This past Friday was a busy day with Asian's in action around the globe along with a couple of Asian shows.

Tokyo, Japan
For us the most significant of the two Asian cards came from Japan where fans saw an OPBF title fight, a couple of world ranked fighters and some interesting action.

The main event was the aforementioned OPBF title bout which saw Lightweight champion Masayoshi Nakatani (11-0, 6) retain his title with a 5th round TKO win against Kazuya Murata (11-5, 5). This was Nakatani's 4th defense of the title and saw him get back to scoring stoppages after 4 straight distance bouts. The talented Ioka gym fighter took control early in the bout with his jab and movement and began to turn up the heat in round 4. At the end of round 5 the bout was stopped follow a doctor's inspection of the challenger who stopped the contest with Murata suffering a suspect eye injury.

In the chief support bout fans saw world ranked Super Bantamweight Shun Kubo (8-0, 6) make very light-work of Thailand's Jakarachlek Sor Wankaew (0-5). Kubo, who we had heard good things off through most of 2014, looked brilliant though the bout lasted just 54 seconds and it was hard to get a real read on just how good the Shinsei gym fighter really is.

Another world ranked fighter on this card was young Minimumweight hopeful Reiya Konishi (9-0, 4) who claimed a clear decision win over Naoya Haruguchi (7-6, 2). Konishi, who claimed the 2015 Rookie of the Year crown at 105lbs, showed some really nice touches in his work but he's a long, long, way from thinking about challenging for world honours. Saying that however he showed enough to suggest that he will be ready in 2016 for a Japanese title fight and we were genuinely impressed by his left hook to the body.

Konishi wasn't the only 2014 Rookie of the Year winner in action as Super Bantamweight winner Shohei Kawashima (11-0-2, 3) also picked up a victory. The relatively light hitting Kawashima managed to see off the limited Tatsuya Miyamoto (11-13-1, 7) in the 6th round following a lovely burst of shots. Although certainly not a puncher we do like Kawashima's combinations and he does look like a fighter who is going to grow in to his man strength in the coming years. Really one to keep an eye on.

In another bout at Super Bantamweight fans saw Yuta Uetani (17-5-1, 9) put in an impressive performance against the limited Serichai Nonpitayakom (0-2). On paper this was a mismatch but it was hard not to be impressed by Uetani's body punching, which put the Thai down for the count in roudn 2. Uetani might not be a top class fighter but he's going to be a handful for many fighters in and around the domestic level.

Another Japanese fighter to see off a Thai foe was Yasunori Kishigami (10-2-1, 6), who scored a 7th round KO against the win-less Kraithong Mansongkhram (0-3). Kraithong had made it to round 70 though was blasted with a vicious body shot in the opening seconds of the round. The Thai beat the count but was in no state to continue. Re-watching the shot it's amazing Kraithong didn't throw up on impact.

Bangkok, Thailand
The other card from Asia came from Thailand and was televised on Channel 7. The card was, for all intents, supposed to feature a couple of bouts that were warm up bouts for world ranked Thai's. Unfortunate for one of them the bout turned out to be less of a warm up and more of a nightmare.

One of those world ranked fighters was Paipharob Kokietgym (30-0, 23), who defended the WBO Oriental Light Flyweight title with an easy blow out win against Fanther Ndahiuw (7-4-1, 3). Ndahiuw, who had never been stopped, lasted just 105 seconds here as Paipharob kept up his hunt for a world title fight.

The other world ranked fighter was former challenger Pigmy Kokietgym (57-8-2, 23) who was surprisingly stopped in the 11th round by unheralded Filipino Jaysever Abcede (10-3, 6). The bout, for the WBO Oriental Minimumweight title was supposed to be a warm up for Pigmy before a showdown with Japan's sensational Kosei Tanaka. Instead it turned out to be a coming out party for 20 year old Abcede who finished the bout with a wonderful right hook in round 11. Whilst this is probably the end for Pigmy it's fair to say that Abcede may be worth keeping a serious eye on going forward.

On the under-card fans saw two unbeaten prospects extend their unbeaten runs. One of those men was the exciting Manachai Banchamek (7-0-1, 6), who stopped Singdech Laos PDR (0-1) in the 2nd round. The bout was a mismatch and although Singdech showed some heart he was battered by the aggressive and exciting Manachai.

The other prospect was Petchmanee Kokietgym (9-0, 4) who also picked up a 2nd round TKO as he beat Taosaifah Laos PDR (0-1). This was another mismatch in favour of the unbeaten man who showed touches of class, though was always far too good for Taosaifah.

South Africa
Another major shock involving a Filipino fighter occurred in South Africa where Rene Dacquel (15-5-1, 5) claimed the IBO International Super Flyweight title. The under-rated Dacquel scored two knockdowns on route to a split decision over local fighter Thembelani Nxoshe (13-6-1, 3). Coming into this one Dacque was 3-2-1 though this win will act as a major boost in

New South Wales, Australia
On a JNI promoted card in New South Wales fans saw two Asian fighters come up short.

One of those was Thailand's Paitoon Jaikom (5-16, 2) who was widely out pointed by the unbeaten Ahmed Dib (16-0, 9). Although the bout was scheduled for just 6 rounds one judge had Dib winning by 9 points, 60-51. Sadly for the Thai this defeat ends a 2 fight winning run.

The other Asian being beaten here was Aussie based Filipino veteran Aswin Cabuy (15-53-4, 7), who was shut out over 4 rounds by the unbeaten David Toussaint (6-0, 4).

New South Wales, Australia
A separate card in New South Wales saw Thai veteran Plaisakda Singwancha (38-22, 32) suffer an opening round TKO loss to Kariz Kariuki (26-11-2, 20).

District of Colombia, USA
In the US fans saw unbeaten Kazakh hopeful Shyngyskhan Tazhibay (2-0, 2) continue his perfect start with a 2nd round TKO win against the debuting Coleman Phelps (0-1). Tazhibay has been tipped as “one to watch” in some quarters though we must confess that his competition so far has told us very little about his ability or his true promise.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

This past Saturday was a busy day though out that really didn't scream about it's self like some other days may have done in recent times.

Pattaya, Thailand
It was in Thailand that we got the highest profile Asian show of the day and it was a strangely interesting showing with the return to the ring of a former champion and the continued development of a very promising prospect.

The prospect in question was the unbeaten Petchmanee Kokietgym (6-0, 1) who managed to take a 6 round decision over busy Filipino fighter Richie Behec (2-2-1, 1). Behec, fighting just weeks after his loss to Samartlek Kokietgym, really is being ultra-active at the moment and has already squished 4 fights in to the year, essentially fighting every 11 days!

Whilst Behec has been ultra-busy the same cannot be said of former WBA Super Flyweight world champion Tepparith Kokietgym (27-3, 16) who over-came Frenchman Joaquim Mahe (8-2, 4) to end a 51 week break from the ring. Tepparith, who was last seen in action back in February 2014, looked over weight and as if he was out of shape though still had the skills needed to over-come his French opponent. Amazingly this was just Tepparith's 6th bout since he lost his world title in December 2012 to Kohei Kono.

A third bout on this show saw Angelito Merin (8-5-3, 2) take an opening round KO over the debuting Yongyut Suttason (0-1).

Sanaa, Yemen
Although the country of Yemen appears to be at war with it's self that hasn't put a freeze on the in ring action and local fans managed to get some action on Friday.

In the main event fans saw the unbeaten Hani Ansi (18-0-1, 16) continue his sensational run of results as he scored an opening round blow out of the over-matched Omar Awdan (11-3, 5). The peculiar Ansi took control from the opening bell and just thoroughly dominated Awdan who was down 3 times in less than 80 seconds. We now expect Ansi to fight against Ali Raymi in March.

Ansi wasn't the only fighter to score an early victory and the unbeaten Omar Moxamad (4-0, 3) needed just 34 seconds to beat the debuting Ali Saif (0-1). It also took less than a round for Asam Dolbhante (6-1, 3) to take care of his debuting foe, Rashed Haymi (0-1).

The remaining bouts on this card both went the distance. One of those saw Redman Ibsi (2-1) take a shut out over the more experienced Yasin Abdulkhalik (7-8, 3) whilst the other saw Taha Kawkabani (4-3, 1) score a minor upset with a win over Ali Salem (12-6, 3)

Sinaloa, Mexico
In Mexico we saw the tough Adones Aguelo (23-11-2, 15) suffer just the second stoppage loss of his career as the brilliant Adrian Estrella (21-0, 19) took him out in the 10th round of their bout. It now seems likely that Estrella will be moved towards a bout with WBC Super Featherweight champion Takashi Miura in what would be a genuinely mouth watering encounter between heavy handed and exciting fighters.

New York, USA
In New York we saw some controversy as Derric Rossey (30-9, 14) took a close decision over previously unbeaten Heavyweight hopeful Akhror Muralimov (16-1, 13). The bout was close but the rotund Muralimov only has himself to blame for the loss as he came in at a disgustingly out of shape at a ridiculous 256½lbs.

This past Tuesday has certainly been a hectic day with bouts coming across Asia with titles up for grabs in 4 separate countries!

Korakuen Hall, Japan
In Japan we had the most notable bout of the day in many ways as fans got the chance to see an OPBF title bout. Sadly aside from that bout the card was relatively lacklustre and even that title bout wasn't something to write home about, despite it's regional significance.

The title bout in question saw Yuzo Kiyota (27-4-1, 25) stopping Fuji's Abhay Chand (16-14-4, 10) in the 5th round of their bout. Kiyota, a genuinely heavy handed guy, was deducted a point in round 4 for a low blow but seemed to feel that the body was Chand's weak spot and a jab in round 5 to the challengers guy put him down for the 10 count in what was a really poor challenge of the title.

In the co-feature of this card Kenta Nakagawa (8-2, 6) scored a 3rd round TKO against Ryo Nakamura (7-5, 3) who was stopped almost as soon as round 3 began.

Also on the Japanese card were 6 undercard bouts. Of those 6 bouts only one ended with a stoppage as Akihiro Yamanaka (4-3, 1) scored his first stoppage win and defeated Muneyuki Kishii (3-5, 2) in the 4th round. One other bout that failed to go the distance saw Joji Tsuchiya (1-2-1, 1) fight a 1 round technical draw with Takuya Yamaguchi (1-2-2, 1), in a bout that lasted just 160 seconds.

A competitive undercard bout saw Shunta Terai (0-2-1) fight to a 4 round draw with Hiroaki Tokuoka (0-1-1) whilst a similarly competitive contest between Ryuji Kohama (1-1) took a split decision over the debuting Yuki Nakajima (0-1). A third competitive contest saw Daisuke Sudo (3-2) taking a narrow win over Takuya Suzuki (1-2-1, 1). The only other bout was a female bout which saw Yunoka Furukawa (4-1-2-1, 2) take a decision over Mikiko Muto (2-2)

Bangkok, Thailand
Staying with title action and Japanese fighters there was also a Japanese fighter in action in Thailand as part of an interesting card in Bangkok.

The Japanese fighter in question was 17 year prospect Riku Kano (5-1-1, 3) who claimed his first title, the WBA Asia Minimumweight title, with a 12 round shut out against Indonesian fighter Madit Sada (9-19-1, 3). Kano, who hasn't made his Japanese debut yet, looked like he has the ingredients to go far and win world titles somewhere down the line however the big fear is that his promoter burns him out too early, a real fear considering this was his 6th bout this year.

A second bout on this card saw Petchchorhae Kokietgym (10-0, 7) defeat Indonesian visitor Johan Wahyudi (9-31, 5). The Indonesian really was outclassed from the off and Petchchorhae was made to look sensational at times before finishing the bout with a vicious body shot in the second round. Prior to the finishing blow the visitor had been down from a swiping left upstairs, it was however the body breaking uppercut that finished the show that really left a lasting impression.

Also on the same show in Thailand fans saw Petchmanee Kokietgym (5-0, 1) winning an easy decision over journeyman Jack Amisa (20-32-2, 14). Amisa has now lost 20 times in Thailand and it appears clear he has no intention of trying to win when fighting in the country. He appears to know that losing is what he'll be doing in his career and he's now won just 1 bout in the last 6 years!

Metro Manila, Philippines
In the Philippines fans got their share of fills and thrills with an array of knockouts, including one by a very highly ranked Super Flyweight.

The aforementioned Super Flyweight was Warlito Parrenas (23-6, 20) who retained his WBO Oriental title with an opening round blow out against the horribly over-matched Hengky Baransano (11-5, 4). Parrenas, who will be angling for a world title fight next year, broke up his foes resistance with a body shot inside 2 minutes of the bout.

Another body shot KO helped the destructive Richard Claveras (11-0-2, 11) continue his unbeaten run as he took out the experienced Rodel Tejares (20-32-6, 5). This was Tejares's 3rd loss this year and he may need to consider his future, especially considering he is now win-less since springing an upset over Lionel Mark Duran back in September 2012.

A third notable knockout on the top part of this card saw Ardin Diale (26-9-3, 13) score a 2nd round KO against Ricky Manufoe (23-22-2, 10). Manufoe failed weight at the weigh in and had a 4lb advantage over Diale, that didn't help and Diale recorded his third successive stoppage since his own stoppage loss to Koki Eto in an OPBF title bout.
In a WBC Youth Super Flyweight title bout on this show fans saw the unbeaten Jhaleel Payao (11-0, 6) over-come the defending champion Rene Dacquel (12-4-1, 4). Dacquel was attempting to record his first defense of the belt was out pointed over the 10 round distance in what was sadly the show's only genuinely competitive bout.

The sole 8 rounder on the card went 3 as the heavy handed Jon Jon Estrada (6-1-1, 5) easily took care of Junjie Lauza (4-13-1, 1). In a 6 rounder Aljhon Osabel (9-2, 5) took care of the wonderfully named Daffy Dempo (2-4, 2) in the 3rd round, after dropping him twice in the second round. The other 6 rounder saw the unbeaten Lorence Rosas (2-0-2) take a technical draw after an accidental headclash cut Joel Lagusan (3-10-1, 1).

In the 4 rounders we saw on go the distance as Jaymark Borbon (1-1) scored his first and over-came the debuting Rizalde Caballes (0-1). Caballes had been down in the opening round and will not see this as a debut to remember. The other 4 rounders saw Jermone Clavite (2-0-1, 1) score his first stoppage win as he took out the win-less Joshro Lindon (0-4), in the 4th round, and JayAr Diama (2-5-4, 1) also took his first early victory as his opponent Ronie Gaton (0-4) retired at the start of round 2.

Daejeon, South Korea
Yet more title action occurred in South Korea where fans got a title double in a relatively low key show.

Domestically the key fight was a South Korean Light Welterweight title fight that saw Myung Soo Sun (2-0) make the first defense of his title with a decision win over the more experienced Jin Soo Kim (6-4, 3). Sun, who won the title on his debut against Jae Ho Kim, appears likely to become the KBC's poster boy and at just 20 years old does look to be a promising youngster who now has 2 complete 10 round bouts under his belt.

The second title bout on this show saw the unbeaten Eun Hye Lee (6-0, 1) claim the WBO Asia Pacific female Flyweight title with a clear victory over the brilliantly named Lady Love Sampiton (2-3, 1) of the Philippines.

The 4 under-card bouts here were all debutant affairs. At Featherweight fans saw Ye Chan Gang (1-0, 1) score a 3rd round TKO over Doo Hwa Lee (0-1). From the details we have it seems Lee, a 17 year old, had the size advantage with 5” of height, though probably lacked the physical maturity of the 22 year old Gang. At Lightweight Dae Won Sunwoo (1-0) took a decision victory over Bum Jin Kim (0-1) with a shut out. At Light Welterweight fans saw a well fought draw between Sung Koo Han (0-0-1) and Bo Kwan Shim (0-0-1).

The other all debutant bout was all the way up at Cruiserweight where Sang Ho Kim (1-0, 1) stopped Jung Soo Lim (0-1) in the 2nd round. At 5'8” and aged 31 we can't see Kim going on to do much with his career unfortunately.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)