This past Saturday was an incredibly busy day in Asian boxing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ishikawa, Japan
Another Japanese show took place in Ishikawa.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Image courtesy of GBP)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It's been something like 5 weeks since the year began but it seems, at least, that boxing is starting to come alive in Asia. That was highlighted this past Saturday with a pair of notable shows.

Davao del Sur, Philippines
The most significant of the two shows was in the Philippines as ALA put on their first big show of the year which featured several notable fighters involved with the biggest Filipino promoter.

One of those major Filipino fighters was the world ranked Arthur Villanueva (27-0, 14) who put on a showcase performance against former WBO Flyweight champion Julio Cesar Miranda (28-12-2, 29). Villanueva had been less than impressive in his previous two bouts but really shone here as he almost shut out the very dangerous Miranda of 10 rounds. Given that Villanueva has struggled recently it could well be that he felt the pressure was on to perform here and that he knew a potential world title fight was on the line coming into this bout.

Another fighter who performed was Light Welterweight hopeful Jason Pagara (35-2, 22) who decimated Mexican for Cesar Chavez (24-8, 12) in just 2 rounds. Chavez was bounced off the canvas several times before being stopped at the 1:56 mark of the second round. For Pagara this was the statement performance he needed to move towards his own big fight.

The remaining headline bout from this show was a bit more disappointing as Super Bantamweight hopeful Genesis Servania (26-0, 11) took a wide but unspectacular decision win over Juan Luis Hernandez (17-4-1, 9), who seemed happier to survive than try to win. The crowd seemed to be disappointed by the end of this but know that Servania can produce so much better than they saw in this bout.

As well as the trio of main bouts that card also featured several very exciting prospects on the under-card. The most notable of those was Featherweight hopeful Mark Magsayo (10-0, 8) who stopped Thailand's Sukkasaem Kietyongyuth (13-4, 8) in 5 rounds. This was an especially notable result considering it took the world ranked Ik Yang 8 rounds to stop Sukkasem late last year.

Another unbeaten prospect scoring an early win was Arjan Canillas (10-0-2, 8) who blew away Stevi Ongen Ferdinandus (15-8-1, 8) in 4 rounds whilst Brian Lobetania (10-0-3, 8) took less than 2 rounds to see off Armando Yee (2-7-3, 1).

Just a couple of bouts on this under card went the distance. One of those saw the heavy handed Vic Saludar (9-1, 7) going the distance for the second time as he took an 8 round decision over Lester John Pronco (9-9-1, 6). The other saw Arnold Garde (4-3-2, 1) drop Rafael Sueno (3-2, 3) en route to a 6 round decision win.

Tokyo, Japan
Whilst the Philippines had contenders in action Japan had a former Linear champion in action, albeit one who is really rebuilding his career after a serious injury.

That former world champion was former WBC and linear Flyweight champion Toshiyuki Igarashi (20-2-1, 11) who is now campaigning at Super Flyweight. Igarashi struggled somewhat in his bout as he over-came under-rated Efrain Perez (17-6, 12), who also gave Mark Anthony Geraldo a tough bout recently, with a 10th round technical decision. Igarashi was fighting for just the second time following major surgery and seem to be a long way from title contention still.

In the chief support bout we saw a genuine upset as Yuto Shimizu (9-2-2, 3) scored a very unexpected stoppage win over the usually tough Takehiro Shimokawara (19-10-3, 6). Shimokawara retired at the end of the 7th round with a cut eye and looked to be on his way to another round of hurt had he continued here. Shimizu's win was his 6th in a row and we'd not be shocked to see him in the running for a title bout of some type later this year.

Another stoppage in a key support bout saw Kenichi Ogawa (14-1, 12) score a 1-punch KO against Kazuya Nakano (8-4, 7) in the 3rd round of their bout. The referee waved this one off as Nakano was down without counting.

In a competitive 6 rounder Heisuke Ono (6-2-2, 5) took a majority decision over Tatsuya Mukai (5-4-2, 1). The cards here were a bit all over the place with one judge having the bout level whilst another had it a shut out.

The only other decision on this card came in one of 3 all debutant bouts as Akira Tsutsumi (1-0) narrowly beat Takuma Izumi (0-1).

The remaining 4 bouts on this card all ended early with the longest lasting just a round and a half. That saw the unbeaten Ryota Toyoshima (1-0-1, 1) score his first win as he stopped Makoto Takahashi (1-8-1, 1) at 1:28 of round 2. The quickest of the remaining bouts lasted just 52 seconds as Ryo Matsubara (2-1, 2) blew away Yugo Ueda (3-2, 2). The other opening round blows out saw Hayate Kaji (1-0, 1) see off Tomonari Ohira (0-1) whilst Daiki Funayama (1-0, 1) stopped Seiji Nakazawa (0-1).

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Picture, of Chonlatarn, courtesy of Onesongchai)