Tokyo, Japan This past Thursday in Japan fans at the Korakuen Hall got a treat as they saw a world title unification bout, a Japanese title bout, a world ranked contender and several promising prospects in a show that went somewhat under-the-radar. The main event of the card was the Japanese title fight, which took place at Featherweight and saw former title challenger Satoshi Hosono (29-2-1, 20) narrowly retain his title with a majority decision win over the tough and very game Takuya Watanabe (26-6-1, 12). Watanabe came to win and through the first 5 rounds was more than holding his own however Hosono's pressure managed to see him come on strong in the latter rounds to just claim the victory. In the other title fight fans saw the tough Momo Koseki (21-2-1, 7) over-come an opening round knockdown, and a bloodied nose, to unify her WBA Atomweight title with the WBC title held by rival foe Ayaka Miyao (20-6-1, 4). Miyao got off to a good start but Koseki showed her champions quality and claimed a narrow win. This was Koseki's 16th defense and finally saw her unifying titles to cement her legacy as the greatest Atomweight of all time. The chief supporting bout saw the world ranked Ryo Matsumoto (16-0, 14) continue his unbeaten run as he scored a 5th round TKO win over the game and gutsy, but completely over-matched, Saensak Sithwarunee (1-5), who has now been stopped in a successive trio of bouts. Ryo Matsumoto's bout was one of three scheduled to go 8 rounds. Another saw Lightweight puncher Yosimichi Matsumoto (9-1, 7) score a 4th round TKO win over Genki Maeda (2-1, 1), who tried to bite off too much too soon. The other saw Kenichi Miyazaki (10-1-1, 3) score a 4th round TKO win over Thai visitor Chaloemkiat Kiatprapat (0-1). To open the card fans get a couple of 4 rounders. One of those saw Toru Kiyota (2-0, 2) score an 81 second victory over Akira Watanabe (2-5-1, 2) whilst the other resulted in a 3rd round TKO win for Naoki Koishi (4-2, 1) who beat Yuichi Kitayama (3-3-1, 3). (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)
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Knockout and Hosono retain belts, Okada's career on the rocks, Matsumoto makes a statement and more!3/6/2015 This past Thursday was a great day for fight fans in Asia with action in both Japan and Thailand Chonburi, Thailand The most notable action occurred in Thailand where fans got the chance to see a bit of everything, ranging from former world champions to novices beginning their careers. The former world champion was Indonesian veteran Muhammad Rachman (65-12-5, 35) who was hoping to call himself a world champion for the 3rd time as he went up against unbeaten Thai Knockout CP Freshmart (10-0, 5). Knockout, who was defending his WBA interim Minimumweight title for the first time, quickly showed that his 19 years of youth “advantage” was more than enough to over-come the Indonesian fighter who had previously held the IBF and WBA world titles. Knockout was too good, too energetic, too fast and over-all too good for his experienced for gave his best but was never really in the bout. In an under-card bout fans saw the highly experienced Panomroonglek Kaiyanghadaogym (44-2, 26) retain his PABA Bantamweight title with an 8th round KO against the smaller but game Mateo Handig (13-9, 7). Panomroonglek is said to be targeting a world title shot and this was more about ticking over than anything else, though the PABA title was on the line. Another bout on this card saw Noknoi Sitthiprasert (53-4, 30) extend his winning streak to 52 straight wins as he took a decision win over Filipino journeyman Donny Mabao (21-25-1, 4) in what was a third meeting between the two men. Noknoi had beaten Mabao in both 2009 and 2010 and is now 3-0 against the busy Filipino who has now lost 4 in a row. We are aware that there were other bouts on this show though unfortunately we've not had those results as of yet. From what we understand one bout involved Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep, who returned to the ring for the first time since he was stopped by Juan Carlos Reveco at the end of 2014, whilst another involved the exciting Chanachai Cp Freshmart. Hopefully we'll get those results shortly. Tokyo, Japan In Japan fans had a great day of action which culminated in a really exciting Japanese title fight though also showcased an OPBF title holder, a female world champion and a former Japanese title holder as well as several novices. The least experienced fighter on the card was Toru Kiyota (1-0, 1) who made a successful debut with an opening round victory over Kohei Isozaki (1-2). Although Kiyota now has some professional experience under his belt it is worth noting this bout lasted just 123 and was Isozaki's second successive stoppage loss. Another undercard bout that failed to last long was a Middleweight clash that saw Rasher Aoki (3-2, 1) blow away Tomoki Akutsu (1-2) in the second round. This Akutsu's first bout since he was stopped inside a round by Kenyu Ojima last June and it seems clear that his durability will hold him back. In an interesting Light Flyweight bout fans saw the promising Kenichi Miyazaki (8-1-1, 2) take a clear 6 round decision over the experienced Takuro Habu (11-10-2, 3). This was Miyazaki's 3rd straight since being stopped in the West Japan Rookie of the Year back in November 2013 and it seems clear that he has a lot of potential. Another 6 rounder saw WBA Atomweight champion Ayaka Miyao (20-5-1, 4) take a clear and comprehensive victory over Momoko Kanda (8-7-2, 2). The bout showed the class difference between a world champion and a domestic level fighter however it comments made after the bout that served as being notable with Miyao suggesting she was open to fighting WBC Atomweight champion Momo Koseki. If that bout can be made it would be the first ever Atomweight unification bout. In an 8 rounder fans saw Tatsuya Yanagi (11-2, 4) take a razor thin decision over the more experienced Toru Suzuki (24-5, 8) in a minor upset. Yanagi had entered on back-to-back losses, including a decision loss to the much touted Johnriel Maligro, though had won the 2012 All Japan Rookie of the year. Suzuki, the more experienced man, had been stopped in 3 of his previous 5 and appears to have found his level as being below national title level. Notably Suzuki was testing the water as a fully blown Super Featherweight having previously made his name as a Featherweight. In another 8 rounder we saw Masaki Saito (12-10-4, 3) score an upset win over former Japanese Super Featherweight champion Seiichi Okada (18-6, 11). Sadly for Okada, who made 3 defended of the national title in 2011, it appears this will have been the final nail in his coffin. The popular 32 year old has lost 5 of his last 7 now and has been stopped in 4 of those bouts suggesting it's time he though about retirement. It's a shame for Okada if that's it but he's had a good career over-all. For Saito this is a huge win and he's now 4-1-1 (2) in his last 6 suggesting he's turning his career around. The most notable of the 8 round bouts saw OPBF Super Flyweight champion Ryo Matsumoto (14-0, 12) make light work of Thai visitor Thanuthong Chor Kangwal (0-1) who was stopped after 33 seconds of round 2. The talented Matsumoto landed a liver shot that left Thanuthong in agony and showed the huge gulf in class between the two fighters. Prior to the fight Matsumoto had hinted at aiming for a Bantamweight world title later in the year and on this showing he does look healthier as a Bantamweight than as a Super Flyweight. In the main event the fans got a real treat as Japanese Featherweight champion Satoshi Hosono (27-2-1, 20) over-came a very spirited effort from Rikiya Fukuhara (30-8-1, 22). Fukuhara, who had previously been stopped by Hosono, started really well but had to pull himself off the canvas in round 4 as Hosono's power and toughness forced Fukuhara into the wrong type of fight. Late on Fukuhara managed to find some success but it was too little too late to over-come the tough Hosono who is hoping to get another world title fight, though seems unlikely to beat any of the current champions, sadly. For Fukuhara this may be the end of his long career, which has seen him claim the Japanese Super Bantamweight title and challenge for titles at both Featherweight and Super Featherweight. (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp) This past Saturday was an interesting day in the world of boxing with fights of note all over the planet, in fact their fights involving notable Asian fighters on 3 continents. Nagano, Japan The first of those major bouts took place in Japan as WBA Atomweight champion Ayaka Miyao (19-5-1, 4) scored the 5th defense of her world title with a last gasp KO of Satomi Nishimura (7-2, 1). Miyao was fighting in Nagano for the second time as a professional, and the first since the JBC recognised female boxing, and it did seem, at times, like the pressure got to Miyao slightly early in the bout. Despite the pressure she did finish the show with a bang dropping Satomi hard in the dying seconds and forced the referee to stop the challenger, despite Satomi beating the count. On the under-card there were 4 small domestic bouts. The most interesting of those saw the heavy handed Akira Ono (5-3, 4) take a 5th round TKO against Shogo Sumitomo (5-7, 4) who suffered his 6th stoppage loss in this bout, which was scheduled for 6 rounds. The other bouts were all 4 rounders and all went the distance. In one of those Wataru Hosokawa (2-2, 1) shut out Kensho Tokutome (1-4, 1), in a slightly closer bout Daigo Yamamoto (1-1-1) recorded his first win with a decision over Shingo Kusanagi (1-4, 1), the only other bout saw Rasher Aoki (2-2) taking a win over Keisuke Kanazawa (2-4, 1). The show also featured Yoshinori Nishizawa who finally bowed out of boxing on this show with the card playing host to his retirement ceremony. The fighter, himself from Nagano, last fought in December 2011 but was still open to offers until earlier this year when he announced his retirement with this ceremony being held to thank him for his services to Japanese boxing. Monte Carlo, Monaco In the European principality of Monaco we saw another Asian fighter involved in a world title fight as China's diminutive Xiong Zhao Zhong (24-6-1, 14) attempted to claim the WBA Minimumweight title. Zhong, a former WBC title holder was just 8 months removed from a shocking stoppage loss to Oswaldo Novoa in his homeland of China but managed to give South Africa's Hekkie Budler (27-1, 9) a real nightmare, especially early on. In fact Zhong not only dropped Budler in the second round but also put him under real pressure for much of the first half fight, pulling himself off the canvas in round 3 to do so. Sadly for Zhong though Budler ran away with the fight in the second half to claim a clear but hard fought unanimous decision. Durango, Mexico In Mexico was saw another disappointment for Asian boxing fans as Japanese based Filipino Jonathan Baat (27-6-3, 13) was stopped in 6 rounds by Rodrigo Guerrero (22-5-1, 14). Guerrero, who defended his WBC International silver, has continued his great run of form following his loss late last year to Daiki Kameda in Japan and his win over Baat has followed a similarly impressive wins over Takahiro Shiggee, in July, and Daniel Rosas in February. (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp) Some days are amazing with great fights all over, others are merely interesting. We would suggest that this Thursday was certainly an interesting day for Asian boxing fans. Tokyo, Japan Probably the most notable card of the day was in Japan where Ohashi Gym promoted "Phoenix Battle 50". The show it's self wasn't a mind blowing card but it did feature a number of notable fighters, the most notable of which was WBA Atomweight champion Ayaka Miyao (18-5-1, 3) who was in the main event and defeated Thailand's still win-less Yokfah Mor Krungthepthonburi (0-7). As you may assume from the records this was a clear stay busy fight for Miyao who stated she'd be back in action in October to defend her belt. Another major name on this card was Shin Ono (18-6-2, 2) who, like Miyao, was in a stay busy fight as he out pointed Petchnamchai Sor Sakulwong (1-1, 1). This was Ono's first bout since his loss to Katsunari Takayama in an IBF Minimumweight title fight and from what we've been told this bout was certainly not a memorable affair. As well as the bigger names on his show there were 7 other bouts with them all featuring either novices or young hopefuls. One of the young hopefuls was Kenichi Miyazaki (6-1-1, 1) who took a 6 decision win over the more experienced but less talented Naoto Takanashi (4-8-2, 3) and another was the heavy handed Yoshimichi Matsumoto (6-1, 5) who blasted out the completely over-matched Petchjah Sithphasean (0-4) inside a round. In terms of the bouts with novices there was a quintet of 4 rounders. These included an all debutant affair between Ryoji Suzuki (1-0) and Masayoshi Yamazaki (0-1) which Suzuki won via clear decision. Another debutant to pick up a win was Reo Watanabe (1-0) who out pointed Rasher Aoki (1-2) in a competitive contest. The only other man to secure a win on the undercard saw Kentaro Endo (4-4, 3) struggle to a majority decision win over Kensuke Sakamoto (3-6, 1). The two remaining bouts both resulted in draws as judges struggled to split Shin Tomitaka (1-0-1) and Yo Takekawa (1-0-1, 1), in what was a split decision draw, or Daigo Yamamoto (0-1-1) and Takaya Tsuji (1-3-1, 1) which was a 38-38 draw across all 3 cards. Bangkok, Thailand In Thailand we had another notable show, even if it was a short one with just 3 contests on it. One of those bouts saw the very promising Kongputorn CPFreshmart (3-0, 2) take a clear 10 round decision over Zhu Yuan Kai (0-1) to claim the WBC Youth Flyweight title. Kongputorn again showed off the traits that have caught the eye since he made his boxing debut back in June though did fail to see off his Chinese foe which may some question just how good the Thai really is. In honesty however you just need to watch Kongputorn to see his potential and if you've not yet seen him we have got the video of this bout here. The other notable bout on this show saw the much touted Palangpol CP Freshmart (4-0, 4) continue his stoppage run and successfully defend his WBA Asia Light Flyweight title as he over-came Filipino Joan Imperial (9-5-6, 4) to defend his WBA Asia Light Flyweight. For Imperial this was his 5th loss in 7 bouts and it seems that his 9-0-4 start to professional life is now well behind him. As with Konputorn's bout we managed to get the video of this bout here for those interested in giving it a watch. A third bout on this show saw Petchmai Chor Sungnork (1-0, 1) score a debut blow out victory over Kwanpichit Twinsgym (0-1). Barranquilla, Colombia Another bout of interest took place in Colombia as the heavy handed Light Middleweight contender Kanat Islam (18-0, 15) defeated the experienced Fidel Monterrosa Munoz (32-10-1-1, 26) in the 5th round. Munoz had come out to attack early on and made a good start but Islam never looked in any danger and managed to turn the tables when he went on the offensive with his heavy artillery being far too much for Munoz. Hopefully Islam's next bout will be a step up towards a world title as this is enough of him wasting time on opponents that aren't capable of really challenging. (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp) Tokyo, Japan In Japan March 3rd is a special festival called "Doll's Day" to celebrate this Japanese promoters put on a great show full of female fighters as a special thank you to the ladies of Japanese boxing. This particular, "G Legend 6" featured 6 bouts in total including 3 world title fights. The undercard kicked off with two bouts scheduled for 4 rounds. One of these 4 rounders was an all debutant bout which saw Chie Higano (1-0) narrowly over-come Maho Isono (0-1) via an incredibly close split decision. The other of the 4 rounders saw Yunoka Furukawa (2-1-2, 2) scoring a second round stoppage against Marina Isami (2-2). As well as the 4 rounders the show also featured a 6 round bout which saw Kai Johnson (4-5-3, 1) scoring her most notable victory to date. Johnson, fighting Tamao Ozawa (6-2, 2), was expected to lose though managed to take out Ozawa in just 2 rounds to secure a genuinely notable victory. Following the under-card bouts we then moved onto the first of the world title bouts which saw the talented, though nervous, Naoko Shibata (12-3, 3) making the first defense of her IBF Light Flyweight title. Shibata, who won her belt last time out narrowly over-coming Alondra Garcia, dominated Mexican challenger Guadalupe Martinez (6-6, 3) in a very one sided contest that helped establish Shibata on the world stage. Following Shibata's defense we then moved on to another world title bout. This time it was the turn of WBC Atomweight champion Momo Koseki (18-2-1, 5) who recorded a Japanese national record tying 13th world title defense. Koseki, fighting against the previously unbeaten Angor Onesongchaigym (5-1, 3), was simply too strong for her challenger and eventually stopped the Thai late in round 9. Koseki wasn't the only Atomweight champion to defend her belt as WBA champion Ayaka Miyao (17-5-1, 2) made the 4th defense of her belt. Miyao saw off Buangern OnesongchaiGym (10-5-1, 1) in just 5 rounds to maintain her reign as champion and score just her second professional stoppage. (Picture courtesy of Boxmob) |
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