 Tokyo, Japan
In Japan this past Tuesday fans got the chance to see a Japanese title double at the Korakuen Hall on a show that really was a significant one for the Japanese domestic scene. The main event of the card saw Japanese Super Bantamweight champion Yukinori Oguni (15-1-1, 4) successfully retain his title with a clear decision win over the heavy handed Taiki Minamoto (10-5, 9). Minamoto tried to use his power early on, and had some success, but over-all his attacks were blunted by Oguni's intelligent boxing, moving and jab which were his keys to winning. In the co-feature Japanese Welterweight champion Suyon Takayama (23-1, 7) retained his title with a clear decision win over Ryoji Tanaka (8-5-1, 2). Tanaka showed some desire but on the whole was unable to really establish himself against the champion, who has now racked up 6 defenses of the title that he won back in December 2012. In a minor upset Noriyuki Ueno (18-13-5, 5) took a split decision win over Yuki Ogata (21-2-1, 3). This bout, between former Japanese title challengers, was a must win for both if they were hoping to rejoin the title mix, and unfortunately for the light punching Ogata it really is a loss that send him down the pecking order. Ueno on the other hand is now likely to be one good win from a title fight in 2016. Another competitive 8 rounder saw Kyosuke Sawada (4-2, 2) claim a majority win over Tonko Nakagawa (13-7, 5) in what was a major win for the novice. Sawada, who lost his first 2 bouts, wasn't expected to win here and is now likely to try and keep the momentum going as he steps up and looks to continue his winning run. For Nakagawa this will be a hard loss to take. The only stoppage on this card saw the hard hitting Ryota Yada (9-3, 7) claim a 7th round TKO win over Ryota Itoyama (10-8-1, 5), who was stopped for the 4th time. Yada's win was his 6th in a row and it's clear that he has really began to find form. In the only other bout on this card fans saw Yasuki Katagiri (5-2, 1) claim a technical decision win over Kazuki Kobayashi (4-9). (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)
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 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)  A champion really should defend their belts as often as they can. What is the point in being viewed as the best in your particular area or field if you don't prove it, right? Well this past Monday saw 4 champions all defending their belts in successful fashion on a relatively busy start to the week.
Tokyo, Japan Of the 4 titles up for grabs 2 of them were fought for in Japan and although both were national titles they were probably the most significant, and competitive, bouts of the day. The first of the title fights saw the unbeaten power-puncher Hiroki Okada (9-0, 7) successfully defending his Japanese Light Welterweight title for he first time with a very hard fought decision victory over Shamgar Koichi (18-6-1, 11). Koichi, challenging for a belt for the first time in his career, brought the pressure and Okada was forced to answer back in what was a genuinely enthralling contest between two well matched fighters in terms of both skills and styles. For Okada, who was cut late, this was his toughest bout and his best win though for Koichi it was another set back following previous losses to the likes of Shinya Iwabuchi. Following the Light Welterweight clash we then moved up for a Japanese Welterweight clash between reigning champion Suyon Takayama (21-1, 7) and Koshinmaru Saito (20-6-1, 11). The two men were meeting for the second time and many may be calling for an immediate rematch given how competitive this was. Takayama had, in the first meeting, claimed the vacant Japanese title in a competitive but comfortable win but this time around things were anything but comfortable for Takayama who narrowly kept his title with a majority decision. Sadly Takayama's struggles to retain his belt here like take any lustre off a meeting between him and Yoshihiro Kamegai in what actually looked a tasty bout going in to this contest. As well as the title bouts Japanese fans also got treat to 5 under-card bouts, two of which featured recognisable names. One of those "names" was the heavy handed and very fun to watch Shuhei Tsuchiya (16-3, 14) who made light work of Thai visitor Fonluang Sor Singyu (6-5, 4). Tsuchiya, fighting for the first time since his entertaining loss to Leonardo Zappavigna in Australia, needed just 103 seconds to get rid of Fonluang. The other was former OPBF Super Bantamweight champion Yukinori Oguni (13-1, 4) who scored his second successive stoppage as he over-came Thai debutant Ryan Sor Tanacho (0-1) in 4 rounds. In more competitive action Keita Nakano (11-9-3, 2) scored an 8 round split decision over Masahito Igawa (12-8-1, 4) and Tonko Nakagawa (12-6-1, 4) took a 6 round majority decision over the more experienced Junnosuke Nagayasu (12-11-1, 3). The one remaining bout on this card saw Junki Kobayashi (1-0, 1) claiming a 3rd round TKO victory over Eiji Miyamoto (0-1) in an all debutant contest. Bangkok, Thailand In Thailand it was the PABA interim Super Flyweight title that was being fought for. The belt, just like the Japanese titles, stayed where it was at the start of the day as Nop Kratingdaenggym (9-0, 1) retained with a 6th round technical decision against the highly experienced Hendrik Barongsay (26-18-3, 15). Nop looked sharp from the off before a headclash caused a sadly early ending to the bout. Laguna, Philippines In the Philippines fans got the chance to see a Filipino national title being fought for as Benezer Alolod (15-5-5, 5) retained his GAB Light Flyweight with a 5th round stoppage over Jomar Fajardo (14-5-1, 7). Alolod is now 3-0-1 (3) following his stoppage loss to Nkosinathi Joyi and has now lost just once in his last 16 bouts, a great run for a man who started his career with 3 losses in his first 5 bouts. We only saw 2 other early finishes on this card. One of those was an opening round blow out for Jonel Alibio (17-18-5, 9) who swiftly took card of the usually tough Desson Cag-ong (14-15, 8). The loss for Cag-ong was his quickest in 29 fights and saw him suffer his first stoppage loss to a fellow Filipino having previous been stopped by a trio of Japanese fighters including Takashi Miura. The other stoppage on this show saw Lester Abutan (6-2-2, 3) defeating Dexter Dimaculangan (3-5-5, 1) in the 4th round of their scheduled 8 rounder. One of the best wins on the card was for the unbeaten Justo Bornilla (5-0-2) who over-came the experienced Ronald Postrano (7-20-2, 3) in a very 1-sided bout. Postrano was down in round 3 and later suffered a cut from a clash of heads leaving him bloody and beaten. Aged 18 we'd suggest keeping an eye on the young Bornilla even if he does seem to lack power so far in his career. In the only uncompetitive 6 rounder Jesame Dela Cerna (5-2-3, 1) took a clear win over Jay-Ar Diama (1-4-4). Thankfully the other two 6 rounders were much more competitive and saw Menard Abila (5-1-4, 1) taking a split decision over Fidel Cuyno (2-4-2) and Marlon Arcilla (5-2, 1) taking a majority decision over the previously unbeaten Crisanto Contemprato (2-1-1, 1). The only 4 rounder on the show saw the debuting Benjie Baron (1-0) get off to the perfect start with a win over Alberto Pentecostes (0-3). The win, by decision, saw Baron dropping Pentecostes early before effectively shutting down the win-less fighter. (Image courtesy of Boxingnews.jp)  This past Monday wasn't one of boxing's busiest days of 2014 but yet their was title action on a small but interesting card at the Korakuen Hall where the only Asian fights of the day took place.
Tokyo, Japan The card, which was promoted by Kadoebi Jewel Promotions featured just 6 bouts in total though was hard to ignore with title fight and several notable fighters in action. The title fight, the main event, was by far the most interesting contest on the show as Japanese Welterweight champion Suyon Takayama (20-1, 7) was dragged into a real fight by challenger Tetsuya Suzuki (29-12, 17). Suzuki, a former Japanese and OPBF Middleweight champion, was written off before the fight but put in a stirring performance to really test Takayama's mettle. Unfortunately for Suzuki he didn't have quite enough to take the victory. Following his loss, we've since heard that Suzuki has announced retirement. Although he went out on a loss he did finish with a very admirable performance and one that will not be forgotten in a hurry. Interestingly the main event was the only bout to reach the scheduled distance. The only other decision on the card came after a early finish from an accidental injury that saw the unbeaten and ranked Gosuke Seki (15-0-2, 3) taking a 6th round technical decison victory over Kazunari Fujisawa (9-12-4, 2). None of the shows other 4 bouts required the judges. The stoppages, in the other 4 bouts, included Yoshihisa Tonimura (17-9-4, 4) taking a very expected victory over debuting Thai Wangthorn Sithsaithong (0-1), who was stopped in round 4. In another mismatch Koji Aoki (16-7-2, 6) stopped the limited Yoshihisa Hirayama (10-10-1, 4) in 3 rounds. One of the better matched bouts, at least on paper, between Yuta Nakagawa (12-4-1, 8) and Kaname Tabei (10-8-2, 7) got as far as round 6 though it was over rather early in the round. Rather amazingly the shortest bout on the show lasted just 139 seconds as Wataru Takeda (1-0-1, 1) scored his first victory stopping the debuting Seita Shimamiya (0-1) in double quick fashion. (Photo courtesy of Boxingnews,jp) |
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