This past Saturday was an incredibly busy day in Asian boxing, as a result we've unfortunately been slow to get the results all up and ready.

Cebu, Philippines
The most notable, of 3 Filipino shows, came from Cebu where ALA Promotions put on the wonderful, and entertaining, “Pinoy Pride 31”. A card which really had everything.

The main event was a competitive bout at the top level which saw Donnie Nietes (36-1-4, 21) retain his WBO Light Flyweight title with a clear, but competitive, win over Mexican Francisco Rodriguez Jr (17-3-1, 11). Rodriguez, a former unified champion at 105lbs, went over to Cebu with real confidence and, at times, looked to have Nietes in trouble but the Filipino icon managed to use his experience and skills to take advantage of Rodriguez's flaws. Following the win Nietes has been linked to a world title fight at 112lbs where we expect he'll be fighting by the end of the year.

Another title bout on this show saw the highly touted Mark Magsayo (11-0, 9) pick up the IBF Youth Featherweight title with an excellent 5th round TKO against Rafael Reyes (16-5, 12). Reyes had come to fight and gave Magsayo a good test before being stopped from a wonderful Magsayo assault. Although the fight showed some flaws with the touted youngster it's clear he's going a long way and we can't wait to see him step up again.

Another talented young fighter in action here was Kevin Jake Cataraja (1-0, 1) who made a successful debut as he stopped Indonesian fighter Ardi Tefa (6-5, 4) in the 6th round. The debuting Cataraja looked sensational, despite his novice status, and looks likely to be on the fast track through the ranks. Although he was debuting he was considered as the 3rd most significant bout on the card.

Whilst we were impressed by the fighters in the main bouts there was a number of other bouts on the card. One of those saw former OPBF Super Bantamweight champion Roli Gasca (23-6-1, 7) score a sensational KO over Rasmanudin (19-10-3, 10). The typically light punching Gasca landed probably the best show of his career as creamed Rasmanudin in the early stages of round 2. Another KO saw Vic Saludar (10-1, 8) score a 4th round KO against Michael Kaibigan (3-3-2, 2). Saludar, another touted fighter, is tipped for success though does need to be matched harder than this now. One other Filipino to score a memorable KO was Elmo Traya (9-1, 7) who stopped Bryan Macamay (9-3-2, 5) with a nasty body shot in the 3rd round.

Sadly one other KO on this show came in a farce as Mexican politician Jorge Kahwagi (12-0, 12) scored an opening round “KO” against Ramon Olivas (13-4, 9). This bout, put on the card as a favour to Zanfer, was a joke and really was hilariously bad with Olivas looking like he had taken one of the most blatant dives in boxing history.

On the under-card a couple of bouts went the distance. One of those saw Carlo Demecillo (4-2, 1) score an upset against the previously unbeaten Virgel Vitor (4-1, 2). Another distance bout saw Raul Yu (6-1-1, 5) fight to a draw with Ricardo Sueno (2-0-1, 1).

Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany
In Germany we had another “world” title fight as WBA Heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev (34-2-1, 20) made light work of the awful Francesco Pianeta (31-2-1, 17), who lasted less than a round. Pianeta was dropped early in the opening round before being stopped at the end of the round by Chagaev who made the first defense of the title that he won, controversially, last year against Fres Oquendo.

Metro Manila, Philippines
A second notable Filipino show came from Metro Manila where two former world title challengers were in action as well as some talented young Filipino fighters.

One of those former world title challengers was Richard Claveras (13-1-2, 12) who scored his first decision win as he defeated Benezer Alolod (16-8-5, 5) in a relatively compelling bout for the WBC Asian Boxing Council Light Flyweight title. The other former challenger was Ardin Diale (29-9-3, 15) who scored a 6th round retirement victory against Heri Amol (35-24-4, 15). Interestingly Diale's victory was his 6th straight win following a loss, in an OPBF title fight, against Koki Eto last year.

The Claveras Vs Alolod bout was one of 4 title bouts on this show. Another title fight saw the much under-rated Michael Dasmarinas (21-2, 13) take a decision win over Jhaleel Payao (11-1, 6) to claim the WBC Youth Super Flyweight title that Payao had won last year. This was, on paper, a brilliant match up between two talented Filipino youngsters and despite the loss for Payao we don't really see it as a major setback with both of these fighters likely to on to big things in the future. Another title bout saw Jonas Sultan (9-2, 5) take a competitive decision win over Rene Dacquel (14-5-1 5) to become the new GAB Super Flyweight champion. The remaining title bout saw the experienced, and often under-rated, Danilo Pena (27-21-4, 12) score a 7th round technical decision over Rey Juntilla (20-7-4, 13) to claim the LuzProBa Featherweight title, in what was an upset but not as much as the records of the fighters would suggest.

On the undercard there was several bouts. One of those saw the unbeaten Fighting Heno (5-0-3) take a very close decision win over John Ray Logatiman (3-2-1), another unbeaten fighter picking up a decision on this undercard was Cris Ocana (2-0, 1), who out pointed Diego Gabayeron (0-1). One unbeaten fighter who did score a stoppage was Lorence Rosas (4-0-2, 2) who defeated Alberto Pentecostes (1-6-1).

A stoppage on the under-card saw Eric Panza (8-4-1, 2) score a 3rd round KO as he took out the fragile Marco Niones (3-16, 1) with a body shot.

There were two other bouts on this card. One of those Ernie Mino (3-5-2) score an upset decision win against Masazumi Furukawa (6-7-2, 1) whilst the other saw Joel Taduran (5-2) out point career loser Jhon Jhon Faminiano (1-12-3).

Cotabato del Sur, Philippines
There was yet more Filipino action with a card at the Robinson's Mall Atrium with this one also featuring some notable young fighters.

Arguably the most notable of the fighters in action here was unbeaten prospect John Vincent Moralde (13-0, 7), who fought for the first time since his tragic bout with Brayd Smith in March. Moralde easily defeated William George (10-23, 3), who was stopped in the 3rd round, though there will continue to be questions over whether or not Moralde will ever become the fighter he was once expected to be. This win for the 21 year old was, however, a good step forward in terms of getting a read on his mentality in the ring.

Another notable youngster was Jake Bornea (10-1, 5) who saw off Richard Rosales (9-3-2, 4) in 4 rounds to claim the WBO Asia Pacific Youth Flyweight crown. Jake's younger brother Jade Bornea (4-0, 2) was also on this show as he over-came the previously unbeaten Salatiel Amit (6-1-2, 4) with an 8 round decision.

Yet another touted youngster in action here was Jelbirt Gomera (9-0, 6) who scored a 3rd round TKO win against the limited Prell Tupaz (9-28-5, 1) to claim the PBF Super Bantamweight title.

Arguably the best match up the card was a non-title contest that saw the talented Jetro Pabustan (26-2-6, 7) out point former world title challenger Vergilio Silvano (20-5-1, 12) over 10 rounds. Whilst Pabustan shouldn't yet be looking at t a world title fight this was the type of step up win that his career desperately needed. Another 10 round bout that also looked interesting ended in a draw between Junuel Lacar (7-1-2, 5) and Jimboy Haya (7-2-2, 4), we'll be honest this looked tasty on paper and proved to be a well matched contest between two young domestic level fighters each looking ton make their mark on the sport.

The under-card here had 5 bouts. From those bouts we saw a genuine upset as Jayar Diama (5-5-5, 2) leveled off his record with a decision win against Marjun Pantillgan (5-3, 4). Another decision win was scored by Joey Antonio (2-1-1), who claimed a majority decision over debutant Lony Cadayday (0-1). Another under-card bout that went to the judges saw Mark Bawaan (1-0-1) fight to a draw with the win-less Holly Quinones (0-4-1).

Under-card bouts that didn't go the distance saw Renz Magarce (7-0, 5) score a 4th round KO against Romulo Ramayan Jr (6-5-3, 3) and the debuting Vinz Paras (1-0, 1) blow away Romeo Garde (0-1)

Guerrero, Mexico
In Mexico we saw disappointment for Filipino fighter Jhon Gemino (12-4-1, 5) who suffered a 10 round decision defeat to unbeaten Mexican Andres Gutierrez (32-0-1, 22), who is now looking likely to get a major fight. Gemino was dropped early in the fight but fought back well, despite the loss.

This past Sunday was a hectic day in Asia with 3 notable shows in Japan as well as a small Filipino card.

Tokyo, Japan
The best of the 3 Japanese shows came from Tokyo where reason, along with Shirai-Gushiken-Sports, put on a very good looking “Dangan” card. The card, in total, had 9 bouts with 4 of them being genuinely notable.

The main event saw former Japanese Super Featherweight title challenger Shingo Eto (16-3-1, 9) take a close and competitive decision victory over Tomoya Yamada (12-6, 3). This, on paper, was supposed to be an easy win for Eto but he was pushed all the way in a bout that would have been great to keep Eto on his toes and help prepare him for another, eventual, title shot.

In the co-feature we saw Filipino warrior Ardin Diale (28-9-3, 14) take a split decision win against Yuta Matsuo (7-2-1, 4) in a fantastic bout that showed Diale at his best. The Filipino was fighting in Japan for the first time since his dramatic 8th round TKO loss to Koki Eto last year and seemed to quickly shake off any issues he had with that loss as he notched his 5th straight win. For Matsuo this loss sees him dropping to 2-2-1 in his last 5.

A third 8 round bout saw Spice Matsushita (14-8, 2) take a competitive decision victory over the hard hitting Takumi Koyama (9-4-1, 7) in a slight upset win.

In a 6 rounder we saw the destructive Daigo Higa (5-0, 5) quickly take care of Filipino visitor Virden Rivera (8-2-1, 2). Rivera, who's only previous loss was a 7th round defeat to Rex Wao, was unable to cope with Higa who was aggressive from the opening and finally saw off Rivera in the 2nd round.

On the under-card were 5 bouts, two of which ended early. The quicker of those ended in the 2nd round as Taisei Hayashi (1-1, 1) defeated Toshihiko Saito (0-2), the other saw Sho Nagata (4-1, 2) upset Hokuto Kawana (4-1, 3) with a 4th round KO.

In a more competitive under-card action Hideaki Onuki (2-0) claimed a majority decision over the win-less Koji Fujimoto (0-2) whilst Taiga Higashi (2-1, 1) took home a split decision victory as he over-came Yusuke Moriya (1-2). The only clear decision on the under-card saw Yoshimitsu Kimura (1-0) take a victory over Yuki Nishikawa (0-1) in an all-debutant affair.

Wakayama, Japan
In Wakayama fans has an interesting show with 3 notable bouts as well as a relatively forgettable under-card.

The main event saw former OPBF Super Bantamweight title challenger Eita Kikuchi (17-4-4, 7) take a decision win against Keita Ito (8-20-2, 4). For Kikuchi this was a third successive win after back-to-back stoppage losses in 2013, including a loss to Shingo Wake. Interestingly Ito managed to surpass expectations and gave one of his best performances in recent years, unfortunately however it was his 8th straight loss.

The unbeaten Shohei Kawashima (10-0-2, 2) continued his unbeaten run with a clear decision victory against Yuta Sasaki (6-7, 1). This was Kawashima's first 8 round bout and the 23 year old will have learned so much from the experience, even if Sasaki wasn't a top tier opponent.

The third main bout saw Kazuki Hashimoto (11-4, 7) take a very quick victory over Chikashi Hayashizaki (6-5-1, 2). Hashimoto saw off his foe after just 97 seconds.

The under-card, surprisingly, all went the distance with all 5 bouts completing their schedules. The most competitive of those saw Yosuke Shimagawa (5-5-1, 2) take a very narrow split decision victory over the win-less Koichi Sumiya (0-2-1), who proved to be better than his record suggested. Another very competitive bout saw the debuting Shintaro Ukezono (1-0) take a majority decision over Shinen Nakayasu (0-3).

Even the “non-close” decisions were close. These saw Ryo Sumiya (2-1-1) take a thin unanimous win over Kazuaki Okada (3-4) and Koichi Wakita (2-1) take an even slimmer win over Kazuki Koyanagi (3-9). The only clear decision from the under-card saw Katsushito Kudo (2-2, 1) over-come Teruyuki Nogami (0-2)

Hiroshima, Japan
In Hiroshima there was a 10 bout card which featured 2 main bouts alongside 8 under-card bouts, each of which was scheduled for 4 rounds.

The main bout saw Koji Itagaki (14-9-2, 6) take a wide decision against Filipino visitor Benezer Alolod (16-7-5, 5). This was Itagaki's second win following an horrific 0-4-1 run whilst Alolod has now lost back-to-back fights after having a good string of results in 2014

The other main event saw Ryuji Ikeda (9-2-1, 5) blow away journeyman Kosuke Iwashita (14-18-2, 8) in just 160 seconds. We didn't expect this one to be so one-sided and it perhaps spells the end of Iwashita who is now 1-8 in his last 9 bouts

The under-card featured a bit of everything, with a number of competitive bouts as well as a number of stoppages. One of those stoppages came in an all debutant bout as Katsushi Shiga (1-0, 1) scored a 4th round TKO against Hiroyuki Tsujimura (0-1). Another 4th round TKO came at Lightweight as Satoshi Yamamichi (4-3, 4) took out Takahiro Maeda (1-2, 1). A third 4th round finish saw the unbeaten Kazuya Okubo (3-0, 1) extend his perfect record with a victory against Kota Hama (2-1, 1), who lost his unbeaten record. One other stoppage on this card saw Ryoya Ikema (4-1, 4) stop the win-less Hayata Komen (0-2) in the 3rd round.

In more competitive action J Soul Maeda (3-2-2, 1) took a split decision over the previously unbeaten Riku Inokuchi (1-1), another split decision saw Takahiro Morisaki (3-1, 1) defeat Takumi Konod (1-1-1, 1), who also lost his perfect record. Another close bout saw Hiromichi Kurokawa (4-2-1, 1) take a majority decision over Masashi Kamon (1-2). The only clear under-card bout saw Hironori Miyake (4-3, 1) take a wide decision over Masafumi Suda (1-2, 1)

Siquijor, Philippines
In the Philippines there was a small card with no major bouts on it though the main event did feature an unbeaten prospect taking a step up in class.

That aforementioned main event saw Jayr Raquinel (5-0, 3) take a 3rd round DQ win against Jimboy Haya (7-2-1, 4), who was unable to keep his shots above the belt against the unbeaten man. The 18 year old Raquinel may be worth making a note of, though unfortunately this bout failed to really tell us how good he is.

In both the under-card bouts fans saw early blow outs. One of those saw Marjun Pantilgan (5-2, 4) blast away with Rajah Jetro Tulod (0-1) inside a round whilst the other saw Filjun Taneo (3-1, 1) defeat Salvador Crispin (0-1), also inside a round.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

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.

This past Tuesday has certainly been a hectic day with bouts coming across Asia with titles up for grabs in 4 separate countries!

Korakuen Hall, Japan
In Japan we had the most notable bout of the day in many ways as fans got the chance to see an OPBF title bout. Sadly aside from that bout the card was relatively lacklustre and even that title bout wasn't something to write home about, despite it's regional significance.

The title bout in question saw Yuzo Kiyota (27-4-1, 25) stopping Fuji's Abhay Chand (16-14-4, 10) in the 5th round of their bout. Kiyota, a genuinely heavy handed guy, was deducted a point in round 4 for a low blow but seemed to feel that the body was Chand's weak spot and a jab in round 5 to the challengers guy put him down for the 10 count in what was a really poor challenge of the title.

In the co-feature of this card Kenta Nakagawa (8-2, 6) scored a 3rd round TKO against Ryo Nakamura (7-5, 3) who was stopped almost as soon as round 3 began.

Also on the Japanese card were 6 undercard bouts. Of those 6 bouts only one ended with a stoppage as Akihiro Yamanaka (4-3, 1) scored his first stoppage win and defeated Muneyuki Kishii (3-5, 2) in the 4th round. One other bout that failed to go the distance saw Joji Tsuchiya (1-2-1, 1) fight a 1 round technical draw with Takuya Yamaguchi (1-2-2, 1), in a bout that lasted just 160 seconds.

A competitive undercard bout saw Shunta Terai (0-2-1) fight to a 4 round draw with Hiroaki Tokuoka (0-1-1) whilst a similarly competitive contest between Ryuji Kohama (1-1) took a split decision over the debuting Yuki Nakajima (0-1). A third competitive contest saw Daisuke Sudo (3-2) taking a narrow win over Takuya Suzuki (1-2-1, 1). The only other bout was a female bout which saw Yunoka Furukawa (4-1-2-1, 2) take a decision over Mikiko Muto (2-2)

Bangkok, Thailand
Staying with title action and Japanese fighters there was also a Japanese fighter in action in Thailand as part of an interesting card in Bangkok.

The Japanese fighter in question was 17 year prospect Riku Kano (5-1-1, 3) who claimed his first title, the WBA Asia Minimumweight title, with a 12 round shut out against Indonesian fighter Madit Sada (9-19-1, 3). Kano, who hasn't made his Japanese debut yet, looked like he has the ingredients to go far and win world titles somewhere down the line however the big fear is that his promoter burns him out too early, a real fear considering this was his 6th bout this year.

A second bout on this card saw Petchchorhae Kokietgym (10-0, 7) defeat Indonesian visitor Johan Wahyudi (9-31, 5). The Indonesian really was outclassed from the off and Petchchorhae was made to look sensational at times before finishing the bout with a vicious body shot in the second round. Prior to the finishing blow the visitor had been down from a swiping left upstairs, it was however the body breaking uppercut that finished the show that really left a lasting impression.

Also on the same show in Thailand fans saw Petchmanee Kokietgym (5-0, 1) winning an easy decision over journeyman Jack Amisa (20-32-2, 14). Amisa has now lost 20 times in Thailand and it appears clear he has no intention of trying to win when fighting in the country. He appears to know that losing is what he'll be doing in his career and he's now won just 1 bout in the last 6 years!

Metro Manila, Philippines
In the Philippines fans got their share of fills and thrills with an array of knockouts, including one by a very highly ranked Super Flyweight.

The aforementioned Super Flyweight was Warlito Parrenas (23-6, 20) who retained his WBO Oriental title with an opening round blow out against the horribly over-matched Hengky Baransano (11-5, 4). Parrenas, who will be angling for a world title fight next year, broke up his foes resistance with a body shot inside 2 minutes of the bout.

Another body shot KO helped the destructive Richard Claveras (11-0-2, 11) continue his unbeaten run as he took out the experienced Rodel Tejares (20-32-6, 5). This was Tejares's 3rd loss this year and he may need to consider his future, especially considering he is now win-less since springing an upset over Lionel Mark Duran back in September 2012.

A third notable knockout on the top part of this card saw Ardin Diale (26-9-3, 13) score a 2nd round KO against Ricky Manufoe (23-22-2, 10). Manufoe failed weight at the weigh in and had a 4lb advantage over Diale, that didn't help and Diale recorded his third successive stoppage since his own stoppage loss to Koki Eto in an OPBF title bout.
In a WBC Youth Super Flyweight title bout on this show fans saw the unbeaten Jhaleel Payao (11-0, 6) over-come the defending champion Rene Dacquel (12-4-1, 4). Dacquel was attempting to record his first defense of the belt was out pointed over the 10 round distance in what was sadly the show's only genuinely competitive bout.

The sole 8 rounder on the card went 3 as the heavy handed Jon Jon Estrada (6-1-1, 5) easily took care of Junjie Lauza (4-13-1, 1). In a 6 rounder Aljhon Osabel (9-2, 5) took care of the wonderfully named Daffy Dempo (2-4, 2) in the 3rd round, after dropping him twice in the second round. The other 6 rounder saw the unbeaten Lorence Rosas (2-0-2) take a technical draw after an accidental headclash cut Joel Lagusan (3-10-1, 1).

In the 4 rounders we saw on go the distance as Jaymark Borbon (1-1) scored his first and over-came the debuting Rizalde Caballes (0-1). Caballes had been down in the opening round and will not see this as a debut to remember. The other 4 rounders saw Jermone Clavite (2-0-1, 1) score his first stoppage win as he took out the win-less Joshro Lindon (0-4), in the 4th round, and JayAr Diama (2-5-4, 1) also took his first early victory as his opponent Ronie Gaton (0-4) retired at the start of round 2.

Daejeon, South Korea
Yet more title action occurred in South Korea where fans got a title double in a relatively low key show.

Domestically the key fight was a South Korean Light Welterweight title fight that saw Myung Soo Sun (2-0) make the first defense of his title with a decision win over the more experienced Jin Soo Kim (6-4, 3). Sun, who won the title on his debut against Jae Ho Kim, appears likely to become the KBC's poster boy and at just 20 years old does look to be a promising youngster who now has 2 complete 10 round bouts under his belt.

The second title bout on this show saw the unbeaten Eun Hye Lee (6-0, 1) claim the WBO Asia Pacific female Flyweight title with a clear victory over the brilliantly named Lady Love Sampiton (2-3, 1) of the Philippines.

The 4 under-card bouts here were all debutant affairs. At Featherweight fans saw Ye Chan Gang (1-0, 1) score a 3rd round TKO over Doo Hwa Lee (0-1). From the details we have it seems Lee, a 17 year old, had the size advantage with 5” of height, though probably lacked the physical maturity of the 22 year old Gang. At Lightweight Dae Won Sunwoo (1-0) took a decision victory over Bum Jin Kim (0-1) with a shut out. At Light Welterweight fans saw a well fought draw between Sung Koo Han (0-0-1) and Bo Kwan Shim (0-0-1).

The other all debutant bout was all the way up at Cruiserweight where Sang Ho Kim (1-0, 1) stopped Jung Soo Lim (0-1) in the 2nd round. At 5'8” and aged 31 we can't see Kim going on to do much with his career unfortunately.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

Although this Saturday wasn't a great one for Western boxing fans it was an interesting one for Asian fans with bouts across the continent.

Tokyo, Japan
The most notable bout came in Japan and although Japanese fans at the Korakuen Hall weren't treat to a great card or an amazing show, but they were treat to a card with a significant bout on it as a world ranked fighter was in action and show casing his skills in front of them.

That world class fighter was Japanese Flyweight champion Suguru Muranaka (20-2-1, 7) who showed that he hit harder than his record indicated as he saw off the gallant challenge of Yusuke Sakashita (12-5, 7). Sakashita, started very well though in the second half Muranaka manged to cut the distance before landing a bomb to send Sakashita down and forcing the referee to stop the contest. Prior to the stoppage Muranaka had been given a serious test though will be glad to see that his power is becoming more notable with this being his second successive stoppage, as well as his second national title defense.

The chief support bouts were both 8 round contests. One of these saw Yusuke Tsukada (7-4, 3) managing to over-come the much more experienced Takashi Inagaki (17-13-1, 7) with a well earned decision. The other 8 rounder lasted just 77 seconds as Yuto Shimizu (8-2-2, 2) swiftly dispatched of Indonesian visitor Muhammad Imam (9-6, 3). Imam has not lost 4 successive bouts including a trio of opening round blow outs and it's clear that he needs to be careful about who he gets in the ring with in the future.

We also had a quick blow out in one of the 2 bouts scheduled for 6 rounds. This saw Kensuke Sasaki (2-1, 2) dispose of Jack Madison (2-3) after 179 seconds in what was a horrible match up for the Indonesia. Although Sasaki's record doesn't show it he is a talented fighter and we suspect he could go a very long way in this sport of managed properly. The other 6 rounder saw Yudai Arai (5-1-3, 3) score a 6th round stoppage over Tomoyuki Kaneko (7-4, 4), giving Kaneko his first stoppage loss.

The 4 opening bouts, all 4 rounders, saw just one bout finish inside the distance as Fumio Ujihara (3-2, 3) took out Shintaro Hirohama (1-3-1, 1) in the second round. The other 4 rounders saw Hideaki Takasgi (1-0) claim a clear debut win over fellow debutant Nozomu Akitsuki (0-1), the previously win-less Ryo Nakano (1-2) claim his maiden victory with a narrow decision over Joji Tsuchiya (1-2, 2) and Akihiro Yamanaka (3-3) leveled off his record as he over-came Shohei Niwa (1-2)

Benguet, Philippines
As well as the title fight in Japan we also had one in the Philippines as Argie Toquero (8-3-1, 6) quickly took card of Japan's Takaya Kakutani (7-5, 6) with an opening round blow out to claim the WBC Youth Super Featherweight title.

Taal, Batangas, Philippines
In another title fight in the Philippines saw former world title challenger Ardin Diale (24-9-3, 10) pull himself off the canvas to stop the previously unbeaten Renerio Arizala (11-1-1, 4) in a defense of his GAB Flyweight title. For Diale this was his first bout since his war with Koki Eto earlier this year and although he won here it does seem likely that that bout will have long term effects on his punch resistance.

In another title fight on the same show Rene Dacquel (12-3-1, 4) claimed the WBC Youth Intercontinental Super Flyweight title with an 8th round KO against fellow Filipino Menard Abila (5-2-4, 1). For Dacquel this is his first WBC affiliated title and we suspect he'll step up in an attempt to collect another next year.

Surprisingly the other title bout on the card managed to go the distance as the explosive Warlito Parrenas (22-6, 19) took a wide unanimous decision over Indonesian Espinos Sabu (11-2-1, 5) to retain his WBO Oriental Super Flyweight title. Parrenas, a really thunderous puncher with an extremely aggressive mindset hadn't seen a bout go the distance since a 2007 loss to Philip Parcon more than 20 fights ago! Sadly for Sabu this was a second successive set back following a loss, earlier this year, to Rusalee Samor in Thailand.

In the undercard bouts on this show fans saw Nino Magboo (17-2-1, 8) pull himself off the canvas to take a 10 round decision over Rex Olisa (10-26-1, 8). In the show's other 10 rounder we saw an early victory for Rey Juntilla (18-6-3, 12) who easily saw off Jovill Marayan (8-19-3, 3 in 2 rounds.

In one of the two bouts scheduled for 8 rounds Jheritz Chavez (3-0-2, 2) took a decision win over the previously unbeaten Jonathan Dela Cruz (5-1, 2) in a close fight that Dela Cruz dropped and deducted a point in round 5, the other 8 rounder saw Jon Jon Estrada (5-1-1, 4) make light work of Gilbert Donasales (5-8-1, 3) who lasted just 3 rounds before being knocked out.

Misamis Oriental, Philippines
The least significant of the 3 Filipino shows came from Miasamis Oriental which hosted a 10 bout show with various interesting names.

The most notable name in action was Froilan Saludar (20-1-1, 13), one of 3 Saludar's in action, who made light work of Juan Purisima (11-6-1, 4) with a 2nd round KO. For Saludar this was his first bout since being knocked out himself in an IBF Flyweight title eliminator by McWilliams Arroyo and it's good to see him scoring a win even if the level was way lower than his previous fight.

Another 2nd round KO was scored by Edward Mansito (12-1-2, 6) who took care of Jilo Merlin (13-21-2, 2) in a scheduled 10 rounder. Another 10 round went into round 7 before the very promising Jessie Espinas (9-1, 5) stopped Rodel Tejares (20-31-6, 5).

In the sole 8 rounder Vic Saludar (7-1, 6) took his first decision win as he over-came the tough JR Salvador (5-20-3).

In 6 rounders we saw a trio of fighter remain unbeaten. These saw Jeronil Borres (5-0, 5) stop Jackloard Dao-Ay (1-1, 1) inside a round whilst Rence Bryan Magacre (5-0, 3) out pointed Edward Joaquino (2-3) and Freddie Bisande (5-0-2, 2) took a decision over Kerome Ministerio (3-2, 2).

The 4 rounders all saw stoppages. On of those was a 2nd round KO by Vanjune Saludar (3-0, 2), who stopped Jhon Leo Galleposo (1-6, 1), whilst another was a 2nd round TKO scored by Reben Prongco (1-0, 1) who defeated Roy-Roy Morano (0-2-1). The longest of the 6 rounders went 3 rounds as Robert Paradero (2-0, 1) took 3 rounds to see off Jade Dadang (0-2)

Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
In Thailand fans saw some action courtesy of Kokietgym.

The most notable of the bouts saw PABA Light Flyweight champion Paipharob Kokietgym (27-0, 20) successfully retain his title with a clear win over Filipino Mateo Handig (13-7, 7) who suffered a second successive loss to a world class fighter following his controversial win over Katsunari Takayama back in 2012. Paipharob probably now needs a major bout before he starts to become the "forgotten man" of the Light Flyweight division. Interestingly the division is open right now, unfortunately though Paipharob isn't an attractive opponent for any top fighter in the division and he may struggle to get a world title fight in the next or so.

The other bout saw the unbeaten Saenganan KKP (9-0, 5) score a points win over the unknown Madis (0-1) a supposed debutant, though as with many guys on Thai under-cards it's hard to be sure.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

Although Tuesday's aren't typically big boxing days this Tuesday was an exciting day with fights in both Japan and Thailand with some big names, big action and promising youngsters all coming together to give us a day to remember in the boxing world.

Tokyo, Japan
For us the most notable of the two shows was in Japan as the Korakuen Hall played host to "Dangan 104" a show that was co-promoted with Shirai Gushiken Sports Gym.

The card began, like most cards, with a low level bout between novices. This saw the 21 year old Minimumweight prospect Naoki Morooka (2-0, 2) scoring his second successive stoppage as he took out the win-less Naoki Yoshimura (0-1-1) in the second round. This was followed by another low level undercard bout as the debuting Kiyoshi Utsumi (1-0) over-came Oshima Keigo (0-5). Keigo came close to securing a draw but couldn't quite to enough losing 38-37 on all 3 cards. Utsumi wasn't the only successful debutant on this card and the much touted Higa Daigo (1-0, 1) made an almost instant impact on the sport as he stopped his Thai opponent, who we believe was Saengkeng Saknarong (0-1) inside a round. Daigo was a stand out amateur and from what we've been told there is a lot of expectation on this youngster who could be one of the hottest teens in Japanese boxing. The expectation seemed to take over Daigo a little bit as he looked nervous but he ended the bout with a crushing body combination KO. For those wanting to see this fight, in full, it's featured on our new video section.

The 4th bout from this show saw Fujikita Seiya (7-1, 1) out point Koya Sato (7-2-1, 1) in a narrow contest that was decided by just a point on all 3 cards. It was a highly competitive contest between two men who both came to win and we'd certainly not complain about a rematch being made later this year. Although the Seiya/Sato bout was competitive another of the mid card bouts really wasn't as Tatsuro Kawabata (6-5, 2) dominated Hideo Mikan (6-7-1, 2) over 6 pretty 1-sided rounds.

The first ranked fighter in action was Valentine Hosokawa (17-4-3, 8) who helped his chances of getting another title fight as he over-came Toshihiko Adachi (13-8, 6) in an 8 round contest. Hosokawa had lost back to back titles fights prior to this contest, coming up short in a Japanese title fight to Shinya Iwabuchi and an OPBF title fight with Min Wook Kim, despite those losses he did look like a fighter who is hungry for a third title fight. The second ranked fighter in action was Yasuhiro Okawa (12-11-3, 3) who continued his hunt for an unlikely title bout as he over-came Takuya Fujii (6-5, 2). Although Okawa doesn't have a pretty record he is a capable fighter, as seen in his victory over Hidekazu Matsunobu, just sadly he's had inconsistent results which have lead to his relatively poor record.

The main event of this card was an OPBF fight that may well be included in the end of year conversation for FOTY. The bout, for the OPBF Flyweight title, saw Koki Eto (15-3-1, 11) and Ardin Diale (23-9-3, 10) put defence to the back of their mind as they proceeded to beat 6 shades out of each other in a bout that really showed how fun boxing can be when you have two equally limited and equally braves fighters in there together. Eto, a former WBA interim world champion, was dropped twice before mounting a major comeback in round 8 and eventually stopping an exhausted Diale to complete a real really major turn around and once again prove what a warrior he is. Unfortunately the repeated wars that Eto has been in will take it's toll on him sooner rather than later and he may never be the same fighter after this one, likewise Diale probably won't be the same either. As with Daigo Higa's debut we've managed include this bout in our video section with the video ready to be watched here.

Samut Sakhon, Thailand
As well as the show in Japan we also saw action in Thailand as Naris Boxing Promotion put on a show. 

Like the Japanese card this show was also headlined by a title bout as the unbeaten Chalermpol Singwancha (8-0, 6) retained his ABF Welterweight title with a surprisingly competitive victory over Filipino journeyman Amor Tino (14-17-4, 4). Although Chalermpol retained his title many fans were less than impressed with him and the score cards, which were 116-112, 118-110, 118-110 were said to have been very generous. Chalermpol started like a house on fire but slowed drastically and whilst the fight was close in the end we're suspecting that it'll serve as a great lesson to the Thai prospect who will build from the experience.

Chalermpol had two stable mates on the same show who were also successful. These included veteran Sirimongkol Singwancha (79-2, 51) who saw off the debuting Victor Nunez (0-1) in the 4th round. The other Singwancha fighter was Petchsuriya Singwancha (10-8, 5) who took a 6 round decision over the debuting Petchpalangchai Sor Saksriprai (0-1). For Petchsuriya this was little more than a warm up before his arranged fight, in Japan, with Ryosuke Maruki on July 20th.

The only other bout on this card saw Mohamadreza Hamze (4-5-1, 1) stopping Kongsuk Patanakan Gym (3-2-1, 1) in the third round of a scheduled 6.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.com)