This past weekend was incredible really. The world title fights on Saturday may have been the bulk of the action though surprisingly Sunday also saw a heft amount of action through both Japan and the Philippines.
For us the most noteworthy show was the Filipino one, which featured the only title bout of the day. That bout in particular saw Cris Paulino (13-1, 3) successfully retaining his WBC Youth Intercontinental Flyweight title with a clear decision over Renren Tesorio (12-4-3, 4). The decision seemed unlikely at one point as Paulino scored a pair of knockdowns in round 2, though Tesorio managed to recover took a few rounds in a bout that was never in question. As well as the Paulino/Tesorio bout this show had a further 6 contests. In 4 rounders Jaderes Padua (9-3-1, 6), returning to the Philippines after back to back stoppage losses in Mexico, stopped Lowell Saguisa (7-14, 3) in 3 rounds from a body shot and Kenjie Watanabe (2-1, 1) took a majority decision over Daffy Dempo (1-2, 1). In action scheduled for 6 Lionel Mark Duran (11-9-2, 5) forced a retirement of Mabert Paulino(2-16) who was stopped at the end of round 3. The bulk of this card was the 8 rounders who accounted for 3 of the 7 total bouts. Of the trio only one was actually competitive with Zoren Pama (5-8-3, 2) taking a split decision over Gerry Pateno (4-5-2, 2). The other 2 bouts ended in stoppages with the unbeaten Virden Rivera (5-0-1, 1) stopping Cris Leon (6-8-4, 3) in the sixth round and Roldan Aldea (5-1-1, 3) stopping the usually durable Jeson Berwela (4-16, 2) in the third. Over in Japan there were 3 separate shows. The shortest of these was a 5 fight show at the Aioi Hall, one of 2 shows at the Aioi Hall on the same day. This show, which was headlined by a scheduled 10 rounder between Kazuya Maruki (15-2, 10) and Rusmin Kie Raha (12-4-2, 2). Unfortunately despite being scheduled for 10 rounds it went just 91 seconds as Maruki overpowered and stopped Raha with out any real trouble. Sadly it wasn't just the main event that came to a very early conclusion but also the chief support bout which saw Ryosuke Maruki (7-1-1, 5) stopping Jamed Jalarante (22-16-1, 11) in just 47 seconds. Certainly a short day for the Maruki family. From the whole card just one bout went the scheduled distance as Kosuke Mizuno (6-6-1, 2) took a split decision over Masami Moriizumi (5-2-1, 4) who has now lost back-to-back decisions. The other two bouts on the show saw Masaaki Kawai (3-2-1, 3) stopping Shinpei Tominaga (0-1) in the fourth round and Taro Oikawa (3-2-1, 3) stopping Rochmad Santoso (3-3, 2) at the very end of round 5. Oddly the other show at the Aioi Hall was a direct contrast to the one mentioned above. Of the 9 bouts on it amazingly 6 went the scheduled distance. From those 9 contests on “the other” Aioi Hall show we got a staggering 46 rounds of action! The main event was a very hard fought bout that saw Filipino Rey Labao (25-5, 16) taking a very close decision over Daiki Koide (20-6-2, 9). The bout, which saw the judges split was nip and tuck though Labao did deserve the decision in what was a very tough contest for both men. Like the main event the support bout also went the distance as Shinichi Tsukahara (8-6-2, 3) defeated the limited Yuji Iwata (6-5-1, 2) over 8 rounds. Between the 2 bouts scheduled for 6 rounds we have a combined 11 of them. These saw Yuta Horiike (9-1-3, 2) taking a clear unanimous decision over Akito Hoshi (7-6, 2) and Kazuki Fukakura (6-6-2, 2) taking a clear fifth round technical decision over Yuya Nakazato (5-10, 5). From the 5 bouts scheduled for 4 rounds amazingly 3 of them also went the distance. These distance bouts saw Hikaru Taiga (4-1, 2) out pointing the previously unbeaten Genki Nakashima (2-1) whilst we also had two draw with Yuta Takimoto (3-3-1, 2) fighting to a majority draw with Tetsuya Yamaguchi (1-1-1) and Kosei Toyoda (0-0-1) fighting to a draw with Masatsugu Ito (0-1-1). The inly two bouts that ended in stoppages saw Takashi Igarashi (1-0, 1) scoring a debut victory in 2 rounds against Masanari Iwane (1-4) and Takeshi Sone (4-2-1, 1) stopping Akihiro Toya (0-1). The one remaining show was at the IMP Hall in Osaka. This show, a 6 fight show, was headlined by Yuma Iwahashi (11-6-1, 1) taking a decision over Naoki Matsumoto (9-7-2, 2). This 8 rounder was close with Matsumoto definitely taking several rounds but the right guy did get the decision. In the chief support contest Sho Nakazawa (2-0, 2) made light work of Thai debutant Petchamnart Manopkarnchang (0-1) who was stopped in the second round. The undercard consisted of 4 bouts scheduled for 4 rounds. These saw Hirohide Murakami (1-1) taking a decision over Takuya Sumiyoshi (0-3-1), Masashi Wakita (2-1) also taking a decision as he defeated Kiyonori Matsumoto (2-0), Fumiya Imafuji (3-0-1, 1) taking an opening round victory over Joe Ryota (3-4, 1) whilst debutant Naoki Taniwa (1-0, 1) took 2 rounds to despatch of Shosui Kitajima (3-4, 1)
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Not many days see fighters that we cover being the biggest news stories of the day, this weekend however was one of those rare days as our fighters really were the big talking points.
The biggest Asian talking point was in Canada as American based Russian Sergey Kovalev (23-0-1, 21) destroyed Ukrainian challenger Ismayl Sillakh (21-2, 17) in just 52 seconds of round 2 to defend his WBO Light Heavyweight title. Despite the quick, and incredibly brutal, finish of the bout it did look like Kovalev could be in for a hard night after a sluggish opening round Sillakh make Kovalev look slow and slow and clumsy. Fortunately the Russian moved into second gear in round 2 and from then on he did what he does best and disengaged Sillakh from his senses. The bout with Sillakh was on the same show as Adonis Stevenson's victory over Tony Bellew. With Stevenson winning that bout it's fair to say that everyone in boxing now wants to see Kovalev against Stevenson in a battle of monstrous punchers. Talking about big punchers, Artur Beterbiev (3-0, 3) impressed once again as he saw off the usually tough Billy Bailey (12-18, 4) in just 169 seconds. The way Beterbiev is slicing through competition at this level makes us wonder just how long his team can hold him back. His amateur experience, power and skills really don't need the typical fine tuning of a prospect turning over and he really could be stepped up. In fact his promoters may try to break the Light Heavyweight record of 10 fights to win a world title in the division, a record set by Beibut Shumenov back in January 2010. Unfortunately it wasn't all good news in Canada as Canadian-Filipino Marc Pagcaliwangan (6-0-1, 6) was held to a draw by Octavio Hernandez (13-5-1, 6). Despite the draw Pagcaliwangan will have made some lasting fans following what was nothing less than a 6 round all action war. Whilst the Canadian bout between Kovalev and Sillakh was the biggest talking point of the day it was far from the only world title fight of the day. The first of which came in China where China's very own Xiong Zhao Zhong (22-4-1, 12) dominated and then stopped Thailand's Lookrak Kiatmungmee (7-5, 4). Many will be critical of this match up though in all honesty it was a home coming for Zhong who forced to take on a late replacement opponent after a passport irregularity prevented Omari Kimweri from fighting Zhong. The Chinese fighter, who successfully defended the WBC Minimumweight title for the second time, is now expected to face either Denver Cuello for a second time or Katsunari Takayama in a unification bout. We are aware that there were other contests on the Chinese show, though unfortunately the only result we have thus far was that India's Neeraj Goyat (1-2-2) scored his first victory courtesy of a decision over Xian Wei Qian (2-2-1). This was a genuine upset though Goyat is better than his record would indicate. He won't be India's first professional boxing superstar but he record could easily read 4-1 right now. Yet more title action was found in the Philippines as ALA Gym put on “Pinoy Pride XXIII” which was headlined by two world title fights. Of those two contests it was the WBO Minimumweight title defense of Merlito Sabillo (23-0-1, 12) that really caught the eye as he and Nicaraguan youngster Carlos Buitrago (27-0-1-1, 16) put on an amazing back and forth contest. Although both men may have felt they deserved the victory there was very little to separate them and a draw was the fairest result. There is now hope that 2014 will see a rematch and we certainly wouldn't mind that. Unfortunately the drama and competitiveness of the Sabillo/Buitrago bout wasn't replicated in the WBO Light Flyweight title bout which saw Donnie Nietes (32-1-4, 18) retaining via KO in round 3. Fighting against Sammy Gutierrez (33-10-2, 23) it's fair to say that Nietes was flattered a by a shot looking Gutierrez who looked done in the first round. Thankfully this victory has likely lead us to Nietes facing Moises Fuentes in a rematch sometime in 2014. That bout, rumoured for Singapore, is one we're really looking forward to. Alongside the world title bouts in the Philippines there were 7 other contests on the “Pinoy Pride” card. These began with under-card bouts that saw Rolly Sumalpong (2-0) defeating fellow novice Jeffrey Alejandre (1-1) via unanimous decision, Justo Bornilla (6-1-1) taking a majority decision over Diover Mangaya-ay (1-3-1), Marlon Arcilla (3-1, 1) stopping Jerwin Dela Rosa (1-4) inside a round and former world title challenger Jimrex Jaca (39-6-3, 22) also scoring an opening round victory as he defeated Wellem Reyk (17-8-3, 5). The first of the major bouts on this show saw AJ Banal (30-2-1, 21) taking a decision over Manuel Gonzalez Garcia (16-8-2, 5). Despite the victory many felt that Banal had been given a really serious test by an opponent he was meant to defeat with ease. Unfortunately Banal now looks like a fighter who will never reach the heady heights that were once expected of him. In the chief support bouts Milan Melindo (30-1, 12) successfully claimed the WBO International Flyweight title with a decision over former world title challenger Jose Alfredo Rodriguez (30-3, 18) and Jason Pagara (32-2, 19) retained his WBO International Light Welterweight title with a decision over Vladimir Baez (19-2-2, 17). For Melindo this was his first bout since losing to Juan Francisco Estrada and he again showed that he has the talent to be a major player at 112lbs. Unfortunately it seems that whilst he will be a major player he lacks the power to be a long term champion in the division. It's a shame given his talent that he's not quite strong enough for the top guys at 112lbs but seems too big for 108lbs. As well as all the action in the Orient it was actually Russia that built up the majority of the other fights with a number of Russian cards. Of the Russian results that we have so far it was the card in Lyubertsy that interested us most. The main event on this card, which lasted just 50 seconds, saw KO artist Dmitry Kudryashov (12-0, 12) swiftly taking out Zack Mwekassa (14-4, 13) in what was, on paper a shoot out. Whilst the main event was a “blink and you miss it” affair, the chief support was more interesting as Evgeny Chuprakov (7-0, 3) claimed the Russian Super Featherweight title with a 10th round stoppage of Alexey Shorokhov (5-7, 3). The fight, which just had 10 seconds left to run, was the first title fight in Chuprakov's career and his first contest scheduled for more than 6 rounds. The rest of this card saw Maksym Ponomarev (9-1) out point Alexey Kovalev (2-4, 1) over 6 rounds, Romal Amanov (3-0) defeat Roman Ivanov (1-2, 1) over 4 rounds and an apparent no contest in a bout between Arkadiy Arutyunyan (3-0-0-1) and Gor Arutyunyan (0-1-0-1). Unfortunately we've no clue what happened in that final bout. In Ekaterinburg a 3 fight show lasted just 10 rounds. The longest contest here saw Andrei Isaeu (28-4, 7) taking a 6 round decision over Suhrobjon Usmonov (4-12), with Usmonov needing to pick himself off the canvas in round 2. The other bouts saw Vasily Lepikhin (15-0, 8) stopping Alexey Varakin (28-19-3, 16) in the opening round and Dmitry Mikhaylenko (15-0, 6) stopping Bogdan Protsyshyn (7-8, 2) in round 3. In Grozny we saw a new WBC female Super Middleweight champion crowned as the talented Nikki Adler (11-0, 6) scored her third victory over Zane Bridge (2-4-1, 1) via a decision to claim the title. On the same show Iles Kelimatov (1-0, 1) scored an opening round KO over Anton Petukhov (0-2). The only other card we have results from was a show in Pskov which featured 5 bouts. This shows undercard featured Alisher Ashurov (1-0) taking a split decision on debut against Shavkat Yusupov (1-3), Sergey Gorokhov (2-1, 2) taking a retirement victory over Mikhail Ryzhonkin (2-4-1, 1) and Yuri Bihoutseu (7-5-2, 5) scoring an upset victory over Andrey Knyazev (9-1, 4). The main bouts in Pskov saw Artur Akavov (9-1, 1) stopping Marat Khuzeev (20-8-1, 8) inside a round and the talented Yuri Ramanau (23-3, 14) taking and 8 round decision over journeyman Ravil Mukhamadiyarov (10-52-2, 8). Friday saw a number of notable fights through out Asia with no less than three notable title fights.
For us, and for most of world boxing, the key fight of the day was in Thailand as Koki Eto (14-3-1, 10) attempted to defend his WBA interim Flyweight title. Unfortunately for Eto he ran into a determined and highly under-rated Yodomgkol CP Freshmart (33-2, 20) who scored the most notable victory of his career by stopping Eto in the 12th round. Unfortunately for Eto, who did go out swinging, he'll be unlikely to ever be the same fighter following the final two rounds of this contest. Over in Japan we had two national title fights. These fights, which headlined “Dangan 89” and “Real Spirits Vol 33”, were very different in nature but both saw their champions retaining. For Japanese Light Middleweight champion Tadashi Yuba (45-8-2, 32) things were a real struggle as he defended his title for the first time and over-came determined rival Yoshihisa Tonimura (16-9-4, 4). This was the second meeting between the two and although Yuba has won both fights he's failed to really impress with both finishing in split decisions. In a Japanese Bantamweight title fight Kohei Oba (35-2-1, 14) made very light work of Yuji Hasegawa (8-3, 2) stopping the challenger in the 4th round. This was Oba's second defense of the title though was unfortunately a damning statement on the state of the Japanese Bantamweight division domestically which is full of world level fighters though thin on Japanese level fighters. The Yuba/Tonimura fight was the head-liner on “Dangan 89” a show that in total had eight fights. Those eight fights kicked off with a trio of bouts scheduled for 4 rounds. These saw Shuta Igarashi (0-0-1) fighting to a debut draw with the win-less Kenji Suzuki (0-4-1), Makoto Takahashi (1-6-1, 1) scoring a career first victory by stopping Shogo Endo (0-2) and a debut blast out by Akinori Kubota (1-0, 1) who defeated singer-come-boxer Yuki Kurei (0-1) of Kimaguren fame. Kurei lasted just 77 seconds in a very disappointing debut. As well as the 4 rounders and the title fight we also had four bouts scheduled for 8 rounds. Interestingly all these went the distance with two of them being incredibly close. The closest contest saw Dai Iwai (13-3-1, 5) taking a very narrow majority decision over Michiya Sato (10-5-4, 6). The scorecards for this bout read 76-75 twice with the other card reading 76-76 showing just how little their was to split the men. The other incredibly close contest saw Hiroya Yamamoto (8-1, 3) taking a split decision over Kazuhiro Nakamura (8-5, 3). Thankfully not all the bouts were difficult for the judges and Koji Aoki (15-7-2, 5) made life easy for the judges by taking a clear decision over Yuki Ozawa (10-3, 2). Unfortunately for the judges however that was their only “easy” fight on the show as Noriyuki Ueno (16-11-5, 5) struggled to a unanimous decision over Yosuke Kawano (7-3-1, 3). On the Oba/Hasegawa show, put on by Shinsei Promotions, we had a further five contests. These began with single 4 round contest that say Daisuke Takeichi (1-1, 1) scoring his first win by stopping the still win-less Daiki Haraguchi (0-6) in the 4th round. In the 8 round contests there was wins for two very promising prospects. These saw the unbeaten Shun Kubo (3-0, 2), out pointing Monico Laurente (23-10, 5) in a solid but some what competitive contest, and Shohei Omori (10-0, 6) blasting out Filipino visitor Albert Alcoy (14-17-7, 4) in just 131 seconds. The remaining contests on the card saw Kota Fukuoka (15-3-2, 12) making light work of Thai visitor Mongkoldam Sithwarunee (1-3, 1) and Ryotaro Kawabata (9-2, 3) defeating Korea's Bum-Young Lee (8-7-2, 3) via a clear decision. Outside of Asia we also had interest in another bout, fought all the way over in Ecuador, as Kanat Islam (15-0, 13), a Chinese born Kazakh, successfully claimed the WBA Fedelatin Light Middleweight title with a stoppage over Emilio Julio Julio (28-12-2, 20). This was Islam's 7th victory of the year and he is scheduled to return to action once more before christmas. There was, unfortunately, a loss in Australia as Chaiyong Sithsaithong (31-12-3, 22) dropped a decision to Josh King (16-3, 8) in a fight for the WBO Oriental Lightweight title. The Thai was dropped in the sixth round though made a good effort and saw out the distance. The key action this Thursday saw Ohashi Gym putting on the "47th Phoenix Battle", a show that was headlined by two female world title bouts, in fact it was a show dominated by female action.
The female fights kicked off the action as Emika Himuro (3-1-1, 1) and Kai Johnson (3-5-3) fought to a 6 round draw. This was one of two female bouts on the under-card with the other seeing former world champion Tenkai Tsunami (19-8, 8) stopping Leslie Domingo (4-2-1, 3) in 3 rounds. In the only male bout on the show Junpei Hara (13-5-2, 8) widely out pointed the limited Nozomu Kikuchi (6-5). Hara was seen as scoring a shut out on two of the scorecards whilst one judge found found two rounds to give Kikuchi who never looked likely to take a decision. The first of the two world title fights on the card saw Kayoko Ebata (7-5, 4) fail in her attempt to claim the IBF Minimumweight title. Ebata was made to look every day of her 37 years by Mexican Nancy Franco (12-5-2, 4) who put on a career defining performance. Ebata tried to fight the Mexican off her but at the end of the day Franco was too busy, too fast and too youthful for the Japanese veteran. Japanese fans who saw Ebata lose did manage to have some success at the world level as Ayaka Miyao (16-5-1, 1) retained her WBA Atomweight title with a decision over Filipino challenger Gretchen Abaniel (13-5, 4). Abaniel, who went into the bout with an impressive reputation, gave Miyao a very hard contest and was arguably winning the contest after 4 rounds, though the final rounds saw Miyao taking over and claiming the decision as she made the third defense of her title. We're now very openly wishing to see Miyao face off against Momo Koseki in a WBA/WBC Atomweight unification. Come on, lets make it happen! Tuesday saw action in both Japan and Thailand.
The most notable of two Thai shows, featured four contests, was headlined by PABA Welterweight super champion Teerachai Kratingdaenggym (23-0, 17) who successfully retained his title as he stopped Kazakhstan's Omar Marabayev (1-2) in the fifth round. On the undercard Stamp Kiatniwat (5-0, 2) took a quick victory over Indonesia's John Bima (3-6-3, 2) whilst Chatpetch Sithmorseng (5-3, 1) took a decision over the limited Safwan Lombok (1-21-1) and Phompetch Kilasportsgym (1-0) claimed a debut victory over Ratchasak Looksaikongdin (0-1). On a second Thai show Kongprai Sor Suradech (1-0) took a debut victory over Khunsuk Naphapitakchol (0-1). Over in Japan, Misako put on a nine fight show at the Korakuen Hall. This show began with four bouts scheduled for 4 rounds. These saw Fumihiro Ijima (1-1) scoring his first victory with a decision over Yoshihiko Suzuki (0-3), Takahiro Onjuku (2-2, 1) taking a very slim decision over Taiyo Gunjima (1-3, 1), Kazutaka Matsunishi (1-0-1) fighting to a draw with Akira Kokubo (1-3-1) and Mitsushige Takahoshi (1-3, 1) stopping Keigo Oshima (0-4). Following the 4 rounders we moved on to a pair of 6 rounders. These saw Seiji Watanabe (5-3-1, 2) taking a split decision over Takahiro Iida (4-3-1, 2) and Shun Shimazaki (6-4, 1) out pointing Kenta Toi (2-4) via a close and hard fought decisio. The show finished with a trio of bouts scheduled for 8 rounds. These saw Yudai Ueno (7-5-2, 6) stopping Osamu Hashimoto (8-6, 1) in 3 rounds, Shamgar Koichi (17-5-1, 10) taking 6 rounds to defeat Satoshi Momota (9-9, 4) and Yusuke Sakashita (10-4-2, 6) took out Yuki Fukumoto (15-8, 5) in the second round. The Heavyweight division isn't one we automatically associate with Japan but this past Monday saw one of the rarest occurrences in boxing history, a Japanese Heavyweight title fight. The bout, the first defense of the Heavyweight title by Kyotaro Fujimoto (8-1, 5) was an oddity on paper though proved to be an intriguing contest as Fujimoto took on #1 challenger Kotatsu Takehara (9-9-3, 4).
The bout started well for Fujimoto though in the later rounds he was very much looking like a tired fighter as Takehara came on strong. For the challenger however it was too little too late as he ran out of time and Fujimoto saw out a torrid tenth round to retain. On the same show, dubbed "Japan's strongest I" there were six other contests. For us the most notable of those contests saw the promising Hiroki Okada (7-0, 7) stopping experienced Filipino Jaypee Ignacio (9-17-2, 2). Although Ignacio wasn't given much of a chance he had only been stopped twice in 27 previous contests, including an 8 rounder with Akinori Watanabe. Ignacio's reputation as a tough guy didn't do him any favours here however as Okada forced a stoppage in the eighth round. Okada's fight was one of three over the 8 round distance. The others scheduled for 8 saw Yuya Sugizaki (18-9-1, 6) over coming a spirited effort from Keisuke Arima (8-9-1, 1) and Yasuyuki Akiyama (8-4-1, 7) taking a majority decision over Ryota Itoyama (10-5, 5). On paper the Sugizaki/Arima bout looked like a mismatch but in the end Arima made a real fight of it and forced Sugizaki to really fight hard for the victory. In one of the two 6 rounders Gosuke Seki (14-0-2, 3) scored a rare stoppage en route to defeating Hiroyuki Sagehashi (7-6-2, 1). Interestingly Sagehashi had never previously been stopped. The other bout scheduled for 6 rounds saw the promising Kenji Kubo (3-2, 1) scoring his first stoppage as he defeated Taro Mochizuki (4-7, 4) in the third round. Although Kubo's record is less than stellar he has been matched very hard and there appears to be the belief that he has the potential to claim some sort of a title down the line. He will however need to be given time to develop his obvious natural talent. Prior to all of those contests came the show's opening contest. This bout, a 4 rounder, lasted just 65 seconds as Masahito Oki (2-0, 2) swiftly took out the previous unbeaten Jun Ogawa (1-1) in the shortest bout of the show. To end an extremely busy weekend the action returned to the Sambo Hall in Kobe as Senrima Kobe Promotions put on their Senrima Kobe Festival Vol. 42.
The show, an 8 fight card, began as usual with the 4 rounders. These saw Kazuhiro Hirahara (1-4, 1) taking his first professional victory via a fourth round TKO over the still win-less Hiroaki Yoshitomi (0-5). Hirahara wasn't the only win-less fighting picking up their first victory as Kensuke Fujita (1-0-1) broke his duck with a split decision victory over the previous unbeaten Ken Chandra Kozuki (1-1). Fujita wasn't the only man claiming a 4 round split decision as Yukitaka Nishida (4-7-2, 1) upset Shachihoko Dragons Keita (2-2, 1) in the one remaining 4 rounder. Following the 4 rounders we then had two bouts that went 6 rounds as Shogo Takenaka (5-5, 2) out pointed Takayuki Morimoto (5-7, 3) and Munehito Kijima (5-4-1) managed to out point Hiroki Yamamoto (6-9-1, 1). The closest bout was also one oif the biggest upsets on the show as Cyborg Nawatedani (6-2-2, 3) managed to take a split decision over the much more experienced Junichi Ebisuoka (23-17-5, 10). For Ebisuoka this was a fourth straight loss and the former world title challenger probably should be wondering what he has left to offer the sport, especially consider he turns 33 in just a few weeks time. In the only other 8 rounder on the show Kyohei Tamakoshi (32-8-6, 12) did as he was supposed to and thoroughly out pointed the limited Hiroki Yoshimura (7-9, 4). Although just short of his 33rd birthday Tamakoshi, a 3 time Japanese title challenger will likely be looking for one more title tilt before calling an end to his his career. Although the chief support bouts were both solid enough it was the main event that had the real interest of fans as Teiru Kinoshita (19-0-1, 3) defended his Japanese Super Flyweight title. Battling Ryuta Otsuka (13-6-2, 3), Kinoshita went out to an early lead before an accidental head injury forced the bout to be stopped in round 5, much to the chargrin of Otsuka who appeared to be coming on strong just prior to the stoppage. We now expect Kinoshita to defend against Yohei Tobe in early 2014. This past weekend saw Asian boxing thrust into the global spotlight thanks to Bob Arum's "Top Rank" who went to Macau and promoted one of the biggest shows of the year.
The show, headlined by Filipino boxing god Manny Pacquiao (55-5-2, 28), was the genuine boxing highlight of the weekend and yet also a morbid curiosity for fans around the world. Pacquiao, fighting for the first time since being rendered unconscious by arch rival Juan Manuel Marquez, dominated American tough guy Brandon Rios (31-2-1, 12)) in a performance that resembled the Paqcuiao of old with blistering handspeed, amazing combinations, excellent movement and vicious punching. Rios, for his part, played the role of human punch bag to the resurgent Pacquiao who claimed the WBO International Welterweight title as a result. The Filipino congressman, who many had described as “shot”, “done” and “past his prime” showed that the rumours of his demise are well and truly exaggerated. This was damned close to punch perfect from the first bell to the last and Rios, who was brave throughout, was genuinely battered and beaten up by the final bell. As well as the Pacquiao contest “The Clash of Cotai” was a pack card which also featured a world title bout which saw Russian Evgeny Gradovich (18-0, 9) successfully retain his IBF Featherweight title with a 9th round TKO over Australian Billy Dib (36-3-0-1, 21). This bout wasn't the greatest to watch, no Dib fight is great to watch, but it was fantastic to see Gradovich silencing the big mouthed Australian who may finally be done on the world level. Of course these Macau cards don't just feature world level fighters but also up and comers and in fact 7 of the 8 undercard bouts featured up and coming prospects at various stages of their career. For American fans the most intriguing of those contests saw Mexican Heavyweight Andy Ruiz Jr (21-0, 15) breaking the heart of American Tor Hamer (21-3, 14) who retired after the third round. Allegedly this loss saw promoter DiBella Entertainment cutting their ties with Hamer who had previously “done a quit job” against Vyacheslav Glazkov. The other interesting fight for Americans was that of Puerto Rican prospect Felix Verdejo (9-0, 7) who clearly out pointed Thailand's tough but limited Petchsamuthr Duanaaymukdahan (8-2, 1). Duanaaymukdahan lost every round of the fight and was also deducted a point for low blows but still gave Verdejo his toughest contest to date. For Chinese fans however the most interesting performance was that of Zou Shiming (3-0) who dominated Mexican Juan Tozcano (4-1, 1). Although criticised in many corners for his amateur style this was a professional performance by Shiming who appears to be improving massively as a fighter and whilst we don't don't think he'll go on to claim a world title he is a fighter who should compete on the world stage at some point. Shiming wasn't the only promising Chinese fighter on the card as IK Yang (14-0-0-1, 9) also claimed a decision victory. Yang, who does appear to have the style to break the US market, as disappointing I only claiming a majority decision over Hero Tito (7-3, 3). Tito was unfortunately one of two Indonesians who suffered losses on this card as Jason Butar Butar (15-12-1, 11) was stopped in the third round by Filipino prospect Harmonito Dela Torre (11-0, 6). Although stoppages were somewhat rare on the card Rex Tso (11-0, 7) scored probably the most clear forcing the referee to save the completely out matched Susu Sithjadaeng (7-4, 2) inside a round. Tso took charge from the off and his Chinese opponent hardly threw a punch in anger. The only other stoppage on the card saw Filipino Dan Nazareno Jr (18-10, 14) playing spoiler to Britain's Liam Vaughan (8-2, 2) with a second round TKO. It was a great victory for Nazareno is often an over-looked fighter though proved that he is much better than his record indicates. For us however the most noteworthy performance, other than Pacquiao's, was that of Macau's very own Kuok Kun Ng (2-0) who took a shut out decision over 4 rounds against You-Jie Zen (5-5, 4). Although somewhat unknown Ng looked like there was a lot of untapped potential there and we are hoping to see him fighting again soon following this impressive performance. It, of course, wasn't just Macau which hosted a card but there was also a card in the Philippines as the country got ready to see the return of Pacquiao. This card, put on by ALA promotions was only a low level card with eight lesser contests but still served as a nice starter. The show kicked of with a 4 round decision victory for debutant Junjie Codella (1-0) who decisioned Freddie Bisande (0-1-2). This opening contest was then followed up with a trio of contests scheduled for 6 rounds, none of which went the distance. From the 6 rounders there was no massive shock as Junel Lacar (3-0-1, 1) defeated Paulo Perono (2-2, 2) in four rounds and Jonas Sultan (3-1, 2) did the same against Rocky Alvarez (2-4, 1) however we'll admit we were left very much shocked by the fact the highly touted Vic Saludar (2-1, 2) was also stopped in the fourth round by Powell Balaba (8-9-1, 5). Thankfully things went as expected in the two 8 rounders. These saw Brian Lobitania (7-0-2, 5) stopping Nikong Calamba (6-15-3, 3), via third round KO, and Lito Dante (7-3-3, 4) forcing the retirement of Jovel Romasasa (10-12, 4) at the end of the third. In the chief support contest on this show Albert Villacampa (16-6-1, 4) scored a rare stoppage as he forced the retirement of the over-matched Roger Echavez (7-11-1, 4) at the end of the third round. Echavez's retirement was followed in the main event by Jimmy Paypa (15-2, 5) knocking out Jovill Marayan (8-15-3, 3) in the sixth. The third major Asian card took place in Japan at the Sunpia Hall in Kochi where there was an eight fight show. This show began with five bouts scheduled for 4 rounds. These included seeing the previously win-less Go Mitaka (1-3-2) finally scoring his first professional victory as he out pointed Takuya Sugiyama (1-2), Kenji Nakayoshi (2-1, 1) narrowly defeating Kenjiro Shibata (0-2) on a razor thin split decision and a trioof stoppages. Those stoppages saw Takaaki Kitagawa (2-2, 1) taking out the fragile Kimiharu Oura (0-5) inside a round, inflicting the fifth straight stoppage loss of Oura's career, Takuya Yamamoto (4-7, 3) scoring a second round victory over Hiroshi Okano (1-10, 1), a man who has now been stopped 8 times, and Kazuma Uemura (2-1, 1) stopping Daichi Kan (0-4) in the third round. Following the 4 rounders we moved up a step and had two bouts scheduled for 6 rounds. One of those, the bout between Toshiya Yokogawa (5-4-1, 5) and Kodai Ueki (3-2-2) ended with 9 seconds left as Yokogawa managed to finally put Ueki away. The other contest over this distance went the distance as the light hitting Johnny Abarca (7-1, 1) took a decision over Hiroaki Yano (4-3, 1). In the main event Shota Yamaguchi (11-1, 7) took a majority decision over Filipino visitor Raymond Sermona (15-4-5, 8). The fight, a very competitive one, is one that really showed Yamaguchi's limitations, espoecially when you consider how easily Masao Nakamura dealt with Sermona just a few months ago. Outside of Asia there were mixed fortunate for Asian fighters. In the Light Heavyweight division Russian Dmitry Sukhotsky (21-2, 16) forced the stoppage of Eduard Gutknecht (25-3, 9) due to swelling around the face of Gutknecht. We believe that this win does take Sukhotsky one step closer to a world title fight but arguably not one that he is ready for. Talking about world title fights, Heavyweight Denis Boytsov (33-1, 26) has failed to earned his chance at a world Heavyweight title fight against Wladimir Klitschko. Boytsov, who had been rumoured to be just a single fight from a world title tilt, put in a dour performance against Alex Leapai (30-4-3, 25) and suffered his first loss as a result. In all honesty Boytsov, who came to the ring at a flabby 224lbs, looked dreadful through out the fight and was rightfully given the loss in what may become one of the most embarrassing nights of his career. Not only did Boytsov's loss cost him a prospective Klitschko date but also saw him failing to claim the WBO Asia Pacific Heavyweight title. Fortunately for Boytsov he did go the distance, something that cannot be said for world title challenger Alexander Alekseev (24-3-1, 20) who was stopped in an IBF Cruiserweight title fight. Alekseev was dropped in rounds 2 and 5 before being stopped by a single shot in the tenth by Cuban champion Yoan Pablo Hernandez (28-1, 14). We're sorry to say this but we don't think Alekseev will ever be the world champion many tipped him to back back when he turned professional. In lesser bouts Thailand's Rachamongkol Sor Pleonchit (14-7, 6) was beaten in France by Sebastien Allais (16-8-4, 5) via a very competitive 12 round decision. On the same show Russia's Shamil Ismailov (10-1, 9) stopped Armand Andre (8-7-2, 5) in the second round. Staying on the international theme Jose Maxian (9-3, 7) was unfortunately taken out in quick fashion by Mexican destroyer Adrian Estrella (15-0, 15) in what was a bout for the WBC FECARBOX Super Featherweight title. After the day of action in Korea we saw boxing return to Japan on Wednesday thanks to Kyoei.
The show began with four bouts scheduled for 4 rounds. These saw two bouts finishing inside the distance as Shohei Sakaguchi (1-0, 1) stopped Takahiro Yasukawa (0-3) in round 3 and Toshiki Nishihara (3-3-1, 1) took out Ryosuke Ota (1-5) in round 4. In the 4 round bouts that went the distance Shun Wakabayashi (1-0) won an all-debutant contest with Gaku Sato (0-1) and Yuto Hashiguchi (5-3-1, 4) defeated Mikio Kage (3-3-1, 3) via majority decision. As well as the bouts over the shorter distance there was also a pair of 8 rounders. These saw Mako Matsuyama (7-7-1, 3) dominating Masatoshi Nakamura (6-8, 3) in an unexpectedly one-sided contest and Hiroyasu Matsuzaki (22-6-2, 11) fighting to a split draw with Zuri Kannan (15-5-3, 4). This week's early week action was highlighted by major action on Tuesday as South Korea hosted it's most noteworthy show in the better part of a decade. Unfortunately the card, which featured three major title bouts, was headlined by a fight that appears to have started a backlash of sorts around Asia.
The bout that saw the backlash was the first male world title fight in Korea since In-Jin Chi defeated Rodolfo Lopez back in December 2006. Unfortunately for fans around Asia it saw the controversial Koki Kameda (32-1, 17) retaining his WBA Bantamweight for the eighth time as he took a split decision over Korea's very own Jung-Oh Son (20-5-2, 6). Despite the victory for Kameda the champion was dropped and has seen many in Japan criticise the result as a gift in favour of Kameda who's claim as world champion is looking very much like that of a C rate champion. Unfortunately for Kameda the victory has “earned” him a fight with Anselmo Moreno, a man who will leave no doubt as to the winner of their bout will be. Although Koki's victory was controversial it was the only title fight that didn't have a clear victory. In a female world title bout Anabel Ortiz (13-3, 2) successfully retained her WBA Minimumweight title with a shut out over Korean Hye-Soo Park (3-7-1, 1). Unfortunately this was a mismatch from the opening bell with Ortiz sweeping every round of the contest in a very one sided bout. Unfortunately Ortiz's lack of power saw this one-sided contest being little more than a public sparring session. The lesser of the title bouts in Korea was, like the Ortiz fight, one with which no one could complain about in terms of the winner. This bout, a PABA Welterweight contest, saw Akinori Watanabe (30-4, 26) stopping the totally out classed Kyung-Suk Kwak (10-9, 7) to claim the previously vacant belt. Wonderfully it wasn't just Korea with a show today but also Thailand where Highland Naris Boxing Promotion put on a 5 fight show. Like the Korean card the Thai show was also headlined by title fight as Petchsuriya Looksaikongdin (8-8, 4) upset Yang Xing Xin (6-2-2, 4) and claimed the previously vacant WBC Youth World Light Middleweight title. Petchsuriya was one of three men who took decisions on the show with Yodmongkol Singmanasak (12-12-1, 7) taking a fifth round technical decision over Darathong Looksaikongdin (0-1) whilst Kongsuk Patanakan Gym (3-1, 1) took a six round decision over Robert Sithgorson (0-4). As well as the three bouts that went to decision we also had two that finished early. The shortest of these was a first round blow out by Chalermpol Singwancha (5-0, 5), who stopped China's Cao Yang (0-1) whilst Filipino youngster Joel Kwong (1-0, 1) took out fellow debutant Srisuk Sithsutthipankamtien (0-1) in the second round. |
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