This past Friday was a hectic day from start to finish for Asian fans who got fights from all over Asia as well as a number of fighters in action outside of Asia.

Beiing, China
The most notable action of the day came from the Chinese capital where fans got an “interim” world title bout as well as several lower level bouts. Whilst we won't pretend the show was the greatest it certainly featured some excitement and plenty of knockdowns.

We'll start with the main event which saw exciting Filipino Randy Petalcorin (23-1-1, 18) successfully defend his WBA “interim” Light Flyweight title with an opening round destruction of Chinese challenger Ma Yi Ming (12-6, 7). Petalcorin looked sharp from the off and scored a trio of knockdowns forcing the referee to halt the bout after less than 2 minutes. Considering how good Petalcorin looked here we can't help but think it's time he stepped up and started facing fellow world level fighters rather than over matched foes like Ming.

The co-feature bout on the BTV Sports telecast saw Chinese Light Heavyweight Qu Peng (7-1-1, 5) make light work of Australian visitor Dane Campbell (3-3, 2) with an opening round TKO. Campbell had been down twice before a follow up assault forced the referee to halt the contest. With this win Peng claimed the “illustrious” WBO China National Light Heavyweight title, which was paraded around the ring prior to the bout.

The opening bout on the telecast was another bout in the heavier divisions as Zulpikar Maimaitiali (1-0, 1) scored a 5th round TKO against Thai visitor Yodkhunsuk Poowana (4-3-1, 2). The Thai had been down in the opening round before being stopped by the referee, incidentally a referee from Thailand. Another China Vs Thailand bout took place off camera as Xia Shunkai (3-0, 2) took his first decision win as he over-came Kajornsak Sithsaithong (7-5, 7).

The rest of the bouts here were all Chinese affairs. One of those saw Adili Abulimiti (1-1-1) take a 6 round decision win over debutant Huang Ju Xiang (0-1), another saw Xu Que (2-1-1, 2) take a 3rd round TKO win over Peng Ding Gui (0-1) whilst the unbeaten Yelieqiati (2-0) took a 4 round shut out against Liu Peng Fei (0-1).

Beijing, China
As well as the big show in Beijing there was another show, in the same venue in fact. This one featured mostly novices in action with 9 fights in total.

The main event for this card saw the debuting Chen Sen (1-0) take a majority decision over Ji Tao (7-5, 2) in the only 6 round bout of the card. Tao was the most experienced fighter on the card, by far.

From the 8 under-card 4 went the distance and 4 finished early. One of those that failed to go the distance saw Su Cheng (2-0, 1) claim a 2nd round TKO against Lin Jing Huang (0-1), another 2nd round TKO saw Alimu Wushouer (1-0, 1) over-come Yan Xiao Long (0-1). A 3rd TKO saw Dilixiati (1-0, 1) stop Lin Bing He (0-1) whilst a bout that ended in round 4 saw Tan Zheng (1-1, 1) over-come Ye Bao Fei (0-1)

In terms of bouts that went the distance a couple of those were clear and a couple were very close. One of those clear bouts saw Niu Zhong Jie (1-0) over-come Yu Chang Tian (0-1) whilst the other was a win for Cai Jun Cheng (1-0) who defeated Zhang Yi Feng (0-2). In the closer bouts fans saw Zhang Qi Xiu (1-0) take a majority decision over Halimubieke (1-2) and Wang Yin Gang (3-0, 1) take a victory over Su Shi Long (0-1).

Bangkok, Thailand
There was also some televised action from Thailand where fans had the chance to see several notable names in action.

One of those notable names was former world title challenger Panomroonglek Kaiyanghadaogym (45-2, 27) who took on the visiting Alwi Alhabsyi (13-22-3, 3) in what looked like a complete mismatch on paper. Whilst Panomroonglek got the much expected win, a stoppage in the 5th round, we were impressed but the gutsy effort of Alhabsyi who gave a lot more of an effort than many fighters in his position. Unfortunately for him he was down twice with the final one coming at the end of round 5. (Note at the time of writing boxrec.com list this as a 3rd round KO, the footage however proves that it was round 5).

Another notable name was Noknoi Sitthiprasert (54-4, 31)* who scored his 53rd straight win as he stopped the debuting Tonpetch Sithchansing (0-1) in round 3. This was as much of a mismatch as the records would suggest and it leaves us wondering just how many poor opponents they can find Noknoi to pad his record.

Yet another notable name in action here was former WBA “interim” Flyweight champion Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep (35-3, 21)* who managed to defeat the massively over-matched Jopher Marayan (7-6-2, 3) of the Philippines. Marayan came to fight but was busted up and bloodied by the time the referee stopped the bout in round 4. Prior to the stoppage Marayan was dropped and looked looked wobbly with his effort clearly taking it's toll on him. Despite the loss for Marayan we would like to see more of him as he's a fighter who comes to win. With this win Yodmongkol claimed the WBA Asia Flyweight title.

A final notable name here was Ratchasak KKP (27-3-1, 13) who took a stoppage win over Chaosamut Sithchansing (0-1). Chaosamut came to fight and did show some nice touches in a bout that became a slugfest. Unfortunately for the novice he was broken down despite a brave effort. As with many of the other losers on this card we genuinely want to see more of Chaosamut who impressed us more than Ratchasak did,

Metro Manila, Philippines
In the Philippines fans saw a show with a few interesting bouts.

The most notable of those saw the heavy handed Warlito Parrenas (24-6, 21) make light work of Thai visitor Kaichon Sor Vorapin (25-14, 9). Parrenas, ranked #1 by the WBO at Super Flyweight, disposed of Kaichon in the 3rd of a scheduled 10 rounds. This was the Thai's 5th straight stoppage loss and it seems clear he's no longer any sort of a threat.

Tokyo, Japanese
In Japan fans got an 8 fight show at the Korakuen Hall and although none of the bouts were huge there was a number of notable names and notable results.

The main event saw an upset as Tatsuya Otsubo (8-6-1, 3) took a close unanimous decision against ranked fighter Akihiko Katagiri (16-8-2, 7). This was Katagiri's first loss since he was stopped by Jhonny Gonzalez around 2 years ago however for Otsubo this was his 6th win and he has really turned his career around after a 2-6-1 start to his career.

In the co-feature Hikaru Nishida (12-7-2, 4) took an easy win over Thai visitor Kungsuk Sor Sompong (0-1). Nishida stopped the Thai in the 2nd round of a scheduled 8 rounder. This was Nishida's second win since losing a competitive decision to Akio Shibata last July in an OPBF/Japanese title fight.

A third scheduled 8 rounder saw Kimika Miyoshi (10-8-1, 5), a former female OPBF title holder, take out Muyalek Sithsaithong (3-1, 1) after just 1 minute of their bout.

Another notable name here was IBF Asia Featherweight champion Takuya Watanabe (25-5-1, 12) who blew out Sornnarai Sor Bangkhru (0-1) in 117 seconds of a scheduled 6 rounder. We're not hoping to see Watanabe in a more notable bout as he is genuinely an interesting fighter. Another 6 rounder saw Yamato Nakagawa (5-5, 3) make light work of the limited Ryota Koizumi (6-11-1, 4).

On the under-card we saw qualified accountant Kohei Kashino (2-0, 1) take a decision win over Akihrio Hikicho (3-5-3). Kashino's stablemate Riyako Goshi (3-3) wasn't as lucky however as she saw her 3-fight winning run come to an end in a wide decision loss to Yumiko Shimooka (2-1, 1). The reamining under-card bout ended in a draw as Shinjiro Kawada (2-1-1, 2) failed to see off Ryo Nakanko (1-2-2).

Accra, Ghana
In Africa things didn't end too well for the hard hitting but fragile Joebert Delos Reyes (13-5-1, 10) who was stopped in the 4th round by Emmanuel Tagoe (23-1, 10). This bout, for the WBA International Lightweight title, was ended on the 3-knockdown rule with Reyes being bounced on and off the canvas in round 4.

Eastern Cape, South Africa
Sadly things were frustrating for for Randy Braga (15-1-1, 3) who lost his unbeaten record in controversial circumstances. The Filipino, who travelled to South Africa to take on the heavy handed Macbute Sinyabi (25-4, 19), came incredibly close to claiming the IBO Inter-continental Featherweight title but was unfortunate on two of the cards as he lost a very close split decision to the home fighter.



(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)
(*Boxrec records are missing recent bouts for both Yodmongkol and Noknoi)

This past Tuesday may not have been a huge day in the Asian boxing world it was certainly a notable one with several interesting bouts and a very notable show.

Shanghai, China
The show of note happened in Shanghai and saw the Top Rank expansion into Asia expend as the American promoter put on their first show on the Chinese mainland and grew from merely being an outfit that has shows in Macau.

The card started with some very low level bouts that would have raised the interest of very few fans. These saw 4 bouts scheduled for the 4 round distance and featured mostly local Chinese talent.

One of those bouts saw the win-less Xu Que (0-1-1) fight to a split draw with the still unbeaten Liu Yong Cai (1-0-2, 1), it's fair to assume neither of these guys are going to be making a name for themselves in a rush. A more promising result was that of the lanky Light Heavyweight hopeful Qu Peng (6-0-1, 4) who took out former OPBF Middleweight title challenger Marlon Atla (12-5, 9) in 3 rounds. Whilst this is 3rd straight stoppage loss for Alta it was also the quickest and came 2 rounds earlier than the stoppage scored by Zac Dunn last November and 3 rounds quicker than the one scored by Makoto Fuchigami back in October 2012. We won't say Peng is a star in the making but we'd keep an eye on him.

Another man we'd keep an eye on is Halimubieke (1-0) who scored an excellent, at least on paper, debut win by over-coming Thailand's Phompetch Twins Gym (6-1, 3) and claiming a 4 round decision win. Whilst we won't make Phompetch out to be anything special it's still notable that Halimubieke beat an unbeaten man with more experience. The only other 4 rounder saw Ma Yi Ming (11-5, 7) scoring a 3rd round KO over Morakote Patanakan Gym (8-5, 4).

In the sole 6 rounder the unbeaten Zhou Yun Fei (3-0, 1) scored a 6th round TKO over Australian Marcos Amado (4-2, 2). Notably this was the first stoppage loss of Amado's career.

The first of the main bouts featured hard hitting Chinese Lightweight Ik Yang (17-0-0-1, 12) who claimed the Asia Pacific Lightweight title with an 8th round TKO win over Thailand's Sukkasem Kietyongyuth (13-3, 8). Yang, fighting for the 3rd time this year, Imposed himself from the off and dropped Sukkasem in the opening round. From then on it always looked likely that Yang was going to get the Thai out of there at some point, it was just a shock it took 8 rounds for it to happen.

Following Yang's title victory fans then got the big one as Filipino fighter Randy Petalcorin (22-1-1, 17) finally got his shot at a "world title". Petalcorin took on Panama's Walter Tello (20-8, 8) in a battle for the WBA interim Light Flyweight title and although the Filipino didn't have things all his own way he was in charge when he dropped Tello in round 7. Tello, to his credit, got up but the referee waved off the bout quickly. It wasn't the best stoppage from Raul Caiz Sr but the bout was looking like an easy win by Petalcorin who was starting to up the ante and break down Tello.

Jakarta, Indonesia
As well as the show in Shanghai there was also on in Jakarta. The headline fighter here was Defry Palulu (11-1, 10) who bounced back from his loss to AJ Banal last time out and stopped Thailand's Khunkhiri Wor Wisaruth (15-9-1, 10) in 7 rounds. The talented and promising Palulu is only 23 and we'd advise keeping an eye on the youngster who looks like he could be the next star of Indonesian boxing. Although it's highly unlikely Palulu will become as big as Chris John he is certainly worth following.

Whilst Palulu is the most exciting man in Indonesian boxing right now he isn't the only "name" fighter in the country. Another "name" is that of popular journeyman Rasmanudin (18-5-3, 9) who fought to an 8 round split decision with Ruben Manakane (13-11-1, 8).

In the other bouts from this show Dicky Amtiran (4-9) took a majority decision over Benigno Nino (1-3-1) and Philipus Rangaa (8-7, 1) took a 6 round unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten John Ruba (1-1, 1).

(Image courtesy of www.the13thround.com)

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)