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One of the most notable Asian female fighters of all time was Momo Koseki (24-2-1, 9) who was the long ruling queen of the 102lb "Atomweight" division. Whilst female boxing is certainly not as high profile as male boxing it's still a part of boxing and Koseki's place in boxing history is a notable one. Koseki managed to unify WBC and WBA titles, become a 2-weight champion, and was a world champion for more than 9 years! She might not be a big name, but she was certainly a successful fighter. To try and shine a light on Koseki, we bring you 10 facts you probably didn't know about... Momo Koseki! 1-As an amateur Koseki went an excellent 20-2 (8), and won a trio of Japanese amateur titles. 2-Both of Koseki's defeats came in her first 5 bouts, losing in Thailand to Winyu Paradorn Gym and Samson Tor Buamas, before she went on an unbeaten 22 fight unbeaten. Interestingly both of these defeats came before the Japan Boxing Comission even recognised female boxing. As a result Koseki's record, as recognised by the JBC, is 20-0-1 (9). 3-Given her amateur experience, and future professional success, and prior professional experience in Thailand, it's hard to believe that originally Koseki failed her first pro-test, in which she was hoping to get a B License. Despite failing her pro-test she did manage to obtain a C Class license. 4-Koseki used the song "Southpaw" By Pink Lady as her entrance music. 5-Koseki's first world title win, over Winyu Paradorn Gym, was deemed highly controversial due to a headclash. The bout provisionally ruled a KO win for Koseki, pending a decision by the WBC. The WBC upheld the original result, though did order a rematch, which was supposed to be Koseki's second defense. Despite the WBC ordering the bout it never happened as Winyu would lose an interim bout and retire. 6-Koseki was the first, and so far only, Japanese female boxer to unify world titles. She did this when he unified the WBC and WBA Atomweight titles with her 2015 victory over Ayaka Miyao. 7-When Koseki retired she actually vacated world titles in two weight classes. She was the WBC champion at both Atomweight and Minimumweight. Whilst this isn't totally unheard of in boxing, it's, we believe, the only time a Japanese fighter has vacated multiple weight world titles at the same time. 8-With 17 defenses of the WBC Atomweight title to her name Koseki has the most title defenses of a world title by any Japanese fighter, male or female. 9-Koseki was a 2-time (2012, 2014) winner of the Women's Best Fighter Award at the Japanese annual awards, and also a 2-time winner for fight of the year (2015 Vs Ayaka Miyao and 2017 Vs Yuko Kuroki) 10-When Koseki retired from the sport she revealed she was wanting to become a physical therapist in her post-boxing life.
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We've all heard of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, and we've decided to put our spin on things with "Six degrees of separation" looking to connect Asian fighters you may never have assumed were connected! Today we connect former 2-weight female world champion Momo Koseki to Manny Pacquiao.
Just as ground rules, we're not doing the more basic "A beat B who beat C who beat D" type of thing, but instead we want to link fighters in different ways. As a result we will limit A fought B connections, and try to get more varied connections together, as you'll see here! We also know there are often shorter routes to connect fighters, but that's not always the most interesting way to connect them. 1-Japanese fighter Momo Koseki might not be a massive name in the world of sport, but few can argue with her success in the sport. She is a 2-weight world champion, a former unified world champion and a fighter with 17 success defenses of the WBC Atomweight title under her belt. She was the MVP of the Atomweight division for around a decade.As a professional she fought of the Aoki Gym and was a stablemate of Sho Kimura. 2-The teak tough and regularly entertaining Sho Kimura is best known for his short, but very fun, reign as the WBO Flyweight champion. He won the belt in a big upset win in China and would defend the belt twice before losing it to fellow Japanese fighter Kosei Tanaka. Prior to winning a world title he won the WBO Asia Pacific Flyweight title, beating Masahiro Sakamoto for that title. A prior hold of that title was Tepparith Singwancha. 3-After winning the WBO Asia Pacific title in 2010 Tepparith Singwancha went on to win the WBA Super Flyweight title. Whilst the way he won the title was a mess his reign was a solid one, defending the belt 3 times, all against world class opponents. Another Thai who won the WBA Super Flyweight title was the legendary Khaosai Galaxy, who held the title for more than 7 years and ran up a record of 19 defenses. 4-Whilst Khaosai Galaxy is regarded as the most successful of the Galaxy brothers his twin Khaokor Galaxy also had very notable success, and was a 2-time WBA Bantamweight champion in the 1980's. 5-As mentioned Khaokor Galaxy was a 2-time WBA Bantamweight champion, though surprisingly he failed to record a single successful defense from his two reigns. Interestingly he made his debut on October 9th 1985. That was the same day that Ji Won Kim made his 3rd defense of the IBF Super Bantamweight title, stopping former former champion Sung In Suh in 66 seconds. 6-Amazingly Ji Won Kim is one of only two men to ever defend the IBF Super Bantamweight title with an opening round win. The other is Manny Pacquiao, who achieved the feat on October 26th 2002, when he blasted out Fahprakorb Rakkiatgym in 166 seconds! We've all heard of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, and we've decided to put our spin on things with "Six degrees of separation" looking to connect Asian fighters you may never have assumed were connected! Today we connect former long term Japanese world champions Takashi Uchiyama and Momo Koseki.
Just as ground rules, we're not doing the more basic "A beat B who beat C who beat D" type of thing, but instead we want to link fighters in different ways. As a result we will limit A fought B connections, and try to get more varied connections together, as you'll see here! We also know there are often shorter routes to connect fighters, but that's not always the most interesting way to connect them. 1-Japanese Super Featherweight Takashi Uchiyama is best known for his lengthy run as the WBA Super Featherweight champion, which saw him holding the title for more than 6 years. Before winning the WBA belt he won the OPBF Super Featherweight, which he defended 5 times before vacating it. His title win came against Nedal Hussein in 2007, with Uchiyama stopping Hussein in round 8. 2-With almost 50 bouts to his name Nedal Hussein was fighter who was very busy during his 10 year career. His career ran from 1997 to 2007 and saw him face a bit of a who's and fight for various titles, winning the Commonwealth Super Bantamweight title, fighting twice for world titles and twice for OPBF titles. His opponents not only included Uchiyama but also Hiroyuki Enoki, Scott Harrison, Oscar Larios and Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao, who took a TKO win over Hussein in 2000. 3-During his legendary career Manny Pacquiao has been one of the faces of the sport and has won a huge collection of titles. These have included regional, international and world titles as he become one of the most legendary fighters in the sport's history. One of his many world titles was the IBF Super Bantamweight title, which he won in his US debut against Lehlo Ledwaba. That win put him on the boxing map in the west, and was also his second world title. Another man who later won that very same title was Panama's Celestino Caballero, who won the belt in 2008 whilst unifying it with the WBA title that he had previously held. 4-The freakishly long and rangy Celestino Caballero was a nightmare to go up against, standing at almost 6' and fighting at Super Bantamweight and Featherweight during his career. He was a true road warrior, fighting in Panama, USA, Venezuela, Colombia, Thailand, Canada, Mexico Argentina and Japan. Not only was he well travelled but he also proved to be a thorn in the side of Asian fighters, notching wins over Satoshi Hosono, Daud Yordan and Somsak Sithchatchawal. 5-Somsak Sithchatchawal is best known for his legendary bout with Mahyar Monshipour, which saw him claim the WBA Super Bantamweight title. Sadly he lost that belt to Caballero in 2006 and began a slow decline that saw him ending his career with a 60-4-3 (43) record. His final bout came on January 6th 2010 when he lost to to Fernando Otic in Koh Tao. On the same card fans also saw female fighter Krikanok Islandmuaythai, in what was reportedly her professional debut. 6-Whilst not a particularly successful fighter Krikanok Islandmuaythai did fight a relative who's who of the female scene during her short, but surprisingly notable, career. She fought a number of world title challenger and several world champions. She also had a world title fight of her own, in what was her 6th bout. That ended in a loss to the dominant Momo Koseki, who recorded her 6th defenses of the WBC Aromweight title thanks to a 5th round TKO of the Thai.  Last week we looked at some little known facts of Japanese boxing, and today we're going to follow that up with a similar article, this time focusing on the often overlooked women of Japanese boxing, who also have some interesting records of their own!
1-Momo Koseki holds the Japanese record for most world title defenses, with 17. That's not just a female record but a Japanese record, with Koseki defending the WBC Atomweight title 17 times from August 2008, when she won the belt, to her final defense in November 2016. During her reign she also won the WBA Atomweight title beating Ayaka Miyao. The run included 1 wins and a draw and included victories over almost every notable Atomweight of the time, including Nao Ikeyama, Saemi Hanagata and Miyao. She eventually gave up the belt and in 2017, in what was her final bout, she became a 2-weight champion. 2-The oldest Japanese world champion was Nao Ikeyama, who lost the WBO Atomweight title on July 29th 2018, 48 years, 10 months and 9 days. She not only holds the record for the oldest Japanese world champion when she lost the title, but also when she won it, winning the belt at 44 years 7 months and 29 days, and she has the trifecta as she also holds the record for being the oldest for a successful world title defense, coming when she was 47 years, 9 months and 23 days. 3-The Japanese record for the fewest fights to a female world title is a disputed record with 3 different claimants depending on definition. The fewest fights, as recognised by the JBC, sees Momo Koseki holding the record with 3 sanctioned bouts, however she had fought several times in Thailand prior to that in bouts not recognised by the JBC. Similarly Naomi Togashi the "interim" WBC female Light Flyweight title in her third bout recognised by the JBC, though of course that's an interim title. Togashi would however receive the full version of the title before her 6th professional bout. The record, as seen on boxrec, is actually held by Kasumi Saeki, who won the WBO female Minimumweight title in her 4th professional bout earlier this year. All of her bouts came after the JBC officially recognised female boxing and there is no confusion over the legitimacy of her bouts or title win. 4-The shortest recorded height of a Japanese female fighter is Yuri Kobayashi, who was 4′ 10½″, or 149cm. She fought from 2006 to 2017 and racked up a 4-4-4 record. Interestingly she is taller than Kazunori Tenryu, who was the shortest Japanese male to fight in a professional bout. 5-The Japanese fighter to win world titles in the most divisions is Naoko Fujioka, who is Japan's only 5 weight world champion. The talented Fujioka began her career at Minimumweight, winning the WBC female Minimumweight title in 2011, when she stopped Anabel Ortiz. She would skip all the way up to Super Flyweight for her second title, dethroning Naoko Yamaguchi in 2013 for the WBA female Super Flyweigth title. Her third title came at Bantamweight, when she captured the WBO female Bantamweight title. Her 5th title saw her dropping to Flyweight, to claim the WBA title in 2017 against Isabel Milan, before dropping down to Light Flyweight for the WBO towards the end of 2017. Interestingly Fujioka didn't take a Flyweight title until her third shot, losing to both Susi Kentikian and Jessica Chavez in bouts for titles at 112lbs.  The middle of November is hectic with fights involving Asians at domestic, regional and even world level. The huge names might not be in action lots of solid fighters are. November 11th- On November 11th Japanese fans get a real treat with an OPBF title Quadruple header. Merlito Sabillo (25-3-1, 12) v Ryuya Yamanaka (12-2, 3) The lowest weight title being competed for on the OPBF quadruple header show is the Minimumweight title and will see former world champion Merlito Sabillo take on Japanese youngster Ryuya Yamanaka for the vacant title. Sabillo. In recent years Sabillo has struggled, and has gone 2-3-1 in his last 6 bouts, suggesting his career is hanging by a thread. Yamanaka is much less well known, but has been suggested as a possible future WBO title challenger and will have to win here if he's to get a shot in 2017. It should be noted however that this is a huge step up for the 21 year old Japanese fighter who is being thrown in with a proverbial shark here. Takahiro Yamamoto (18-4, 15) v Mark John Yap (24-12, 10) A much more interesting bout comes at Bantamweight where we'll see heavy handed champion Takahiro Yamamoto defending his title against Japanese based Filipino veteran Mark John Yap. On paper this doesn't look hugely interesting given that Yap has double digit losses, however his record, like that of many Filipino's, is misleading and in recent years he has been stringing together good wins, including two over Hiroyuki Hisataka and one over Tatsuya Ikemizu. Saying that however Yamamoto is a talented fighter, with heavy hands and an ultra aggressive style which makes him look like a fighter who is going to be very hard to beat at this level. Shun Kubo (10-0, 7) v Jin Wook Lim (8-4-5, 2) At Super Bantamweight we'll see the unbeaten, and world ranked, Shun Kubo attempting to defend his title against Korean visitor Jin Wook Lim. Kubo is talented and is seen as the future of the Shinsei gym however it does seem like his team are wanting to develop him at OPBF level before having him follow in the footsteps of stablemate Hozumi Hasegawa, and this will be his second defense of the OPBF title. Lim will be making his international debut here and comes in to the bout as a former Korean Bantamweight champion, and one who holds a win over Sa Myung Noh and a draw with Ye Joon Kim, this is however a huge step up for Kim and one that he's making on the road. A very tough assignment for him against a very talented hopeful. Masayoshi Nakatani (12-0, 7) v Allan Tanada (14-5-3, 6) At Lightweight we have OPBF champion Masayoshi Nakatani looking to extend his reign, and take it into a third year, as he takes on former OPBF Super Featherweight champion Allan Tanada. The under-rated Nakatani holds notable wins over the likes of Yoshitaka Kato, Ricky Sismundo and Shuhei Tsuchiya and will likely be adding another notable win to his record here. Tanada holds goof wins himself over the likes of Jose Ocampo, Rikiya Fukuhara and Roy Mukhlis but has lost 3 of his last 4 and few would back him here against the much taller Nakatani, however he is upset minded and won't fear Nakatani's reputation.  Momo Koseki (22-2-1, 8) v Chie Higano (6-4, 2)
On a separate Japanese card fight fans will be able to see Japan's longest reigning active world champion. That's WBC Atomweight champion Momo Koseki who has held her title for more than 8 years and looks to extend that reign with her 17th defence! The frightening Koseki will be up against domestic foe Chie Higano in what should be a straight forward win for Koseki who looks to extend various Japanese records here. For Higano the bout is a huge step up from facing domestic class foes to facing a nightmarish world champion in what really should be a mismatch. November 14th- Toshio Arikawa (13-4, 11) v Yasuhiro Okawa (14-12-3, 5) II On November 14th we go back to Japanese title action here as Japanese Welterweight champion Toshio Arikawa attempts to make the first defense of his title. On paper this looks like a mismatch, and Arikawa is in great form winning his last 4 bouts with stoppages against Akinori Watanabe and Nobuyuki Shindo in his last 2 bouts. Saying that however Okawa holds a relatively recent win over Arikawa, and has lost only once in the last 5 years. This looks like a mismatch but should turn out to be a very interesting bout. November 18th- Iwan Zoda (11-1, 10) v Jeronil Borres (7-1-1, 5) Our favourite Indonesian prospect returns to the ring on November 18th to defend his IBF Youth Flyweight title, and move towards a potential world title fight. The exciting Iwan Zoda will be up against fellow youngster Jeronil Borress, a once beaten Filipino who has has never been stopped and recent took on former world title challenger Richard Claveras. This is far from an easy defense for Zoda and instead it's a chance for him to prove himself, and his power, and the bout could end up telling us a lot about both fighters. November 19th- Ryosuke Iwasa (22-2, 14) v Luis Rosa (22-0-0-2, 10) One of the most notable non-title bouts of the month for Asian fight fans sees former world title challenger Ryosuke Iwasa take on the unbeaten Luis Rosa in an IBF world title eliminator at Super Bantamweight. On paper this is a must win for Iwasa, who is best known for losing to Lee Haskins and Shinsuke Yamanaka, For Rosa the bout is a step up following a string of bouts against relatively limited opponents, like German Merez and Luis Hinojosa, but he's touted as a potential world champion and will be wanting to show his ability here. Interestingly the winner of this could find themselves up against the winner of the upcoming Jonathan Guzman/Yukinori bout.  The month of September was a month with a few stand out days, October however looks mouth watering with numerous days of note. October 4th- Waseem Muhammad Vs Min Wook Lee The new month kicks off with an intriguing debut in South Korea. The bout in questions sees Pakistani debutant Waseem Muhammad (0-0) battle against Korean local Min Wook Lee (2-2) in a bout for the South Korean (KBC) Bantamweight title. On paper it looks a strange one but Muhammad is based in Korea and AK Promotions seem to have invested heavily in the former Pakistan amateur stand out. A win for Muhammad as we may see him become the first Pakistan born fighter of real note. Shusaku Fujinaka Vs Randall Bailey On the same card as Muhammad's debut we'll see an intriguing match up between Japan's Shusaku Fujinaka (12-5-2, 8) and American veteran Randall Bailey (45-8-0-1, 38), with the two men fighting for the WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight crown. Fujinaka isn't a great fighter but this bout has garnered real attention with Bailey, a former multi-time world champion, bringing genuine attention to the South Korean boxing scene. With Bailey contracted to AK Promotions this could end up being the first of many fights in Korea for the “KO King”.  October 12th- Ken Shiro Vs Rolly Sumpalong It's again minor title action that has our attention as Japan's fast rising Ken Shiro (4-0, 3) battles against unbeaten Filipino Rolly Sumalpong (9-0-1, 4) in a bout for the WBC Youth Light Flyweight title. We've been impressed by Ken Shiro since his debut, last year, and if he wins here we're expecting to see him fight for a Japanese title in early 2016. Sumalpong on the other hand has gone under our radar but did claim the WBC Eurasia Pacific Boxing Council Minimumweight title earlier this year and could himself be one to watch. Yoshitaka Kato Vs Ricky Sismundo On the same card as the Ken Shiro Vs Sumpalong fight is a potentially explosive Lightweight clash between Yoshitaka Kato (29-5-1, 9) and Ricky Sismundo (29-8-2, 13). This bout will likely go under-the-radar for many fans but it really does look like it could be a very special bout between two tough guys with under-rated power and under-rated skills. It is only scheduled for 8 rounds but it could end up being one of the best 8 round bouts of the year.  October 16th- Kohei Kono Vs Koki Kameda In a genuinely historic bout fans will get the chance to see two Japanese fighters fight for a world title on US soil, the first time such a bout has taken place in America. The bouts will see current WBA Super Flyweight champion Kohei Kono (30-8-1, 13) take on mandatory challenger Koki Kameda (33-1, 18) in what is likely to be a must win bout for both men. At 34 years old Kono will be unlikely to get another shot if he loses here to Kameda whilst a loss for Kameda would end a horror year for the Kameda clan, which has also seen Tomoki lose twice and Daiki suffer a huge shock loss. A loss for Koki and the Kameda's really will have lost the appeal they once had. October 17th- Gennady Golovkin Vs David Lemieux It's rare to have bouts with every ingredient, but we think we may have one here with hard hitting Kazakh king Gennady Golovkin (33-0, 30) facing off against Canadian destroyed David Lemieux (34-2, 31). Coming into the bout both men are major punchers and world champions, with Golovkin holding the WBA “super”, WBC “interim” and IBO titles whilst Lemieux is the IBF title holder. Potentially this has “FOTY” written all over it, though could be over in a blink of an eye given the power, and styles, of the men involved. It's been a while since a world title bout had us this excited, and we've got it admit it might be a while before we see another, equally as exciting, unification bout. Roman Gonzalez Vs Brian Viloria Teiken promoted Nicaraguan sensation Roman Gonzalez (43-0, 37) looks to continue his rise to the top of the sport as he faces Filipino-American Brian Viloria (36-4-0-2, 22) in what looks to be another brilliant bout. Coming in to this one Gonzalez is looking for the 3rd defense of his WBC Flyweight title whilst Viloria is fighting to remain relevant in the sport. A win here for Gonzalez helps cement his place atop the pound-for-pound rankings and could move us a step closer to the potential super fight between the Nicaraguan and Japan's Naoya Inoue whilst a win for Viloria will give his career one more run at the top and continue his up-and-down career. Donnie Nietes Vs Juan Alejo In another title bout fans will get to see talented Filipino Donnie Nietes (36-1-4, 21) make his US debut as he defends his WBO Light Flyweight title against little known Juan Alejo (21-3, 13) of Mexico. The bout, which is to take place in California, is part of ALA's first US show and is part of their move towards establishing their outfit as a world wide promotional outfit. A loss for Nietes would be disastrous for both the fighter and the promoter, but he hasn't been matched hard here and it'd be a shock to see Nietes given any real problems.  October 19th-
Naoko Fujioka Vs Hee Jung Yuh Former 2-weight world champion Naoko Fujioka (13-1, 6) looks to continue her brilliant career as she attempts to claim a 3rd divisional world title. The exceptional Japanese fighter faces South Korean fighter Hee Jung Yuh (15-2, 6) in a bout for the WBO female Bantamweight title in what looks, on paper, like a brilliant fight. Aged 40 Fujioka is certainly “old” but she's in great shape and will be favoured over Yuh, who has won 14 in a row. Interestingly Yuh is married to another fighter Young Kil Bae, who set to fight for a world title himself in early November. Hikaru Marugame Vs Jonathan Baat On the same show as the Fujioka/Yuh bout is a great test for one of Japan's most under-rated prospects, Hikaru Marugame (5-0, 3). The talented Marugame steps up massively here as he takes on the highly experienced Jonathan Baat (30-6-3, 14), a Japanese based Filipino. A win for Marugame is expected, but Baat has scored notable upsets in the past, including popping 4 cherries and this is clearly a dangerous assignment for the 25 year prospect. October 22nd- Momo Koseki Vs Ayaka Miyao We get the second world title unification of the month a week after the Golovkin/Lemieux bout as WBC Atomweight champion Momo Koseki (20-2-1, 7) takes on WBA champion Ayaka Miyao (20-5-1, 4). This bout has been on the radar of fans for a while and is finally happening due to the fact both fighters have, essentially, run out of worth while opponents. We're expecting a lot of action here and although it won't be the cleanest action it should be sensationally exciting and amazing fun to watch. Interestingly the winner will claim a place in history as the first ever unified Atomweight champion. Satoshi Hosono Vs Hideyuki Watanabe Japanese Featherweight champion Satoshi Hosono (28-2-1, 20) returns to the ring for his second defence in the space of about 9 weeks af he takes on the tough and gutsy Takuya Watanabe (36-5-1, 12). Hosono, a multi-time world title challenger, is looking to record his 4th successive defence but will be up against a man who simple doesn't know how to quit. Watanabe came to our attention last year, in the wake of his “bloody” bout with Jaesung Lee and having seen that war we suspect he'll go through anything in an attempt to claim the title. This could be the perfect bout to close out the month.  We have to say that January 2015 was one of the least memorable starts to the year that we can remember, in a very long time. Thankfully however things get under-way properly in February and here are the bouts that we suspect will be the highlights.
WBC Minimumweight Title Fight [February 5th] The month kicks off in style as Thai boxing get it's first world title fight of the year. That fight will see WBC Minimumweight champion Wanheng Menayothin (36-0, 12) defending against unbeaten Filipino fighter Jeffrey Galero (11-0, 5). This bout looks a bit like a mismatch, given the competition Galero has faced so far, though we did see Wanheng step up big time last year and Galero may well feel he can do the same in his first world title shot. Pinoy Pride 29 [February 7th] The first major Filipino show of the year closes out the first week of February and although there are no world title bouts on the card there are 3 highly ranked Filipinos, and a former world champion all in action. The stand out fighter in action is Genesis Servania (25-0, 11) who is one of the most naturally talented Filipinos currently making his name on the boxing scene. Servania, who is very highly ranked in the Super Bantamweight division, is expecting to get a world title fight later this year though will have to get past Juan Luis Hernandez (17-3-1, 9) on this show first. Another man who will need to record a win if he's to get a chance at a world title somewhere down the line is Jason Pagara (34-2, 21), the older brother of the monstrously talented Albert Pagara. Pagara will be taking on Cesar Chavez (24-7, 12) and a win here us likely to lead him to a big bout in the US, though a loss will set him back big time. Talking about a man who cannot bare to take a loss right now it's fair to say that Arthur Villanueva (26-0, 14) cannot even think about losing. Ranked #3 by the WBO at Super Flyweight Villanueva has a lot to lose and little to gain as he takes on former WBO Flyweight champion Julio Cesar Miranda (38-11-2, 29). Miranda needs a win to keep his career alive and Villanueva needs a win to open up a chance at getting a world title fight later this year. It's fair to say that this is the most important bout of the day, by some margin. On the same day, albeit in Japan, we see the return to the ring of former WBC and Lineal Flyweight champion Toshiyuki Igarashi (19-2-1, 11) who fights against Mexico's Efrain Perez (17-5, 12) in what looks to be a must win bout for the Japanese fighter. On paper this looks like an easy win however Perez is a gutsy fighter who will almost certainly bring the best out of Igarashi in what could be a very tough 10 rounds for the Japanese southpaw who had only 9 rounds of action in the last 17 months. DANGAN 121 [February 9th] We get the first Japanese title fight of the year on February 9th as unbeaten men collide in a really enticing looking contest of speed and skills for the Japanese Super Featherweight title. Going into the bout the champion is the much touted Rikki Naito (11-0, 5) however his challenger is the equally as touted Masayuki Ito (16-0-1, 7) and the winner will almost certainly emerge as yet another Japanese Super Featherweight to keep an eye on. With both men being in their early 20's a loss isn't a major set back though neither will be wanting anything but a win in a contest that just looks a little bit special Legend Fight Vol 3 [February 18th] We've been fans of Ryosuke “Eagle Eye” Iwasa (18-1, 11) for a long time and finally he's getting his shot at the big time as he battles in an IBF Eliminator against American fighter Sergio Perales (24-2, 16). It's hard to see anything but a win for Iwasa here who will move towards a world title fight with Randy Caballero if he comes out on top here. Iwasa has been patiently waiting for a shot a world title and we suspect he'll be fully prepared for what is certainly the most important bout of his career so far. Earnest Efforts 3 [February 19th] Just a day after we get a world title eliminator we get a world title double. The key bout here is an all-Japanese bout for the IBF Light Flyweight title as Naoko Shibata (13-3, 4) battles against Saemi Hanagata (9-5-2, 4) in what looks like to be a really intriguing battle of wills. Shibata, entering as the champion, will be looking to record her 3rd defence of the title whilst Hanagata will be hoping to claim her first world crown. On the same show the legendary WBC Atomweight champion Momo Koseki (19-2-1, 6) will be hoping to keep her record setting run going as she hunts title defence #15. Rough, tough and a real handful it's hard to see anyone at 102lbs beating Koseki and we can't see Aisah Alico (5-4, 5) even coming close to beating her here. Thunderbolt [February 21st] The always exciting Gennady Golovkin (31-0, 28) returns to the ring for his first bout of 2015 and looks to defend his WBA “super”, IBO and WBC interim Middleweight titles against the touted Martin Murray (29-1-1, 12) of the UK. Murray is seen as being one of Golovkin's toughest tests so far and is expected to give him a tough bout however Golovkin does carry a sensational run of 18 straight stoppages and it's hard to see Murray ending that run which dates back more than 6 years! Wake Vs Paypa-OPBF Title Fight [February 27th] In Asia the last fight of note comes from Japan where the world ranked Shingo Wake (17-4-2, 10) attempts to defend his OPBF Super Bantamweight title for the 5th time. Wake will be battling against Filipino challenger Jimmy Paypa (16-2-1, 6) in a bout that was originally penciled in, though never formally announced, for December 30th 2014. It's thought that a win here for Wake will put him into a world title fight in Summer. Loreto Vs Joyi II-The Rematch [February 28th] In 2014 we saw a major shock as the then unheralded Rey Loreto (19-13, 11) knocked out the highly regarded South African Nkosinathi Joyi (24-3-0-1, 17). Not only did Loreto shock the boxing world with the win but he also claimed the IBO Light Flyweight title and left fans around the world talking about him. Sadly the momentum of that win faded however the memory hasn't and the two will get it on again to close out February 2015. We suspect Joyi will be more aware of the man he is up against whilst Loreto will know a win here could take him on to a “real” world title fight later in the year. (Image courtesy of www.sportsviewlondon.com) |
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