Thursday may not have been the busiest day in boxing but it did have a few cards around the world. Most notably for us was a show at the Korakuen Hall that kept the action coming thick and fast.
Tokyo, Japan The show in Japan was dubbed "Freshboy Vol 82" and featured an astonishing 13 bouts, all scheduled for 4 rounds. Of those 13 bouts only 6 went the distance with one, the bout between Ryuichi Kakuni (2-3-2, 1) and Daigo Miyagawa (1-2-1), resulting in a draw. Of the other bouts that went the distance they were generally very close. These included Kenji Matsumoto (1-3) taking a very narrow decision over Kenji Suzuki (0-5-1) with cards of 39-38 by every judge, a majority decision victory for Nobuo Sawadaishi (1-1) who over came the debuting Tatsutoshi Oyama (0-1) and a split decision victory for Masaki Mori (2-1-1, 1) who beat Ryo Iwadate (1-1). In the other two bouts to go the distance Takahiro Araki (4-2, 2) beat Yu Takegaki (3-2-1, 1) and Fumio Takehara (1-3) managed to out point Kotaro Sasa (1-4). Although 6 bouts went the distance it was almost 7 with Ryota Harukawa (2-2, 2) stopping the win-less Hirotada Sato (0-3) with just 1 second of the bout left. Harukawa's stoppage over Sato was obviously the latest of the 7 stoppages. From the other 6 there were surprisingly 5 that finished inside a round. The shortest of the bouts lasted just 44 seconds as Takahiro Jin (1-0, 1) beat fellow debutant Yuta Masaka (0-1) in a blink and you miss it fight. It didn't take Shinnosuke Yoshimori (1-0, 1) much longer to record a debut stoppage of his own as he wiped out Kazuki Oyama (0-1) in 62 seconds. The other bouts to end in the opening round saw Kazuhide Imakura (2-0, 2) stopping Sho Takahashi (1-2, 1) in 156 seconds, Shun Kanezaki (1-0, 1) stopped Mao Tameda (0-1) in 157 seconds and Shunsuke Iwasaki (1-1, 1) stopped Yuki Ikeya (0-1) in 172 seconds. In the only other bout on the show Middleweight Naoya Kaneko (3-1, 3) took 3 rounds to defeat Tatsuya Aizu (2-4, 2).
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We don't often expect much when it comes to mid-week shows and even loss when the Asian's in action are the "away" fighters of a care. This was the case today as we had two Asian fighters in action, though unfortunately both were novices and both were taking on highly regarded prospects.
Queensland, Australia The two Asian's in action were both Thais in action in Australia. Unfortunately both men lost, though they both put up a good fight. The most competitive of the two Thais was the debuting Pramool Boonpok (0-1), who gave Australian Olympian Cameron Hammond (7-0, 3) an unexpectedly tough test. Pramool wasn't expected to give Hammond much of a fight and whilst 2 of the cards did have the bout a 40-36 shut out one of them did score it 39-37, a much more accurate and fair result give the effort that Pramool gave. The right guy and you won't get any complaints from us about the result, though we dare say that Hammond wouldn't like to be in a rematch with the Thai. In the other bout novice Jaikom Paitoon (1-1) managed to go the 6 round distance with George Kambosos Jr (4-0, 2). Although Jaikom failed to win a single round he managed give Kambosos 6 rounds of resistance. Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand The one bout that did occur in Asia was a female bout that saw the unbeaten Angor Onesongchaigym (5-0, 3) scoring a 7th round stoppage over the win-less Dokmaipha Kiatpompetch (0-4). It's hard to say how good Angor is but it does appear that her team are desperate to keep her busy and that's never a bad thing. Not every day in boxing is one that will make headlines around the world though every time someone gets in the ring they are part in a story, the story of their career. Be it a world champion fighting in their record breaking defense in front of a million pay-per-view customers or under-card fighters every fighter's story is difference. Today we saw a great example of fighters at different points of their career, with some fighters very early their career whilst others were retiring.
Tokyo, Japan We'll start by looking at the man whose career officially came to an end today, Yoshinori Nishizawa (31-21-6, 19), pictured below. The former, 2-time, Super Middleweight world title challenger closed out his career with a 2 round public sparring session. We believe that the 48 year old Nishizawa shared a ring with Shintaro Matsumoto (10-4, 8), before making a speech to thank people who have supported him through out his long career that began back in 1986. Whilst Nishizawa was ending his 18 year long career the likes of Yuki Matsuda (4-1, 2) is only beginning his. The 19 year old Matsuda took out Seishiro Kumakiri (3-3, 1) in just 2 rounds in one of the 4 rounders. In the other 4 rounder Akihiro Hikichi (3-3-2) managed to score a majority decision Tetsuya Nemoto (2-3, 1). Oddly this was Kikichi's first bout since late 2011 whilst Nemoto hadn't fought since 2009. In the only 6 rounder on the card the experienced Yujiro Sugita (16-2, 9) managed to score a very expected stoppage over Willem Marahina (4-13-1, 2). who lasted just over 2 and a half rounds. This was Sugita's first bout since 2010 whilst Indonesian Marahina hadn't fought since a stoppage loss last year to Tabtimdaeng Na Rachawat. In the only one of the 8 round bouts to see a stoppage Takuya Watanabe (20-4-1, 8) stopped Indonesia's Yakobus Heluka (7-5) with a sustained body attack. Heluka was scheduled to fight Harmonita Dela Torre on "Ring of Gold" though there is not some fear that he will need to be replaced with the Macau card now just a few weeks away. Whilst Watanabe's managed to stop Heluka in 7 rounds there was another of the bouts scheduled for 8 that didn't complete the schedule. This was the case for Ryoji Okahata (9-9-5, 1) who took a 7th round technical decision in an upset victory over Yoshihiro Utsumi (10-5-3, 5). This was just Okahata's 3rd victory in 9 bouts and was certainly one that he will hold on to as one of the highs of his career. In the co-main bout, at least in terms of competitive bouts, Nobuhisa Coronita Doi (28-14-8, 10) claimed a clear victory over Indonesia's Rivo Rengkung (32-18-5, 12). The bout, one we expected to be competitive, was dominant by Doi who celebrated his 50th professional contest in style. The main bout also went Japan's way with Tsuyoshi Tameda (9-1-1, 7) scoring a shut out, 80-71, victory over Indonesia's Hero Tito (7-4, 3). Tito, who was dropped in the opening round, did well to survive but lacked the skills or power to really test Tameda who just had too much of everything for him. Some times major domestic action is limited and we instead need to focus our concentration on the international rings. One such day like that was this past Saturday where we had 4 different Asian's in action on the American continent. The fighters, who were mostly small names, suffered their expected fate, though one of the fighters did put up an excellent effort in an attempt to claim an Asian victory.
USA, New York Sri Lanka's entertaining Nuwan Jayakody (2-4-1, 2) started his bout with Alberto Machado (6-0, 4) in an an aggressive manner though unfortunately his flaws were taken advantage of in the second round. Jayakody, who came to fight, was tagged by a huge hook that sent him down and although he got to his feet he was in no fit state to continue. With his style we'd expect to see Jayakody back on a Top Rank TV stream before the end of the year and if he always fights like this we really can't wait to see him again even though he was stopped in just 2 rounds. Sadly this same card in the US saw Neyeine Muang (1-1-2) losing his unbeaten record to the hard hitting Julian Rodriguez (3-0, 2). Muang, originally of from Myanmar lasted less than a round with the talented Rodriguez who does look like an exceptional prospect at the moment. Mexico, Nuevo León Unfortunately for Asian fighters things weren't much better in Mexico where we had two more Asian fighters in action. For Yuta Matsuda (9-10-2, 4) there was little hope he'd ever test the hard hitting and very highly regarded Adrian Estrella (16-0, 16). The little hopes Matsuda had were soon quashed and Estrella did what he usually does, stopping Matsuda in impressive fashion. Of course there is no harm in losing to Estrella, who is almost certainly a nailed on future world champion, but this just seems like it was bad match up for Matsuda. Whilst Matsuda was given no chance by any body we did think we had a potential win on foreign soil with former female world champion Tenkai Tsunami (19-9, 8). Unfortunately Tsunami was given no chance by the judges as she dropped a very debatable split decision to Arely Mucino (19-2-2, 10). The bout, in Mucino's home town, seemed to be one that Tsunami deserved. She was busies through out, show more skilled and seemed to control large swathes of the bout. Unfortunately 2 of the judges disagreed and favoured the home fighter. Whilst we hadn't expected victories on the road for Jayakody, Muang or Matsuda, it's someone saddening to read that Tsunami was robbed of her victory, one that would have likely moved her to within a fight or two of a world title bout. Philippines, Metro Manila As well as the action on foreign soil we also had some action closer to home with a card in the Philippines. The main event here saw Bryan Macamay (8-2-2, 5) take a very close decision victory over Edison Berwela (12-28-6, 3). The 12 rounder, the only contest scheduled for 12 on the show, saw Macamay deducted a point for low blows though manage to do enough to take the victory, with 2 cards reading 114-113. The chief support bouts, both 10 rounders, saw Roldan Aldea (6-1-1, 3) out point Rex Olisa (9-23-1, 7) and Renren Pasignahin (6-2-1, 2) surprisingly scoring a stoppage over Zoren Pama (2-9-3, 2). Unfortunately these aren't the level of bouts we'd expect to see as support bouts. As well as the 10 rounders and 12 rounders we also had a trio of 8 rounders. These included a second round retirement victory for Bebong Manalo (8-1, 5) over Menard Zaragosa (6-16-1, 4), a third round retirement for Virden Rivera (6-0-1, 2) against Ryan Soliveres (4-23-1, 1) and a decision victory for Jerope Mercado (26-5-3,9) against Jomar Borbon (3-16-2, 1). Continuing down the card there was a body shot KO for Jeffrey Arienza (10-2-1, 5) who stopped Robert Agcopra (1-5-1, 1) in the only bout scheduled for 6 rounds. At the bottom of the card the show had 5 bouts scheduled for 4 rounds. These saw Gaudencio Blazo (1-0) take a narrow decision over Ronnie Rejino (0-1) in an all debutant contest, Mark Paloso (1-0, 1) taking a second round stoppage over Niero Saldon (1-1-1) in a genuinely great bout with numerous knockdowns, Cris Ganoza (1-0) taking a decision over Roderick Naduma (0-4), Arnold Garcia (2-1, 2) blasting out Arben Escayo (0-2) in 81 seconds and Pablito Canada (2-3, 1) stopping Vanish Rivas (1-2-1) in the fourth and final round For the the third time this week we had televised fights from Thailand to keep us entertained early in the morning. This one, like the one on Wednesday, was courtesy of Channel 7. Unlike the previous channel 7 show we actually went in to this show blind with no idea, at all, about what was going to be screened.
Thailand, Nakhon Ratchasima The first bout that was shown was a genuine mismatch in the Bantamweight division. What we saw was a Thai, wearing the now famous M150 shorts, beating up on what we believe was a Filipino visitor wearing Twins shorts. The domination of the Thai was obvious and he dropped his foe numerous times before the referee called a halt to proceedings early in round 5. By then there was no questioning who would win, just how badly the loser would be allowed to be beaten up. We have since learned that this opening bout was a contest between Tabtimdaeng Na Rachawat (51-2, 34) and the debuting Tanongsak Kiatsornram (0-1). We had assumed Tabtimdaeng would be on the card though weren't sure who he would be facing As is usually the case with Thai shows, the second bout on the card was the main event and the "mystery bout" which we were thinking was potentially an interim world title bout in the Bantamweight division. As it turned out the main event wasn't a world title bout but instead it seems the bout was for a PABA Featherweight title. The contest, like the opening bout on the show, saw a Thai fighting a Filipino and as with the opening bout it was a mismatch. The fight started in a technical manner though it seemed obvious that the Thai had a bit too much for the Filipino fighter. This was proven to be the case in the second round as the Thai opened up and dropped the Filipino 3 times to record the stoppage victory. Despite the relatively easy victory the Thai did suffer a minor mark under his left eye. It was nothing major but still needed to be noted with possible issues effecting him later in his career. For the names of these fighters, the Thai was Thong Sithluangphophun (7-0, 4) whilst the Filipino was Rick Paciones (6-16-2, 3), with Thong claiming the previously vacant PABA Featherweight title. The action continued with a bout in the 108lb division as we again got a Thai against a Filipino. This fight, the most competitive of the show, was again won by the Thai though he was given a good session by a game Filipino opponent who served his purpose. This fight, which was between Hanuman Sithluangporphun (1-0) and Jimmy Masangkay(4-4-1, 1) was the sole bout to go the distance. In the fourth televised bout the action was fought at a much higher weight (we believe a 150lb contract weight). The Thai fighter, who was giving away notable height and reach to his opponent needed less than a round to score a stoppage. The Thai scored 2 knockdowns with the bout being stopped after the second. We've been lead to believe that this botu was between Pankorn Mor Poowana (3-0, 3) and the debuting Yodsing Sithmanop (0-1), though we're not certain with this one. We then moved back down the weights for a Bantamweight contest and saw the most devastating KO of the day as we got a vicious knockout. Unfortunately the fighter on the receiving end of a devastating right hand he was left in a very serious state with serious worries about his health for a few moments. He did leave the ring under his own steam but the KO was vicious. The man scoring this KO was Yodsingdaeng Jor Chaijinda (3-0, 1) whilst the poor victim was the debuting Daoden Sithporkae (0-1) USA, New Jersey Over in the US the Russian born and world ranked Ilshat Khusnulgatin (11-1, 6) was exposed by Pueto Rico's Roberto Jose Acevedo (8-1, 5) who took him out inside a round. Khusnulgatin, who was ranked #14 by the WBA, really was shown to be inept here and one must wonder what the WBA had seen in him to have ranked him so highly. Spain, Comunidad de Madrid Things were no better in Spain for Iranian Fatah Baghban (8-6-3, 5) who, like Khusnulgatin, lasted less than a round. Baghban, fighting Spanish based Argentinian novice Pablo Sosa (3-3-1, 2), was dropped twice inside a round in a hugely disappointing display that sums up Baghban's career. This was a second successive first round defeat for Baghban who was fighting for the first time in over a year. For a second successive day Thai TV showed us some live action, including a much anticipated IBF Flyweight world title fight between a Thai and a Filipino, a bout so promising that it saw some in the Philippines calling it the biggest Thai v Filipino bout in years. Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand The show broadcast on Channel 7 in Thailand, began with an 8 round undercard bout. The bout, which saw Rusalee Samor (22-5-2, 10) fighting Indonesia's Angky Angkotta (27-10-1, 14), was one that looked interesting on paper though proved to be somewhat one sided with Samor doing as he wished. Samor started the fight as the fight as the aggressor going after Angkotta in the first 5 rounds with genuine venom, a lot of work and real pressure. The Thai then showed a second dimension to his boxing as he boxed and moved for the following few rounds proving that there was more too him than his fun to watch aggression. Although boxing on the back foot did allow Angkotta some success it really wasn't ever enough to think the bout was turning in favour of the Indonesian who had struggled to ever really connect with anything too heavy. With the fight in the bag going to the final round Samor decided to let his hands go a bit more, as he had earlier in the fight as we got the best round of the contest. Whilst the change in styles for Samor may have been impressive for a man known mainly as a relentless pressure fighter it was quite possibly a case of self preservation. Angkotta, for all his faults, has proven to be a very tough foe and it was pointless for Samor to try and blast him out and blow his own load in the process. Following the Amor/Angkotta fight we got the main event of the day as Amnat Ruenroeng (12-0, 5) managed to claim the biggest victory of his life anf claim the IBF Super Flyweight title. Amnat, facing the well respected Filipino Rocky Fuentes (35-7-2, 20), showed off his speed and countering abilities early in the bout before managing to survive through Fuentes's intense pressure. Despite surviving the later rounds Amnat was forced to show off his negative side holding, pushing and almost running at times. The pressure and work rate of Fuentes in the second half of the fight was great though by then he had left himself in a hole and unfortunately he couldn't quite reel in the difference despite an excellent effort in what was genuinely an entertaining contest despite how different the fighters were. Whilst this was a victory for Amnat it's fair to say that Fuentes won't really have harmed his reputation and if he doesn't get another world title fight it would be a genuine shame. He's entertaining with a fun to watch style and the potential to be in some FOTY style wars if matched with someone like Juan Francisco Estrada, Akira Yaegashi or Roman Gonzalez. He may not beat those 3 men but we'd love to see him try. Tuesday saw the first of several televised cards this week and saw a trio of very talented Thai fighters in action as they looked to continue their excellent form from 2013.
Pathum Thani, Thailand The first Thai in action was former WBC Super Flyweight world champion Suriyan Sor Rungvisai (32-5-1, 13) who defended his WBC Asian Boxing Council Bantamweight title by defeating Filipino challenger Fernando Ocon (12-6, 4) via a clear decision. The fight, Suriyan's 9th inside a year, started slowly though the Thai seemed to have the class to move up through the gears when he wanted, as he did at the start of round 3. It was his class that saw him awarded a 39-37 lead through 4 rounds, though Ocon refused to make life easy for the well established Thai. Thankfully for Suriyan he managed to slowly gain more and more success in the bout, slowly grinding down Ocon's resistance with well placed shots that the Filipino was forced to eat. Due to the shots Ocon was beginning to take his mentality seemed to revert to that of a sparring partner, throwing little in terms of power shots, though he did show some advantage in round 8. Unfortunately for Ocon it was clear he was starting to feel the power and strength of the Thai whose shots seems to have more power and force on them than early in the contest. After 8 rounds Suriyan's control was reflected in the scorecards with the open scoring showing two cards of 79-73 and one of 78-74, all in favour of the Thai, In round 9 Ocon's bravery was beginning to be questions as the tiring Filipino was forced to eat some big shots from Suriyan and although he refused to be intimated it was obvious that he was wilting as he slipped to the canvas very late in the round. To start round 10 Suriyan attempted to finish off Ocon and landed a series of big body shots that forced Ocono backwards, to his credit though the Filipino tried to fight back in what seemed a fruitless effort. Although Ocon managed to fight back hard in a very entertaining round 12 he was in such a big hole that the effort was too little too late and Suriyan, who took the shots without blinking, never really looked bother by Ocon's biggest shots in what was easily the best round of the fight, by then though Suriyan had already secured the victory. Although Ocon was the clear loser he did show enough about him to probably end up with another payday somewhere down the line and although he is now 0-3 in Thailand he'll be a welcome visitor, The second televised bout saw current WBC Super Flyweight champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (24-3-1, 22) feature in a stay busy fight with a limited Filipino foe, whose name was sadly not available at the start of the show. The class difference between the two was obvious early on with Srisaket hurting the Filipino several times in the opening round before forcing the referee to step in close to end of round 1 as Srisaket unloaded a devastating flurry. Whilst Srisaket only took a round to record his victory it was clear that this was little more than a stay busy fight with Srisaket now expected to defend his world title against unbeaten Mexican Carlos Cuadras. The Srisaket/Cuadras bout is one that we are genuinely excited about and really cannot wait to see. The final televised bout of the show saw Nawaphon Por Chokchai (19-0, 13), the younger brother of Suriyan and stable mate of both Suriyan and Srisaket, in action as he defeated Rodel Tejares (20-28-5, 5). Unfortunately, as we saw in a recent Channel 7 show, the broadcast actually cut out before the bout finished. As we all know, not every day is a busy on in the world of professional boxing. Thankfully even the very quiet days can give us something to talk about and that's what we saw earlier today.
Cebu, Philippines The only Asian show of the day was in the Philippines as ALA Promotions put on a very low key and low level show at the Gaisano Country Mall Parking Lot. The show, which only featured 4 contests, wasn't one that will have caught the attention of many fans but yet it was still something that we, as a site devoted to Asian boxing, were incredibly interested by. The main fight on the show only lasted 49 seconds as Rolando Servania (6-0, 2) swiftly dispatched the limited Dingdong Quinones (3-8-1, 1) though this was a worth while outing for Servania who likely needs to have more belief in his power. He's unlikely to ever become a KO artist but he does hit harder than his 5-0 (1) record did previously suggest and when he gets confidence in his power we imagine he will manage to rack a fair few KO's. Whilst Servania was the main draw the interest in the show was more than just Servania's bout, in fact one of the most interesting men on the show was Cuban Reymi Castellano Aleye (3-0, 1) who managed to over come Rodel Wenceslao (7-7-1, 2) in a 6 rounder. The Cuban, who had been based in Cambodia, was a former amateur standout and there is hope he will settle at the ALA gym and make a new home for himself. He's talented, well schooled and seems very capable though will need plenty of time to develop if he's kept on by ALA. On the same card there was another 6 round decision as Jonas Sultan (4-1, 2) out pointed Marlon Macayan (1-2-1) in a clearly 1 sided bout that left Macayan miles behind on the cards. The only other bout on the show saw the debuting Jess Rhey Waminal (1-0, 1) take a 2nd round TKO over the very limited Jerome Baja (1-7-1) who was stopped for the 6th time as a professional. It's fair to say that this Saturday was the biggest day of boxing this year. It may not have had a world title fight but for the first time in 2014 it felt like a big fight weekend, at least in the west. Unfortunately it wasn't the best of weekends for Asian's fighting in the west, though we did see some interesting contests closer to home.
Pontianak, Indonesia We'll start out look at the results from Saturday at Pontianak where we had a small and somewhat obscure show in Indonesia. The card, which apparently only featured 4 bouts, was short but interesting. The main event, and by far the most interesting bout, saw Rommy Wassar (8-15-7, 3) dropping a 10 round decision to domestic stalwart Falazona Fidal (25-38-1, 8). The bout, which was Wassar's first since August 2012, was interesting one on paper though one that did look somewhat one-sided. Not only did Wassar have a worse record but his recent inactivity certainly didn't help him, especially when you consider it was Fidal's 11th bout inside a year. Of course neither of these two are going to become star, or notable names on the global scene, though it was certainly a good win for the 36 year Fidal. On the undercard fans saw Ki-Chang Kim (5-1-1, 1) claim his third straight victory with a decision over journeyman Samuel Tehuayo (17-19-2, 3) in a 6 round contest. Tehuayo, better known to some as Sammy Hagler, has now won just 3 of his last 24 contests after starting with a perfect 14-0 record. Also on the under-card was a stoppage victory for the previously win-less Yasmet Star (1-1, 1) who stopped the debuting Bud Kalbar (0-1) whilst Yohannes Yordan (13-2-3, 2) managed to overcome Wellem Reyk (17-9-3, 5). Reyk, who is known as "Fort Reyk", put up a good effort against Yordan, the younger brother of Daud Cino Yordan, though was certainly the loser in this 4 rounder. Misamis Oriental, Philippines Unfortunately results from this card are still sparse. The key ones that we've got are that unbeaten female fighter Wenie Cline Verano (2-0, 2) scored a stoppage against an as yet unidentified opponents whilst the unbeaten Macrea Gandionco (10-0-1, 6) stopped Allan Doronilla (9-10-1, 3). We've not got the specifics of either bout as of yet sadly, though we do hope to get them sooner rather than later. Quebec, Canada Russian Light Heavyweight Artur Beterbiev (4-0, 4) may not be getting his fights televised so far but the powerful former amateur standout is just simply steam rolling opponents. Beterbiev's latest victim was Gabriel Lecrosnier (16-26-3, 1) who survived in to round 4 but "surviving" was the best that he could before eventually being stopped. Jalisco, Mexico The first of two international fights involving a Filipino and a Mexican ended very badly for Fernando Lumacad (29-7-3, 12). Lumacad, who was traveling to Mexico for the 5th time in his career, was destroyed in a round by the unbeaten Horacio Garcia (25-0, 17). We had given Lumacad a decent chance at testing Garcia though unfortunately the Filipino just couldn't cope with Garcia's natural power and size. With this victory the unbeaten Mexican claims the WBC Continental Americas Super Bantamweight title, a title we couldn't understand Lumacad qualifying for. Sonora, Mexico Unfortunately for Filipino fans Marco Demecillo (19-2-1, 14) couldn't avenge Lumacad's victory as he too was stopped. We had given Demecillo a solid chance at recording the upset against David Sanchez (24-2-2, 19) though the Mexican was simply too strong and too powerful. The opening round was bad for the Filipino and by round 3 and early ending seemed imminent. The closing sequence came in round 4 with Sanchez launching a sustained attack whilst Demecillo was on the ropes, Demecillo dropped to the canvas where he took the count. With this victory Sanchez, who is highly ranked with a number of the governing bodies, claims the WBA international Super Flyweight title. Interestingly the last WBA international Super Flyweight champion was Daiki Kameda back in 2011! Although boxing has been somewhat limited this week, we've been looking forward to this weekend which has numerous bouts of interest spread around the world.
Bangkok, Thailand For us the action, as it often does on a Friday, kicked off in Thailand with Channel 7 doing their usual job of televising a live Thai card. After last weeks issues with Thai Channel 7, cutting out in the middle of a title fight, we were all hoping that we'd get completed fights this week. Thankfully we did, albeit a short lived titled fight on as the talented Teerachai Kratingdaenggym (24-0, 18) swiftly took care of his Mexican Fernando Castaneda (21-8, 14). We had expected Teerachai to be forced to work hard to defend his PABA Welterweight title, but the Thai was simply too strong and too powerful. He used his thunderous power, and great 1-2, to finish off Castaneda inside a round as he further strengthened his claim for a world title fight. As well as the title bout we had a number of other televised contests. The broadcast began with an undercard bout fought in the Light Flyweight division. We believe the bout saw Kwanthai Sithmorseng (44-2-1, 23) scoring a 4th round TKO over the very over-matched Safwan Lombok (1-22-1) who had been down in the opening round and was unable to cope with the educated pressure of the Thai fighter. After a break in the televised card to show, what we believe was news, the action continued and saw another mismatch as a Chatpetch Sithmorseng (6-3, 2) dropped Alwi Alhabsyi (13-21-3, 3) numerous times en route to a 5th round stoppage. Although the bout was a mismatch the finish was world class with a perfectly timed uppercut connecting on the face of the hapless opponent who was unfortunate to run into a man several levels above himself. A fourth bout was also televised, at we believe a contracted 114lbs. This bout saw an over-confident Inthanon Sithchamuang (20-6, 11) defeating the very poor Thaminkhao Sor Tharnthip (3-8-1, 2). Fortunately for the Thai he was allowed to be overly-confident and was let off with numerous mistakes as his opponent was sadly under-qualified to test him and was stopped in the 3rd round. Oddly we believe that there was some form of a PABA opportunity up for grabs in this bout despite it being fought at the unusual 114lb weight limit. The televised show finished with a fifth bout, this time fought at 108lbs with again some sort of PABA affiliation to the contest. The bout was one of the most competitive on the card, for what that's worth, though as with the previous 4 contests the winner was clear from the first round as the men were at completely different levels. The unbeaten Stamp Kiatniwat (6-0, 3) who took a 4th round TKO, was in control through out though it was nice to see a spirited effort from the Dawut Manoproonroj (0-1), who was apparently making his debut, Tokyo, Japan In the Korakuen Hall, holy ground of Japanese boxing, we had a Japanese national title fight, the first of the new year, as the vacant Japanese Minmumweight title was up for grabs. The title, vacated by Ryuji Hara, was expected to be very hard fought for. Instead however the bout saw Go Odaira (9-3-3, 1) completely dominate the hard hitting Masashi Tada (11-4-1, 7) in what turned out to be a genuinely 1-sided contest. We had expected Tada to win though to see Odaira dominate him with scores of 99-92, 98-92, 98-92 really was impressive and although Odaira's record isn't great we'd not be shocked to see him holding on to this title for a while. Interestingly this was Odaira's 8th straight bout with out a loss with the most recent defeat on his record coming to Hara back in 2010. Notably this bout was an historic one, it was the first ever Japanese title fight fought with open scoring and we'd imagine we're going to see this become a regular thing with Japan being one of the early adopters of the system when the WBC first brought it in. Although the main event of this show, "Dangan 92", was the Japanese title fight the show it's self featured a total of 7 bouts. The card started with a series of 4 rounders. These saw 3 very well matched contests with Shunsuke Fukushima (2-1-2) narrowly overcoming the previously unbeaten Muneyoshi Kubo (1-1) by majority decision, a 4 round majority decision was also rendered in a bout between Makoto Kawasaki (4-1-1, 1) and Ken Otokawa (5-4, 3) whilst the other 4 rounder saw a split decision going to Joe Nakanishi (1-0) over fellow debutant Desierto Nagaike (0-1). As well as the 4 rounders there were also a trio of 8 rounders. These saw Flyweight Yota Hori (10-2-2, 6) taking a hard fought decision over Musashi Suzuki (10-2, 4) in one of the A-Class tournament finals. Another of the A-Class tournament final came at Super Flyweight where Hayato Kimura (21-5, 15) took a decision over Kohei Kubo (16-5-1, 11), this was a bout we didn't imagine would go the schedule so credit to both men for taking the power of the other man in what looked like a potential thriller. The remaining bout, also one of the A-Class tournament finals, saw Kazuya Nakano (7-2, 6) taking his first decision victory, narrowly over-coming Takaomi Abe (15-3-2, 1). |
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