Bangkok, Thailand
The first Asian action of a new month came on Thursday as fans in Thailand had an interesting show. In the main event of the Channel 7 televised card we saw Thai fighter Knockout CP Freshmart (11-0, 6) successfully retain his WBA “interim” Minimumweight title with an unexpectedly one-sided victory over Alexis Diaz (16-1, 10). On paper this was an amazing match up between two highly regarded and unbeaten fighters from very different cultures, in the end however it resembled a a cat playing with a mouse before finally finishing off their pray. Diaz started brightly but had no answer to Knockout's power and pressure which took it's toll, stopping Diaz in the 4th round. A huge mismatch on this card saw former world title challenger Panomroonglek Kaiyanghadaogym (46-2, 28) easily see off the game but limited Arega Yunian (3-4) of Indonesia. The bout was, on paper, one of the most amazing mismatches of the year but Yunian, to his credit, did give a gutsy display before being ground down. From what we understand the plan now for the Thai is to slowly move towards a WBA title fight, though it's not yet clear which WBA belt he'll be aiming for. A third televised bout saw Ratchasak KKP (29-3-1, 14) score an entertaining, though very 1-sided, win against Falazona Fidal (25-43-1, 8). Fidal certainly left lasting memories for playing the role of of the “enjoyable journeyman”, with pelvic thrusts and taunting, though was out matched from the off before being stopped in round 4. Although Ratchasak was always in control we did notice a number of low blows from the Thai who really didn't need to stray below the belt as much as he did.
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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) Buriram, Thailand
The only Asian fights today took place in Thailand where fans were treat to 1 and a half televised fights courtesy of Thai Channel 7 who were, not for the first time this year, force to cut off mid-fight for other scheduled programming. The main fight of the day was televised in full as unbeaten Minimumweight's collided for the right to call themselves the WBA interim Minimumweight champion. The bout saw Thailand's very own Knockout CP Freshmart (9-0, 5) claim the interim title with a narrow win over over Carlos Buitrago (27-1-1-1, 16) in a bout that was incredibly competitive for 10 of the 12 rounds. The bout started and ended very well for the Nicaraguan who appeared to take the opening round and the final round with no argument, the 10 rounds between however were very good rounds with each man making a solid claim to take them in what was a clash of styles. Buitrago was the far busier man scoring at will with his wonderful razor like jab with was doubled and tripled with ease however it was the Thai landing the bigger, heavier and more eye catching shots whilst also applying the pressure. If you prefer the more conservative but explosive approach you'd have had no argument with the judges who all scored the bout 115-113 to the Thai, if you prefer busier work and higher output then you'd likely feel that Buitrago was hard done to by this decision. The only thing everyone will agree on is that it was a a highly competitive and very good bout between two men who will almost certainly both improve from this contest. The bout that was screened sadly cut out part way through, though what we did see was an excellent battle between Thailand's highly touted former Muay Thai great Palangpol CP Freshmart (5-1, 4) who went to war with Indonesia's Tommy Seran (24-3, 15). The bout saw Palangpol retain his WBA Asia Light Flyweight title though do little to show he's ready for a world title bout despite being very entertaining in there. Whilst it's worth noting that Seran was dominated by Milan Melindo last year the Indonesian did give away almost 4lbs to Melindo, an advantage that Palangpol didn't have going into this bout. It could well have been that that weight helped Melindo significantly to do what Palangpol couldn't do, but on this showing Palangpol doesn't look even close to being ready for a world title bout. He lacks the power, despite his record suggesting otherwise, and the skills right now to move onto the next level. Some days are hectic and it's fair to say that this past Friday was perhaps not hectiv but it was certainly busy with title fights in 3 countries and a solid amount of action spread throughout Asia. Changsha, China There was a lot of action today but the best of it appeared in China as Zovi put on a fantastic card with several interesting bouts. The best of the bouts was a contest for the WBO Asia Pacific Flyweight title as China's very own Xiang Jing (7-3-2, 1) went toe-to-toe with unbeaten Filipino Ben Mananquil (10-0-2, 2). The bout was really great and thoroughly competitive though did, sadly, result in a split decision draw leaving the title vacant and both men feeling like their efforts lacked the rewards they were due. For Mananguil this was a second successive draw in fights outside of his native Philippines following his highly controversial technical draw with Kwanpichit OnesongChaigym. Whilst we are fans of Mananguil we need to give credit to Jing who appears to be one of Chinese boxing's hidden gems. Whilst Jing and Mananguil are the future we also saw some of the past as China's first ever world champion Xiong Zhao Zhong (24-5-1, 14) claimed a stoppage victory over Indonesia's highly experienced Jack Amisa (20-31-2, 14). Amisa retired an injury to his arm though before then he was playing up to the fans and trying to give people some fun. The real highlight however came from Zhong's celebration which included some very acrobatic moves. This was Zhong's second win following his world title loss to Oswaldo Novoa and it appears he's put that loss behind him. An international bout on this card saw Heavyweights colliding as Romanian Razvan Cojanu (11-1, 6) claimed the WBO Asia Pacific Heavyweight title and stopped Argentina's Manuel Alberto Pucheta (37-10, 30) in 7 rounds. Pucheta was down before his corner threw in the towel signalling that they had seen enough from their man who hadn't looked good. The Cojanu/Pucheta bout was one of two Heavyweight bouts on the card and the other saw China's very own Xia Shunkai (2-0, 2) defeat Indian debutant Harinder (0-1). Shunkai had all the advantages so it's difficult to say how good he is from this result but it's nice to see another Chinese Heavyweight, especially given the impact Taishan Dong seemed to have following his debut win over Alex Rozman. In a Light Heavyweight bout Chinese debutant Adili Abulimiti (1-0, 1) defeated Thai based Indian Jakrit Prasong (0-1) who didn't throw a punch in anger before being stopped inside a round. From what we understand Tanee Piewnuan (1-0) managed to take a split decision over China's very own Dai Xianpeng (0-1) on the under-card . We are awaiting confirmation of this result though apparently the Thai really did deserve the win and out-worked Xianpeng despite the judges not recocgnising all the work of the visiting fighter. Chonburi, Thailand For us the more notable of two cards in Thailand saw the world ranked Knockout CP Freshmart (8-0, 4) defend his WBC Youth Minimumweight title. Knockout, the owner of the best name in boxing, saw off Filipino Cris Alfante (10-3, 3) in the 5th of a scheduled 10 rounds and appears to have taken his next step towards a world title. Ranked #6 by the WBA, Knockout is a man who will be targeting a world title fight sooner rather than later and if he keeps blowing away opponents like Alfante he's only going to speed up ascent to a title fight even if he's not yet ready for one. On the same card there was also a win for South Korea's hard hitting Myung-goo Yuh (19-4-1, 14) who scored his 6th win in Thailand! Yuh managed to take out Thailand's very own Kaenpetch Sithmuangkan (8-4, 1) in the 4th round with a devastating left hook to the body. Yuh maybe a South Korean but he appears to have been adopted by the Thai's and it's like that the 34 year old will continue to fight there for what's left of his career, or at least much of it. Samut Prakan, Thailand The lesser of the two Thai cards was headlined by a WBO interim Asia Pacific Super Flyweight title fight which was by Petchbarngborn Kokietgym (17-7-1, 10) who over-came Filipino Fernando Lumacad (29-9-3, 12). Sadly for Lumacad this was his third successive loss and possibly suggests that he will now see his record become more and more scratchy if he continues. Lumacad does hold a pair of wins over Rey Megrino but those wins were more than 6 years and Lumacad really isn't a fighter looking like he can go places any more. For Petchbarngborn this was his 5th win since he was stopped by Sho Ishida in Japan and it marks a remarkable turn around for a man who, less than a year ago, had been forced to crumble to a very unheralded youngster. Victoria, Australia Things weren't good at all for Asian fighters in Australia as a trio of Asian's suffered losses to Australians. Two of those losses were suffered by Thai's with Pramool Boonpok (0-7) suffering a 6 round decision loss to the once beaten Khoder Assi (4-1, 1) whilst Boonpok's compatriot Paitoon Jaikom (1-7) went 8 rounds with the unbeaten Lewis Goodritch (4-0). Although Jaikom and Boonpok both have bad records we do think Jaikom is better than his record suggests and he's just lacking something that could help him turn things around. In the main event Japan's Utaka Oishi (11-4, 6) was stopped by Zac Dunn (14-0, 12) who claim the WBC Eurasia Pacific Boxing Council Super Middleweight title. This result was no shock at all, even less saw when you realise that Oishi is not a Super Middleweight and should never have been fighting as one. (Image courtesy of Zovi Boxing) Bangkok, Thailand
Tuesday may not have been an action packed day but it may turn out to have been a significant day for several Thai fighters who won their bouts earlier on. The show, which in total featured 4 bouts, was headlined by the unbeaten and wonderfully named Knockout CP Freshmart (7-0, 4) who lived up to his first name by stopping win-less Indian fighter Sandeep (0-4) in the 5th round to defend his WBC Youth Minimumweight title. Our excellent Thai source has informed is that following the fight Knockout's promoter has suggest that the unbeaten fighter could be about to receive a top 15 ranking with the WBC. It's worth noting that prior to this bout Knockout was #24 with the WBC though with 6 defences of the Youth title he may well be given an improved ranking, even if the opponents were poor. Although Knockout was the main event he wasn't actually the most recognisable fighter on the show, that honour was held by former WBA Bantamweight title challenger Panomroonglek Kaiyanghadaogym (40-2, 23) who stopped debuting Indian Balbeer (0-1) in the 4th round of a scheduled 6 rounder. The only other bout, currently, listed on boxrec shows a 6 round decision victory for Kongfah CP Freshmart (6-0, 2) who over-came Petchchumpol Sor Visetkit (4-2, 2) to continue his unbeaten run. We've actually been informed that a 4th bout saw the debuting Kongphutorn Nor Nophiran (1-0, 1) taking a 3rd round KO over Veeradej Manoprungroj (1-2), who had previously been stopped just once, by current WBA interim Flyweight champion Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep. We've been told that Kongphutorn is a notable Muay Thai fighter and that he may be fast tracked if he chooses to continue in professional as opposed to Muay Thai. Busy day through Asia sees a lot of action with Thai's, Japanese and Filipino's all in action3/28/2014 This past Friday was a busy day through out the Asian boxing world with both fights in Asia and fights outside of Asia involving Asian fighters or various rankings. Bangkok, Thailand The action really kicked off in Thailand where Channel 7 televised a small show with 3 contests on, all of which included someone of note. The main event saw the very promising, and amazingly well named, Knockout CP Freshmart (6-0, 3) successfully defend his WBC Youth Minimumweight title with a clear decision victory over Filipino challenger Jonathan Refugio (13-4-4, 3). This was Refugio's 4th loss in 6 bouts whilst Knockout, who has now defended his Youth title 6 times, appears to be on the verge of climbing in to the fringes of the world rankings. As well as Knockout the show also featured former Minimumweight world champion Oleydong Sithsamerchai (53-1-1, 19) who scored a rare stoppage by taking out the win-less Kompetch Twins Gym (0-3). The other fight on this card featured the #1 ranked WBC Minimumweight challenger Wanheng Menayothin (33-0, 10) who managed to score a 6 round decision victory over Indonesian veteran Heri Amol (34-16-4, 14). It really is time that Wanheng moved on to fighting for a world title as he's been the #1 contender for far too long to just keep waiting. Tokyo, Japan In Tokyo Japanese fans got treat to a 12 fight show at the Korakuen Hall, with all the fights being scheduled for 4 rounds. Of the 12 bouts only 3 actually completed the schedule with these bouts seeing Tatsuji Kakumoto (3-4, 1) out point Shuhei Takahashi (2-2, 1) in a Flyweight bout, Yuta Itagaki (3-1-1, 1) defeat Genji Ishida (1-2) at Super Bantamweight and unbeaten Featherweight Takahiko Suzuki (3-0, 2) managed to over-come Kei Iwahara (2-1, 1). The shortest of the other bouts on the show lasted just 67 seconds as Satoru Morishita (3-5, 2) made unexpectedly light work of Kazuki Sanpei (2-2). Morishita's stoppage victory was one of two opening round KO's with Kazuto Nakane (2-1, 1) stopping the previously unbeaten Shinnosuke Yoshimori (1-1, 1). The most common result on the card were second round T/KO's which occurred in 5 of the 12 bouts. These included a victory for the unbeaten KO artist Naoki Mochizuki (3-0, 3) who stopped Iwashi Miyahara (1-4), Muneyuki Kishii (3-2, 2) who beat Kotaro Banba (1-1, 1), The unbeaten Ryo Hino (2-0, 1) who stopped Shun Wakabayashi (1-1), Hikaru Takaki (4-4, 4) who defeated Mitsushige Takahoshi (1-4, 1) and Taichi Kimura (3-1, 2) who claimed a victory over Ryota Harukawa (2-3, 2). The remaining bouts all finished in round 4. These saw Toshiki Maruyama (2-4, 2) beat Akira Watanabe (1-3, 1) and Kimihiro Nakagawa (2-0, 2) taking out Daigo Miyagawa (1-2-2). Suining, China In a show in China we saw a number of bouts, including 2 title bouts. For us the key bout here was the third meeting between China's very promising Qiu Xiao Jun (12-2, 4) and and Filipino veteran Jonathan Baat (25-5-3, 12). After having lost twice to Baat this was all about revenge for Jun, who manage to take a clear decision over his nemesis and defend his WBC Asia Council Continental Super Bantamweight title in the process. In the other title bout the Japanese based Ugandan Okello Peter (21-8, 19) was forced to retire from his bout with Russian giant Evgeny Orlov (15-12-1, 11) who claimed the WBC Asia Council Continental Heavyweight title courtesy of a 9th round retirement victory. The biggest upset on this card came in a female bout as China's Luo Yu Jie (3-6, 1) scored her first stoppage victory and defeated Japanese veteran Tamami Tor Buamas (6-4, 5). Although "Tor Buamas" is generally a Thai fighting name it seems that the 47 Tamami, real name Tamami Morimoto, has been fighting under a Thai banner since her debut back in 2009, hence the possible confusion. After this loss it seems that that's probably her career over though China's very own Qu Peng (5-0-1, 3) was successful on the card as scored his 4th straight win with a decision over Australian Paul Watson (2-3, 1). The one other bout on this card saw once beaten Russian Andrey Kalyuzhnyy (5-1, 3) take just 32 seconds to see off win-less Thai Kajorndet Or Ekachai (0-2). Victoria, Australia One of the highest ranked fighter in action was Filipino Randy Petalcorin (21-1-1, 16), the WBA #2 ranked Light Flyweight. Petalcorin, fighting against experienced Thai Samransak Singmanasak (35-22-1, 27), made light work of his opponent who was stopped in just the second round. Petalcorin was the only Asian on the card to win though wasn't the only one in action. The others who fought on the same show were Thailand's Kiatchai Singwancha (34-12, 23), who was stopped in round 7 by Manny Vlamis (12-3, 9), and Manopnoi Singmanasak (10-19, 6) who was stopped in 4 rounds by the light punching Terry Tzouramanis (12-1-3, 3). Although it was a memorable outing for Petalcorin, who seems likely to be fighting for a world title soon, it wasn't great for Thai's who went 0-3. New South Wales, Australia On a second Australian show we saw one of the most notable upsets of the day as the criminally over-looked Joebert Delos Reyes (12-4-1, 9) scored a sensational KO over the previously unbeaten Valentne Borg (6-1, 4). The over-looked Filipino was 4 rounds down when he landed a perfect right uppercut that dropped Borg hard. The victory for Delos Reyes saw him claiming the IBO Youth Lightweight title and extend his winning run to 5 fights. Sadly however we're seriously wondering if he'll struggle to get fights after upsetting 3 unbeaten fights in the last 2 years. The same card had mixed fortunes for other Filipino's as Joel Dela Cruz (17-20-2, 7) was beaten by Kurt Bahram (13-4-1, 5) in a bout for the New South Wales State Middleweight title, Michael Correa (3-10-3, 1) was beaten by Nathan Wright (3-0, 1) and Aswin Cabuy (14-46-4, 7) managed to score a draw with Zhang Yong (2-4-1, 1). Distrito Federal, Mexico The worst result of the day for an Asian fighter came in Mexico as the hard hitting Filipino Marvin Mabait (19-2-2, 13) was sensationally upset by Alejandro Hernandez (27-10-2, 14). Mabait, defending his WBO Inter-Continental Bantamweight title for the first time, was hurt and a follow up attack in round 5 saw eventually being stopped in a result that will be a major set back for the Filipino. (Photo, of Wanheng, courtesy of boxrec.com) This past Friday, as with most Fridays, saw action from Thailand courtesy of Channel 7. As with the usual shows from Thailand there was title action as the headline action, in fact there was double title action.
Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand The most noteworthy fighter in action on the card was surprisingly not involved in a title fight of any variety. That was Oleydong Sithsamerchai (51-1-1, 18), the former WBC Minimumweight champion, who scored a 4th round KO over the out classed and inexperienced Sandeep (0-3) who was there more to keep Oleydong rust free than to really challenge him. World ranked by both the WBO (#10) and WBC (#2) Oleydong does seem like a man awaiting another world title fight and wins like this are more about staying active than improving any part of his game. It may not seem to make sense to many but it's keeping money in his pocket and that's the key to these mismatches. In the title fights we saw 2 WBC youth title fights. One of these saw Kongfah CP Freshmart (4-0, 2) retain his Light Flyweight title, courtesy of a 10 round victory over the previously unbeaten Iranian teenager Mosayeb Teimoorikia (2-1). The other saw the amazingly well named Knockout CP Freshmart (5-0, 3) retaining his Minimumweight title against a debutant. Sadly we're unsure about this debutants name which appears to be just Amid (0-1). Texas, USA Over in the USA Korean-American Abraham Han (21-1, 13) managed to score his second successive victory since suffering his sole loss. Han, fighting the massively over-matched Daniel Gonzalez (9-30-2, 3) took an expected victory though left few wondering what his future will really bring. |
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