There wasn't much action this past Wednesday despite there being 3 Japanese shows.

Osaka, Japan
For fans in Osaka they were treat to two shows in the same venue, the Sangyo Shingo Center. The first of those cards was a low profile affair though did feature a notable fighter in the main event.

The notable fighter was former WBC Light Flyweight title challenger Atsushi Kakutani (16-4-1, 9) who made light work of Indonesian visitor Hengky Baransano (11-6, 4) who was stopped in the 2nd round of the bout. Kakutani, who is best known for dropping Adrian Hernandez, has won his last 3 by stoppage and is now looking for a more notable bout, possible for an OPBF title.

In the chief support bout fans saw Filipino fighter Ronelle Ferreras (14-8-3, 6) return to Japan and get widely out pointed over 8 rounds by Ryuya Yamanaka (9-2, 2).. This was Ferreras's first bout in Japan since he was beaten by Kosei Tanaka in March 2014 and unfortunately th e Filipino is now 1-3-1 in his last 5. For Yamanaka however this is the best win of his career so far and he is now 2-0 since being beaten by the upset minded Roque Lauro last August.

A third 8 rounder saw Yuichi Arai (10-8-1, 3) score a 7th round TKO against the limited Takashi Nishimura (8-14-1, 1), who suffered his 9th stoppage defeat. This was a 4th straight loss for Nishimura who has won just 1 of his last 11 bouts! On paper Arai appears to be on a career resurgence with 4 straight wins.

In the sole 6 rounder Ryota Shimizu (4-5-2, 1) took a competitive decision over Takaaki Kitagawa (5-4, 2) in a minor upset.

Both of the scheduled 4 rounders finished earlier. One of these saw Yuki Iriguchi (2-0, 1) score his first stoppage courtesy of a 2nd round TKO against debutant Rakimu Ichikawa (0-1) whilst the other saw Shu Takeuchi (1-0, 1) take a 3rd round TKO in an all debutant bout against Satoru Hyodo (0-1).

Osaka, Japan
The second Osaka show came in the same venue as the previous card and featured a former world champion and a current world champion. Sadly for Japanese fans neither of the local fighters managed to over-come their visiting opponents.

The main event was one sided as Anabel Ortiz (17-3, 3) easily retained her WBA female Minimumweight title with a wide decision victory against previously unbeaten Japanese fighter Nana Yoshikawa (4-1, 2). Yoshikawa, challenging in her first world title bout, was out fought from essentially the first round and was a wide loser on the cards with the only thing going in her favour being a point deduction from Ortiz in round 9 for low blows.

The chief support bout saw former WBC Flyweight champion Sonny Boy Jaro (40-1-5, 28) take a majority decision over Shota Kawaguchi (18-6-1, 8) in a very competitive 8 round bout. This win for Jaro sees him scoring his first win in Japan after a trio of successive defeats in the country whilst Kawaguchi has now lost 2 of his last 3 bouts.

The most competitive bout on this card ended in a draw as Takeshi Sone (5-3-3, 1) failed to over-come Il Che (7-8-5, 1) in a really close 6 rounder. The bout, scored a split draw, saw all 3 cards coming back close and there was little real complain about the result.

In the opening bout of the show Ryuji Hayasho (2-4) claimed a rare win as he easily defeated Michio Mizuno (1-3-1).

Kagoshima, Japan
Outside of Osaka the only action came from Kagoshima in a very low profile and low quality card with no one of real note on the show. Despite the “low” quality it dd give us some competitive action,

The main event was a sole 6 rounder that saw Naoya Haruguchi (7-5, 2) take a clear decision over Takayuki Teraji (5-8-1, 3). This was Haruguchi's second straight win after being beaten in last year's Rookie of the Year whilst Teraji has gone 1-5 in his last 6.

The rest of the card was 4 rounders with 7 bouts scheduled for the short distance. Of the 7 contests only 3 went the schedule with all 3 of them being really competitive bouts. One saw Tsunehiko Aitoku (2-3-1) score a surprise win over Shinichi Nomoto (4-6-3, 2) with really close scorecards turned in by all 3 judges. Another of the competitive bout saw the unbeaten Genyu Nakano (0-0-2) score his second career draw as he was held to split decision draw by Ryusuke Ushihara (0-0-1). A second draw saw Kana Fukuda (3-1-1, 1) fight to a split draw with Yuki Henzan (1-4-2, 1) in the shows only female bout.

On paper a well matched bout doesn't always end up being the most competitive and that was seen when Koichi Uryu (4-2-1, 3) blew away Daichi Ono (3-2, 2) at the very end of the opening round, with an official time of 3:08. A even shorter bout saw Mitsuyoshi Fujita (4-2, 2) defeat Ryo Ota (2-1, 1) in just 55 seconds.

Another even looking bout saw Kensuke Minato (2-0, 1) defeat Tsuyoshi Matsuda (1-1) in the middle of round 3 whilst the remaining bout saw the debuting Takashi Matsugano (1-0, 1) score a 2nd round TKO against the win-less Ryuta Kozasa (0-4).

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

Thailand
This past Tuesday saw Thai fans having some action on Channel 3. The fights were big but they did feature some notable fighters in action.

The most notable man in action was former WBC Super Flyweight champion Suriyan Sor Rungvisai (41-6-1, 10) as he stopped fellow Thai Yodpichai Sithsaithong (10-13, 4) in a stay busy fight. Suriyan, who is waiting for a bigger bout to be arranged later in the year, did as he pleased with Yodpichai before moving through the gears and finally finished off Yodpichai in round 5 with a spiteful left hook to the head.

WBC #1 ranked Flyweight Nawaphon Por Chokchai (27-0, 20) easily retained his WBC Asian Boxing Council Flyweight title as he stopped the horribly over-matched Dion Arema (3-4, 2) in the 5th round. Prior to the finish Arema had been battered from pillar to post by Nawaphon who continues his chase of a world title fight with Roman Gonzalez.

Another bout on this card saw the unbeaten Jirapan Nakornluang (4-0, 3) defeat an unknown opponent, who's name we hope to get soon. The opponent gave a good effort in the opening round but Jirapan took advantage of his defensive flaws in round 3 dropping him twice with right hands. The gutsy foe tried to get back to his feet but was counted out on his way up.

As well as the 3 bouts mentioned this card also featured another couple of bouts. Sadly however we've not got the names of those involved in those bouts.

This past Sunday wasn't a great day in Asian boxing but there was two, small, Japanese cards.

Gifu, Japan
For us the most notable of the two cards came from Gifu where we saw a talented and promising prospect in action in a show that featured a pretty weak card over-all.

The prospect of note was Genki Hanai (4-0, 3) who stopped Indonesian visitor Bonis Purba (3-4-1, 3) in the 4th round of a less than memorable bout. Purba was the third choice opponent for Hanai, who had seen both Boy Tanto and Demsi Manufoe pull out, and it showed with the Indonesian having nothing to trouble Hanai. Sadly for the Japanese fighter this was a major step back after scoring a decision win last time our against Crison Omayao.

In a more competitive match up fans saw Shota Suito (10-4-1, 1) take a well earned 8 round decision over Shohei Fujimoto (9-5-3, 8). This was well matched on paper and credit needs to be given to Suito fore over-coming a much harder puncher than himself.

Another under-card bout saw Shota Okuda (6-2, 2) completely dominate Masami Moriizumi (5-6-1, 4). Although the contest went the scheduled 6 it was as one-sided as you could expect with Okuda winning by 8 points, twice, and 7 points.

Nara, Japan
Although we had more interest in the Gifu show there was, on paper, a better show in Nara which had a more notable main event and a genuine upset in the chief support contest.

The main event saw ranked contender Satoru Sugita (10-2-1, 6) take a razor thin win over Yoshiyuki Takabayashi (8-6, 3). This bout was supposed to be a mismatch but Sugita really struggled and left us wondering whether his rankings, with both the OPBF and the JBC, were really accurate.

The co-feature ended up being really competitive though ending in an upset as Takuya Yamamoto (5-3, 2) narrowly over-came the previous unbeaten Fumiya Imafuji (4-1-2, 1) with a narrow 6 round decision win.

This card had 4 bouts on it's under-card. Of those only one ended early as the debuting Yu Sumiya (1-0, 1) blew away Takahiro Shinoda (1-2, 1) in the 2nd round of their bout. A one-sided bout saw Shosuke Jo (2-1) take a wide decision over Takaichi Tsujimoto (1-6, 1) whilst a slightly more competitive contest saw Yosuke Taniguchi (3-3) defeat Masahiko Jikan (2-4). The only really competitive under-card bout saw Retsu Kosaka (1-0) take a narrow split decision over Toshiki Shimatani (0-2).

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

This past Saturday was an incredibly busy day, especially for Filipino fans, who had bouts involving their fighters through out the day.

Cebu, Philippines
Fans in the Philippines had a good day with a trio of shows, 2 of which were in Cebu.

For us the more interesting of the two was at the Mandaue city Grand Fiesta Carnival as we got several interesting prospects, a major upset, and a few notable “journeymen”.

The big upset came in the only title bout on the show as the highly experienced Edgar Gabejan (27-31-6, 9) scored a shock 8th round KO against Marbon Bodiongan (11-3-2, 9) to successfully defended the Philippines Games & Amusement Board (GAB) Super Featherweight title. Although on paper this was a huge mismatch it now seems clear that Gabejan has one of the many “misleading” records that we find through out the Filipino boxing scene.

Another man with a misleading record on this show was Gerpaul Valero (19-16-3, 13) who made light work of Nicardo Calamba (6-20-3, 3) courtesy of a 2nd round KO. This was an expected win for Valero who has really turned his career around after having been 1-13-3 just 4 years ago. A third man who proved how “wrong” his record was was Rodel Wenceslao (9-11-1, 3) who stopped Takamori Akita (10-5-1, 8).

It wasn't all about the “misleading” records however and it was good to see the promising Neil John Tabanao (11-0, 7) continue his perfect start as he over-came the experienced Jason Egara (21-13, 10) with a 10 round decision win. Another unbeaten man in action was Ardie Boyose (15-0-1, 11) who blew away Joel Escol (8-18-3, 5) inside a round.

In a 6 rounder fans saw Rommick Magos (11-4, 7) see off Juma Diana (2-10, 2) in the 2nd round whilst a 4 rounder saw the debuting Morten Olson (1-0, 1) blow away Holly Quinones (0-4) in just 77 seconds.

Cebu, Philippines
There was another show in Cebu that was equally as interesting.

In the main event ended in a genuine upset as Rene Dacquel (14-4-1, 5) took a split decision over the previously unbeaten Melvin Gumban (19-1, 10) and claimed the GAB Super Flyweight title. Gumban was defending the belt for the first time following his opening round blow out of Wiljan Ugbaniel in January though was unable to over-come the more battled hardened Dacquel. Despite the loss we do see Gumban coming back and he still has a bright future ahead of him.

In the chief support bout was saw Jason Canoy (23-5-2, 17) blow away Juren Labordo (14-3, 9) in the 2nd round. Labordo was unable to take Canoy's power and was down 3 times in the round.

In a 6 rounder Cris Ganoza (5-0, 1) claimed his first stoppage win as he over-came Rafael Sueno (3-3, 3) with a 4th round TKO. Another unbeaten man extending his winning run was Virgel Vitor (4-0, 2), who stopped Kenneth Neron (1-2-1) in the 3rd round.

Lower down this card we did see a couple of upsets. The most notable of those saw Andrew Palas (4-3, 1) take a decision win over the previously unbeaten Jeffrey Concerman (3-1, 1) whilst another saw Raul Yu (6-1, 5) defeat Gerard Suico (4-1, 3).

Metro Manila, Philippines
The third of the Filipino shows came from Mero Manila and seemed to see all the bouts going the “expected” way.

In the main event fans saw former world title challenger Michael Farenas (40-5-3, 32) make light work of Thai foe Chaiyong Sithsaithong (36-14-4, 26) with a 2nd round stoppage. Chaiyong was dropped twice in the round with the referee saving the over-matched Thai, who suffered only his second stoppage loss.

In the chief support bout fans saw the unbeaten Rommel Oliveros (4-0-1, 1) take a competitive decision win over journeymen Ricky Oyan (4-24-2, 2) in what turned out to be a good test for the novice, despite looking like a mismatch on paper.

Sadly the 6 rounders weren't particularly competitive. One of those saw Ryan Sermona (17-7, 10) force a stoppage of Gilbert Donasales (5-9-1, 3) whilst another saw experienced traveler Cris Alfante (11-4, 3) score a 2nd round TKO against Rolando Niones (4-17-2, 2).

In the 4 rounders we saw a bit of everything. One of those was a blow out as Mike Mirafuentes (3-1-1, 3) took care of Arben Escayo (0-4) in just 61 seconds. A more competitive saw the debuting Argie Guiriba (1-0) defeat fellow debutant Jovil Helario (0-1), with Helario being dropped in the opening round. The most competitive of the 4 rounders however saw Glen Medura (1-1-1, 1) trade knockdowns with Manny Mamacquiao (0-6-1) with Medura taking the split decision.

Haikou, China
In China fans saw the talented Froilan Saludar (22-1-1, 14) move a step towards a world title fight as he claimed the WBO Inter-Continental Flyweight title with a 5th round TKO against Indonesian journeyman Faris Nenggo (10-8-3, 3). Coming into this bout Nenggo was flying high from a shock TKO win over former world champion Merlito Sabillo though he couldn't over-come Saludar who is now 3-0 following his defeat to McWilliams Arroyo last June.

Distrito Federal, Mexico
Things weren't as good for Filipino fans who stayed up to watch Jeffrey Arienza (12-4-1, 7), who was stopped in 6 rounds by former world title challenger Dante Jardon (26-5, 21). This bout, for the WBC International silver Lightweight title, saw the Filipino suffering his second successive defeat, following a loss last November to Japanese novice Daishi Nagata. Although Arienza was more than competitive early on he ran out of steam before being stopped.

Queensland, Australia
In Australia we did see a slight shock as Aussie based Thai Arnon Yuchareon (0-8-1) managed to score a draw with Ben Kite (1-2-1). It was the first time Arnon had managed to avoid a defeat and it was a well earned draw for the still-win-less Thai ho continues to prove that his record is misleading, despite the fact he's nothing “special” as a fighter.

This past Friday was a hectic day from start to finish for Asian fans who got fights from all over Asia as well as a number of fighters in action outside of Asia.

Beiing, China
The most notable action of the day came from the Chinese capital where fans got an “interim” world title bout as well as several lower level bouts. Whilst we won't pretend the show was the greatest it certainly featured some excitement and plenty of knockdowns.

We'll start with the main event which saw exciting Filipino Randy Petalcorin (23-1-1, 18) successfully defend his WBA “interim” Light Flyweight title with an opening round destruction of Chinese challenger Ma Yi Ming (12-6, 7). Petalcorin looked sharp from the off and scored a trio of knockdowns forcing the referee to halt the bout after less than 2 minutes. Considering how good Petalcorin looked here we can't help but think it's time he stepped up and started facing fellow world level fighters rather than over matched foes like Ming.

The co-feature bout on the BTV Sports telecast saw Chinese Light Heavyweight Qu Peng (7-1-1, 5) make light work of Australian visitor Dane Campbell (3-3, 2) with an opening round TKO. Campbell had been down twice before a follow up assault forced the referee to halt the contest. With this win Peng claimed the “illustrious” WBO China National Light Heavyweight title, which was paraded around the ring prior to the bout.

The opening bout on the telecast was another bout in the heavier divisions as Zulpikar Maimaitiali (1-0, 1) scored a 5th round TKO against Thai visitor Yodkhunsuk Poowana (4-3-1, 2). The Thai had been down in the opening round before being stopped by the referee, incidentally a referee from Thailand. Another China Vs Thailand bout took place off camera as Xia Shunkai (3-0, 2) took his first decision win as he over-came Kajornsak Sithsaithong (7-5, 7).

The rest of the bouts here were all Chinese affairs. One of those saw Adili Abulimiti (1-1-1) take a 6 round decision win over debutant Huang Ju Xiang (0-1), another saw Xu Que (2-1-1, 2) take a 3rd round TKO win over Peng Ding Gui (0-1) whilst the unbeaten Yelieqiati (2-0) took a 4 round shut out against Liu Peng Fei (0-1).

Beijing, China
As well as the big show in Beijing there was another show, in the same venue in fact. This one featured mostly novices in action with 9 fights in total.

The main event for this card saw the debuting Chen Sen (1-0) take a majority decision over Ji Tao (7-5, 2) in the only 6 round bout of the card. Tao was the most experienced fighter on the card, by far.

From the 8 under-card 4 went the distance and 4 finished early. One of those that failed to go the distance saw Su Cheng (2-0, 1) claim a 2nd round TKO against Lin Jing Huang (0-1), another 2nd round TKO saw Alimu Wushouer (1-0, 1) over-come Yan Xiao Long (0-1). A 3rd TKO saw Dilixiati (1-0, 1) stop Lin Bing He (0-1) whilst a bout that ended in round 4 saw Tan Zheng (1-1, 1) over-come Ye Bao Fei (0-1)

In terms of bouts that went the distance a couple of those were clear and a couple were very close. One of those clear bouts saw Niu Zhong Jie (1-0) over-come Yu Chang Tian (0-1) whilst the other was a win for Cai Jun Cheng (1-0) who defeated Zhang Yi Feng (0-2). In the closer bouts fans saw Zhang Qi Xiu (1-0) take a majority decision over Halimubieke (1-2) and Wang Yin Gang (3-0, 1) take a victory over Su Shi Long (0-1).

Bangkok, Thailand
There was also some televised action from Thailand where fans had the chance to see several notable names in action.

One of those notable names was former world title challenger Panomroonglek Kaiyanghadaogym (45-2, 27) who took on the visiting Alwi Alhabsyi (13-22-3, 3) in what looked like a complete mismatch on paper. Whilst Panomroonglek got the much expected win, a stoppage in the 5th round, we were impressed but the gutsy effort of Alhabsyi who gave a lot more of an effort than many fighters in his position. Unfortunately for him he was down twice with the final one coming at the end of round 5. (Note at the time of writing boxrec.com list this as a 3rd round KO, the footage however proves that it was round 5).

Another notable name was Noknoi Sitthiprasert (54-4, 31)* who scored his 53rd straight win as he stopped the debuting Tonpetch Sithchansing (0-1) in round 3. This was as much of a mismatch as the records would suggest and it leaves us wondering just how many poor opponents they can find Noknoi to pad his record.

Yet another notable name in action here was former WBA “interim” Flyweight champion Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep (35-3, 21)* who managed to defeat the massively over-matched Jopher Marayan (7-6-2, 3) of the Philippines. Marayan came to fight but was busted up and bloodied by the time the referee stopped the bout in round 4. Prior to the stoppage Marayan was dropped and looked looked wobbly with his effort clearly taking it's toll on him. Despite the loss for Marayan we would like to see more of him as he's a fighter who comes to win. With this win Yodmongkol claimed the WBA Asia Flyweight title.

A final notable name here was Ratchasak KKP (27-3-1, 13) who took a stoppage win over Chaosamut Sithchansing (0-1). Chaosamut came to fight and did show some nice touches in a bout that became a slugfest. Unfortunately for the novice he was broken down despite a brave effort. As with many of the other losers on this card we genuinely want to see more of Chaosamut who impressed us more than Ratchasak did,

Metro Manila, Philippines
In the Philippines fans saw a show with a few interesting bouts.

The most notable of those saw the heavy handed Warlito Parrenas (24-6, 21) make light work of Thai visitor Kaichon Sor Vorapin (25-14, 9). Parrenas, ranked #1 by the WBO at Super Flyweight, disposed of Kaichon in the 3rd of a scheduled 10 rounds. This was the Thai's 5th straight stoppage loss and it seems clear he's no longer any sort of a threat.

Tokyo, Japanese
In Japan fans got an 8 fight show at the Korakuen Hall and although none of the bouts were huge there was a number of notable names and notable results.

The main event saw an upset as Tatsuya Otsubo (8-6-1, 3) took a close unanimous decision against ranked fighter Akihiko Katagiri (16-8-2, 7). This was Katagiri's first loss since he was stopped by Jhonny Gonzalez around 2 years ago however for Otsubo this was his 6th win and he has really turned his career around after a 2-6-1 start to his career.

In the co-feature Hikaru Nishida (12-7-2, 4) took an easy win over Thai visitor Kungsuk Sor Sompong (0-1). Nishida stopped the Thai in the 2nd round of a scheduled 8 rounder. This was Nishida's second win since losing a competitive decision to Akio Shibata last July in an OPBF/Japanese title fight.

A third scheduled 8 rounder saw Kimika Miyoshi (10-8-1, 5), a former female OPBF title holder, take out Muyalek Sithsaithong (3-1, 1) after just 1 minute of their bout.

Another notable name here was IBF Asia Featherweight champion Takuya Watanabe (25-5-1, 12) who blew out Sornnarai Sor Bangkhru (0-1) in 117 seconds of a scheduled 6 rounder. We're not hoping to see Watanabe in a more notable bout as he is genuinely an interesting fighter. Another 6 rounder saw Yamato Nakagawa (5-5, 3) make light work of the limited Ryota Koizumi (6-11-1, 4).

On the under-card we saw qualified accountant Kohei Kashino (2-0, 1) take a decision win over Akihrio Hikicho (3-5-3). Kashino's stablemate Riyako Goshi (3-3) wasn't as lucky however as she saw her 3-fight winning run come to an end in a wide decision loss to Yumiko Shimooka (2-1, 1). The reamining under-card bout ended in a draw as Shinjiro Kawada (2-1-1, 2) failed to see off Ryo Nakanko (1-2-2).

Accra, Ghana
In Africa things didn't end too well for the hard hitting but fragile Joebert Delos Reyes (13-5-1, 10) who was stopped in the 4th round by Emmanuel Tagoe (23-1, 10). This bout, for the WBA International Lightweight title, was ended on the 3-knockdown rule with Reyes being bounced on and off the canvas in round 4.

Eastern Cape, South Africa
Sadly things were frustrating for for Randy Braga (15-1-1, 3) who lost his unbeaten record in controversial circumstances. The Filipino, who travelled to South Africa to take on the heavy handed Macbute Sinyabi (25-4, 19), came incredibly close to claiming the IBO Inter-continental Featherweight title but was unfortunate on two of the cards as he lost a very close split decision to the home fighter.



(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)
(*Boxrec records are missing recent bouts for both Yodmongkol and Noknoi)

Tarlac, Philippines
This past Thursday wasn't a busy day in the world of Asian boxing however Filipino fans in Tarlac did get some interesting action with some very competitive bouts on a show that looked interesting but relatively uninspiring.

The main event was a 10 round bout fought just above the Featherweight limit and saw the once touted Nino Magboo (18-2-2, 9) being held to a very surprising draw by the limited Cristian Aliba (12-16-4, 4). The cards here were a bit all over the place with a 97-94 card each way as well as a 95-95 card. Sadly for Magboo the draw ends a 6 fight winning streak however Aliba will be happy at having ended a 2 fight losing rung.

We also had a draw in the chief support bout as Vincest Bautista (2-2-3) fought to an 8 round majority draw with JR Florendo (3-2-2). This bout was scored 76-76 on two of the cards whilst the dissenting judge had it 77-75 to Baustista.

Amazingly there was another draw here as Tacy Macalos Jr (1-0-1, 1) was held by the win-less Jun Jun Rimasog Jr (0-2-1) in a 4 rounder. This bout was another majority draw though surprisingly the dissenting judge favoured the work of Rimamsog Jr rather than Macalos, whose father is a former world champion.

A bout that did go to a decision and resulted in a winner saw Jerwin Dela Rosa (2-5) score a rare victory as he out pointed the debuting Jerry Calaw (0-1).

The remain bouts of this card both ended in the 4th round. These saw the previously win-less Jeffrey Garcia (1-3, 1) stop debutant Efren Puerto (0-1) after 57 seconds of the final round and Lluminado Besmanos (1-2, 1) take his first win with a stoppage over Raymond Dela Cruz (0-2) after 32 seconds of the 4th round.

This past Wednesday was a brilliant day for boxing fans in Japan with notable shows in both Osaka and Tokyo. The fights ranged from world level to prospect level, on both shows, yet they both featured some genuinely exciting fights that delivered what was promised.

Osaka, Japan
Of the two shows it was the one in Osaka that was the more high profile and interesting. The card featured everything from a debutant to world title bouts, and went through everything in between in what was a spectacular day of action in the Osaka Prefectural gymnasium.

We'll start with the main event which looked like a mouth watering bout when it was first rumoured and proved to be every big as good in the ring. That bout saw Japanese star Kazuto Ioka (17-1, 10) become a 3rd weight world champion at the third time of asking as he narrowly over-came Argentinian warrior Juan Carlos Reveco (35-2, 19) in a really close and competitive bout for the WBA Flyweight title. Reveco entered the bout seeking his 9th defense of the crown and at times looked like he was getting the better of things until Ioka made changes late to pull out a very close majority decision in a bout that was everything boxing fans should enjoy. The one, unfortunate, thing about the bout was the Argentinian TV channel screening the fight. They sadly appeared to be a bit “too” pro-Reveco leading many fans to the idea that the close bout was a robbery, when it really was too close to call.

The other world title bout was also marred in controversy as Katsunari Takayama (29-7-0-1, 11) retained his IBF Minimumweight title with a 9th round technical decision win over gutsy Thai Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr (27-4-1, 15). Sakkreerin had been less than impressive in his previous visit to Japan, losing a wide decision to the sensationally talented Takuma Inoue, and we expected a 1-sided bout here though in the end the bout ended up being compelling with Takayama being his usual all-action aggressive fighter. The aggression of Takayama regularly forced Sakkreerin against the ropes where he fought as a counter puncher in a fight that was brilliant to watch. Sadly the bout was marred by an ending that left everyone confused. Originally it looked like the title was going to change hands with Takayama being stopped due to facial damage only for the cards to be read with Takayama retaining the title with a close decision. The odd ending has lead to calls for a rematch and we'd certainly be in favour of seeing these two go at again.

As well as the pair of world title contests there was also a Japanese title fight as the unbeaten Sho Ishida (19-0, 10) was given his stiffest test so far. Ishida, defending the Japanese Super Flyweight title for the second time, only just kept a hold of his belt with a split decision win over Taiki Eto (14-4, 10). Ishida started well and appeared in control for the most part but stamina issues in the later rounds allowed Eto to come on strong in a bout that left us with questions about Ishida. We suspect it was a “bad night” for the unbeaten champion but he clearly has work to do before getting a world title fight.

One man who looked like he was ready for a title fight was former WBA Minimumweight champion Ryo Miyazaki (23-1-3, 14) who made light work of the over-matched Namphol Sithsaithong (7-10, 5) in what was a very clear tune up bout for the popular Japanese fighter. It now seems likely that Miyazaki will be looking for a fight with countryman Ryoichi Taguchi in the summer, if Taguchi is successful in his upcoming WBA Light Flyweight world title defense.

On the under-card there were several notable fighters. One of those was 2014 Super Flyweight Rookie of the Year Masayoshi Hashizume (8-0, 5) who made light work of Saenrachan Sor Theptanee (0-2) with a 3rd round KO. Hashizume has an exciting style and we're hoping to see him step up to facing Japanese ranked foes by the end of this year, though it's unlikely he'll be getting a title fight any time soon. Another Rookie of the Year winner on the under-card was Reiya Konishi (8-0, 4) who scored a very notable 8 round decision win over Kenta Shimizu (8-5-1, 4). This was by far the best win so far for the talented Konishi who looks like a title contender in the making.

A third unbeaten prospect on the under-card was female hopeful Kei Takenaka (9-0, 3) who took a clear 6 round decision win over Thai visitor Kanittha Saknarong (0-3). We're now expecting to see Takenaka move towards a more notable fight though the former OPBF female Light Flyweight title holder really does need a better test before she steps up to world level.

In the 4 rounders on the card fans saw two clear decisions. One of those saw Hayate Ikuta (1-0) make a successful debut as he took a clear win over Seita Shimamiya (1-4) whilst the other saw Noriyuki Imamura (3-3) level off his record with a win over Genki Inoue (1-5-1, 1).

Tokyo, Japan
In Tokyo fans had a show at the popular Korakuen Hall and although this was massively over-shadowed by the Osaka show it was incredibly entertaining and significant in it's own right.

The main event here was an exciting split decision win for Ricky Sismundo (28-8-1, 12) who over-came former Japanese Lightweight champion Akihiro Kondo (21-6-1, 10). Although Kondo often brought the action he was regularly countered by his foe, a Japanese based Filipino, who was a very worthy winner. Amazingly this was Kondo's 5th bout in 9 months, sadly however it was his 3rd loss in that period whilst Sismundo has now won back-to-back fights follow a loss to Masayoshi Nakatani in an OPBF title bout last year.

Sismundo's win wasn't the only success for Filipino fighters on this card as Giovanni Escaner (13-3, 9) scored a slight upset win over touted Japanese prospect Naoto Uebayashi (7-1-1, 4). Uebayashi was stopped in the 8th round of the bout by the talented Escaner who has now scored back-to-back wins in Japan and appeared to be quickly developing into an exciting and strong fighter who will be a handful for a lot of fighters.

Things weren't so bad for Uebyashi's stablemate Hikaru Marugame (4-0, 2) who took a career best victory over Wataru Miyasaka (9-3-1, 2). Marugame was the clear winner but was pushed for the first time in his career and this 8 rounder will certainly have served his development well. Miyasaka may have come up short but certainly did his standing no harm and will likely be put in other good bouts in the near future.

On the undercard we ended up with some very competitive bouts. One of those saw Ken Otogawa (7-5, 5) score an upset against Yasuki Katagiri (4-2, 1) in a bout that was scored 58-56 to Otoggawa by all 3 judges. Another bout saw Tomoyuki Yokota (5-3, 2) upset the more experienced Akihiro Furukawa (12-6-1, 9) with a razor thin decision, scored 56-55 twice and 57-55.

A third 6 rounder saw Hisasi Owada (6-9-1, 1) score a relatively unexpected stoppage win as he finished off Hikaru Takaki (6-7, 5) at the end of round 4.

We saw another stoppage in the sole 4 rounder on this show as Shintaro Hirohama (2-3-1, 2) stopped Takahiro Yamanishi (1-4) in the 3rd round.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

Tokyo, Japan
The only Asian action this past Tuesday came from the Korakuen Hall where fans had an interesting domestic card that lacked big names but did feature some well matched up contests.

Possibly the best matched bout, on paper at least, was the main event which saw Shuji Hamada (13-6-4, 2) take a very close split decision win over the hard hitting but less rounded Yota Hori (12-4-2, 7). The bout was one that was full of action with round 8 being a spectacular highlight to the contest. For Hamada this was his first win since last August, and he is now 1-1-1 in his last 3 whilst Hori has now suffered back-to-back losses.

One man who avoided back to back losses was Koichi Aso (19-6-1, 12), who has gone back to fighting under his birth name after having previously fought as “Shamgar Koichi”. The exciting Aso was beaten last time out by Hiroki Okada but showed how good he was here as he forced a 7th round TKO of the over-matched Gabriel Royo (10-12-2, 8). The first few rounds were relatively competitive but from round 5 onwards this became very one sided with Royo being limited to some occasional success with counters.

A much more competitive bout saw Hideki Suzuki (6-4-2, 1) fight to a 6 round split decision draw with Shun Shimazaki (6-6-1, 1). The bout was close through out and and neither man did enough to clearly win the bout resulting in a very draw.

A less competitive 6 rounder saw the heavy handed Naoki Mochizuki (7-1, 5) take a wide decision over Kenichi Yoshioka (8-9, 2) in a bout that will have done a lot of good for Mochizuki's development. Coming into this one the Flyweight hopeful had never been beyond 4 rounds so a good 6 rounder like this will have helped him a lot more than another early blow, like the 70 second win he scored back in January.

(Image, of the Aso fight, courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

Firstly we need to apologise for getting these results late, the JBC have unfortunately not updated their results in the last few days leaving us all, ourselves and boxrec among others, in the dark. Hopefully they will manage to post the official results in the coming days

Osaka, Japan
The biggest show this past Sunday was at the Sumiyoshi Ward Center in Osaka. The card wasn't a long one but it was an intriguing one with several bouts of note on it including a Japanese title fight between two world ranked fighters and a bout between two former world title challengers each fighting for their career.

We'll begin with the title fight which saw Yuki Nonaka (27-8-3, 9) successfully retain his Japanese Light Middleweight title with a very competitively fought split decision draw against former champion Takayuki Hosokawa (26-10-4, 9). The bout was a nip and tuck affair through out with Nonaka having a close lead at the mid way point. The second half of the fight saw Hosokawa fighting back though not quite doing enough to reclaim a title he vacated last year after illness. Following he bout both spoke of a rematch and given the result it would make a lot of sense to have that later this year.

In one of the supporting bouts we saw former 2-time world title challenger Hirofumi Mukai (11-3-2, 1) manage to out point fellow former world title challenger Konosuke Tomiyama (24-8-1, 8). Mukai got his jab going from early in the bout and seemed to be the clear winner, despite a few competitive rounds. Sadly for Tomiyama this defeat was his 3rd in 4 bouts and it's hard to see where he goes from here. As for Mukai this was a good step forward but he's still a long way from being a title contender, even domestically.

A second supporting bout saw former OPBF and Japanese title challenger Valentine Hosokawa (19-4-3, 9) take a well earned decision victory over the heavy handed but limited Jumbo Oda Nobunaga Shoten Petagine (9-3, 7). This was Hosokawa's third win since being stopped by Min Wook Kim in an OPBF title bout back in August 2013, as for Petagine this was a second loss in 3 bouts.

In a 6 rounder fans saw Tom Yankun Tsukamoto (6-4-1, 2) score a rare stoppage over the fragile Yuta Matsuda (9-12-2, 4). This was Matsuda's 10 stoppage loss and he lasted less than 2 rounds here.

In a 4 rounder fans saw Masahiro Sakamoto (2-0, 1) score his first stoppage as he over-came Yoshihisa Inoue (2-4, 1) in the final minute of their scheduled 4 rounder.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

This past Saturday wasn't the busiest of weekends in terms of the Asian boxing scene but there was a number of fights of note, with a former world champion and a fast rising amateur both in action.

Thailand
In Thailand fans had a small card televised on channel 17.

The most notable fighter in action was former WBA Super Flyweight champion Tepparith Kokietgym (28-3, 17). Tepparith, fighting for the second time this year, made light work of Chinese boxer Wangxin (unknown record) in the 3rd round. The Chinese fighter had been game but was out classed by Tepparith who looked much better here than he did in his previous bout.

Another bout on this card saw female fighter Kanda Por Muangpetch (5-1), fighting as Kanda Kokietgym, take a scrappy win over an opponent we have failed to identify. The fight was certainly not one we're in a rush to see again with a lot of missed shots, falling in and holding. Very messy bout.

California, USA
In the US fans saw the second professional bout of the very promising Tugstsogt Nyambayar (2-0, 2) of Mongolia. The former amateur stand out made very light work of the over-matched, but very game, Manuel Rubalcava (2-13) who was stopped from a hard right hand up top after just 98 seconds. Rubalcava was hurt with a body shot and a follow up right sent him down with the referee waving the fight off after he'd gotten back up on unsteady legs. What makes this result rather impressive is that Rubalcava had never previously been stopped despite fighting numerous unbeaten prospects.

New York, USA
In New York there was another Mongolian in action, sadly however things didn't go too well for Bayan Jargal (17-7-3-1, 11) who moved another step towards becoming a journeyman following an 8 round majority decision loss to Anthony Karperis (10-2, 3). The bout was competitive at times but the right guy got the W on his record.

Tauranga, New Zealand
In New Zealand fans saw experienced Muay Thai fighter Kru Chain (0-1) begin his professional boxing career. Unfortunately it began with a 7th round KO loss to Anthony Taylor (10-1-1, 5). From what we understand Chain was down several times in 7 before being stopped. The Thai, who is known as an “elbow technician” in Muay Thai showed his toughness but at the end of the day came up short here.