This past Sunday was one of the busiest and most exciting this year, at least on paper. Sadly many of the bouts did leave us feeling under-whelmed though there was still more than enough to talk about.

Macau 
In an impressive performance the exciting Filipino fighter Jerwin Ancajas (22-1-1, 14) scored an excellent stoppage win over the generally tough, and under-rated, Fadhili Majiha (15-6-4, 7). Going in to the bout Majiha had only been stopped once, by Vusi Malinga, and had given fighters like Pungluang Sor Singyu very good tests yet couldn't handle Ancajas who stopped him with a beautiful straight left in round 3.

In an enjoyable encounter fans saw Hong Kong star Rex Tso (15-0, 9) take a very well fought decision over Indonesian visitor Espinos Sabu (11-3-1, 5). The fight was very enjoyable from the opening round to the final bell as Tso again added his reputation for excitement though it does seem clear that Tso is a very, very long way from a world title bout. For Sabu this was great exposure and we suspect we will see him in more notable bouts in Thailand or Japan in 2015 whilst for Tso it continued his development though it does seem like he's pretty much hit his peak and it's hard to see just where he really goes despite clearly beating Sabu.

Following Tso's bout we then saw another local star in action as the very popular “Macau Kid” Kuok Kun Ng (6-0, 2) took a unanimous but painful decision over Steve Attard (5-1-2, 2). The bout started well for Ng who rocked Attard twice towards the end of the opening round. Unfortunately however the local fighter had a cut to deal with from early on due to a head clash that his corner seemed to be unable to deal with, and it got significantly worse following subsequent headclashes that really left Ng's face a mess and his confidence looking like it was shattered. It seems almost certain that for Ng to go further he will need a more professional corner though we do genuinely like him, a lot, and see him as one of the better Chinese fighters who is currently making a name for himself. Hopefully he can he get a corner that can help him when a situation like this arises again in the future. We've got to admit we were surprised by how close two of the cards here were, with 2 judges handing in scores of 57-56 making the contest seem closer than it really seemed.

It wasn't a great show for all the local talent however as Qu Peng (6-1-1, 4) suffered a split decision loss to Andrew Robinson (3-3, 2) in a 4 rounder.

In the first of the show's main fights we saw Jessie Vargas (26-0, 9) battle against Mexican Antonio DeMarco (31-4-1, 23) as Vargas defended the WBA Light Welterweight title for the second time. The bout was a real gem to watch after a slow start and saw both men landing some cracking shots in the middle rounds as the defenses of both fighters left a lot to be desired. In terms of skills it wasn't the best fight we've seen recently but in terms of action and excitement this was fantastic and the Macau fans really did get a treat. Although Vargas was the winner here we do suspect his reign won't be a particularly long one considering the fact he lacks genuine power and always seems to make things into a struggle.

The second of the world title bouts on the show saw Ukraine's exceptionally talented Vasyl Lomachenko (3-1, 1) defend his WBO Featherweight title with a dominant victory over Thailand's experienced Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo (52-2, 33). Piriyapinyo was dropped in round 4 and played with in every subsequent round despite the fact Lomachenko seriously damaged his left hand in the middle of the fight. How Lomachenko put on a 1-handed masterclass is a genuine mystery but it was incredibly impressive from the Ukrainian fighter who looks insanely talented.

In the co-feature Zou Shiming (6-0, 1) showed off his ability at times as he dominated Thailand's previously unbeaten Kwanpichit OnesongchaiGym (27-1-2, 12). The first round was very quiet before Shiming began to let his hands go in round 2 and dropped the Thai fighter twice in what was a sensational round from Shiming who perhaps should have had a stoppage at the end of the round. Shiming again dropped Kwanpichit in round 6 and exploded with some lovely punches though didn't manage to sustain it enough to see off the Thai, who was also deducted a point in the 6th for low blows. Sadly a headclash later in the bout left Shiming fighting one eyed and when that happened he became rather negative. At times Shiming showed some world class ability though over-all it was.

The main event on this show saw Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao (57-3-2, 38) put on a commanding performance on route to a very wide decision win over Chris Algieri (20-1, 8). The bout, for Pacquiao's WBO Welterweight title, was one sided with Algeiri's best “weapon” being his non-stop movement which seemed to neutralise Pacquiao at times, though the Filipino still managed to hurt the American numerous times and score 6 official knockdowns, albeit several were debatable. After the fight Pacquiao hinted at the long awaited Mayweather bout though it seems to us that that bout is no longer the “once in a generation” fight that it was a few years ago.

Aichi, Japan
Result from Japan were slow to reach us from this weekend. With the main event result reaching us days before the others, the main event saw an expected victory for Yushi Tanaka (13-0-3, 9). Tanaka successfully over-came Indonesian visitor Rendi Stone (3-3-1, 2) with a 3rd round KO to retain the WBC Youth Bantamweight title. Hopefully we'll get the other results from this show shortly.

In the chief support bout Shota Hayashi (24-5-1, 15) had to struggle somewhat to over-come Indonesian visitor Jason Butar Butar (16-15-1, 12) in what was a tough test than expected for the Japanese fighter who we believe is hunting a title fight at some point next year.

On the undercard fans saw 5 bouts, all of which were scheduled for 4 rounds. Of those bouts two managed to go the complete schedule. One of those bouts saw the previously win-less Takashi Kagamihara (1-1) take a decision over Tom Hamaguchi (1-2) whilst the other distance bout saw the debuting Yuta Ando (1-0) over-come the previously unbeaten Yuta Imaizumi (1-1).  

Of the stoppages the quickest was scored in the second round by the unbeaten Daiuki Ichikawa (3-0, 2) who took out Yoshihito Takahashi (2-3, 2). Another stoppage that occurred in the second round saw the debuting Takushiro Mizoguchi (1-0, 1) defeat fellow debutant Sho Yasuda (0-1). The remaining stoppage saw Naoki Miyagi (2-1, 2) stopping the win-less Mitsukazu Oshita (0-2) in round 3.

(Image courtesy of Sumio Yamada)

This past Saturday was one of the busiest days in Asian boxing with fights taking place all over the globe. In fact it have been one of the busiest and most varied days since we started this site.

Macau
The biggest show the day was in Macau as Top Rank returned to the Special Administrative Region of China and show cased a number of promising fighters. Whilst it wasn't the best Macau card we've seen it really did have a bit of everything.

The opening bout saw Olympic champion Egor Mekhontsev (4-0, 4) defeat brave Filipino Mike Mirafuente (2-1, 2). In terms of skills the bout was a mismatch but Mirafuente did try and make a fight of things by trying to catch the much bigger Mekhontsev with hayemakers, unfortunately for the Filipino the shots just bounced off the giant Russian.

The second bout on the show was the most confusing as the world ranked Filipino Mark Anthony Geraldo (31-4-3, 14) saw his bout with Mexico's Efrain Perez (17-5, 12) cut from 8 rounds to 6 rounds with out the fighters being informed. For Geraldo it was possibly a lucky escape as he was beginning to look ragged but the Filipino looked genuinely sensational in the first 3 rounds. Hopefully we get to see a rematch but if not we want to see a lot more of both fighters who both look good to watch for very different reasons. Geraldo looks sensationally skilled and has some of the prettiest boxing we've seen since we last saw Jorge Linares, for Perez his toughness will always make him fun to watch. Well done to the match makers for putting these two together.

In the third bout we saw a crushing body shot as Brian Viloria (34-4-0-2, 20) stopped the game Jose Alfredo Zuniga (11-6-1, 5). Viloria is trying to work his way towards another world title fight and was given a very good test here by Zuniga before pulling out a tremendous body shot to send the Mexican fighter down for the count. It really was one of the best fights on the card in terms of competitive action.

The first of the "Chinese" fighters in action was Hong Kong's highly entertaining Rex Tso (14-0, 9) who put on a very decent showing to finish off Indonesian John Bajawa (12-7, 6). The fight, thought to be a stay busy fight for Tso ahead of a possible world title fight in November, saw Tso showing improved movement though we still question his power and defence and although he stopped Bajawa in 5 rounds he never really seemed to hurt the Indonesian.

Whilst Tso is always entertaining we dare say he was over shadowed by the all action Ik Yang (16-0-0-1, 11) who dismantled Thailand's Rachamongkol Sor Pleonchit (14-9, 6) in fantastic fashion. Yang dropped Rachamongkol inside the open round and then rocked him in the second before finishing him off to score his 3rd stoppage in 4 bouts in Macau. Although not the most skilled Yang has all the traits of a fan friendly fighter and hopefully he will be given more exposure. Ranked #1 by the OPBF a fight between Yang and OPBF champion Masayoshi Nakatani would certainly be on out list of fights we want to see.

The final bout on the internationally streamed under-card saw Kuok Kun Ng (5-0, 2), AKA "The Macau Kid", put on a solid performance against the game and previously unbeaten Beau O'Brien (4-1-1. 1). The performance may have only resulted in Ng taking a decision but he continued to interest us and we're really looking forward to his development and in all honesty we think he may be the most interesting of the "Chinese" youngsters on the show.

Following the under card we then moved onto the main card which was kicked off, surprisingly, with a world title fight. Unfortunately however it was a bout shrouded in controversy as Cuba's talented Guillermo Rigondeaux (14-0, 9) appeared to finish the fight with a cheap shot over Thailand's Sod Kokietgym (63-3-1, 28) who had been stunned by a nasty headclash just moments earlier. The bout, for the WBA "super" and WBO regular Super Bantamweight titles was expected to be a dud though actually got the internet community chatting, en masse about the ending, something we didn't expect when the bout was announced.

The penultimate bout on the card didn't feature an Asian fighter but did feature the very exciting Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez (29-0, 23) who just destroyed Junior Talipeau (20-3-1, 7) inside a round. Talipeau was dropped 3 times in what was, on paper, a decent test for Sanchez.

In the main event we saw a polished effort from Chinese double Olympic champion Zou Shiming (5-0, 1) who went 10 rounds and claimed a clear decision over former world title challenger Luis De la Rosa (23-4-1, 13). De la Rosa managed to give Shiming some issues, especially in round 3, but it was a clear win for the Chinese fighter who is now being linked to world title fights and in fact a fight with former amateur foe Amnat Ruenroeng looks to be on the cards for either the end of this year or, more likely, the start of next year. We know some fans hate Shiming but this really was a great performance and showed that he is developing a real professional style.

Wonju, South Korea
Korean fans got to see the return to the ring of Japan's Takuya Watanabe (21-5-1, 9) who made light work of Thailand's Yodpichai Sithsaithong (10-12, 4) and claimed the vacant IBF Asia Featherweight title as a result. The result, recorded as a KO at the start of round 7, was a happy return to Korea for the man who lost a lot of blood last time he fought in the country. 

For those who haven't seen Watanabe's previous fight in Korea, a bout that saw him battling Jaesung Lee, we advise you give it a watch and it will almost certainly be the bloodiest bout of the year.

Guerrero, Mexico
In Mexico and live on WBCboxing.tv fans got to see Mexico's Nery Saguilan (30-4-1, 11) stop former Japanese Super Featherweight champion Seiichi Okada (18-5, 11) in 8 rounds. The loss was a painful one for Okada who has now got to seriously consider his future in the sport. This was his 4th stoppage loss in 6 fights and his glory days are long gone.

For Saguilan this result may set up a fight with another Japanese fighter, Takashi Miura. Miura, the WBC Super Featherweight champion, would make for a great fight with Saguilan and has a reputation for beating up Mexican so both camps could sell this one as a nationalistic revenge contest making it very easy to market.

Western Australia, Australia
Australia played host to two cards featuring Asians. In Western Australia we saw a trio of Asian's losing.

In the main event Indonesia's Roy Tua Manihuruk (15-11-2, 11) came up short against the unbeaten Clint Hosking (10-0, 2). The bout, fought for the WBC Eurasia Pacific Boxing Council Lightweight title,  saw Manihuruk going the distance but he always needed a knock to get a win.

Lower down the card we did see a knockout in a bout involving an Asian, sadly however it was a knockout loss for Thai female Kaenpetch Superchamps (6-9-1) who was blasted inside a round by Erin McGowan (16-2, 9). Things weren't much better for Baikon Lokromklao (1-4) who was shut out by Jacob McBride (1-1).

Queensland, Australia
The second Australia show saw Arnon Yuchareon (0-4) suffer a clear loss to the debuting Miles Zewski (1-0). Zewski dropped Yuchareon in round 3 to secure a 40-35 victory on all 3 cards.

Also on this card Jerry Nardo (19-5, 10) suffered a 7th round technical decision loss to Brett Williams Smith (19-2-1, 9). The bout saw both men cut from head clashes though they seemed to just occur and occur despite both being warned.

(Photo courtesy of Sumio Yamada)

The biggest boxing news on Saturday was all about "Ring of Gold", the latest in Bob Arum's Macau shows. The shows, which may split opinion between fans have been fantastic for exposing some Asian talent to a new audience and we've got to admit that we're huge fans of them, obviously. Though we under-stand that many fans may not like the idea of headlining shows with certain fighters or having shows on at unusual times of the day for the typical US audience.

Thankfully as fans of the shows we'll say that the latest was one of the most interesting and one of the shows that has really revealed just what you can do when you combine good amateurs with elite training.

Macau, China
The card kicked off with Filipino Jerwin Ancajas (19-1-1, 11) looking very impressive. Ancajas looked sharp, fast and skilled as he took apart the over-matched Inthanon Sithchamuang (20-7, 11). On this performance we're looking forward to seeing more of Ancajas and hopefully he will be on another of the Macau cards later this year. Although "pretty boy" Ancajas isn't ready for a world title fight, and won't be for quite some time, he does have all the traits of a man who could well move in to the mix at world level in a year or two. Saying that however the Filipino is the WBA #14 at Bantamweight.

Following Ancajas's win we saw another clear mismatch as Ancajas's countryman Harmonito Dela Torre (12-0, 7) easily stopped Indonesia's Yakobus Heluka (7-6). Heluka came out swinging though was left out lying flat on the canvas before the first round was over and it seems likely that Heluka was still feeling the ill effects of being stopped just a few weeks back.

The show's third contest saw Macau's own boxing prospect Kuok Kun Ng (3-0, 1) score his first stoppage as he defeated Indonesian Rocky Alap Alap (5-11) in 3 rounds. Kuok, known as "The Macau Kid" appears to be a very interesting prospect and although he's short for a Light Middleweight he does seem to be skilled and improving quickly making him a fighter that we have to keep an eye on, especially if he continues to improve. 

In the show's fourth contest, the first to feature an Olympic gold medal winner, fans got to see an improved Ryota Murata (3-0, 3) in action. Murata, a Japanese boxing icon, stepped up a level to fight Brazilian Carlos Nascimento (29-4, 23) though appeared to be well in his comfort zone as he let Nascimento hit him on the arms before firing back with heavier shots of his own. Those heavy shots broke down the Brazilian who was stopped on the ropes whilst taking an unanswered series of punches.

Murata's contest was followed by the first title fight which saw Hong Kong's Rex Tso (12-0, 8) battling Japan's Mako Matsuyama (7-8-1, 3) in the stand out fight of the show. The two men willingly traded through out the contest though Matsuyama was eventually broken down, as much from exhaustion as Tso's shots. The fight, the highlight fight on the card, proved to be a much better match up than the records of the fighters indicated though perhaps suggests that Tso isn't as good as hyped. He is however very fun to watch and the type of fighter who we can't help but want to see in action again.

The best fight on the card was followed by a KO of the year contender courtesy of a thunderbolt landed by former WBO Super Flyweight champion Marvin Sonsona (18-1-1, 15). Sonsona, a slight betting under-dog, left former WBA Super Bantamweight champion Akifumi Shimoda (28-4-2, 12) lying unconscious following one of the best uppercuts we're likely to see this year. This victory will likely see Sonsona given world rankings at Featherweight, where he is now the WBO International champion, and if given time there is no doubt that Sonsona can become a world champion for the second time.

The second Olympic champion to fight on the show was Russian Egor Mekhontsev (2-0, 2) who stopped the previously unbeaten Thai Atthaporn Jaritram (4-1, 1) in a very 1 sided contest. Atthaporn was too small and slow for the very gifted Mekhontsev who clearly has the talent to be moved quickly in a relative weak division. Although Light Heavyweight does have some great champions it is weak below those champions and there is no reason Mekhontsev can't be threatening the top 10 by the end of the year.

Unfortunately after an excellent card the life was sucked out of the venue in the only world title fight on the show. The bout in question was an IBF Lightweight title fight between the talented, yet thoroughly frustrating, Miguel Vazquez (34-3, 13) and Denis Shafikov (33-1-1, 18). Vazquez started well though as soon as he realised Shafikov could get close to him the fight became less about boxing and more about holding, clinching, hugging, spoiling and generally preventing the bout from having any semblance of a boxing contest. Vazquez, who retained his title, certainly won't be welcome to Macau again and Ernie Sharif, the referee of the bout, may well come in for a lot of questioning over the next few days.

Thankfully the crowd came back alive for the show's main event which saw China's very own Zou Shiming (4-0, 1) put in a very impressive performance. Shiming, the reason for these Macau shows, may get a lot of hate internationally though appears to be a fighter making huge improvements between fights. That improvement was fully on show as he scored his first stoppage by wearing down and beating up Yokthong Kokietgym (15-4, 11). Yokthong, who had been stopped quickly by Ryuji Hara a few years ago, came to fight but was unable to cope with the ability of Shiming who appears to have really grasped the core concepts of professional boxing after looking very poor in some of his earlier bouts.

With both Shiming and Murata showing real signs of improvement it's not a wonder both are having their names linked to world title fights already. The rumour seems to be that Shiming could be fighting Amnat Ruenroeng later this year whilst Murata will be hoping to claim a world title next year.

Cotabato del Sur, Philippines
Outside of Ring of Gold there were other contests involving Asian's. These included several bouts in the Philippines.

One of the Filipino bouts saw former world title challenger Richie Mepranum (27-3-1, 6) putting in a very dominant display over Thailand's limited Phupha Por Nobnom (10-9-1, 9) who was dropped a staggering 6 times before retiring between rounds 4 and 5. Phupha was dropped in every round of the bout and showed that he really didn't belong in the ring with Mepranum.

The only other bout we have the result for from this card saw Jetly Purisima (18-13-4, 5) out pointing Jerson Luzarito (8-4-3, 3) over the 10 round distance.

Pennsylvania, USA
In the US things were disappointing for Azerbaijan's Farid Aghayev (1-0-1, 1) who was held to a majority draw by Lanny Dardar (1-0-1, 1) over 4 rounds.

(Picture courtesy of Toprank)