May 2nd 2015 was a date we all had marked in our calendars for several months. Sadly however it came and went with out leaving a lasting memory.

Las Vegas, USA
We had the biggest bout of the day, in fact the biggest bout of all time, in the US as the era's two biggest fighters met in the supposed “Fight of the Century”. Sadly however it turned out to be more of a damp squib than a great and memorable fight.

The bout in question saw Floyd Mayweather Jr (48-0, 26) unify the WBC, WBA and WBO Welterweight titles as he out pointed Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38) in a bout that had it's moments but over-all lacked drama. Mayweather was his usual self showing great technical ability and movement but unfortunately Pacquiao failed to show his usual aggression and only really fought in spurts winning only a handful of rounds. The bout, on the whole, felt like we were watching two men coming to the end of their HOF careers and sadly it left us wondering what would have happened a few years. For Mayweather however it was a career defining win and proof that technically he is the best boxer of his era.

Tokyo, Japan
Prior to the big show in Las Vegas there had been action in Tokyo with Dangan 127. The show wasn't anywhere near the profile of the Las Vegas card however there was still a number of interesting bouts on it.

One of those interesting bouts was the main event, a Light Welterweight bout between former Japanese champion Shinya Iwabuchi (25-5, 21) and the under-sized Ryusei Yoshida (26-7, 13). Coming in both men were ranked by the JBC however Iwabuchi was too strong from the off and stopped Yoshida in eye catching fashion with a vicious salvo in round 6.

Another of the main bouts saw Hayato Kimura (23-7, 15) take a 6th round technical decision win over Filipino brawler Jomar Fajardo (14-7-2, 7). The bout was unfortunately curtailed due to a cut on Fajarado that had been caused in round 4. Notably the the Filipino had taken this bout on short notice after Takuya Kogawa pulled out due to an upcoming Japanese Flyweight title fight, and unfortunately he appeared to be under-sized from the off.

The third of the main bouts saw Ribo Takahata (11-5-1, 3) score a shock stoppage win over the previously unbeaten Japanese-based-Filipino Johnriel Maligro (12-1, 9). Maligro had looked really promising in his previous two bouts but trouble with the weight saw him looking flat before being stopped in the 5th round.

The sole 6 rounder on this card saw Takahiro Araki (6-4, 3) take a clear decision win over Koki Yoshida (4-5, 2). Prior to this bout Araki had lost back-to-back bouts though his win sees Yoshida suffering his third successive loss.

Prior to the notable bouts this card had had 6 under-card bouts, each scheduled for 4 rounds.

One of those bouts was a female contest that saw the debuting Emi Iwashita (1-0) take a clear but competitive decision over the win-less Natsuki Tarui (0-3). Another clear but competitive bout saw Koji Ida (4-0) extend his winning record with a decision win over Shogo Dairakuin (2-3, 1). A much closer bout saw Naoki Morooka (3-2, 2) take a majority decision over Yuki Uchida (2-3).

In less competitive bout Masaya Sakamoto (2-0, 1) dominated Takuya Tamaguchi (1-3-2, 1) to a very wide decision, another wide decision saw Ryota Ishida (3-0, 2) dominate Akira Watanabe (1-4-1, 1).

The only under-card bout to end inside the distance was a win for Masaya Kohama (4-2-1, 2) who stopped Masafumi Suzuki (3-4-1) in the opening seconds of round 3.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

This past Sunday was one of the busiest and most exciting this year, at least on paper. Sadly many of the bouts did leave us feeling under-whelmed though there was still more than enough to talk about.

Macau 
In an impressive performance the exciting Filipino fighter Jerwin Ancajas (22-1-1, 14) scored an excellent stoppage win over the generally tough, and under-rated, Fadhili Majiha (15-6-4, 7). Going in to the bout Majiha had only been stopped once, by Vusi Malinga, and had given fighters like Pungluang Sor Singyu very good tests yet couldn't handle Ancajas who stopped him with a beautiful straight left in round 3.

In an enjoyable encounter fans saw Hong Kong star Rex Tso (15-0, 9) take a very well fought decision over Indonesian visitor Espinos Sabu (11-3-1, 5). The fight was very enjoyable from the opening round to the final bell as Tso again added his reputation for excitement though it does seem clear that Tso is a very, very long way from a world title bout. For Sabu this was great exposure and we suspect we will see him in more notable bouts in Thailand or Japan in 2015 whilst for Tso it continued his development though it does seem like he's pretty much hit his peak and it's hard to see just where he really goes despite clearly beating Sabu.

Following Tso's bout we then saw another local star in action as the very popular “Macau Kid” Kuok Kun Ng (6-0, 2) took a unanimous but painful decision over Steve Attard (5-1-2, 2). The bout started well for Ng who rocked Attard twice towards the end of the opening round. Unfortunately however the local fighter had a cut to deal with from early on due to a head clash that his corner seemed to be unable to deal with, and it got significantly worse following subsequent headclashes that really left Ng's face a mess and his confidence looking like it was shattered. It seems almost certain that for Ng to go further he will need a more professional corner though we do genuinely like him, a lot, and see him as one of the better Chinese fighters who is currently making a name for himself. Hopefully he can he get a corner that can help him when a situation like this arises again in the future. We've got to admit we were surprised by how close two of the cards here were, with 2 judges handing in scores of 57-56 making the contest seem closer than it really seemed.

It wasn't a great show for all the local talent however as Qu Peng (6-1-1, 4) suffered a split decision loss to Andrew Robinson (3-3, 2) in a 4 rounder.

In the first of the show's main fights we saw Jessie Vargas (26-0, 9) battle against Mexican Antonio DeMarco (31-4-1, 23) as Vargas defended the WBA Light Welterweight title for the second time. The bout was a real gem to watch after a slow start and saw both men landing some cracking shots in the middle rounds as the defenses of both fighters left a lot to be desired. In terms of skills it wasn't the best fight we've seen recently but in terms of action and excitement this was fantastic and the Macau fans really did get a treat. Although Vargas was the winner here we do suspect his reign won't be a particularly long one considering the fact he lacks genuine power and always seems to make things into a struggle.

The second of the world title bouts on the show saw Ukraine's exceptionally talented Vasyl Lomachenko (3-1, 1) defend his WBO Featherweight title with a dominant victory over Thailand's experienced Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo (52-2, 33). Piriyapinyo was dropped in round 4 and played with in every subsequent round despite the fact Lomachenko seriously damaged his left hand in the middle of the fight. How Lomachenko put on a 1-handed masterclass is a genuine mystery but it was incredibly impressive from the Ukrainian fighter who looks insanely talented.

In the co-feature Zou Shiming (6-0, 1) showed off his ability at times as he dominated Thailand's previously unbeaten Kwanpichit OnesongchaiGym (27-1-2, 12). The first round was very quiet before Shiming began to let his hands go in round 2 and dropped the Thai fighter twice in what was a sensational round from Shiming who perhaps should have had a stoppage at the end of the round. Shiming again dropped Kwanpichit in round 6 and exploded with some lovely punches though didn't manage to sustain it enough to see off the Thai, who was also deducted a point in the 6th for low blows. Sadly a headclash later in the bout left Shiming fighting one eyed and when that happened he became rather negative. At times Shiming showed some world class ability though over-all it was.

The main event on this show saw Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao (57-3-2, 38) put on a commanding performance on route to a very wide decision win over Chris Algieri (20-1, 8). The bout, for Pacquiao's WBO Welterweight title, was one sided with Algeiri's best “weapon” being his non-stop movement which seemed to neutralise Pacquiao at times, though the Filipino still managed to hurt the American numerous times and score 6 official knockdowns, albeit several were debatable. After the fight Pacquiao hinted at the long awaited Mayweather bout though it seems to us that that bout is no longer the “once in a generation” fight that it was a few years ago.

Aichi, Japan
Result from Japan were slow to reach us from this weekend. With the main event result reaching us days before the others, the main event saw an expected victory for Yushi Tanaka (13-0-3, 9). Tanaka successfully over-came Indonesian visitor Rendi Stone (3-3-1, 2) with a 3rd round KO to retain the WBC Youth Bantamweight title. Hopefully we'll get the other results from this show shortly.

In the chief support bout Shota Hayashi (24-5-1, 15) had to struggle somewhat to over-come Indonesian visitor Jason Butar Butar (16-15-1, 12) in what was a tough test than expected for the Japanese fighter who we believe is hunting a title fight at some point next year.

On the undercard fans saw 5 bouts, all of which were scheduled for 4 rounds. Of those bouts two managed to go the complete schedule. One of those bouts saw the previously win-less Takashi Kagamihara (1-1) take a decision over Tom Hamaguchi (1-2) whilst the other distance bout saw the debuting Yuta Ando (1-0) over-come the previously unbeaten Yuta Imaizumi (1-1).  

Of the stoppages the quickest was scored in the second round by the unbeaten Daiuki Ichikawa (3-0, 2) who took out Yoshihito Takahashi (2-3, 2). Another stoppage that occurred in the second round saw the debuting Takushiro Mizoguchi (1-0, 1) defeat fellow debutant Sho Yasuda (0-1). The remaining stoppage saw Naoki Miyagi (2-1, 2) stopping the win-less Mitsukazu Oshita (0-2) in round 3.

(Image courtesy of Sumio Yamada)

Nevada, USA
The major action concerning Asian fighters this past weekend wasn't in Asia though did involve an Asian boxing superstar and one of the most recognisable faces in not just boxing but sport world wide. That was of course Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38) the Filipino boxing star-turned actor, singer and politician.

Pacquiao, who hadn't fought in the US since a 2012 knock out defeat to nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez, returned to action state side to avenge the most controversial defeat of his career, a decision loss to American Timothy Bradley (31-1-0-1, 12). Bradley had, 2 years ago, taken the WBO Welterweight crown from Pacquiao in a widely condemned decision and this time both me were out to their point.

Bradley started well though in the end there was only one winner, Pacquiao had dominated vast swathes of the bout through the middle rounds and the later rounds as he reclaimed is title, retook his place amongst boxing elite and proved, once again, that he is a fighter first and foremost. 

Our full write up of the Pacquiao/Bradley fight can be found here.

Unfortunately whilst Pacquiao was successful the same couldn't be said of Russian Light Welterweight Khabib Allakhverdiev (19-1, 9) who lost both the WBA Light Welterweight title and his unbeaten record in a decision loss to unbeaten American Jessie Vargas (24-0, 9). The bout was competitive through out though at times Khabib was out sped as Vargas stole some rounds in what was a competitive and interesting technical bout between good secondary tier fighters. Neither man would compare well with Danny Garcia or Lucas Matthysse but both can hold their heads high and know that against almost anyone else in the division they'd be competitive.

A third Asian fighter was on the card, Afghanistan born Arash Usmanee (20-2-1, 10) who was unfortunately out powered, out fought and out muscled by Raymundo Beltran (29-6-1, 17) in a Lightweight encounter. Usmanee, who took the bout with a weeks notice, showed his toughness and bravery though he was a clear loser on the cards and we'd not expect him back at Lightweight any time soon. It was game effect from Usmanee who will likely be hoping for another world title bout in his natural Super Featherweight division later this year.

Misamis Oriental, Philippines
As for action actually in Asia we can only find 2 bouts, both on the same show in the Philippines. These saw the hard hitting former amateur star Vic Saludar (4-1, 4) taking out the experienced Rey Morano (8-40-1, 1) in just 119 seconds and the unbeaten Rence Bryan Magarce (2-0, 1) out pointing the debuting Mace Talido (0-1).

(Photo courtesy of Sumio Yamada)