Hong Kong, S.A.R. China
Although there was a lot of fights this past Saturday there was a very high amount of low level fights with the most notable contest being from a show in Hong Kon. In the main event of the card fans saw local favourite Rex Tso (18-0, 11) claim the WBC Asian Boxing Council Super Flyweight title with a 7th round stoppage of Australian visitor Brad Hore (5-2). The fight, a home coming for Tso who hasn't fought “at home” in more than 2 years, looked competitive through 4 rounds but the world ranked local managed to turn up the pace in rounds 6 and 7, eventually stopping the brave visitor. Prior to the stoppage Hore had been down twice. In a controversial bout Thailand's Petchsuriya Singwancha (14-10-1, 8) fought to a split decision draw with Australian based Welshman Kerry Hope (22-7-1, 2). Hope, a former European champion, had seemingly done more than enough to deserve the win, with Filipino judge Jerrold Tomeldan scoring it 117-111 in the Welshman's favour, though he was over-ruled by Thai judges Pongpan Rattanasutorn, who had the bout 114-114, and Visuth Yingaupagarn, who scored the 115-113 bout to Petchsuirya. It was mixed fortunes for the Megrino brothers. Randy Megrino (15-19-3, 8), the younger of the two Filipino brothers, was out pointed by Australian prospect Kane Cassells (6-0, 2) over 6 rounds. Megrino did have some success but was the clear loser. Older brother Rey Megrino (22-20-3, 19) however did help the family name as he scored a 2nd round win against Thailand's Thaminkhao Sor Tharnthip (4-15-1, 3). Despite Rey's record he is a genuine contender at 115lbs and is now on a run of 7-0 (6). On the under-card there was two all debutant bouts. One of those failed to go the distance as Kenneth Lee (1-0, 1) took a 3rd round win over China's Aorigele Aorigele (0-1). In the other Tom Taw (1-0) claimed a narrow split decision over Italian Fabio Lanzetti (0-1). Taw, a Brit based in Hong Kong, was a white collar fighter and used that experience here, though was perhaps fortunate to be at his new “home”. The only other under-card bout saw Sures Gurung (2-1) defeated Chris Wong (0-1) with a 4 round shut out. Kunming, China As well as Hong Kong fans in the Chinese mainland also get a shot. This one was, supposedly, set to feature a couple of Filipino visitors but ended up merely being a low level domestic card with 8 bouts, all but one of which was set for 4 rounds. The one bout set for more than 4 rounds saw Bai Shan Bo (3-0-1, 1) take a 6th round TKO win against Cai Zheng Yang (3-1-1, 2). Prior to the stoppage Bo was well up on the cards. From the 4 rounders we saw just a single stoppage as Yang Zheng Guang (4-1, 3) stoppage the win-less Zhang Yao Long (0-2) in just 94 seconds. There were a couple of clear decision wins on the card. One of those saw Zhu Yuan Cai (4-1, 1) defeat the debuting Jiang Guang Hui (0-1) whilst the other saw saw the unbeaten Bai A Fu (5-0, 2) out point Sun Qing Long (1-1). Many of the decision bouts on the card were close. One of those saw Zhang Fangyong (4-1-1, 1) take a split decision win over Dong Chuan (2-3, 1). Another saw close bout saw Liu Xin Ming (2-0) over-come Jian Hei Fei (1-4), with a majority decision. Another majority decision resulted in a win for Guo Chao (2-3) against Hou Tin Long (2-2). The closest bout resulted in a draw between Ma Ke Rui (0-0-1) and Ma He Sha Ti (0-0-1). Laguna, Philippines There was also action in the Philippines, sadly though we've not received all the results from the card. In the main event Lester Abutan (8-3-3, 4) took a decision win over JC Francisco (6-11-4, 2). This 10 round bout was Francisco's first since he was beaten by Chanchai CP Freshmart back in June. A quick blow out saw March Ray Taday (2-1, 1) defeat the debuting Arnel Antonio (0-1) inside a round. The only other result we have from this card was a draw for Cris Ocana (2-0-1, 1), who failed to defeat Ryan Medez (1-4-3). Jayapura, Indonesia Fans in Indonesia also got action. The most notable bout here was a contest for the IBPC Light Welterweight title, which saw Geisler AP (7-6, 3) claim the belt with a 9th round KO of Roy Tua Manihuruk (17-13-2, 13), in what should be regarded as a genuine upset. On paper another upset here saw Paulus Baransano (2-5) take an 8 round win against the much more experienced Domi Nenokeba (12-26-1, 8). We know Nenokeba has been picking up losses for fun recently but we had expected him to try and over-come Baransano here. Another upset saw John Ruba (4-2, 1) out point the heavy handed Ramadhan Weriu (15-8-1, 14), with Weriu suffering his first decision loss. In a 10 round bout Sam Puadi (7-4, 5) took a decision over veteran Suor Carryboy (9-10-1, 4). The only KO on this card, other than the one in the title fight, saw Melianus Mirin (5-2, 3) take out Hengky Baransano (11-7, 4) Queensland, Australia In Australia we saw two Thai's suffer losses. One of those was Pramool Boonpok (1-18-1) who was out pointed over 8 rounds by Adrian Rodriguez (2-0-1, 1) in a bout for the Queensland State Middleweight title. Rodriguez made up for a lack of experience by simply being too good. The other was Aphichat Koedchatturat (0-3), who was rather unlucky in a very competitive 5 round bout with the unbeaten Kolby Johnston (7-0, 4). Aphicat pushed the unbeaten man all the way in a split decision loss that suggests one of these two fighters isn't what their record suggests.
0 Comments
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). One of the busiest days so far this for us came this Saturday with great action across Asia. Macao, China The major action of the day came from Macau where we really got a bit of everything. There was nothing lacking in a show that will have gone over-looked by many fans who really did miss out in some ways. The headline bout was supposed to be the fairy tale for Chinese boxing as their Olympic hero was supposed to become a professional boxing icon. In the end however is was a disaster as Zou Shiming (6-1, 1) failed to do much of anything against the relaxed, accurate and frustrating Amnat Ruenroeng (15-0, 5). Ruenroeng, defending his IBF Flyweight title for the 3rd time, hardly got out of first gear as he made Shiming look like a novice. The jab of Ruenroeng was effectively the key punch of the fight however it was the footwork of Ruenroeng that made Shiming look terrible, embarrassing in fact. This is the end of the Shiming hype, though we hope it's not the end of the Macau shows which have delivered action on a regular basis. Talking about action the show had a brilliant 4 rounds as the upset minded Paul Valenzuela (3-2-1, 2) managed to take a split decision over China's previously unbeaten Zhou Yun Fei (4-1, 1). The bout lacked skill but also lacked defense, with the commentary team joking about it being banned, which made for a really exciting 4 round war. The deciding fact was an opening round knockdown by the visiting Mexican. Another action packed bout saw Macau's very own Kuok Kun Ng (7-0, 3) score a 3rd round KO against Chingchai Kiatpracha (7-3, 3). Ng hit the canvas in the opening round but came back well to drop Chingchai twice in the 3rd round, with the Thai staying down after the second knockdown. This was short but sweet and highly entertaining. Another entertaining affair saw the Heavy handed Ik Yang (19-0-0-1, 14) put on a memorable bout against Thailand's Patomsuk Pathompothong (29-3-1, 18). The bout, an IBF Light Welterweight eliminator and Pan Pacific title bout, saw Yang start well before slowing down and taking a few rights hands from the Thai which cut him. Despite being cut Yang put on a show with show boating and a destructive finish that left the Thai needing to be saved by the referee. In terms of action however one fight stood out. That was the insanely fun Super Flyweight bout between Hong Kong's Rex Tso (16-0, 9) and gutsy Filipino Michael Enriquez (10-3-1, 6). Tso, who recently signed a professional deal with Top Rank, fought with pressure on his shoulders, a smile on his face and action through his veins as the two traded shots, round after round. The bout was an action war sadly decided by a knock down early on by Tso who again showed his excitement fact and flaws. The win saw the “Wonder Kid” claim the WBA International Super Flyweight title and although the aim is to get him a world title fight later in the year, he simply isn't yet ready for a bout at that level. One man who really did impress was Filipino puncher Aston Palicte (17-1, 15) who forced a mercy stoppage of gutsy Mexican Ismael Garnica (13-6-1, 5). Garnica looked out-sized and out powered but gave his best for 6 rounds before being stopped in the 7th by a man we want to see a lot more of. This was the 7th successive stoppage win for Palicte who holds a very notable blow out win against Gerpaul Valero. We'd suggest watching out for this kid as he is exciting. Sadly not all the bouts were exciting. One of the worse was the 106 blow out win by Jose Felix Jr (29-1-1, 24) who easily saw off the over-matched Raymond Sermona (17-5-5, 8) in a massive mismatch. Sermona landed little of note before being dropped and taking the full count. Another mismatch saw popular American Glen Tapia (23-1, 15) score a 3rd round TKO over Australian Daniel Dawson (40-5-1, 26), who has now suffered back-to-back losses. Tokyo, Japan Whilst the biggest action was in China there was notable action across Asia with title action in Japan where two national champions retained their belts, albeit in very different manners, and fans also got a bit of everything on the undercard. The most impressive performance on the card came in the main event as the heavy handed Hiroki Okada (10-0, 8) retained his Japanese Light Welterweight title with a 3rd round TKO victory against Hayato Hokazono (18-5-1, 11). Okada looked on fire from the opening bell and was ultra-aggressive with sharp, fast and accurate shots that quickly took their toll on the challenger who was bloodied earlier on. The blood however wasn't the end for Hokazono who was dropped hard in the 3rd and failed to recover to his feet in an orderly manner. The other title defense was less certain as Suyon Takayama (22-1, 7) narrowly over-came a spirited effort from Nobuyuki Shindo (16-3, 6) and retained the Japanese Welterweight title. Takayama was dropped hard in the opening round, cut early on and behind at the half way mark before fighting back hard to take a clear but close decision over Shindo. Unfortunately for Shindo this was his second loss to Takayama however he did give a credible performance in a bout that broke down into be a stinker after his good start. In a bloody contest Hisao Narita (9-1, 4) took a split decision over Yusuke Konno (8-2, 3) in a very competitive match up. In a minor shock Takumi Takahashi (7-4-1, 2) scored a 2nd round TKO over Yukinori Hisanaga (16-6-2, 9) as Takahashi resurrected his faltering career. The 33 year old victor had suggested he was going to return if he lost but this performance seems to show there is life left in his career. Sadly for Hisanaga, who came up short in a Japanese title bout in 2013, this was a painful loss and his first stoppage loss. Popular puncher Shuhei Tsuchiya (17-3, 15) bounced back from his loss to Ricky Sismundo last year in style as he destroyed Thailand's Singphayak Kokietgym (6-6-1, 5). Singphayak, fighting under the name “John Ford” has now been stopped in 3 straight. One other bout from this card saw Hideaki Yamaji (5-7, 2) score an upset win over Masayuki Ichikawa (5-2, 2) in a hard fought 6 round decision. Ichikawa had lost in the East Japan Rookie of the Year final last year and was expected to bounce back here. Unfortunately for him Yamaji was hungry for a win which was very well deserved. Bukidnon, Philippines In the Philippines ALA put on a small show of prospects. The most notable prospect in action was Jess Rhey Waminal (6-0, 4) who scored a 2nd round TKO against professional loser Rowel Garcia (6-17-3, 1). This was Garcia's 13 stoppage loss and his 4th in a row. We wonder what Garcia is really teaching a kid like Waminal who padded his record a little bit with a relatively pointless win against a man known as “Merciless”, we must admit we're unsure if that name was intentionally sarcastic. Another equally poor match up saw Gerard Suico (4-0, 3) blow away Sonny Boy Dasan (0-2) inside a round. This was Suico's 4th bout in as many months but the opposition so far has been pathetic for the promising 21 year old. Melvin Jerusalem (5-0, 4) was another man who scored an opening round stoppage as he stopped Rodante Suacasa (1-10-2, 1), who has now been stopped 5 times. Another opening round stoppage was scored by Michael Estrella (3-0, 1) who stopped Jessie Suacasa (3-5, 2). Another early win was scored by the hands of Mardie Muana (1-0, 1) who took 2 rounds to see off the win-less Sonny Basanez (0-4). In bouts that did go the distance fans saw Elmo Traya (8-1, 6) defeat Rodel Wenceslao (8-11-1, 2), who was fighting for the first time since he was stopped by Keita Obara, and Junder Gregorio (3-0) extend his winning run with a decision over Ronald Garcia (2-7). (http://www.boxeomundial.com) 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) This past Saturday was one of the busiest days in Asian boxing with fights taking place all over the globe. In fact it have been one of the busiest and most varied days since we started this site. Macau The biggest show the day was in Macau as Top Rank returned to the Special Administrative Region of China and show cased a number of promising fighters. Whilst it wasn't the best Macau card we've seen it really did have a bit of everything. The opening bout saw Olympic champion Egor Mekhontsev (4-0, 4) defeat brave Filipino Mike Mirafuente (2-1, 2). In terms of skills the bout was a mismatch but Mirafuente did try and make a fight of things by trying to catch the much bigger Mekhontsev with hayemakers, unfortunately for the Filipino the shots just bounced off the giant Russian. The second bout on the show was the most confusing as the world ranked Filipino Mark Anthony Geraldo (31-4-3, 14) saw his bout with Mexico's Efrain Perez (17-5, 12) cut from 8 rounds to 6 rounds with out the fighters being informed. For Geraldo it was possibly a lucky escape as he was beginning to look ragged but the Filipino looked genuinely sensational in the first 3 rounds. Hopefully we get to see a rematch but if not we want to see a lot more of both fighters who both look good to watch for very different reasons. Geraldo looks sensationally skilled and has some of the prettiest boxing we've seen since we last saw Jorge Linares, for Perez his toughness will always make him fun to watch. Well done to the match makers for putting these two together. In the third bout we saw a crushing body shot as Brian Viloria (34-4-0-2, 20) stopped the game Jose Alfredo Zuniga (11-6-1, 5). Viloria is trying to work his way towards another world title fight and was given a very good test here by Zuniga before pulling out a tremendous body shot to send the Mexican fighter down for the count. It really was one of the best fights on the card in terms of competitive action. The first of the "Chinese" fighters in action was Hong Kong's highly entertaining Rex Tso (14-0, 9) who put on a very decent showing to finish off Indonesian John Bajawa (12-7, 6). The fight, thought to be a stay busy fight for Tso ahead of a possible world title fight in November, saw Tso showing improved movement though we still question his power and defence and although he stopped Bajawa in 5 rounds he never really seemed to hurt the Indonesian. Whilst Tso is always entertaining we dare say he was over shadowed by the all action Ik Yang (16-0-0-1, 11) who dismantled Thailand's Rachamongkol Sor Pleonchit (14-9, 6) in fantastic fashion. Yang dropped Rachamongkol inside the open round and then rocked him in the second before finishing him off to score his 3rd stoppage in 4 bouts in Macau. Although not the most skilled Yang has all the traits of a fan friendly fighter and hopefully he will be given more exposure. Ranked #1 by the OPBF a fight between Yang and OPBF champion Masayoshi Nakatani would certainly be on out list of fights we want to see. The final bout on the internationally streamed under-card saw Kuok Kun Ng (5-0, 2), AKA "The Macau Kid", put on a solid performance against the game and previously unbeaten Beau O'Brien (4-1-1. 1). The performance may have only resulted in Ng taking a decision but he continued to interest us and we're really looking forward to his development and in all honesty we think he may be the most interesting of the "Chinese" youngsters on the show. Following the under card we then moved onto the main card which was kicked off, surprisingly, with a world title fight. Unfortunately however it was a bout shrouded in controversy as Cuba's talented Guillermo Rigondeaux (14-0, 9) appeared to finish the fight with a cheap shot over Thailand's Sod Kokietgym (63-3-1, 28) who had been stunned by a nasty headclash just moments earlier. The bout, for the WBA "super" and WBO regular Super Bantamweight titles was expected to be a dud though actually got the internet community chatting, en masse about the ending, something we didn't expect when the bout was announced. The penultimate bout on the card didn't feature an Asian fighter but did feature the very exciting Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez (29-0, 23) who just destroyed Junior Talipeau (20-3-1, 7) inside a round. Talipeau was dropped 3 times in what was, on paper, a decent test for Sanchez. In the main event we saw a polished effort from Chinese double Olympic champion Zou Shiming (5-0, 1) who went 10 rounds and claimed a clear decision over former world title challenger Luis De la Rosa (23-4-1, 13). De la Rosa managed to give Shiming some issues, especially in round 3, but it was a clear win for the Chinese fighter who is now being linked to world title fights and in fact a fight with former amateur foe Amnat Ruenroeng looks to be on the cards for either the end of this year or, more likely, the start of next year. We know some fans hate Shiming but this really was a great performance and showed that he is developing a real professional style. Wonju, South Korea Korean fans got to see the return to the ring of Japan's Takuya Watanabe (21-5-1, 9) who made light work of Thailand's Yodpichai Sithsaithong (10-12, 4) and claimed the vacant IBF Asia Featherweight title as a result. The result, recorded as a KO at the start of round 7, was a happy return to Korea for the man who lost a lot of blood last time he fought in the country. For those who haven't seen Watanabe's previous fight in Korea, a bout that saw him battling Jaesung Lee, we advise you give it a watch and it will almost certainly be the bloodiest bout of the year. Guerrero, Mexico In Mexico and live on WBCboxing.tv fans got to see Mexico's Nery Saguilan (30-4-1, 11) stop former Japanese Super Featherweight champion Seiichi Okada (18-5, 11) in 8 rounds. The loss was a painful one for Okada who has now got to seriously consider his future in the sport. This was his 4th stoppage loss in 6 fights and his glory days are long gone. For Saguilan this result may set up a fight with another Japanese fighter, Takashi Miura. Miura, the WBC Super Featherweight champion, would make for a great fight with Saguilan and has a reputation for beating up Mexican so both camps could sell this one as a nationalistic revenge contest making it very easy to market. Western Australia, Australia Australia played host to two cards featuring Asians. In Western Australia we saw a trio of Asian's losing. In the main event Indonesia's Roy Tua Manihuruk (15-11-2, 11) came up short against the unbeaten Clint Hosking (10-0, 2). The bout, fought for the WBC Eurasia Pacific Boxing Council Lightweight title, saw Manihuruk going the distance but he always needed a knock to get a win. Lower down the card we did see a knockout in a bout involving an Asian, sadly however it was a knockout loss for Thai female Kaenpetch Superchamps (6-9-1) who was blasted inside a round by Erin McGowan (16-2, 9). Things weren't much better for Baikon Lokromklao (1-4) who was shut out by Jacob McBride (1-1). Queensland, Australia The second Australia show saw Arnon Yuchareon (0-4) suffer a clear loss to the debuting Miles Zewski (1-0). Zewski dropped Yuchareon in round 3 to secure a 40-35 victory on all 3 cards. Also on this card Jerry Nardo (19-5, 10) suffered a 7th round technical decision loss to Brett Williams Smith (19-2-1, 9). The bout saw both men cut from head clashes though they seemed to just occur and occur despite both being warned. (Photo 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) The biggest boxing news on Saturday was all about "Ring of Gold", the latest in Bob Arum's Macau shows. The shows, which may split opinion between fans have been fantastic for exposing some Asian talent to a new audience and we've got to admit that we're huge fans of them, obviously. Though we under-stand that many fans may not like the idea of headlining shows with certain fighters or having shows on at unusual times of the day for the typical US audience. Thankfully as fans of the shows we'll say that the latest was one of the most interesting and one of the shows that has really revealed just what you can do when you combine good amateurs with elite training. Macau, China The card kicked off with Filipino Jerwin Ancajas (19-1-1, 11) looking very impressive. Ancajas looked sharp, fast and skilled as he took apart the over-matched Inthanon Sithchamuang (20-7, 11). On this performance we're looking forward to seeing more of Ancajas and hopefully he will be on another of the Macau cards later this year. Although "pretty boy" Ancajas isn't ready for a world title fight, and won't be for quite some time, he does have all the traits of a man who could well move in to the mix at world level in a year or two. Saying that however the Filipino is the WBA #14 at Bantamweight. Following Ancajas's win we saw another clear mismatch as Ancajas's countryman Harmonito Dela Torre (12-0, 7) easily stopped Indonesia's Yakobus Heluka (7-6). Heluka came out swinging though was left out lying flat on the canvas before the first round was over and it seems likely that Heluka was still feeling the ill effects of being stopped just a few weeks back. The show's third contest saw Macau's own boxing prospect Kuok Kun Ng (3-0, 1) score his first stoppage as he defeated Indonesian Rocky Alap Alap (5-11) in 3 rounds. Kuok, known as "The Macau Kid" appears to be a very interesting prospect and although he's short for a Light Middleweight he does seem to be skilled and improving quickly making him a fighter that we have to keep an eye on, especially if he continues to improve. In the show's fourth contest, the first to feature an Olympic gold medal winner, fans got to see an improved Ryota Murata (3-0, 3) in action. Murata, a Japanese boxing icon, stepped up a level to fight Brazilian Carlos Nascimento (29-4, 23) though appeared to be well in his comfort zone as he let Nascimento hit him on the arms before firing back with heavier shots of his own. Those heavy shots broke down the Brazilian who was stopped on the ropes whilst taking an unanswered series of punches. Murata's contest was followed by the first title fight which saw Hong Kong's Rex Tso (12-0, 8) battling Japan's Mako Matsuyama (7-8-1, 3) in the stand out fight of the show. The two men willingly traded through out the contest though Matsuyama was eventually broken down, as much from exhaustion as Tso's shots. The fight, the highlight fight on the card, proved to be a much better match up than the records of the fighters indicated though perhaps suggests that Tso isn't as good as hyped. He is however very fun to watch and the type of fighter who we can't help but want to see in action again. The best fight on the card was followed by a KO of the year contender courtesy of a thunderbolt landed by former WBO Super Flyweight champion Marvin Sonsona (18-1-1, 15). Sonsona, a slight betting under-dog, left former WBA Super Bantamweight champion Akifumi Shimoda (28-4-2, 12) lying unconscious following one of the best uppercuts we're likely to see this year. This victory will likely see Sonsona given world rankings at Featherweight, where he is now the WBO International champion, and if given time there is no doubt that Sonsona can become a world champion for the second time. The second Olympic champion to fight on the show was Russian Egor Mekhontsev (2-0, 2) who stopped the previously unbeaten Thai Atthaporn Jaritram (4-1, 1) in a very 1 sided contest. Atthaporn was too small and slow for the very gifted Mekhontsev who clearly has the talent to be moved quickly in a relative weak division. Although Light Heavyweight does have some great champions it is weak below those champions and there is no reason Mekhontsev can't be threatening the top 10 by the end of the year. Unfortunately after an excellent card the life was sucked out of the venue in the only world title fight on the show. The bout in question was an IBF Lightweight title fight between the talented, yet thoroughly frustrating, Miguel Vazquez (34-3, 13) and Denis Shafikov (33-1-1, 18). Vazquez started well though as soon as he realised Shafikov could get close to him the fight became less about boxing and more about holding, clinching, hugging, spoiling and generally preventing the bout from having any semblance of a boxing contest. Vazquez, who retained his title, certainly won't be welcome to Macau again and Ernie Sharif, the referee of the bout, may well come in for a lot of questioning over the next few days. Thankfully the crowd came back alive for the show's main event which saw China's very own Zou Shiming (4-0, 1) put in a very impressive performance. Shiming, the reason for these Macau shows, may get a lot of hate internationally though appears to be a fighter making huge improvements between fights. That improvement was fully on show as he scored his first stoppage by wearing down and beating up Yokthong Kokietgym (15-4, 11). Yokthong, who had been stopped quickly by Ryuji Hara a few years ago, came to fight but was unable to cope with the ability of Shiming who appears to have really grasped the core concepts of professional boxing after looking very poor in some of his earlier bouts. With both Shiming and Murata showing real signs of improvement it's not a wonder both are having their names linked to world title fights already. The rumour seems to be that Shiming could be fighting Amnat Ruenroeng later this year whilst Murata will be hoping to claim a world title next year. Cotabato del Sur, Philippines Outside of Ring of Gold there were other contests involving Asian's. These included several bouts in the Philippines. One of the Filipino bouts saw former world title challenger Richie Mepranum (27-3-1, 6) putting in a very dominant display over Thailand's limited Phupha Por Nobnom (10-9-1, 9) who was dropped a staggering 6 times before retiring between rounds 4 and 5. Phupha was dropped in every round of the bout and showed that he really didn't belong in the ring with Mepranum. The only other bout we have the result for from this card saw Jetly Purisima (18-13-4, 5) out pointing Jerson Luzarito (8-4-3, 3) over the 10 round distance. Pennsylvania, USA In the US things were disappointing for Azerbaijan's Farid Aghayev (1-0-1, 1) who was held to a majority draw by Lanny Dardar (1-0-1, 1) over 4 rounds. (Picture courtesy of Toprank) |
Archives
October 2015
Categories
All
|