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)

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
This past Monday saw Japanese fans enjoying a really good looking card at the Korakuen Hall. The card, on paper, had 2 really good looking match ups, a return to action for a female fighter that we are big fans off, and a couple of interesting under-card bouts. It wasn't a mega show but it was a very solid looking international card.

In the main event fans saw former Japanese Lightweight champion Akihiro Kondo (21-5-1, 10) get his career back on track after a surprise loss last December to Tomoya Yamada. Kondo was facing former “world” title challenger Jimrex Jaca (39-8-4, 22), a popular Filipino puncher. On paper it was a brilliant match up and we expected it to be a test between Kondo's chin and Jaca's vicious power. Instead it turned out that Kondo was the man with the danger fists and forced a 4th round stoppage a very exciting and enthralling contest.

Surprisingly after the bout Kondo announced that he would be back in the ring on April 22nd to fight another Filipino visitor, Ricky Sismundo, in what looks like another excellent match up.

The other notable match up didn't go as well for Japan with the much touted Kenta Onjo (4-1, 3) being surprisingly stopped by the shop worn and smaller Filipino Jonathan Baat (28-6-3, 14) in the 5th round of their bout. Onjo had been touted as a future title holder but was taking a big step up in class, it was however seen as smart step up with Baat having fought much of his career at Super Bantamweight before moving up to Super Featherweight for this bout. It appears with the shackles of weight off his shoulders Baat was more a more durable fighter and found a home for his right hands which took their toll on the Japanese youngster.

In a horrible mismatch fans saw former female world champion Tenkai Tsunami (21-10, 10) score a 2nd round victory over Thai visitor Rathsada Sor Worasin (0-5). We are Tsunami fans and understand she has been in very over the last few years so don't begrudge her too much for an easy bout like this, but it was a predictable outcome.

Another good looking bout, at least on paper, saw Yukiya Hanabusa (8-2-2, 2) score a surprisingly early stoppage against Yudai Arai (6-2-3, 3). On paper this was a well matched bout but Hanabusa managed to see off Arai in just the second round.

We saw more stoppages in the couple of scheduled 6 rounders. The quickest of these saw Minoru Iizuka (5-2, 5) score a 111 second victory over Masaharu Hanaka (4-2-1, 2). The other 6 rounder went in to the 2nd round as Naoaki Kumagai (5-2, 3) over-came Hitoshi Ando (4-9-1, 3).

The only 4 rounder on this card saw Fumiya Naoi (2-0) defeat the struggling Seiji Honma (1-5) with a 4 round decision.


(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

Tokyo, Japan
Earlier today Japanese fans got a treat thanks to Ichiriki promotions who put on “Fighting Bee Vol 10” from the Korakuen Hall. The card wasn't a blockbuster card of international names and thrilling contests but was as good a domestic card as you are likely to see anywhere on the planet. It featured everything from former world title challengers to hungry young prospects, from former national champions to veterans looking to recapture some former glory.

The card began with it's weakest contest. A 6 rounder between Tatsuya Otsubo (6-6-1, 3) and Yudai Tamagawa (6-6-1, 2). On paper it was was almost perfectly matched and it showed at Otsubo narrowly took home the win with a competitive unanimous decision. Whilst it was a “weak bout” in some ways it was the sort of competitive bout that you can't help but love and beats the typical prospect Vs loser that we see all too often in the west.

A bout that ended up being well matched bout saw Tonko Nakagawa (12-6-2, 4) take an 8 round majority decision win over Ryuta Wakamatsu (10-11, 7). This was a third meeting between the two men and for the first time Wakamatsu managed to see out the schedule. Strangely upon entering all 3 bouts Wakamatsu had even records reading 4-4, 6-6 and now 10-10. For Nakagawa this was his first win in over 18 months, which may explain why he was matched with his old foe.

The one bout that always looked like a mismatch ended the way many would have suspected as Yudai Arai (6-1-3, 3) easily over-came the limited but tough Yasuhiro Sakurai (7-18) with a very clear decision win.

For us the most impressive result was scored by the hotly tipped Hikaru Marugame (3-0, 2) who made surprisingly easy work of the usually durable Ryoji Okahata (9-10-5, 1). Okahata had been stopped once in his previous 23 bouts, a 6th round TKO to Shingo Wake, though was no match for Marugame who took him out in just 2 rounds and sent out a real statement of intent. Aged 25 Marugame may well be amongst the best “hidden gems” in world boxing though this was his first fight in 13 months and hopefully they'll be no more long breaks like that.

Marugame's stablemate Naoto Uebayashi (7-0-1, 4) scored the best win of his career as he clearly beat former world title challenger Oscar Blanquet (32-9-1, 23). Sadly whilst this looked great on paper it really was a case of Uebayashi being much too big for Blanquet. Uebayashi is a natural Bantamweight, though he has tested the waters at Super Bantamweight, whilst Blanquet is best known as a Flyweight, where he fought Akira Yaegashi and Roman Gonzalez, and that size difference really told in the end, despite Blanquet proving his toughness here and climbing off the canvas in round 7

In the chief support bout fans saw the return to the ring of Gosuke Seki (16-1-2, 3) who was fighting for the first time since he failed in a Japanese Featherweight title tilt to Satoshi Hosono back in June. Seki managed to bounce back with a win as he over-came the under-rated Yuta Nagai (28-11-4, 19) with a 5th round technical decision though things were close prior to the bout being stopped. Prior to the stoppage both men were bleeding and the cuts were getting worse.

The main event ended with a genuine unset as the unheralded Tomoya Yamada (12-5, 3) managed to take a split decision over former Japanese Lightweight champion Akihiro Kondo (20-5-1, 9). Tomoya, a former Rookie of the Year winner, was dropped in round 4 though gritted his teeth and engaged in a war with Kondo to take a razor thin split decision. The win was Yamada's first in more than 3 years. Sadly for Kondo it was his second loss in 3 bouts and he may well be considering his future.

Cebu, Philippines
In the Philippines ALA put on a small 5 fight card that would have gone below the radar were it not for the fact that 8 of the 10 men involved were unbeaten going into the show.

One of those bouts saw Jeffrey Concerman (2-0, 1) scoring his first stoppage as he over-came Adrian Paul Varona (0-1-1) in the 3rd round in a bout scheduled for 4 rounds. Notable the other two 4 round bouts both ended in draws with Ricardo Sueno (1-0-1, 1) fighting a level bout with Kenneth Neron (1-0-1) and Archie Moyani (1-0-1, 1) was unable to over-come Ronnie Campus (1-0-1, 1).

As well as the 4 rounders the fans also got a pair of 6 round bouts. One of those ended in a small shock Rafael Sueno (3-1, 3) scored an opening round blow out against the previously unbeaten Robert Ates (3-1, 2). The remaining bout saw Peter Apolinar (4-0, 4) over-come the win-less Takaoki Noma (0-4-1), who was stopped in the 6th round.

Eastern Cape, South Africa
In South Africa fans saw Filipino fighter Roli Gasca (22-7-1, 6) come up controversially short against the heavy handed Lusanda Komanisi (18-3, 16) in a bout for the IBO Featherweight title. From the reports we've been sent Gasca was on the bad end of a poor decision that was similar to the recent Mauricio Herrera/Jose Benavidez one where by a light punching fighter seems to have been punished for not having KO power despite outlanding and out skilling his heavy handed foe.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp, from the Uebayashi Vs Blanquet fight)

Tokyo, Japan
The only Asian show this Monday came from Tokyo as we got "Fighting Bee Vol 9" from the Korakuen Hall. At the moment we don't have all the results, unfortunately, though we do have the results for the most significant contests on the card.

In the main event fans saw former Japanese Lightweight champion Akihiro Kondo (20-4-1, 9) quickly dispatch of Thailand's Kaewkla Chaiyonggym (0-2). Kondo had been announced for a show in December and knew he needed to get through this one without taking any real damage and that's exactly what he did by stopping his Thai foe in just 105 seconds.

In a Middleweight bout Yasuyuki Akiyama (10-4-1, 8) stopped Kazuaki Irisawa (8-6, 5) with just seconds of round 8 left. The referee was forced to save Kazuaki as Akiyama started to unload through a big 7th round for the former ranked contender.

In a really interesting 8 round bout made just below the Lightweight limit fans saw the talented and hot tipped Kenta Onjo (4-0, 3) take his first decision win and in style as he dominated the more experienced Kazuya Soma (7-6-2, 6). Soma, a real tough guy, was on the end of shut out loss to Onjo who won all 8 rounds and was never in any trouble at all. To his credit Soma tried to fight back but was unable to compete with the speed, skill or movement of Onjo who looks like he could be mixing at title level by the end of 2016, if not by the end of next year.

In a female bout Momoko Kanda (8-6-2, 2) made very light work of Thai visitor Thanawan Sithsaithong (0-2) with an opening round KO, in fact this was over inside a minute.

In a 6 rounder Seiji Watanabe (6-4-1, 2) claimed a very narrow win over the heavy handed but limited Ryu Horiguchi (4-4-1, 3) in one of the closest bouts on the card. Another competitive bout saw Akira Watanabe (1-3-1, 1) fighting to a 4 round draw with the unbeaten Masahiko Ashiya (1-0-2, 1). A third close contest saw the debuting Hyuga Aoki (1-0) take a hard fought win over the still win-less Masanori Shimomura (0-2). Another decision contest saw Keita Kurihara (4-4, 3) take a decision win over Satoru Morishita (3-7, 2). 

The sole stoppage on the under-card saw Seiji Honma (1-4, 1) record his first win as he stopped the debuting Hitachitaro Mito (0-1) in the second round.


(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

Tokyo, Japan
The major mid-week card this week took place at the Korakeun Hall this past Wednesday and it was genuinely a great domestic card with several notable fighters in action and 2 genuinely thrilling contests.

The card began with a series of blow outs. One of these was a 33 second blow out win for Masahiko Ashiya (1-0-1, 1) who took swift care of the debuting Naoki Uebayashi (0-1). Likewise it didn't too much longer for Tomoyuki Omura (8-5, 4) to see off Makoto Hiroki (4-8, 3) with Hiroki also failing to see out a round.

The first of the notable fighters in action was former Middleweight world title challenger Makoto Fuchigami (21-9, 12) who ended a 2 fight losing streak with a 2nd round stoppage against the ill matched Jamed Jalarante (23-17-1, 11). Whilst Fuchigami is best known for his loss to Gennady Golovkin in a WBA world title fight he was, previously, an accomplished domestic and regional level fighter. Now however his career seems to be on a tightrope and a loss against Jalarante would have been the end of Fuchigami's dreams to win another title. A second round win for Fuchigami here might keep his title dreams alive though in all honesty it means little due to the poor level of ability of Jalarante.

The only other undercard bout saw Shohei Kikuzato (10-2, 5) scoring a 6th round stoppage over Taro Oikawa (3-3, 3). The fight, which was Kikuzato's first bout scheduled for 8 rounds, saw him picking up his second notable win in less than a year following his very good win over Yoichi Ide last year.

Although the show was a double header header it was one where a title fight took second billing to non-title rematch several years in the making. The title fight in question was the 7th defence of the Japanese Lightweight title by the criminally under-rated Yoshitaka Kato (28-5-1, 9) who went toe-to-toe with the heavy handed Tsukasa Saito (19-3, 14) and came out on top with an 8th round TKO over the challenger. Saito started fast and made the action very exciting before slowly being broken down by the champion with the referee making a perfectly timed stoppage.

Following the title fight we then saw Lightweights colliding against as the now world famous Nihito Arakawa (24-5-1, 16) scored a high octane and genuinely thrilling victory over Akihiro Kondo (19-4-1, 8). The bout, which saw the men fighting more than 4 years after Arakawa scored a narrow decision over Kondo, was genuinely riveting from the first round to the last with the final round being nothing short of exhilarating. Whilst it wasn't as good as Arakawa's bout with Omar Figueroa it wasn't too far behind. Rather interestingly Arakawa now seems to be in line for a fight with Kato, if the two do get it on it would be a third bout between the two and arguably the most significant with each man looking for bragging rights over the other.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)