This past Saturday was a surprisingly quiet day in the world of Asian boxing with very, very little domestic based action taking place. In fact, from what we can gather, there was just a single Filipino card in Asia. Despite the relatively quiet day domestically there was still plenty of headlines on the international front.

New Jersey, USA
We'll start not with the domestic card but with the headline making show in the US which was headlined by one of sports most popular puncher, Sergey Kovalev (24-0-1, 22), pictured.

Kovalev, the WBO Light Heavyweight champion, took on what turned out to be one of his toughest opponents in the form of American Cedric Agnew (26-1, 13). It wasn't that Agnew really tested Kovalev with his skills, speed or power, but more frustrated the Russian with his defence, the occasional foul and generally negative tactics. Unfortunately with Kovalev's reputation as a vicious puncher we may see more opponents fighting Kovalev in the same negative manner rather trying to have a fight with the "Krusher".

On the same card as Kovalev's title defense was another Russian fighter, Khurshid Abdullaev (6-1-1, 3) who suffered his first professional loss. Abdullaev took a huge step up to fight the experienced Winky Campfort (17-1, 9) and made a really good account of himself despite losing a split decision.

Nuevo León, Mexico
As well as the fights in the US there was also action in Mexico with Filipino Balweg Bangoyan (18-9, 7) fighting. Unfortunately for the Filipino he was, as expected, beaten by Mexican destroyer Adrian Estrella (17-0, 17). Estrella, defending his WBC FECARBOC Super Featherweight title needed just 3 rounds to stop Bangoyan who was out of his league from the opening bell.

Camarines Sur, Philippines
From a Filipino to the Philippines where the Asian action for the day kicked off with a small card promoted by Saved By the Bell promotions.

This card was supposed to feature 5 bouts, though currently we only have results from 3 of them. 

The results we have include an 8th round stoppage victory for the highly regarded Al Sabaupan (21-2-1, 16) who lost last time out in Mexico. Sabupan's power was felt by Thailand's Rachamongkol Sor Pleonchit (14-8, 6) who suffered his 6th stoppage loss in 22 contests. Another stoppage on this card saw the once beaten Michael Dasmarinas (15-1, 9) stopping the usually durable Zoren Pama (5-10-3, 2) in 3 rounds. Pama is noting special but usually sees the final meaning this was a pretty solid stoppage for Dasmarinas.

The only other result we have from this card is that the unbeaten Junar Adante (4-0-1, 2) scored his first 8 round victory as he took a decision over the experienced, but very limited, Arjet Caballes (6-30-5, 3).

(Photo courtesy of http://www.mainevents.com)

This past Thursday saw action spread nice across Asia with fights in Thailand, the Philippines and Russia. Whilst none of the fights were hugely significant there was enough notable action to interest fans from all over the continent.

Samut Sakhon, Thailand
Arguably the most notable of those 3 cards was in Thailand, on Channel 9, with the headline bout being between Pharanpetch Tor Buamas (13-0, 9) and Rey Las Pinas (18-9-5, 11). The unbeaten Pharanpetch was given a much tougher than expected battle by Las Pinas though did managed to take home a decision to defend WBC Asian Boxing Council Super Featherweight title.

Pharanpetch was one of 5 Tor Buamas fighters on the card, all of whom won.

Amongst those others was top female fighter Samson Tor Buamas (32-3, 14) who defeated the debuting Saengmanee Sor Kulawong (0-1) via a 6 round decision. Another notable name on show was the former WBO Oriental Bantamweight champion Tiger Tor Buamas (16-1, 12) who also took a 6 round decision over a debuting fighter Srisomdech Kwanjaisrikod (0-1).

Another decision on the card saw the debuting Laithai Tor buamas (1-0) defeat fellow debutant Saengsakda Chor Vachira (0-1).

The only stoppage on the card saw the unbeaten, and much touted, Kaewfah Tor Buamas (14-0, 9) stopping the debuting Rafael Naffa (0-1) who was stopped in 2 rounds.

Unfortunately the card did feature too many debuting opponents to really be classed as a major show despite the talented fighters who were showcased.

Metro Manila, Philippines
Whilst the card in Thailand was the most notable, at least in regards to television exposure, the most interesting was arguably the Filipino card which feature 2 title bouts from the shows 6 total bouts.

This card's lowest profile bout saw the unbeaten Toto Landero (3-0, 1) scoring a decision on an unknown opponent before a series of KO's saw Andrew Palas (3-2, 1) stop Marco Niones (3-12, 1), the unbeaten Richard Claveras (7-0-2, 7) wipe out Rolando Niones (4-16-2, 2) and the very exciting Warlito Parrenas (19-6, 17) stopped Ryan Soliveres (4-24-1, 1). Combined those 3 stoppages took a total of 4 rounds.

Following the under card we then moved on to the title bouts. The most disappointing of these saw a 4th round technical decision after Rey Juntilla (17-4-3, 10) suffered an horrendous cut at the end of the 4th round. Juntilla, fighting against Edison Berwela (12-28-7, 3), was rightfully ruled unfit to continue and as a result the Philippines Boxing Federation (PBF) Super Bantamweight title remains vacant.

The other title fight was a close and tense affair as Rene Dacquel (11-3, 3) took a very, very hard fought decision over the experienced Albert Alcoy (14-18-7, 4) to win the Philippines Luzon Professional Boxing Association (LuzProBA) Super Flyweight title. 

Novorossiysk, Russia
As well as the bouts in Asia there was also a card in Russia. This card, headlined by the destructive Dmitry Kudryashov (13-0, 13) may not have been a hugely exciting card but it did see the man of the hour scoring his biggest win to date. Kudryashov, fighting against Lubos Suda (31-9-1, 23), continued his reign of terror with his 13th straight stoppage and it seems only a matter of time before he faces a genuine world ranked opponent.

In the chief support bout the unbeaten Viskhan Murzabekov (8-0, 4) took a decision over journeyman Bogdan Protsyshyn (7-9, 2). 

The undercard saw Zubayra Suleymanov (3-1) take a decision over the debutant Mykola Polezhaev (0-1), Varazdat Chernikov (6-2, 1) claimed a decision over the win-less Andriy Danichkin (0-10-1) and Rustem Abdinanov (0-1-1) fought to a draw with Abdulkhamid Abdulkhamidov (0-1-1).

(Poster, from the Russian show, is courtesy of the 13th round)

This past Friday was a busy day through out the Asian boxing world with both fights in Asia and fights outside of Asia involving Asian fighters or various rankings.

Bangkok, Thailand
The action really kicked off in Thailand where Channel 7 televised a small show with 3 contests on, all of which included someone of note.

The main event saw the very promising, and amazingly well named, Knockout CP Freshmart (6-0, 3) successfully defend his WBC Youth Minimumweight title with a clear decision victory over Filipino challenger Jonathan Refugio (13-4-4, 3). This was Refugio's 4th loss in 6 bouts whilst Knockout, who has now defended his Youth title 6 times, appears to be on the verge of climbing in to the fringes of the world rankings.

As well as Knockout the show also featured former Minimumweight world champion Oleydong Sithsamerchai (53-1-1, 19) who scored a rare stoppage by taking out the win-less Kompetch Twins Gym (0-3). 

The other fight on this card featured the #1 ranked WBC Minimumweight challenger Wanheng Menayothin (33-0, 10) who managed to score a 6 round decision victory over Indonesian veteran Heri Amol (34-16-4, 14). It really is time that Wanheng moved on to fighting for a world title as he's been the #1 contender for far too long to just keep waiting.

Tokyo, Japan
In Tokyo Japanese fans got treat to a 12 fight show at the Korakuen Hall, with all the fights being scheduled for 4 rounds.

Of the 12 bouts only 3 actually completed the schedule with these bouts seeing Tatsuji Kakumoto (3-4, 1) out point Shuhei Takahashi (2-2, 1) in a Flyweight bout, Yuta Itagaki (3-1-1, 1) defeat Genji Ishida (1-2) at Super Bantamweight and unbeaten Featherweight Takahiko Suzuki (3-0, 2) managed to over-come Kei Iwahara (2-1, 1).

The shortest of the other bouts on the show lasted just 67 seconds as Satoru Morishita (3-5, 2) made unexpectedly light work of Kazuki Sanpei (2-2). Morishita's stoppage victory was one of two opening round KO's with Kazuto Nakane (2-1, 1) stopping the previously unbeaten Shinnosuke Yoshimori (1-1, 1).

The most common result on the card were second round T/KO's which occurred in 5 of the 12 bouts. These included a victory for the unbeaten KO artist Naoki Mochizuki (3-0, 3) who stopped Iwashi Miyahara (1-4), Muneyuki Kishii (3-2, 2) who beat Kotaro Banba (1-1, 1), The unbeaten Ryo Hino (2-0, 1) who stopped Shun Wakabayashi (1-1), Hikaru Takaki (4-4, 4) who defeated Mitsushige Takahoshi (1-4, 1) and Taichi Kimura (3-1, 2) who claimed a victory over Ryota Harukawa (2-3, 2).

The remaining bouts all finished in round 4. These saw Toshiki Maruyama (2-4, 2) beat Akira Watanabe (1-3, 1) and Kimihiro Nakagawa (2-0, 2) taking out Daigo Miyagawa (1-2-2).

Suining, China
In a show in China we saw a number of bouts, including 2 title bouts.

For us the key bout here was the third meeting between China's very promising Qiu Xiao Jun (12-2, 4) and and Filipino veteran Jonathan Baat (25-5-3, 12). After having lost twice to Baat this was all about revenge for Jun, who manage to take a clear decision over his nemesis and defend his 
WBC Asia Council Continental Super Bantamweight title in the process.

In the other title bout the Japanese based Ugandan Okello Peter (21-8, 19) was forced to retire from his bout with Russian giant Evgeny Orlov (15-12-1, 11) who claimed the WBC Asia Council Continental Heavyweight title courtesy of a 9th round retirement victory.

The biggest upset on this card came in a female bout as China's Luo Yu Jie (3-6, 1) scored her first stoppage victory and defeated Japanese veteran Tamami Tor Buamas (6-4, 5). Although "Tor Buamas" is generally a Thai fighting name it seems that the 47 Tamami, real name Tamami Morimoto, has been fighting under a Thai banner since her debut back in 2009, hence the possible confusion. After this loss it seems that that's probably her career over though

China's very own Qu Peng (5-0-1, 3) was successful on the card as scored his 4th straight win with a decision over Australian Paul Watson (2-3, 1).

The one other bout on this card saw once beaten Russian Andrey Kalyuzhnyy (5-1, 3) take just 32 seconds to see off win-less Thai Kajorndet Or Ekachai (0-2).


Victoria, Australia
One of the highest ranked fighter in action was Filipino Randy Petalcorin (21-1-1, 16), the WBA #2 ranked Light Flyweight. Petalcorin, fighting against experienced Thai Samransak Singmanasak (35-22-1, 27), made light work of his opponent who was stopped in just the second round.

Petalcorin was the only Asian on the card to win though wasn't the only one in action. The others who fought on the same show were Thailand's Kiatchai Singwancha (34-12, 23), who was stopped in round 7 by Manny Vlamis (12-3, 9), and Manopnoi Singmanasak (10-19, 6) who was stopped in 4 rounds by the light punching Terry Tzouramanis (12-1-3, 3).

Although it was a memorable outing for Petalcorin, who seems likely to be fighting for a world title soon, it wasn't great for Thai's who went 0-3.

New South Wales, Australia
On a second Australian show we saw one of the most notable upsets of the day as the criminally over-looked Joebert Delos Reyes (12-4-1, 9) scored a sensational KO over the previously unbeaten Valentne Borg (6-1, 4). The over-looked Filipino was 4 rounds down when he landed a perfect right uppercut that dropped Borg hard.

The victory for Delos Reyes saw him claiming the IBO Youth Lightweight title and extend his winning run to 5 fights. Sadly however we're seriously wondering if he'll struggle to get fights after upsetting 3 unbeaten fights in the last 2 years.

The same card had mixed fortunes for other Filipino's as Joel Dela Cruz (17-20-2, 7) was beaten by Kurt Bahram (13-4-1, 5) in a bout for the New South Wales State Middleweight title, Michael Correa (3-10-3, 1) was beaten by Nathan Wright (3-0, 1) and Aswin Cabuy (14-46-4, 7) managed to score a draw with Zhang Yong (2-4-1, 1).

Distrito Federal, Mexico
The worst result of the day for an Asian fighter came in Mexico as the hard hitting Filipino Marvin Mabait (19-2-2, 13) was sensationally upset by Alejandro Hernandez (27-10-2, 14). Mabait, defending his WBO Inter-Continental Bantamweight title for the first time, was hurt and a follow up attack in round 5 saw eventually being stopped in a result that will be a major set back for the Filipino.

(Photo, of Wanheng, courtesy of boxrec.com)

This past Wednesday was the clear highlight of the midweek boxing in a week that has been more packed than an average week. That was because of a really interesting world title fight in Japan as a Japanese fighter and a Thai fighter collided in a really good looking bout.

Tokyo, Japan
That bout in particular saw former WBA Super Flyweight champion Kohei Kono (30-8, 13) clashing with Thai veteran Denkaosan Kaovichit (62-4-1, 26) for the vacant title that Kono had once held.

The fight, a rare mid-week world title fight, saw both month signalling their intentions to win in the week of the fight. For the Thai it was a promise to his 6 kids for Kono it was his chance redefine his career and to move towards a Japanese super fight with the always controversial Koki Kameda. 

As it turned out it seems likely that Kaovichit's children may be slightly disappointed. He tried as hard as he could and was often out working the Japanese fighter but at the end of the day power is the great neutraliser and Kono simply had too much sting on his punches for Kaovichit who was dropped in round 4 and then stopped in round 8 as Kono reclaimed his old title.

As well as the world title fight this same show also gave fans a chance to see several Japanese ranked fighters. One of those was Tatsuya Takahashi (16-5-3, 11) who made light word of the limited Hiromu Tamura (6-22-1, 2) with a 3rd round TKO.

Whilst Takahashi had an easy day's work with his opponent, another Japanese ranked fighter Konosuke Tomiyama (24-6-1, 8), was forced to work exceptionally hard for his. Tomiyama, best known for his losses to Nobuo Nashiro and Genesis Servania, was expected to easily breeze past Kanae Onogi (6-6-1, 3) though instead he laboured to a 6 round majority victory.

The card also saw Toshimitsu Goto (12-10-1, 5) score a relatively rare stoppage as he defeated Takahisa Nayuki (11-10, 2) in 3 rounds. This loss for Nayuki ended a short 2 fight winning streak.

In one other 6 rounder fans saw Takahiro Kinoshita (5-3-1, 2) take a hard fought decision over Takahiro Iida (4-4-1, 2).

The show, of course, started with the 4 round under card bouts and these saw a trio of debutants. The only debuting fighter on the show to win was Tameji Ito (1-0, 1) who stopped fellow debutant Hiroki Arakawa (0-1) in 135 seconds. Arakawa's loss was copied by Yudai Yamato (0-1) who was stopped in the 4th round by the previously win-less Masato Motohashi (1-1, 1)

(Photo courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

This past Tuesday may not have been a major day in world boxing but it was still an important one with a trio of title fights that took place over Asia.

Tokyo, Japan
The most notable of those title bouts was in Tokyo as OPBF Bantamweight champion Ryosuke Iwasa (17-1, 10) was given one of the toughest bouts of his career. 

Iwasa, who is unbeaten since being stopped by current WBC Bantamweight champion Shinsuke Yamanaka, was given hell by the over-looked Filipino Richard Pumicpic (14-6-2, 4) who came to get the title from Iwasa though just fell short in a majority decision loss.

Whilst some will view that as a wake up call for Iwasa, the WBC #1 ranked challenger, it was more a testament of just how good Pumicpic is and we'd be shocked by Pumicpic not winning an OPBF title one day. For Iwasa this was a perfect test before getting a world title fight hopefully later this year.

Although the main event was the most attractive bout on the show, by a long way, it wasn't the only fight of note. Another bout of note saw former world title challenger Ryo Akaho (22-1-2, 15) stopping Richard Garcia (25-18-1, 7) in 2 rounds. From what we've read we do believe that Akaho was down prior to the stoppage though more angered by himself than actually hurt from the knock down and he swiftly punished Garcia afterwards.

Whilst the Iwasa bout was very close there were two other bouts which were closer. One of those was an 8 rounder that saw Daisuke Yokoyama (15-5-1, 6) fighting to an unexpected majority draw with Kenta Takahashi (10-7-3 3) whilst Fumiya Akao (1-0-1) had a disappointing split decision draw with Shogo Yanagisawa (1-4-1, 1). 

One of the most notable bouts on the card saw the debuting Koki Koshikawa (1-0) out pointing Quaye Peter (5-4-1, 3) over 6 rounds. Koshikawa was a stand out amateur and like many former standouts he is tipped to rise fast through ranks. What makes him particularly interesting however is that he's campaigning at Light Welterweight or Welterweight suggesting that he will need to fight international opponents at an earlier stage than perhaps some of the smaller Japanese fighter who are equally as highly viewed due to their amateur experience.

The remaining bouts on this card saw Manato Honma (6-3, 3) stopping Koki Yoshida (4-4, 2) in 2 rounds, after Yoshida retired, whilst Shinya Nemoto (4-3-1, 1) took a 4 round decision Yudai Hata (2-2, 1).

Metro Manila, Philippines
Although Pumicpic fell short in his OPBF title fight we did see a Filipino fighter crowned as a new OPBF champion. That man is the hard hitting Jonathan Taconing (18-2-1, 15) who managed to stop compatriot Vergilio Silvano (18-4-1, 10) in an absolutely brilliant fight. Both landed their share of bombs in a contest that eventually saw Silvano being saved in round 11.

The victory for Taconing saw him claim the OPBF Light Flyweight title that had previously been vacated by Naoya Inoue and we're now hoping to see Taconing challenge for a world title. He's fun to watch, power, aggressive and although most fans won't recognise him he is a genuine top 10 fighter at 108lbs.

Iwasa wasn't the only man to successfully defend a title as Filipino Monico Laurente (24-10, 5) successfully defended his Filipino (GAB) Bantamweight title with a defence over Jetro Pabustan (22-2-5, 6) by 5th round technical decision. Incidentally this was Pabustan's second technical decision loss following a 7th round technical loss to Lowie Bantigue back in 2010.

The chief support bout to the two title contests saw Juan Miguel Elorde (15-1, 7), the grandson of the great Flash Elorde, scoring an opening round KO over Indonesian visitor Budi Risky (8-4, 5).

The rest of this card saw Jeffrey Francisco (9-0-1) taking a very narrow decision over the limited Fidel Cuyno (1-3-2), Raymond Yanong (1-1, 1) scored his first victory with a stoppage over the debuting Christian Rayta (0-1) whilst Wilbert Berondo (2-0, 1) stopped Raul Luba (0-2). Both of those stoppages came in the third round.

(Photo courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

Tokyo, Japan
The first set of titles for the new week took place in Japan on Monday with with a brilliant card from the legendary Kyoei Promotions. On paper the card was one of the highlight shows of a very busy week in Asian boxing, though it did prove to be a little bit more one sided than expected with only 1 of the 5 bouts really ended up being competitive.

The card began by showcasing young prospects. The first of these was teenager Ryuto Maekawa (8-0, 5) who recorded his first stoppage on Japanese soil as he swiftly defeated Thai debutant Namchai Sor Tanachor (0-1) in 2 rounds. 

Maekawa, who actually started his career in Thailand, began his career with 4 stoppages in his first 4 bouts though has been taken the distance since setting up camp in Japan. This bout was a step backwards for him though proved that he has still got a finishers instinct.

The second promising youngster on the show was All Japanese Rookie of the year Kazuma Sanpei (10-0, 4) who stopped the usually durable Thai Anuntachai Sor Por Lor Krungthep (6-7, 4) in the third round of a scheduled 8. Prior to this fight the Thai had only been stopped once in 12 fights, by the very very experienced Yuta Nagai in 6 rounds, suggesting that Sanpei hits harder than his record indicates.

Although few came to see the two young prospects on the show the first major attraction was model boxer Tomomi Takano (5-0, 4) who, like the other unbeaten fighters on the card, made light work of her over-matched Thai foe. Fighting against Kulabkhao Por Preecha (0-2) we saw an improved Tomomi who finished the fight with a beautiful body shot that crippled the Thai for the full 10 count. Whilst Tomomi isn't nearly world class yet she is developing excellently and is showing vast improvement after every fight. With that in mind we'd not be shocked to see her competing for an OPBF title by the end of the year.

Follow the unbeaten fighters the show then turned to the title action which kicked off with a Japanese Super Bantamweight title fight between the world ranked, and current Japanese champion, Hidenori Otake (22-1-3, 9) and determined challenger Takafumi Nakajima (22-7-1, 9). Nakajima, who had previously lost a split decision to Otake, brought the fight to the champion early on and really forced Otake to answer back in an excellent encounter. Unfortunately for the challenger is was the champions stamina late on that helped him retain his title via a very narrow decision.

Otake had been forced to defend his title against a man almost his equal, the second title fight however saw the significantly taller and rangier Hisashi Amagasa (26-4-2, 16) easily defending his OPBF Featherweight belt against Filipino challenger Vinvin Rufino (34-16-3, 16). Rufino came to fight though all too often he was eating hard counters from the champion who managed to score an early knock down before gradually forcing a stoppage in round 8. This loss for Rufino, his second in an OPBF title fight, likely ends his dream of being an Asian champion. For Amagasa, who was making the first defense of his belt, this was impressive and his thoughts surely have to turn to world title fights sooner rather than later.

(Photo, of Amagasa standing over a knocked down Rufino, courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

This past Sunday was one of those rare days where almost the entire of Asia was fighting with shows in Japan, the Philippines and South Korea. Not all the bouts were big or significant but there was a lot of them.

Haenam, South Korea
Arguably the most significant bout of the day was in Haenam, South Korea as American Korean Jennifer Han (10-3-1, 1) came up short against IFBA Featherweight champion Ji Hye Woo (14-3, 1). The fight, an incredibly close one, saw Woo defending her title via a majority decision though one would suggest that if the fight was in the US we'd have seen a new champion crowned.

In the chief support bout unbeaten Korean Lightweight Jae-Ho Kim (4-0) managed to score a 6 round decision over Do-Yun Kim (1-3-1) the bout was fairly competitive but Jae-Ho Kim was the rightful winner.

The main event wasn't the only main event on the show as Ji-Yun Ahn (1-1) managed to take a 4 round decision over the debuting Yoon-Jung Jang (0-1). This bout was incredibly close and was, amazingly, one of 4 majority decisions from the 6 bouts on the show with another being a majority victory for Min-Ki Jin (2-3) who over came Joon-Chul Kim (1-2).

Rather unexpectedly both of the other bouts on the show ended in majority decision draws. These saw Sung-Young Yang (2-0-1, 1) and Ji-Hoon Lee (1-0-1) both remained unbeaten in a Super Bantamweight bout whilst neither Hee-Joon Joo (0-1-1) or Sung-Kook Jo (0-1-1) could record their first win.

Noginsk, Russia
Whilst the "biggest" bout was in South Korea the most notable was in Russia as the fast rising Fedor Chudinov (10-0, 8), pictured, recorded his biggest win to date. Chudinov, the younger brother of the highly regarded Dmitry Chudinov, scored his biggest win so far as he forced the retirement of former world title challenger Stjepan Bozic (28-8, 19). Although less well known than Dmitry we dare think that Fedor is the better of the brothers though do worry with him fighting at Super Middleweight.

In the co-feature here another unbeaten man impressed. That was Arif Magomedov (10-0, 7) who took just 94 seconds to blast out Slavisa Simeunovic (12-7, 10). Simeunovic was dropped 3 times in 94 seconds and it was obvious that he couldn't handle the power of Magomedov who seemed to drop him every time he opened up.

On the under-card Alexey Stakanchikov (3-1, 2) took 57 seconds to stop Misa Nikolic (18-26-2, 8) whilst female fighter Ekaterina Izotova (3-0-1, 1) took a 3rd round victory over the limited Agnes Draxler (6-5), who suffered her 4th stoppage loss.

Okinawa, Japan
In Okinawa, where we had one of two Japanese shows, fans were treat to some very one sided bouts.

The main event here saw the Japanese ranked Dado Cabintoy (13-4-2, 6) make light work of Indonesia's Rian Apriles Djabar (3-5-1, 3) who never looked fit to share a ring with Cabintoy. The main may have lasted 2 rounds but that was still a round longer than the chief support bout which saw the hard hitting Masatoshi Kotani (14-2, 11) taking out the previously unbeaten Rengga Rengga (7-1, 1) inside a round.

Much of the undercard on this show was over quickly as well. This was because 4 undercard bouts lasted less than 2 rounds each. These included Ryo Tatematsu's (2-2, 2) victory over Takanari Hamamura (2-3, 2), Koki Tomio's (3-4, 3) victory over the debuting Hikaru Nagamine (0-1), Morihisa Iju's (3-0, 3) victory over Koichi Uryu (3-1, 2) and Seita Ogido (5-1, 1) scoring his first KO over Naoki Shoda (3-7-1).

As well as the string of stoppages we did have two bouts go to the final bell. One of those was a shut out for Shisato Okuma (5-1-2, 5) who was surprisingly take the distance by Hironori Miyake (1-3, 1) whilst the other, the only competitive bout on the show, saw Fever Maki (4-1, 2) taking a majority decision over Tatsuya Kuwae (1-1, 1).

Hyogo, Japan
The other Japanese show was in Hyogo and although is was more competitive than the Okinawa show it was equally as lacking in genuinely noteworthy action, other than the main event.

The main event on this show was notable due to the fact Atsushi Aburada (8-6, 5) scored a genuinely shocking upset over Toshimasa Ouchi (16-7-3, 4). Ouchi went into the bout as a ranked Japanese fighter and as a man who, 18 months ago, fought Masayuki Kuroda, the then Japanese Light Flyweight champion to a draw. This victory is a major one for Aburada who ended a 2 fight losing streak as a result.

As well Aburada's 6th round TKO over Ouchi the card saw a further two stoppages. These were a 41 second TKO for the debuting Yuya Yabuta (1-0, 1) over Raimon Mune (0-2-1) and a 76 second KO victory for Toshio Tamura (1-0, 1) over fellow debutant Eita Azuma (0-1).

The shows other 4 bouts went 4 round decisions. These included a technical decision in favour of Keigo Yokoyama (1-1) who took his first victory over Osamu Katayama (0-3), a hard fought win for Tomoko Hayashi (2-2, 1) who beat the debuting Akari Arase (0-1), a clear decision for Shota Nakashima (1-1) over Kazuki Koyanagi (2-7) and an equally clear victory for Tenta Kiyose (1-1) over Kyosuke Takaoka (2-2, 1).

Tarlac, Philippines
In the Philippines we had a very low profile 4 bout show.

This show saw Jeffrey Alejandre (2-2, 1) scoring a 2nd round TKO over Roberto Santa Ana (1-3), Miko Sacro (4-2, 1) scoring a retirement stoppage over the win-less Roderick Naduma (0-5), a dominant decision win for Pablito Canada (3-3, 1) who beat Rodel Garde (0-8-1) and a points victory for the debuting Vincent Bautista (0-1) who out pointed Rommel Berwela (0-2).

(Photo courtesy of boxrec.com)

In a genuine rarity this past Saturday seems to have featured no bouts at all in Asia (though we believe that it's a case of result being slow as opposed to actually having no bouts). Despite the lack of local action though there were Asian fighters fighting around the globe in various match ups, unfortunately they had little success.

Nuevo León, Mexico
The most notable bout involving an Asian was in Nuevo León in Mexico and this bout saw Filipino Merlito Sabillo (23-1-1, 12) losing not just his unbeaten record but also the WBO Minimumweight world title as he was beaten, battered and eventually stopped by hammer fisted Mexican Francisco Rodriguez Jr (14-2, 10).

Sabillo was down in round 2 and although had a few moments of success he never looked like getting back into the fight as Rodriguez out worked him, out powered him and just generally out did him in every which way. 

Sabillo's loss is the second by an Asian Mimumweight title holder this year, and leaves IBF champion Katsunari Takayama as the sole Asian holding a world title at 105lbs. Funny to think that just 6 months ago all the titles were held by Asian's with Xiong Zhao Zhong and Ryo Miyazaki holding the WBC and WBA titles respectively.

Western Australia, Australia
In Australia Asian fighters went 0-4 in a nightmare showing for fighters from the Philippines and Thailand.

The worst of these results was from Payak Sithpajuk (0-2) who was stopped in just 110 seconds by the debuting Anthony Connolly (1-0, 1). Despite having a small weight advantage Payak was dropped twice and never looked like a fighter with half a chance.

Thai female fighter Sriphrae Nongkipahuyuth (12-3-2, 5) had easily the toughest assignment as she took on former world title holder Erin McGowan (15-2, 8) and it was little wonder the Thai was stopped, though she did last until the 6th round round which is credit to her given how good McGowan is.

Thongthai Rajanondh (16-17-1, 4) managed to see out the final round of his 6 rounder but was a clear loser on the scorecards with all  judges awarding the bout to Clint Hosking (9-0, 2) by a score of 60-53.

The closest bout, if we can really say that, saw Australian based Filipino Roberto Lerio (16-19-1, 6) losing a shut out to Nathaniel May (5-1, 3).

(Photo courtesy of Zanfer Promotions)

This past Friday was a busy one for boxing fans in Asia with notable fights in both the Philippines and Thailand.

Bueng Kan, Thailand
The most notable bout of the day was in Bueng Kan in Thailand as the world ranked and very highly regarded Teerachai Kratingdaenggym (25-0, 19) successfully defended his PABA Welterweight title, super version. 

Teerachai, ranked #7 by the WBA, continued his rise by stopping former foe Behzod Nabiev (22-8-1, 16) in round 7. 

This was the second meeting between the two after Teerachai was forced to take a decision over Nabiev last year. The first bout saw the Thai being knocked down and forced to struggle to a decision this time though an improved Teerachai did what was expected and became just the second man to stop the Uzbek fighter.

Bangkok, Thailand
As well as the Thai card with Teerachai on their was a second Thai card, this time in Bangkok. This card was a much deeper show with 4 bouts on it as opposed to just one though for us none were as notable as Teerachai/Nabiev II.

The shows opening bout on the broadcast saw the very highly ranked Tabtimdaeng Na Rachawat (52-2, 34), the WBA #3 Bantamweight, take an 8 round decision over the game but completely out classed Shark Mac (0-2). Mac, who was on the receiving end of a controlled beating, hardly landed a punch of note during the 8 round contest though he will likely be welcome to return to Thailand for more fights like this given his proven toughness.

The main event on this show saw the unbeaten Thong Sithluangphophun (8-0, 5) defend his PABA interim Featherweight title for the first time. Thong, who won the belt back in January, made very light work of the over matched Tony Arema (3-5). Arema was down twice in round 2 before being down again in round 3 as the towel came in.

From what we saw of Thong here he looks very promising and at 21 years old he has a lot of time to develop into an excellent fighter. Technically he has a fantastic jab that he likes to throw and although he needs to step up he does look a little bit special.

The third fight on the show saw baby faced southpaw Hanuman Sithluangporphun (2-0) take a decision over the more experienced Thaminkhao Sor Tharnthip (3-9-1, 2) before Yodsingdaeng Jor Chaijinda (4-0, 2) stopped the debuting Kaewkangwan Sithporkae (0-1) in 4 rounds.

Metro Manila, Philippines
In Metro Manila MAG Pacman put on a very interesting 8 bout card at the San Juan Arena.

The main event here featured 2-time world title challenger Michael Farenas (38-4-4, 30) who scored a controversial cut stoppage over Mexican veteran Hector Velazquez (56-21-3, 38). Velazquez, who suffered a genuinely nasty cut, was ruled to have been damaged by a punch though replays seem to show it was a clash of heads that forced the early conclusion to the bout and the bout should have been a 2nd technical draw.

In the chief support bout fans got to see the promising Giovanni Escaner (11-2, 7) score a 7th round KO over the usually tough Jaymart Toyco (14-5, 10) who suffered just his second stoppage defeat.

The show's only 8 round contest saw the unbeaten John Vincent Moralde (8-0, 4) struggle past his toughest test so far. The touted Moralde was genuinely given a great work out by Roman Canto  (8-4-2, 3), who some felt may have deserved more respect on two of the score cards.

Whilst Moralde struggled fellow unbeaten Dave Penalosa (8-0, 5) did as he was expected to and clearly beat the game but out classed Alem Robles (6-5-2, 2). A third unbeaten prospect, Jake Bornea (6-0, 3) was given an unexpectedly tough contest from Felipe Cagubcob Jr (1-2-4) who showed why he gets so many draws with his ability to keep things close and competitive. 

The only other 6 rounder on the show saw Jestoni Autida (4-1, 1) out point Eric Pansa (3-2-1) in what looked like a very competitive bout on paper though proved to be very one sided in the actual ring.

In the 4 rounders Mark Macabales (1-2) defeated the debuting Jocel Calantos (0-1) whilst fellow debutant Jiffy Castaneda (1-0) out pointed the win less Felipe Suyom (0-3).

(Photo courtesy of Boxrec.com)

Cotabato del Sur, Philippines
This past Thursday may not have been a busy one in the boxing world but their was more than enough action for us to be interesting in what was going on, especially in the Philippines at the Lagao Gym in General Dos Santos City.

Although we've not got all the results from the card we have got the two most notable including the main event.

The main event on this show saw the highly touted youngster Daryl Basadre (11-1-1, 8) put on a stirring performance as he destroyed the usually tough Julius Alcos (22-14, 4) in just 2 rounds. Alcos, prior to this bout, had been stopped just once in his previous 35 contests though Basadre really dismantled him in eye catching fashion.

Although the 21 year old Basadre has got a loss and a draw on his record he is mega talented and his loss, which came to Suriyan Sor Rungvigsai, really should not be held against. This kid has the potential to be a genuine star and we love to see him fulfil that potential somewhere down the line.

The other result we have from this show was that Jason Canoy (18-4-2, 12) took an 8 round decision over Filipino journeyman Ronerex Dalut (8-14-2, 2). Canoy is a man who we expect will compete on the regional title level though is unlikely to ever move beyond that.


(Photo, courtesy of boxrec.com, shows Daryl Basadre)