This past Saturday was an incredibly busy day in Asian boxing

New York, USA
It was in New York that we had the two highest profile bouts of the day to feature Asian fighters.

The first of those saw saw Filipino-American Brian Viloria (36-5-0-2, 22) put in a brave showing against the sensational Roman Gonzalez (44-0, 38). Viloria, who was attempting to claim the WBC Flyweight title, came out looking for the upset and did have plenty of success of his own, including hurting Gonzalez with a hard body shot in round 9. Sadly for Viloria that body was his last success of note before the referee saved him as Gonzalez went on the offensive.

Following the Viloria/Gonzalez bout we then saw Gennady Golovkin (34-0, 31) add the IBF belt to his collection of titles as he stopped Canadian fighter David Lemieux (34-3, 31) in the 8th round of a very 1-sided bout. Golovkin showed his boxing ability early on, breaking down Lemieux with just his jab for the first few rounds before picking up the pace and eventually forcing the referee to stop a damaged Lemieux.

California, USA
Another major show from the US saw ALA make their US debut and take some of their best fighters to American soil for the first time.

The main event here saw talented WBO Light Flyweight champion Donnie Nietes (37-1-4, 21) take a clear win over the limited, but very tough, Juan Alejo (21-4, 13). Alejo was on the receiving end of a beating but never once looked like quitting as he repeatedly fought back, albeit with mixed success against the Filipino.

Another fighter who impressed was the much touted Albert Pagara (25-0, 18) who claimed the WBO Youth Intercontinental Super Bantamweight title with a 6th round KO win against former world title challenger William Gonzalez (27-6, 23). The Nicaraguan was stopped for just the third time in his career and it seems clear that Pagara is preparing himself for a world title fight in the not so distant future.

Another youngster who shined was Mark Magsayo (12-0, 10) who saw off Yardley Suarez (13-1, 8) in the early stages of their fight, whilst retaining the IBF Youth Featherweight title. On paper this one looked competitive but was totally one sided in favour of the brilliant Filipino prospect.

Another quick blow out saw Jason Pagara (37-2, 23) easily over-come Santos Benavides (25-8-2, 19) in the 2nd round as he moved a step closer to a potential world title fight of his own.

One other bout on this show saw Filipino-American Bruno Escalante (14-1-1, 6) take a 6 round decision win over Nestor Ramos (6-3-1, 2).

Massachusetts, USA
Yet more US action came from Massachusetts where a couple of promising Chinese fighters both scored wins.

One of those winners was touted Lightweight hopeful Wang Zhimin (5-0, 2) who scored a 6 round win over the experienced Guillermo Sanchez (15-17-1, 6). This was the second time that Zhimin has gone 6 rounds and it's likely than an 8 rounder bout will in the not so distant future.

The other was Meng Fanlong (4-0, 2) who scored a quick blow out win against the debuting Devonte Hopkins (0-1). This bout lasted less than a round with the Chinese fighter being too good, too strong and too talented

Gifu, Japan
In Gifu Japanese fans had a small profile show headlined by one of their most promising prospects in the lower weights.

That prospect was Genki Hanai (5-0, 4) who scored a 2nd round TKO win against Junya Nishikawa (7-7-2, 2). Following the win Hanai's team hinted that he would be fighting for a title next time out.

In the chief support bout Reiko Sugiyama (6-5-3, 4) scored a 6th round TKO win against Takuya Yamamoto (6-4, 3).

The under-card for this show, which featured 6 bouts, were all scheduled for 4 rounds. Of those two failed to go the distance. They saw Masaki Sasaki (1-0, 1) take an opening round KO win against Hidemitsu Yokoyama (0-1) whilst Yuto Nakamura (2-1, 2) took a 4th round TKO over Michitaka Umemoto (1-2, 1).

The most competitive bout of the show saw Tom Hamaguchi (3-3) take a majority decision over Seiya Kaga (1-1). Another competitive fight saw Takayoshi Mizoguchi (1-1) take a competitive win over Kiyoshi Nakamura (2-3, 1). Mizoguchi was one of 3 fighters to pick up their first win. Another was Kizuki Yamazaki (1-1), who beat Takashi Kagamihara (2-3) whilst Takayuki Sakai (1-0-1) claimed a win over Shohei Iwamoto (0-3-1).

Ishikawa, Japan
Another Japanese show took place in Ishikawa.

This card featured a genuine upset as Yudai Tamagawa (8-6-1, 2) claimed a split decision win over once touted Filipino Mark Gil Melligen (21-6-1, 12) For Melligen, who fought for an OPBF title earlier this year, this was a second successive set back and it's hard to see where he goes now.

The Tamagawa/Melligen bout was one of 3 bouts scheduled for 8 rounds. Another saw Yudai Arai (7-3-3, 3) scored a wide decision win over Yukiya Hanabusa (8-3-2, 2), in a fight that looked good on paper, whilst the other saw boxing nomad Omrri Bolivar (3-0, 1) defeat Xinghua Wang (11-13-1). Bolivar, from Venezuela, has fought in China and Japan in recent weeks and seems likely to continue his interesting career on the road.

In a 6 rounder Hurricane Futa (20-5-1, 11) blow away Ik Soo Han (7-5, 2) inside a round whilst Mika Iwakawa (4-3-1, 1) out pointed Aiko Yamagishi (4-3-1, 2) in a female bout, also over 6.

Another female bout saw Asami Jinnari (3-1, 1) score a 3rd round TKO win over win-less Thai Petchluksor Sor Praithong (0-3), in a bout scheduled for 4 rounds. The only other 4 rounder was a narrow win for Yohei Fukui (3-0, 1), who defeated Dong Yang (1-5).

Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Staying with Japanese fighters there was a win for foreign based Japanese fighter Aniya Seki (29-3-2, 4) who defeated the heavy handed but crude Carolina Schroeder (8-2, 7) by a clear decision in a but for a couple of lowly recognised female world titles.

Suzhou, China
There was also action in China with a small card in Suzhou.

In the main event Shunkai Xia (5-0, 2) claimed the WBO China National Cruiserweight title with an 8 round decision against Samoan fighter Falani Tavu'i (4-2, 1). We're not sure how a Somoan, making a Chinese debut, was allowed to fight for a China national title though it certainly seems like Xia is missing details from his record, that could mean bouts or just small inaccuracies.

In another 8 round contest fans saw teenager Jian Wang (1-0) take a decision win over Zhan Gupo Sun (0-1-1). The win, a clear one for the 19 year old Wang, was an impressive debut but it will be interesting to see how far he can go.

The card also featured a couple of 6 round bouts. One of those saw 17 yeard old Light Heavyweight Fei Hu Wang (1-0) claim a clear win against Yu Qu (0-1). The other was a very wide win for Wen feng Ge (1-0) who took a 60-52 win, across the board, against, Xu Gao Yan (0-1)

In a female 4 rounder YuanYuan Zhao (1-0) took a 4 round decision win over Ling Wang (0-1).

(Image courtesy of GBP)

This past Friday was a hectic day with action in Thailand, Japan, Dubai and Asian fighters fighting in Australia.

Ratchaburi, Thailand
The most significant card of the day was in Thailand where we got the only world title bout of the day.

The show, like many in Thailand, began with a single preliminary bout. This saw WBO Asia Pacific Featherweight champion Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo (56-2, 37) score a 6th round TKO win over Indonesian visitor Boido Simanjuntak (18-29-1, 7). It seemed clear from the opening bell that Chonlatarn was too good for the Indonesian who showed some guts but was eventually ground down in the 6th round. Whilst this was an expected win for the former 2-time world title challenger the result was rather disappointing given that Super Flyweight contender Srisaket Sor Rungvisai stopped Simanjuntak in in just as many rounds a year ago.

The main event was the aforementioned world title bout. The contest was for the WBO Bantamweight title and saw Pungluang Sor Singyu (51-3, 35) become a 2-time champion as he stopped Japan's Ryo Akaho (26-2-2, 18). On paper it looked a really good bout but unfortunately Akaho was never really able to get into it before being stopped in the second round. There were complaints about infringements from Pungluang but it seemed like Akaho had lost the bout before a punch was even thrown. Amazingly this continues the terrible run that Japanese fighters have had in world title fights in Thailand.

Another notable name on this card was “Manny Pacquiao Look-a-like” Kwanpichit OnesongchaiGym (32-1-2, 17) who defeated journeyman Thaminkhao Sor Tharnthip (4-14-1, 3) by stoppage early in their bout. Kwanpichit, who lost to Zou Shiming last year, is now 5-0 (5) since his loss to the Chinese star.

The undercard here featured two prospects. One of those was Saentanong Onesongchaigym (7-0, 3) who continued his perfect start by over-coming Teeradech Sor Praithong (0-1). On paper Saentanong looks like a genuine prospect but sadly digging below the numbers shows that all 7 recorded bouts have come against debutants. The other prospect was Thewa Onesongchaigym (10-2, 5) who scored a stoppage win against Saksiam Or Sompote (0-1). Although Thewa has a couple of losses on his record he is on a 5 fight winning run and has seemingly put back-to-back defeats to Xian Wei Qian well behind him.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Whilst the most significant single bout was in Thailand it's fair to say that some of the most notable fighters were actually in Dubai as part of an ALA promotions show.

The main event of the evening saw the fast rising Albert Pagara (24-0, 17) make very light work of Mexico's Jesus Rios (31-8-1, 25). Rios, who had failed to make weight for the bout, had talked a good fight in the build up but lasted less than a round with the talented Pagara who really does look like one of the sports top prospects.

Albert wasn't the only Pagara in action as older brother Jason Pagara (36-2, 22) managed to take a technical decision win against Ramiro Alcaraz (15-5-1, 9). Pagara, who is world ranked at 140lbs by the WBO, really isn't up to the same level as his younger brother though will likely more attention when ALA make their promotional debut in the US.

A third main bout on this card resulted in an 8 round decision win for veteran Jimrex Jaca (40-8-4, 22) who out pointed Pablo Lugo Montiel (21-6, 17) in a relatively competitive bout.

This card also had 4 bouts on the under-card. One of those saw Larry Abarra (4-3-1, 3) score a stoppage against the fragile Tony Arema (3-7-1), who has now been stopped in 5 of his losses. Another stoppage on this card saw the promising Deo Krizito (2-0, 1) take out Thailand's Fapetch Manopchaigym (1-1). The only other stoppage on this undercard saw the debuting Lasisi Bamidel (1-0, 1) defeat Singnoi Simanasak (1-2).

In a bout that went the distance Muhammad Akram (4-0-1, 1) out pointed Nicholas Mwangi (0-1).

Tokyo, Japan
The Thai show was probably the one with the highest profile single bout and the show in Dubai was probably the strongest in terms of over-all name appeal. It was however a show in Japan that left a lasing impression, despite it being a flop for the promoter who saw only one of their 7 fighters pick up a win.

The one fighter to win from the promoter who put the show on was Hikaru Nishida (13-8-1, 5) who stopped former world title challenger Makoto Fuchigami (21-11, 12) in the 5th round of their bout. The contest was a rematch of their 2014 bout, which saw Nishida claim a narrow win. For 3 rounds it seemed like Fuchigami was going to avenge his loss as he boxed beautifully against a strong and determined, but basic, Naishida. In round 4 however Nishida began to turn the tide before forcing the referee to save Fuchigami in round 5, ending what was a Round of the Year contender.

The Nishida/Fushigami rematch was the co-main bout along with a brilliant Super Bantamweight bout between Yasutaka Ishimoto (26-8, 7) and Gakuya Furuhashi (17-6-1, 7). Whilst the the other main bout was a 5 round round war this one was a tactically sharp, high octane boxing contest with both men throwing a lot of leather in a brilliant, competitive and genuinely enthralling contest. The result was a close win for Ishimoto, who took the decision despite being deducted a point for holding in the penultimate round.

The two main bouts were both streamed on a ustream channel along with one of the under-card bouts. That under-card bout saw the much talked about Kohei Kashino (2-1, 1) suffer his first defeat at the hands of the under-rated Hizuki Saso (5-1, 1). Saso took over this bout in round 3 before stopping a tired Kashino in the 4th round of their Rookie of the Year bout.

Another much talked about fighter being stopped here was Riyako Goshi (3-4) who was stopped in round 3 by Chie Higano (4-3, 1). Goshi has been popular due to her out of the ring activities and her unusual ring outfits but the attention she got was massively more than her talent deserved.

Kashino wasn't the only fighter to lose his unbeaten record here as stablemate Yui Oikawa (2-1) also suffered his first defeat. Oikawa was relatively unfortunate to lose a very close majority decision to Sho Nagata (5-1, 2), who advanced to the next round in the Rookie of the Year.

Another bout with novices saw teenager Taiju Shitatori (2-0, 1) out point Ryo Nakano (1-3) whilst a 6 rounder saw Masayuki Ichikawa (6-2, 2) take a wide decision win over Masayuki Sakurai (3-9-2).

Victoria, Australia
In Australia we saw two title bouts featuring Asian fighters.

The more significant of those two bouts saw Czar Amonsot (29-3-3, 17) retain his PABA Light Welterweight title as he took a 4th round technical decision win over Rusmin Kie Raha (14-8-2, 3). Amonsot, a Filipino based in Australia, managed to add the lightly regarded WBA Pan African title to his collection, though we do wonder how a Filipino and an Indonesian qualify to fight for an African belt.

The other bout saw another Australian based Filipino in action, sadly however Roberto Lerio (16-22-1, 6) couldn't match the result of Amonsot. Instead Lerio was on the end of a clear decision loss to the unbeaten Ibrahim Balla (8-0, 5), who claimed the Australian Super Bantamweight title with this win.

Metro Manila, Philippines
The first major action of the day came in the Philippines where promotional giant ALA Promotions put on Pinoy Pride 30. The show was the first blockbuster event from the Philippines this year and featured 4 major title bouts, including a world title contest.

The card began with the unbeaten Ralph Jhon Lulu (11-0-2, 5) struggling past the limited Gerry Patieno (4-8-2, 2) in an unconvincing performance from the unbeaten man. The bout saw Lulu take a 4 round majority decision but not really impressing anyone. The other 4 rounder on the show was much more impressive as the exciting Joepher Montano (3-0, 2) stopped Australian visitor Tyson Maher (0-2) in a really enjoyable contest. Montano may only be at the start of his career but it's clear he's going to be a lot of fun to follow, win or lose.

In an 8 rounder fans saw the heavy handed Jeson Umbal (8-3, 6) drop Eric Panza (7-4-1, 1) twice en route to a close decision win. The knockdowns were the difference between a unanimous decision win for Umbal and a majority decision draw between the two men where well matched to say the least. The other 8 rounder was less well matched as AJ Banal (33-2-1, 22) clearly and easily over-came Indonesian visitor Junior Bajawa (14-6, 7). Banal was bothered in later rounds following a headclash but dominated the fight and took home a very wide decision win.

The first of the show's title bouts saw ALA's newest international signing, Ryo Akaho (26-1-2, 18), in action. Akaho claimed the WBO International Bantamweight title with relative ease as he destroyed the under-sized and under-skilled Prosper Ankrah (24-5-0-1, 15) in the 4th round of their bout. Ankrah had some success but never enough to make Akaho respect him and it always seemed like Ankrah was fighting to survive than to win. This victory for Akaho was his 7th since he was beaten by Yota Sato in a WBC Super Flyweight title bout back in 2012 and it looks like Akaho is now ready for another shot at world honours.

Arguably the stand out performance came from promising youngster Albert Pagara (23-0, 16), who looked sensational as he defended his IBF Inter-Continental Super Bantamweight title against the heavy handed but limited Rodolfo Hernandez (26-6-1, 24). Pagara dropped Hernandez in the opening round then dominated him until the end of round 4. Hernandez then remained in his corner citing an injury with his hand, though it looked more like a case of “get me out of here” from the Mexican.

In the co-feature of the show fans saw the return to the Philippines of the popular Nonito Donaire (34-3, 22) who had a showcase win against the hapless William Prado (22-5-1, 15). Prado had only been stopped by WBA Super Bantamweight champion Scott Quigg, in 3 rounds, prior to this but Donaire dismantled him in just a couple of rounds. Prado landed little through out the bout and looked distraught every time Donaire caught him. With this win Donaire claimed the NABF Super Bantamweight title and is now expected to move towards a world title bout at Super Bantamweight.

In the main event fans saw long term world champion Donnie Nietes (35-1-4, 21) successfully retain his WBO Light Flyweight title with an impressive victory over the dangerous Gilberto Parra (19-3, 17). Nietes started fast and looked to be trying to make a statement early on. Parra saw out the early storm and fought gallantly in the middle rounds, particularly round 6. Sadly however for the challenger a knockdown in round 8 was the start of the end and he retired after the 9th round after suffering a nasty cut around the left eye. Prior to the retirement he was always looking second best and appeared to know it spending several rounds trying to avoid a fight with excellent champion.

Yucatán, Mexico
We had another world title bout in Mexico where the diminutive Rommel Asenjo (26-4, 20) took on the sensational Juan Francisco Estrada (32-2, 23). Sadly for Asenjo this never looked like it was going to go his way and although he was competitive in a very quiet opening round that was about the only positive he could take from the bout. In round 2 Estrada moved into third gear and appeared capable of battering Asenjo at will. The challenger came out for round 3 though less than a minute into the round his corner threw in the towel in a disappointing ending to the bout. The conclusion was less than great though Asenjo's face was already beginning to look a swollen mess courtesy of Estrada's power which was having an effect every time he landed.

Thailand
In a low profile show in Thailand fans got the chance to see two former world title challengers both pick up decision wins.

One of those men was Samartlek Kokietgym (20-5, 5) who over-came the experienced but limited Jack Amisa (20-35-2, 14). For Samartlek this was a third straight win since he came up short in a WBC Light Flyweight title fight against Naoya Inoue, though it seems clear that he's much more comfortable at this level

The other winner was the highly experienced Pigmy Kokietgym (56-7-2, 22) who over-came Heri Amol (35-23-4, 14). This was Pigmy's 4th bout since he came up short last year against Hekkie Budler in a WBA title fight in Monaco.

Queensland, Australia
In Australia there was a trio of Thai's in action.

The highest profile of those Thail's was Chaiyong Sithsaithong (36-13-4, 26) who came up short against Paul Fleming (20-0, 13) in a bout for the WBO Oriental Super Featherweight title. Sithsaithong managed to see out the 10 round schedule here against the talented but did see a 4-fight winning run come to an end.

In one of the main support bouts Wisanlek Sithsaithong (11-7, 7) was stopped, in 4 rounds, by Australian Jason Cooper (13-2-1, 7). For Cooper this was a 5th successive win following his 2014 loss to Qiu Xiao Jun whilst the Thai was stopped for the 5th time in his career.

Also on this card fans had the chance to see professional loser Pramool Boonpok (1-13-1) pick up another defeat as Australian fighter Reuben Aiono (2-0-1, 1) took a 5 round decision win.


(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

This Saturday was certainly a busy day in Asian boxing with several notable cards taking place. For now we know we're missing some results though hope to have them added short. For now however we've got all the results we've managed to collect.

Cebu City, Philippines
The biggest card of the day, by some margin in regards to the Asian fight scene, was in the Philippines where ALA Promotions put on the 28th “Pinoy Pride” show. The show was full of names really was a great card for those lucky enough to catch it with an unexpected FOTY contender, the continued development of one of the best prospects in world boxing and a world title fight being 3 of the many notable stories on the card.

The first of the notable fights featured one of the more under-rated prospects in Asian boxing, Mark Magsayo (9-0, 7). Magsayo caught our attention last year on a “Pinoy Pride” card and impressed again today as he easily beat Korean youngster Moon-Sun Jung (2-4-3) in the second round of their clash. On paper, and in the ring, this was a mismatch however Jung had gone 10 rounds in a Korean national title fight just 2 months ago so the fact Magsayo stopped him so quickly was very impressive. We'll not pretend Magsayo is going to be fast tracked to a world title but we'd advise fans to keep an eye out for this talented youngster dubbed “Magnifico”.

Magsayo was far from the only Filipino to impress on this card and another man who impressed was the unknown Jomar Fajardo (14-5-2, 7) who really caught the attention of the fans and media in attendance as he put on a stirring performance to hold Francisco Rodriguez Jr (16-2-1, 11) to a split decision draw. Fajardo entered the bout as a massive under-dog whilst Rodriguez Jr was a unified world champion at Minimumweight and a man with an eye on fighting Donnie Nietes. Fajardo left the bout as man many now want to see against whilst Rodriguez Jr is man who has lost some lustre despite unifying the WBO and IBF Minimuweight titles this year.

Another fighter who thoroughly impressed was the unbeaten "Prince" Albert Pagara (22-0, 15) who defended his IBF Inter-Continental Super Bantamweight title with a punch perfect performance against the teak tough Mexican Raul Hirales (22-4-1, 11). Hirales's only contribution to this fight was his heart and toughness and for 12 rounds he was the recipient of head and clean shots by Pagara who seemed to be ready for much, much tougher assignments, in fact a world title bout in 2015 isn't out of the question for this wonderfully gifted young fighter who has superstar written all over him.

In the show's main event we again saw an impressive performance by the home fighter as WBO Light Flyweight world champion Donnie Nietes (34-1-4, 20) recorded the 5th defence of the title as he defeated Carlos Velarde (26-4-1, 14). Nietes started slowly and worked our what Velarde had to offer before moving through the gears in round 4 and 5 to eventually break down the Mexican challenger who retired on his stool at the end of round 7. We'll be honest the bout was disappointing given our expectations but there was no doubt about the better man despite the rather anti-climatic ending to the bout. Nietes now appears to have 2 clears options, he can either begin his pursuit of a title at Flyweight, as we suspect the original plan was, or he could fight Rodriguez Jr in 2015 to add another defence to his record. Either option would be interesting and we're looking forward to seeing what he does next.

Of course not all the Filipino fighters on the show were impressive and it's fair to say that the least impressive, at least in terms of result, was former WBO Minimumweight champion Merlito Sabillo (23-2-1, 12) who suffered his second stoppage defeat of the year. Sabillo was making his return to the ring following his first loss, a stoppage loss to the previously mentioned Rodriguez jr, and fought as if he had the need to make an impression on the fans. Sadly for Sabillo he was a bit too wild and was caught by a nasty counter by Indonesian visitor Faris Nenggo (8-7-3, 3) which left Sabillo with an ugly cut that eventually forced the end of the bout in round 4. It was a disappointing fight for the exciting Sabillo though it was a freak result in many ways and it's unlikely he'll ever suffer such a bad cut again.

Former world title contender AJ Banal (32-2-1, 22) recorded his 4th straight win as he over-came Thai visitor Maxsaisai Sithsaithong (15-6, 4) though left many wondering what was left for Banal. The talented and heavy handed fighter did what he needed to here to take a clear win but it's fair to say that many were hoping he's close the show against his Thai foe who came up short in an OPBF title fight earlier this year.

It's also fair to say that Milan Melindo (32-1, 12) failed to leave a great impression despite a clear win over Saul Juarez (22-4, 11) in an IBF Light Flyweight title eliminator. Melindo was the better fighter through out but failed to show the power he will need to win a world title at 108lbs. His skills are great, as shown again, but his lack of power really is going to be an issue every time he fights a top tier fighter.

Deagu, South Korea
As well as the action in the Philippines we also had titles on offer in South Korea where there were 2 national title fights on a small but yet interesting card as the Korean boxing scene continues to grow, despite what appears to be two clearly different factions action as a commission.

In a somewhat farcical Super Middleweight title bout fans saw Eun Chang Lee (8-4, 4) successfully defend his title with a 6th round TKO against the woefully undeserving Young Kyoon Lee (1-14-1). We're unsure how Lee qualified for a title fight given that he's not recorded a win in almost 6 years though thankfully his win-less streak continued here or it really would have been an embarrassment for the title to have been held by such an unqualified champion.

Thankfully the other title fight on this show was much more entertaining in the ring and interesting on paper as Ik Soo Han (7-3, 2) took on Jon Won Won (7-14-1, 3). The bout saw Han winning the previously vacant Korean Super Featherweight title with a 4th round knockout of Won though had to pull himself off the canvas earlier in the round in what made for an entertaining contest. Sadly for Won this was his 8th loss in a Korean title fight and comes some 30 months after being stopped in a Korean Lightweight title bout by IK Yang.

As well as the two title bouts we also had two female bouts. One of those was an 8 rounder that saw Hye Soo Park (4-7-1, 1) take a dominant decision over Thai visitor Dorkmaipah Kiatpompetch (0-4) in a contest that saw the Korean winning every round of the bout. The other female bout saw Hyun Sook Jun (3-1, 2) scoring a 4th round TKO over Pantip Sor Suwannaresort (0-3).

The rest of the undercard featured a featured a pair of 4 rounders. These saw Sung Hwan Kim (2-0-3) take a decision over the win-less Jin Soo Jung (0-5) in a bout scored 39-37 by all 3 judges whilst the debuting Jung Ho Jang (1-0, 1) took out Eun Jin Kim (0-1) in the 4th round of their bout.

Nakhon Nayok, Thailand
There were two shows in Thailand with one of them coming from Nakhon Nayok. This show was headlined by a WBC regional title fight that saw a controversial ending following a clear low blow by Petchchorhae Kokietgym (9-0, 6) in round 3 that sent Indonesia's Rizky Pratama (2-1) down in agony. The Indon fighter got to his feet but the bout was waved off to give the bout a genuine bizarre finish.

On the undercard we saw recent world title contender Terdsak Kokietgym (54-5-1, 34) score an easy win over the over-matched Hengka (0-1) who was taken out with a nasty body shot from the Thai veteran. Although the bout was a mismatch in favour of the talented Thai it did come just weeks after his hard, but very exciting, loss to Orlando Salido in Mexico.

A third bout on this card saw Petchnamchai KKP (2-0, 2) defeat the limited but brave Ricardo Sithsaithong (0-1) in 2 rounds. Sithsaithong tried to give it a go but was hurt and looked lost trying to defend himself until the referee mercifully stepped in.

Chonburi, Thailand
In Chonburi we had the other Thai show that was headlined by South Korean fighter Myung-goo Yuh (22-4-1, 17) who stopped Thailand's very own Mongkol Charoen (25-4, 8) in the 6th round of their scheduled 10 rounder. On the undercard Gurlal Redbluegym 1-0, 1) scored a 4th round win over Watchasin Mukarsa (0-1) whilst Kuldeep Redbluegym (1-0) stopped Rachatapon Tongplia (0-1), sadly we've not come across any footage of these bouts.

Gauteng, South Africa
In South Africa we sadly saw two Russian fighters suffer defeat, albeit in very different fashion.

In a very disappointing performance Denis Grachev (13-5-1, 8) suffered his 4th straight loss, and his 5th in 6 bouts, as he retired on his stool against the unbeaten Thomas Oosthuizen (23-0-2, 14). The bout, for the WBC International Light Heavyweight title, was poor from the beginning though Grachev never once found his form in the bout before running out of steam and being given a bit of a hiding. The retirement in his stool wasn't what was Grachev would have wanted but it does effectively end his hopes of ever landing a world title fight.

In a more controversial contest the previously unbeaten Roman Belaev (14-1, 10) suffered an 11th round technical decision loss to Ali Funeka (36-4-3, 29) in a bout for the IBO Welterweight title. The information on this one is scarce though two cards read 105-104 in favour of the home fighter whilst a third card read 109-100 and we suspect the bout was much closer than that final card.

Tokyo, Japan
Unfortunately we were very slow to get the Japanese results from the day however here they are, a couple of days late.

In the main event Keita Nakano (12-9-3, 3) managed to force a 6th round stoppage against the chinny Takaaki Ishikawa (10-6, 5) in what was scheduled to go 8. This was Ishikawa's 6th stoppage defeat and some need to wonder if he would be better off retiring now, especially given that he has been stopped in 3 of his last 4.

The chief support bout was a 6 rounder that saw Ryuto Araya (7-2-1, 1) scoring his first stoppage victory as he took out Tsubasa Mochizuki (6-5, 2) with less than 30 seconds remaining.

From the 7 bouts scheduled to go 4 rounds we saw another trio of stoppages. The fastest of those came in 98 seconds as debutant Jinya Miyagi (1-0, 1) blew away fellow novice Sho Sekine (0-1). It took Takahiko Suzuki (5-2, 4) most of round 3 to see off Yuji Awata (3-3, 2) whilst Shota Irie (1-1, 1) needed 30 seconds of the final round to defeat Shuhei Hamano (0-2).

In bouts that went the distance we saw 3 very competitive matches. The closest of those saw Toshizane Kinoda (4-1, 1) take a majority decision over Wataru Yokoyama (1-3, 1) in a very close bout. The action was similarly close in Huzuki Saso's (3-1) win over Yuki Uchida (2-2) and in Tasuku Nakagawa's (2-1) win over Yuta Onishi (2-3, 2). The only clear decision winner was Rei Ochiai (3-3-4) who clearly beat Mio Mizokami (4-8-2, 2)

Sometimes a day in boxing is insanely busy with fights coming thick and fast with bouts taking place all over the world. This past Saturday was one such day with notable fights taking place in the USA, South Africa, the Philippines, Belgium and Switzerland. If we say it was a multi-national day it really wouldn't be a lie.

California, USA
The fight of the night, at least as a spectacle, was in the US as Yoshihiro Kamegai (24-2-1, 21) and Robert Guerrero (32-2-1-2, 18) fought a bloody, violent phone booth war that lived up to the tag of being the "main event" on a major show. The two men seemed to cast aside defence and boxing and instead just stood in front of each other, breaking each other up to the body and smashing each others faces.

Despite the effort of Kamegai the judges all saw Guerrero taking the win. At the end of the day though the fans were the winners and hopefully the action and style of this fight will see Kamegai brought back to the US sooner rather than later. There are lots of fights Stateside for a guy like Kamegai to be involved in and plenty of them could be made easily and be just as entertaining as this one was.

Mote Carlo, Monaco
Whilst the fight in the US was the best of the day the "most significant", at least in the division it was fought in, was in Monaco as South Africa's popular and talented Hekkie Budler (26-1, 8) defended his WBA Minimumweight title with a stoppage of Thailand's experienced Pigmy Kokietgym (52-7-2, 22). Pigmy tried to take out Budler with big right hands though at the end of the day the South African was too sharp, too accurate and too big for the Thai who struggled to get close. Although competitive at stages Budler finished the fight in style with a devastating body attack that dropped Kokietgym for the count in round 8.

The win for Budler makes a dream fight between himself and Katsunari Takayama seem like a real possibility for either this year or early next year as long as Takayama can overcome Francisco Rodriguez Jr on August 9th. If things go as planned a bout between Takayama and Budler would be a triple title unification with the IBF, WBO and WBA belts all on the line for the winner.

Cebu, Philippines
Whilst the biggest fights too place outside of Asia there was still some action closer to home with an explosive ALA show in the Philippines.

The show was headlined by the Pagara brothers who both scored notable stoppage victories and wowed fans with their aggression and power. 

The first of the Pagara's in action was the unbeaten "Prince" Albert Pagara (21-0, 15) who made very light work of the over-matched Hugo Partida (21-5-2, 16). Partida was drown 3 times in quick succession and referee Bruce McTavish was forced to stop the bout. It was clear from the first right hand that Pagara landed that this wasn't going to last and that proved to be the case with Partida completely unable to take his power. The win for "Prince Albert" helped him claim the IBF Inter-Continental Super Bantamweight title and may well have helped the younger Pagara to a world ranking at last.

For Albert Pagara the bout was about winning a new title, for his brother Jason Pagara (34-2, 21) the fight was all about defending his WBO International Light Welterweight title, which he did with ease dropping Mario Meraz (20-4, 16) twice and forcing the referee to wave of the bout at the end of the 4th round.

The Pagara's wren't the only men to score stoppages and earlier on the card there was also a stoppage victory for the former world title contender AJ Banal (31-2-1, 22) who had to get off the canvas in the first round stop Indonesia's Defry Palulu (10-1, 9) in the second. Palulu's power looked genuine but there is still serious work to do for him however the body shot that Banal landed was a beauty and and very few would have taken it well.

The only disappointment on this show saw Jimrex Jaca (39-7-4, 22) and Masayoshi Kotake (9-8-2, 5) fighting to a 3rd round technical draw. The bout had the potential to be a show stealing war but a head clash put paid to that and the bout simply couldn't go on.

Glattbrug, Switzerland
In what, on paper, looks to have been an upset Japan's Aniya Seki (24-3-2, 2) was stopped in the second round by Mexico's Judith Rodriguez (7-7, 5). Unfortunately this bout really showed the difference between the two women despite the records suggesting the opposite. Rodriguez, despite her scratchy record, had only lost to world champions, and had often run them close. Seki however was somewhat untested and it showed when Rodriguez took the fight to her and used his very genuine power and strength.

The loss for Seki, just her second stoppage loss in 29 fights, saw her losing the WBC female Silver Super Flyweight title and quite probably her dreams of a world title fight.

Vienna, Austria
Female action wasn't just in Switzerland but also in Austria as two Thai fighters took on European opponents.

The less competitive of the bouts saw Buangern OnesongchaiGym (11-7-1, 2) suffer her third stoppage loss so far this year. Buangern was fighting against the unbeaten Oezlem Sahin (18-0-1, 6) and was stopped in the 6th round in what was a battle for the WIBF, WBF and GBU female Minimumweight titles. The loss, more than anything, summed up that Buangern isn't a championship level fighter and, rather than getting beaten again, she needs to go back to the gym and work on her skills. We all know she's not tough enough to survive with a decent fighter so will her team please stop throwing her to the wolves!

In a much more competitive contest Nonggift Onesongchaigym (6-2-1, 1) gave a great account of herself despite losing a decision to home town fighter Eva Voraberger (18-3, 9). Voraberger is a fighter we've been told was very good prior to this fight so we'd assume that Nonggift, at just 18, has a very bright future and it would be far from a surprise to see her picking up a title of some type in the near future. This bout, for the WIBF and WBF female Super Flyweight titles, might be a set back but we honestly think this loss could the the making off the Thai youngster.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

Whilst the entire boxing world was getting excited about Saturday's big show from the US, including the return of the Pacman, there was actually some fighters take part in their job across Asia.

Nonthaburi, Thailand
Arguably the most significant fight of the day was in Thailand as the highly ranked Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo (50-1, 32) had to avoid a potential banana skin. With a WBO world title eliminator on the books Chonlatarn had to make sure he got the win and he did just that as he stopped Nouldy Manakane (25-15-1, 15) in 6 rounds. We now expect Chonlatarn to be meeting Joel Brunker next, possibly as soon as May for a fight to decide the mandatory challenger.

Chonlatarn wasn't the only ranked fighter in action as the unbeaten Kwanpichit OnesongchaiGym (26-0-2, 11) stopped Khunpol Chaiyonggym (0-1) and defended his own world rankings in the process. We're not sold on Kwanpichit being world class but he knows a slip up could cost him big time.

Other stoppages on the card included Yodkhunsuk Mor Poowana (3-1, 1) stopping the debuting Korporn Sithpornsak (0-1) in 3 rounds and female fighter Napaporn Superchamps (8-8, 2) stopping Ploynapa Sakrungrueng (10-5-1) in 4 rounds.

This Thai card also had one of the oddest bouts as Denis Castle (1-0, 1) scored a debut stoppage over Dorkmaipah Kiatpompetch (0-3). From what we understand Castle is a 42 year old British Minimumweight.

The only bout that actually went the distance in Thailand saw Thewa Tor Surat (5-0, 1) take a 6 round decision over Jen Yu Jia (1-8-1).

Southern Leyte, Philippines
The only Filipino card of the day was one that may not have has a lot of fights but it did have a couple of very interesting fighters on it.

The show began with 10 amateur bouts before we moved on to professional action.

At the lower end of the interest spectrum fans got to see Jess Rhey Waminal (2-0, 1) out point the win-less Dondon Amparado (0-4), Richard Barrios (7-0, 3) take a close decision over Lito Dante (7-4-3, 4), Whilst Brian Lobetania (8-0-2, 6) stopped Boyce Sultan (8-4, 5) and Elmo Traya (4-1, 3) stopped Rey dela Cruz (2-6, 2).

Although the under-card was relatively deep those in attendance were there for the Pagara brothers and neither of them failed to deliver.

The unbeaten Albert Pagara (20-0, 14) made late work of limited Indonesian Skak Max (6-14, 6), scoring a third round stoppage, whilst Jason Pagara (33-2, 20) broke up and then stopped Rusmin Kie Raha (12-5-2, 2) who was forced to take a 10 count.

Tokyo, Japan
One of the more interesting cards was in Japan where we had a 7 bout show at the Korakuen Hall.

The most interesting bout from Japan, in our opinion, saw a minor upset as Jo Tanooka (8-1-4) narrowly out pointed the previously Japanese ranked Ryuto Oho (6-1, 2). We had backed Oho to win this one though will admit that these two are both likely to be competing for Japanese titles some where down the line.

Although the Tanooka/Oho bout was the one that interested us the most the main event as actually a bout between Ryuji Yokoyama (11-1, 3) and Koya Sato (7-1-1, 1). This saw Sato suffering his first professional defeat via a razor thing 6 round technical decision that was effectively decided by a point on 2 of the scorecards. 

Most of the bouts in Tokyo were highly competitive and we actually got just a sole KO as Masajiro Honda (5-4, 4) took out Takashi Sakamoto (4-3, 1) in 2 rounds to inflict the first stoppage loss on to the record of Sakamoto. As well as the single stopped we also only had one clear decision as Yuto Sasamori (7-4, 3) almost shut out the limited Hideki Suzuki (4-4-1) over 6 rounds.

The close decision on the undercard saw Koji Okubo (2-1-1) take a majority decision over Kenji Motegi (2-3-1) and likewise Shuntaro Ouchi (1-0) also took a majority decision as he overcame Ryusuke Arai (0-1). The closest bout on the show however was a draw as Tomoki Takada (0-0-1) was held on debut by Tomotsune Mitsuyasu (1-1-1, 1).

Suwannakhet, Laos
There were also recognisable Thai's in action in Laos as former world title challenger Terdsak Kokietgym (53-4-1, 33) was in action for his second bout of the year. Terdsak recorded his third straight decision victory as he out pointed Filipino Rene Bestudio (16-7-4, 5) and claimed the previously vacant WBO Oriental Super Featherweight title in the process.

Although Terdsak has failed in previous world title bits he does seem to be wanting another and he'll be hoping that this WBO regional title will help him get a fight with current WBO champion Mikey Garcia.

On the same card in Laos was a victory for Petchbarngborn Kokietgym (25-7-1, 10) who out pointed the debuting Gasper Empolo (0-1). This was Petchbarngborn's third straight victory since being stopped by the fact rising Sho Ishida last September.

California, USA
Finally fans in the US got the chance to see the return to the ring of former Lightweight world title challenger Mercito Gesta (27-1-1, 15) who showed no mercy as he stopped Edgar Riovalle (37-18-2, 26) in the final round of a bout scheduled for 8. This was Gesta's first fight in over a year following his loss to Miguel Vazquez in an IBF title fight that unfortunately saw Gesta being over-awed by the big stage.

On the same show as Mercito was his younger brother Anecito Gesta (2-3) who was unfortunately on the wrong end of a close decision losing to the debuting Riccy Hood (1-0).

Nevada, USARussian Light Heavyweight prospect Egor Mekhontsev (3-0, 3) continued the very impressive start to his career as he stopped Dwayne Williams (5-2, 2) and it now seems like Mekhontsev is ready for a big step up. Unfortunately he's just too good for this level of fight to learn anything and he could well be sped up significantly in his development.

New South Wales, Australia
Filipino journeyman Michael Correa (3-12-3, 1) was surprisingly blown away inside a round as he took on unbeaten Australian Kye MacKenzie (8-0, 6). Correa is usually tough and went 8 rounds with MacKenzie last year so this blow away loss really was a surprise despite Correa's less than impressive record.

(Picture, of Chonlatarn, courtesy of Onesongchai)

Boxing through February was a bit disappointing if we're all being honest with ourselves. Thankfully it seems like March is going to be exactly the opposite and it kicked off in style this past Saturday with major cards held in both Japan and the Philippines.

Metro Manila, Philippines
The bigger of the two major Asian cards of the day was "Pinoy Pride XXIV" and took place in the Philippines. On paper it looked like their was a few good bouts on it though the surprise bout of the day was one of the contests that looked like a mismatch proved to be the fight of the day.

The main event on the show saw the unbeaten Genesis Servania (24-0, 10) continuing to impress as he stopped former 2-time WBA Super Flyweight champion Alexander Munoz (36-6, 28). Servania dropped Munoz several times and although he was cut himself he was dominant, sharp and showed off all the traits that have Filipino fans so excited about him. 

Although Munoz showed off his toughness he was stopped in round 12 with the referee deciding enough was enough and giving the young Servania his 4th stoppage victory in 5 bouts.

Servania's impressive performance in the main event came fellow prospect "Prince" Albert Pagara (19-0, 13) put on scintillating performance to stop Indonesia's Isack Junior (22-5-2, 8) inside a round. The fight, which ended with a devastating body shot, hardly saw Junior throw a punch before crumpling to the canvas in absolute agony. It was little surprise that Junior stayed down for the full 10 count and he'd have been happy for the referee to count to 100 and remained on the canvas. 

The one fight that was supposed to be a mismatch turned out to be anything but as "King" Arthur Villanueva (25-0, 14) was dragged in to an all out war with late replacement Fernando Aguilar (9-7, 1). Aguilar, a late replacement for the injured Juan Hernandez, forced the action through out and although he was bloodied he refused to ever believe he was beaten in a bout that can only be described as a war. Unfortunately for Aguilar fighting away from his native Mexico likely cost him a draw in a bout that should serve as a real wake up call for Villanueva whose world rankings didn't reflect the skill he displayed here.

On the undercard the very promising and highly touted Mark Magsayo (5-0, 4) recorded a 6th round knock out over Roy-Roy Sumugat (9-10-1, 3) to continue his impressive winning streak. Going in to this bout Magsayo had never been beyond 4 rounds so will have been very pleased to have gotten a few rounds under his belt.

The unbeaten fighters really were on a role through the under card with Melvin Gumban (16-0, 8 KOs) stopping the limited Dino Lelis (10-12-2, 5) in round 5 and Cuba's Reymi Castellano Aleye (4-0, 1) easily out pointed Diover Mangaya-ay (1-4) in what proved to be a mismatch.

Amazingly only a single fighter with a loss actually managed to score a victory as the much touted Vic Saludar (3-1, 3) over-came the previously unbeaten Philip Luis Cuerdo (3-1, 1), who in turn was the only unbeaten fighter to suffer a loss on the card.

Tokyo, Japan
As well as the show in the Philippines there was also a big show in Tokyo. 

This card was headlined by the much anticipated rematch between Akio Shibata (22-8-1, 9) and Daisuke Nakagawa (22-4-2, 17). The bout, which pitted the OPBF Middleweight champion against the Japanese Middleweight champion saw Shibata recording his second decision victory over Nakagawa who was just a bit too slow for the accurate and light hitting Shibata.

With the victory Shibata unifies both the Japanese and OPBF Middleweight titles and bounces back well following his loss last year to the then debuting Ryota Murata.

The Shibata/Nakagawa bout wasn't the only Japanese Middleweight bout on the card. Another, on the undercard, saw Hikaru Nishida (10-6-1, 3) upset former world title challenger Makoto Fuchigami (20-9, 11). Nishida, who was just 6-6-1 (1) a year ago has really turned his career around in very impressive fashion with not just this victory but also one over Kazuhiko Hidaka and probably deserves a fight with Shibata, even though he would clearly be the under-dog. As for Fuchigami he's fallen a long way from fighting Gennady Golovkin less than 2 years ago.

A third notable bout on this show saw the world ranked Shin Ono (17-5-2, 2) taking a 5th round technical decision over the massively over-matched Takumi Suda (10-10-2, 2). This was Ono's second bout since suffering a major tendon injury and whilst he clearly won this fight we are curious as to whether or not he's confident in himself to take on a more competitive opponent.

In one more notable match up the hard hitting Kenichi Ogawa (11-1, 9) stopped Indonesian Yon Armed (11-5-1, 6) in just 2 rounds. The bout was a mismatch with the power puncher simply having far to much for the visitor.

On the undercard Hisashi Owada (5-8) narrowly over-came Kenichi Ohara (4-8) in an excellent 6 round match up that was about as even as they come. It may have been a "throw away" match for many though this sort of competitive match making is what makes Japanese boxing so good. The show also saw Shinya Ito (1-1) defeat Takumu Kawano (0-2) via decision and Kensuke Sasaki (1-1) stopping Thai visitor Yodradab Jor Perm Thongmak (0-2) in 3 rounds.

Victoria, Australia
"Down under" we saw Ibrahim Balla (4-0, 3) score his third successive victory over a Thai opponent as he took out Thongtaeng Muangsima (5-4) in just 2 rounds. Whilst this was Balla's third victory against a Thai it was his fourth straight against a fighter from Asia.

(Picture of Shibata landing a punch on Nakagawa is courtesy of http://boxingnews.jp)