Thailand
This past Friday's action kicked off in Thailand with a Channel 7 show courtesy of Nakornloung which featured 4 bouts in total.

One of those saw Pongsaklek Sithdabnij (1-3, 1) record his first win as he took a 4th round stoppage against the debuting Rachadam Por Kobkua (0-1). From the opening bell Pongsaklek looked like an aggressive ball of energy and was really fun to watch prior to scoring a gut busting KO. Whilst he'll never be mistaken for the great Pongsaklek Wonjonkam we will enjoy watching this kid in the future.

Another of the low level bouts saw Yuaza Meanburisport (1-0) fight to a decision win against Daoden Lookklongbangklang (0-1) in a more technically well accomplished bout that we're used to seeing in Thailand.

One of the bouts on the card was a rematch as Kongfah Nakornluang (21-0, 13) took on Indonesian Ricky Morales (4-2-1). In their first meeting Kongfah seemed to win following a vicious low blow that left Morales with the fight knocked out of him. Sadly for Morales his “family jewels” were again a target of Kongfah's shots with many going below the belt. To his credit however the plucky Indonesian never complained, though was stopped in the 6th round. Despite Kongfah's 21 fight winning streak we need to admit we're not sold on him, at all.

Another unbeaten prospect of note on this card was Jirapan Nakornluang (11-0, 8) who looked sharp en-route to a comfortable win over a limited foe. Jirapan stopped his foe with a body shot though really didn't need to ever get out of second gear. Jirapan does look good at times but we certainly want to see him face a better quality of opponent in the near future. From what we under-stand Kongfah claimed a WBC Youth title with this win.

California, USA
In California fans watching Fox Sports 1 had the chance to see Chinese giant Taishan Dong (5-0, 3) record his second win the space of weeks as he took out Lance Gauch (5-9-2, 3) inside a round. Gauch, who was a shorter, fat foe, was taken out by a hard right hand and had to receive medical care before being taken out of the ring. This was a much better result for Dong than his decision win over Jamal Woods, back n May 9th, though it's clear the baby steps will continue for the 27 year old giant and that Gauch was never going to be any sort of a test.

Interestingly for Dong this was the first time he had faced a man heavier than himself, though Gauch certainly didn't didn't look like a professional boxer in the ring.

Nevada, USA
Unfortunately in Nevada fans saw Uzbek fighter Bahodir Mamadjonov (17-2, 11) suffer his first stoppage defeat as the heavy handed Richard Commey (22-0, 20) stopped him in the 8th round and claimed the IBF Inter-Continental Lightweight title. Mamadjonov had never been stopped prior to this bout but this loss is a big set back for a man who was in, and around, the world rankings. Prior to the stoppage we had been impressed by Mamadjonov, though he appeared to run out of steam whilst Commey came on strong.

Note-Jirapan's record on boxrec.com has been updated to include a number of wins he fought under a different alias dating back to 2013.

This past Saturday was one of the busiest and most interesting days of the year with numerous notable bouts taking place across the planet.

Texas, USA
Things have been really disappointing for the Kameda brother's recently and it's fair to say that the most recent hit to their once impressive empire came late on Saturday when the previously unbeaten Tomoki Kameda (31-1, 19) came undone in a thrilling encounter with WBA Bantamweight champion Jamie McDonnell (26-2-1, 12). Tomoki had vacated his WBO title ahead of this bout and stupidly threw away round 12 which cost him the bout and the WBA title. Were it not for the non-effort in the final round Tomoki, who dropped McDonnell in round 3, would still be unbeaten. For fans who missed this one we suggest you give it a watch as it was an incredibly close and well fought bout. One of the best of the year so far.

Hyogo, Japan
In regards to action in Asia one show certainly got more attention than any other. That was the Shinsei promoted card from Kobe with featured a world ranked prospect and a former 2-weight world champion, as well as several other notable contests.

The main event here saw former Bantamweight and Featherweight world champion Hozumi Hasegawa (34-5, 15) roll back the clock and put on a stirring performance as he dominated the previously unbeaten and world ranked Horacio Garcia (29-1, 21) of Mexico. Hasegawa took a few rounds to feel his way into the bout but dominated it soon afterwards with Garcia coming off second best time and time again. We're unsure if Hasegawa will get another world title fight but he looked great here.

World ranked prospect Shun Kubo (7-0, 5) moved towards a title fight, likely to be a Japanese title fight or an OPBF title fight, as he made light work of domestic foe Masajiro Honda (6-6, 4) with a 7th round TKO. The talented Kubo is very promising and needs a more challenging bout than this one.

A very interesting looking 8 rounder bout saw Filipino veteran Jonathan Baat (29-6-3, 14) out point the once promising Takahiro Shigee (12-2-1, 10) over 8 rounds. The bout was moderately competitive but Baat was the well deserving winner. This was great second win in the space of a few weeks for Baat who has got to be approaching a more notable bout in the near future.

Another bout that went the distance saw Shota Yamaguchi (13-2, 8) take a wide decision win over Filipino visitor Roman Canto (10-6-2, 5). For Canto this loss ends a 2-fight winning streak, however he's better than his record suggests and he could test decent fighters in the future.

Another 8 rounder on this show saw Tetsuya Hisada (22-9-2, 12) score an 8th round KO against the light hitting Shun Kosaka (9-2), who suffered his first stoppage loss with this defeat. Interestingly the win for Hisada was his first in around 18 months.

Osaka, Japan
In a separate Japanese show fans got the chance to see a female world title fight as well as some low level support bouts.

The main event saw southpaw fighter Yuko Kuroki (13-4-1, 6) retain her WBC female Minimumweight title as she easily out pointed close veteran Masae Akitaya (9-6-2, 3) in a very 1-sided contest. Kuroki found a home for her straight left hand early on and dominated with it, but couldn't finish off Akitaya, who has now lost in 4 world title challenges.

On the under-card we did see stoppages with Ryota Yada (7-3, 5) making very light work of Thai visitor Teerapong Sithsaithong (0-1), who lasted just 165 seconds. Another quick blow out saw the limited Hisashi Kawanishi (5-7, 2) over-come Prabpram Sithsaithong (0-4) in just 2 rounds.

Seoul, South Korea
Korean fans got a title double header in Seoul with a weak under-card but a pair of notable feature bouts.

The main event saw Eun Chang Lee (9-4, 5) claim the WBA Asia Middleweight title with a 4th round KO against Australian based Thai John Ford (6-7-1, 5), real name Nawakon Kitee. Ford was stopped just 2 months ago in a bout at 140lbs and we really do wonder what made anyone think he was going to be competitive at Middleweight.

The other title bout saw Nam Joon Lee (8-4-3, 4) claim a variant of the PABA Featherweight title with a 2nd round TKO win against Thailand's Rachamongkol Sor Pleonchit (14-10, 6). From what we understand this was a bout for the PABA junior title, similar to the “youth” titles that we see.

On the under-card their was 3 bouts involving novices. The most notable of those bouts came in a scheduled 6 rounder as Kyoo Hwan Hwang (1-0, 1) began his career with a 4th round TKO against Jung Ho Jang (1-1-1, 1). A more competitive bout saw Jong Hyuk Yoon (2-1) take a clear decision victory over Chang Kyoo Lee (0-1-1) whilst a very close bout saw Jae Hyung Ahn (1-0) take a split decision over Myung Soo Kim (0-1).

Texas, USA
Back in the US fans saw Chinese Heavyweight giant Taishan Dong (4-0, 2) struggle to a win over over the limited Jamal Woods (6-19-3, 6). Dong looked exhausted in the final round and it's clear his stamina, power and speed are going to be an issue when he steps up. He is however a big of a circus figure and one that Golden Boy seem happy to wheel out on a regular basis as he continues his development.

Vratsa, Bulgaria
In Bulgaria, and shown on our live stream, fans saw the heavy handed Kazakh Zhanat Zhakiyanov (15-1, 18) score a 6th round KO of the previously unbeaten Hector Rolando Guzman (14-1, 9) of Argentina. On paper the bout was interesting with Guzman down twice in the early rounds and Zhakiyanov himself down in round 2, however the bout felt like a really low quality contest until Zhakiyanov finally showed some world class ability and knocked out Guzman in eye catching fashion in round 6. The win for Zhakiyanov netted him the WBA International Bantamweight title though seemed to show that he wasn't ready for a world title fight and although he has a very potent right hand he is very predictable.

Wellington, New Zealand
In New Zealand fans saw Thai visitor Anrey Onesongchaigym (7-2-1, 3) suffer her first stoppage loss as she was beaten in the 6th round by Gentiane Lupi (4-1-1, 2). As a result of this win Lupi claimed the WIBA interim Super Bantamweight title.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

Tokyo, Japan
It was in Japan that we had the most significant show of the day. The main event featured a potential world title challenger whilst other bouts on the show featured a number of interesting Japanese contenders and prospects.

We'll start with the main event which saw the highly ranked Shingo Wake (18-6-2, 11) score the 5th defence of his OPBF Super Bantamweight title courtesy of an opening round knockout-out against Filipino Challenger Jimmy Paypa (16-3-1, 6). Paypa, who had never been stopped, had managed to land some of his own right hands but they had little effect on Wake who landed a perfect counter uppercut very late in the round that sent Paypa down. The Filipino managed to make it to his feet but wasn't able to continue.

Following the win Wake said he wanted a world title fight and was happy to travel. Recent hints however suggest that he may be able to get a world title fight at home with Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux likely to travel to Japan again, following his successful world title defence against Hisashi Amagasa at the end of last year.

In the chief support bout fans saw former OPBF, Japanese and NABF title challenger Toyoto Shiraishi (25-8-2, 12) score a 2nd round KO over the over-matched Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi (8-8-1, 4). This win keeps alive Shiraishi's hopes of one day becoming a title holder, though Yamaguchi really was a limited opponent.

In another support bout Kota Sato (10-6-2, 5) managed to score a late stoppage of Toshikuni Wake (8-15-3, 2), with just 96 seconds of the bout left. Sato's record is under-whelming though he is much better than the numbers suggest and the fact he had gone 3 fights without a win prior to this bout really is misleading. For Wake this was a second successive stoppage loss, following a 4th round defeat to Ryichi Funai last October.

A really interesting support bout, in fact one of two outstanding bouts on the under-card, saw Jo Tanooka (9-2-3) score a clear decision over the previously unbeaten Kenya Yamashita (7-1, 4). Tanooka was the East Japan Rookie of the Year in 2013 and although he has lost 2 of his last 5 he is a genuinely promising fighter. As for the 18 year old Yamashita, himself the 2014 All Japan Rookie of the Year, this was a case of stepping up a little too much too soon. Despite the loss we wouldn't rule out Yamashita from being a champion somewhere down the line.

The other really interesting bout saw the really exciting Masaru Sueyoshi (9-1, 6) score a 7th round TKO over 2013 Rookie of the Year winner Kazuma Sanpei (11-2, 4). Sanpei started his career 11-0 though has now suffered back to back stoppage losses and the 20 year old has been “exposed” as lacking a chin to match his talent. As for Sueyoshi this was his 6th straight win following a razor thin loss to Masayuki Ito back in July 2012. Don't sleep on Sueyoshi.

The least notable bout on the card saw unbeaten female fighter Jun Yabuki (2-0, 1) score a clear decision win over Chie Higano (3-2). Sadly for Higano this was a second successive loss.

California, USA
Whilst the significant action came form Japan there was another bout of note which took place in the USA as Chinese Heavyweight giant Taishan Dong (3-0, 2) was surprisingly given his first test. Dong, a 7” giant who seems to get a lot of attention merely due to his size, was expected to blow away 42 year old Roy McCrary (3-3, 3) but was instead taken the 4 round distance en route to taking his first decision victory. The win was a clear one for Dong but it will almost certainly have provided him with a bigger learning experience than either of his previous bouts, both of which were relatively farcical.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

This Thursday was an interesting day in some ways for boxing fans though ended up being a relatively disappointing one overall with some farcical events.

District of Columbia, USA
The biggest fight of the night, in terms of importance, came from Washington DC where WBC Super Flyweight champion Carlos Cuadras (31-0-1, 25) successfully defended his title against Filipino challenger Marvin Mabait (19-3-2, 13). Mabait, a late replace for compatriot Sonny Boy Jaro, was out of his depth early one and was battered in rounds 4 and 5 before finally being stopped in the 6th round.

California, USA
Another bout in the US was a relatively farcical Heavyweight clash that saw the gigantic Chinese novice Taishan Dong (2-0, 2) stopping the hapless Tommy Washington Jr (3-7, 2) inside a round. This was Washington's first fight in 6 years and it showed as he had seemingly forgotten how to fight, how to punch and how to get up from a knockdown. Whilst we understand Dong needs to get bouts under his belt and develop his experience fights like this one won't do him any favours and if anything will do his development more harm than anything else.

Bangkok, Thailand
In Thailand we saw Kalae McShane (2-0, 1) scoring an impressive 6 round win over the over-matched Keanpetch Manoprungroj (4-3, 2) who was dropped in the opening round.

Tokyo, Japan
The only Japanese show of the day was a small Dangan show with the entire card of 4 rounders. Despite all the fighters being novices the card did have some of the most competitive bouts of the day on it as well as some bouts that turned out to be rather one-sided.

The most competitive bout resulted in a draw as Kenji Ishii (3-4-1, 3), one of the show's most experienced fighters, fought to a 4 round majority draw with Yutaka Uemura (2-2-1, 2). We also made other draws as Masaharu Kaito (1-0) only just squeaked past Satoru Araki (0-1) with a majority decision win and Yuita Tamaguchi (4-4, 1) just beat Shogo Dairakuibn (2-2, 1) in the narrowest of narrow split decisions. 

Other decision wins saw Naoki Uebayashi (1-1) record his first win with a decision over the debuting Toshihiko Saito (0-1), the previously win-less Mao Kawanishi (1-1) took a competitive win over Shohei Nagashima (0-2), who remains unbeaten. One other decision saw Toshiki Nishihara (4-3-1, 1) take a very narrow win over Toshiki Maruyama (3-6, 2) in another bout that was amazingly close.

The shortest of the show's bouts lasted just 77 seconds as Takayoshi Miyachi (1-0, 1) quickly took out fellow debutant Chikashi Takahashi (0-1). It didn't take much of round 2 for Kazutomo Oma (2-0, 2) to see off Sosuke Sakata (2-2, 1). Another second round stoppage saw Makoto Yamazaki (1-0, 1) take out Yoshiki Toriyama (0-1). The show also had a pair of stoppages coming in round 3 as Seiryu Toshikawa (1-1, 1) defeated Tatsuro Jin (2-2, 1) and Takuya Muto (1-1, 1) defeated Jun Takahashi (0-1). The only stoppage to come in round 4 saw Hiromichi Komatsu (1-0, 1) defeat Kohei Ogawa (0-1) with less than 30 seconds of their bout remaining.

Not every day is a great day for Asian boxing and it's fair to say this past Friday wasn't a great one with more lows than highs, despite some interesting action all over the word

Kobe, Japan
The most significant of the shows came at the Portopia Hotel in Kobe. The venue, making it's professional boxing debut, looked stunning though sadly couldn't help Japan's Teiru Kinoshita (19-1-1, 3) over-come South African puncher Zolani Tete (19-3, 16) in a bout for the IBF Super Flyweight title. Kinoshita did impress, in some ways, with his toughness but that was the about all the positives he could take out of the bout that he clearly lost. The fight, Kinoshita's first world title bout, could well be his last and we'd not be shocked if he fell back to Japanese domestic level following this loss.

In the chief support bout to Kinoshita's contest fans got to see a rematch between Shinichiro Morikawa (16-4-1, 11) and Ryota Kihara (6-9-4, 5). The two men fought last year with Morikawa taking a close decision over 8 rounds. This time around the judges weren't needed as Morikawa saw off Kihara in just 4 rounds as he dominated his limited foe.

A third bout of note on this same card saw Jonathan Baat (26-5-3, 12) dominate Yubon Kanayama (10-5, 3) to inflict Kanayama's 5th loss in 8 bouts. For Baat this was a bounce back victory follow a loss last time out to Qiu Xiao Jun, in what was a third bout between the two men.

Lower down the card Naoki Yamamoto (5-7-2, 3) managed to out point Ryoki Hirai (3-2-1, 1) over 4 rounds in a very competitive contest.  Another 4 rounder saw Hayato Shimosakoda (1-1) take a decision over Yosuke Goto (1-5) whilst the hard hitting Takuya Hashimoto (4-4, 4) upset Masashi Wakita (4-2, 2) with a 2nd round KO.

Tokyo, Japan
A second card in Japan took place at the Korakuen Hall. Although the supposed main bout, a Japanese Super Bantamweight bout between Hidenori Otake and Daisuke Furuhashi, was cancelled the card it's self went on with some interesting contests.

After the main event was cancelled the previous chief support became the new main event and that saw Ryuto Oho (6-1-1, 2) fighting to a very competitive majority draw with Shuji Hamada (12-6-4, 2). Sadly for the 19 year old Oho this was a second successive set back following his sole loss to Jo Tanooka and we dare say that he's not matured into a Super Flyweight,yet. Oho did impress us last year when he was fighting at Flyweight, where he won the Rookie of the Year, and maybe he needs to try and return to 112lbs.

In the chief support bout on this card fans got to see the return to the ring of Spice Matsushita (12-8, 2) who returned to the ring after more than a year out of action. Matsuhsita not only returned to the ring but did so with a hard fought decision over Toshimitsu Goto (12-11-1, 5)

A third bout on this card saw Takuma Okada (5-9, 2) take a 6 round against the light hitting Tsuyoshi Nishimura (4-7-1, 1). The win for Okada saw him ending a 2 fight losing streak though it did extend Nishimura's losing run to 2 fights.

We know at the moment that we have more results to come from Japan though for now these are the only ones we have.

Pathum Thani, Thailand
On a televised card in Thailand fans got to see the world ranked Nawaphon Por Chokchai (22-0, 16) successfully defend his WBC Asian Boxing Council Flyweight title for the 9th time! Nawaphon defeated Thailand's usually durable Jay-ar Estremos (10-8, 4) inside the distance the retain his title and inflict just the second stoppage loss on to Estremos. Interestingly Estremos had, earlier this year, pushed Kwanpichit OnesongchaiGym all the way in a bout many felt Kwanpichit had been gifted a win in and with that in mind you need to realise just how good this win was.

There were other bouts on this card but at the moment we aren't sure on the specific results. What we do know however is that Suriyan Sor Rungvisai (37-5-1, 16) won a decision and Kongfah Nakornluang (14-0, 8) took a stoppage. Hopefully we'll be able to fill in the full results in the coming day or two.

New South Wales, Australia
In Australia we had more disappointment as former Japanese and OPBF Bantamweight title challenger Jerope Mercado (26-7-3, 9) suffered a very debatable split decision loss to Valentine Borg (7-1, 4). Jerope, best known for his fights with Rolly Lunas, Ryosuke Iwasa and Kohei Oba, was judged to have been shut out on two of the cards though it's doubtful that anyone else could possibly have had the bout a shut out. Notably for Borg this was his first bout since his stunning stoppage loss to Joebert Delos Reyes and it appears that loss has damaged the confidence of Borg who was previously unbeaten and tipped to move on to bigger and better things.

East Cape, South Africa
It was also a disappointing day in South Africa as Filipino Edrin Dapudong (29-6, 17) lost the IBO Super Flyweight title in a controversial split decision to South Africa's very own Lwandile Sityatha (17-3-1, 7). The bout was the first defence of the title by Dapudong, who took the belt with an opening round KO against Gideon Buthelezi, though unfortunately this is his second controversial loss in South Africa following a split decision to Buthelezi back in 2012. With 2 split decision losses in 3 bouts it's fair to question whether or not "The Sting" will ever return to fight in South Africa.

New York, USA
The disappointment for Asian fighters continued in New York where "Mongolian Mongoose" Bayarn Jargal (17-5-3-1, 11) saw his bout with Cletus Seldin (13-0-0-1, 10) end in a No Contest. Jargal was injured around the eye from a clash of heads and was unable to continue forcing the bout to a No Contest. Prior to the ending Jargal was making Seldin look limited, though we're not sure if he was managing to over-come the naturally bigger American fighter.

California, USA
It wasn't all bad for Asian's however and in California we had the chance to see the impressive debut of Chinese Heavyweight giant Taishan Dong (1-0, 1). The 6'11" giant managed to drop Alex Rozman (2-7, 1) several times before he told the referee that he couldn't go on. Dong didn't have things all his own way though he he'll have learned more by fighting Rozman, who came to win, than fighting someone who was happy to fold the first time they were hit. For those who missed this fight it's now on our video section.

Also on this card was a victory for popular Filipino Mercito Gesta (28-1-1, 16) who looked genuinely sensational as he beat up and broke down the experienced Luis Arceo (28-13-4, 18) who was stopped by the doctor late in the fight. Arceo came to fight but Gesta was too good, too fast, too talented and too powerful, in fact this was possibly the most complete performance we've ever seen from Gesta who looks to be finally be reaching his potential. No one doubted how good Gesta could be but they had questioned whether he would ever fulfil his promise, this performance suggests he can.