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)
0 Comments
This past Thursday was a great day for Japanese fans who had two shows with a lot of action and a number of interesting match ups. Osaka, Japan The bigger of the two shows, by far, came from Osaka where fans got a bit of everything. They got a world title fight in the main event, they got the next fight in the development of a brilliant young prospect, they got the debut fight of a former amateur standout, they got a huge debut involving the son of a true legend and they also got a minor upset. All in all fans in Osaka got value for their money. The main event saw the hugely popular and destructively hard hitting Shinsuke Yamanaka (23-0-2, 17) continue his impressive reign as the WBC Bantamweight champion as he easily disposed of the horribly over-matched Diego Ricardo Santillan (23-1, 15). The Argentinian challenger had come to the ring with an unbeaten record and a lot of confidence but was dominated by Yamanaka who dropped in rounds 6 and 7 with the Argentinian staying down following the second knock-down. In some ways this was the perfect performance by the champion though in other ways it was disappointing to see such a poor challenger thrown in with Yamanaka. In the chief support bout fans saw the talented youngster Sho Nakazawa (6-0, 4) take a wide 8 round decision win over the game but relatively limited Alexander Cazares (9-4, 3) of Mexico. The young Japanese fighter did have some issues, more than he'd had in his previous 5 bouts, but nothing major in what was a routine win. It now sees like Nakazawa will begin the hunt for titles. In another of the major support bouts we saw Juiki Tatsuyoshi (1-0, 1) batter Tadao Iwaya (1-3) in just 2 rounds. Juiki is the second son of the great Joichiro Tatsuyoshi and at times showed some of his father's traits though it's going to take a very long time for him to develop into a fighter like his father. It was an impressive debut but it did come against a very over-matched foe. Another debutant on this card was the touted Shuya Masaki (1-0, 1) who made very light work of Phanthong Por Panya (1-2, 1). Masaki, who has a solid amateur pedigree, stopped Phanthong after just 134 seconds of their scheduled 6 rounder. It was all perfect for the touted Japanese fighters on this card however as for Rookie of the Year winner Tatsuya Ikemizu (12-1, 5) suffered his first defeat. The youngster was out gunned and out gritted by Japanese based Filipino Mark John Yap (20-12, 10). Yap took a very close 8 round decision over the youngster though it was a bout that Ikemizu will have learned a lot from, a “good loss” if you will. As well the higher profile bouts this card featured 3 relatively low profile 4 rounders. One of those was over in just 26 seconds as Takaaki Maeda (3-1, 1) blew away Takuya Olivia Hase (2-1-1, 1) in double quick fashion. The other contests were both razor thin decisions with one of those seeing Kenji Kihisa (3-2, 1) over-coming Akito Terada (1-1) whilst the other saw Kazuma Fukuyama (4-4-3) defeat Ryuta Miyoshi (0-2), both of those were majority decisions. Tokyo, Japan Whilst the big show of the day was in Osaka there was also some highly entertaining action in Tokyo where fans had 3 bouts of note as well as an interesting and well matched under-card. The most competitive of the main bouts saw former Japanese champion Koji Umetsu (22-16-3, 10) battle to a split decision loss against Kazunori Takayama (21-8-4, 4) in a bout that really could have gone either way. Umetsu, who was the Japanese Featherweight champion back in 2006, has had an up and down career but at 38 years old he has got to be considering retirement. Takayama on the other hand may be able to work himself towards a title fight later in the year. Incidentally this was the third meeting between the two men. Another exciting main bout saw the heavy handed Akinori Watanabe (32-4, 27) take a rare decision win as he over-came the teak tough Arnel Tinampay (22-17-1, 8), a Japanese based Filipino tough-guy. This looked like a great bout when it was signed and it prove to be enthralling in the ring, though it was a worthy win for Watanabe who stated that he'd like a fight with Yoshihiro Kamegai after the fight. The third notable bout proved to be a bit of a mismatch as Takeshi Inoue (3-0-1, 2) made light work of Thai foe Kriburee Sithniwat (0-3-1). The Thai was stopped in the 2nd round of the scheduled 8 round bout. According to boxrec.com this was Kriburee's first bout in almost 6 year, though as with many Thai's it's hard to verify the record one way or another. In the sole 6 rounder we again saw a Thai being stopped early as Takuya Yamaguchi (9-9, 7) saw off Pornsak Chomram (0-1) at the very end of round 3, technically scoring the KO at 3:09 of the 3rd round. The card featured 5 bouts scheduled for the 4 round distance. Of those only a couple went the completed schedule. One of those that went the distance saw Daichi Honma (1-0) claim a debut win as he over-came Akihiro Yashiro (2-2-1) in a wide decision win, the other ended in a split decision as Yutaka Uemura (3-2-1, 2) just out did Tomoki Takada (1-1-1). One bout that almost made it to the final bell saw Shunta Terai (1-2-1, 1) take a 4th round TKO against Ryusuke Arai (0-4-1). The other two bouts lasted less than a completed round. One of them saw Shu Muramatsu (1-1, 1) blow away Masahiko Abe (2-2-1, 2) in 74 seconds whilst the other saw Fire Terakado (1-1, 1) defeat Keisuke Imabuchi (0-1) in 98 seconds. (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp) Amazingly busy day in Asia sees numerous notable fights with Eto, Kubo, Parrenas, Watanabe...8/23/2014 It's been a whilst since we had some fights though this past Friday was chock-a-block with fights taking place through out Asia. The day had cards in Thailand, the Philippines and Japan and gave us a share of shocks, blowouts, predictability and excitement reminding us why we all love boxing, even in it's down periods. Tokyo, Japan For us the most notable of the shows was the reason promoted show at the Korakuen Hall that featured a trio of notable match ups alongside 7 lesser fights. The card wasn't an amazing one but was notable and significant on the Japanese and Asian boxing scene due to the main trio. The first of that significant trio was Taiki Eto (13-3, 10) who bounced back from his loss last time out to Yohei Tobe and simple destroyed Brukluk Kor Narong Service (0-2) in just 2 rounds. Whilst Eto was stopped in a Japanese title fight by Tobe it's interesting to note that Brukluk's only previous fight was a loss to current Japanese champion Sho Ishida who, just like Eto, stopped the Thai in 2 rounds. The second of the significant bouts also ended in the second round as the heavy handed former Japanese, OPBF and PABA champion Akinori Watanabe (31-4, 27) easily took out Thailand's Chatchai Sithsaithong (8-4, 6). This bout was Watanabe's return to the ring after a 9 month break though it's obvious from this performance that he still has enough to compete at title level. In the main event Super Featherweight hopeful Shingo Eto (14-2-1, 9) made light work of Arnon Sithsaithong (0-1) who was stopped inside a round. After the fight it was announced that Eto would be fighting Japanese champion Rikki Naito in October in what looks almost certain to be a fantastic bout. Whilst the main trio of bouts went a combined 5 rounds it's worth noting that the 7 undercard bouts also all ended early, in fact those 7 bouts went a combined 13 rounds! The quickest of those undercard bouts saw the debuting Tsubasa Koura (1-0, 1) score a notable opening round blow victory against Naoki Morooka (2-1, 2). Aged just 19 Koura may be worth keeping an eye on desite his bout here only last 142 seconds. The only other opening round victory scored on this undercard was by Daichi Yamamoto (1-2-1, 1) who took just 25 seconds longer than Koura to score his victory. For Yamanoto he got his maiden victory with a KO over the still win-less Kazuma Fukino (0-3). Of the 7 undercard bouts 4 went into the second round. The quickest of those 2 round bouts saw Shunsuke Mori (1-2, 1) scoring a stoppage 28 seconds into the round as he punished Takuya Sagehashi (0-1). It took Ryotaro Tokusa (1-0, 1) a further 20 seconds, 48 seconds of round 2, to take out his debut foe Hiroshi Higuchi (0-1) in an all debutant bout. Another debutant who suffered a set back was Kaiki Oshira (0-1) who was beaten by Hokuto Kawana (3-0, 2) at the 2:22 mark of round 2. The other man who scored a second round KO was 19 year old Daigo Higa (2-0, 2) who were impressed by on his debut. Higa made light work of Thai visitor Rotthang Wor Por Srisaket (0-3) who was stopped at the 2:40 mark of the second round. The only bout on the entire show to go beyond 2 rounds saw Kazumichi Ishizawa (3-4, 1) taking a 3rd round stoppage victory over Motonobu Suzuki (2-5). On paper this was one of, if not the, most evenly matched bout but even that didn't help it go the distance. Hyogo, Japan At the Kobe Central Gym there was a small but very notable show courtesy of Shinsei Gym. The card featured just 6 bouts though a number of them were fought as part of a small Japan Vs Philippines event. The show opened with a 4 rounder between Koichi Sumiya (0-1-1) and Yuki Arakawa (0-1-1) that ended in a split decision draw. The only other "under-card" bout saw Ryo Kosaka (8-3-1, 4) taking a second round KO over Monkey Shuhei (5-5-1, 2) in a scheduled 6 rounder. The first of of the main bouts was a win for the Philippines as as the battle hardened and experienced Roque Lauro (11-16-4, 2) took a split decision over Japanese teenager Ryuya Yamanaka (7-2, 2). On paper this was a mismatch though delving below just the raw records suggests that Lauro is a very capable foe and has been in with a relative who's who whilst fighting well above his natural weight. With wins over Joan Imperial, Ronelle Ferreras and Myung Goo Yuh we'll suggest that Lauro is one of those potential banana skins, as Yamanaka found out here. The second bout was another win for the Philippines as former OPBF title challenger Jhunriel Ramonal (14-7-4, 7) took a narrow split decision over Kota Fukuoka (15-5-2, 12). Ramonal had been stopped, in 3 rounds by Shingo Wake, last time he was in Japan though appears to have found that his level here with this win, a great result given that he had been stopped in his 2 previous bouts. The Philippines made it 3-0 as the criminally under-rated Renoel Pael (14-1-1, 5) scored a dominant decision over the heavy handed Yuki Yonaha (3-2, 3). This bout wasn't even close and there was no debating the winner here as Pael put on a masterclass against a man who looked out of his depth. We'd suggest keeping an eye Pael as he appears to have plenty of skills and has no fear fighting on foreign soil, in fact his best performance came in Thailand against Noknoi Sitthiprasert just 6 months ago, the judges gave that to Noknoi though Pael really did deserve the win. The only win for Japan came in somewhat disappointing circumstances as the the highly regarded Shun Kubo (5-0, 4) defeated Renren Pasignahin (6-4-1, 2) with a 4th round TKO. From what we understand the Filipino suffered a nasty injury that forced him to suffer his first stoppage defeat. In saying that we do suspect that Kubo would have won regardless of the injury but it is still a disappointment from the all involved. Pasignahin was robbed of his chance to compete after less than 4 rounder and Kubo was robbed of a "clean" win, a real shame. Makati City, Philippines As well as the action in Japan we also had two cards in the Philippines. At the bottom of this card was a number of novices, including the debuting Mark Angelo Plana (1-0) who successfully kicked off his professional campaign with a clear decision over fellow debutant Lordy Pateno (0-1) in a 4 round. The Plana/Pateno bout was one of two 4 rounders with the other one being won by female hopeful Naome Tacda (2-0, 2) who defeated Aisah Alico (5-4, 4) in the second round. In the sole 6 rounder Jonathan Dela Cruz (5-0, 2) recorded a second round KO against the usually durable Jomar Borbon (4-19-2, 2). The bulk of the show's contests were 8 rounders and these featured the show's most competitive bouts. The compeititve contests featured a surprising split draw for Ronelle Ferreras (14-7-3, 6) with JC Francisco (6-8-3, 2), a further shot to Ferreras's career which has really taken hit after hit this year, and also a split decision win for Eric Panza (6-2-1, 1) who narrowly over-came Pablito Canada (4-4-1, 1) in a very close contest. In less competitive contests we saw a pair of stoppages for Japanese fighters. The less significant of those bouts saw Ryuta Wakamatsu (10-10, 7) stopping Aroel Romasasa (11-7, 5) in the second round in a slight upset. The other bout shocked no-one as Momoko Kanda (7-6-2, 1) stopped Nongnun Mor Krungthepthonburi (2-3) in 4 rounds and claimed the WBC Asian Boxing Council female Minimumweight title. This was the second bout between Kanda and Nongnun, the first time they met Kanda took a decision over 6 rounds but this time it seems she was fighting with real confidence and forced the stoppage of her Thai opponent. The card featured a pair of 10 rounders but neither of them was even close to being competitive. One of them saw popular world ranked power puncher Warlito Parrenas (21-6, 18) completely dismantling Richard Garcia (25-20-1, 7) in the third round. Parrenas, one of the hardest puncher in the Super Flyweight division, broke apart Garcia with body shots in the third round and left Danrex Tapdasan with no option but to stop the contest. The other 10 rounder lasted a mere 36 seconds as Rey Juntilla (18-5-3, 11) detonated a body shot on Cris Leon (7-11-4, 3) who failed to recover. Sadly the main event was equally as one sided with Richard Claveras (9-0-2, 9) defending his WBC Asian Boxing Council Light Flyweight title with an opening round KO against Thailand's Sangthong Chor Pakdee (4-1, 4). We expected this to be explosive, but we didn't think it was going to be over quite so quickly. Metro Manila, Philippines The second Filipino show took place in Metro Manila at the The Flash Grand Ballroom of the Elorde Sports Complex and proved to relatively full of mismatches. The card opened with a pair of 4 rounders, both won by men who went into the bouts as unbeaten. These saw Robin Langres (2-0, 1) take a 4th round TKO over Jonathan Pedrosa (0-6-1) and Jetlee Formentera (2-0, 1) take an opening round blow out victory against Roberto Mendano (0-2). Although the opening contests didn't last long the pair of 6 rounders both went the scheduled. These saw Wilbert Berondo (4-0, 2) score a near sut out over Roy Albaera (2-24-5) whilst the once beaten Diomel Diocos (4-1-2, 2) took a majority decision over Vincent Bautista (1-2-1). Strangely the Diocos/Bautista bout was scored 59-54 by two judges whilst the third had contest level at 57-57. The final "undercard" bout was the sole 8 rounder which saw Jeffrey Francisco (10-0-1) extending his unbeaten run with a clear decision over domestic journeyman Jeson Berwela (4-17, 2). The bulk of the card was the trio of 10 rounders. The first of those saw Giemel Magramo (11-0, 8) taking and early and easy win over over the experienced but limited Jovel Romasasa (10-20, 4). Romasasa retired at the end of the 2nd round giving Magramo his 11th win though hopefully he will be matched more competitively next time out. Sadly much of the top bouts here were uncompetitive and in Featherweight action Juan Miguel Elorde (16-1, 8) took a 5th round TKO over Paulus Baransano (0-4). Juan Miguel Elorde wasn't the only member of the Elorde family to score a win as his brother, Juan Martin Elorde (16-1-1, 7), defeated Juniston Simbolon (7-12-1, 3) via a 6th round technical decision. At the end of the bout Elorde was bloody from an accidental headbutt hence going to the cards early. Both of the Elorde's were facing Indonesian foes. The main event saw another easy win for a Filipino against an Indonesian as Dennis Laurente (48-5-5, 29) stopped the very limited Elly Pangaribuan (3-4, 1). This was Pangaribuan's second successive second round stoppage following on from his defeat to Nobuhiro Ishida just over a year ago. Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand In Thailand we saw PABA Featherweight champion Thong Sithluangphophun (10-0, 7) defend his title with a 3rd round KO against Indonesian challenger Yakobus Heluka (7-8). For Heluka this was a 4th straight loss and it seems like he's generally just getting in the ring to lose right now, a real shame. The ended for this one was a bit on the nasty side from Thong though it does appear that Heluka decided that he didn't want to continue. Quebec, Canada In Canada fans got to see the heavy handed and very promising Artur Beterbiev (5-0, 5) take a very quick win over the over-matched Alvaro Enriquez (12-13-2, 4) in what was clearly a stay busy fight after spending 7 months out of the ring. We now expect to see Beterbiev facing former world champion Tavoris Cloud in September in what looks to be a genuinely fantastic bout. (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp) |
Archives
October 2015
Categories
All
|