Hat Yai, Thailand
The big upset of the day came in Thailand where unheralded Filipino Jestoni Autida (9-3, 4) scored his defining victory, stopping Ratchasak KKP (20-4-1, 14) in the 8th round of their bout. The two men were fighting for the WBA Asia Bantamweight title and, on paper, it was a straight forward win for Ratchasak. What nobody had expected was for Autida to come to the ring with belief and the attitude of a winner. That attitude helped the gangly 24 year old box his way into the bout before a straight right hand dropped Ratchasak early in round 8, that began the undoing of Ratchasak who was dropped again moments later forcing the referee to wave the bout off.

This win for Autida is particularly notable considering Ratchasak had twice dropped the world ranked Rex Tso, though never looked capable of doing anything to Autida, who appears to genuinely be one to keep an eye on as a potential diamond in the rough.

Victoria, Australia
We were really unfortunate not to have another notable upset from a Filipino in Australia. That bout saw the always testing Adones Aguelo (24-12-2, 16) clearly out fight, out box and out power the touted Will Tomlinson (24-2-1, 13). Sadly though the judges were against the very talented Filipino who shockingly gave the bout to Tomlinson with a majority decision. Aguelo seemed in charge from the second round, and although he lost the final two rounds he had seemingly done more than enough to deserve the win. Sadly this is another loss for the Filipino though he certainly made fans with numerous Australian fans praising him and discrediting the result, many now want to see more of the Pinoy who has every right to feel aggrieved by the result.

Davao Del Sur, Philippines
As well as Filipino's performing on the road, they also did so at home with a card in Davao City. At the time of writing the full results aren't yet available however we do have results for the 3 most significant bouts on the card.

One of those bouts saw the unbeaten Jay-Ar Inson (9-0, 6) claim a 2nd round stoppage win over Indonesian visitor Victor Mausul (9-4-2, 5). This win netted the heavy handed Pinoy the WBO interim Oriental title and a possible WBO world ranking. On paper it did seem a relatively one sided bout but few would have expected Inson to look as impressive as he did here.

Another of the major bouts on this card saw the monstrously hard hitting Aston Palicte (19-1, 17) extend his impressive record as he broke down Fernando Ocon (13-10-1, 5) in 4 rounds. On paper this looks like a nothing win, but it was only the second time Ocon had been stopped, with the other coming to Suriyan Sor Rungvisai last year.

One one result we have from this card saw Adones Cabalquinto (21-0, 14) score a 3rd round KO against RJ Ano-os (8-7-1, 2). We're unsure on what the point of this match up was though hopefully we'll see Cabalquinto, who does have a world ranking, finally take a step forward. The 27 year old Southpaw really should have been moved up in class a year or two ago but instead has continued to pad his record with bouts like this.

This past Saturday was an insanely busy day for Asian boxing fans with more fights than you can shake a stick at....

Pattaya, Thailand
Fans in Thailand had televised action featuring a pair of former world title challengers and a very interesting all debutant bout.

One of those former title challengers was 3-time title contender Sod Kokietgym (64-3-1, 28) who was fighting for the first time since his opening round defeat to Guillermo Rigondeaux in Macau. Sod may have been blown away by the Cuban Jackal but he was successful today as he over-came the previously unbeaten Jaoquim Mahe (8-1, 4) of France. Mahe, also known as Joaquim Redbluegym, saw a run of 2 wins in Thailand come to an end with this loss.

The other former world title challenger was Samartlek Kokietgym (18-5, 5) who fought for the first time since he was stopped by Naoya Inoue in a WBC Light Flyweight title fight. Samartlek, like Sod, was facing an unbeaten visitor though managed to inflict his opponents first defeat as he out pointed Filipino Richie Behec (2-1-1, 1).

In an excellent all debutant bout Mai Lookboonmee (1-0) took a decision over Sorn Sakwaroon (0-1). Sadly for Sorn he was one of 3 debutants to suffer a defeat on this show. Another debutant who came up short was Lekkla Sor Petchwandee (0-1) who was beaten by Sayu Sor Kulawong (2-0) over 6 rounds.

The only stoppage on the card was scored by Filipino visitor Joan Imperial (11-5-6, 6) who recorded his second win in Thailand this year as he took an opening round TKO against Chaiyaphon Nupphon (0-1).

Davao del Sur, Philippines
Although there was action in Thailand much of the day's Asian action was in the Philippines as the country hosted two separate shows. On paper the best of those was n Davao del Sur on a card featuring a number of notable names.

One of those notable names was the unbeaten Adones Cabalquinto (19-0, 12) who made very light work of the horribly over-matched Denkamon Pakdee Gym (12-4, 5). Cabalquinto claimed the IBF Australasian title at 140lbs as he stopped Denkamon early in round 3.

Another of the notable fighters in action was the exciting Aston Palicte (16-1, 14) who needed just 131 seconds to dispose of Jomyuthlek Sor Narongchai (12-3, 5) and claim the IBF Youth Super Flyweight title. This was the 5th successive opening round blow out by “Mighty”, who had previously blown away the tough Gerpaul Valero, and we suspect he'll continue to impress with wins like this.

Marlon Tapales (27-2, 10) was another notable name on this show and he too scored an early win as he stopped Jecker Buhawe (16-11-1, 10) in the 2nd round. This was Tapales's 6th straight win since he was narrowly beaten in Mexico by David Sanchez and we'd not be shocked to see Tapales eyeing up a big fight at some point this year.

Yet another notable fighter on this card to score an early win was Drian Francisco (27-2-1, 21) who stopped compatriot Jason Egara (21-12, 10) in the 8th round to record his third successive win since he was beaten by American Chris Avalos last July.

It wasn't all notable names on the card, nor was it all expected results and in a notable upset fans saw Ronerex Dalut (9-15-2, 2) shock the previously unbeaten Marvilou Aballe (5-1, 2) by split decision over 8 rounds. Sadly this was the only real shock result.

A fighter who managed to keep his unbeaten record by decision on this card was Jay-ar Inson (7-0, 4) who out pointed Gabby Siempo (5-6-1, 1) over 8 rounds. Another unbeaten fighter to pick up a win in a scheduled 8 rounder was Rimar Metuda (5-0, 1) who stopped veteran Philip Parcon (26-20-3, 8) in the 2nd round of their bout. The only other 8 round bout saw the once beaten Orlie Silvestre (4-1-1, 3) force a retirement of Ryan Ralozo (8-14-2, 2) after 4 rounds.

In the sole 6 rounder Gerald Paclar (2-1, 1) out pointed the previously unbeaten Rene Mark Cuarto (3-1, 1) in what was a minor upset. The card began with a trio of 4 rounders. These included an all debutant affair that saw Ronnie Badonado (1-0, 1) stop Baltazar Susas (0-1) in the second round of their contest, in what was the only early conclusion on this part of the card. In a contest between win-less fighters we saw Jose Aballe (1-1) take a decision against the still win-less Sammy Caballero (0-2) and in a very competitive bout Aries Buenavidez (2-0) took a majority decision over Jayson Sanchez (0-3).

Metro Manila, Philippines
The other Filipino show took places in Metro Manila and, like the other card featured a few interesting names.

The most well known of the fighters on this show was former world title challenger Ardin Diale (27-9-3, 14) who made very light work of Rommy Wassar (11-18-7, 5). Wassar, who missed weight by 6lbs, lasted just 30 seconds with Diale who made a genuine statement with the speed of this win.

Diale wasn't the only fighter to blow away an opponent in less a minute as the monstrously hard hitting Richard Claveras (12-0-2, 12) blasted away Demsi Manufoe (9-4, 6) in 37 seconds to retain the WBC Asian Boxing Coubncil Light Flyweight title. Hopefully we'll see Claveras step up again next time out.

Another excellent fighter to blow an over-matched foe on this show was the excellent Michael Dasmarinas (19-2, 12) who took care of Aroel Romasasa (11-8, 5) inside a minute courtesy of a body shot. Another man to score a win with a body show was Rene Dacquel (13-4-1, 5) who took 7 rounds to see off the light punching Menard Abila (5-3-4, 1).

One of the most competitive contests saw Eric Panza (7-3-1, 1) climb up from an opening round knockdown to take a split decision over Jeson Berwela (4-19, 2) in an 8 round bout. Another close 8 rounder saw Warren Mambuanag (7-5-2, 3) upset Aljhon Osabel (9-3, 5), also with an 8 round split decision.

The sole 6 rounder on this card saw the unbeaten Fighting Heno (3-0-3) level off his peculiar record as he over-came Rommel Berwela (2-3-2) with a clear decision.

In a bizzare debut, scheduled for 4 rounds, Jestoni Caballes (1-0, 1) was decked twice in the opening round before stopping Roberto Mendano (0-3) due to a cut in the second round. . In the other 4 rounder Brando Bokingkito (1-2, 1) claimed his first win with a 3rd round TKO against the win-less Kenneth Lacdang (0-3).

Chiapas, Mexico
In Mexico we saw a rematch between unheralded Filipino Jomar Farjardo (14-6-2, 7) and former unified Minimumweight champion Francisco Rodriguez Jr (17-2-1, 11). The two men, who fought to a draw last year, began as they finished their first fight, with a very competitive opening round. Sadly for Fajardo that was his only real success as Rodriguez finally figured him out and dominated the proceeding 9 rounds to take a very wide decision

New South Wales, Australia
In Australia fans saw a pair of Asian fighters though unfortunately both came up short.

The most disappointing of those was Erick Diaz Siregar (16-21-4, 4) of Indonesian. Siregar was brought in to be blown away and that's exactly what happened with Billel Dib (16-1, 7) stopping him inside a round. This was Siregar's third success blow out defeat and he is now without a win since September 2012 and has only one win since November 2010.

The other man who came up show was Filipino Rodynie Rafol (12-6-2, 5) who gave a good effort but was clearly second best to the unbeaten George Kamboso Jr (7-0, 3). Sadly for Rafol this loss ended a 2 fight winning run and he is now 0-3 in fights outside of his native Philippines.

Although there wasn't a lot of action this past Saturday there was plenty for Filipino fans to be interested by with a full card in Davao del Sur and a Filipino fighting on the road in Mexico.

Davao del Sur, Philippines
Unfortunately on the domestic scene many of the Filipino in Davao del Sur were less than competitive, although fans did get the chance to see plenty of notable names in action they were really facing very poor foes in what were show case bouts more than really competitive contests.

One of those mismatches saw the very talented Jerwin Ancajas (21-1-1, 13) stopping Ali Rochmad (20-3, 14) inside a round. On paper this was competitive though in the ring it was a pure mismatch and there was a huge gulf in ability between the two men as Ancajas just ripped Rochmad a new one. Sadly Ancajas wasn't the only man to be fighting an over-matched foe and it took the hard hitting Aston Palicte (14-1, 12) less than a round to dispose of Frans Damur Palue (7-4-2, 3) with Palue being stopped on the 3 knockdown rule. Likewise it took Filipino Light Welterweight champion Adones Cabalquinto (17-0, 10) a round to see off Elmer Legaria (13-8, 4) in what was a completely pointless match up.

In all frankness Ancajas should be looking at world ranked foes right now, Palicte should be facing top domestic competition and Cabalquinto should be doing all he can to get himself a shot at an OPBF ranked opponent. Sadly we know the money behind these guys doesn't match their ability though there is nothing to be gained from this level of mismatches.

Sadly it didn't take the highly talented Jack Tepora (11-0, 7) much longer to defeat Michael Escobia (10-8-1, 2). We had expected Escobia to provide some resistance here but he couldn't cope with "Golden Boy" Tepora who should turn his attention to top domestic foes now.

On paper the most competitive bout was a domestic contest between Jetly Purisima (19-13-4, 5) and Jayson Rotoni (13-14-1, 7). This 8 rounder went the distance with Purisima taking home the win in a battle of "lesser fighters".

The remaining 7 fights all featured unbeaten hopefuls in action the most experienced of whom was Jelbirt Gomera (6-0, 4) who went the 8 round distance with the tough but limited Jhun Ryan Quimbo (4-5-1). The bout will have done Gomera a lot for his development considering that he had never previously gone beyond 6 rounds. Likewise we feel that Jay-ar Inson (5-0, 3) will have learned plenty in his 6 round decision victory over Avelino Ramos (3-4), though this was the second time in as many fights that Inson had gone the distance. The same could be said for Marvillo Aballe (4-0, 2) who also got taken the distance for the second time in as many fights as Michael Padayag (3-2) offered a stern test. Another fight that went 6 rounds saw Genesis Libranza (4-0, 2) take a win over Edward Joaquino (2-2), this was he first time Libranza had gone the distance since his debut.

The most notable bout was one that featured the recognisable name of "Pacquiao" as Joneil Dapidran Pacquiao (5-0, 3) stopped the usually durable Gabby Siempo (5-5-1, 1) inside a round, this was Pacquiao's third straight stoppage win suggesting he's finding his groove whilst Siempo suffered his 4th straight loss, though it was just his second stoppage loss. Another stoppage on the under-card saw Christian Araneta (5-0, 4) extend his winning run with a 3rd round stoppage over the previously unbeaten Melmark Dignos (2-1)

In a 4 rounder we saw Renemark Cuarto (2-0) take a win over the debuting Gilbert Flores (0-1).

México, Mexico
Sadly the weekend wasn't a good one for the travelling Daniel Ferreras (13-9-2, 4) who went to Mexico in pursuit of the WBC Youth Silver Super Bantamweight title and came back with just another loss as the very promising Rey Vargas (21-0, 18) took him out in the second round. Ferreras finds his name added to a growing list of Filipino victims who have been stopped by Vargas who has previously stopped the likes of Juanito Rubillar and Silvester Lopez amongst others.

(Image, of Jerwin Ancajas, courtesy of boxrec.com)

On a busy Saturday in the boxing world there was more fights of note than we usually. Amongst the action was a trio of Filipino shows .

Nebraska, USA
The key fight, for us, on Saturday night was in the US as unbeaten Middleweights collided. This bout saw the talented but frustrating Russian Matt Korobov (24-0, 14) out point Venezuelan prospect Jose Uzcategui (22-1, 18). Korobov managed to drop Uzcategui twice in round 7 but failed to finish him in what was essentially another performance that did Korobov little favours in regards to fans who seemed to view him worse after the win than they did before he got in the ring.


Davao del Sur, Philippines
The most well known name in action amongst those Filipino shows was former WBC Flyweight champion Sonny Boy Jaro (37-13-5, 27) who made relatively light work of Tanzanian visitor Ichal Tobida (10-12, 8). Tobida, who had travelled to Davao del Sur from his homeland, tried to give Jaro a fight but in the end the tough and heavy handed Filipino managed to stop Tobida in the 5th round to capture the Asian Boxing Federation Super Flyweight title.

Jaro's bout wasn't the only one involving a title as the unbeaten Adones Cabalquinto (16-0, 9) retained his GAB Light Welterweight title with a stoppage against the over-matched Giovani Rota (7-7, 4). This was the 6th stoppage loss for Rota and suggests that he wasn't really suitable opponent for Cabalquinto who was, not too long ago, linked to an OPBF title fight. Hopefully Cabalquinto will drop the GAB title sooner rather than later and focus on fighting for the OPBF belt with fights against the likes of Ja Ik Goo, Shinya Iwabuchi, Min Wook Kim and Hiroki Okada all out there for him.

The rest of the results on this card are scarce though one of the bouts saw Genesis Libranza (3-0, 2) stopping Jessie Suacasa (2-3, 1) to maintain his unbeaten run whilst in another bout the debuting Renemark Cuarto (1-0) took a 4 round decision victory over Rodante Suacasa (1-7-2, 1).

We're hoping to get the rest of the results from this show over the next day or two.

Lanao del Norte, Philippines
Whilst Jaro was the biggest Filipino name in action he was far from the only notable one and in Metro Manilla fans got to see the very promising Marlon Tapales (26-2, 9) defeat the limited but determined Fadhili Majiha (15-4-4, 7). Tapales dropped Majiha once in the bout as he retained his WBO Asia Pacific Bantamweight title and moved one fight closer to a WBO title show down.

Tapales was the main attraction on this show and in fairness many of the other fighters on the card were somewhat unknown outside of the Philippines. These included the hard hitting Jenny Boy Buca (8-1, 8) who stopped Raymond Dayham (5-2, 4) in the 8th round of a scheduled 10 rounder. The only other 10 rounder saw Edward Mansito (10-1-2, 5) taking a decision over over Alvin Makiling (10-10-3, 3).

In the only 8 rounder on the show Belmar Plaza (3-1-3, 1) took an 8 round unanimous decision over fellow novice Jaysever Abcede (3-3, 1). 

All 6 of the other under-card bouts also went the distance. These included only one close contest as Jonathan Francisco (6-3, 2) took a split decision over Jonas Sultan (4-2, 2) in a 6 rounder. Another of the 6 rounders saw Jhon Rey de Asis (5-1, 3) taking a decision over the experienced Michael Bastasa (6-14-3) whilst the the unbeaten Dexter Alimento (3-0, 1) managed to out point Kim Dangan (2-3, 1). The most notable of the 6 rounders however was the that of promising debutant Bryan Capampangan (1-0) who over-came Michael Acevido (2-6-1, 1).

Capampangan wasn't the only debutant and in a 4 rounder Jaylord Montesa (1-0) defeated Eric Mansira (1-14, 1) whilst in the other 4 rounder Reynold Valencia (3-7-1, 1) over-came Joy Joy Formentera (2-2).

Metro Manila, Philippines
The third Filipino show was in Metro Manila and was headlined by the world ranked Renan Trongco (15-4, 9) who made very light work of Jopher Marayan (6-5-2, 2) who was stopped in the second round of a bout that really was a mismatch.

Whilst Trongco is potentially a rising star in the Philippines he wasn't the most well known fight on the show, that was former WBC Super Flyweight title challenger Silvester Lopez (22-7-2, 16) who managed to take out domestic journeyman Arjet Caballes (6-31-5, 3) in the second of a scheduled 6 rounder. 

As with the card in Lanao del Norte much of the card was 6 rounders, in fact 8 of the 13 bouts were 6 rounders, including the aforementioned Lopez fight. Amongst the others was an opening round victory for the promising Cris Paulino (14-1, 4) who took out Lowell Saguisa (7-16, 3) in double quick fashion, 4th round TKO for Jon Jon Estrada (4-1-1, 3) who stopped Valeriano Gabriel (2-6) and another 4th round TKO for Junjie Lauza (5-10-1, 2) who stopped Zoren Pama (5-11-3, 2).

Another of the 6 rounders which failed to go the scheduled saw Eric Panza (5-2-1, 1) defeat Joel Lagusan (3-10, 1) via a technical decision. 

In bouts that did go the 6 round distance fans saw Dennis Tubieron (18-3-1, 8) surprisingly struggle to over-come Rey Ramos (6-6-2, 3) in a bout that very surprisingly finished in a split decision. Another decision saw the unbeaten Jonathan Dela Cruz (4-0, 1) defeat Danny Manosa (2-3-2, 1) whilst Bryan Macamay (9-2-2, 5) defeated Menard Zaragosa (6-18-1, 4).

In 4 rounders Mark Baribar (1-0-1) fought to a draw with the debuting Vic Magdayao (0-0-1), the unbeaten Cris Ganoza (3-0) took a decision over Roberto Mendano (0-1), whilst Anthony Villanueva (1-0, 1) stopped the win-less Alberto Pentecostes (0-3) in the second round whilst the debutant Alvin Medura (1-0, 1) took out Oscar Lim (0-1) inside a round.

Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic
We'll go full circle here and whilst we started this with an unbeaten Russian, Korobov, we will also end it with an unbeaten Russian, this time Fedor Chudinov (11-0, 9) who dominated the previously unbeaten Andy Perez (19-1, 18). Perez was down in rounds 1,2 and 3 before finally being stopped by the rampaging Chudinov who, on this performance, looks a more exciting talent than Korobov. 

(Image, of Korobov, courtesy of toprank)