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).

Metro Manila, Philippines
The first major action of the day came in the Philippines where promotional giant ALA Promotions put on Pinoy Pride 30. The show was the first blockbuster event from the Philippines this year and featured 4 major title bouts, including a world title contest.

The card began with the unbeaten Ralph Jhon Lulu (11-0-2, 5) struggling past the limited Gerry Patieno (4-8-2, 2) in an unconvincing performance from the unbeaten man. The bout saw Lulu take a 4 round majority decision but not really impressing anyone. The other 4 rounder on the show was much more impressive as the exciting Joepher Montano (3-0, 2) stopped Australian visitor Tyson Maher (0-2) in a really enjoyable contest. Montano may only be at the start of his career but it's clear he's going to be a lot of fun to follow, win or lose.

In an 8 rounder fans saw the heavy handed Jeson Umbal (8-3, 6) drop Eric Panza (7-4-1, 1) twice en route to a close decision win. The knockdowns were the difference between a unanimous decision win for Umbal and a majority decision draw between the two men where well matched to say the least. The other 8 rounder was less well matched as AJ Banal (33-2-1, 22) clearly and easily over-came Indonesian visitor Junior Bajawa (14-6, 7). Banal was bothered in later rounds following a headclash but dominated the fight and took home a very wide decision win.

The first of the show's title bouts saw ALA's newest international signing, Ryo Akaho (26-1-2, 18), in action. Akaho claimed the WBO International Bantamweight title with relative ease as he destroyed the under-sized and under-skilled Prosper Ankrah (24-5-0-1, 15) in the 4th round of their bout. Ankrah had some success but never enough to make Akaho respect him and it always seemed like Ankrah was fighting to survive than to win. This victory for Akaho was his 7th since he was beaten by Yota Sato in a WBC Super Flyweight title bout back in 2012 and it looks like Akaho is now ready for another shot at world honours.

Arguably the stand out performance came from promising youngster Albert Pagara (23-0, 16), who looked sensational as he defended his IBF Inter-Continental Super Bantamweight title against the heavy handed but limited Rodolfo Hernandez (26-6-1, 24). Pagara dropped Hernandez in the opening round then dominated him until the end of round 4. Hernandez then remained in his corner citing an injury with his hand, though it looked more like a case of “get me out of here” from the Mexican.

In the co-feature of the show fans saw the return to the Philippines of the popular Nonito Donaire (34-3, 22) who had a showcase win against the hapless William Prado (22-5-1, 15). Prado had only been stopped by WBA Super Bantamweight champion Scott Quigg, in 3 rounds, prior to this but Donaire dismantled him in just a couple of rounds. Prado landed little through out the bout and looked distraught every time Donaire caught him. With this win Donaire claimed the NABF Super Bantamweight title and is now expected to move towards a world title bout at Super Bantamweight.

In the main event fans saw long term world champion Donnie Nietes (35-1-4, 21) successfully retain his WBO Light Flyweight title with an impressive victory over the dangerous Gilberto Parra (19-3, 17). Nietes started fast and looked to be trying to make a statement early on. Parra saw out the early storm and fought gallantly in the middle rounds, particularly round 6. Sadly however for the challenger a knockdown in round 8 was the start of the end and he retired after the 9th round after suffering a nasty cut around the left eye. Prior to the retirement he was always looking second best and appeared to know it spending several rounds trying to avoid a fight with excellent champion.

Yucatán, Mexico
We had another world title bout in Mexico where the diminutive Rommel Asenjo (26-4, 20) took on the sensational Juan Francisco Estrada (32-2, 23). Sadly for Asenjo this never looked like it was going to go his way and although he was competitive in a very quiet opening round that was about the only positive he could take from the bout. In round 2 Estrada moved into third gear and appeared capable of battering Asenjo at will. The challenger came out for round 3 though less than a minute into the round his corner threw in the towel in a disappointing ending to the bout. The conclusion was less than great though Asenjo's face was already beginning to look a swollen mess courtesy of Estrada's power which was having an effect every time he landed.

Thailand
In a low profile show in Thailand fans got the chance to see two former world title challengers both pick up decision wins.

One of those men was Samartlek Kokietgym (20-5, 5) who over-came the experienced but limited Jack Amisa (20-35-2, 14). For Samartlek this was a third straight win since he came up short in a WBC Light Flyweight title fight against Naoya Inoue, though it seems clear that he's much more comfortable at this level

The other winner was the highly experienced Pigmy Kokietgym (56-7-2, 22) who over-came Heri Amol (35-23-4, 14). This was Pigmy's 4th bout since he came up short last year against Hekkie Budler in a WBA title fight in Monaco.

Queensland, Australia
In Australia there was a trio of Thai's in action.

The highest profile of those Thail's was Chaiyong Sithsaithong (36-13-4, 26) who came up short against Paul Fleming (20-0, 13) in a bout for the WBO Oriental Super Featherweight title. Sithsaithong managed to see out the 10 round schedule here against the talented but did see a 4-fight winning run come to an end.

In one of the main support bouts Wisanlek Sithsaithong (11-7, 7) was stopped, in 4 rounds, by Australian Jason Cooper (13-2-1, 7). For Cooper this was a 5th successive win following his 2014 loss to Qiu Xiao Jun whilst the Thai was stopped for the 5th time in his career.

Also on this card fans had the chance to see professional loser Pramool Boonpok (1-13-1) pick up another defeat as Australian fighter Reuben Aiono (2-0-1, 1) took a 5 round decision win.


(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

This past Saturday was a day where the boxing world turned their attention to the US where we had two major fighters in action whilst other bouts took place in Asia it's self.

California, USA
In the US we saw two world title fights with mixed success for the Asian fighters who were involved in the contests.

For Filipino fighter Nonito Donaire (33-3, 21) the night was a painful one, a very painful one. The Filipino was attempting to defend his WBA Featherweight super title but was made to look small, weak and a long way from being a world class Featherweight as Nicholas Walters (25-0, 21) really "beat the shit" out of Donaire, to quote the Filipino himself. Donaire was dropped in round 3 before being sent down again in round 6, that time he wasn't fit to continue when he recovered to his feet. For Jamaican power puncher Walters this was a break out win whilst for Donaire it may have been a loss that sends him into retirement.

The other bout saw Kazakhstan banger Gennady Golovkin (31-0, 28) continue to rip apart the Middleweight division as he destroyed Mexico's Marco Antonio Rubio (59-7-1, 51) in just 2 rounds. Rubio, who came in well above the Middleweight limit, looked a full division bigger than Golovkin though was battered in round 2 as Golovkin went to work in style. The win for Golovkin was his 18th straight stoppage and saw him defending his WBA Middleweight super title and claiming the WBC interim title as he moved one step further to proving that he was the best 160lb fighter on the planet.

A third Asian on this show was Ruslan Madiev (2-0), also from Kazakhstan, who secured a 4 round decision over the debuting Oscar Rojas (0-1).

Suwannakhet, Laos
In Laos we had 2 more titles fights, both of which were at a much lower level.

The more notable of these bouts saw Kongthara KKP (5-0, 5) score his first title win as he claimed the WBC Asian Boxing Council silver Super Bantamweight title. Konthara, who has also gone by the name Attanon Kunlawong in the past, stopped Macau's Kin Fong Leong (0-1) to record his 4th stoppage of the year and really build on an excellent victory over Japan's Shingo Kawamura.

In the other title bout female fighter Nampetch Kwanjaisrikod (3-1, 1) out pointed Zongju Cai (0-1) to successfully defend the WBC Asian Boxing Council Continental female Light Flyweight title for the first time.

As well as the results we currently have we have been made aware of two other shows. Hopefully we'll be able to add those results shortly though currently we've not have them made available to us.

Negros Occidental, Philippines
An interesting, albeit some what small, Filipino show took place in Negros Occidental. Sadly many of the bouts turned out to be relative mismatches.

One of the mismatches was the main event which saw the very promising and unbeaten Melvin Gumban (18-0, 9) quickly dispatch of Roger Echavez (7-13-1, 4) inside a round. This blow out won't have done much for the long term development of Gumban but keeping him active over the coming years is likely as important as anything else.

Although the main event was over quickly the co-feature dud go the distance as Juren Labordo (13-2, 8) took an 8 round decision over Ryan Tampus (11-12, 8), an astonishing result given that Tampus had been stopped 7 times prior to this bout. Another bout that went the distance saw James Paul Talaman (2-0, 1) take a decision over the win-less Sonny Basanez (0-3). Other bouts that went the distance saw Kenneth Neron (1-0) take a split decision over Jay Solomon (1-1, 1) whilst Jeffrey Concerman (1-0) began his career with a win over Holly Quinones (0-2).

As for stoppages on the under-card fans saw Rafael Sueno (2-1, 2) blasted out Macmac Baribar (2-2-1) in a round and it took Ricardo Sueno (1-0, 1) just as long to see off Kavin Parrenas (0-1). The other stoppage on this card saw Archie Moyani (1-0, 1) stop Ronald Cajes (0-1) in the second round.

Rostov-na-Donu, Russia
We also got action from Russia with a 9 fight card that featured a trio of title bouts as well as one of the hardest hitting on world boxing.

The shortest of the title bouts saw the unbeaten Viskhan Murzabekov (10-0, 5) successfully defend the WBC Youth Intercontinental title with an opening round blow out over Ramadhani Shauri (18-6-1, 10). This was the first defense of the title by Maruzabekov.

In a UBO Middleweight title bout Aliklych Kanbolatov (10-2-2, 5) scored a 5th round TKO against Mada Maugo (17-12, 12) whilst a UBO InterContinental Super Middleweight title fight saw Varazdat Chernikov (8-2, 3) score a 6th round KO against Karama Nyilawila (18-11-2, 10).

The most notable fight on the show saw Dmitry Kudryashov (15-0, 15) score a second round stoppage over Giulian Ilie (20-8-2, 6). Ilie was sadly forced to retire after just 2 rounds giving the heavy handed Russian an unexpectedly easy victory against the usually tough Romanian. Whilst Kudryashov's stoppage run continued we did see the run of Apti Davtaev (8-0-1, 8) come to an end after he was held to a 6 round split decision draw by Ante Verunica (3-1-1, 1).

Davtaev's bout was one of 4 bouts that went the distance. Another saw Apti Ustarkhanov (8-1-2, 1) take a 6 round decision over the limited Murad Dalkhaev (3-4, 2). In 4 rounders Arbi Madaev (7-1, 2) took a unanimous decision over Andrey Zapisov (0-2), the unbeaten Robert Bagaev (2-0) defeated Oleksiy Shteplyuk (0-10-1) with a 4 round decision whilst Roman Ivanov (3-6, 1) struggled past Rustem Abdinanov (1-3-1)

(Image 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)