Tokyo, Japan
In recent years we've seen a tradition of big boxing shows on New Years Eve with TBS and TV Tokyo both putting on cards, which they are doing again this year. Thankfully however this year we got a bonus with Fui TV airing a special showcase of talent in an Ohashi promoted card on December 30th and the card really was something special. In fact it may well have decided the Fighter of the Year, the Performance of the Year, the Trainer of the Year, the Breakout fighter of the Year, and turned a Japanese 21 year old into the most spoken about man in boxing, at least for a day or two. It was a day where Mayweather, Pacquiao, Khan, Cotto and Canelo were forgotten names. Ducking was put on the back burner, and instead we got something that we all love, some special action in the ring.

We'll start with main event from the show which saw Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue (8-0, 7) become an even bigger sensation than he already was. Earlier this year Inoue set a Japanese record for fewest fights to a world title, winning the WBC Light Flyweight world title in just his 6th professional bout. Today he set a world record for winning his second divisional world title in just his 8th professional bout, breaking the previous record of Paul Weir by a single fight. Not only did he claim a second divisional world title but he did it in amazing fashion brutalising Argentinian veteran Omar Andres Narvaez (43-2-2, 23) in just 2 rounds to claim the WBO Super Flyweight title. Narvaez had been a long standing champion, he had looked sensational in stopping the teak tough Hiroyuki Hisataka 16 months ago and looked great in clearly beating Felipe Orucuta, despite one ludicrous card, last time out. Inoue however man handled him dropping him twice in the opening round and twice again the in second with Narvaez staying down after the 4th knock down of the fight. 

With his win Inoue has effectively ripped up any "Fighter of the Year" awards and stamped himself as the most impressive fighter this year.

Naoya Inoue wasn't the only Inoue to win on the show and his younger brother, Takuma Inoue (4-0, 1), did the same as he schooled Omar's younger brother Nestor Daniel Narvaes (20-3-2-1, 9). Narvaes had previously pushed Toshiyuki Igarashi close in a WBC Flyweight bout but was made to look slow, clumsy and off balance a lot here was Inoue used sensational speed to make him look very poor. Although we know Naoya is already a star it's fair to say that Takuma may well be one himself in a year's time.

Another Ohashi Gym youngster who picked up a win was Ryo Matsumoto (13-0, 11) who claimed the OPBF Super Flyweight title with a dominant win over Rusalee Samor (25-6-2, 11). For much of the fight Matsumoto was happy to go through the motions and just pick off Samor with accurate rangy shots though when he choose to pick up the pace later on he really started to put a beating on the tough Samor who was eventually stopped in the 12th round.

Unfortunately it wasn't a clean sweep for Ohashi as the amazingly popular Akira Yaegashi (20-5, 10) was unable to claim the WBC Light Flyweight title. Yaegashi put up a brave effort but was unable to over-come the very talented Pedro Guevara (24-1-1, 16) who finished the bout with a body shot that left Yaegashi in agony and his career on the rocks. We suspect this could be the end for the popular Japanese warrior, who also lost last time out to Roman Gonzalez. We love Yaegashi here and it's not fun to watch him taking any more damage and we hope that, at the very least, he takes some time to rest his body considering the hard and damaging fights he has had in his great career which has seen him winning world titles at both Minimumweight and Flyweight.

As well as the 4 Ohashi Gym fighters in action there was also two Teiken fighters, further solidifying the working relationship between the two promoters. The first of these was Jorge Linares (38-3, 25) who scored a 4th round KO of Mexico's Javier Prieto (24-8-2, 18) to claim the WBC Lightweight title and become a 3-weight world champion. The performance was solid without being spectacular and it seemed clear that Linares was worried about Prieto's power and wild swings though managed to take advantage of Prieto's flaws, as he did when he landed the KO blow, a hard right hand around the ear.

The other Teiken fighter was Ryota Murata (6-0, 4) who put on a dominant performance but a frustrating and odd one as he clearly beat American fighter Jessie Nicklow (24-5-3, 8). For much of the bout Murata looked stronger, more powerful and more skilled, but he also looked disjointed and as if he was trying to get used to a new style. Gone was the intense pressure and inside fighting that had been a trademark of his amateur days and in it's place was boxing and movement, though it was never smooth boxing and instead it looked like Murata wasn't quite sure if he was doing what he was supposed to. Sadly for the Japanese Olympic champion his win was also marred by cuts suffered from headclashes.

On the whole this may not have been the promotion of the year, but it wasn't far off and it was one of the best this year, one of the most exciting and one of the few Japanese cards that seemed to have a lot of interest from the west. Maybe, just maybe this and the shows tomorrow will help the wider boxing media take note of what is going on in Asia. If not it's the biggest over-sight in sport.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

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.

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)

Friday was a busy day throughout the Asian boxing world with fights in Thailand, Japan and Russia. Although it was busy it did seem to lack genuine competitive bouts though plenty were at least a little bit interesting for one reason or another.

Surat Thani, Thailand
In regards to rankings the most important action was in Thailand where a world ranked fighter was in action and we got a title fight.

The main event saw IBF Asia Super Flyweight champion Rusalee Samor (23-5-2, 10) defend his title against the previously unbeaten Indonesian Espinos Sabu (11-1-1, 5) with a 12 round decision victory. For Samor, who is ranked in the top 15 by the IBF this was a hugely important victory and one that could help him climb up the rankings, towards a world title fight with the winner of the upcoming Teiru Kinoshita/Zolani Tete bout.

In other bouts on this show we saw two stoppages. One of those was Japan's Takamori Akita (9-4-1, 7) stopping Indonesia's Muhammad Imam (9-4, 3) inside a round whilst the other saw Patomsith Pathompothong (9-1, 4) stopping journeyman Rommy Wassar (8-16-7, 3) in 4 rounds.

The only other bout on the show saw Thai veteran Fahsai Sakkreerin (41-5-1, 22) take a 6 round decision over the even more experienced Rivo Rengkung (32-19-5, 12) who has now lost his last 3. For Sakkreerin, who had lost 2 of his previous 3, this was a much needed win and whilst he's unlikely to ever get another world title eliminator his career can continue with him hoping to get back in the rankings and maybe even get a voluntary title fight down the line.

Unfortunately for Indonesian fighters they went 0-4 on this show with all the losers being from Indonesia.

Osaka, Japan
In Japan we had a small, and somewhat over-looked, show at the brilliant Bodymaker Colosseum. 

The main event on this Japanese show so former world title challenger Junichi Ebisuoka (23-17-6, 10) fight to an 8 round majority draw with Tetsuya Hisada (21-8-1, 11). The draw, whilst awful for Hisada, saw Ebisuoka ending a 4 fight losing streak dating back more then 2 years. Although Hisada's record might not illustrate it these two were well matched and had previously fought in a close bout that saw Hisada taking a very narrow split decision way back in 2008. Surely this won't lead to Hisada Vs Ebisuoka III, will it?

In another 8 rounder form this card we saw a relative one sided bout as Yuki Takemoto (15-18-2, 7) used his experience to over-come Yoshihiro Kinjo (7-19-2, 2). As with Ebisuoka, Takemoto is much better than his record indicates and this was his third successive win.

As well as the pair of 8 rounders we also had a pair of 6 rounders. These included an expected result as Ryuji Kanza (7-1, 5) used his heavy hands to stop Takayuki Morimoto (5-8, 3) in 2 rounds and also saw an upset as Junya Nishikawa (7-4-2, 2) over-came Shogo Hayashi (5-2-1, 3) in a split decision.
On the lower part of the card we had a trio of 4 rounders. These saw just a single stoppage as Yudai Yamashoji (2-1, 2) stopped the debuting Ryo Nishikawa (0-1) in the third round.

Of the decisions both were very competitive. The closest saw Takahiko Nakajima (3-4-1) taking a split decision over the previously unbeaten Masatetsu Hirano (1-1, 1) whilst in the other bout Yuki Takahashi (3-0) take a very narrow, albeit unanimous, decision over Marcos Sogabe (3-9-1, 3).


Krasnodar, Russia
As well as the Indonesian show we also had some pretty interesting action from Russia. 

In the main event fans got to see the unbeaten Aik Shakhnazaryan (12-0, 5) score an impressive victory over journeyman Felix Lora (18-11-5, 9) who has one of boxing's more misleading records. Although Lora is usually a good test for a young and upcoming prospect he was easily beaten here by Shakhnazaryan who scored 2 knockdowns on route to taking a near shut out victory over 12 rounds.

Shakhnazaryan wasn't the only impressive prospect in championship length fights on the show as the once beaten David Avanesyan (17-1-1, 9) took a 12 round decision over former world title challenger Kaizer Mabuza (25-11-3, 15) of South Africa.

The only 8 rounder on the show saw the once beaten Felix Amoev (8-1, 4) take a very clear decision over the tough Volodymyr Borovskyy (21-57-2, 10) who was dropped early on but made his way to the final bell..

Cruiserweight-come-Heavyweight Ruslan Faifer (3-0, 1) also managed to extend his winning run as he over-came Ibragim Khalilov (4-2-2, 2) via a 6 round decision.

For us the most interesting bout was that of the Uzbek Uktamjon Rahmonov (3-0, 1) who scored the only stoppage on the show as he beat Gegam Mkrtchyan (2-2) via a 3rd round retirement. Rahmonov looked pretty good at the Olympics before being beaten, in the quarter finals, by the eventual gold medal winner.

Indiana, USA
Russian Heavyweight Andrey Fedosov (25-3, 20) returned after 10 months out of the ring and scored a straight forward stoppage over the limited but experienced American Maurice Harris (26-19-2, 11) who was stopped in the second round.

New York, USA
In New York fans got to see the unbeaten Simeon Hardy (12-0, 9) made light work of the Uzbek born Azerbaijani Rahman Mustafa Yusubov (9-15, 7) who has now lost his last 6 dating back over a year.


(Image courtesy of http://www.kiatkreerin.com)