Tokyo, Japan
Japanese fans get to see hundreds of fights every year at the Korakuen Hall, the venue which is believed to host more fights every year than any other. This past Friday the venue hosted possibly the best fight this year as Masao Nakamura (20-3, 19) and Daiki Kaneko (24-5-3, 14) went toe-to-toe in a breath taking fight that combined everything a fight fan could wish to see. The action was intense from the off, both men were rocked, both men landed heavy leather and the fans were joining in on the action chanting through out. In the end it was Nakamura who just did enough to claim a split decision though neither man had anything to be ashamed by here in a bout that needs to be watched by every self respecting fight fan. Following the bout Nakamura signalled his intention to fight for the Japanese title, eyeing up a fight with Rikki Naito, and we'd not be shocked to see that made, possibly for December! For Kaneko, who has now lost back-to-back bouts, it would make sense to take an easy one though we'd not be shocked to see him in another exciting bout with talented opponent.

In the chief support bout fans saw Ryohei Takahashi (7-1-1) score his 7th straight win as he out pointed Kenji Kubo (5-4-1, 2) over 8 rounds. Prior to this bout Kubo had stated that he would take a break from boxing if he lost and now it appears likely that he's likely to make good on his would. Sadly, given the expectation on Kubo when he turned professional, this is a very disappointing result. For Takahashi however it seems the future really is rather bright.

A very close 8 rounder saw Kinshiro Usui (24-4, 10) claim a majority decision win over Yuta Horiike (9-5-3, 2). Horrike, on paper, was given no chance but he really performed well here against Usui, who is a former Japanese Bantamweight title challenger.

In a 6 round bout fans saw the unbeaten Shogo Yamaguchi (8-0-1, 4) extend his perfect record with a unanimous decision win over Keisuke Arima (8-11-1, 1). Yamaguchi, a 21 year old Lightweight prospect, does appear to be worth keeping an eye on in a division that is relatively weak domestically.

Another 6 rounder saw Hyuma Fujioka (6-3-1) over-come the limited Hokuto Sakata (5-6-1, 3) with a unanimous decision. Fujioka doesn't appear likely to make his mark as any sort of a contender but the 23 year old could well be in some interesting fights down the line.

The card also featured a pair of 4 rounders. One of those saw 19 year old Seiryu Toshikawa (3-2, 2) take a unanimous decision over Atsushi Kudo (3-5-2, 3) whilst the other resulted in a draw between the win-less Jun Fudo (0-1-1) and the debuting Junpei Sato (0-0-1).

Suwannakhet, Laos
Thai fans who tuned in to channel 3SD also got action, including an all out war and a chance to see to promising fighters.

The war that was aired on Thai TV saw Thai veteran Kompayak Porpramook (53-5, 37) claim a decision win against Filipino foe Jopher Marayan (7-7-2, 3), in a bout for the WBA Asia title at Light Flyweight. The bout saw Kompayak, a former WBC world champion, add to his long line of highlights which have also included bouts with the likes of Adrian Hernandez, Koki Eto and Oleydong Sithsamerchai. Although he picked up the win here the 33 year old Kompayak doesn't look like a fighter who is going to return to world level any time soon.

One of the rising fighters on this card was Kongthara KKP (8-0, 6) who scored a 2nd round KO against the debuting Mathias Bernua (0-1) whilst the other was teenager Nampetch Kwanjaisrikod (6-1, 2), who scored a 5th round KO against Looksorn Sithsophon (0-1).

Nonthanburi, Thailand
Another televised on Thai TV came on channel 7 where fans had the chance to see one of the emerging stars of the Thai scene.

The rising star is the unbeaten Teerachai Kratingdaenggym (31-0, 24) who made another defense of his PABA Welterweight title as he stopped Boitshepo Mandawe (14-7, 10) in the 6th round. The 23 yea old Thai will now be hoping to get some kind of WBA title fight though will likely plug away with his PABA until a bigger opportunity arises.

Another promising fighter on this card was Ronnakit PKT College (4-0, 3) made very light work of Supertop Chalermprakiat Sport (0-1). Ronnakit appears to have fought under the “Technopoly Bangkok” name on this show.

Former OPBF title challenger Kajornsak Sithsaithong (8-6, 8) came back from his recent trio of losses as he stopped the heavy handed but poor Khundon Chaiyonggym (7-2, 7) in the 2nd of their scheduled 6 rounds.

We also believe that there were several other bouts on here featuring prospects, with Denappa Kiatniwat and Montree PKT College in action.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

Chiang Mai, Thailand
The only Asian card this Thursday came from Chiang Mai in Thailand and although it wasn't a huge card it did feature several fighters of some note.

The main event was, by far, the most interesting fight of the card and on paper saw the unbeaten Teerachai Kratingdaenggym (30-0, 23) taking a major step up in class. The unbeaten Thai, who is world ranked by the WBA, took on former world title contender Kaizer Mabuza (25-15-3, 15) in a bout that saw Teerachai taking on his first opponent who is “known” in the west. Despite stepping up in a big way Teerachai never really seemed to be troubled by his South African foe and instead used his sharp jab to keep Mabuza subdued en route to a decision win. At times Mabuza did have moments of fleeting success but they were relative few and far between. Unfortunately what this result showed is that Teerachai, whilst very talented, needs to be given several more step up foes before thinking of world title. Saying that however it seems clear he has the potential to compete at the top level somewhere down the line.

In the co-feature of the show fans saw Inthanon Sithchamuang (26-7, 16) score a notable stoppage win over the durable Indonesian journeyman Samuel Tehuayo (18-35-2, 3). The bout saw the Indonesian trying to fight back in spurts against the Thai and in fairness to Tehuayo he did have some moments of success. Despite Tehuayo having some moments he was generally out boxed, out fought and out landed by Inthanon who finished the bout in round 10 with a sweeping right hand. The shot dropped Tehuayo to his backside where he was counted out.

The undercard here featured a trio of low level bouts. One of those saw Dennapa Kiatniwat (5-0, 2) extending his unbeaten run with a decision win over Komfak Sithkruthai (0-1) whilst Montree Technopoly Bangkok (1-0) got his career off to a good start with a decision win over Hanuman Egattech (0-1). Another all debutant bout saw Romnakit Technopoly Bangkok (1-0, 1) score an opening round KO against Sammok Chiangmai Sport College (0-1).

Bangkok, Thailand
For the second day running it was Thai fans who were getting televised action as Channel 7 did back-to-back televised cards. Today however there was no world title on the line though there was still some pretty notable action.

The main action came in a PABA Welterweight title fight that saw defending champion Teerachai Kratingdaenggym (29-0, 23) make relatively light work of South African challenger Nthuthuko Memela (11-2-2, 7). Teerachai did as he wished with his taller opponent and stopped him in round 4.

Teerachai's win wasn't the only one for a reigning PABA champion as the unbeaten Nop Kratingdaenggym (12-0, 1)* scored a 6 round decision over Indonesian visitor Boido Simanjuntak (18-27-1, 7) in a non title fight. The light hitting Nop did brilliant at times though his lack of power is still something we consider an issue, despite his skills which are more varies than most Thai's.

A former world champion was also on this card picking up a relatively simple win. That former champion was the highly experienced Kwanthai Sithmorseng (49-3, 25) who made light work of the simply hopeless Ponidi (1-13-1) with a 2nd round KO.

In a low level bout on this under-card Dennapa Kiatniwat (3-0, 1) took a 6 round decision over Yodpichai Sor Visetkit (1-2)

*Note boxrec don't recognise Nop Kratingdaenggym's win against Skak Max
(Image courtesy of thairec.com)

This past Tuesday was a busy day in Asian boxing with several interesting fighters in action through out Asia.

Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
In Japan fans had the chance to see the latest in the Dangan series of shows and, on paper, this was a great card with several very promising young fighters in action in what were really interesting tests.

The most notable of the youngsters who we thought was being tested was Masayuki Ito (16-0-1, 7) who took on Filipino foe Ryan Sermona (16-7, 9) in what looked like an interesting bout. Ito, who beat Masao Nakamura last time out, was expected to to do what he usually does and box and move though began the bout by holding his ground and landing some very clean and damaging shots. Those managed to quickly cut Sermona and inside a round the referee was forced to stop the bout due to the cut. This was the quickest of Sermona's stoppage defeats and notably Ito's 4th stoppage win in 5 fights suggesting he is growing in belief of his own stopping power even if he didn't stand and trade with Nakamura.

Another very interesting bout at the top of this card saw Ryoichi Tamura (3-1-1, 1) score an 8th round TKO over Kenji Kubo (5-3-1, 2) in a bout that was everything a boxing fan could hope to see. Both men gave their all before a tired looking Kubo was dropped late in the bout. It was one of the bouts that again suggested we down-rate fighters for their records and Tamura showed the ability to go a long way, don't be fooled by his record.

A third man who we were excited to see in action was Yusaku Kuga (10-1-1, 6) who struggled to a technical decision win over tough southpaw Kenta Takahashi (10-9-3, 3). The bout was stopped in the 5th round with Kuga taking the unanimous technical decision though it does appear that he will need a few more bouts before moving to title level.

A fourth 8 rounder on this card saw former OPBF title challenger Valentine Hosokawa (18-4-3, 9) scored a 5th round TKO against the light hitting and relatively soft Takeshi Goda (7-3-1, 2) who suffered his third stoppage loss. This was Hosokawa's second win following his loss to Min Wook Kim in an OPBF title fight in  South Korea last year.

Further down the card fans saw the talented Daishi Nagata (1-0-1) score his first career win as he took a 6 round split decision over the more experienced Jeffrey Arienza (12-3-1, 7). Although Nagata went into this bout having only drawn on his debut he was matched hard and it seems clear that he's not going to be given many easy bouts in his career. Another 6 rounder saw Kyosuke Sawada (2-2, 1) take a clear decision over Yamato Nakagawa (4-5, 2).

At the start of this card fans saw Ryo Ueda (3-0, 2) take a clear decision over Regent Kusumoto (2-1) whilst the debuting Toru Wakamatsu (1-0, 1) managed to defeat Yutaka Kato (0-1) with a 4th round stoppage in an all debutant affair.

Dumaguete City Hall Quadrangle , Dumaguete City, Philippines
As well as the show in Japan we also had a card in the Philippines headlined by the unbeaten Mark Bernaldez (15-0, 10). We'll admit we are high on Bernaldez but he was less than impressive here as he struggled to a majority decision win over Cristian Abila (12-15-3, 4)

Another unbeaten fighter at the top of the card was Brian Lobetania (9-0-3, 7) who managed to live up to expectations as he stopped Renante Suacasa (6-13, 1) in the fourth round to extend his winning run. On paper the win was expected by Lobetania though no one would have expected him to stop Suacasa who had been just once in his 8 bouts.

In the sole 8 rounder Jonas Sultan (6-2, 4) scored a 7th round stoppage against Andrew Palas (3-3, 1) in the 7th round of the bout.

Another stoppage win came for Crispin Parba (8-7, 5) who took out the very experienced Elmer Colve (6-31-3, 2) in the fourth round of a 6 round whilst it took Jess Rhey Waminal (5-0, 3) a round less to stop Alvin Sibugan (1-2-1). The only 6 rounder that actually went the distance was that of the debuting Jesson Horteza (1-0) who out pointed James Paul Talaman (2-1, 1).

In 4 rounders fans saw Michael Estrella (1-0) out point Noel Rosa (0-4) and Junder Gregorio (1-0) defeat Jamjam Ungon (1-7) in two wins for debutants.

Thailand
Unfortunately we've not got all the Thai results yet though the one we do have is that of PABA Welterweight champion Teerachai Kratingdaenggym (28-0, 22) who stopped Abraham Peralta (14-3, 12) in the 8th round of their bout. Teerachai has continued to show improvements though we are worried that he'll never become the fighter that his team had hoped and bouts like this aren't likely to really help him develop in the way he could.

(Image, of Ito landing a clean jab on Sermona, courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

This past Friday was an amazing day of boxing in Asia with a number of major cards through Asia and a lot of very notable bouts.

Tokyo, Japan
Although there was 3 notable cards today there was only 1 standout card, the Ohashi promoted "The Fight" card in Tokyo. The card not only had the best fights on it but also the best prospects.

The show, which had several televised bouts, began off TV with a number of bouts of varying levels. 

The least significant bout on the show saw Kazuki Sanpei (3-2, 1) score his first stoppage with a 2nd round TKO over fellow unknown novice Genji Ishida (1-4). The bout really was a preliminary bout but it was the only contest on the card that didn't excite us in one way or another.

The first of the 5 significant bouts on the show saw Takuma Inoue (3-0, 1) score his first stoppage as he beat Thai debutant Chanachai Sor Siamchai (0-1) in 2 rounds. The contest was by far the easiest of Takuma's young career though it was still an impressive performance by the 18 year old who is tipped to go a very long way in the sport. It's a shame this bout was such a huge step backwards from his last fight, an 8 round decision win over Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr, though it seems likely that Inoue will take a big step up in his next bout with a possible title fight looming.

Following Takuma Inoue's win fans then saw the highly touted Ryo Matsumoto (12-0, 10) blow away Thai veteran Denkaosan Kaovichit (63-5-1, 26). Kaovichit, a former Flyweight world champion and an interim world champion at Super Flyweight, was supposed to be a good test for Matsumoto though the touted Japanese fighter dropped the Thai in the opening round and then crumpled him in round 2 with a devastating body shot. After the fight it was strongly hinted that Matsumoto would be challenging for the Japanese Super Flyweight title currently held be fellow unbeaten prospect Sho Ishida.

The first televised bout, at least in Japan, was a Middleweight contest between Olympic champion Ryota Murata (5-0, 4) and Mexico's Adrian Luna Flores (17-3-1, 11). The bout saw Murata score a clear 10 round decision over his Mexican foe though look less than impressive with serious questions be asked about his stamina late in the contest. The Mexican looked ready to go in round 10 though Murata was out of gas and had to coast the final round. The official cards were all in favour of Murata, 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92 though it's clear that he has a lot more work to do before stepping up to world level. After just 5 fights however no one will begrudge Murata more developmental fights.

Murata's bout was followed, at the venue and on Japanese TV, by the first of two world title fights. This contest saw Japanese star Naoya Inoue (7-0, 6) in action defending his WBC Light Flyweight title against Thailand's limited but tough Samartlek Kokietgym (17-5, 5). Inoue was in control through out the bout though he looked more flawed than he had in his previous 6 bouts. Fighting with the intention of putting on a show Inoue neglected his defensive duties more often than not as he loaded up with big shots, devastating combinations and some very eye catching offence. At the end of the day however it was a clear case of Inoue trying to entertain the fans and post-fight he admitted that it was a "garbage fight", an honest admission from a young fighter who is chasing genuine greatness. Whilst it was a poor bout it was Inoue's final one at 108lbs and he's now going to be moving to Flyweight where bouts against Juan Francisco Estrada and Amnat Ruenroeng were both mooted.

Another man who Inoue could fight is Roman Gonzalez (40-0, 34) who over-came Inoue's friend and stablemate Akira Yaegashi (20-4, 10) to claim the WBC Flyweight title in one of the best bouts of the year. The fight started slowly though quickly heated up with both Yaegashi and Gonzalez trading combinations through out the fight. Unfortunately for Yaegashi his warrior's mentality let him down in the end and he was eventually stopped after being dropped for the second time in the bout. Prior to the stoppage he had began to look exhausted and it was clear that he wasn't going to last the course against arguably the #1 offensive fighter in the sport. Unlike many fighters these two showed respect to each other before and after the bout knowing that the fight sold it's self on paper and didn't need hyping. In the ring both were warriors and both gave their all, though for Yaegashi he was simply up against a better warrior with bigger weapons.

Nonthaburi, Thailand
In Thailand fans got the chance to see a low profile show headlined by the very promising Teerachai Kratingdaenggym (27-0, 21) who retained his PABA Welterweight "super" title once again. Teerachai became the first fighter to stop Filipino Nelson Gulpe (8-3, 3) who has now lost 3 successive bouts though never has been bossed around as he was here. Sadly it's a shame that Teerachai still isn't stepping up when he has the potential to be so much more than he is showing. We understand there is a lack of Welterweights in the Orient though he needs to find someone better than Gulpe to fight next time out.

Another prospect ready to step up is Eaktawan Mor Krungthepthonburi (5-0, 4) who continued his winning run with an easy stoppage over Indonesian visitor Gaspar Ampolo (2-25-2, 1). Eaktawan didn't look great but didn't really struggle struggle. Like Naoya Inoue however it seemed that Eaktawan ignored his defensive responsiblities in the aim of entertaining fans.

A third bout on this show saw Inthanon Sithchamuang (23-7, 13) defeat the always game Indonesian journeyman Heri Amol (34-19-4, 14). Unfortunately for Amol this was his 5th straight loss and comes just a month after he was defeated by Japanese debutant Ken Shiro. 

Dubai
In Dubai fans saw the international debut of ALA who took their "Pinoy Pride" shows on the road for the first time and saw their trio of fighters all come back with victories.

The first of those Filipino's to notch up a victory was the popular Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista (36-3, 25) who took a 7th round technical decision over Juan Jose Martinez (19-2, 15). The fight was entertaining with both men loking for the knockout and although Bautista did score a knockdown in round 5 he was badly cut from a punch. The fight however came when the cut was worsened by a headclash that left the doctor with no decision but to take the fighters to the cards early where Bautista took a majority decision for the win.

One of the two co-features saw the unbeaten Arthur Villanueva (26-0, 14) claim the IBF International Super Flyweight title with a very narrow split decision win over the heavy handed Henry Maldonado (19-4, 14). The bout, refereed by British veteran Mickey Vann, saw an amazing second round which featured a knockdown against Villanueva though again saw many questioning Villanueava's world class potential. On the back of this fight and Villanueva's narrow win over Fernando Aguilar we're starting to think that he's either not as good as advertised or really struggling at Super Flyweight. Whatever it is, something is going to stop "King Arthur" from reaching the heady heights expected of him.

In the other co-feature we saw the ultra-talented Genesis Servania (25-0, 11) successfully retain WBO Inter-Continental Bantamweight title with a retirement victory over Jose Cabrera (22-5-2, 10). Cabrera had been dominated through out the early portion of the fight and had been dropped in round 2 and battered in rounds 3 and 4 though the bout swung in round 5 and Servania became hesitant after feeling the power of his Mexican foe. From round 8 the bout swung back in favour of the Filipino and Cabrera was eventually pulled between rounds 9 and 10 to give a relatively disappointing ending to the contest.

Prior to the bouts with the Filipino star trio there was a trio of under-card bouts. One of these saw another Filipino, Larry Abarra (3-2-1, 2), take a decision victory over Thailand's limited Chatpayak Sithkopon Nuengkawkawhok (2-8, 1). Another of the undercard bouts saw Dubai based Ugandan Deo Kizito (1-0) take a very narrow decision win over the previously unbeaten Anusher Abdullaev (4-1, 4). The remaining bout was a 1-sided beat down as Mohammad Akram (2-0-1, 1) dominated Thailand's Kong Windy Sports (1-6) to record a 2nd round victory.

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Another title fight took place in Burkina Faso as Filipino Silvester Lopez (22-8-2, 16) attempted to claim the WBC International Super Bantamweight title. Sadly for Lopez he suffered a wide loss to Alexis Boureima Kabore (23-1, 6). Lopez, now fighting way above the division that he first made his name, really is too small for Super Bantamweight and should be looking to move back down to Bantamweight, at the highest. Of course however he'll fight where opportunities arise.

Lombardia, Italy
In Italy fans saw the return to the ring of Japanese born European based Aniya Seki (25-3-2, 2) who took a decision over journey-woman Claudia Ferenci (8-36-5, 3). This was Seki's first bout following her stoppage loss to Judith Rodriguez a few months back and although Seki won here few will feel she will be a world champion before she calls it quits on a long career.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

The month of July has certainly started slowly though on Friday we did see some notable names in action, sadly however none of them were in genuinely interesting match ups.

Phichit province, Thailand
The most notable action of the day was in Thailand where the world ranked, and very promising, Teerachai Kratingdaenggym (26-0, 20) successfully defended his PABA Welterweight title. Teerachai, ranked #5 by the WBA, had no problems despatching of over-matched Kazakh Kanat Kartenbayev (10-8-2, 4) who has now lost 5 successive bouts. Whilst we'd love to see Teerachai in a meaningful bout we really can't see him facing anyone of note until the WBA force someone to fight him in an eliminator type of fight.

Whilst the Teerachai contest was most important bout on the show it was one of 5 bouts on the show which also included a contest for former world champion Denkaosan Kaovichit (63-4-1, 26) who over-came the very limited Indonesian visitor Gaspar Ampolo (2-23-2, 1). Ampolo managed to show his toughness by lasting 6 rounds with Denkaosan, but his record does some up his ability level and he was never likely to give Denkaosan any real issues.

Also on the card was the unbeaten Stamp Kiatniwat (8-0, 4). Stamp, one of the most promising young Thai's out there, stopped the atrocious Johan Wahyudi (9-29, 5) who has now been stopped 15 times in 38 bouts.

In another bout Inthanon Sithchamuang (22-7, 13), best known for losing to Jerwin Ancajas in Macau, stopped Saengchai Sithprayoon (0-1) and Amin sor Wangmoo (7-1-1, 5) stopped Fahsang Singmanasak (0-1).

Queensland, Australia
In Australia we saw a trio of Asian's in action, including two who faced each other.

The all Asian bout saw Australia based Filipino Jack Asis (31-18-5, 16) score a surprisingly quick victory by blasting out Indonesia's Rivo Rengkung (32-20-5, 12) inside a round. We had expected this to actually be a very competitive bout though with Rengkung being blasted out this quickly we do wonder about his future.

The other Asian in action was Eddy Comaro (27-21-5, 11) who was stopped in 4 by Australian based Brit Darren Askew (11-6-1, 3). This was the 6th straight loss for Comaro who needs to seriously think about his future in the sport.

(Image, of Teerachai, courtesy of boxrec.com)

This past Friday was a busy one for boxing fans in Asia with notable fights in both the Philippines and Thailand.

Bueng Kan, Thailand
The most notable bout of the day was in Bueng Kan in Thailand as the world ranked and very highly regarded Teerachai Kratingdaenggym (25-0, 19) successfully defended his PABA Welterweight title, super version. 

Teerachai, ranked #7 by the WBA, continued his rise by stopping former foe Behzod Nabiev (22-8-1, 16) in round 7. 

This was the second meeting between the two after Teerachai was forced to take a decision over Nabiev last year. The first bout saw the Thai being knocked down and forced to struggle to a decision this time though an improved Teerachai did what was expected and became just the second man to stop the Uzbek fighter.

Bangkok, Thailand
As well as the Thai card with Teerachai on their was a second Thai card, this time in Bangkok. This card was a much deeper show with 4 bouts on it as opposed to just one though for us none were as notable as Teerachai/Nabiev II.

The shows opening bout on the broadcast saw the very highly ranked Tabtimdaeng Na Rachawat (52-2, 34), the WBA #3 Bantamweight, take an 8 round decision over the game but completely out classed Shark Mac (0-2). Mac, who was on the receiving end of a controlled beating, hardly landed a punch of note during the 8 round contest though he will likely be welcome to return to Thailand for more fights like this given his proven toughness.

The main event on this show saw the unbeaten Thong Sithluangphophun (8-0, 5) defend his PABA interim Featherweight title for the first time. Thong, who won the belt back in January, made very light work of the over matched Tony Arema (3-5). Arema was down twice in round 2 before being down again in round 3 as the towel came in.

From what we saw of Thong here he looks very promising and at 21 years old he has a lot of time to develop into an excellent fighter. Technically he has a fantastic jab that he likes to throw and although he needs to step up he does look a little bit special.

The third fight on the show saw baby faced southpaw Hanuman Sithluangporphun (2-0) take a decision over the more experienced Thaminkhao Sor Tharnthip (3-9-1, 2) before Yodsingdaeng Jor Chaijinda (4-0, 2) stopped the debuting Kaewkangwan Sithporkae (0-1) in 4 rounds.

Metro Manila, Philippines
In Metro Manila MAG Pacman put on a very interesting 8 bout card at the San Juan Arena.

The main event here featured 2-time world title challenger Michael Farenas (38-4-4, 30) who scored a controversial cut stoppage over Mexican veteran Hector Velazquez (56-21-3, 38). Velazquez, who suffered a genuinely nasty cut, was ruled to have been damaged by a punch though replays seem to show it was a clash of heads that forced the early conclusion to the bout and the bout should have been a 2nd technical draw.

In the chief support bout fans got to see the promising Giovanni Escaner (11-2, 7) score a 7th round KO over the usually tough Jaymart Toyco (14-5, 10) who suffered just his second stoppage defeat.

The show's only 8 round contest saw the unbeaten John Vincent Moralde (8-0, 4) struggle past his toughest test so far. The touted Moralde was genuinely given a great work out by Roman Canto  (8-4-2, 3), who some felt may have deserved more respect on two of the score cards.

Whilst Moralde struggled fellow unbeaten Dave Penalosa (8-0, 5) did as he was expected to and clearly beat the game but out classed Alem Robles (6-5-2, 2). A third unbeaten prospect, Jake Bornea (6-0, 3) was given an unexpectedly tough contest from Felipe Cagubcob Jr (1-2-4) who showed why he gets so many draws with his ability to keep things close and competitive. 

The only other 6 rounder on the show saw Jestoni Autida (4-1, 1) out point Eric Pansa (3-2-1) in what looked like a very competitive bout on paper though proved to be very one sided in the actual ring.

In the 4 rounders Mark Macabales (1-2) defeated the debuting Jocel Calantos (0-1) whilst fellow debutant Jiffy Castaneda (1-0) out pointed the win less Felipe Suyom (0-3).

(Photo courtesy of Boxrec.com)

Although boxing has been somewhat limited this week, we've been looking forward to this weekend which has numerous bouts of interest spread around the world.

Bangkok, Thailand
For us the action, as it often does on a Friday, kicked off in Thailand with Channel 7 doing their usual job of televising a live Thai card. After last weeks issues with Thai Channel 7, cutting out in the middle of a title fight, we were all hoping that we'd get completed fights this week. Thankfully we did, albeit a short lived titled fight on as the talented Teerachai Kratingdaenggym (24-0, 18) swiftly took care of his Mexican Fernando Castaneda (21-8, 14). We had expected Teerachai to be forced to work hard to defend his PABA Welterweight title, but the Thai was simply too strong and too powerful. He used his thunderous power, and great 1-2, to finish off Castaneda inside a round as he further strengthened his claim for a world title fight.

As well as the title bout we had a number of other televised contests.

The broadcast began with an undercard bout fought in the Light Flyweight division. We believe the bout saw Kwanthai Sithmorseng (44-2-1, 23) scoring a 4th round TKO over the very over-matched Safwan Lombok (1-22-1) who had been down in the opening round and was unable to cope with the educated pressure of the Thai fighter.

After a break in the televised card to show, what we believe was news, the action continued and saw another mismatch as a Chatpetch Sithmorseng (6-3, 2) dropped Alwi Alhabsyi (13-21-3, 3) numerous times en route to a 5th round stoppage. Although the bout was a mismatch the finish was world class with a perfectly timed uppercut connecting on the face of the hapless opponent who was unfortunate to run into a man several levels above himself.

A fourth bout was also televised, at we believe a contracted 114lbs. This bout saw an over-confident Inthanon Sithchamuang (20-6, 11) defeating the very poor Thaminkhao Sor Tharnthip (3-8-1, 2). Fortunately for the Thai he was allowed to be overly-confident and was let off with numerous mistakes as his opponent was sadly under-qualified to test him and was stopped in the 3rd round. Oddly we believe that there was some form of a PABA opportunity up for grabs in this bout despite it being fought at the unusual 114lb weight limit.

The televised show finished with a fifth bout, this time fought at 108lbs with again some sort of PABA affiliation to the contest. The bout was one of the most competitive on the card, for what that's worth, though as with the previous 4 contests the winner was clear from the first round as the men were at completely different levels. The unbeaten Stamp Kiatniwat (6-0, 3) who took a 4th round TKO, was in control through out though it was nice to see a spirited effort from the Dawut Manoproonroj (0-1), who was apparently making his debut,

Tokyo, Japan
In the Korakuen Hall, holy ground of Japanese boxing, we had a Japanese national title fight, the first of the new year, as the vacant Japanese Minmumweight title was up for grabs. The title, vacated by Ryuji Hara, was expected to be very hard fought for. Instead however the bout saw Go Odaira (9-3-3, 1) completely dominate the hard hitting Masashi Tada (11-4-1, 7) in what turned out to be a genuinely 1-sided contest.

We had expected Tada to win though to see Odaira dominate him with scores of 99-92, 98-92, 98-92 really was impressive and although Odaira's record isn't great we'd not be shocked to see him holding on to this title for a while. Interestingly this was Odaira's 8th straight bout with out a loss with the most recent defeat on his record coming to Hara back in 2010. Notably this bout was an historic one, it was the first ever Japanese title fight fought with open scoring and we'd imagine we're going to see this become a regular thing with Japan being one of the early adopters of the system when the WBC first brought it in.

Although the main event of this show, "Dangan 92", was the Japanese title fight the show it's self featured a total of 7 bouts.

The card started with a series of 4 rounders. These saw 3 very well matched contests with Shunsuke Fukushima (2-1-2) narrowly overcoming the previously unbeaten Muneyoshi Kubo (1-1) by majority decision, a 4 round majority decision was also rendered in a bout between Makoto Kawasaki (4-1-1, 1) and Ken Otokawa (5-4, 3) whilst the other 4 rounder saw a split decision going to Joe Nakanishi (1-0) over fellow debutant Desierto Nagaike (0-1).

As well as the 4 rounders there were also a trio of 8 rounders. These saw Flyweight Yota Hori (10-2-2, 6) taking a hard fought decision over Musashi Suzuki (10-2, 4) in one of the A-Class tournament finals. Another of the A-Class tournament final came at Super Flyweight where Hayato Kimura (21-5, 15) took a decision over Kohei Kubo (16-5-1, 11), this was a bout we didn't imagine would go the schedule so credit to both men for taking the power of the other man in what looked like a potential thriller. The remaining bout, also one of the A-Class tournament finals, saw Kazuya Nakano (7-2, 6) taking his first decision victory, narrowly over-coming Takaomi Abe (15-3-2, 1).