Khiri Khan, Thailand
The most notable Thai card of the day came courtesy of Thai Channel 3 and featured 3 relatively well known names.

The most well known man on the card was former world title challenger Terdsak Kokietgym (58-5-1, 38) who scored a 3rd round KO victory against Indonesian journeyman Eddy Comaro (32-25-5, 13), who has now been stopped 11 times!

Another notable name on the under-card was former WBA Super Flyweight champion Tepparith Kokietgym (31-3, 19) who took a straight forward decision win against Boido Simanjuntak (18-30-1, 7). Tepparith has now racked up 5 wins this year and it seems about time to let him in against more testing opposition.

In the main event fans saw world ranked Super Flyweight Petchbarngborn Kokietgym (34-7-1, 15) take a clear win over Espinos Sabu (12-7-2, 5) to retain the PABA Super Flyweight title.

Nakhon Sawan, Thailand
In the only boxing bout of a Muay Thai card fans saw world ranked youngster Petch Sor Chitpattana (33-0, 21) take a clear decision win against Eric Panza (8-5-1, 2). This bout may have seen Petch run up a 33rd straight win but it's clear he's not ready for a world title fight and will need to significantly increase his level of competition to even come close being ready.

Tokyo, Japan
We also had the second set of semi-final bouts for the Rookie of the East tournament as the Korakuen Hall played host to a thrilling second day of Rookie action.

In the Minimumweight bout Hizuki Saso (6-1, 2) scored a 2nd round TKO win against Yuki Ikeya (3-2, 1), who has now been stopped twice with his other loss being a stoppage defeat on his debut.

At Light Flyweight Hiroki Hosoya (3-1) took a well earned decision win against Akihiro Yamanaka (5-4, 2), and ended a 4 fight winning run from Yamanaka.

Unbeaten Flyweight hopeful Masahiro Kaneda (6-0, 1) continued his perfect start as he out pointed 21 year old fighter Yuma Kudo (4-2-1).

In the Super Flyweight division fans saw Teiken's heavy handed Ryo Matsubara (4-1, 4) show off his power as he stopped Ryoji Fukunaga (4-2, 4) in a bout between punchers. This was stopped after 126 seconds with Matsubara seemingly the harder of the two big punchers.

At Bantamweight it was 21 year old Wataru Takeda (6-0-1, 2) scoring the win as he stopped Yuito Yamaguchi (4-5-1, 1) in the 2nd round of their bout.

The most competitive bout on the card came as Super Bantamweight where Renji Ichimura (4-2, 3) claimed a majority decision over Ryusei Ishii (5-2, 3) in a bout that really was razor thin.

Another Teiken fighter picking up the win was unbeaten Featherweight Teppei Kayanuma (6-0, 4) who scored a 2nd round TKO win against 19 year old Ryota Ishida (5-1, 3), in what looked to be the best match up on paper.

At Super Featherweight the unbeaten Fumiaki Kishi (5-0-1, 3) scored a 2nd round KO against Sho Nagata (5-2, 2) with a 1-punch finish.

In the Lightweight division fans got really competitive action with Mao Kawanishi (4-1, 1) claiming a majority decision over Yutaka Uemura (5-3-1, 2).

The Light Welterweight bout saw power again come to the fore for Shinjiro Kawada (4-1-1, 4) who scored a 2nd round TKO win against Masaya Sakamoto (3-1, 2).

At Welterweight Masaharu Kaito (4-0, 1) proved he could punch as he blew away Toshinobu Mimura (4-1-1, 3) in spectacular fashion inside a round.

In the Middleweight bout Riku Nagahama (1-0-1) claimed his first win with a narrow decision victory over Reo Watanabe (2-1-1, 1).

Thailand
This Friday saw only a single Asian card with action from Thailand feature two former world title challengers.

The main event of the show saw one of two notable names in action as the world class Terdsak Kokietgym (58-5-1, 38) made very light work of Roldan Aldea (9-2-1, 3). The bout, which was for the WBO interim Oriental Super Featherweight title, really looked like a mismatch from the moment it was announced, and that showed when the men were in the ring together.

The other notable name in action was the very experienced Pigmy Kokietgym (57-7-2, 23) who made very light work of Rofiq Aditya (2-2-1, 2). Aditya, from Indonesia, seemed to go down very easily though it was clear from very early on that he was never going to pose any threat to Pigmy.

A low level bout here saw Kalae McShane (3-0, 1) continue his perfect record as he he took a decision win over the very poor Singsomdech Kwanjaisrikot (1-3).

This past Friday was a long day for boxing fans but was a worthwhile day with a lot of great action

South Korea
The action for the day kicked off in Korea where fans had an entertaining show on MBC Sports +. The card, which was sanctioned by the KBF, featured a couple of domestic title bouts among with a number of under-card bouts.

In the main event fans saw an all-out war with Sa Myung Noh (7-2, 1) defeating Bong-Joon Suk (8-3-1, 2) to claim the Korean Featherweight title. The bout was all action with both men landing bombs through out the fight, though at the final there was no doubting who had deserved the decision. Korean judges however do make things interesting with their willingness to give 10-10 rounds and as a result one judge had this bout 97-95, though others had it wider with scores of 97-94 and 98-93, all for Noh.

The other title bout saw Woo Shin Kim (6-1-2, 2) over-come veteran Sung Tae Kim (5-11-1, 2) with a 10 round decision to claim the KBF Light Welterweight title. As with the other bout there was a 10-10 round or two thrown in their by the judges but again the right man won the bout.

Suwannakhet, Laos
As well as the early action in South Korea we also had early action in Lao with the show being televised in Thailand.

In the main event we saw a real mismatch as the unbeaten Norasing Kokietgym (15-0-1, 11) made light work of Indonesian fighter Juventus Baga (2-2, 2). Norasing, defending his WBC ABC silver Super Flyweight title stopped Baga in the 3rd round.

In one of the more notable supporting bouts fans saw former world title challenger Terdsak Kokietgym (56-5-1, 36) score a 2nd round KO against the horribly over-matched Eddy Neri (0-1), who was stopped in eye catching fashion from a lovely uppercut.

One of the unbeaten prospects on this card was Manachai Banchamek (3-0-1, 2) who fought to 6 round draw with Boonpon Rachawongsi (0-0-1). The bout was really competitive and neither man should feel ashamed for the way they fought in what was one of the most entertaining fights we've seen in Laos.

In a female fighter fans saw Petcharas Mor Krungthepthonburi (3-0) claim a 6 round decision against Meowadee Hongfah (0-1). Petcharas seemed to be in control of the bout through out and although no one would rave about her performance it was rather complete for such a novice.

Queensland, Australia
In Australia we saw a major upset as Thailand's Paitoon Jaikom (3-12, 2) blew away Darren Askew (14-7-1, 4) inside a round. Askew, an Australian based Brit, had won his previous 8 bouts, including a decision over Paitoon last November. Notably this was the Thai's second successive win following 12 straight losses.

New York, USA
In New York we saw the pro debut of Japanese-American Misato Kamegawa (0-0-1) who fought to a draw against fellow debutant Elisa Collaro (0-0-1).

(Image courtesy of koreaboxing.or.kr)

This Saturday was certainly a busy day in Asian boxing with several notable cards taking place. For now we know we're missing some results though hope to have them added short. For now however we've got all the results we've managed to collect.

Cebu City, Philippines
The biggest card of the day, by some margin in regards to the Asian fight scene, was in the Philippines where ALA Promotions put on the 28th “Pinoy Pride” show. The show was full of names really was a great card for those lucky enough to catch it with an unexpected FOTY contender, the continued development of one of the best prospects in world boxing and a world title fight being 3 of the many notable stories on the card.

The first of the notable fights featured one of the more under-rated prospects in Asian boxing, Mark Magsayo (9-0, 7). Magsayo caught our attention last year on a “Pinoy Pride” card and impressed again today as he easily beat Korean youngster Moon-Sun Jung (2-4-3) in the second round of their clash. On paper, and in the ring, this was a mismatch however Jung had gone 10 rounds in a Korean national title fight just 2 months ago so the fact Magsayo stopped him so quickly was very impressive. We'll not pretend Magsayo is going to be fast tracked to a world title but we'd advise fans to keep an eye out for this talented youngster dubbed “Magnifico”.

Magsayo was far from the only Filipino to impress on this card and another man who impressed was the unknown Jomar Fajardo (14-5-2, 7) who really caught the attention of the fans and media in attendance as he put on a stirring performance to hold Francisco Rodriguez Jr (16-2-1, 11) to a split decision draw. Fajardo entered the bout as a massive under-dog whilst Rodriguez Jr was a unified world champion at Minimumweight and a man with an eye on fighting Donnie Nietes. Fajardo left the bout as man many now want to see against whilst Rodriguez Jr is man who has lost some lustre despite unifying the WBO and IBF Minimuweight titles this year.

Another fighter who thoroughly impressed was the unbeaten "Prince" Albert Pagara (22-0, 15) who defended his IBF Inter-Continental Super Bantamweight title with a punch perfect performance against the teak tough Mexican Raul Hirales (22-4-1, 11). Hirales's only contribution to this fight was his heart and toughness and for 12 rounds he was the recipient of head and clean shots by Pagara who seemed to be ready for much, much tougher assignments, in fact a world title bout in 2015 isn't out of the question for this wonderfully gifted young fighter who has superstar written all over him.

In the show's main event we again saw an impressive performance by the home fighter as WBO Light Flyweight world champion Donnie Nietes (34-1-4, 20) recorded the 5th defence of the title as he defeated Carlos Velarde (26-4-1, 14). Nietes started slowly and worked our what Velarde had to offer before moving through the gears in round 4 and 5 to eventually break down the Mexican challenger who retired on his stool at the end of round 7. We'll be honest the bout was disappointing given our expectations but there was no doubt about the better man despite the rather anti-climatic ending to the bout. Nietes now appears to have 2 clears options, he can either begin his pursuit of a title at Flyweight, as we suspect the original plan was, or he could fight Rodriguez Jr in 2015 to add another defence to his record. Either option would be interesting and we're looking forward to seeing what he does next.

Of course not all the Filipino fighters on the show were impressive and it's fair to say that the least impressive, at least in terms of result, was former WBO Minimumweight champion Merlito Sabillo (23-2-1, 12) who suffered his second stoppage defeat of the year. Sabillo was making his return to the ring following his first loss, a stoppage loss to the previously mentioned Rodriguez jr, and fought as if he had the need to make an impression on the fans. Sadly for Sabillo he was a bit too wild and was caught by a nasty counter by Indonesian visitor Faris Nenggo (8-7-3, 3) which left Sabillo with an ugly cut that eventually forced the end of the bout in round 4. It was a disappointing fight for the exciting Sabillo though it was a freak result in many ways and it's unlikely he'll ever suffer such a bad cut again.

Former world title contender AJ Banal (32-2-1, 22) recorded his 4th straight win as he over-came Thai visitor Maxsaisai Sithsaithong (15-6, 4) though left many wondering what was left for Banal. The talented and heavy handed fighter did what he needed to here to take a clear win but it's fair to say that many were hoping he's close the show against his Thai foe who came up short in an OPBF title fight earlier this year.

It's also fair to say that Milan Melindo (32-1, 12) failed to leave a great impression despite a clear win over Saul Juarez (22-4, 11) in an IBF Light Flyweight title eliminator. Melindo was the better fighter through out but failed to show the power he will need to win a world title at 108lbs. His skills are great, as shown again, but his lack of power really is going to be an issue every time he fights a top tier fighter.

Deagu, South Korea
As well as the action in the Philippines we also had titles on offer in South Korea where there were 2 national title fights on a small but yet interesting card as the Korean boxing scene continues to grow, despite what appears to be two clearly different factions action as a commission.

In a somewhat farcical Super Middleweight title bout fans saw Eun Chang Lee (8-4, 4) successfully defend his title with a 6th round TKO against the woefully undeserving Young Kyoon Lee (1-14-1). We're unsure how Lee qualified for a title fight given that he's not recorded a win in almost 6 years though thankfully his win-less streak continued here or it really would have been an embarrassment for the title to have been held by such an unqualified champion.

Thankfully the other title fight on this show was much more entertaining in the ring and interesting on paper as Ik Soo Han (7-3, 2) took on Jon Won Won (7-14-1, 3). The bout saw Han winning the previously vacant Korean Super Featherweight title with a 4th round knockout of Won though had to pull himself off the canvas earlier in the round in what made for an entertaining contest. Sadly for Won this was his 8th loss in a Korean title fight and comes some 30 months after being stopped in a Korean Lightweight title bout by IK Yang.

As well as the two title bouts we also had two female bouts. One of those was an 8 rounder that saw Hye Soo Park (4-7-1, 1) take a dominant decision over Thai visitor Dorkmaipah Kiatpompetch (0-4) in a contest that saw the Korean winning every round of the bout. The other female bout saw Hyun Sook Jun (3-1, 2) scoring a 4th round TKO over Pantip Sor Suwannaresort (0-3).

The rest of the undercard featured a featured a pair of 4 rounders. These saw Sung Hwan Kim (2-0-3) take a decision over the win-less Jin Soo Jung (0-5) in a bout scored 39-37 by all 3 judges whilst the debuting Jung Ho Jang (1-0, 1) took out Eun Jin Kim (0-1) in the 4th round of their bout.

Nakhon Nayok, Thailand
There were two shows in Thailand with one of them coming from Nakhon Nayok. This show was headlined by a WBC regional title fight that saw a controversial ending following a clear low blow by Petchchorhae Kokietgym (9-0, 6) in round 3 that sent Indonesia's Rizky Pratama (2-1) down in agony. The Indon fighter got to his feet but the bout was waved off to give the bout a genuine bizarre finish.

On the undercard we saw recent world title contender Terdsak Kokietgym (54-5-1, 34) score an easy win over the over-matched Hengka (0-1) who was taken out with a nasty body shot from the Thai veteran. Although the bout was a mismatch in favour of the talented Thai it did come just weeks after his hard, but very exciting, loss to Orlando Salido in Mexico.

A third bout on this card saw Petchnamchai KKP (2-0, 2) defeat the limited but brave Ricardo Sithsaithong (0-1) in 2 rounds. Sithsaithong tried to give it a go but was hurt and looked lost trying to defend himself until the referee mercifully stepped in.

Chonburi, Thailand
In Chonburi we had the other Thai show that was headlined by South Korean fighter Myung-goo Yuh (22-4-1, 17) who stopped Thailand's very own Mongkol Charoen (25-4, 8) in the 6th round of their scheduled 10 rounder. On the undercard Gurlal Redbluegym 1-0, 1) scored a 4th round win over Watchasin Mukarsa (0-1) whilst Kuldeep Redbluegym (1-0) stopped Rachatapon Tongplia (0-1), sadly we've not come across any footage of these bouts.

Gauteng, South Africa
In South Africa we sadly saw two Russian fighters suffer defeat, albeit in very different fashion.

In a very disappointing performance Denis Grachev (13-5-1, 8) suffered his 4th straight loss, and his 5th in 6 bouts, as he retired on his stool against the unbeaten Thomas Oosthuizen (23-0-2, 14). The bout, for the WBC International Light Heavyweight title, was poor from the beginning though Grachev never once found his form in the bout before running out of steam and being given a bit of a hiding. The retirement in his stool wasn't what was Grachev would have wanted but it does effectively end his hopes of ever landing a world title fight.

In a more controversial contest the previously unbeaten Roman Belaev (14-1, 10) suffered an 11th round technical decision loss to Ali Funeka (36-4-3, 29) in a bout for the IBO Welterweight title. The information on this one is scarce though two cards read 105-104 in favour of the home fighter whilst a third card read 109-100 and we suspect the bout was much closer than that final card.

Tokyo, Japan
Unfortunately we were very slow to get the Japanese results from the day however here they are, a couple of days late.

In the main event Keita Nakano (12-9-3, 3) managed to force a 6th round stoppage against the chinny Takaaki Ishikawa (10-6, 5) in what was scheduled to go 8. This was Ishikawa's 6th stoppage defeat and some need to wonder if he would be better off retiring now, especially given that he has been stopped in 3 of his last 4.

The chief support bout was a 6 rounder that saw Ryuto Araya (7-2-1, 1) scoring his first stoppage victory as he took out Tsubasa Mochizuki (6-5, 2) with less than 30 seconds remaining.

From the 7 bouts scheduled to go 4 rounds we saw another trio of stoppages. The fastest of those came in 98 seconds as debutant Jinya Miyagi (1-0, 1) blew away fellow novice Sho Sekine (0-1). It took Takahiko Suzuki (5-2, 4) most of round 3 to see off Yuji Awata (3-3, 2) whilst Shota Irie (1-1, 1) needed 30 seconds of the final round to defeat Shuhei Hamano (0-2).

In bouts that went the distance we saw 3 very competitive matches. The closest of those saw Toshizane Kinoda (4-1, 1) take a majority decision over Wataru Yokoyama (1-3, 1) in a very close bout. The action was similarly close in Huzuki Saso's (3-1) win over Yuki Uchida (2-2) and in Tasuku Nakagawa's (2-1) win over Yuta Onishi (2-3, 2). The only clear decision winner was Rei Ochiai (3-3-4) who clearly beat Mio Mizokami (4-8-2, 2)

This past Saturday was a ridiculously busy day with numerous great fights. With so much action it has taken us a while to get our results up, and even now we awaiting results from 2 other cards. Hopefully we'll be able to add those soon.

Osaka, Japan
The first Asian show of the day was in Osaka where we had a female world title double header. 

The most notable of those world title bouts saw WBO Atomweight champion Nao Ikeyama (15-3-1, 4) score the first defence of her title. The 45 year old defending champion managed to out work and out point the younger Masae Akitaya (9-5-2, 3) in what was a stirring effort from the champion and the sort of bout that shows that age isn't a defining factor in how good a fighter is. Ikeyama may have the face of a 45 year old battler but she has the energy reserves of someone half her age and she showed it in scintillating fashion here.

The other world title fight on this same show saw Japan's Kumiko Seeser Ikehara (6-1-1, 3) claim the WBO female Minimumweight title with a split decision win over Filipino foe Gretchen Abaniel (15-6, 6). Although the scorecards were all over Ikehara was the deserving winner and she seemed the stronger fighter through out. Sadly this title was vacant following Mako Yamada's retirement and in fairness to Yamada she would likely have beaten both Ikehara and Abaniel with out any issues, it's just a shame she retired following her excellent victory over Su Yun Hong.

A third notable female bout on this show ended with a little surprise as Tamao Ozawa (7-2, 2) claimed a split decision over Kai Johnson (5-6-3, 2). The records may not suggest this was a surprise but Johnson had come into this bout following stoppage wins over Tomomi Takano, in June, and Ozawa in March. For Ozawa this was revenge for one of her losses and by far her biggest win to date.

Down the card there was another female bout as Aiko Yamagishi (4-0-1, 2) stopped Chie Higano (3-1) in 2 rounds.

The other bout on the bottom of the card saw debutants taking wins as Yusuke Hiranuma (1-0) out pointed Hiroshi Takagi (2-4) over the 4 round distance Shoshi Nakamura (1-0, 1) stopped Terumi Aoi (0-2) part way through round 4.

Jakarta, Indonesia
In Indonesia there was 2 televised bouts, sadly both of them slipped under our radar. The under-card bout saw Marten Kisamlu (3-2, 1) score a 4th round TKO over the frankly hopeless Safwan Lombok (1-26-1). For Lombok this was his 24th successive bout with out a win and you need to go all the way back to 2008 to find his sole win, a split decision over Ichal Tobida.

The main event on this card saw Erick Deztroyer (5-2) claim the interim Indonesian Boxing Association Super Bantamweight title after he won a very close 12 round split decision win against Gusti Elnino (1-5). From the score-cards it appears to have been one of those that could have gone either way though the only thing for sure is that neither of these guys is going to go far, at best they will be used as journeymen in Thailand, the Philippines and Japan.

Arizona, USA
In the US fans were treat to a fantastic performance of counter-puncher from talented Russian prospect Konstantin Ponomarev (25-0, 12) who looked very promising as he out pointed Mexican veteran Cosme Rivera (37-19-3-1, 25). At just 21 years old it does look like Ponomarev may not have natural power needed to progress to the top, though he is still not a fully matured fighter and hopefully that power will come as he becomes a man. With speed, an exciting style and a clear ability there is a lot of hope that Ponomarev will go all the way and we have our fingers tightly crossed that he will manage to become the star that his team expect him to be.

Baja California, Mexico
Last, but not least, was a thriller in Mexico as Terdsak Kokietgym (53-5-1, 33) went toe-to-toe and exchanged multiple knock downs with Mexico's very own Orlando Salido (42-12-2-1, 29). Unfortunately for Terdsak he was on the end of the biggest knockdown that came in round 11 and forced the referee to immediately stop the bout, it was the 7th knockdown of the bout and ended a see-saw battle in style. If you enjoy violence and thrilling action this one is for you, despite a very poor performance from referee Eddie Claudio who was easily the worst thing about the bout.

Cebu, Philippines
In the Philippines there were a number of bouts in Cebu. 

The highest profile fighter in action here was fringe Super Featherweight contender Adones Aguelo (22-10-2, 14) who made light work of the over-matched Bonnie Makiling (5-7, 4). Whilst we wouldn't describe Aguelo as a future world champion he has shown himself as a very competitive fighter with solid performances against some of the best in Mexico such as Sergio Thompson.

In one of the chief support bouts fans saw the unbeaten Ardie Boyose (12-0-1, 8) continue his winning ways with a decision over the incredibly tough Jaime Barcelona (38-56-1, 10). Although Boyose is a big puncher credit needs to go to Barcelona who has managed to go 95 bouts over 17 years with only 5 stoppage losses. Another 8 round decision saw the much touted Neil John Tabanao (9-0, 6) being taken the distance by Jo-as Apericio (11-13,8). For the 20 year old Tabanao this was his second successive decision win and will have helped him develop more than blow away victories.

One stoppage that came in the bouts scheduled for 8 rounds saw the criminally under-rated Gerpaul Valero (18-15-3, 12) stopping the so-so Arlon Batingal (7-9, 4) in 3 rounds. The 23 year old Valero has one of the ultimate "misleading records" and has turned his career around remarkably in the last 4 years, a real battler and credit to hard work, hopefully that hard work will, one day, pay off in a big pay day.

The only other result from this show that we know the result for saw Joey Canoy (7-0-1, 3) retaining his unbeaten record in a battle of unbeaten men as he over-came Ryan Bajala (3-1, 1) with a 6 round decision,.

Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
In Spain there was another Thai in action as the experienced Kiatchai Singwancha (35-12, 24) scored a 4th round KO against the fragile Ivan Martinez (29-5, 23).

(Image courtesy of Thairec.com)

Whilst the entire boxing world was getting excited about Saturday's big show from the US, including the return of the Pacman, there was actually some fighters take part in their job across Asia.

Nonthaburi, Thailand
Arguably the most significant fight of the day was in Thailand as the highly ranked Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo (50-1, 32) had to avoid a potential banana skin. With a WBO world title eliminator on the books Chonlatarn had to make sure he got the win and he did just that as he stopped Nouldy Manakane (25-15-1, 15) in 6 rounds. We now expect Chonlatarn to be meeting Joel Brunker next, possibly as soon as May for a fight to decide the mandatory challenger.

Chonlatarn wasn't the only ranked fighter in action as the unbeaten Kwanpichit OnesongchaiGym (26-0-2, 11) stopped Khunpol Chaiyonggym (0-1) and defended his own world rankings in the process. We're not sold on Kwanpichit being world class but he knows a slip up could cost him big time.

Other stoppages on the card included Yodkhunsuk Mor Poowana (3-1, 1) stopping the debuting Korporn Sithpornsak (0-1) in 3 rounds and female fighter Napaporn Superchamps (8-8, 2) stopping Ploynapa Sakrungrueng (10-5-1) in 4 rounds.

This Thai card also had one of the oddest bouts as Denis Castle (1-0, 1) scored a debut stoppage over Dorkmaipah Kiatpompetch (0-3). From what we understand Castle is a 42 year old British Minimumweight.

The only bout that actually went the distance in Thailand saw Thewa Tor Surat (5-0, 1) take a 6 round decision over Jen Yu Jia (1-8-1).

Southern Leyte, Philippines
The only Filipino card of the day was one that may not have has a lot of fights but it did have a couple of very interesting fighters on it.

The show began with 10 amateur bouts before we moved on to professional action.

At the lower end of the interest spectrum fans got to see Jess Rhey Waminal (2-0, 1) out point the win-less Dondon Amparado (0-4), Richard Barrios (7-0, 3) take a close decision over Lito Dante (7-4-3, 4), Whilst Brian Lobetania (8-0-2, 6) stopped Boyce Sultan (8-4, 5) and Elmo Traya (4-1, 3) stopped Rey dela Cruz (2-6, 2).

Although the under-card was relatively deep those in attendance were there for the Pagara brothers and neither of them failed to deliver.

The unbeaten Albert Pagara (20-0, 14) made late work of limited Indonesian Skak Max (6-14, 6), scoring a third round stoppage, whilst Jason Pagara (33-2, 20) broke up and then stopped Rusmin Kie Raha (12-5-2, 2) who was forced to take a 10 count.

Tokyo, Japan
One of the more interesting cards was in Japan where we had a 7 bout show at the Korakuen Hall.

The most interesting bout from Japan, in our opinion, saw a minor upset as Jo Tanooka (8-1-4) narrowly out pointed the previously Japanese ranked Ryuto Oho (6-1, 2). We had backed Oho to win this one though will admit that these two are both likely to be competing for Japanese titles some where down the line.

Although the Tanooka/Oho bout was the one that interested us the most the main event as actually a bout between Ryuji Yokoyama (11-1, 3) and Koya Sato (7-1-1, 1). This saw Sato suffering his first professional defeat via a razor thing 6 round technical decision that was effectively decided by a point on 2 of the scorecards. 

Most of the bouts in Tokyo were highly competitive and we actually got just a sole KO as Masajiro Honda (5-4, 4) took out Takashi Sakamoto (4-3, 1) in 2 rounds to inflict the first stoppage loss on to the record of Sakamoto. As well as the single stopped we also only had one clear decision as Yuto Sasamori (7-4, 3) almost shut out the limited Hideki Suzuki (4-4-1) over 6 rounds.

The close decision on the undercard saw Koji Okubo (2-1-1) take a majority decision over Kenji Motegi (2-3-1) and likewise Shuntaro Ouchi (1-0) also took a majority decision as he overcame Ryusuke Arai (0-1). The closest bout on the show however was a draw as Tomoki Takada (0-0-1) was held on debut by Tomotsune Mitsuyasu (1-1-1, 1).

Suwannakhet, Laos
There were also recognisable Thai's in action in Laos as former world title challenger Terdsak Kokietgym (53-4-1, 33) was in action for his second bout of the year. Terdsak recorded his third straight decision victory as he out pointed Filipino Rene Bestudio (16-7-4, 5) and claimed the previously vacant WBO Oriental Super Featherweight title in the process.

Although Terdsak has failed in previous world title bits he does seem to be wanting another and he'll be hoping that this WBO regional title will help him get a fight with current WBO champion Mikey Garcia.

On the same card in Laos was a victory for Petchbarngborn Kokietgym (25-7-1, 10) who out pointed the debuting Gasper Empolo (0-1). This was Petchbarngborn's third straight victory since being stopped by the fact rising Sho Ishida last September.

California, USA
Finally fans in the US got the chance to see the return to the ring of former Lightweight world title challenger Mercito Gesta (27-1-1, 15) who showed no mercy as he stopped Edgar Riovalle (37-18-2, 26) in the final round of a bout scheduled for 8. This was Gesta's first fight in over a year following his loss to Miguel Vazquez in an IBF title fight that unfortunately saw Gesta being over-awed by the big stage.

On the same show as Mercito was his younger brother Anecito Gesta (2-3) who was unfortunately on the wrong end of a close decision losing to the debuting Riccy Hood (1-0).

Nevada, USARussian Light Heavyweight prospect Egor Mekhontsev (3-0, 3) continued the very impressive start to his career as he stopped Dwayne Williams (5-2, 2) and it now seems like Mekhontsev is ready for a big step up. Unfortunately he's just too good for this level of fight to learn anything and he could well be sped up significantly in his development.

New South Wales, Australia
Filipino journeyman Michael Correa (3-12-3, 1) was surprisingly blown away inside a round as he took on unbeaten Australian Kye MacKenzie (8-0, 6). Correa is usually tough and went 8 rounds with MacKenzie last year so this blow away loss really was a surprise despite Correa's less than impressive record.

(Picture, of Chonlatarn, courtesy of Onesongchai)

Lad Sawai, Pathum Thani, Thailand
The weekend's action, as it often does, kicked off in Thailand earlier today with a small fight card televised courtesy of Thai channel 7. The show, although not the longest show, it did feature some genuinely interesting moments and a very disappointing moment as well.

The show began with a single under-card bout, a 6 rounder between the debuting Petchmanee Kokietgym (1-0) and Filipino Wilber Andogan (9-14-4, 3) . The fight, although having a clear winner in the Petchmanee, was entertaining with the Andogan coming to fight despite a relative lack of skill. Thankfully the desire and work rate of the Filipino, who started excellently, saw him surviving the 6 round distance despite looking very tired in the final round or two.

Following the under-card bout we moved on to the main event which saw former world title challenger Terdsak Kokietgym (52-4-1, 33) successfully defend the PABA interim Super Featherweight title with a clear, but tough decision over Filipino hardman Mark Sales (20-36-3, 6). Despite the fact Sales sports a journeyman's record he proved to be a difficult foe giving Terdsak real issue with his spoiling and sharp counters. The bout, whilst never in doubt, will have served Terdsak well with a solid work out and good chance to sharpen his tools against a genuinely tough foe.

Despite the fact the Terdsak/Sales bout was hard fought the most striking thing about it was Sales's resemblence to Filipino star Manny Pacquiao. Sure Sales didn't have the skills, speed or power of "The Pacman" but he had clearly styled his facial hair on the political puncher and one would be forgiven for suggesting that they looked like brothers.

We were supposed to get a second televised title fight on the broadcast, an PABA Minimumweight title bout, unfortunately the TV time ran out after just 3 rounds of what looked like a very entertaining contest. Through the 3 rounds we got to see it appeared Filipino fighter Jimmy Masangkay (who entered 4-2-1, 1) was getting the better of Thailand's very own Samartlek Chaiyonggym (who entered 14-4, 5) who was defending the title he won last March.

Unfortunately with the broadcast being cut after 3 rounds so we were originally unsure who won. It turns out that Samartlek took a clear decision though from we saw we'd be shocked if the bout was as clear cut as the scorecards indicate.

On the untelevised portion of the card we had a further 4 contests. These saw Petchjohee Kokietgym (1-0, 1) coming out on top of an all debutant clash with Santos Kwanjaisrikod (0-1), with Petchjohee taking a second round TKO, an opening round blow out for Rick Paciones (6-15-2, 3) over Saifah Sithpokrieng (0-2) and a pair of decisions.

The decisions saw former female world title challenger Amara Kokietgym (13-3-1, 5) come put on top against the debuting Nampetch Kwanjaisrikod (0-1) in a 6 rounder whilst Saenganan Sithsaithong (3-0, 2) claimed a 4 round decision over Wanhaeng Or Siththichai (0-1).

There was one other bout on the card, a rare stoppage victory for Rick Paciones (6-15-2, 3). Unfortunately we've no idea who he faced in his bout, though he did apparently take an opening round KO over his unknown opponent.
 
Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
As well as the show in Thailand there was also a card, of novices, in Japan. The show, the first Dangan show of the year, featured 11 bouts, all scheduled for 4 rounds, with none of the fighters on the show having more than 8 previous bouts.

Of the 11 bouts 2 of them took place at Light Flyweight. These saw Yoshiki Abe (3-1-1, 1) taking a unanimous decision over the limited, though more experienced, Naoki Akagi (2-4-2, 1) whilst Shoji Ebisawa (4-1, 1) narrowly claimed a split decision over Tatsuji Kakumoto (2-4, 1).

As well as the 2 Light Flyweight bouts there was also 2 bouts at Flyweight. These saw the 19 year old Naoki Mochizuki (2-0, 2) scoring a second round KO over Takamasa Kawahara (1-2) who suffered he second successive stoppage loss. The other Flyweight contest, an all unbeaten bout, saw both men keeping their "0" as Sonin Nihei (2-0-1) and Yuma Kudo (2-0-1) fought to a majority draw. This bout, one of 3 bouts to end in a draw was incredibly close and played out much like it looked on paper, with both men being very evenly matched.

We saw another draw in one of the 2 Super Flyweight contests as the win-less Daichi Yamamoto (0-2-1) and Hiroki Ishii (0-2-1) also fought to a majority draw. The other bout at 115lbs went as expected with the hard hitting Masayasu Nakamura (4-0, 4) stopping Kazuma Ishikura (2-2, 1), the unbeaten Nakamura took 2 rounds to finish off Ishikura who had never previously been stopped.

In the Bantamweight division the 17 year old Ryusei Ishii (2-0, 1) took his most notable victory to date as he out pointed the previously unbeaten Ippei Azuma (2-1-1, 1). The bout, a close fought decision, was a much better test for Ishii than his 98 second blow victory in his debut bout.

The show's remaining draw came at Featherweight where featherweight Yuta Itagaki (2-1-1, 1) fought to a split draw with the most experienced man on the card, Tsuyoshi Naito (3-3-3, 1).

The biggest upset on the card came in the Lightweight division where the previously unbeaten Shoma Koga (3-1, 3) was unexpectedly stopped, inside a round, by Masahiro Kobayashi (3-1-1, 2). Koga, who we had been tipping as the potential star to come out of this show, lasted just 103 seconds with Kobayashi who bounced back well from his loss last time out to Osu Inoue.

At Light Welterweight, where we had the two remaining bouts, fans saw the debuting Rice Hayashi (1-0, 1) stopping fellow debutant Kodai Suga (0-1) whilst unbeaten teenager Andy Hiraoka (2-0, 1) took a decision over Yoshikuni Hashiguchi (2-4, 1). Although just 17 years old we'd advise keeping a serious eye on Hiraoka who is a very rangy 17 year old with real potential as long as it's developed well.


Tacoma, Washington, USA
Over in the US we unfortunately saw Mongolian Bayan Jargal (17-5-3, 11) lose to American veteran Zahir Raheem (35-3-0-1, 21) in what was really a slow burner. The first 6 rounds were genuinely awful to watch with Raheem's speed and movement being too much for the slow starting Jargal who was unable to get any traction in the early rounds. Despite being the better fighter Raheem was unwilling to put his foot on the gas and instead we got a very dull start to the fight.  Thankfully by the end of round 7 however Raheem was beginning to look tired and Jargal did make a good late charge for the victory, though had simply left himself too much with not enough time to do it and it was clear that he'd lost by a round or two.

Despite Jargal's late charge there unfortunately 2 judges who appeared unwilling to give him any credit scoring the bout 99-91 in Raheem's favour. The right guy won though those cards did leave something of a foul taste in the mouth