This past Wednesday was a brilliant day for boxing fans in Japan with notable shows in both Osaka and Tokyo. The fights ranged from world level to prospect level, on both shows, yet they both featured some genuinely exciting fights that delivered what was promised. Osaka, Japan Of the two shows it was the one in Osaka that was the more high profile and interesting. The card featured everything from a debutant to world title bouts, and went through everything in between in what was a spectacular day of action in the Osaka Prefectural gymnasium. We'll start with the main event which looked like a mouth watering bout when it was first rumoured and proved to be every big as good in the ring. That bout saw Japanese star Kazuto Ioka (17-1, 10) become a 3rd weight world champion at the third time of asking as he narrowly over-came Argentinian warrior Juan Carlos Reveco (35-2, 19) in a really close and competitive bout for the WBA Flyweight title. Reveco entered the bout seeking his 9th defense of the crown and at times looked like he was getting the better of things until Ioka made changes late to pull out a very close majority decision in a bout that was everything boxing fans should enjoy. The one, unfortunate, thing about the bout was the Argentinian TV channel screening the fight. They sadly appeared to be a bit “too” pro-Reveco leading many fans to the idea that the close bout was a robbery, when it really was too close to call. The other world title bout was also marred in controversy as Katsunari Takayama (29-7-0-1, 11) retained his IBF Minimumweight title with a 9th round technical decision win over gutsy Thai Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr (27-4-1, 15). Sakkreerin had been less than impressive in his previous visit to Japan, losing a wide decision to the sensationally talented Takuma Inoue, and we expected a 1-sided bout here though in the end the bout ended up being compelling with Takayama being his usual all-action aggressive fighter. The aggression of Takayama regularly forced Sakkreerin against the ropes where he fought as a counter puncher in a fight that was brilliant to watch. Sadly the bout was marred by an ending that left everyone confused. Originally it looked like the title was going to change hands with Takayama being stopped due to facial damage only for the cards to be read with Takayama retaining the title with a close decision. The odd ending has lead to calls for a rematch and we'd certainly be in favour of seeing these two go at again. As well as the pair of world title contests there was also a Japanese title fight as the unbeaten Sho Ishida (19-0, 10) was given his stiffest test so far. Ishida, defending the Japanese Super Flyweight title for the second time, only just kept a hold of his belt with a split decision win over Taiki Eto (14-4, 10). Ishida started well and appeared in control for the most part but stamina issues in the later rounds allowed Eto to come on strong in a bout that left us with questions about Ishida. We suspect it was a “bad night” for the unbeaten champion but he clearly has work to do before getting a world title fight. One man who looked like he was ready for a title fight was former WBA Minimumweight champion Ryo Miyazaki (23-1-3, 14) who made light work of the over-matched Namphol Sithsaithong (7-10, 5) in what was a very clear tune up bout for the popular Japanese fighter. It now seems likely that Miyazaki will be looking for a fight with countryman Ryoichi Taguchi in the summer, if Taguchi is successful in his upcoming WBA Light Flyweight world title defense. On the under-card there were several notable fighters. One of those was 2014 Super Flyweight Rookie of the Year Masayoshi Hashizume (8-0, 5) who made light work of Saenrachan Sor Theptanee (0-2) with a 3rd round KO. Hashizume has an exciting style and we're hoping to see him step up to facing Japanese ranked foes by the end of this year, though it's unlikely he'll be getting a title fight any time soon. Another Rookie of the Year winner on the under-card was Reiya Konishi (8-0, 4) who scored a very notable 8 round decision win over Kenta Shimizu (8-5-1, 4). This was by far the best win so far for the talented Konishi who looks like a title contender in the making. A third unbeaten prospect on the under-card was female hopeful Kei Takenaka (9-0, 3) who took a clear 6 round decision win over Thai visitor Kanittha Saknarong (0-3). We're now expecting to see Takenaka move towards a more notable fight though the former OPBF female Light Flyweight title holder really does need a better test before she steps up to world level. In the 4 rounders on the card fans saw two clear decisions. One of those saw Hayate Ikuta (1-0) make a successful debut as he took a clear win over Seita Shimamiya (1-4) whilst the other saw Noriyuki Imamura (3-3) level off his record with a win over Genki Inoue (1-5-1, 1). Tokyo, Japan In Tokyo fans had a show at the popular Korakuen Hall and although this was massively over-shadowed by the Osaka show it was incredibly entertaining and significant in it's own right. The main event here was an exciting split decision win for Ricky Sismundo (28-8-1, 12) who over-came former Japanese Lightweight champion Akihiro Kondo (21-6-1, 10). Although Kondo often brought the action he was regularly countered by his foe, a Japanese based Filipino, who was a very worthy winner. Amazingly this was Kondo's 5th bout in 9 months, sadly however it was his 3rd loss in that period whilst Sismundo has now won back-to-back fights follow a loss to Masayoshi Nakatani in an OPBF title bout last year. Sismundo's win wasn't the only success for Filipino fighters on this card as Giovanni Escaner (13-3, 9) scored a slight upset win over touted Japanese prospect Naoto Uebayashi (7-1-1, 4). Uebayashi was stopped in the 8th round of the bout by the talented Escaner who has now scored back-to-back wins in Japan and appeared to be quickly developing into an exciting and strong fighter who will be a handful for a lot of fighters. Things weren't so bad for Uebyashi's stablemate Hikaru Marugame (4-0, 2) who took a career best victory over Wataru Miyasaka (9-3-1, 2). Marugame was the clear winner but was pushed for the first time in his career and this 8 rounder will certainly have served his development well. Miyasaka may have come up short but certainly did his standing no harm and will likely be put in other good bouts in the near future. On the undercard we ended up with some very competitive bouts. One of those saw Ken Otogawa (7-5, 5) score an upset against Yasuki Katagiri (4-2, 1) in a bout that was scored 58-56 to Otoggawa by all 3 judges. Another bout saw Tomoyuki Yokota (5-3, 2) upset the more experienced Akihiro Furukawa (12-6-1, 9) with a razor thin decision, scored 56-55 twice and 57-55. A third 6 rounder saw Hisasi Owada (6-9-1, 1) score a relatively unexpected stoppage win as he finished off Hikaru Takaki (6-7, 5) at the end of round 4. We saw another stoppage in the sole 4 rounder on this show as Shintaro Hirohama (2-3-1, 2) stopped Takahiro Yamanishi (1-4) in the 3rd round. (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)
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Koki Eto retains OPBF title, Taiki Eto scores decision win, Robert Yamamoto claims debut win11/27/2014 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan On Wednesday in Tokyo fans were treat to the latest Shirai Gushiken Sports show which was streamed live on the Gushiken Ustream channel. The main event of the card was an OPBF Flyweight title bout that saw the usually exciting Koki Eto (16-3-1, 12) scoring a 10th round knockout against Filipino challenger Cris Paulino (14-2, 4). Paulino had given himself a fantastic account of himself, despite the score-cards, though his lack of championship level experience did cost him as he began to run out of steam late in the bout. In the chief support contest Yuki Fukumoto (17-9, 5) scored a 5th round technical decision over the tough Hyobu Nakagama (17-12-4, 12). Nakagama had entered this bout as a Japanese ranked fighter so we suspect that Fukumoto will enter the rankings shortly. Another of the main support bouts saw former Japanese title contender Taiki Eto (14-3, 10) take a clear win over the tough but limited Zoren Pama (6-12-3, 3). This was the second time this year that Pama impressed us having also taken the best shots from Srisaket Sor Rungvisai before losing a technical decision to the heavy handed Thai. The remaining 6 bouts on the card were all 4 rounders though it was just one of those bouts that really caught the attention. That was the debut of entertainer Robert Yamamoto (1-0, 1) who scored a 4th round stoppage of fellow debutant Riku Takahashi (0-1). Yamamoto is best known for comedy work in Japan though genuinely looked like a promising fighter here, just a shame he's at an advanced age. From what we understand Yamamoto is considering competing in the 2015 Rookie of the Year and we wish him the best as he's shown genuine commitment to try and make a name for himself in the ring and it's good to think that this won't be a 1-off. Other stoppages on this under-card saw Daigo Higa (3-0, 3) score an opening round stoppage against Keisuke Fujii (3-6, 2) whilst Hokuto Kawana (4-0, 3) scored a second round KO against J Soul Maeda (2-2-2, 1). In bouts that went the distance Shun Wakabayashi (2-1) took a very close unanimous decision over the well matched Takeshi Yamagata (1-3-1) whilst Daichi Yamamoto (2-2-1, 1) took a razor thin split decision Naoki Inaba (2-3) and Resierto Nagaike (3-1-1) also took a split decision as he over-came Naoki Morooka (2-2, 2). (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp) Amazingly busy day in Asia sees numerous notable fights with Eto, Kubo, Parrenas, Watanabe...8/23/2014 It's been a whilst since we had some fights though this past Friday was chock-a-block with fights taking place through out Asia. The day had cards in Thailand, the Philippines and Japan and gave us a share of shocks, blowouts, predictability and excitement reminding us why we all love boxing, even in it's down periods. Tokyo, Japan For us the most notable of the shows was the reason promoted show at the Korakuen Hall that featured a trio of notable match ups alongside 7 lesser fights. The card wasn't an amazing one but was notable and significant on the Japanese and Asian boxing scene due to the main trio. The first of that significant trio was Taiki Eto (13-3, 10) who bounced back from his loss last time out to Yohei Tobe and simple destroyed Brukluk Kor Narong Service (0-2) in just 2 rounds. Whilst Eto was stopped in a Japanese title fight by Tobe it's interesting to note that Brukluk's only previous fight was a loss to current Japanese champion Sho Ishida who, just like Eto, stopped the Thai in 2 rounds. The second of the significant bouts also ended in the second round as the heavy handed former Japanese, OPBF and PABA champion Akinori Watanabe (31-4, 27) easily took out Thailand's Chatchai Sithsaithong (8-4, 6). This bout was Watanabe's return to the ring after a 9 month break though it's obvious from this performance that he still has enough to compete at title level. In the main event Super Featherweight hopeful Shingo Eto (14-2-1, 9) made light work of Arnon Sithsaithong (0-1) who was stopped inside a round. After the fight it was announced that Eto would be fighting Japanese champion Rikki Naito in October in what looks almost certain to be a fantastic bout. Whilst the main trio of bouts went a combined 5 rounds it's worth noting that the 7 undercard bouts also all ended early, in fact those 7 bouts went a combined 13 rounds! The quickest of those undercard bouts saw the debuting Tsubasa Koura (1-0, 1) score a notable opening round blow victory against Naoki Morooka (2-1, 2). Aged just 19 Koura may be worth keeping an eye on desite his bout here only last 142 seconds. The only other opening round victory scored on this undercard was by Daichi Yamamoto (1-2-1, 1) who took just 25 seconds longer than Koura to score his victory. For Yamanoto he got his maiden victory with a KO over the still win-less Kazuma Fukino (0-3). Of the 7 undercard bouts 4 went into the second round. The quickest of those 2 round bouts saw Shunsuke Mori (1-2, 1) scoring a stoppage 28 seconds into the round as he punished Takuya Sagehashi (0-1). It took Ryotaro Tokusa (1-0, 1) a further 20 seconds, 48 seconds of round 2, to take out his debut foe Hiroshi Higuchi (0-1) in an all debutant bout. Another debutant who suffered a set back was Kaiki Oshira (0-1) who was beaten by Hokuto Kawana (3-0, 2) at the 2:22 mark of round 2. The other man who scored a second round KO was 19 year old Daigo Higa (2-0, 2) who were impressed by on his debut. Higa made light work of Thai visitor Rotthang Wor Por Srisaket (0-3) who was stopped at the 2:40 mark of the second round. The only bout on the entire show to go beyond 2 rounds saw Kazumichi Ishizawa (3-4, 1) taking a 3rd round stoppage victory over Motonobu Suzuki (2-5). On paper this was one of, if not the, most evenly matched bout but even that didn't help it go the distance. Hyogo, Japan At the Kobe Central Gym there was a small but very notable show courtesy of Shinsei Gym. The card featured just 6 bouts though a number of them were fought as part of a small Japan Vs Philippines event. The show opened with a 4 rounder between Koichi Sumiya (0-1-1) and Yuki Arakawa (0-1-1) that ended in a split decision draw. The only other "under-card" bout saw Ryo Kosaka (8-3-1, 4) taking a second round KO over Monkey Shuhei (5-5-1, 2) in a scheduled 6 rounder. The first of of the main bouts was a win for the Philippines as as the battle hardened and experienced Roque Lauro (11-16-4, 2) took a split decision over Japanese teenager Ryuya Yamanaka (7-2, 2). On paper this was a mismatch though delving below just the raw records suggests that Lauro is a very capable foe and has been in with a relative who's who whilst fighting well above his natural weight. With wins over Joan Imperial, Ronelle Ferreras and Myung Goo Yuh we'll suggest that Lauro is one of those potential banana skins, as Yamanaka found out here. The second bout was another win for the Philippines as former OPBF title challenger Jhunriel Ramonal (14-7-4, 7) took a narrow split decision over Kota Fukuoka (15-5-2, 12). Ramonal had been stopped, in 3 rounds by Shingo Wake, last time he was in Japan though appears to have found that his level here with this win, a great result given that he had been stopped in his 2 previous bouts. The Philippines made it 3-0 as the criminally under-rated Renoel Pael (14-1-1, 5) scored a dominant decision over the heavy handed Yuki Yonaha (3-2, 3). This bout wasn't even close and there was no debating the winner here as Pael put on a masterclass against a man who looked out of his depth. We'd suggest keeping an eye Pael as he appears to have plenty of skills and has no fear fighting on foreign soil, in fact his best performance came in Thailand against Noknoi Sitthiprasert just 6 months ago, the judges gave that to Noknoi though Pael really did deserve the win. The only win for Japan came in somewhat disappointing circumstances as the the highly regarded Shun Kubo (5-0, 4) defeated Renren Pasignahin (6-4-1, 2) with a 4th round TKO. From what we understand the Filipino suffered a nasty injury that forced him to suffer his first stoppage defeat. In saying that we do suspect that Kubo would have won regardless of the injury but it is still a disappointment from the all involved. Pasignahin was robbed of his chance to compete after less than 4 rounder and Kubo was robbed of a "clean" win, a real shame. Makati City, Philippines As well as the action in Japan we also had two cards in the Philippines. At the bottom of this card was a number of novices, including the debuting Mark Angelo Plana (1-0) who successfully kicked off his professional campaign with a clear decision over fellow debutant Lordy Pateno (0-1) in a 4 round. The Plana/Pateno bout was one of two 4 rounders with the other one being won by female hopeful Naome Tacda (2-0, 2) who defeated Aisah Alico (5-4, 4) in the second round. In the sole 6 rounder Jonathan Dela Cruz (5-0, 2) recorded a second round KO against the usually durable Jomar Borbon (4-19-2, 2). The bulk of the show's contests were 8 rounders and these featured the show's most competitive bouts. The compeititve contests featured a surprising split draw for Ronelle Ferreras (14-7-3, 6) with JC Francisco (6-8-3, 2), a further shot to Ferreras's career which has really taken hit after hit this year, and also a split decision win for Eric Panza (6-2-1, 1) who narrowly over-came Pablito Canada (4-4-1, 1) in a very close contest. In less competitive contests we saw a pair of stoppages for Japanese fighters. The less significant of those bouts saw Ryuta Wakamatsu (10-10, 7) stopping Aroel Romasasa (11-7, 5) in the second round in a slight upset. The other bout shocked no-one as Momoko Kanda (7-6-2, 1) stopped Nongnun Mor Krungthepthonburi (2-3) in 4 rounds and claimed the WBC Asian Boxing Council female Minimumweight title. This was the second bout between Kanda and Nongnun, the first time they met Kanda took a decision over 6 rounds but this time it seems she was fighting with real confidence and forced the stoppage of her Thai opponent. The card featured a pair of 10 rounders but neither of them was even close to being competitive. One of them saw popular world ranked power puncher Warlito Parrenas (21-6, 18) completely dismantling Richard Garcia (25-20-1, 7) in the third round. Parrenas, one of the hardest puncher in the Super Flyweight division, broke apart Garcia with body shots in the third round and left Danrex Tapdasan with no option but to stop the contest. The other 10 rounder lasted a mere 36 seconds as Rey Juntilla (18-5-3, 11) detonated a body shot on Cris Leon (7-11-4, 3) who failed to recover. Sadly the main event was equally as one sided with Richard Claveras (9-0-2, 9) defending his WBC Asian Boxing Council Light Flyweight title with an opening round KO against Thailand's Sangthong Chor Pakdee (4-1, 4). We expected this to be explosive, but we didn't think it was going to be over quite so quickly. Metro Manila, Philippines The second Filipino show took place in Metro Manila at the The Flash Grand Ballroom of the Elorde Sports Complex and proved to relatively full of mismatches. The card opened with a pair of 4 rounders, both won by men who went into the bouts as unbeaten. These saw Robin Langres (2-0, 1) take a 4th round TKO over Jonathan Pedrosa (0-6-1) and Jetlee Formentera (2-0, 1) take an opening round blow out victory against Roberto Mendano (0-2). Although the opening contests didn't last long the pair of 6 rounders both went the scheduled. These saw Wilbert Berondo (4-0, 2) score a near sut out over Roy Albaera (2-24-5) whilst the once beaten Diomel Diocos (4-1-2, 2) took a majority decision over Vincent Bautista (1-2-1). Strangely the Diocos/Bautista bout was scored 59-54 by two judges whilst the third had contest level at 57-57. The final "undercard" bout was the sole 8 rounder which saw Jeffrey Francisco (10-0-1) extending his unbeaten run with a clear decision over domestic journeyman Jeson Berwela (4-17, 2). The bulk of the card was the trio of 10 rounders. The first of those saw Giemel Magramo (11-0, 8) taking and early and easy win over over the experienced but limited Jovel Romasasa (10-20, 4). Romasasa retired at the end of the 2nd round giving Magramo his 11th win though hopefully he will be matched more competitively next time out. Sadly much of the top bouts here were uncompetitive and in Featherweight action Juan Miguel Elorde (16-1, 8) took a 5th round TKO over Paulus Baransano (0-4). Juan Miguel Elorde wasn't the only member of the Elorde family to score a win as his brother, Juan Martin Elorde (16-1-1, 7), defeated Juniston Simbolon (7-12-1, 3) via a 6th round technical decision. At the end of the bout Elorde was bloody from an accidental headbutt hence going to the cards early. Both of the Elorde's were facing Indonesian foes. The main event saw another easy win for a Filipino against an Indonesian as Dennis Laurente (48-5-5, 29) stopped the very limited Elly Pangaribuan (3-4, 1). This was Pangaribuan's second successive second round stoppage following on from his defeat to Nobuhiro Ishida just over a year ago. Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand In Thailand we saw PABA Featherweight champion Thong Sithluangphophun (10-0, 7) defend his title with a 3rd round KO against Indonesian challenger Yakobus Heluka (7-8). For Heluka this was a 4th straight loss and it seems like he's generally just getting in the ring to lose right now, a real shame. The ended for this one was a bit on the nasty side from Thong though it does appear that Heluka decided that he didn't want to continue. Quebec, Canada In Canada fans got to see the heavy handed and very promising Artur Beterbiev (5-0, 5) take a very quick win over the over-matched Alvaro Enriquez (12-13-2, 4) in what was clearly a stay busy fight after spending 7 months out of the ring. We now expect to see Beterbiev facing former world champion Tavoris Cloud in September in what looks to be a genuinely fantastic bout. (Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp) |
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