This past Monday so some relatively interesting action in both Japan and Thailand.

Tokyo, Japan
The most notable show was in Tokyo, at the Korakuen Hall. The show wasn't a huge one but it was a genuinely intriguing one with several notable fights on it.

The most notable of those saw former Japanese Lightweight champion Akihiro Kondo (22-6-1, 11) score a 4th round TKO win over the world ranked, by the IBF at least, Patomsuk Pathompothong (31-4-1, 19). On paper this looked like a great bout but Kondo took control of the bout late in the opening round and Patomsuk never found his way back into it before a cut forced the referee to stop the action. Sadly for Patomsuk this was his second notable stoppage loss in his last 3 fights having also come up short against Ik Yang.

In the chief support bout the really promising Hikaru Marugame (5-0, 3) made very light work of Thailand's Non Sithsaithong (12-9, 8), who was stopped in 2 rounds. We do like Marugame, a lot, and now hope he'll make a move towards a title fight of some kind as we don't expect he'll be really pushed until he steps up a level to close to the top of the domestic level.

A third notable Japanese fighter on this card was former Japanese Super Bantamweight title challenger Takafumi Nakajima (23-8-1, 10) who made light work of Singpalanchai Chaiyonggym (0-1), who was also stopped in the 2nd round. Whilst we're unsure if it was mentioned a bout between Nakajima and Marugame would be a very interesting test for the youngster.

The 3 bouts above were all scheduled for 8 rounds, the chief supporting bouts to that trio were 6 rounders. On paper the best matched of the 6 rounders was a Featherweight bout that saw Yudai Tamagawa (7-6-1, 2) out point Yamato Nakagawa (5-6, 3). The other saw a minor upset as Takaki Sakurai (6-5-1, 2) scored a 5th round TKO win against Masaharu Hanaka (4-3-1, 2), who has now been stopped 3 times in 8 bouts.

The opening action here was a pair of 4 rounders. One of those saw Ryo Iwadate (2-1, 1) score an opening round victory over the win-less Jun Funatsu (0-2) whilst the other saw Asahi Imai (1-0) claim a debut win over fellow newbie Yuki Isobe (0-1)

Bangkok, Thailand
In the main event PABA Super Flyweight title holder Chatpetch Sithmorseng (11-3-2, 6) successfully defended his title against Filipino foe Bimbo Nacionales (12-10-1, 2). The limited Nacionales was dropped 3 times with the final knock-down ending the bout. Sadly for Nacionales this loss is his 7th in Thailand though we suspect he'll be brought back to the country to pad someone else's record.

Another bout on this card saw the promising Ronnakit PKT College (2-0, 1) take a decision win over Filipino veteran Cristian Abila (13-17-4, 4). On paper this was a great test for Ronnakit who does appear to have plenty of genuine talent and we're really looking forward to seeing him develop.

Bangkok, Thailand
Another bout in Thailand saw Kalae McShane (5-0, 3) make very light work of the horribly over-matched Payak Twins Gym (1-2), who was stopped inside a round.


(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

Bangkok, Thailand
Much of the Asian action this past Friday was in Thailand where there were 4 televised bouts courtesy of Kiatkreerin.

The main saw the promising Eaktawan Mor Krungthepthonburi (14-3, 10)* defend a regional title with a 5th round TKO over Filipino visitor Lionel Legada (13-9-1, 6). This was Eaktawan's first bout since signing with Kiatkreerin and we now expect we'll see him moved towards the IBF rankings and a possible IBF title fight somewhere in the future.

Another notable fighter on this card was Patomsuk Pathompothong (30-3-1, 19) who forced an early stoppage of Ronnel Esparas (10-17-1, 2). This was Patomsuk's first bout since he was stopped by Ik Yang in Macau and the plan is to now have him fight Akihiro Kondo in Japan in July. Sadly for Filipino fighter Esparas this is his 9th straight loss.

As well as the two bouts with men there were also a couple of female fights. One of those saw the unbeaten Petcharas Mor Krungthepthonburi (4-0) continued her winning run with a 6 round decision against debutant Sonsaeng Sor Aswin (0-1). The other female bout saw Maimuang Sitkhurusian (2-4-1) score a decision win over Petchladda Sor Praithong (0-1)

New York, USA
In New York things didn't go well for Filipino veteran Ranee Ganoy (36-13-2, 32) who was stopped in 4 rounds by Cletus Seldin (17-0-0-1, 14). This was Ganoy's second successive loss, and his 7th stoppage defeat, and it now seems likely that the American based Pinoy puncher will think about hanging them up.

Campeche, Mexico
Things were also poor for Filipinos in Mexico as journeyman Vergel Nebran (13-10-1, 8)** suffered his 10th loss, though he did acquit himself really well. Nebran was a huge under-dog going into his bout, against former world champion Cristian Mijares (52-8-2, 25), though managed to take some real credit for his effort, despite losing widely on the the scorecards. Notably both men were dropped here though it's clear Nebran is a better fighter than his record suggests.


*Boxrec have attributed one of Eaktawan's loses incorrectly
**Boxrec don't acknowledge Nebran's loss to Boon-Joon Seok

This past Friday saw 2 separate Thai cards in what was a great day for Thai fans who were given some very competitive and tough bouts

Thon Buri, Thailand
The more significant of the two Thai cards came form Thon Buri province and featured two world ranked fighters as well as a previously world ranked fighter.

The main event of this show was the IBF world ranked Super Flyweight Rusalee Samor (25-5-2, 11) who successfully defended his IBF Asia Super Flyweight title with a well fought decision against Filipino visitor Fernando Ocon (13-8, 5). Samor, who is best known for his narrow loss to Rex Tso, has now won 5 straight and defended his belt twice as he's moved slowly towards a world title fight. As for Ocon we suspect he'll be able to get regular work in Thailand for his effort today which was good enough to push Samor at times.

Another world ranked fighter on this show was IBF Light Welterweight ranked Patomsuk Pathompothong (30-2-1, 18) who was forced to work very, very hard to take an incredibly narrow decision over Filipino Rodel Wenceslao (8-9-1, 2). The bout, a 10 round, was scored 96-94 by all 3 judges who were almost certainly expecting to turn in wider scorecards. Whilst the effort from Wenceslao probably saw him deserving a draw, at worst, we'd not be shocked to see him back in Thailand, or even Japan, where efforts like this are perfect to help improve local prospects.

Whilst Samor and Patomsuk are both currently world ranked the show also featured a former world ranked fighter, Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr (25-3-1, 15). Fahlan hasn't had a great year and since stopping Ryo Miyazaki last year his career really has faltered. Despite that Fahlan did get back to winning ways earlier today as he over-came South Korean visitor Da-Won Suh (3-4-1, 1) with a 6 round decision in what was a very entertaining scrap.

A fourth bout on this show saw yet another bout go the distance as Patomsith Pathompothong (10-2, 4) narrowly defeated South Korea's Ji-Hwan Lee (5-4-1, 2) in a 6 round decision bout. As with Patomsuk's bout this one was very competitive despite the records of the two fighters suggesting it was a mismatch. 

Chonburi, Thailand
The other Thai card came from Chonburi where fans had 4 bouts that all ended early. The main event here saw Korean Myung-goo Yuh (21-4-1, 16), a regular visitor to Thailand in recent years, score a 3rd round KO against Filipino veteran Rick Paciones (6-19-2, 3). For Paciones this was a 17th stoppage defeat and you now need to go back almost 17 years for his second most recent win. Sorry Rick but it's time to give up!

Another bout on here was a female bout that saw South Korean based Canadian Amy Berezowski (2-6-1, 1) take a 5th round knock-out win against Thailand's Nongploy Sithjemayurin (0-2) who was apparently fighting for the first time since 2011.

Another Korean fighter on this card saw Joon-Ho Moon (4-0-1, 2) scoring a 2nd round stoppage against the frankly hapless Stamp Sor Saknarin (0-6) who has now been stopped in all 6 of his bouts. 

Another visitor to have picked up a win here was Russian southpaw Alexey Kulikov (2-3-1, 2) who stopped the debuting Wajana Kiewon (0-1) in 3 rounds.

Lanao del Norte, Philippines
In the Philippines fans got a small but notable show that featured a trio of interesting contests.

The least significant of those bouts saw Ricardo Roa (12-9-2, 4) score and unexpectedly quick blow out against Jherom Tuyor (6-19-2, 3). Roa, not a puncher, took just a round to see off Tuyor who has now been stopped in his last 3 contests. Tuyor wasn't the only man on the show to be taken out earlier as the feather fisted Donriel Marcos (10-23-1, 1) also failed to see out a round as he took on the heavy handed Marbon Bodiongan (11-1-2, 9). Aged just 20 we are expected by Bodiongan who has now won 7 bouts since his sol loss more than 2 years ago. Powerful, aggressive and fun we'd suggest fight fans world wide keep a mental note Bodiongan.

The only other fight on card saw the unbeaten Jeffrey Galero (11-0, 5) take a decision over domestic journeyman Donny Mabao (21-22-1, 4). For Mabao this was his first bout since his loss to Ryuji Hara in and in many ways it's made us really question Hara whilst also accepting that Galero might well be one to keep an eye on, even if he doesn't look like a concussive puncher. 

Osaka, Japan
As well as the show in the Philippines there was also one in Japan with 8 bouts, including one world ranked fighter. Although the card was a low profile one it was thoroughly competitive from start to end.

The main event here saw Masato Morisaki (9-3-1, 5) taking an 8 round majority decision over Tomohiro Nagakari (6-2, 1). The bout was competitive though the right man did win the bout and scored his first win over an opponent with a winning record. Sadly for Nagakiri this will be a hard loss given that he was a Rookie of the Year winner last year.

The world ranked fighter on this show was Thailand's Patomsuk Pathompothong (29-2-1, 18) who showed that his world ranking was very questionable as he struggled past limited Japanese fighter Tatsunori Fukunaga (4-5, 1) in a 6 round split decision. Ranked #8 by the IBF at 140lbs it's fair to say that Patomsuk is not ready for a world title fight and in fact many will doubt if he's ever going to be ready.

Another competitive bout on this card saw Takeshi Sone (5-3-2, 1) fighting to a 6 round split decision draw with Il Che (6-8-4, 1). 

The competitive bouts were also seen throughout the 4 rounders. These included a pair of split decisions as the debuting Takuya Uehara (1-0) over-came Ryo Sumiya (1-1) and the win-some lose-some Akira Takasuka (4-6)defeated Takashi Abe (2-2-1). In majority decisions Takehiro Tode (1-3) scored his first win as he over-came the debuting Shin Hatta (0-1) whilst Shota Oka (1-0) made a successful start to his career with a win over Takahiro Morishita (0-4-1)

The only cut result on the entire card was the opening bout as Koichi Wakita (1-1) took a unanimous decision over debutant Kodai Nakashoya (0-1).

Although there wasn't many major fights this past Friday there was still plenty of action with shows in Thailand, Japan and Australia

Phattalung province, Thailand
The main event of the Thai show saw the exciting and always fun to watch Rusalee Samor (24-5-2, 11) successfully defending his IBF Asia Super Flyweight title with a 4th round TKO over Indonesian veteran Ricky Manufoe (23-21-2, 10). For Samor this was the first defence of the belt and his 4th straight win since suffering a highly debatable loss to Rex Tso in Macau last July as for Manufoe this was his 15th loss in Thailand.

The show featured two other bouts alongside the main event. One of those bouts saw the world ranked, IBF #10 Light Welterweight, Patomsuk Pathompothong (28-2-1, 18) over come the very over-matched Geisler AP (5-3, 3). Geisler has now lost, by stoppage, every time he has fought outside of his native Indonesia and it's fair to say his rumoured 20-0 amateur record was against incredibly poor domestic opponents.

In the only other bout on the show we saw yet another Indonesian lose as Domi Nenokeba (11-18-1, 7) was beaten on points by Thailand's very own Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr (24-3, 15). For Fahlan this was his first bout since he was clearly out pointed by Takuma Inoue earlier this year and whilst the win here won't have undone the damage of that loss it will still have helped the Thai youngster rebuild his confidence.

Western Australia, Australia
Whilst Thai's were successful at home they didn't fare very well away from home and in fact two Thai's were beaten, in quick fashion, in Australia.

One of those was Baikon Lokromklao (1-3), who was stopped in a round by the debuting Shane Carroll (1-0, 1). The other was female debutant Wiilaiwan Namuanghchan (0-1) who lasted just 109 seconds before being stopped on the 3 knockdown rule by Louisa Hawton (2-0, 1)

Tokyo, Japan
One of the two Japanese shows was at the Korakuen Hall as the Rookie of the Year East continued. 

This show featured 11 bouts in total with numerous novices in action, the most notable of whom was Andy Hiraoka (4-0, 2) who managed to take a 4 round decision over Yoshihito Takahashi (2-2, 2) in a Lightweight bout. We've been told to keep close eyes on Hiraoka and hopefully we'll not feel let down later this year.

Hiraoka was one of 6 unbeaten men in action on the show. One of the others was Yasuki Katagiri (3-0, 2) who defeated Katsuya Abe (2-4), also by a 4 round decision. Another man to win a decision to retain his unbeaten record was Ken Kodama (3-0-1, 1) who defeated Yuya Kinjo (3-5). Another of the unbeaten men was Yugo Ueda (3-0, 2) who defeated Kazuto Nakane (2-2, 2) inside a round. Like Ueda fans also saw Shinjiro Kawada (2-0, 2) scoring an opening round KO as he swiftly despatched Takahiro Onjuku (2-3, 1). The only man who lost his unbeaten record on this show was Masaharu Hanaka (3-1-1, 2) who was stopped in the 4th round by Shunsuke Fukushima (2-3-2, 2).

A number of the other bouts also went the distance. These included a 4 round unanimous decision victory for Asahi Hatsumi (3-1, 1) who defeated Keisuke Kanazawa (2-3, 1), another unanimous decision saw Hokuto Sakata (4-3-1, 2) over-come the hard hitting Tatsuo Sakamoto (3-2-1, 3). In a split decision Daiki Yoshimatsu (5-2, 1) over came the amazingly named Wildboar Ueda (3-4, 2) whilst another split decision saw Kenji Ono (4-1, 2) defeat Naoyuki Tsukada (3-2-1, 2).

The only other result from the same show saw Hisao Narita (6-1, 4) stopping Akira Naganuma (2-3, 1) in the second round.

Osaka, Japan
The other Japanese show was in Osaka with the main event being a bout between former world title challenger Masae Akitaya (9-4-2, 2) and win-less Thai Yokfah Krungthepthonburi (0-6). Akitaya used her experience to out point her win-less foe though didn't look nearly ready for another world title bout, then again she was of course returning to the ring for the first time in well over a year and no one would have expected her to be fighting at her sharpest.

Akitaya wasn't the only female on the card as Shione Ogata (2-5) managed to claim a rare win over-coming the debuting Ayako Inamori (0-1) in what was 1 of 7 bouts scheduled for 4 rounds.

Only 2 of the shows 8 total bouts failed to go the distance. These included an opening round blast out for Kento Osumi (1-0, 1) who over-came Masaru Hasegawa (0-2) and a second round victory for Daijiro Yuki (2-0, 1) who managed to beat Kengo Kamaya (2-2, 2).

The most competitive of the contests saw Tenta Kiyose (1-1-1) battle to a draw with Noboru Osato (2-2-3, 1) in a majority decision draw, it was the only genuinely competitive bout on the show which saw 3 other Unanimous decisions. These included a victory for Takashi Abe (2-1-1) who over came Takashi Okura (2-3, 1), a victory for the unbeaten Takeru Kamikubo (3-0, 1) who beat Yuki Sueyoshi (1-2) and a debut win for Naoki Okamura (1-0) who was victorious over Masanari Iwane (1-5).

(Image, or Samor, courtesy of boxrec.com)