two men involved who enjoy a tear up, through heavy leather and should gel stylistically. It's fair to say that this past 7 day weren't the best for boxing, but even then there was a solid amount going on for the hardcore fan who doesn't just want to see the big names in action. Just over the weekend alone there was action form Thailand, China, Philippines, Indonesia and Japan. Whilst the big names were lacking the smaller names were given a chance to chine.
Fighter of the Week Nursultan Zhangabayev (8-0, 5) Unbeaten Kazakh hopeful Nursultan Zhangabayev continued to build his reputation as he travelled to Australia and beat Steve Gago over 10 rounds. The Kazakh may have flirted with a DQ at times, due to accidental low blows, but there is no doubting his performance against a fellow unbeaten fighter and the way he further increased his profile, by fighting in a 4th country already. He may not be a world champion in the making, but this week he scored a big win and unified titles from 3 of the 4 world title bodies. Performance of the Week Xiao Tao Su (11-1, 6) We'd never really paid Chinese youngster Xiao Tao Su much attention until this week, when he really impressed with an opening round win over Shota Yukawa. He was in the ring for 150 seconds but that was enough time to impress as he wobbled Yukawa and then, only moments later, took him our with a brutal left hand. This was the sort of performance that made us sit up and take notice, and at the end of the day he did more than expected. Yes, Yukawa is no world beater but this was an excellent performance. Fight Apichet Petchmanee (4-0, 2) Vs Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo (61-4, 41) II For the second time this year Thai pairing Apichet Petchmanee and Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo gave us a bit of a thriller. Chonlatarn tried to force the pace and Apichet tried to make him pay, in the end both fighters had mixed success with their gameplan but both combined to make a great, competitive and action packed fight. Apichet again showed touches of brilliance but couldn't get rid of the veteran, who showed his toughness and will to win, making life very, very difficult for the rising hopeful. This was very good and very enjoyable Notable mention - Xiang Li vs Do Jin Lee Round Jing Xiang vs Jomar Caindog (Rd4) Whilst there was plenty of good action there was few rounds that really stood out, however we really enjoyed the 4th round of the Minimumweight bout between the world class Jing Xiang and the unheralded Jomar Caindog. Xiang, to us at least, always looked in control but the bout certainly had moments where Caindog showed real ambition. In round 4 we saw some brilliant exchanges, some great action and Xiang ended the round like he had a point to prove. This really was a lot of fun, and actually the entire bout was really compelling, even if it wasn't all action packed. KO Xiao Tao Su TKO1 Shota Yukawa We mentioned it earlier but we need to mention it again, Xiao Tao Su's KO over Shota Yukawa. The fight ended with a brutal, huge left hook from Su whilst left Yukawa flat out on the canvas. Technically this was a TKO, though Yukawa was out cold and the referee could have counted to 30 and not seen Yukawa beat the count. The shot was a peace and Su certainly seems like a very heavy handed young fighter. He may not be a big name but he's one to watch and we're going to be very excited to see where he goes following this win. Prospect Xiang Li (5-0, 4) We're not totally sold on Chinese prospect Xiang Li but it's hard to not be impressed by him at times. The 24 year old was given a test by Korean youngster Do Jin Lee but racked up the rounds with his hard, clean punching and despite being put on the back foot at times. Li closed the show with a barrages of right hands, and managed to shine, and answer some new questions. Given this was just his 5th bout we're happy to see him being pushed, for the second time this year. He might not have world class potential, at least not showing at the moment, but there's a lot to like about the youngster and he certainly has the ability to make a mark on the regional level in the years to come. Upcoming fight Kosei Tanaka (13-0, 7) vs Jonathan Gonzalez (22-2-1, 13) This has probably been the hardest week to pick a single fight for our "upcoming" fight, though it's hard for the right reason with a host of great fights coming up. If forced to pick a single one to get the most excited about it's the WBO Flyweight title bout between Kosei Tanaka and Jonathan Gonzalez, which should be a super-high speed chess match. Both guys are super quick, both were talented amateurs and it's hard not to get excited about every Tanaka fight. Since moving to Flyweight Tanaka's been even more entertaining than he was at the lower weights and Gonzalez should bring the best out of him. Even better yet, the bout will be shown live here on Asian Boxing for free! Other bouts considered here were: Ryota Yamauchi vs Alphoe Dagayloan, Shohjahon Ergashev Vs Abidel Ramirez, Kento Hatanaka Vs Jaysever Abcede, Vic Saludar v Wilfredo Mendez and Carlo Caesar PenalosaVs Maximino Flores  The start of August was like a house on fire, with title bouts things taking place in 3 successive days, and 7 title bouts in 8 days. Thankfully things slow down in the middle of the month, at least a small bit, with fewer notable title bouts, but still a lot of action, cramped into not a lot of time. Also, unlike the start of the month, we really see the action spread all over the place.
August 11th Jung Kyoung Lee (7-2-1, 3) vs Akinori Watanabe (37-7-1, 31) - Seoul, South Korea The first big bout from this section of the month will see OPBF Light Middleweight champion Jung Kyoung Lee make his first defense of the title, as he battles Japanese veteran Akinori Watanabe. Lee won the title earlier this year, stopping Samuel Colomban, and hastily arranged his first defense, before an injury pushed it back. Now rescheduled the bout is a big test for the champion, and a chance to find out what exactly the challenger has left in the tank. A great match up and a rare chance to get excited about what's happening in a Korean ring. August 14th Aidos Yerbossynuly (11-0, 8) vs Rocky Jerkic (17-1, 13) - New South Wales, Australia In Australia we get two bouts featuring unbeaten Kazakh hopefuls. One of those is unified minor title holder Aidos Yerbossynuly defending his belts against once beaten Australian Rocky Jerkic. The 27 year old Yerbossybuly has proven to be a decent fighter, but this is a clear step up in class a proper chance to see what he's like against some one else with with hunger and ambition. Jerkic on the other hand is 31, can ill afford another loss, after a 2017 defeat to Anthony Buttigieg, and will be seeing this as a big chance to claim a WBA minor title. This could be one of the hidden gems of the month Nursultan Zhangabayev (7-0, 5) Vs Steve Gago (11-0, 4) - New South Wales, Australia The other Kazakh in Australia is 26 year old Nursultan Zhangabayev, who will be up against fellow unbeaten Steve Gago. The talented Zhangabayev was given a real test last year by Arnel Tinampay, one of the sports most under-rated fighters, and has since gone on to drop to Welterweight, where he stopped Ivan Matute to claim a minor title at Welterweight. Gago on the other hand is a 30 year old who has padded his record against limited Thai's and may well be unprepared for the talented, if unheralded, Kazakh. It is worth noting Gago did notch his best win last time out, defeating Adam Diu Abdulhamid, but this is a big step up from that bout. August 17th- Jing Xiang (16-4-2, 3) v Jomar Caindog (10-1-1, 4) - Shenzhen, China Highly skilled Chinese prospect Jing Xiang drops in weight as he looks to make his mark at Minimumweight, rather than in the stacked Light Flyweight division. The talented Xiang is one of China's brightest hopefuls but he's going to be pushed hard here by Filipino Jomar Caindog, who's only loss so far was to upcoming world title challenger Samuel Salva more than 3 years ago. The winner of this will become the WBO International Minimumweight champion and will likely find their self on the edge a shot at the WBO world title. Caindog doesn't have much on his record, but won't be travelling to los, whilst Xiang is one of the sports most well hidden talents. Xiang Li (4-0, 3) v Do Jin Lee (6-2, 3) - Shenzhen, China Unbeaten Chinese hopeful Xiang Li will be looking to build on January's win over Arvin Yurong as he takes on Korean foe Do Jin Lee, in a bout for a couple of minor titles. Li looks a bit rough around the edges, but can certainly punch and there is a lot to like about him. Despite the talent Li he does need to be much more active than he has been, and start to rack up some momentum, after a very stop-start opening to his career. Lee on the other hand is an 18 year old Korean with patchy form to say the least, going 1-2-2 in his last 5, but got a taste of international experience last time out, losing a decision in June to Mirai Naito, and may feel more confident for this road bout than he was for that one. Jeo Santisima (17-2, 14) v Alvius Maufani (6-3-2, 3) - Leyte, Philippines The year has been a really disappointing one for ALA Promotions and their top fighters have had much of their momentum stopped in 2019. Now we see some of those fighters trying to get back on track with the hard hitting Jeo Santisima being one of them. The 23 year old banger, who was last seen scoring a win over the incredibly tough Victor Uriel Lopez, is having little more than a tick over bout here as he takes on limited Indonesianm Alvius Maufani. Santisima is a great prospect, who could have been on the verge of a world title fight with some more activity, Maufani on the other hand is very limited and has failed to take a win in any of his last 3, and was actually stopped last time out. We don't see this one going the distance. Albert Pagara (31-1, 22) Vs Lucky Tor Buamas (12-3, 12) - Leyte, Philippines Another ALA prospect looking to put a frustrating year behind him is Albert Pagara, who takes on hard hitting Thai foe Lucky Tor Buamas. The touted Pagara is looking for his 6th win since a loss to Cesar Juarez in 2016, though his career really has slowed down and it's a real shame that he appears to be both inactive, and taking a massive step backwards here. Whilst Pagara has been disappointingly inactive Lucky will be fighting for the first time in over a year, and has lost his last 2, and 3 of his last 8. Not only has Lucky been shown up recently in terms of his defeats but he has been stopped, and has typically been fighting at Super Flyweight. Pagara should be too good, too strong, too big and too powerful for the limited Thai. Apichet Petchmanee (4-0, 2) Vs Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo (61-4, 41) II - Bang Phun, Thailand In Thailand we see fighters go again as talented prospect Apichet Petchmanee takes on former world title challenger Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo. These two fought earlier in the year and despite picking up the win Apichet really failed to shine, with a good argument that he didn't do enough to win. Whilst it was a big step up in class for the unbeaten man he was expected to have the skills, youth, size and amateur pedigree to over-come the much older and naturally smaller Chonlatorn without any problems. Instead it was the experience and ring craft of Chonlatarn that proved to be the biggest factor and we'll see whether or not Apichet will have learned from that first bout. August 23 Tokyo, Japan Jayr Raquinel (10-1-1, 7) v Takuya Kogawa (30-5-1, 13) - Tokyo, Japan Once beaten Filipino fighter Jayr Raquinel looks to make his second defense of the OPBF Flyweight title as he takes on former world title challenger Takuya Kogawa. The 22 year old champion has been out of the ring since losing to Wulan Tuolehazi last September, and that sort of inactivity could be a major issue here, though he is an excellent young fighter who will be hoping to show what he can really do. As for Kogawa the Japanese veteran is 34 and will know that this could be his final title fight. With almost 250, hard, rounds under his belt he is a stalwart of the Japanese scene, who has taken a lot of punishment in a very memorable career. Ryota Yamauchi (4-1, 4) vs Alphoe Dagayloan (13-2-5, 5) - Tokyo, Japan We love seeing talented youngsters face off in their careers, taking risks early and not sitting pretty whilst running up big unbeaten records. With that in mind we have to admit we really love the look of this match up between rising Japanese hopeful Ryota Yamauchi and the under-rated Alphoe Dagayloan of the Philippines. For Yamauchi the bout is a chance to bounce back from his close and controversial loss to Wulan Tuolehazi, the man who also beat Jayr Raquinel. For Dagayaloan on the other hand it's a chance to get another notable win on his record, following solid wins over the likes of Esneth Domingo, Madiyar Zhanuzak and Rongguo Wu. The winner of this will almost certainly find themselves in the regional title mix sooner rather than later, and the loser will have a lot of time to rebuild. A fantastic match up, and one that could outshine the main event. Mikio Sakai (0-0) v Elfelos Vega (7-6, 5) - Tokyo, Japan Former Japanese amateur standout Mikio Sakai makes his debut, and does so against the dangerous Elfelos Vega in a very tough looking debut bout. Sakai is very highly regarded following a genuine solid amateur career on the Japanese national scene, and given how many top "bigger" fighters train at the Kedoebi gym it's clear Sakai will get great sparring. Vega, whilst not the most talented, can bang and is tough so this should be a great test of Sakai and what he has to offer. If Sakai looks good we wouldn't be surprised for Kadoebi to have him in with some sort of ranked fighter by the end of 2020. For Vega a win would kick start his career, but he will enter as the clear under-dog. Ryo Nakai (0-0) v Jay Lloyd Quidlat (4-0-1, 2) - Tokyo, Japan Another former Japanese amateur standout making his debut is Ryo Nakai, who could well end up the better of the two debutants. He will be up against unbeaten Filipino foe Jay Lloyd Quidlat, in a very good looking test. Although naturally much smaller than Sakai we have heard that Nakai has the more long term potential, given he's younger and was more accomplished in the unpaid ranks. Quidlat has been a professional for a little over a year but this is a very clear step up in class from the low level Filipino foes than he's been facing off with so far. Shohjahon Ergashev (16-0, 14) v Abdiel Ramirez (24-4-1, 22) - Oklahoma, USA One of Uzbekistan's top hopefuls, Shohjahon Ergashev, will be up against Mexican puncher Abidel Ramirez in what looks like a really good fight. Ergashev looked poor when he defeated Mykal Fox earlier in the year, despite winning he looked predictable, open and very technically poor, here however he should be up against someone less awkward and more willing to fight. Ramirez is no world beater, but is someone who believes in his power, and that should make for an entering, if short lived, war between two men looking to take each other out early. We'd suggest you don't blink if you're watching this one! This past week has been a strange week of action. We had two notable Japanese cards, a pretty interesting Thai card, a Korean card and brilliant Hong Kong card. It's made for a busy week, and a fairly interesting one!
Fighter of the Week Hironobu Matsunaga (15-1, 9) Japanese Light Middleweight Hironobu Matsunaga takes home top honours this week following his excellent win over Nobuyuki Shindo, to claim the Japanese title at 154lbs. Matsunaga had entered the bout was the under-dog against the taller, longer and more experienced Shindo. Despite all the disadvantages Matsunaga set the pace, was in Shindo's face and later went on to break down Shindo, who retired between rounds 6 and 7. The bout may end Shindo's career though for Matsunaga it's his biggest win, by far, and extends his current winning run to 9 bouts. It's hard to know how long Matsunaga will reign atop the Japanese domestic scene but this week is his week! Performance of the Week Keita Kurihara (14-5, 12) The Performance of the Week award was one of the easier awards this week, with Japanese puncher Keita Kurihara being the run away winner. The OPBF Bantamweight king created history by scoring the fastest ever win an OPBF Bantamweight title fight. The performances lasted for a little over 30 seconds but the hard hitting Kurihara impressed with every one of those seconds, whilst sending the popular Warlito Parrenas into retirement. Given how Kurihara had failed to put away Yuki Strong Kobayashi in December this was a real return to form for the youngster! Fight Raymond Poon KaiChing vs Xiang Li It's not often that Hong Kong gets our attention but it did this week for an excellent card from DEF HK. The main event of that card saw local hopeful Raymond Poon KaiChing take on aggressive Chinese southpaw Xiang Li in what turned out to be a really, really exciting 10 round back and forth war. On paper Poon had the advantages in terms of power, home advantages and crowd support but Li set a high tempo, fought with real hunger and looked the more technically sound fighter in what was a brilliant back and forth contest. This one is one that all fans should give a watch to, and it really was an instant Closet Classic between two young men each looking to prove a point. Round Raymond Poon KaiChing vs Xiang Li (round 10) We'll stay with the Fight of the Week for our Round of the Week, with the final round between Poon and Li being utterly brilliant as both dug deep, deeper than either was expected to dig. This was 3 minutes of desperation from two men desperate to take home the win, two men determined to give all they had, and two men who's styles just gelled. This was exactly what we love in the sport, and a reminder as to why some of these smaller cards are among the very, very best that the sport can provide. KO Takenori Ohashi TKO7 Shun Wakabayashi Former Japanese Featherweight champion Takenori Ohashi was behind on the scorecards, being out boxing, out moved and out though by Shun Wakabayashi. It seemed like he was around 5 minutes from losing to the unheralded Wakabayashi. That was until he connected with a brutal uppercut that left Wakabayashi out cold, staring at the lights and made it easy to forget the action that had come before hand. The shot erased all of Wakabayashi's good work and showed what an amazing equliser Ohashi's power is. Prospect Lap Cheong Cheong (6-0, 4) Macau isn't known as a boxing hotspot but it's got a potential gem within it's ranks in the form of Lap Cheong Cheong, who secured his 6th win this Sunday, when he beat Muhammad Wahid of Indonesia. Cheong's win wasn't necessary a big win, but his performance filled us with a lot of excitement, as he spent 6 rounds going full tilt in pursuit of a stoppage. He had the bout easily won after 4 rounds, but wanted to put on a show, wanted to stop his Indonesian foe and showed touches of star potential He's not an amateur standout, like many Prospects of the Week, but there is a lot to like about him. Aged 22 we're expecting to see Cheong competing at a much higher level in the future and given his career so far he is going to be a very special fighter to watch. Upcoming fight Naoya Inoue (17-0, 15) vs Emmanuel Rodriguez (19-0, 12) We have some amazing fights over the next 7 days, though the fight we're most looking forward to is, unsurprisingly, the WBSS semi final bout between Naoya Inoue and Emmanuel Rodriguez. The bout will be for a number of titles, including the IBF, WBA "regular" and Ring Magazine titles, it'll also be for a place in the WBSS final and a chance to claim the Muhammad Ali Trophy. Whilst there are other great bouts, such as the Japanese Super Bantamweight title bout between Ryoichi Tamura and Yusaku Kuga, as well as the potentially fantastic IBF Light Flyweight title bout between Felix Alvarado and Reiya Konishi, there was only ever going to be one bout winning this category. It is, however, a week to be very, very excited about. We are in for something very, very special! With a new year comes new ideas, and one of the new things we'd like to try in 2019 is our weekly awards, and further to that an attempt at monthly awards as well. We know some weeks, and months, will see a lot of contenders for awards, and we're really hoping that that sparks debate with you, the readers, as well as feedback. That feed back will be looked at and potentially included in a follow up article . Just as some basic ground rules, weeks run from Monday to Sunday, so the end of week 1 is Sunday January 6th. These pieces will be posted between Sunday and Tuesday, depending on time, and what fights take place when. Also all awards are for Asian fighters or bout that take place in Asia, or feature and Asian fighter, so please remember that! As a general rule we want to recognise fighters and fights in the following categories: Fighter - Straight forward, which fighter impressed the most during the week Performance - Which fighter put on the best performance of the week Fight - Which fight was the best of the week (where possible a video will be supplied) Round - Which round was the best of the week (again where possible a video will be supplied) KO - Which KO was the best of the week (again where possible a video will be supplied) Prospect - Which prospect impressed us most during the week Upcoming fight - Which fight, during the following week, are we the most excited about As well as a "notable mentions" category, which are essentially for doing something that doesn't fit in one of the above categories or where someone is narrowly pipped. We suspect over the next few weeks we'll see this whole thing change slightly, but hopefully by the Spring we'll have settled on a format that works. We also know not all fights are available to watch publicly, for example those on boxingraise, where that's the case we will look to add a notable mention for another fight. So....with all that said, I would like to get on to the Asian Boxing Awards for Week 1 2019! Fighter of the Week Giemel Magramo (23-1, 19) There wasn't too much action this past week, what with the year just starting at all that, but there was really only 2 contenders for this award. They were Jiang Xiang of China and Giemel Magramo, of the Philippines. For us Magramo gets the win by a nose hair. He went over to China and stopped the previously unbeaten Wenfeng Ge, to unify the WBO Oriental and WBO International titles at Flyweight. Not only beating someone highly regarded, like Ge, but to do it by stoppage in their back yard gets Magramo our first ever Fighter of the Week recognition. Performance of the Week Jing Xiang (16-4-2, 3) [向静] Whilst Magramo's stoppage against Ge was an impressive result, we thought Magramo actually was pipped in terms of his performance by Jing Xiang, who dominated former world champion Kompayak Porpramook over 12 rounds to retain the WBC Silver Light Flyweight title. The bout Chinese fighter was taking on a determined visitor and ended up schooling the Thai veteran, hardly dropping a round, and actually putting the Thai down. For us this was the much better performance, with Magramo's having the better result. We were thoroughly impressed by how Xiang shut down the pressure from the Thai, despite some tough moments. Fight Jiang Wang (7-1, 2) [王健] Vs Sung Young Yang (6-2, 3) [양성영] Despite being a dominant win for Jing Xiang over Kompayak Porpramook we were totally captivated, from the first round to the last. Sadly, it was too one-sided to be our fight of the week, however the walk out bout from the same show, which saw Jian Wang and Sung Young Yang battle to 10 round split decision draw was just what we wanted. It was exciting, action packed and highly competitive. These two lacked the skills of some other fighters on the card but in terms of action they delivered, in a big way, often taking it in turns to wail away on each other from close range. If you love technical mastery you'll be disappointed in our choice, but for pure wild entertainment this was just fantastic. Round Giemel Magramo Vs Wenfeng Ge (Round 2) Although there wasn't a lot of action this past week we got more than our share of great rounds. Rounds 9 and 10 from the Wang Vs Yang bout were amazing, round 7 of Xiang Vs Kompayak was sensational, however our pick for the week was round 2 of Magramo Vs Ge. The round wasn't just a high intensity one, but also featured a high level of skill, with both men showing ring craft and skills. As the bout went on the contest became 1-sided, but this round was an ultra competitive one and a very entertaining contest, that seemed to give us a glimpse of a very special fight, that sadly we didn't really get. KO
No fit contender - Unfortunately there wasn't any great KO's this week, that we deem worthy of attention, however if you feel there was please drop it in the comments! Prospect Xiang Li (4-0, 3) [李想] Chinese novice Xiang Li may not get many mentions through the next 12 months, but he did more than get this honour by defeat. He took on tough Filipino Arvin Yurong, who had travelled with the intention of claiming the WBO Oriental Youth title. Li, a 22 year old puncher from Nanjing, managed to stop Yurong in the 4th round, enduring some problems from the hungry and gutsy Filipino who had travelled to fight and was really in Li's face. Whilt we don't imagine we'll see Li getting many mentions this year he certainly impressed today, and hopefully he'll be busier in 2019 than he has been the last few years. Upcoming fight Mugicha Nakagawa (24-5-1, 14) [武田勇太] Vs Ryoichi Tamura (11-3-1, 6) [田村 亮一] There's not many fights this coming week, but we do like th elook of the January 12th Japanese Super Bantamweight bout between Mugicha Nakagawa and Ryoichi Tamura, in what could be a very exciting contest. The styles should gel well, and with a national title on the line we suspect both men will give all they've got to make their mark. Tamura is rarely in a bad fight, and we Nakagawa is the type of battle who will happily engage in a war. Potentally a thriller at the Korakuen Hall! |
Oriental Opinions
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