Tokyo, Japan
This past Thursday was a quiet day in Asian boxing however there was plenty of notable “under-the-radar” action from the Korakuen Hall.

The pick of the bouts was a Light Middleweight contest that saw the promising Takeshi Inoue (4-0-1, 2) claim a split decision win over domestic rival Hisao Narita (9-3, 4) in a really competitive and well matched bout. Coming in both fighters were ranked by the JBC though this result will certainly help move Inoue towards a title fight whilst Narita will drop down the pecking order. Despite being a novice Inoue was tipped as a future contender from before his debut and that talent really is starting to bloom.

Another competitive bout saw Ryuto Araya (8-3-1, 1) take a majority decision win over the much more experienced Kazunori Takayama (21-9-4, 4). The bout was close throughout though the younger Araya managed to do enough to claim his biggest win to date.

Unfortunately the other two main bouts on this card both proved to be blow outs. One of those saw Super Featherweight hopeful Yuki Matsuda (10-2, 6) blow away Fahkiangkrai Sithsaithong (0-2), in just 135 seconds whilst the other saw an over-weight Akinori Watanabe (33-4, 28) smash Kittisak Sithsaithong (0-3) in 141 seconds. Watanabe missed the weight for the bout by a considerable amount but it's hard to say how much that contributed to what was a clear mismatch.

The under-card portion of this card consisted of 4 bouts, all scheduled for 4 rounds and surprisingly all of them went the distance.

The most competitive of those under-card bouts resulted in a draw between the still win-less pairing of Ryusuke Arai (0-4-2) and Kazuma Fukino (0-3-2), with the men fighting a majority decision. Another close bout came in all debutant contest as Kaname Yamamoto (1-0) defeated Kazushi Kuramoto (0-1) via a split decision. A much less competitive all debutant contest saw Takhiro Imai (1-0) out point Kota Matsumoto (0-1) with scores of 40-36 from all 3 judges. The remaining bout saw Tomoki Takada (2-1-1) out point Yusuke Matsuda (1-3) in a clear unanimous win.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

Loei, Thailand
There wasn't much action this past Wednesday with just a single show, coming from Thailand. Although it wasn't huge it did feature a WBA interim title fight, which was genuinely enjoyable to watch and showed off part of the new wave of Thai boxing.

That title fight saw teenage fighter Stamp Kiatniwat (14-0, 6) score a majority decision against Dominican slugger Gregorio Lebron (13-3, 11). We know that when we mention “majority decision” in Thailand that fans tend to think of controversy but Kiatniwat was a clear winner in the eyes of most as he out boxed a wild Lebron, dropping the Dominican twice on route to claiming the WBA interim Flyweight crown, sadly however a terrible card by Raul Caiz Jr will have left suspicion over what was a solid win for the 17 year old Kiatniwat. Lebron was down in the opening round and the 10th round as Kiatniwat showed some surprising power, though work does still need to be done for the youngster to even contemplate mixing with the best in the division.

In the only other televised fight from this show we saw Nop Kratingdaenggym (13-0, 2)* show a new found aggressive attitude as he stopped Indonesian journeyman Jemmy Gobel (18-27-5, 13) in 4 rounds. It seemed as is Gobel went out looking for the upset but was gradually ground down as Nop recorded his second stoppage win in 13 bouts. Although on paper this was a mismatch it was good to see Gobel come to fight and it really brought the best out of Nop.


*-Boxrec are lacking Nop's win over Skax Max

Tokyo, Japan
On Tuesday there was only one show, Dangan 135. The card wasn't a big one, nor was it a major one but it was a significant one for numerous novices were were fighting in bouts that could well help them move into some very major contests. Notable the show stood out due to the fact it had 13 bouts, all set for 4 rounds.

The show began with a win for the debuting Teruyoshi Shiratori (1-0, 1), who stopped Hayato Sakuma (0-2). Shiratori was one of 4 debutants to pick up wins. Another was Koji Igarashi (1-0), who took a split decision over fellow debutant Masayoshi Iyama (0-1), another split deciion winner was female fighter Erica Hanawa (1-0), who narrowly defeated Sayaka Aoki (1-3, 1). The other debutant to pick up a win was Masahiro Ishizawa (1-0), who took a majority decision over Wataru Takase (0-1)

The card wasn't just packed with debutants. It did have other novices in action. One of those was Takeshi Kaneko (2-0) who claimed a very close split decision win over Gen Kawasaki (2-3, 2). There was only two other decisions on this card. One of those was a technical decision win for Taiga Higashi (3-1, 1) who managed to beat Norichika Kozu (1-1, 1), whilst the other saw Wataru Takeda (5-0-1, 1) take a thorough decision against Koji Ida (4-1)

The remaining 6 bouts on this card all ended earlier. The shortest of those lasted just 62 seconds as Genki Ishikawa (5-0, 3) swiftly saw off Kosuke Arioka (3-2, 3). It didn't take much longer for Fumiaki Kishi (4-0-1, 2) to see off Yuta Onishi (3-4, 3), in a bout that lasted just 66 seconds. Another quick victor was Ryusei Ishii (4-1, 3) who managed to take a 2nd round TKO win against Masayoshi Yamasaki (2-2-1, 1). Another 2nd round TKO win saw Sosuke Sakata (4-2-1, 2) over-come Keisuke Kanazawa (2-6, 1), with Kanazawa retiring after the second rounds.

The only 3rd round stoppage saw Renji Ichimura (3-2, 3) defeat Wataru Yokoyama (3-4, 3) whilst a sole 4th round TKO saw Tsubasa Koura (3-0, 3) extend his perfect record as he beat Naoki Moroka (3-3, 2)

This past Monday so some relatively interesting action in both Japan and Thailand.

Tokyo, Japan
The most notable show was in Tokyo, at the Korakuen Hall. The show wasn't a huge one but it was a genuinely intriguing one with several notable fights on it.

The most notable of those saw former Japanese Lightweight champion Akihiro Kondo (22-6-1, 11) score a 4th round TKO win over the world ranked, by the IBF at least, Patomsuk Pathompothong (31-4-1, 19). On paper this looked like a great bout but Kondo took control of the bout late in the opening round and Patomsuk never found his way back into it before a cut forced the referee to stop the action. Sadly for Patomsuk this was his second notable stoppage loss in his last 3 fights having also come up short against Ik Yang.

In the chief support bout the really promising Hikaru Marugame (5-0, 3) made very light work of Thailand's Non Sithsaithong (12-9, 8), who was stopped in 2 rounds. We do like Marugame, a lot, and now hope he'll make a move towards a title fight of some kind as we don't expect he'll be really pushed until he steps up a level to close to the top of the domestic level.

A third notable Japanese fighter on this card was former Japanese Super Bantamweight title challenger Takafumi Nakajima (23-8-1, 10) who made light work of Singpalanchai Chaiyonggym (0-1), who was also stopped in the 2nd round. Whilst we're unsure if it was mentioned a bout between Nakajima and Marugame would be a very interesting test for the youngster.

The 3 bouts above were all scheduled for 8 rounds, the chief supporting bouts to that trio were 6 rounders. On paper the best matched of the 6 rounders was a Featherweight bout that saw Yudai Tamagawa (7-6-1, 2) out point Yamato Nakagawa (5-6, 3). The other saw a minor upset as Takaki Sakurai (6-5-1, 2) scored a 5th round TKO win against Masaharu Hanaka (4-3-1, 2), who has now been stopped 3 times in 8 bouts.

The opening action here was a pair of 4 rounders. One of those saw Ryo Iwadate (2-1, 1) score an opening round victory over the win-less Jun Funatsu (0-2) whilst the other saw Asahi Imai (1-0) claim a debut win over fellow newbie Yuki Isobe (0-1)

Bangkok, Thailand
In the main event PABA Super Flyweight title holder Chatpetch Sithmorseng (11-3-2, 6) successfully defended his title against Filipino foe Bimbo Nacionales (12-10-1, 2). The limited Nacionales was dropped 3 times with the final knock-down ending the bout. Sadly for Nacionales this loss is his 7th in Thailand though we suspect he'll be brought back to the country to pad someone else's record.

Another bout on this card saw the promising Ronnakit PKT College (2-0, 1) take a decision win over Filipino veteran Cristian Abila (13-17-4, 4). On paper this was a great test for Ronnakit who does appear to have plenty of genuine talent and we're really looking forward to seeing him develop.

Bangkok, Thailand
Another bout in Thailand saw Kalae McShane (5-0, 3) make very light work of the horribly over-matched Payak Twins Gym (1-2), who was stopped inside a round.


(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

Aichi, Japan
This past Sunday featured just one Asian show with it taking place at the Aioi Hall. The show wasn't a huge one, with just 9 bouts, though one of those bouts was a WBC “Youth” title bout whilst others saw some promising regional talent in action.

We'll start with that title bout which saw local fighter Ryosuke Maruki (10-3-1, 7) retain the WBC Youth Light Middleweight title with a surprisingly competitive 10 round decision win over Indonesian visitor John Ruba (3-2. 1). The bout was Maruki's first defense of the title he won earlier this year, when he stopped Petchsuriya Singwancha, and despite the win here he was less than impressive. Strangely coming into this bout there had been claims from a British fighter, Jimmy Kilrain Kelly, we did request clarification from the WBC but little was forth coming and so it seems like they currently have 2 Youth champions at 154lbs.

The bout only featured a single 10 rounder, but there was also a couple of 8 rounders. One of those saw Shinichi Tsukahara (10-7-3, 5) score a 4th round KO against Hajime Kawase (5-9-2), who suffered the 3rd stoppage loss of his career. The other was much more competitive with Shota Okuda (7-2, 2) taking a very narrow split decision win over Kazuki Fukakura (8-9-2, 3).

This card featured a trio of 6 rounders. One of those saw the once beaten Jun Takigawa (7-1, 4) take a 6 round decision win over Kenta Matsui (6-4, 1) as the 24 year old Takigawa continues his climb through the ranks. Another saw Takuya Yamamoto (6-3, 3) score a 5th round TKO win over teenager Takashi Igarashi (6-2, 1) in a minor upset. An expected result on this show saw 20 year old Tetsuya Morisada (6-3, 6) score a 5th round TKO win over Takayuki Morimoto (5-11, 3), who has now suffered 8 stoppage losses.

The bottom of this card featured a trio of 4 round bouts. The most competitive of those ended in a split draw between Jinya Ito (2-0-1) and Katsuya Murakami (0-0-1). Another competitive match up saw Shin Tomita (2-2-2) narrowly over-come Kiyoshi Nakamura (2-2, 1). The other 4 rounder saw the wonderfully named Bulldozer Takumi Oshima (2-1, 1) score a 4th round TKO over the win-less Takashi Miyaki (0-4).

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

This past Saturday wasn't a hugely busy day but did feature enough notable action.

Nevada, USA
In the sole “world” title fight of note, involving an Asian at least, we saw Kazakh fighter Beibut Shumenov (16-2, 10) claim the WBA “interim” Cruiserweight title. The former Light Heavyweight champion looked scored at times against BJ Flores (31-2-1, 20) but was too quick and too skilled for the American, especially in the later rounds. After the fight Flores came across as an incredibly sore loser though it's fair to say that neither man really showed themselves ad a “world class” Cruiserweight here.

California, USA
In California fans saw the hugely popular Filipino-America Brian Viloria (36-4-0-2, 21) make very light work of veteran Omar Soto (23-12-2, 15). Soto was downed 3 times in a little over 2 minutes as Viloria moved a step towards a major bout, possibly with Roman Gonzalez.

we have seen people really criticising this Viloria/Soto bout though it should be noted that Soto had pushed Viloria hard in their first meeting, albeit 5 years ago, and this rematch seems to have been a case of Viloria making a statement regarding their first meeting.

Bangkok, Thailand
The only Asian show of the day was in Thailand and featured 4 relatively one sided match ups.

The main event of the show saw Japan's Cobra Suwa (16-11-2, 8) claim the WBC Asian Boxing Council Silver Super Welterweight title as he scored a 2nd round KO against Indonesian fighter Elly Pangaribuan (4-6-2, 1). This was the 5th stoppage loss for Pangaribuan who probably needs to think about reconsidering his career whilst Suwa may well find himself moving towards a Japanese title fight.

Another Japanese fighter picking up a win on this card was Sho Kimura (7-1-2, 1) who scored his first stoppage win as he over-come Saichon Or Ounsuwon (0-24). As with Suwa this was a 2nd round stoppage.

In an all Thai bout Saenganan Sithsaithong (12-0, 6) took a 6 round decision against the limited Thaminkhao Sor Tharnthip (4-1-1, 3) whilst Jaipetch Chaiyonggym (5-3, 1) took a decision victory over Chatchai Or Benjamas (1-6, 1).

New South Wales, Australia
In New South Wales we saw a number of Asian fighters in action. Sadly for Thai fighters they went 0-4 for the day.

The most notable bout saw Aussie based Filipino Joebert Delos Reyes (15-5-1, 10) take a 6th round technical decision win over Apichat Koedchatturat (0-1). Another Thai who lost a decision was Pramool Boonpok (1-17-1), who was out pointed by Tommy Browne (28-7-1, 11).

The other Thai's were both stopped. One of those was Tom Ford (7-5-2 7), who was beaten in 5 rounds by David Browne Jnr (22-1-1, 8) whilst the other was the experienced Denkamon Pakdee Gym (22-6, 13), who was stopped by Kyron Dryden (7-1, 5).

Queensland, Australia
In Queensland the win-less Arnon Yuchareon (0-10-1) continues his unfortunate run as he was clearly beaten by Ben Kite (3-2-1, 1).

This past Friday wasn't an incredibly day but was a day with some notable fighters and some very young talent.

Bangkok, Thailand
The most notable action of the day came from Thailand where there was a number of contests, including, for us, the bout of the day.

That stand out bout was a WBC Youth Flyweight title contest that saw Daigo Higa (7-0, 7) score a sensational 7th round KO against the previously unbeaten Kongfah CP Freshmart (14-1, 8). The aggressive Japanese visitor set an hellacious pace from the opening round and although Kongfah showed his resiliency and toughness he was eventually ground down by Higa, who looks like a star in the making.

Another bout on this card saw world ranked Bantamweight contender Petch Sor Chitpattana (32-0, 21) score a stoppage in 4 rounds over a very poor opponent. The unbeaten hopeful never broke sweat en route to his victory.

Thailand
On a second Thai show, at a much lower level, fans saw a couple of noteworthy bouts.

The main event saw former WBA Super Flyweight champion Tepparith Kokietgym (30-3, 19) make very light work of Indonesian veteran Ricky Manufoe (23-23-2, 10), in what a really pointless rematch for the two men. Tepparith, who stopped Manufoe in 2 rounds in 2013, scarcely broke sweat as he took out the Indonesian in 2 to claim the WBA Asia Bantamweight crown. Manufoe went down from a left to the body and although the shot didn't look too nasty it left him in agony for the count.

The other bout saw the unbeaten Petchchorhae Kokietgym (13-0, 8) continue his unbeaten start as he over-came limited Indonesian fighter Madit Sada (9-22-1, 3) in what was the second meeting between the two men. The two fought in May last year with Petchorhae taking 4 rounds to stop Sada, this time around he needed just 3 rounds to see off Sada, who was unable to keep the Thai away. The finish was an eye catching one but one that looked very much like Sada was happy to see the end of the bout.

London, UK
In the UK we unfortunately saw Filipino Dennis Tubieron (19-5-2, 8) suffering an opening round stoppage defeat to Super Featherweight prospect Mitchell Smith (13-0, 7), who seemed to break Tubieron in half with just a single right hand to the body.

This past Monday was a busy day in Asian boxing with notable fights taking place in both Japan and Korea.

Osaka, Japan
The most of two Japanese shows came from Osaka as Osaka Teiken put on a very notable 9 fight card that showcased prospects and domestic contenders as well as novices.

The most promising fighter in action was Japanese youngster Sho Nakazawa (7-0, 4), who scored his biggest win to date as he out pointed former world title challenger Silvester Lopez (24-10-2, 18) over 10 rounds. The Japanese 22 year old was dropped early in the fight but then found his groove and took a comfortable decision win over Lopez. Following this win Nakazawa seemed to suggest that he was eyeing up a Japanese title fight with Yukinori Oguni.

Another of the main bouts saw tough Flyweight contender Myung Ho Lee (19-4-1, 6) take a clear decision win over Akiyoshi Kanazawa (12-4-4, 6), as Lee continued his hunt for a title fight of his own.

Talking about title fights it's now clear that Kenichi Horikawa (29-13-1, 6) will be fighting Shin Ono for the Japanese Light Flyweight title later in the year. Horikawa booked his place in that fight by scoring an 8th round TKO win here against Il Che (7-9-5, 1), who was stopped for just the second time in his career.

Although a number of bouts were notable in and around the title level there was one, major bout, that wasn't even close to being relevant at the top of the domestic level. That bout saw Juiki Tatsuyoshi (2-0, 2) continue his career with a 2nd round KO win against Naoki Okamura (1-4). Tatsuyoshi, the son of the charismatic Joichiro Tatsuyoshi, already appears to be a huge draw despite facing poor opposition and it's clear that his team are going to make the most of his surname.

In low level action we had a number of novices all facing off. The most notable of those bouts was a split decision win for Toshiki Kawanishi (3-4, 1), who over-came Yosuke Taniguchi (3-4). Another split decision saw Shintaro Ukezono (2-0) over-come the debuting Masayuki Kuroko (0-1). In competitive decision bouts Hayate Ikuta (2-0) out pointed the win-less Wolf Nakano (0-1-2) and Kazunori Harima (1-1-1) over-came Ryo Inagaki (1-1, 1).

There was also a blow out on this opening portion of the card as Ryuta Miyoshi (1-2, 1) stopped Kenji Okawa (0-2) in just 129 seconds.

Fukuoka, Japan
A second Japanese show took place in Fukuoka where fans got an 8 bout card.

In the main event of this show we got a mild surprise as Satoshi Ozawa (10-6-1, 2) claimed a split decision win against the much more experienced Yoshihiko Matsuo (18-6-6, 3). The co-feature also ended in a split decision as Koki Ono (8-3, 4) out pointed Aki Koto (8-3-1, 4), though the judge scoring in favour of Koto does seem to have gotten this one wrong.

Another very competitive match up here saw Yusuke Sekido (9-11-2) take a majority decision win over Takanori Hayashida (5-10-3) in a very well matched bout.

The remaining bouts here were all 4-rounders. These included a female bout that saw Maika Fukuzaki (1-1) claim her first win as she out pointed Arisa Iwanaga (0-2), a very competitive win for Tsunehiko Aitoku (3-3-1), who out pointed the previously unbeaten Yukinori Yamaguchi (4-1-1, 2) and a wonderfully competitive split decision draw between Kaito Akiyoshi (1-0-1) and Akito Terada (1-1-1).

The only one sided bouts among these 4 rounders, other than the female bout, was a clear decision win for Shuma Nakazato (3-0, 2) who impressed en route to out pointing Hiromichi Kurokawa (4-3-1, 1) and a 4th round TKO win for Fumiaki Sueyoshi (2-0, 2), who stopped Takafumi Uryu (0-2). Interestingly Nakazato is the son of former OPBF champion, Shigeru Nakazato, who was a multi-time world title challenger.

Ulsan, South Korea
The only show outside of Japan came from South Korea where fans had televised action under the KBF banner. The show featured a couple of televised international bouts and a number of others bouts, though only one of the bouts on the show has been included on the boxrec.com database.

The one bout that is on boxrec is an IBF Asia Super Bantamweight title fight that saw defending champion Ye Joon Kim (12-1-2, 6) retain his title with a 7th round retirement of Japan's Yoshihiro Utsumi (12-7-3, 7), who suffered his first stoppage loss. The talented Korean was in fine form to defend his belt for the first time though now needs to look towards making a mark on the world stage.

Another international bout on this show saw Sa Myung Noh (8-2-1, 1) take a narrow decision win over Filipino fighter Jaymart Toyco (15-8, 11) in a very hotly contested 8 round bout that could easily have gone Toyco's way.

Frustratingly there was one other televised bout on the show, though we're unsure who was involved. The bout was a 6 round that saw a now 6-1-1 (1) fighter taken the unbeaten record a fighter now 5-1 (1).

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

Hyogo, Japan
The only action this past Sunday came from Hyogo where we had the latest set of Rookie of the West Japan tournament.

In total there were 17 bouts split across 2 shows.

The first of those shows featured 10 bouts in total all taking place between Minimumweight and Bantamweight.

In one of the Minimumweight bouts Ryusei Kitamura (4-1, 1) took a wide decision over the win-less Naoki Yoshimura (0-3-1), the other saw Ryoki Hirai (5-3-1, 2) take a 4th round TKO win against Shota Oka (2-2).

At Light Flyweight there was a trio of bouts. The most competitive of which saw Shoji Nakamura (2-1-1, 1) edge past Shintaro Yano (1-2) with a majority decision. Another competitive bout at 108lbs saw Kaminoko Okamura Kentokid (5-0-3, 2) take a tight decision win over Jin Katsue (2-2, 1). The sole blow out here was an opening round TKO win for Seigo Yuri Akui (3-0-1, 1), who scored his first stoppage win as he over came Ruka Shobu (1-1-1, 1) in just 100 seconds.

At Flyweight we had a couple of bouts. The most notable of which was an opening round KO win for Masahiro Sakamoto (3-0, 2) who really blew away Kodai Nakashoya (1-3). The other saw Hirohide Murakami (4-2) clearly out point the more experienced Yu Yan (5-4-2, 4).

The sole Super Flyweight bout saw Shion Tamada (2-0) out point Taichi Sugimori (3-2) in a very clear win for the 18 year old novice.

At Bantamweight there were two bout. One of those saw the unbeaten Tetsu Araki (4-0-1) claim a split decision victory over Takuya Fujioka (5-5-1, 1) whilst the other was a clear decision victory for Tenta Kiyose (5-1-1, 1), who out pointed Yusuke Hiranuma (2-2).

The other show featured 7 bouts in total, taking place between Minimumweight and Welterweight.

At Minimumweight fans got a really competitive match up between the unbeaten Daiki Tomita (2-0, 1) and Takuya Olivia Hase (2-2-1, 1) with Tomita taking a very narrow decision victory.

At Bantamweight the promising Yuki Iriguchi (3-0, 2) took a 2nd round KO win over the much older Tomonori Ichiki (3-3, 2). The 18 year old Irihuchi was 17 years younger than his foe but already seems to be impressive with his power and strength.

In a Super Bantamweight bout Takaaki Kanai (5-3, 3) took a clear decision win over Hiroyuki Takahara (2-1, 1), who lost his unbeaten record as a result.

At Featherweight there was a couple of bouts, though it was 19 year old Ryuya Yanagida (2-0, 2) who stood out with his 2nd round KO win against Shohei Matsuo (1-2-1). The other bout saw Yuto Nagano (4-0, 2) take a split decision win over Yu Konomura (5-3-1, 1).

At Lightweight it was plain sailing for the unbeaten Tomoaki Matsumura (4-0, 2), who claimed a clear decision win over Kensuke Nakamura (1-3-1).

At Welterweight we saw a minor upset as Giraffe Kirin Kanda (4-1, 2) managed to over-come the previously unbeaten Daijiro Yuki (5-1, 2) in a very close and competitive match up.