Macau, Macau
The biggest card, for us at least, took place in Macau as Top Rank returned there in the hopes of crowning the second Chinese world champion. Sadly however that failed to happen. The Chinese fighter in question was the charismatic Ik Yang (19-1-0-1, 14) who was made to look like an rank amateur by unbeaten Argentinian Cesar Rene Cuenca (48-0-0-2, 2), who claimed the IBF Light Welterweight title with this win. Yang will come back but he'll need to improve dramatically from the fighter who was made to look completely inept for much of this bout. Although Yang fell short he wasn't the only notable name in action here. Another was Filipino star Nonito Donaire (35-3, 23) who destroyed Frenchman Anthony Settoul (20-4, 8) in just 2 rounds. Settoul was dominated until his corner saved him in what was an horrific mismatch. Another mismatch saw Denis Shafikov (36-1-1, 20) easily over-come Roy Mukhlis (27-5-3-, 21), who quit part way through round 3. It now seems likely that Shafikov will get an IBF Lightweight title fight whilst Donaire will be looking for a Super Bantamweight world title fighter, possibly in Dubai. Another contender in action was Hong Kong''s exciting Rex Tso (17-0, 10) who stopped experienced Thai Khunkhiri Wor Wisaruth (21-12-1, 14) in the 4th round of their bout. The exciting Tso was in charge by the time of the stoppage and now looks to be the leading contender, with a possible world title fight later this year. Another unbeaten local in action was Kuok Kun Ng (8-0, 4) who managed to easily defeat Phompetch Twins Gym (6-3, 3) in the 4th round. Again we've got to admit we were impressed by Ng who we see as potentially being a regional contender. Talking about contenders it's fair to say that Ryusei Yoshida (26-8, 13) won't be heading to contender status as he was easily beaten by prospect Jose Carlos Ramirez (15-0, 12), who forced Yoshida to retire on his stool after 3 rounds. The most controversial bout on the card saw China's Qu Peng (8-1-1, 5) take a very questionable decision over Australian foe Michael Van Nimwegen (7-4, 4) in a 6 rounder. The only other bout ended with a technical decision as the promising Zulpikar Maimaitiali (1-0-1, 1) was denied a victory courtesy of a 2nd round head clash in his bout with Korean fighter Joo Young Kwon (3-0-1). Texas, USA The most notable American bout for us saw Arthur Villanueva (27-1, 14) suffer his first defeat as he was beaten by talented, but frustrating, Puerto Rican McJoe Arroyo (17-0, 8), The bout, for the IBF Super Flyweight title, promised a lot on paper but never really came alive before the doctor stopped the contest due to a cut suffered by the Filipino. Sadly for Villanueva it seemed the officials had it in for him from round 6 and the score-cards really failed to reflect the bout. American fans also saw the US debut of Korean star Min Wook Kim (13-1, 10) who made light work of Luis Alberto Pelayo (11-6, 7), who was stopped inside a round. Pelayo was a late replacement and may have wished he hadn't taken the fight as Kim battered him, dropping twice and forcing the referee to end the action after just over 2 minutes. Pocheon, South Korea Talking about Korean fighters there was also 9 bouts in Korea, all featuring novices. The card featured a pair of draws. The most disappointing of those saw a bout between Chan Won Suh (0-2-1) and Chan Young Kim (0-0-1) end after just 105 seconds as the two men clashed heads. The other draw saw Suk Chul Go (0-0-1) fight to a majority draw Kyung Gun Choi (0-0-1). From the 7 bouts that did have an eventual winner 3 ended in stoppages. The quickest of those was a 2nd round KO win for the previously win-less Gun Woo Gang (1-0-1, 1), who pulled himself off the canvas en route to stopping Byung Chul Kim (0-1). A 3rd round stoppage saw Hyun Min Gang (1-0, 1) stop Hyun Chul Lee (0-1) whilst the remaining bout saw Chang Woo Yuh (1-0, 1) score a 4th round TKO win over Chae Yong Lee (1-1, 1). The remaining 4 bouts all went the distance . The most competitive of those saw Seung Hyun Kim (1-0) take a split decision win over Seung Hak Shin (0-1), another competitive contest saw Sang Ho Kim (2-0, 1) take a majority decision over Chong Yul Lee (0-1). In less competitive contests Yae Yun Baek (1-0) shut out I Hoon Jun (0-2) and Sung Il Lim (2-0, 1) clearly defeated 16 year old Jin Jun (1-1, 1).
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One of the busiest days so far this for us came this Saturday with great action across Asia. Macao, China The major action of the day came from Macau where we really got a bit of everything. There was nothing lacking in a show that will have gone over-looked by many fans who really did miss out in some ways. The headline bout was supposed to be the fairy tale for Chinese boxing as their Olympic hero was supposed to become a professional boxing icon. In the end however is was a disaster as Zou Shiming (6-1, 1) failed to do much of anything against the relaxed, accurate and frustrating Amnat Ruenroeng (15-0, 5). Ruenroeng, defending his IBF Flyweight title for the 3rd time, hardly got out of first gear as he made Shiming look like a novice. The jab of Ruenroeng was effectively the key punch of the fight however it was the footwork of Ruenroeng that made Shiming look terrible, embarrassing in fact. This is the end of the Shiming hype, though we hope it's not the end of the Macau shows which have delivered action on a regular basis. Talking about action the show had a brilliant 4 rounds as the upset minded Paul Valenzuela (3-2-1, 2) managed to take a split decision over China's previously unbeaten Zhou Yun Fei (4-1, 1). The bout lacked skill but also lacked defense, with the commentary team joking about it being banned, which made for a really exciting 4 round war. The deciding fact was an opening round knockdown by the visiting Mexican. Another action packed bout saw Macau's very own Kuok Kun Ng (7-0, 3) score a 3rd round KO against Chingchai Kiatpracha (7-3, 3). Ng hit the canvas in the opening round but came back well to drop Chingchai twice in the 3rd round, with the Thai staying down after the second knockdown. This was short but sweet and highly entertaining. Another entertaining affair saw the Heavy handed Ik Yang (19-0-0-1, 14) put on a memorable bout against Thailand's Patomsuk Pathompothong (29-3-1, 18). The bout, an IBF Light Welterweight eliminator and Pan Pacific title bout, saw Yang start well before slowing down and taking a few rights hands from the Thai which cut him. Despite being cut Yang put on a show with show boating and a destructive finish that left the Thai needing to be saved by the referee. In terms of action however one fight stood out. That was the insanely fun Super Flyweight bout between Hong Kong's Rex Tso (16-0, 9) and gutsy Filipino Michael Enriquez (10-3-1, 6). Tso, who recently signed a professional deal with Top Rank, fought with pressure on his shoulders, a smile on his face and action through his veins as the two traded shots, round after round. The bout was an action war sadly decided by a knock down early on by Tso who again showed his excitement fact and flaws. The win saw the “Wonder Kid” claim the WBA International Super Flyweight title and although the aim is to get him a world title fight later in the year, he simply isn't yet ready for a bout at that level. One man who really did impress was Filipino puncher Aston Palicte (17-1, 15) who forced a mercy stoppage of gutsy Mexican Ismael Garnica (13-6-1, 5). Garnica looked out-sized and out powered but gave his best for 6 rounds before being stopped in the 7th by a man we want to see a lot more of. This was the 7th successive stoppage win for Palicte who holds a very notable blow out win against Gerpaul Valero. We'd suggest watching out for this kid as he is exciting. Sadly not all the bouts were exciting. One of the worse was the 106 blow out win by Jose Felix Jr (29-1-1, 24) who easily saw off the over-matched Raymond Sermona (17-5-5, 8) in a massive mismatch. Sermona landed little of note before being dropped and taking the full count. Another mismatch saw popular American Glen Tapia (23-1, 15) score a 3rd round TKO over Australian Daniel Dawson (40-5-1, 26), who has now suffered back-to-back losses. Tokyo, Japan Whilst the biggest action was in China there was notable action across Asia with title action in Japan where two national champions retained their belts, albeit in very different manners, and fans also got a bit of everything on the undercard. The most impressive performance on the card came in the main event as the heavy handed Hiroki Okada (10-0, 8) retained his Japanese Light Welterweight title with a 3rd round TKO victory against Hayato Hokazono (18-5-1, 11). Okada looked on fire from the opening bell and was ultra-aggressive with sharp, fast and accurate shots that quickly took their toll on the challenger who was bloodied earlier on. The blood however wasn't the end for Hokazono who was dropped hard in the 3rd and failed to recover to his feet in an orderly manner. The other title defense was less certain as Suyon Takayama (22-1, 7) narrowly over-came a spirited effort from Nobuyuki Shindo (16-3, 6) and retained the Japanese Welterweight title. Takayama was dropped hard in the opening round, cut early on and behind at the half way mark before fighting back hard to take a clear but close decision over Shindo. Unfortunately for Shindo this was his second loss to Takayama however he did give a credible performance in a bout that broke down into be a stinker after his good start. In a bloody contest Hisao Narita (9-1, 4) took a split decision over Yusuke Konno (8-2, 3) in a very competitive match up. In a minor shock Takumi Takahashi (7-4-1, 2) scored a 2nd round TKO over Yukinori Hisanaga (16-6-2, 9) as Takahashi resurrected his faltering career. The 33 year old victor had suggested he was going to return if he lost but this performance seems to show there is life left in his career. Sadly for Hisanaga, who came up short in a Japanese title bout in 2013, this was a painful loss and his first stoppage loss. Popular puncher Shuhei Tsuchiya (17-3, 15) bounced back from his loss to Ricky Sismundo last year in style as he destroyed Thailand's Singphayak Kokietgym (6-6-1, 5). Singphayak, fighting under the name “John Ford” has now been stopped in 3 straight. One other bout from this card saw Hideaki Yamaji (5-7, 2) score an upset win over Masayuki Ichikawa (5-2, 2) in a hard fought 6 round decision. Ichikawa had lost in the East Japan Rookie of the Year final last year and was expected to bounce back here. Unfortunately for him Yamaji was hungry for a win which was very well deserved. Bukidnon, Philippines In the Philippines ALA put on a small show of prospects. The most notable prospect in action was Jess Rhey Waminal (6-0, 4) who scored a 2nd round TKO against professional loser Rowel Garcia (6-17-3, 1). This was Garcia's 13 stoppage loss and his 4th in a row. We wonder what Garcia is really teaching a kid like Waminal who padded his record a little bit with a relatively pointless win against a man known as “Merciless”, we must admit we're unsure if that name was intentionally sarcastic. Another equally poor match up saw Gerard Suico (4-0, 3) blow away Sonny Boy Dasan (0-2) inside a round. This was Suico's 4th bout in as many months but the opposition so far has been pathetic for the promising 21 year old. Melvin Jerusalem (5-0, 4) was another man who scored an opening round stoppage as he stopped Rodante Suacasa (1-10-2, 1), who has now been stopped 5 times. Another opening round stoppage was scored by Michael Estrella (3-0, 1) who stopped Jessie Suacasa (3-5, 2). Another early win was scored by the hands of Mardie Muana (1-0, 1) who took 2 rounds to see off the win-less Sonny Basanez (0-4). In bouts that did go the distance fans saw Elmo Traya (8-1, 6) defeat Rodel Wenceslao (8-11-1, 2), who was fighting for the first time since he was stopped by Keita Obara, and Junder Gregorio (3-0) extend his winning run with a decision over Ronald Garcia (2-7). (http://www.boxeomundial.com) Shanghai, China The only show this past Tuesday was an interesting one from Shanghai as Top Rank continued to grow their presence in the great untapped market of China which is only beginning to show signs of really coming alive. The main event of the show saw China's very own Ik Yang (18-0-0-1, 13) claim the IBF Pan Pacific Light Welterweight title as he defeated Thai veteran Fahsai Sakkreerin (42-5-1, 22), who retired from the bout citing and injury. Yang, one of the most fan friendly fighters in China, now seems set to fill into the Light Welterweight division and we'd not be shocked if he becomes one of China's first real stars. His style is made for TV and he has certainly got the ability to appeal to both a domestic and international audience, something few Chinese fighters currently have. In the co-feature was saw another Chinese fighter claiming a title as Ma Yi Ming (12-5, 7) took a clear decision over Tommy Seran (24-4, 15). The win for Ming saw him picking up two regional titles and recording his 9th straight win, completely turning around his career which began 3-5. For Seran this was his 3rd loss in 4 bouts and we suspect he'll now become little more than a journeyman on the Asian scene. In the sole 6 round bout on this card fans saw Zhou Yun Fei (4-0, 1) over-come Joe Rea (10-16-3, 4) with a unanimous decision. The undercard on this show featured 4 bouts of 4 rounds. The most disappointing of these was a 2nd round technical draw between Adi Li (0-1-1) and Mike Mirafuentes (2-1-1, 2) following Mirafuentes suffering a nasty cut from a headclash. Another bout that failed to go the distance saw Xu Que (1-1-1, 1) claim his first win as he stopped Hu Liang (0-2) inside a round. In a very hard fought bout fans saw Yelie Qiata (2-0) take a split decision over the previously unbeaten Liu Yong Cai (1-1-2, 1). The other bout saw Wang Yin Gang (2-0, 1) over-cone Halimubieke (1-1) (Image courtesy of http://www.shanghaidaily.com) This past Tuesday may not have been a huge day in the Asian boxing world it was certainly a notable one with several interesting bouts and a very notable show. Shanghai, China The show of note happened in Shanghai and saw the Top Rank expansion into Asia expend as the American promoter put on their first show on the Chinese mainland and grew from merely being an outfit that has shows in Macau. The card started with some very low level bouts that would have raised the interest of very few fans. These saw 4 bouts scheduled for the 4 round distance and featured mostly local Chinese talent. One of those bouts saw the win-less Xu Que (0-1-1) fight to a split draw with the still unbeaten Liu Yong Cai (1-0-2, 1), it's fair to assume neither of these guys are going to be making a name for themselves in a rush. A more promising result was that of the lanky Light Heavyweight hopeful Qu Peng (6-0-1, 4) who took out former OPBF Middleweight title challenger Marlon Atla (12-5, 9) in 3 rounds. Whilst this is 3rd straight stoppage loss for Alta it was also the quickest and came 2 rounds earlier than the stoppage scored by Zac Dunn last November and 3 rounds quicker than the one scored by Makoto Fuchigami back in October 2012. We won't say Peng is a star in the making but we'd keep an eye on him. Another man we'd keep an eye on is Halimubieke (1-0) who scored an excellent, at least on paper, debut win by over-coming Thailand's Phompetch Twins Gym (6-1, 3) and claiming a 4 round decision win. Whilst we won't make Phompetch out to be anything special it's still notable that Halimubieke beat an unbeaten man with more experience. The only other 4 rounder saw Ma Yi Ming (11-5, 7) scoring a 3rd round KO over Morakote Patanakan Gym (8-5, 4). In the sole 6 rounder the unbeaten Zhou Yun Fei (3-0, 1) scored a 6th round TKO over Australian Marcos Amado (4-2, 2). Notably this was the first stoppage loss of Amado's career. The first of the main bouts featured hard hitting Chinese Lightweight Ik Yang (17-0-0-1, 12) who claimed the Asia Pacific Lightweight title with an 8th round TKO win over Thailand's Sukkasem Kietyongyuth (13-3, 8). Yang, fighting for the 3rd time this year, Imposed himself from the off and dropped Sukkasem in the opening round. From then on it always looked likely that Yang was going to get the Thai out of there at some point, it was just a shock it took 8 rounds for it to happen. Following Yang's title victory fans then got the big one as Filipino fighter Randy Petalcorin (22-1-1, 17) finally got his shot at a "world title". Petalcorin took on Panama's Walter Tello (20-8, 8) in a battle for the WBA interim Light Flyweight title and although the Filipino didn't have things all his own way he was in charge when he dropped Tello in round 7. Tello, to his credit, got up but the referee waved off the bout quickly. It wasn't the best stoppage from Raul Caiz Sr but the bout was looking like an easy win by Petalcorin who was starting to up the ante and break down Tello. Jakarta, Indonesia As well as the show in Shanghai there was also on in Jakarta. The headline fighter here was Defry Palulu (11-1, 10) who bounced back from his loss to AJ Banal last time out and stopped Thailand's Khunkhiri Wor Wisaruth (15-9-1, 10) in 7 rounds. The talented and promising Palulu is only 23 and we'd advise keeping an eye on the youngster who looks like he could be the next star of Indonesian boxing. Although it's highly unlikely Palulu will become as big as Chris John he is certainly worth following. Whilst Palulu is the most exciting man in Indonesian boxing right now he isn't the only "name" fighter in the country. Another "name" is that of popular journeyman Rasmanudin (18-5-3, 9) who fought to an 8 round split decision with Ruben Manakane (13-11-1, 8). In the other bouts from this show Dicky Amtiran (4-9) took a majority decision over Benigno Nino (1-3-1) and Philipus Rangaa (8-7, 1) took a 6 round unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten John Ruba (1-1, 1). (Image courtesy of www.the13thround.com) This past Saturday was one of the busiest days in Asian boxing with fights taking place all over the globe. In fact it have been one of the busiest and most varied days since we started this site. Macau The biggest show the day was in Macau as Top Rank returned to the Special Administrative Region of China and show cased a number of promising fighters. Whilst it wasn't the best Macau card we've seen it really did have a bit of everything. The opening bout saw Olympic champion Egor Mekhontsev (4-0, 4) defeat brave Filipino Mike Mirafuente (2-1, 2). In terms of skills the bout was a mismatch but Mirafuente did try and make a fight of things by trying to catch the much bigger Mekhontsev with hayemakers, unfortunately for the Filipino the shots just bounced off the giant Russian. The second bout on the show was the most confusing as the world ranked Filipino Mark Anthony Geraldo (31-4-3, 14) saw his bout with Mexico's Efrain Perez (17-5, 12) cut from 8 rounds to 6 rounds with out the fighters being informed. For Geraldo it was possibly a lucky escape as he was beginning to look ragged but the Filipino looked genuinely sensational in the first 3 rounds. Hopefully we get to see a rematch but if not we want to see a lot more of both fighters who both look good to watch for very different reasons. Geraldo looks sensationally skilled and has some of the prettiest boxing we've seen since we last saw Jorge Linares, for Perez his toughness will always make him fun to watch. Well done to the match makers for putting these two together. In the third bout we saw a crushing body shot as Brian Viloria (34-4-0-2, 20) stopped the game Jose Alfredo Zuniga (11-6-1, 5). Viloria is trying to work his way towards another world title fight and was given a very good test here by Zuniga before pulling out a tremendous body shot to send the Mexican fighter down for the count. It really was one of the best fights on the card in terms of competitive action. The first of the "Chinese" fighters in action was Hong Kong's highly entertaining Rex Tso (14-0, 9) who put on a very decent showing to finish off Indonesian John Bajawa (12-7, 6). The fight, thought to be a stay busy fight for Tso ahead of a possible world title fight in November, saw Tso showing improved movement though we still question his power and defence and although he stopped Bajawa in 5 rounds he never really seemed to hurt the Indonesian. Whilst Tso is always entertaining we dare say he was over shadowed by the all action Ik Yang (16-0-0-1, 11) who dismantled Thailand's Rachamongkol Sor Pleonchit (14-9, 6) in fantastic fashion. Yang dropped Rachamongkol inside the open round and then rocked him in the second before finishing him off to score his 3rd stoppage in 4 bouts in Macau. Although not the most skilled Yang has all the traits of a fan friendly fighter and hopefully he will be given more exposure. Ranked #1 by the OPBF a fight between Yang and OPBF champion Masayoshi Nakatani would certainly be on out list of fights we want to see. The final bout on the internationally streamed under-card saw Kuok Kun Ng (5-0, 2), AKA "The Macau Kid", put on a solid performance against the game and previously unbeaten Beau O'Brien (4-1-1. 1). The performance may have only resulted in Ng taking a decision but he continued to interest us and we're really looking forward to his development and in all honesty we think he may be the most interesting of the "Chinese" youngsters on the show. Following the under card we then moved onto the main card which was kicked off, surprisingly, with a world title fight. Unfortunately however it was a bout shrouded in controversy as Cuba's talented Guillermo Rigondeaux (14-0, 9) appeared to finish the fight with a cheap shot over Thailand's Sod Kokietgym (63-3-1, 28) who had been stunned by a nasty headclash just moments earlier. The bout, for the WBA "super" and WBO regular Super Bantamweight titles was expected to be a dud though actually got the internet community chatting, en masse about the ending, something we didn't expect when the bout was announced. The penultimate bout on the card didn't feature an Asian fighter but did feature the very exciting Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez (29-0, 23) who just destroyed Junior Talipeau (20-3-1, 7) inside a round. Talipeau was dropped 3 times in what was, on paper, a decent test for Sanchez. In the main event we saw a polished effort from Chinese double Olympic champion Zou Shiming (5-0, 1) who went 10 rounds and claimed a clear decision over former world title challenger Luis De la Rosa (23-4-1, 13). De la Rosa managed to give Shiming some issues, especially in round 3, but it was a clear win for the Chinese fighter who is now being linked to world title fights and in fact a fight with former amateur foe Amnat Ruenroeng looks to be on the cards for either the end of this year or, more likely, the start of next year. We know some fans hate Shiming but this really was a great performance and showed that he is developing a real professional style. Wonju, South Korea Korean fans got to see the return to the ring of Japan's Takuya Watanabe (21-5-1, 9) who made light work of Thailand's Yodpichai Sithsaithong (10-12, 4) and claimed the vacant IBF Asia Featherweight title as a result. The result, recorded as a KO at the start of round 7, was a happy return to Korea for the man who lost a lot of blood last time he fought in the country. For those who haven't seen Watanabe's previous fight in Korea, a bout that saw him battling Jaesung Lee, we advise you give it a watch and it will almost certainly be the bloodiest bout of the year. Guerrero, Mexico In Mexico and live on WBCboxing.tv fans got to see Mexico's Nery Saguilan (30-4-1, 11) stop former Japanese Super Featherweight champion Seiichi Okada (18-5, 11) in 8 rounds. The loss was a painful one for Okada who has now got to seriously consider his future in the sport. This was his 4th stoppage loss in 6 fights and his glory days are long gone. For Saguilan this result may set up a fight with another Japanese fighter, Takashi Miura. Miura, the WBC Super Featherweight champion, would make for a great fight with Saguilan and has a reputation for beating up Mexican so both camps could sell this one as a nationalistic revenge contest making it very easy to market. Western Australia, Australia Australia played host to two cards featuring Asians. In Western Australia we saw a trio of Asian's losing. In the main event Indonesia's Roy Tua Manihuruk (15-11-2, 11) came up short against the unbeaten Clint Hosking (10-0, 2). The bout, fought for the WBC Eurasia Pacific Boxing Council Lightweight title, saw Manihuruk going the distance but he always needed a knock to get a win. Lower down the card we did see a knockout in a bout involving an Asian, sadly however it was a knockout loss for Thai female Kaenpetch Superchamps (6-9-1) who was blasted inside a round by Erin McGowan (16-2, 9). Things weren't much better for Baikon Lokromklao (1-4) who was shut out by Jacob McBride (1-1). Queensland, Australia The second Australia show saw Arnon Yuchareon (0-4) suffer a clear loss to the debuting Miles Zewski (1-0). Zewski dropped Yuchareon in round 3 to secure a 40-35 victory on all 3 cards. Also on this card Jerry Nardo (19-5, 10) suffered a 7th round technical decision loss to Brett Williams Smith (19-2-1, 9). The bout saw both men cut from head clashes though they seemed to just occur and occur despite both being warned. (Photo courtesy of Sumio Yamada) There aren't many days where action is non-stop but this Saturday was one of those days with more notable fights than we see in most weeks. Macau The highlight of the boxing weekend for us was in Macau with an excellent Top Rank card dubbed "Featherweight Fury". The card, which featured 3 world title fights, began with a serious of low level bouts which included the second successive stoppage victory for Macau's very own Kuok Kun Ng (4-0, 2) who stopped Muhammad Imam (9-5, 3) inside a round. Ng's victory was in one of two 6 round bouts with the other one seeing a victory for Olympic silver medal winner Esquiva Falcao (3-0, 1). Falcao, who lost in the Olympic final to Ryota Murata, defeated Korean Super Middleweight champion Eun-Chang Lee (7-4, 3) via a 6 round decision. Falcao at times looked very good though we can't see him ever developing into a super prospect like Murata, which is actually unfortunate considering that's a bout we'd love to see in the professional ranks. The first major bout on the Macau card saw Yasutaka Ishimoto (24-7, 7) suffering the first stoppage defeat of his career as he was stopped by the hard hitting Chris Avalos (24-2, 18). This bout, an IBF Super Bantamweight eliminator saw Ishimoto give his all but unfortunately not have the toughness to stand up against the heavy hands of Avalos who appears to have set up an excellent bout with Kiko Martinez. Ng wasn't the only Chinese fighter on the card as Ik Yang (15-0-0-1, 10) quickly wiped out Indonesian Geisler AP (5-2, 3), needing less than a round to claim the victory. Although Ng and Yang both took easy and quick victories things were much harder for Hong Kong's "Wonder Boy" Rex Tso (13-0, 8) who was twice dropped by Ratchasak Kokietgym (22-3-1, 10). Although he was dropped twice Tso fought back excellently and took a clear decision in a bout that really tested Tso's character. Sadly the scare for Tso here likely stops him from getting his mooted bout with Kohei Kono, after all Tso is not ready for a guy like Kono. Following the undercard contests we then moved into the world title bouts, the first of which saw Evgeny Gradovich (19-0, 9) defend his IBF Featherweight title against the game but out matched Alexander Miskirtchian (24-3-1, 9). Gradovich was dropped once in the middle of the fight but dominated much of the contest and was the clear winner as he retained his title. The second Featherweight title fight saw Nicholas "The Axeman" Walters (24-0, 20) retain his WBA Featherweight title in eye catching fashion against the shop worn Vic "The Raging Bull" Darchinyan (39-7-1, 28). The bout was quiet though always looked like it wasn't gong the distance and in round 5 it ended suddenly when Darchinyan was knocked out by the powerful Jamaican. The great finish in the Walters/Darchinyan fight was a stark contract to the anti-climatic ending of the shows final world title bout which saw Nonito Donaire (33-2, 21) take a technical decision over Simpiwe Vetyeka (26-3, 16). Donaire, who was cut in the opening round, was in charge of the bout but the ending left a nasty taste in everyone's mouth, including Donaire's. The Filipino showed his classy side by offering a rematch though we doubt we'll see it with Donaire certainly having bigger fish to fry at 126lbs. London, UK As well as the trio of world title fights in Macau we also saw a title bout in London as Thailand's Tabtimdaeng Na Rachawat (52-3, 34) put up a great effort against England's very only Jamie McDonnell (24-2-1, 11) in a WBA Bantamweight title fight. Unfortunately for Tabtimdaeng his great effort was for naught as he was knocked out with a single shot in round 10. Although he lost Tabtimdaeng did impress and helped show that Thai boxers can be very exciting fighters with their pressure heavy styles. Distrito Federal, Mexico It was a bad day for Thai boxers in all honesty and in Mexico we sadly saw Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (27-4-1, 25) lose his WBC Super Flyweight title as he dropped a technical decision to Carlos Cuadras (30-0, 24). Srisaket's slow feet saw him chasing shadows against the fast moving Cuadras who, sadly, refused to stand and trade with the Thai as we had been hoping. It was a good win, on reflection, for Cuadras but the bout did feel like a let down in all honesty. On the same show in Mexico we also saw Japanese based Filipino Honey Mae Bermoy (6-4, 6) suffer a defeat as she was stopped by the world class Irma Garcia (10-1-1, 2) in just 4 rounds. This was the second successive stoppage loss for Bermoy who was stopped earlier this year by Tenkai Tsunami in an OPBF title fight. Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany Whilst things weren't good for Thai's on the world scene they were no better for Korean's and fans in Germany saw Susi Kentikian (33-2-0-1, 17) dominate South Korea's tough but limited Dan-Bi Kim (9-3-1, 2). Kim took a real beating and was saved by her corner sadly learning the hard way what it's like to compete with real world class opponents. Aichi, Japan Whilst much of the action was fought at a high level on the international stage there was also a card in Japan which saw several notable fighters in action. The main event on the Japanese card featured recent world title challenger Daiki Kaneko (20-3-3, 13) who returned to the ring with a bit of a gimme against Shogo Ishikawa (10-7, 3). Kaneko, who was last seen in the ring on New Year's Eve losing to Takashi Uchiyama, was too good, too big and too strong with Ishikawa. Kaneko's victory followed another by a former world title challenger as Ryo Akaho (23-1-2, 16) defeated Thailand's Songseanglek Phosuwangym (1-11) in just 82 seconds. This was Akaho's 4th straight stoppage since his sole loss to Yota Sato in a WBC Super Flyweight title fight back in 2012. It wasn't all good news for "name" fighters on this show as former Japanese Middleweight champion Tomohiro Ebisu (12-4, 12) was stopped by French man Kevin Thomas Cojean (14-5-1, 5). Ebisu was dropped in roudn 2 and failed to beat the 10 count in another fight that sadly showed that he can't take a shot. Earlier on the same card there was a good win for Hayato Yamaguchi (12-4-1, 2) who surprisingly stopped Tatsuya Kaneko (7-10-1, 1) in 5 rounds. On the under-card fans also got to see two rookie bouts as the unbeaten Takashi Igarashi (3-0, 1) defeated Tameji Ito (1-1, 1) in a 4 round majority decision and Yu Kinjo (4-3, 3) took a unanimous decision over Naoya Nishimura (3-6-1, 2). Guangzhou, China One, overly-late result, that we now have was that the unbeaten Chinese Heavyweight Zhang Junlong (7-0, 7) continued his winning run with a 5th round stoppage over Indonesia's Nico Toriri (27-17-3, 12). This result saw Junlong claiming the International Boxing Organization Asia Pacific Heavyweight title. Going into the weekend we had expected Junlong to be fighting Japan's Kotatsu Takehara though we're unsure why Junlong ended up fighting the much worse Indonesian fighter. (Image, courtesy of Pepe Rodriguez, is from the Srisaket/Cuadras result) |
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