This past Friday was a busy in Asian boxing with 3 televised cards across the continent.

Ningbo, China
The most significant of the cards was in China where we had a trio of title bouts, all of which were won by local fighters as the Chinese boxing scene continues to develop, without kicking up much of a fuss.

The main event of the card was the most significant bout on offer and saw former world title challenger Xiong Zhao Zhong (26-6-1, 14) claim the OPBF Minimumweight title, and add it to his WBC International title. Zhong, China's only ever male world champion, looked better than ever as he out boxed Filipino fighter Crison Omayao (17-10-3, 5) to a wide decision. Omayao, well known for losses to Japanese fighters Naoya Inoue, who was making his debut at the time, and Kosei Tanaka, did put up a genuine effort but looked slightly lost against the more capable Zhong.

In another title bout China's Cai Zong Ju (6-1, 1) was very fortunate to take a decision win against Japanese warrior Mari Ando (12-8, 5), in a bout that saw Ju retain her WBC International female Minimumweight title. Ju started well but was really dragged into a war in the middle rounds as Ando came on strong, bust Ju's nose and gave her hell. Despite the genuinely competitive nature of the fight Hubert Minn some how had this one 8-2 to Ju in what is a genuine shocking score card.

The lesser of the title bouts here saw the really promising Xu Chan (7-2) claim the WBA Ocean Super Featherweight title with a 10 round decision win against Thai veteran Chaiyong Sithsaithong (37-14-4, 26). Chan, who does lack power, looked like there was plenty to get excited about but he will need to link up with a good trainer if he's to have the career that his naturally ability suggests he could have.

On the under-card fans got 3 non-televised bouts. One of those saw local fighter Bai Shan Bo (4-0-1, 1) take a 6 round decision against Indonesian veteran Heri Andriyanto (21-20-2, 10). On paper it was a good win for the novice but Andriyanto has gone 2-5 in his last 7 and now looks like a spent force. Another of those under-card bouts saw Thai based Iranian Mohamadreza Hamze (7-6-1, 2) take a decision win over the win-less Ju Xiang Huang (0-2), with Hamze bouncing back from a loss in South Korea. The remaining under-card bout was a female bout and saw the unbeaten Gao Li Jun (3-0, 1) over-come Thailand's Lookkaew Sithpracha (0-2).

Pathum Thani, Thailand
Zhong wasn't the only former world champion in action as Thai fans got the chance to see one of their former title holders in action in the headline bout of a card on Channel 7.

That former world champion was Suriyan Sor Rungvisai (45-6-1, 23) who retained his WBC ABCO Bantamweight title with an easy 2nd round KO win against Frans Damur Palue (11-10-2, 6). This was little more than a stay busy fight for Suriyan who really is just awaiting the WBC ordering a Bantamweight world title eliminator, possibly against Rodrigo Guerrero or possible with Liborio Solis.

Suriyan's younger brother Nawaphon Por Chokchai (30-0, 23) extended his perfect record with a farcical victory against Medgoen Por Kobkua (0-1). The bout saw Nawaphon give Medgoen several free shots in the first 3 rounds before fight back in round 4 and despatching the debutant with ease. We need to wonder what purpose this bout served other than to further bloat Nawaphon's record.

A more interesting match up, on paper at least, saw Ponsaklek Sithdabnij (5-3, 4) over-come Heri Purnomo (2-6, 1) with a 2nd round KO. Purnomo came to win and seemed to sting Pongsaklek I the opening round but had no answer to a second round assault as Pongsaklek moved up a gear.

Another 2nd round win on this card saw Kongfah Nakornluang (23-1, 14) get back to winning ways as he easily saw off Bovy Jumpolnamkaenglod (0-1). This was Kongfah's first bout since he suffered a shock loss to the aforementioned Pongsaklek.

Bangkok, Thailand
Another Thai card came from Bangkok and was aired on Channel 3.

The main event here was a PABA Super Flyweight title fight that saw Chatpetch Sithmorseng (12-3-2, 6) easily out point Filipino visitor Jetly Purisima (20-17-4, 5) in what was a shut out win for the Thai fight.

The really promising Romnakit PKT College (5-0, 3) went the distance for the second time in his career, though continued his perfect winning streak as he over-came Junar Adante (5-2-1, 2) over 8 rounds. Although relatively unknown outside of Thailand Ronnakit, also known as Ronnakit Technopoly Bangkok, does look to be a really promising fighter worth keeping an eye on.

Another unbeaten fighter extending their winning run on this card was Dennapa Kiatniwat (6-0, 3), who stopped Kongpichit Sithprayoon (0-4) in 4 rounds.

Wenshan, China
The biggest show this past weekend came from China where Zovi promotions put on a show to celebrate the Chinese new year. The show featured 7 bouts and amazingly also featured 7 titles, all WBC belts on a show that really did go over the top with titles.

The card, of course, began with the undercard bouts which didn't feature any titles. One of the under-card bouts saw the debuting Bai Shan Bo (1-0) out point visiting Australian teenager Steve Spark (1-1, 1) in a 4 round bout. The other undercard contest saw Xu Chan (5-1) take a narrow decision win over Josh Baillie (2-2, 1).

In regards to title bouts there were a number off less interestingly looking bouts. One of those saw WBC Youth Welterweight champion Yang Xing Xin (10-3-2, 7) score a 6th round TKO over Korean fighter Joon-Yong Lee (4-3-3, 2) in a bout that turned out to be more eventful that seemed likely when the bout was signed. Another “lesser” title bout saw Xian Wei Qian (7-4-1, 1) score a unanimous decision over Hero Tito (9-6-1, 3). The win for Qian saw him retaining his WBC Asian Boxing Council Featherweight title and claiming the WBC Eurasian Pacific Boxing Council Featherweight title.

In a female bout fans saw local fighter Cai Zongju (4-1, 1) take an impressive decision win over former multi-time world title challenger Gretchen Abaniel (15-7, 6) in a bout that saw Zongju claim the female versions of both the WBC Asian Boxing Council Continental and WBC International Minimumweight titles. This was Zongju's third successive win following her sole loss, in Laos, to teenager Nampetch Kwanjaisrikod in October last year.

The biggest name on the card was former WBC Minimumweight world champion Xiong Zhao Zhong (25-6-1, 14) who continued his legacy by claiming the WBC International Minimumweight title with a decision win over Japans Hiroya Yamamoto (8-3, 3). This was Zhong's first bout following his loss last October to WBA champion Hekkie Budler.

The key bout in many ways featured a man many view as the future of Chinese boxing, Qiu Xiao Jun (15-2, 7). Jun was fighting his most notable opponent to date as he took on former world title challenger Silvester Lopez (23-10-2, 17), in a bout for the WBC Silver Super Bantamweight title. Despite being a step up on paper for Jun he made things look easy as he battered Lopez who was stopped in the 6th round. Sadly for Lopez it now seems that he's quickly becoming a shot fighter and his upset win last time out against Rex Wao is likely to be a one off for a man who really need to consider walking away from the sport before taking too much damage.

Jakarta, Indonesia
In Indonesian fans had the chance to see the highly talented Iwan Zoda (5-1, 4) score a 7th round stoppage of Stevanus Nana Bau (2-2-1, 1) in a rematch of Zoda's debut. In their first meeting Zoda took a 6 round decision over his compatriot, this time around however Nana Bau couldn't survive the schedule, which was 12 rounds.

For those questioning us over Nana Bau's record, which we know is incomplete, he is also known on boxrec as Stevanus Nanai, where he is listed as 2-0-1 (2). We've put the records together and hope boxrec.com follow suit at some point in the future.

This past Saturday was an interesting day in the world of boxing with fights of note all over the planet, in fact their fights involving notable Asian fighters on 3 continents.

Nagano, Japan
The first of those major bouts took place in Japan as WBA Atomweight champion Ayaka Miyao (19-5-1, 4) scored the 5th defense of her world title with a last gasp KO of Satomi Nishimura (7-2, 1). Miyao was fighting in Nagano for the second time as a professional, and the first since the JBC recognised female boxing, and it did seem, at times, like the pressure got to Miyao slightly early in the bout. Despite the pressure she did finish the show with a bang dropping Satomi hard in the dying seconds and forced the referee to stop the challenger, despite Satomi beating the count.

On the under-card there were 4 small domestic bouts. The most interesting of those saw the heavy handed Akira Ono (5-3, 4) take a 5th round TKO against Shogo Sumitomo (5-7, 4) who suffered his 6th stoppage loss in this bout, which was scheduled for 6 rounds. The other bouts were all 4 rounders and all went the distance. In one of those Wataru Hosokawa (2-2, 1) shut out Kensho Tokutome (1-4, 1), in a slightly closer bout Daigo Yamamoto (1-1-1) recorded his first win with a decision over Shingo Kusanagi (1-4, 1), the only other bout saw Rasher Aoki (2-2) taking a win over Keisuke Kanazawa (2-4, 1).

The show also featured Yoshinori Nishizawa who finally bowed out of boxing on this show with the card playing host to his retirement ceremony. The fighter, himself from Nagano, last fought in December 2011 but was still open to offers until earlier this year when he announced his retirement with this ceremony being held to thank him for his services to Japanese boxing.

Monte Carlo, Monaco
In the European principality of Monaco we saw another Asian fighter involved in a world title fight as China's diminutive Xiong Zhao Zhong (24-6-1, 14) attempted to claim the WBA Minimumweight title. Zhong, a former WBC title holder was just 8 months removed from a shocking stoppage loss to Oswaldo Novoa in his homeland of China but managed to give South Africa's Hekkie Budler (27-1, 9) a real nightmare, especially early on. In fact Zhong not only dropped Budler in the second round but also put him under real pressure for much of the first half fight, pulling himself off the canvas in round 3 to do so. Sadly for Zhong though Budler ran away with the fight in the second half to claim a clear but hard fought unanimous decision.

Durango, Mexico
In Mexico was saw another disappointment for Asian boxing fans as Japanese based Filipino Jonathan Baat (27-6-3, 13) was stopped in 6 rounds by Rodrigo Guerrero (22-5-1, 14). Guerrero, who defended his WBC International silver, has continued his great run of form following his loss late last year to Daiki Kameda in Japan and his win over Baat has followed a similarly impressive wins over Takahiro Shiggee, in July, and Daniel Rosas in February.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

Some days are hectic and it's fair to say that this past Friday was perhaps not hectiv but it was certainly busy with title fights in 3 countries and a solid amount of action spread throughout Asia.

Changsha, China
There was a lot of action today but the best of it appeared in China as Zovi put on a fantastic card with several interesting bouts.

The best of the bouts was a contest for the WBO Asia Pacific Flyweight title as China's very own Xiang Jing  (7-3-2, 1) went toe-to-toe with unbeaten Filipino Ben Mananquil (10-0-2, 2). The bout was really great and thoroughly competitive though did, sadly, result in a split decision draw leaving the title vacant and both men feeling like their efforts lacked the rewards they were due. For Mananguil this was a second successive draw in fights outside of his native Philippines following his highly controversial technical draw with Kwanpichit OnesongChaigym. Whilst we are fans of Mananguil we need to give credit to Jing who appears to be one of Chinese boxing's hidden gems.

Whilst Jing and Mananguil are the future we also saw some of the past as China's first ever world champion Xiong Zhao Zhong (24-5-1, 14) claimed a stoppage victory over Indonesia's highly experienced Jack Amisa (20-31-2, 14). Amisa retired an injury to his arm though before then he was playing up to the fans and trying to give people some fun. The real highlight however came from Zhong's celebration which included some very acrobatic moves. This was Zhong's second win following his world title loss to Oswaldo Novoa and it appears he's put that loss behind him.

An international bout on this card saw Heavyweights colliding as Romanian Razvan Cojanu (11-1, 6) claimed the WBO Asia Pacific Heavyweight title and stopped Argentina's Manuel Alberto Pucheta (37-10, 30) in 7 rounds. Pucheta was down before his corner threw in the towel signalling that they had seen enough from their man who hadn't looked good.

The Cojanu/Pucheta bout was one of two Heavyweight bouts on the card and the other saw China's very own Xia Shunkai (2-0, 2) defeat Indian debutant Harinder (0-1). Shunkai had all the advantages so it's difficult to say how good he is from this result but it's nice to see another Chinese Heavyweight, especially given the impact Taishan Dong seemed to have following his debut win over Alex Rozman.

In a Light Heavyweight bout Chinese debutant Adili Abulimiti (1-0, 1) defeated Thai based Indian Jakrit Prasong (0-1) who didn't throw a punch in anger before being stopped inside a round. 

From what we understand Tanee Piewnuan (1-0) managed to take a split decision over China's very own Dai Xianpeng (0-1) on the under-card . We are awaiting confirmation of this result though apparently the Thai really did deserve the win and out-worked Xianpeng despite the judges not recocgnising all the work of the visiting fighter.


Chonburi, Thailand
For us the more notable of two cards in Thailand saw the world ranked Knockout CP Freshmart (8-0, 4) defend his WBC Youth Minimumweight title. Knockout, the owner of the best name in boxing, saw off Filipino Cris Alfante (10-3, 3) in the 5th of a scheduled 10 rounds and appears to have taken his next step towards a world title. Ranked #6 by the WBA, Knockout is a man who will be targeting a world title fight sooner rather than later and if he keeps blowing away opponents like Alfante he's only going to speed up ascent to a title fight even if he's not yet ready for one.

On the same card there was also a win for South Korea's hard hitting Myung-goo Yuh (19-4-1, 14) who scored his 6th win in Thailand! Yuh managed to take out Thailand's very own Kaenpetch Sithmuangkan (8-4, 1) in the 4th round with a devastating left hook to the body. Yuh maybe a South Korean but he appears to have been adopted by the Thai's and it's like that the 34 year old will continue to fight there for what's left of his career, or at least much of it.

Samut Prakan, Thailand
The lesser of the two Thai cards was headlined by a WBO interim Asia Pacific Super Flyweight title fight which was by Petchbarngborn Kokietgym (17-7-1, 10) who over-came Filipino Fernando Lumacad (29-9-3, 12). Sadly for Lumacad this was his third successive loss and possibly suggests that he will now see his record become more and more scratchy if he continues. Lumacad does hold a pair of wins over Rey Megrino but those wins were more than 6 years and Lumacad really isn't a fighter looking like he can go places any more. For Petchbarngborn this was his 5th win since he was stopped by Sho Ishida in Japan and it marks a remarkable turn around for a man who, less than a year ago, had been forced to crumble to a very unheralded youngster.

Victoria, Australia
Things weren't good at all for Asian fighters in Australia as a trio of Asian's suffered losses to Australians. 

Two of those losses were suffered by Thai's with Pramool Boonpok (0-7) suffering a 6 round decision loss to the once beaten Khoder Assi (4-1, 1) whilst Boonpok's compatriot Paitoon Jaikom (1-7) went 8 rounds with the unbeaten Lewis Goodritch (4-0). Although Jaikom and Boonpok both have bad records we do think Jaikom is better than his record suggests and he's just lacking something that could help him turn things around.

In the main event Japan's Utaka Oishi (11-4, 6) was stopped by Zac Dunn (14-0, 12) who claim the WBC Eurasia Pacific Boxing Council Super Middleweight title. This result was no shock at all, even less saw when you realise that Oishi is not a Super Middleweight and should never have been fighting as one.

(Image courtesy of Zovi Boxing)

This past Friday was a busy day with numerous fights involving Asian fighters. Unfortunately a number of results haven't yet reached us though we've included the ones which we have got for now.

Nonthaburi, Thailand
We had a decent show in Thailand where former world title holder Suriyan Sor Rungvisai (36-5-1, 16) retained his WBC Asian Boxing Council Bantamweight title. Suriyan showed off his class as he became the first man to stop Filipino Fernando Ocon (12-7, 4), though it was a retirement from Ocon rather than a true stoppage. Ocon, who took Suriyan 12 rounds earlier this year, pulled out of the bout at the end of round 7 whilst in a big hole on scorecards.

Unfortunately Suriyan wasn't the only man with an early victory and in fact the shows other 4 bouts lasted just a combined 9 rounds.

The shortest of the other bouts on the show lasted just a round as Chaiyong Sithsaithong (33-12-4, 24) scored a very quick stoppage over the debuting Chonlatarn Kongnapagym (0-1) in a bout that probably shouldn't have been sanctioned. Whilst we don't consider Chaiyong as a special fighter this really was just a pointless exercise for all those involved.


Things weren't much better for Kongfah Nakornluang (13-0, 7) who stopped debutant Atiwat Chaiyonggym (0-1) in the second round. Kongfah has real potential but this bout was totally unnecessary and even though we understand how the system works in Thailand this was really not worth Kongfah getting in the ring for. 

Another bout that went just 2 rounds saw Kajornsak Sithsaithong (5-1, 5) stop Back Kistkriengkrai (0-1). This was a better match up but still one that was never likely to become competitive. 

The one other bout on the show saw Non Sithsaithong (12-6, 8) take 4 rounds to defeat yet another debutant, this time Petchbodin Sakpreecha (0-1). This was arguably the most competitive fight on the card and event that wasn't particularly competitive.

Nanyang, China
The other Asian show of the day was in China as Zovi promotions continued to grow Chinese boxing.

The star of the show was the world ranked, and very promising, Qiu Xiao Jun (12-3, 5) who successfully defended his WBC Asia Boxing Council Super Bantamweight title with a 4th round KO over popular Indonesian Rasmanudin (18-5-2, 9). Jun is really blossoming into a very talented fighter and he has now scored 3 successive victories of note after previously beating Johnathan Baat and Jason Cooper.

In a second title fight Xu Chun Yan (5-3, 2) made the first defence of her WBC International female Featherweight title as she stopped Thailand's Sriphrae Nongkipahuyuth (12-4-2, 5) in 7 rounds.

Although there was two title bouts on the show the biggest name was actually not in a title bout. That was former WBC Minimumweight champion Xiong Zhao Zhong (23-5-1, 13) who bounced back from losing his title to Osvaldo Novoa by stopping Filipino Roilo Golez (15-12-1, 6) in 5 rounds. Zhong is likely looking for another world title bout somewhere down the line though with the loss to Novoa still fresh in everyone's mind it could well be a while before Zhong gets that chance.

On the undercard of this show Brandon Ogilvie (6-1, 2) out pointed Indonesia's Eddy Comaro (27-19-5, 11) over 6 rounds and China's very own Zhou Yun Fei (2-0) defeated Gino Dilibero (0-2) in a 4 round decision.

Victoria, Australia
In Australia we had two bouts with Asian interests, unfortunately both of those bouts saw the Asian fighter coming on the wrong side of the result.

The most disappointing of those bouts saw South Korea's Kyung-Suk Kwak (10-10, 7) being stopped in 2 rounds by Australia's promising Zac Dunn (13-0, 11) in a battle for the WBC Asia Council Continental Super Middleweight title. Whilst we knew this would be a tough assignment for Kwak we did expect a bit better from his than a second round loss, however this was the 6th stoppage loss in the career of the 3-weight Korean champion.

Whilst Kwak was disappointing the same cannot be said of Thailand's Paitoon Jaikom (1-5) who went 10 rounds with Australia's once beaten Ben Capps (10-1-1, 2) who made the first defence of his WBC Asia Council Continental Light Middleweight title. Although this was the 5th straight loss for the Thai we've got to acknowledge that it's great he's taking decent fighters the distance and proving himself as a capable opponent even if he's unlikely to win too many bouts.

Hamburg, Germany
Things weren't great in Germany either as talented Romanian Viorel Simion (17-1, 7) out pointed Azerbaijan's Bakhtiyar Iskenderzade (9-4, 2) in a bit of a mismatch. Iskenderzade was dropped in the opening round though show good fighting spirit to battle back, sadly however he was never in the fight and lost a very clear decision to one of the best Featherweight's in Europe

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

It's not often the boxing world turns it's attention to China though that's exactly what happened today with the only genuinely notable action of the day taking place over their. Unfortunately for Chinese fighters it was a day to forget whilst for critics from the West it was a day to celebrate as they seemed to get their way.

Haikou, China
The main event on the card, televised by CCTV5 in China, saw the unpopular Xiong Zhao Zhong (22-5-1, 12) dethroned as the WBC Minimumweight champion. Zhong, China's first male world champion, became the first Chinese male to lose a world title courtesy of the bigger and stronger Osvaldo Novoa (12-5-1, 8).

Whilst Zhong was never the premier fighter at 105lbs he had never been stopped before so the fact Novoa defeated him in 5 rounds is impressive though sadly the fact China no longer has a world champion could see the country almost relying on Zou Shiming for an injection of life.

Novoa's victory does leave us with some interesting match ups including a bout between Novoa and WBC #1 challenger Wanheng Menayothin though for now we expect Novoa to make an easy defense at home whilst Zhong ponders his future in the sport.

Zhong wasn't the only Chinese fighter on the card to lose. Another who lost was the inexperienced Yang Xing Xin (6-3-2, 4) who was defeated by Thai veteran Sirimongkol Singwancha (76-2, 48). This victory, the 33rd straight victory for Sirimongkol, saw the Thai defending his WBC Asia Council Continental Welterweight title for the 3rd time.

Although some of the home fighters did lose, it wasn't all bad for Chinese boxers. The one shining light was Qiu Xiao Jun (11-2, 4) who unexpectedly defeated Australian visitor Jason Cooper (8-2-1, 4). Although the scoring did leave a bit too be desired it's fair to say that China needed a victory and Jun, who defended his WBC Youth World and WBC Asia Council Continental Super Bantamweight titles, could well become a Chinese fighter to keep an eye on. Of course he will need some developing but there is some decent foundations there to build on if he can catch the eye of a top quality trainer.

Another shining light was female fighter Xu Chun Yan (4-3, 1) who managed to take the scalp of the highly regarded Lindsay Garbatt (8-7-2, 3) and claim the International female Featherweight title in the process. We're unsure how the bout went though a victory, even if it was a little suspect, over Garbatt is a big deal and could land Yan another major fight somewhere down the line