Sonora, Mexico
The biggest bout of the day for us, and also the final bout of the day, came from Mexico where Filipino slugger Warlito Parrenas (24-6-1, 21) was incredibly unlucky not to claim the WBO “interim” Super Flyweight title. The heavy handed Filipino fighter fought to a split draw with Mexican fighter David Carmona (19-2-5, 8) who was very lucky that he was the home fighter, anywhere outside of Mexico he'd have lost a clear decision.

New South Wales, Australia
In New South Wales we had mixed fortunes for Asian fighters.

There was good for a couple of Filipino fights with Jonel Alibio (19-18-5, 11) scoring a show upset win over Nathan Wright (6-1, 3) to claim a regional IBO title in what was a genuine show. The other Filipino was regular upset king Joebert Delos Reyes (14-5-1, 11), who managed to take a split decision win over Darragh Foley (5-1, 3).

Thai's on this card however were much less fortunate with Pramool Boonpok (1-16-1) being beaten by the unbeaten Tony Senior (7-0, 5*) whilst Mongkolchai Lookmuangkanch (12-4, 7) was beaten by TJ Doheny (12-0, 7).

Tokyo, Japan
There wasn't much action actually in Asia with just a single Japanese card, and one that was rather disappointing in all honesty.

Originally the show was to be headlined by a Japanese Light Welterweight title fight though that fell through in late June when the unbeaten Hiroki Okada suffered an injury to his hand. As a result of Okada's injury the main event became a Japanese Welterweight showdown between the under-rated Daisuke Sakamoto (10-8-2, 5) and Ryoji Tanaka (8-4-1, 2). On paper it was easy to fancy Tanaka but the two men were levels apart at times with Sakamoto getting a very well deserved decision victory over his foe.

The only stoppage of the show came in what was the shows chief support bout and saw Super Bantamweight hopeful Yuta Nakagawa (15-4-1, 9) score a 5th round TKO against the usually durable Ryoji Okahata (9-11-5, 1). This was Okahata's 3rd stoppage loss and the 29 year old really should think about his future. As for Nakagawa his future appears to be heading towards a title fight in the near future.

One bout that went the distance, to some minor surprise, was a bout between Shuhei Tsuchiya (18-4, 15) and Kazuya Soma (7-8, 6). Tsuchiya, once viewed as one of the most promising punchers in Japan, did enough to claim a competitive 8 round decision here though, unfortunately, it does seem like this is going to be his level going forward then 28 year old won't go as far as he had hoped. For Soma this is a third straight loss and the 35 year old likely needs to consider walking away from the sport.

Another 8 rounder saw Yosuke Fujihara (15-4, 4) take a very clear decision over Yukinori Hisanaga (16-7-2, 9), in what look like a very competitive bout on paper. Fujihara used his reach to his advantage through out and always seemed a step ahead of his foe. Interestingly boxrec.com had these two men listed almost 600 places apart suggesting the result was a major upset, even though it didn't look a big upset on paper, though it was a mild surprise.

The remaining bouts on the card were both 4 rounders. These saw Yuki Nagano (4-2, 3) take his first decision win as he over-came Toshiro Tarumi (3-1-3, 2), in what a monster upset according to the boxrec.com rankings, whilst the other saw Hiroki Hosoya (2-1, 1) over-come Takuya Kihashi (2-3, 1)


(Image courtesy of Zanfer Promotciones)

This past Friday was a hectic day from start to finish for Asian fans who got fights from all over Asia as well as a number of fighters in action outside of Asia.

Beiing, China
The most notable action of the day came from the Chinese capital where fans got an “interim” world title bout as well as several lower level bouts. Whilst we won't pretend the show was the greatest it certainly featured some excitement and plenty of knockdowns.

We'll start with the main event which saw exciting Filipino Randy Petalcorin (23-1-1, 18) successfully defend his WBA “interim” Light Flyweight title with an opening round destruction of Chinese challenger Ma Yi Ming (12-6, 7). Petalcorin looked sharp from the off and scored a trio of knockdowns forcing the referee to halt the bout after less than 2 minutes. Considering how good Petalcorin looked here we can't help but think it's time he stepped up and started facing fellow world level fighters rather than over matched foes like Ming.

The co-feature bout on the BTV Sports telecast saw Chinese Light Heavyweight Qu Peng (7-1-1, 5) make light work of Australian visitor Dane Campbell (3-3, 2) with an opening round TKO. Campbell had been down twice before a follow up assault forced the referee to halt the contest. With this win Peng claimed the “illustrious” WBO China National Light Heavyweight title, which was paraded around the ring prior to the bout.

The opening bout on the telecast was another bout in the heavier divisions as Zulpikar Maimaitiali (1-0, 1) scored a 5th round TKO against Thai visitor Yodkhunsuk Poowana (4-3-1, 2). The Thai had been down in the opening round before being stopped by the referee, incidentally a referee from Thailand. Another China Vs Thailand bout took place off camera as Xia Shunkai (3-0, 2) took his first decision win as he over-came Kajornsak Sithsaithong (7-5, 7).

The rest of the bouts here were all Chinese affairs. One of those saw Adili Abulimiti (1-1-1) take a 6 round decision win over debutant Huang Ju Xiang (0-1), another saw Xu Que (2-1-1, 2) take a 3rd round TKO win over Peng Ding Gui (0-1) whilst the unbeaten Yelieqiati (2-0) took a 4 round shut out against Liu Peng Fei (0-1).

Beijing, China
As well as the big show in Beijing there was another show, in the same venue in fact. This one featured mostly novices in action with 9 fights in total.

The main event for this card saw the debuting Chen Sen (1-0) take a majority decision over Ji Tao (7-5, 2) in the only 6 round bout of the card. Tao was the most experienced fighter on the card, by far.

From the 8 under-card 4 went the distance and 4 finished early. One of those that failed to go the distance saw Su Cheng (2-0, 1) claim a 2nd round TKO against Lin Jing Huang (0-1), another 2nd round TKO saw Alimu Wushouer (1-0, 1) over-come Yan Xiao Long (0-1). A 3rd TKO saw Dilixiati (1-0, 1) stop Lin Bing He (0-1) whilst a bout that ended in round 4 saw Tan Zheng (1-1, 1) over-come Ye Bao Fei (0-1)

In terms of bouts that went the distance a couple of those were clear and a couple were very close. One of those clear bouts saw Niu Zhong Jie (1-0) over-come Yu Chang Tian (0-1) whilst the other was a win for Cai Jun Cheng (1-0) who defeated Zhang Yi Feng (0-2). In the closer bouts fans saw Zhang Qi Xiu (1-0) take a majority decision over Halimubieke (1-2) and Wang Yin Gang (3-0, 1) take a victory over Su Shi Long (0-1).

Bangkok, Thailand
There was also some televised action from Thailand where fans had the chance to see several notable names in action.

One of those notable names was former world title challenger Panomroonglek Kaiyanghadaogym (45-2, 27) who took on the visiting Alwi Alhabsyi (13-22-3, 3) in what looked like a complete mismatch on paper. Whilst Panomroonglek got the much expected win, a stoppage in the 5th round, we were impressed but the gutsy effort of Alhabsyi who gave a lot more of an effort than many fighters in his position. Unfortunately for him he was down twice with the final one coming at the end of round 5. (Note at the time of writing boxrec.com list this as a 3rd round KO, the footage however proves that it was round 5).

Another notable name was Noknoi Sitthiprasert (54-4, 31)* who scored his 53rd straight win as he stopped the debuting Tonpetch Sithchansing (0-1) in round 3. This was as much of a mismatch as the records would suggest and it leaves us wondering just how many poor opponents they can find Noknoi to pad his record.

Yet another notable name in action here was former WBA “interim” Flyweight champion Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep (35-3, 21)* who managed to defeat the massively over-matched Jopher Marayan (7-6-2, 3) of the Philippines. Marayan came to fight but was busted up and bloodied by the time the referee stopped the bout in round 4. Prior to the stoppage Marayan was dropped and looked looked wobbly with his effort clearly taking it's toll on him. Despite the loss for Marayan we would like to see more of him as he's a fighter who comes to win. With this win Yodmongkol claimed the WBA Asia Flyweight title.

A final notable name here was Ratchasak KKP (27-3-1, 13) who took a stoppage win over Chaosamut Sithchansing (0-1). Chaosamut came to fight and did show some nice touches in a bout that became a slugfest. Unfortunately for the novice he was broken down despite a brave effort. As with many of the other losers on this card we genuinely want to see more of Chaosamut who impressed us more than Ratchasak did,

Metro Manila, Philippines
In the Philippines fans saw a show with a few interesting bouts.

The most notable of those saw the heavy handed Warlito Parrenas (24-6, 21) make light work of Thai visitor Kaichon Sor Vorapin (25-14, 9). Parrenas, ranked #1 by the WBO at Super Flyweight, disposed of Kaichon in the 3rd of a scheduled 10 rounds. This was the Thai's 5th straight stoppage loss and it seems clear he's no longer any sort of a threat.

Tokyo, Japanese
In Japan fans got an 8 fight show at the Korakuen Hall and although none of the bouts were huge there was a number of notable names and notable results.

The main event saw an upset as Tatsuya Otsubo (8-6-1, 3) took a close unanimous decision against ranked fighter Akihiko Katagiri (16-8-2, 7). This was Katagiri's first loss since he was stopped by Jhonny Gonzalez around 2 years ago however for Otsubo this was his 6th win and he has really turned his career around after a 2-6-1 start to his career.

In the co-feature Hikaru Nishida (12-7-2, 4) took an easy win over Thai visitor Kungsuk Sor Sompong (0-1). Nishida stopped the Thai in the 2nd round of a scheduled 8 rounder. This was Nishida's second win since losing a competitive decision to Akio Shibata last July in an OPBF/Japanese title fight.

A third scheduled 8 rounder saw Kimika Miyoshi (10-8-1, 5), a former female OPBF title holder, take out Muyalek Sithsaithong (3-1, 1) after just 1 minute of their bout.

Another notable name here was IBF Asia Featherweight champion Takuya Watanabe (25-5-1, 12) who blew out Sornnarai Sor Bangkhru (0-1) in 117 seconds of a scheduled 6 rounder. We're not hoping to see Watanabe in a more notable bout as he is genuinely an interesting fighter. Another 6 rounder saw Yamato Nakagawa (5-5, 3) make light work of the limited Ryota Koizumi (6-11-1, 4).

On the under-card we saw qualified accountant Kohei Kashino (2-0, 1) take a decision win over Akihrio Hikicho (3-5-3). Kashino's stablemate Riyako Goshi (3-3) wasn't as lucky however as she saw her 3-fight winning run come to an end in a wide decision loss to Yumiko Shimooka (2-1, 1). The reamining under-card bout ended in a draw as Shinjiro Kawada (2-1-1, 2) failed to see off Ryo Nakanko (1-2-2).

Accra, Ghana
In Africa things didn't end too well for the hard hitting but fragile Joebert Delos Reyes (13-5-1, 10) who was stopped in the 4th round by Emmanuel Tagoe (23-1, 10). This bout, for the WBA International Lightweight title, was ended on the 3-knockdown rule with Reyes being bounced on and off the canvas in round 4.

Eastern Cape, South Africa
Sadly things were frustrating for for Randy Braga (15-1-1, 3) who lost his unbeaten record in controversial circumstances. The Filipino, who travelled to South Africa to take on the heavy handed Macbute Sinyabi (25-4, 19), came incredibly close to claiming the IBO Inter-continental Featherweight title but was unfortunate on two of the cards as he lost a very close split decision to the home fighter.



(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)
(*Boxrec records are missing recent bouts for both Yodmongkol and Noknoi)

This past Tuesday has certainly been a hectic day with bouts coming across Asia with titles up for grabs in 4 separate countries!

Korakuen Hall, Japan
In Japan we had the most notable bout of the day in many ways as fans got the chance to see an OPBF title bout. Sadly aside from that bout the card was relatively lacklustre and even that title bout wasn't something to write home about, despite it's regional significance.

The title bout in question saw Yuzo Kiyota (27-4-1, 25) stopping Fuji's Abhay Chand (16-14-4, 10) in the 5th round of their bout. Kiyota, a genuinely heavy handed guy, was deducted a point in round 4 for a low blow but seemed to feel that the body was Chand's weak spot and a jab in round 5 to the challengers guy put him down for the 10 count in what was a really poor challenge of the title.

In the co-feature of this card Kenta Nakagawa (8-2, 6) scored a 3rd round TKO against Ryo Nakamura (7-5, 3) who was stopped almost as soon as round 3 began.

Also on the Japanese card were 6 undercard bouts. Of those 6 bouts only one ended with a stoppage as Akihiro Yamanaka (4-3, 1) scored his first stoppage win and defeated Muneyuki Kishii (3-5, 2) in the 4th round. One other bout that failed to go the distance saw Joji Tsuchiya (1-2-1, 1) fight a 1 round technical draw with Takuya Yamaguchi (1-2-2, 1), in a bout that lasted just 160 seconds.

A competitive undercard bout saw Shunta Terai (0-2-1) fight to a 4 round draw with Hiroaki Tokuoka (0-1-1) whilst a similarly competitive contest between Ryuji Kohama (1-1) took a split decision over the debuting Yuki Nakajima (0-1). A third competitive contest saw Daisuke Sudo (3-2) taking a narrow win over Takuya Suzuki (1-2-1, 1). The only other bout was a female bout which saw Yunoka Furukawa (4-1-2-1, 2) take a decision over Mikiko Muto (2-2)

Bangkok, Thailand
Staying with title action and Japanese fighters there was also a Japanese fighter in action in Thailand as part of an interesting card in Bangkok.

The Japanese fighter in question was 17 year prospect Riku Kano (5-1-1, 3) who claimed his first title, the WBA Asia Minimumweight title, with a 12 round shut out against Indonesian fighter Madit Sada (9-19-1, 3). Kano, who hasn't made his Japanese debut yet, looked like he has the ingredients to go far and win world titles somewhere down the line however the big fear is that his promoter burns him out too early, a real fear considering this was his 6th bout this year.

A second bout on this card saw Petchchorhae Kokietgym (10-0, 7) defeat Indonesian visitor Johan Wahyudi (9-31, 5). The Indonesian really was outclassed from the off and Petchchorhae was made to look sensational at times before finishing the bout with a vicious body shot in the second round. Prior to the finishing blow the visitor had been down from a swiping left upstairs, it was however the body breaking uppercut that finished the show that really left a lasting impression.

Also on the same show in Thailand fans saw Petchmanee Kokietgym (5-0, 1) winning an easy decision over journeyman Jack Amisa (20-32-2, 14). Amisa has now lost 20 times in Thailand and it appears clear he has no intention of trying to win when fighting in the country. He appears to know that losing is what he'll be doing in his career and he's now won just 1 bout in the last 6 years!

Metro Manila, Philippines
In the Philippines fans got their share of fills and thrills with an array of knockouts, including one by a very highly ranked Super Flyweight.

The aforementioned Super Flyweight was Warlito Parrenas (23-6, 20) who retained his WBO Oriental title with an opening round blow out against the horribly over-matched Hengky Baransano (11-5, 4). Parrenas, who will be angling for a world title fight next year, broke up his foes resistance with a body shot inside 2 minutes of the bout.

Another body shot KO helped the destructive Richard Claveras (11-0-2, 11) continue his unbeaten run as he took out the experienced Rodel Tejares (20-32-6, 5). This was Tejares's 3rd loss this year and he may need to consider his future, especially considering he is now win-less since springing an upset over Lionel Mark Duran back in September 2012.

A third notable knockout on the top part of this card saw Ardin Diale (26-9-3, 13) score a 2nd round KO against Ricky Manufoe (23-22-2, 10). Manufoe failed weight at the weigh in and had a 4lb advantage over Diale, that didn't help and Diale recorded his third successive stoppage since his own stoppage loss to Koki Eto in an OPBF title bout.
In a WBC Youth Super Flyweight title bout on this show fans saw the unbeaten Jhaleel Payao (11-0, 6) over-come the defending champion Rene Dacquel (12-4-1, 4). Dacquel was attempting to record his first defense of the belt was out pointed over the 10 round distance in what was sadly the show's only genuinely competitive bout.

The sole 8 rounder on the card went 3 as the heavy handed Jon Jon Estrada (6-1-1, 5) easily took care of Junjie Lauza (4-13-1, 1). In a 6 rounder Aljhon Osabel (9-2, 5) took care of the wonderfully named Daffy Dempo (2-4, 2) in the 3rd round, after dropping him twice in the second round. The other 6 rounder saw the unbeaten Lorence Rosas (2-0-2) take a technical draw after an accidental headclash cut Joel Lagusan (3-10-1, 1).

In the 4 rounders we saw on go the distance as Jaymark Borbon (1-1) scored his first and over-came the debuting Rizalde Caballes (0-1). Caballes had been down in the opening round and will not see this as a debut to remember. The other 4 rounders saw Jermone Clavite (2-0-1, 1) score his first stoppage win as he took out the win-less Joshro Lindon (0-4), in the 4th round, and JayAr Diama (2-5-4, 1) also took his first early victory as his opponent Ronie Gaton (0-4) retired at the start of round 2.

Daejeon, South Korea
Yet more title action occurred in South Korea where fans got a title double in a relatively low key show.

Domestically the key fight was a South Korean Light Welterweight title fight that saw Myung Soo Sun (2-0) make the first defense of his title with a decision win over the more experienced Jin Soo Kim (6-4, 3). Sun, who won the title on his debut against Jae Ho Kim, appears likely to become the KBC's poster boy and at just 20 years old does look to be a promising youngster who now has 2 complete 10 round bouts under his belt.

The second title bout on this show saw the unbeaten Eun Hye Lee (6-0, 1) claim the WBO Asia Pacific female Flyweight title with a clear victory over the brilliantly named Lady Love Sampiton (2-3, 1) of the Philippines.

The 4 under-card bouts here were all debutant affairs. At Featherweight fans saw Ye Chan Gang (1-0, 1) score a 3rd round TKO over Doo Hwa Lee (0-1). From the details we have it seems Lee, a 17 year old, had the size advantage with 5” of height, though probably lacked the physical maturity of the 22 year old Gang. At Lightweight Dae Won Sunwoo (1-0) took a decision victory over Bum Jin Kim (0-1) with a shut out. At Light Welterweight fans saw a well fought draw between Sung Koo Han (0-0-1) and Bo Kwan Shim (0-0-1).

The other all debutant bout was all the way up at Cruiserweight where Sang Ho Kim (1-0, 1) stopped Jung Soo Lim (0-1) in the 2nd round. At 5'8” and aged 31 we can't see Kim going on to do much with his career unfortunately.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

Although this Saturday wasn't a great one for Western boxing fans it was an interesting one for Asian fans with bouts across the continent.

Tokyo, Japan
The most notable bout came in Japan and although Japanese fans at the Korakuen Hall weren't treat to a great card or an amazing show, but they were treat to a card with a significant bout on it as a world ranked fighter was in action and show casing his skills in front of them.

That world class fighter was Japanese Flyweight champion Suguru Muranaka (20-2-1, 7) who showed that he hit harder than his record indicated as he saw off the gallant challenge of Yusuke Sakashita (12-5, 7). Sakashita, started very well though in the second half Muranaka manged to cut the distance before landing a bomb to send Sakashita down and forcing the referee to stop the contest. Prior to the stoppage Muranaka had been given a serious test though will be glad to see that his power is becoming more notable with this being his second successive stoppage, as well as his second national title defense.

The chief support bouts were both 8 round contests. One of these saw Yusuke Tsukada (7-4, 3) managing to over-come the much more experienced Takashi Inagaki (17-13-1, 7) with a well earned decision. The other 8 rounder lasted just 77 seconds as Yuto Shimizu (8-2-2, 2) swiftly dispatched of Indonesian visitor Muhammad Imam (9-6, 3). Imam has not lost 4 successive bouts including a trio of opening round blow outs and it's clear that he needs to be careful about who he gets in the ring with in the future.

We also had a quick blow out in one of the 2 bouts scheduled for 6 rounds. This saw Kensuke Sasaki (2-1, 2) dispose of Jack Madison (2-3) after 179 seconds in what was a horrible match up for the Indonesia. Although Sasaki's record doesn't show it he is a talented fighter and we suspect he could go a very long way in this sport of managed properly. The other 6 rounder saw Yudai Arai (5-1-3, 3) score a 6th round stoppage over Tomoyuki Kaneko (7-4, 4), giving Kaneko his first stoppage loss.

The 4 opening bouts, all 4 rounders, saw just one bout finish inside the distance as Fumio Ujihara (3-2, 3) took out Shintaro Hirohama (1-3-1, 1) in the second round. The other 4 rounders saw Hideaki Takasgi (1-0) claim a clear debut win over fellow debutant Nozomu Akitsuki (0-1), the previously win-less Ryo Nakano (1-2) claim his maiden victory with a narrow decision over Joji Tsuchiya (1-2, 2) and Akihiro Yamanaka (3-3) leveled off his record as he over-came Shohei Niwa (1-2)

Benguet, Philippines
As well as the title fight in Japan we also had one in the Philippines as Argie Toquero (8-3-1, 6) quickly took card of Japan's Takaya Kakutani (7-5, 6) with an opening round blow out to claim the WBC Youth Super Featherweight title.

Taal, Batangas, Philippines
In another title fight in the Philippines saw former world title challenger Ardin Diale (24-9-3, 10) pull himself off the canvas to stop the previously unbeaten Renerio Arizala (11-1-1, 4) in a defense of his GAB Flyweight title. For Diale this was his first bout since his war with Koki Eto earlier this year and although he won here it does seem likely that that bout will have long term effects on his punch resistance.

In another title fight on the same show Rene Dacquel (12-3-1, 4) claimed the WBC Youth Intercontinental Super Flyweight title with an 8th round KO against fellow Filipino Menard Abila (5-2-4, 1). For Dacquel this is his first WBC affiliated title and we suspect he'll step up in an attempt to collect another next year.

Surprisingly the other title bout on the card managed to go the distance as the explosive Warlito Parrenas (22-6, 19) took a wide unanimous decision over Indonesian Espinos Sabu (11-2-1, 5) to retain his WBO Oriental Super Flyweight title. Parrenas, a really thunderous puncher with an extremely aggressive mindset hadn't seen a bout go the distance since a 2007 loss to Philip Parcon more than 20 fights ago! Sadly for Sabu this was a second successive set back following a loss, earlier this year, to Rusalee Samor in Thailand.

In the undercard bouts on this show fans saw Nino Magboo (17-2-1, 8) pull himself off the canvas to take a 10 round decision over Rex Olisa (10-26-1, 8). In the show's other 10 rounder we saw an early victory for Rey Juntilla (18-6-3, 12) who easily saw off Jovill Marayan (8-19-3, 3 in 2 rounds.

In one of the two bouts scheduled for 8 rounds Jheritz Chavez (3-0-2, 2) took a decision win over the previously unbeaten Jonathan Dela Cruz (5-1, 2) in a close fight that Dela Cruz dropped and deducted a point in round 5, the other 8 rounder saw Jon Jon Estrada (5-1-1, 4) make light work of Gilbert Donasales (5-8-1, 3) who lasted just 3 rounds before being knocked out.

Misamis Oriental, Philippines
The least significant of the 3 Filipino shows came from Miasamis Oriental which hosted a 10 bout show with various interesting names.

The most notable name in action was Froilan Saludar (20-1-1, 13), one of 3 Saludar's in action, who made light work of Juan Purisima (11-6-1, 4) with a 2nd round KO. For Saludar this was his first bout since being knocked out himself in an IBF Flyweight title eliminator by McWilliams Arroyo and it's good to see him scoring a win even if the level was way lower than his previous fight.

Another 2nd round KO was scored by Edward Mansito (12-1-2, 6) who took care of Jilo Merlin (13-21-2, 2) in a scheduled 10 rounder. Another 10 round went into round 7 before the very promising Jessie Espinas (9-1, 5) stopped Rodel Tejares (20-31-6, 5).

In the sole 8 rounder Vic Saludar (7-1, 6) took his first decision win as he over-came the tough JR Salvador (5-20-3).

In 6 rounders we saw a trio of fighter remain unbeaten. These saw Jeronil Borres (5-0, 5) stop Jackloard Dao-Ay (1-1, 1) inside a round whilst Rence Bryan Magacre (5-0, 3) out pointed Edward Joaquino (2-3) and Freddie Bisande (5-0-2, 2) took a decision over Kerome Ministerio (3-2, 2).

The 4 rounders all saw stoppages. On of those was a 2nd round KO by Vanjune Saludar (3-0, 2), who stopped Jhon Leo Galleposo (1-6, 1), whilst another was a 2nd round TKO scored by Reben Prongco (1-0, 1) who defeated Roy-Roy Morano (0-2-1). The longest of the 6 rounders went 3 rounds as Robert Paradero (2-0, 1) took 3 rounds to see off Jade Dadang (0-2)

Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
In Thailand fans saw some action courtesy of Kokietgym.

The most notable of the bouts saw PABA Light Flyweight champion Paipharob Kokietgym (27-0, 20) successfully retain his title with a clear win over Filipino Mateo Handig (13-7, 7) who suffered a second successive loss to a world class fighter following his controversial win over Katsunari Takayama back in 2012. Paipharob probably now needs a major bout before he starts to become the "forgotten man" of the Light Flyweight division. Interestingly the division is open right now, unfortunately though Paipharob isn't an attractive opponent for any top fighter in the division and he may struggle to get a world title fight in the next or so.

The other bout saw the unbeaten Saenganan KKP (9-0, 5) score a points win over the unknown Madis (0-1) a supposed debutant, though as with many guys on Thai under-cards it's hard to be sure.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

It's been a whilst since we had some fights though this past Friday was chock-a-block with fights taking place through out Asia. The day had cards in Thailand, the Philippines and Japan and gave us a share of shocks, blowouts, predictability and excitement reminding us why we all love boxing, even in it's down periods. 

Tokyo, Japan
For us the most notable of the shows was the reason promoted show at the Korakuen Hall that featured a trio of notable match ups alongside 7 lesser fights. The card wasn't an amazing one but was notable and significant on the Japanese and Asian boxing scene due to the main trio.

The first of that significant trio was Taiki Eto (13-3, 10) who bounced back from his loss last time out to Yohei Tobe and simple destroyed Brukluk Kor Narong Service (0-2) in just 2 rounds. Whilst Eto was stopped in a Japanese title fight by Tobe it's interesting to note that Brukluk's only previous fight was a loss to current Japanese champion Sho Ishida who, just like Eto, stopped the Thai in 2 rounds.

The second of the significant bouts also ended in the second round as the heavy handed former Japanese, OPBF and PABA champion Akinori Watanabe (31-4, 27) easily took out Thailand's Chatchai Sithsaithong (8-4, 6). This bout was Watanabe's return to the ring after a 9 month break though it's obvious from this performance that he still has enough to compete at title level.

In the main event Super Featherweight hopeful Shingo Eto (14-2-1, 9) made light work of Arnon Sithsaithong (0-1) who was stopped inside a round. After the fight it was announced that Eto would be fighting Japanese champion Rikki Naito in October in what looks almost certain to be a fantastic bout.

Whilst the main trio of bouts went a combined 5 rounds it's worth noting that the 7 undercard bouts also all ended early, in fact those 7 bouts went a combined 13 rounds!

The quickest of those undercard bouts saw the debuting Tsubasa Koura (1-0, 1) score a notable opening round blow victory against Naoki Morooka (2-1, 2). Aged just 19 Koura may be worth keeping an eye on desite his bout here only last 142 seconds. The only other opening round victory scored on this undercard was by Daichi Yamamoto (1-2-1, 1) who took just 25 seconds longer than Koura to score his victory. For Yamanoto he got his maiden victory with a KO over the still win-less Kazuma Fukino (0-3).

Of the 7 undercard bouts 4 went into the second round. The quickest of those 2 round bouts saw Shunsuke Mori (1-2, 1) scoring a stoppage 28 seconds into the round as he punished Takuya Sagehashi (0-1). It took Ryotaro Tokusa (1-0, 1) a further 20 seconds, 48 seconds of round 2, to take out his debut foe Hiroshi Higuchi (0-1) in an all debutant bout. Another debutant who suffered a set back was Kaiki Oshira (0-1) who was beaten by Hokuto Kawana (3-0, 2) at the 2:22 mark of round 2.

The other man who scored a second round KO was 19 year old Daigo Higa (2-0, 2) who were impressed by on his debut. Higa made light work of Thai visitor Rotthang Wor Por Srisaket (0-3) who was stopped at the 2:40 mark of the second round.

The only bout on the entire show to go beyond 2 rounds saw Kazumichi Ishizawa (3-4, 1) taking a 3rd round stoppage victory over Motonobu Suzuki (2-5). On paper this was one of, if not the, most evenly matched bout but even that didn't help it go the distance.

Hyogo, Japan
At the Kobe Central Gym there was a small but very notable show courtesy of Shinsei Gym. The card featured just 6 bouts though a number of them were fought as part of a small Japan Vs Philippines event. 

The show opened with a 4 rounder between Koichi Sumiya (0-1-1) and Yuki Arakawa (0-1-1) that ended in a split decision draw. The only other "under-card" bout saw Ryo Kosaka (8-3-1, 4) taking a second round KO over Monkey Shuhei (5-5-1, 2) in a scheduled 6 rounder.

The first of of the main bouts was a win for the Philippines as as the battle hardened and experienced Roque Lauro (11-16-4, 2) took a split decision over Japanese teenager Ryuya Yamanaka (7-2, 2). On paper this was a mismatch though delving below just the raw records suggests that Lauro is a very capable foe and has been in with a relative who's who whilst fighting well above his natural weight. With wins over Joan Imperial, Ronelle Ferreras and Myung Goo Yuh we'll suggest that Lauro is one of those potential banana skins, as Yamanaka found out here.

The second bout was another win for the Philippines as former OPBF title challenger Jhunriel Ramonal (14-7-4, 7) took a narrow split decision over Kota Fukuoka (15-5-2, 12). Ramonal had been stopped, in 3 rounds by Shingo Wake, last time he was in Japan though appears to have found that his level here with this win, a great result given that he had been stopped in his 2 previous bouts.

The Philippines made it 3-0 as the criminally under-rated Renoel Pael (14-1-1, 5) scored a dominant decision over the heavy handed Yuki Yonaha (3-2, 3). This bout wasn't even close and there was no debating the winner here as Pael put on a masterclass against a man who looked out of his depth. We'd suggest keeping an eye Pael as he appears to have plenty of skills and has no fear fighting on foreign soil, in fact his best performance came in Thailand against Noknoi Sitthiprasert just 6 months ago, the judges gave that to Noknoi though Pael really did deserve the win.

The only win for Japan came in somewhat disappointing circumstances as the the highly regarded Shun Kubo (5-0, 4) defeated Renren Pasignahin (6-4-1, 2) with a 4th round TKO. From what we understand the Filipino suffered a nasty injury that forced him to suffer his first stoppage defeat. In saying that we do suspect that Kubo would have won regardless of the injury but it is still a disappointment from the all involved. Pasignahin was robbed of his chance to compete after less than 4 rounder and Kubo was robbed of a "clean" win, a real shame.

Makati City, Philippines
As well as the action in Japan we also had two cards in the Philippines. 

At the bottom of this card was a number of novices, including the debuting Mark Angelo Plana (1-0) who successfully kicked off his professional campaign with a clear decision over fellow debutant Lordy Pateno (0-1) in a 4 round. The Plana/Pateno bout was one of two 4 rounders with the other one being won by female hopeful Naome Tacda (2-0, 2) who defeated Aisah Alico (5-4, 4) in the second round. In the sole 6 rounder Jonathan Dela Cruz (5-0, 2) recorded a second round KO against the usually durable Jomar Borbon (4-19-2, 2). 

The bulk of the show's contests were 8 rounders and these featured the show's most competitive bouts. The compeititve contests featured a surprising split draw for Ronelle Ferreras (14-7-3, 6) with JC Francisco (6-8-3, 2), a further shot to Ferreras's career which has really taken hit after hit this year, and also a split decision win for Eric Panza (6-2-1, 1) who narrowly over-came Pablito Canada (4-4-1, 1) in a very close contest.

In less competitive contests we saw a pair of stoppages for Japanese fighters. The less significant of those bouts saw Ryuta Wakamatsu (10-10, 7) stopping Aroel Romasasa (11-7, 5) in the second round in a slight upset. The other bout shocked no-one as Momoko Kanda (7-6-2, 1) stopped Nongnun Mor Krungthepthonburi (2-3) in 4 rounds and claimed the WBC Asian Boxing Council female Minimumweight title. This was the second bout between Kanda and Nongnun, the first time they met Kanda took a decision over 6 rounds but this time it seems she was fighting with real confidence and forced the stoppage of her Thai opponent.

The card featured a pair of 10 rounders but neither of them was even close to being competitive. One of them saw popular world ranked power puncher Warlito Parrenas (21-6, 18) completely dismantling Richard Garcia (25-20-1, 7) in the third round. Parrenas, one of the hardest puncher in the Super Flyweight division, broke apart Garcia with body shots in the third round and left Danrex Tapdasan with no option but to stop the contest. The other 10 rounder lasted a mere 36 seconds as Rey Juntilla (18-5-3, 11) detonated a body shot on Cris Leon (7-11-4, 3) who failed to recover. 

Sadly the main event was equally as one sided with Richard Claveras (9-0-2, 9) defending his WBC Asian Boxing Council Light Flyweight title with an opening round KO against Thailand's Sangthong Chor Pakdee (4-1, 4). We expected this to be explosive, but we didn't think it was going to be over quite so quickly.

Metro Manila, Philippines
The second Filipino show took place in Metro Manila at the The Flash Grand Ballroom of the Elorde Sports Complex and proved to relatively full of mismatches.

The card opened with a pair of 4 rounders, both won by men who went into the bouts as unbeaten. These saw Robin Langres (2-0, 1) take a 4th round TKO over Jonathan Pedrosa (0-6-1) and Jetlee Formentera (2-0, 1) take an opening round blow out victory against Roberto Mendano (0-2). 

Although the opening contests didn't last long the pair of 6 rounders both went the scheduled. These saw Wilbert Berondo (4-0, 2) score a near sut out over Roy Albaera (2-24-5) whilst the once beaten Diomel Diocos (4-1-2, 2) took a majority decision over Vincent Bautista (1-2-1). Strangely the Diocos/Bautista bout was scored 59-54 by two judges whilst the third had contest level at 57-57. The final "undercard" bout was the sole 8 rounder which saw Jeffrey Francisco (10-0-1) extending his unbeaten run with a clear decision over domestic journeyman Jeson Berwela (4-17, 2).

The bulk of the card was the trio of 10 rounders. The first of those saw Giemel Magramo (11-0, 8) taking and early and easy win over over the experienced but limited Jovel Romasasa (10-20, 4). Romasasa retired at the end of the 2nd round giving Magramo his 11th win though hopefully he will be matched more competitively next time out. Sadly much of the top bouts here were uncompetitive and in Featherweight action Juan Miguel Elorde (16-1, 8) took a 5th round TKO over Paulus Baransano (0-4). Juan Miguel Elorde wasn't the only member of the Elorde family to score a win as his brother, Juan Martin Elorde (16-1-1, 7), defeated Juniston Simbolon (7-12-1, 3) via a 6th round technical decision. At the end of the bout Elorde was bloody from an accidental headbutt hence going to the cards early. Both of the Elorde's were facing Indonesian foes.

The main event saw another easy win for a Filipino against an Indonesian as Dennis Laurente (48-5-5, 29) stopped the very limited Elly Pangaribuan (3-4, 1). This was Pangaribuan's second successive second round stoppage following on from his defeat to Nobuhiro Ishida just over a year ago.

Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand
In Thailand we saw PABA Featherweight champion Thong Sithluangphophun (10-0, 7) defend his title with a 3rd round KO against Indonesian challenger Yakobus Heluka (7-8). For Heluka this was a 4th straight loss and it seems like he's generally just getting in the ring to lose right now, a real shame. The ended for this one was a bit on the nasty side from Thong though it does appear that Heluka decided that he didn't want to continue.

Quebec, Canada
In Canada fans got to see the heavy handed and very promising Artur Beterbiev (5-0, 5) take a very quick win over the over-matched Alvaro Enriquez (12-13-2, 4) in what was clearly a stay busy fight after spending 7 months out of the ring. We now expect to see Beterbiev facing former world champion Tavoris Cloud in September in what looks to be a genuinely fantastic bout.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

A busy Saturday saw fights all over the place with many of them having titles on the line from various levels.

New York, USA
For many fight fans the biggest fight involving an Asian was in the US as Filipino youngster Marvin Sonsona (19-1-1, 15) avenged his sole loss by out pointing Wilfredo Vazquez Jr (23-4-1, 19) in a less than stellar bout that saw holding as much as punching. Sonsona looked the much better fighter and did score a knockdown in the opening round but by the end of the bout it had become to watch with very little real quality landed by either man in the final few rounds. It wasn't a great fight but it was a fight that saw Sonsona expunging his sole loss.

Tokyo, Japan
The only card in Japan was a Teiken promoted show at the Korakuen Hall. The show, a very interesting on on paper, not only featured a title fight in the main even but several other bouts of not with prospects and hopefuls all in action.

The aforementioned main event saw Japanese Light Flyweight champion Yu Kimura (14-2-1, 2) defend his title for the first time as he put on an excellent showing against the much taller Yuki Chinen (14-2, 7). Chinen, who towered over Kimura, looked competitive early on though as the bout went into the second half it was totally taken over by the more skilled Kimura who got the well deserved decision and seemed to really be getting to Chinen in the final rounds.

Whilst Kimura/Chinen was the main event fight it wasn't the only one of major not on the show and the chief support bout was one of the other interesting bouts. This contest saw Kenichi Ogawa (12-1, 10) continue his development as he took out Filipino visitor Gabriel Royo (9-10-2, 8) in 4 rounds. This was the 4th straight victory for Ogawa since his lone defeat and whilst he's not ready to be thinking about fights above the domestic level he is showing real promise and by developing that promise there is every chance he could move on to the OPBF level in the coming years.

Masanobu Nakazawa (15-1-1, 5) taking a well earned decision over the "better than his record indicated" Kosuke Iwashita (14-17-2, 8) in a very good Light Welterweight bout. Ranked #4 in Japan Nakazawa will likely be targeting a national title fight later this year or very early next year. We'd not favour him against the current champion, Hiroki Okada, but he would likely be as competitive with the champion as almost anyone else in the country. 

Another of the support bouts saw the Japanese ranked Hiroyuki Otsuka (7-2, 6) stop Thai visitor Thaminkhao Sor Tharnthip (3-10-1, 2) in just 2 rounds. This was a mismatch though one that we can't complain about following very close back-to-back defeats for Otsuka who likely needed a confident boosting win.

The only other bout scheduled for 8 went the distance as Junki Sasaki (12-2, 5) took a clear decision over the tough but limited Kohei Maruoka (7-7-1, 1) who has suffered just a sole stoppage defeat.

On the undercard we had 2 Rookie bouts as Takunari Yokoyama (4-0, 2) out pointed Ryo Matsubara (1-0, 1) in a bout made at Flyweight and Ryuya Kaji (3-0, 2) took a 3rd round KO over Naoaki Kumagai (2-2, 2) in a Super Bantamweight contest. From what we under-stand these were both Rookie of the Year contests.

Kunming, China
It wasn't just in Japan that we had title action as championship bouts were spread across Asia, including in China as Zovi Boxing put on their latest show.

This card began with 4 undercard bouts, each scheduled for 4 rounds. These saw Wang Yi Ming (2-2, 2) taking a 2nd round TKO over the debuting Indian Promod (0-1). Ming was the only fighter on the under-card here to score a stoppage. The other bouts saw Xian Wei Qian (4-3-1) over-come the debuting Xu Que (0-1), Xu Chan (3-0) maintaining his unbeaten record with a victory over Neeraj Goyat (1-2-2) and, in a female bout, Saroj (1-1) took a split decision over Li Yun Ting (1-6, 1).

The chief support was the first of 2 title fights and saw Chinese Welterweight Yang Xing Xin (8-3-2, 5) claim the WBC Youth Welterweight title with a 10 round decision over Nelson Gulpe (8-2, 3). Xin, at just 21, could be part of a new wave of Chinese fighters to keep an eye on and although his record may not be anything great we are excited to see how he develops.

In the main event fans saw Filipino Mark Gil Melligen (19-4-1, 10) force a stoppage of Thailand's Petchsamuthr Duanaaymukdahan (8-3, 1) in the 4th round to claim the WBO Oriental Featherweight title. On paper this looks like a very impressive victory for Melligen though Petchsamuthr really killed himself to try and make 126lbs, a weight he wasn't even close to making. The attempt to make weight appears to have totally taken all the strength from the Thai.

Metro Manila, Philippines
The title action also spread to the Philippines where the hard hitting and fun to watch Warlito Parrenas (20-6, 18) stopped Indonesia's Junior Bajawa (!4-3, 7) in 7 rounds to claim the WBO Oriental Super Flyweight title. Parrenas, also known as WARS Katsumata, became the first man to stop Bajawa who had previously been the distance in losses to Omari Kimweri and Richard Pumicpic.

Unfortunately we were very late to get the rest of the results from this card but, thankfully, we have them now.

The unbeaten and hard hitting Richard Claveras (8-0, 2) continued his unbeaten run and claimed the WBC Asian Boxing Council Light Flyweight title with an opening round blow out against Thailand's limited Namphol Sithsaithong (6-8, 6). This was Namphol's 3rd loss away from Thailand and his second in the Philippines following a previous loss in the country to Jonathan Taconing.

In another title fight on this show Edison Berwela (13-28-7, 3) upset Rey Juntilla (17-5-3, 10) in a bout that was dirty and incident packed. The victory for Berwela saw him claiming the LuzProBA Super Bantamweight title via a majority decision that saw both men suffering from the effects of head clashes very early on.
In a female title bout on this show Momoko Kanda (6-6-2) took a shut out victory over Nongnun Mor Krungthepthonburi (2-2) to claim the WBC Asian Council Continental female Minimumweight title. This was one of two female bouts with the other being an all debutant affair won by Naome Tacda (1-0, 1) who stopped Ana Pitae (0-1) in 66 seconds.

The under-card featured 3 other bouts, other than the aforementioned all debutant female contest. These saw the one beaten Philip Luis Cuerdo (4-1, 1) defeat Mark Macabales (2-3) in a clear cut 6 round decision, Pablito Canada (3-4-1, 1) pulling himself off the canvas in the opening round to out point Mark Postrano (2-2, 1) and Jay Ar Diama (1-3-4) taking his maiden victory by shutting out Ronie Gaton (0-2), this win was well over-due for Diama who has a very misleading record.

Bangkok, Thailand
Amazingly even Thailand got in on the days activity with two female bouts from Bangkok. The most notable of these saw former female world title challenger Angor Onesongchaigym (6-1, 3) bounce back from her sole loss, a decision loss to Momo Koseki, and defeat her over-matched compatriot Nongfah Por Preechagym (0-1).

The other contest saw Anrey Onesongchaigym (6-1-1, 3) stop novice foe Irada Sithsornram (0-3) in 3 rounds to continue her development.


Queensland, Australia
In Australia we had yet more title action, unfortunately however it was a bit of a hard to explain title. 

The title bout saw Australia's Josh King (17-3, 8) successfully defend his WBO Oriental Lightweight title with a clear decision over Japan's Koichi Ito (9-3-2, 8). We're not sure how King qualified for an Oriental title though we're a little disappointed that Ito couldn't actually take the belt back to the Orient.

Ito wasn't the only Asian on this card as his Japanese compatriot Kazuyuki Fukuyama (9-5, 2) was also beaten. Fukuyama was dropped 3 times in a clear decision loss to Les Sherrington (34-3, 19). Although he was dropped thrice it was impressive to see Fukuyama actually make it to the end of the 8 round bout. Sadly however Filipino Aswin Cabuy (14-47-4, 7) couldn't even last 2 rounds in his fight against the promising Kolby Johnston (2-0, 2).

(Image, from Kimura/Chinen, is courtesy of boxingnews.jp)