This past Saturday was a hectic day in boxing with fights all over the place.

Osaka, Japan
On paper the most notable show came from Japan where fans had the chance to catch a couple of world title bouts and another bout featuring a 2-weight world champion. The show wasn't big or attention grabbing but for fans of female boxing it was a notable card.

In one of the title fights everyone was left disappointed as a headclash brought a very early ending to the contest. This was a bout for the WBO Female Minimumweight title, with defending champion Kumiko Seeser Ikehara (6-1-2, 3) recording her first defense courtesy of a technical draw against Filipino challenger Jessebelle Pagaduan (7-1-1, 4). The headclash happened in the opening round and later required 10 stitches for Ikehara who as, clearly, disappointed about how she recorded the first defense of her title.

The other title fight saw WBO Atomweight champion Nao Ikeyama (16-3-1, 4) successfully defending her velt for the second time. The 45 year old Ikeyama looked like she had the energy of a teenager as she thoroughly out worked, out fought and swarmed Filipino challenger Norj Guro (7-4-1, 4). Guro, more than 20 years Ikeyama's junior, was never in the fight after round 3 and was often forced to survive the assaults of the champion rather than really fight back.

In the chief support bout fans saw former 2-weight world champion Mari Ando (12-7, 5) score a hard fought 6 round decision win over Jujeath Nagaowa (12-14-1, 8). This was Ando's first bout since she lost the WBC female Minimumweight title to Yuko Kuroki last year and it seems likely Ando will chase another title bout. Sadly for Nagaowa this was her 3rd straight loss and she is now 1-3 since losing to Momo Koseki back in June 2012.

The under-card here featured 3 bouts each of which were 4 rounders. One of those was another female bout as the unbeaten Yu Shoji (1-0-1, 1) fought to a 4 round split decision draw with Wakako Fujiwara (0-1-1). Another of the bouts saw Daiki Miyayama (4-2-1, 2) defeat the debuting Yuta Teruya (0-1) whilst Hiroshi Takagi (3-4) defeated Naoki Okamura (1-2) in a close decision.

Metro Manila, Philippines
In the Philippines fans had an interesting show that featured a world ranked fighter and several others looking to prove themselves as “men to watch”.

The world ranked fighter was the promising Rene Patilano (13-1-2, 7) who made extremely light work of domestic journeyman Aroel Romasasa (11-9, 5). Romasasa, who had entered the bout with 8 straight losses and that form showed as he was blown away in just 140 seconds. Sadly for Romasasa it now seems clear he needs to think about a new career.

The Patilano/Romasasa was one of 3 bouts scheduled for 10 rounds and the others both went the distance. One of those saw the talented Randy Braga (15-0-1, 3) take a very clear decision win over Cristian Abila (24-16-3, 4) who struggled to win a round. Braga, who does seem to be better than many domestic Filipino's, now looks ready for a real step up. Sadly things weren't so successful for Jay Loto (9-0-1) who was held to a majority draw by JC Francisco (6-9-4, 2) in a genuine shock. For Francisco this was a great result considering he had lost 3 of his previous 4, for Loto however this is a big hit to his career.

Lower down the card the light hitting Jeffrey Francisco (11-1-1, 1) scored his first stoppage as he forced Arjet Caballes (6-33-5, 3) to retire from their scheduled 8 round bout.

In a 6 rounder the unbeaten Wilbert Berondo (6-0, 3) stopped the over-matched Ryan Medez (1-4-2) with less than a minute of their bout left whilst another 6 rounder saw Vergel Nebran (13-8-1, 8) out pointed Prell Tupaz (8-27-4, 1). A more competitive 6 rounder saw Roderick Flores (6-0-1, 2) narrowly out point Junjie Lauza (4-14-1, 1) in a surprisingly competitive contest.

The begin the card there were 4 bouts scheduled for 4 rounds. One of those saw the unbeaten Abraham Bullagay (2-0-1, 2) score a 3rd round stoppage over the win-less Oscar Lim (0-3), who has now been stopped in all 3 bouts. Another contest that failed to go the distance saw Robin Langres (4-0, 1) take a 3rd round technical decision over the win-less Manny Mamamcquiao (0-5-1). Langres's win as one of two technical decisions on this part of the card as Bryan Ascano (3-0, 1) also went to the judges early in his win over Jerwin Dela Rosa (1-5). The only 4 round to reach the scheduled final bell saw Arvin Yurong (2-0, 1) take a wide decision over the debuting Raymond Dela Cruz (0-1).

Pattaya, Thailand
In one of two Thai shows fans saw a former world title challenger and an unbeaten prospect.

The former title challenger was Samartlek Kokietgym (19-5, 5) who famously challenged Naoya Inoue last year. Samartlek scored his second win since that Inoue bout as he over-came Indonesian visitor Ichal Tobida (11-15, 8) in a 6 round bout. Of course it wasn't just Samartlek who had a high profile bout in Japan last year with Tobida being knocked out by former world champion Ryo Miyazaki last September. Sadly for Tobida he is now 0-4 in the last 12 months, though he did manage to see out the scheduled this time following successive stoppage losses.

The unbeaten prospect on this card was Payu Sor Kulawong (3-0) who scored his third straight win as he over-came the win-less Somchay Sithhongkam (0-2), from nearby Laos. This was a rematch of a bout fought in January that saw both men making their debut against each other.

Samut Songkhram, Thailand
In a second Thai show fans saw the unbeaten and heavy handed Chalermpol Singwancha (12-0, 10) take out Indonesia's Wellem Reyk (17-12-3, 5) in the opening stages of round 5. This was Chalermpol's 4th straight KO though they have come against limited foes, such as Reyk here who has now lost 5 in a row with 3 stoppages in that run.

Baja California, Mexico
In Mexico we saw a disappointing defeat for Filipino fighter Jether Oliva (22-3-2, 10) who was stopped by unbeaten Mexican Luis Nery (16-0, 11). Oliva was returning to Mexico for the first time since his loss in an IBF Light Flyweight world title bout against Ulises Solis and it seems clear he was simply too small for the Mexican. Oliva was game early on but remained on his stool at the start of round 5 having taken enough from the promising Nery.

Hamburg, Germany
In a Cruiserweight bout fans saw the unbeaten Isa Akberbayev (15-0-0-1, 11) score an impressively quick victory over 40 year old Argentinian puncher Ruben Angel Mino (25-2, 25), who lasted less than a round. Mino's impressive record belies his inability to really fight and he has now been stopped in both of his step up bouts. As for the unbeaten Kazakh this is his best win on paper and is his 4th successive stoppage win.

Managua, Nicaragua
Teiken promoted Nicaraguan fighter Roman Gonzalez (42-0, 36) continued his long unbeaten run as he made light work of Valentin Leon (38-29-3, 21) in what was essentially a stay busy fight for the talented “Chocolatito”, who is now expected to make a mandatory defense of his WBC Flyweight title.


(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

Some days are great for Asian boxing, others aren't. Sadly we tend to feel that this past Saturday wasn't one of the best, despite a high profile bout for friend of the site.

Quebec, Canada
The aforementioned "friend of the site" was Japanese based American Charlie Ota (24-2-1, 16) was unfortunately defeated by the highly touted American Jermell Charlo (24-0, 11) though did manage to give a decent account of himself. Ota was significantly smaller than Charlo and had to find a way to cope with a huge reach advantage, unfortunately his solution was a somewhat predictable bull rush. Despite the issues with the reach and height of Charlo there was some great success for Ota who dropped Charlo in round 3, albeit with just a flash knockdown. By the final bell however Charlo was the clear winner though was less than impressive.

Metro Manila, Philippines
In Metro Manilla Johnny Elorde Promotions put on a small show involving some of his prospects. This included the promising Giemel Magramo (10-0, 7) who scored a very impressive stoppage over the usually tough Pit Anacaya (8-24-2, 1). Anacaya had been stopped just 6 times in his previous 33 fights though it took Magramo just 3 rounds to land a fight ending body shot.

Magramo wasn't the only man to find the body on this show as Rene Patilano (11-1-2, 6) used his body attack to take out Ricky Oyan (4-20-2, 2) in the 5th round. This was arguably the best win of Patilano's career and although Oyan is just a journeyman it's the sort of result that will give the once beaten prospect a bit of a confidence booster.

The only other stoppage came very early on the card as the unbeaten Wilbert Berondo (3-0, 2) took out the debuting Brendo Bokingkito (0-1) in just 105 seconds. Aged 18 we have no big issue wit Berondo taking his time to get going but we're lead to believe that kid does have a lot of talent and if developed right he could be one to look out for down the line.

The highest profile bout to go the distance saw  the unbeaten Jay Loto (8-0) come through a few struggles en route to scoring his 8th straight decision victory. Sadly for Loto his lack of power did make things very difficult against Lester Abutan (5-2-2, 2) and we'd not be shocked if the 20 year old Loto fails to move beyond Filipino domestic level, unless he can add some meat to his shots.

The other decision bouts on the show were both incredibly close. In a 4 rounder Jetlee Formentera (1-0) narrowly over-came fellow debutant Eric Apolinario (0-1) in a 4 majority decision, whilst in a 6 rounder Diomel Diocos (3-1-2, 2) claimed his first decision win by narrowly out pointing Ryan Medes (1-2-1).

Cotabato del Sur, Philippines
Filipino fans got a second domestic card courtesy of Jim Claude Manangquil and Dexter T. Tan who had a show featuring 5 bouts, including 2 title bouts.

The main event here saw Raymond Tabugon (13-3-1, 5) claim the WBC Asia Council Continental Flyweight title courtesy of a decision over the previously unbeaten Jake Bornea (6-1, 3). Bornea was dropped in round 2 and although he tried to get back into the bout he never able to over come the experience edge Tabugon had.

The co-feature, and another title fight, saw former world title challenger Jether Oliva (21-2-2, 10) take a majority decision over the tough, though limited, Wilber Andogan (10-15-4, 4) in a bout that saw Oliva claim the WBF International Light Flyweight title.Although the bout was scored a majority decision in favour of Oliva only one of the 3 judges had the bout even close.

In an impressive performance on the under-card John Vincent Moralde (9-0, 5) forced a 2nd round KO over the limited and light hitting Rolando Omela (5-10-3, 1). Moralde's victory was one of two stoppages on the under-card with Jelbirt Gomera (4-0, 4) continuing the perfect start to his record with a 6th round KO against Jordan Catubay (6-3-1, 3).

The only other bout on this card saw Virgel de Goma (2-1) claim a 6 round decision over the tough Renante Suacasa (6-11, 1).

Queensland, Australia
"Down under" things went badly for Asian fighters with 4 separate Asian's losing to Australians. 

The most disappointing of the Asian's in action in Queensland was the opening round defeat of Thailand's Pramool Boonpok (0-6) who was stopped by the debuting Kolby Johnston (1-0, 1). Pramool had been dropped prior to the knockout and really looks like a man who should be looking for another line of work as boxing doesn't seem to be good for him or his health.

A Thai who put up a better effort was Arnon Yuchareon (0-2) who was beaten, by majority decision, by Zorran Cassady (1-0). Arnon managed to make things competitive despite being the loser.

A third Thai who lost was the teak tough Paitoon Jaikom (1-6) who dropped a decision to, yet another debutant, Dean Thomas (1-0). Paitoon, unlike Pamool, is a tough guy and knows how to look after himself and with that in mind we've no problem with Paitoon going on and making a career as a solid journeyman level fighter.

The other Asian on this card was Filipino Robert Lerio (16-20-1, 6) who put up a very credible effort against Jason Cooper (10-2-1, 5). Despite losing Lerio did put a good test for Cooper who managed to avenge his first career defeat, which came back in 2012, though proved little more than the fact he has slightly improved over the last 2 years.

Baja California, Mexico
It wasn't all bad for travelling fighters as Filipino Jun Doliguez (19-1-2, 14) avenged his upset defeat to Gabriel Francisco Pina (11-12-5, 4). Pina did beat Doliguez earlier this year but this time Doliguez managed to right the wrong, even though he'll still have that "1" on his record.


(Image, of Ota and Charlo at the weigh in, courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

This past Saturday was a busy day for fighters from Russia and the Philippines and although not everything went to plan it was certainly a noteworthy day.

Metro Manila, Philippines
The biggest Asian card of the day took pace in Metro Manila with a staggering 13 bouts on the show.

The highest profile bout on the show featured former IBF Minimumweight world champion Florante Condes (27-8-1, 13) who claimed the IBF Pan Pacific Minimumweight title thanks to a 7th round KO over Cris Alfante (10-2, 3). Condes, who has now won 2 fights following more than a year out, seems likely to to try and rebuild himself in to world title fight though it is admittedly still early in his comeback.

Although Condes's win was expected the card did have some shocks. One such shock saw the hard hitting Rex Olisa (10-23-1, 8) stopping the once touted Bebong Manalo (8-2, 5) in just 3 rounds. Although Olisa has a poor record he is tough, has power and is dangerous. If fighters think they will be having an easy day with Olisa they are very much mistaken.

One bout that went the way we'd have expected saw the win-some lose-some Jonathan Ligas (7-5-1, 1) manage to out point the win-some lose-lots Elbert Guardario (8-24-1, 2) via a hard fought 10 round decision. Likewise Virden Rivera (7-0-1, 2) 10 round victory over Jovill Marayan (8-16-3, 3) was also expected, especially when you consider the lack of power in Rivera's shots.


In the shows only bout to be scheduled for 8 rounds we saw an accidental clash of heads call a halt to proceedings in round 6. This saw Romulo Ramayan Jr (6-3-3, 3) and Lester Abutan (5-1-2, 2) needing to settle for a draw with each other.

One of the most expected results of the day saw former OPBF title challenger Dennis Tubieron (17-3-1, 8) stopping the over-matched Samuel Apuya (7-17-1, 4) at the end of 2 rounds in one of the 6 round bouts. The other 6 rounders also saw the "expected" winners coming out on top as 
Kenjie Monenio (6-3-3, 1) stopped Mabert Paulino (2-17, 5), Roldan Aldea (7-1-1, 3) out pointed Jomar Borbon (3-17-2, 1) and Lionel Mark Duran (12-10-2, 5) took a decision over the relatively hapless Roy Albaera (2-22-5).

In the shows 4 rounder bouts we saw mixed results for debutants. We Joe Noynay (3-0) widely defeat his debuting opponent Vicencio Rubas (0-1), in an all debutant bout Mark Baribar (1-0) took a clear decision over Joshro Lindon (0-1), whilst Jun Blaso (1-0, 1) marked his debut with an early victory over Jomar Manlangit (0-2).
The only of the 4 rounders with out a debutant saw Pablo Gabunia (4-2, 2) wipe out the win-less Charlie Gabriel (0-5) inside a round.



Moscow, Russia
If there was something that we seemed to get a lot of today it was Russian Crusierweights with an impressive array of them in action.

Amongst them was the WBC Asian Boxing Council Cruiserweight champion Maxim Maslov (13-1-1, 8) who defended his belt courtesy of a clear and dominant decision over Azerbaijan's 30 year Anar Mammadov (6-2). Mammadov, fighting in his first title bout, really did look like a novice and failed to win a round on any of the cards.

Another title bout involving a Russian Cruiserweight saw recent world title challenger Rakhim Chakhkiev (18-1, 14) claim the WBC Silver Cruiserweight title with a dominant victory over the over-matched, though game, Juho Haapoja (10-5-1, 13) who was stopped in the 9th round. 

In a third title bout Grigory Drozd (38-1, 27) quickly took out France's Jeremy Ouanna (14-9, 3) inside a round. The bout, a clear mismatch on paper, lasted just 160 seconds.

As well as the Cruiserweight bouts in Moscow there was 3 other bouts. The highest profile of those saw Sergey Ekimov (9-0, 3) taking a decision over Britain's light punching Nathan King (13-22, 1) whilst another saw the unbeaten Mikhail Smirnov (6-0, 3) took a 6 round decision over the debuting Davron Mamedov (0-1).

The remaining bout saw Super Bantamweight debutant Evgeny Smirnov (1-0, 1) scoring a debut victory over the more experienced Vladislav Sagalakov (2-12, 1) who was stopped in the second round.

Liverpool, England
Staying with Russian's they unfortunately didn't have a great time outside of Moscow. This was partly shown in Liverpool where former world title challenger Valery Brudov (41-5, 28) was stopped in the 12th round. Brudov, attempting to claim the WBO international Cruiserweight title, gave a great effort against Tony Bellew (21-2-1, 13) though was stopped by the fofmer Light Heavyweight title challenger. The bout, a good one over-all, may end up being Brudov's final as a professional given that he is now 37 and hasn't really got anywhere to go for another big pay day.

Pennsylvania, USA
The lack of Russian success on foreign soil was also seen in the US where Light Heavyweight Denis Grachev (13-3-1, 8) lost to the talented Isaac Chilemba (22-2-2, 9). Chilemba, himself a former opponent of Tony Bellew, was too complete for Grachev who was repeatedly tagged by straight shots from an often moving target. Grachev, to his credit, proved he was tough though his technical limitations did let him down massively here.

California, USA
It wasn't all bad for Russian's though with Maxim Vlasov (29-1, 14) restoring a bit of faith for Russian boxing fans due to a decision win over American journeyman Derrick Findley (20-13-1, 1). It was an expected victory but still a good one following the losses for Russian's fighting out of their homeland.

KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
As well as the poor results for Russian's fighting outside of Russia things didn't much better for Filipino's fighting outside of the Philippines and in South African Jether Oliva (20-2-2, 10) came up short in an IBO Flyweight title bout. Oliva, fighting former IBF champion Moruti Mthalane (30-2, 20), put up a stirring effort but didn't quite do enough to convince enough of the judges to give him decision, though Filipino judge Danrex Tapdasan did give the fight to his countryman.

Although Oliva lost he certainly didn't harm his reputation and many who saw this will want to see him in another major contest sooner rather than later.

Baja California Sur, Mexico
Things were worse for Filipino Silvester Lopez (21-7-2, 15) who, in Mexico, suffered his second stoppage loss inside a year. Lopez, fighting against Mexico's hard hitting Rey Vargas (19-0, 16), lasted until round 8 though was unable to repeatedly take the heavy shots of the destructive Mexican. 

Lopez, a former world title challenger, has now lost 3 of his last 4.

We hope to bring you results from two cards in the Philippines sooner rather than later, though they are currently unavailable.

(Picture, of Lopez, is courtesy of Boxrec.com)