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When we talk about the Heavyweight division we really do talk about one of the strangest divisions. The size disparity in some of the fights in the division is frankly ridiculously and the term "David Vs Goliath" can be used in the division in a way it can't be used in any other. It's pretty much the only division in the sport where we can see the height difference between two fighters being a foot, if not more. Sure some divisions have freaks, we're looking at you Sebastian Fundora, but they are one of off's, whilst the Heavyweight division has a lot of variation in size and shape. Today we are looking are looking at one of the notable David Vs Goliath bouts. The fight may not have been the most exciting, but it sure was a notable event, and an upset. Date April 14th 2007 Venue Porsche-Arena, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany Ruslan Chagaev (22-0-1, 17) vs Nikolay Valuev (46-0, 34) We don't tend to think of Asian fighters making a mark at Heavyweight but that's exactly what Ruslan Chagaev did, both in the professional ranks and the amateurs. Following a successful amateur career he committed to professional boxing, albeit not until he had gone back and forth between the two codes. By spring 2007 he was a rising contender in the professional ranks and had earned a place as the WBA's #1 ranked contender. At that point he was 28 years old and although a very talented southpaw, and an unbeaten one at that, he had struggled against Volodymyr Vyrchys and John Ruiz. Stood at just 6'1" and with a 74" wingspan Chagaev was seen as being on the smaller side for a Heavyweight, but was still well regarded. Despite being small few, if any, fighters dwarfed him quite like 7'0" behemoth Nikolay Valuev, the then WBA champion and the man that Chagaev was needing to face. At this point the 33 year old Valuev was looking like man that the money men were angling to break the 49-0 record of Rocky Marciano. He was 46-0 and had defended the belt 3 times, all by stoppage. Not only was Valuev a giant unbeaten man, but he also seemed to have key players behind him, that seemed like they were pulling strings to keep his unbeaten record intact. That had seen him take close wins over Larry Donald and John Ruiz, and it was assumed that if he was still standing he would get the decision against anyone. In terms of his boxing skills he was limited, slow, and fought at a low pace, but he was also a genuine behemoth in the land giants. He was over 300lbs, an awkward guy to get close to, with huge arms and when up close he could exhausted fighters by clinching them and leaning on them. Although very limited, he was so awkward that he managed to be a very, very hard man to beat. Heading into the bout Valuev was the betting favourite. It was assumed that even if he "lost" he would get the decision. All he had to do was make it close enough to give the judges a nudge. Given his size advantages, and with the bout taking place in Germany that wasn't expected to be too much of an issue. From very, very early on we knew this wasn't going to be very exciting. From the off Chagaev, who looked like a child in comparison to Valuev, was trying to stay away, use his speed, and not allow Valuev to hold him. Valuev, who took the center of the ring, followed Chagaev, but lacked the mobility to really close the distance, and instead applied rather slow by deliberate pressure. Although not exciting it was an interesting first round that saw Chagaev trying to figure out the giant, and have some success late in the opening round. It was a close round but one where Chagaev's class in the final 45 seconds or so proved to be the difference. The pattern of the first round set the style for a number of rounds. What Chagaev was doing, to neutralise, the giant was smart, toying with his lead hand, countering, drawing mistakes and relying on his amateur background. Despite that though Chagaev wasn't exactly wowing audience, instead he was taking a cautious approach to the action, creating additional space and making Valuev follow him and making Valuev miss, a lot. To his credit the big man kept plodding forward, pressing and showed surprising energy for someone so big. He kept throwing out the jab, and kept the pressure on. Sadly for himself the jab, against a southpaw, wasn't an effective weapon, despite his reach. After 4 rounds he seemed to bow his head and looked a little dejected at the way the fight was going. Despite his effort he was having very limited success and eating some solid left hands from the challenger. By the the end of round 6 it was clear that Chagaev wasn't going to hurt Valuev, who he had caught clean with some really solid left hands, but that he had also piled up the points with some very effective, if unexciting, boxing. He was fighting to a tailor made game plan and it was working marvellously against the clumsy but game Russian champion. It was however a game plan that was always going to be a tough one to keep to mentally, especially given the success he was having and the sheer amount of movement he had to do to control the bout on the back foot. In round 7, for the first time, we began to see cracks in Chagaev's game plan, as he got too close, letting Valuev clinch him a couple of times. Chagaev also ended up trapped in the corner once or twice as Valuev managed to have some genuine success. The success of Valuev in round 7 may not have been quite enough to take him the round but he built on it and had a very good round 8, snapping Chagaev's head back with a jab early in the round and having success through out. It seemed like the giant champion was finally turning the tide and that maybe, just maybe, Chagaev was starting to feel the effects of Valuev's constant pressure. Despite seemingly building some momentum Valuev's success was thwarted in round 9, with Valuev looking slower and less energetic than he had in the previous two rounds. The pressure was still there but there wasn't as effective, and instead it was Chagaev's clean left hands catching the eye. As we went into the final 3 rounds it seemed clear that Valuev was going to have to step on it. At worst it seemed like Chagaev needed just 1 rounds to secure a decision, though from the first 9 it was quite possible to have already given him 7. Things then got worse for Valuev as Chagaev put on one of his tidiest rounds for a while and forced Valuev to back off at one point, essentially securing the round and the bout on the scorecards. With more than enough rounds in the bank Chagaev then got super negative in round 11, making the action messy, spitting out his gum shield, and being as risk averse as possible. Although he was negative through out he was more so in round 11, trying to counter less. It was clear that was feeling the bout, his legs not as quick as they were earlier. He wasn't being dominated, not by any stretch, but he was certainly throwing fewer full blooded left hands than earlier in the bout and looking to "old man" Valuev, who finished the round very nicely. Despite some nice flashes in the final round, Chagaev again seemed happy to keep the tempo slower and tie up when he needed to, smartly doing it so late in the bout that there was no real chance for Valuev's bulk to tire him. It was a really messy round to finish the fight but it was the sort of round that worked fine for Chagaev and his early lead. After 12 rounds Chagaev celebrated, knowing he was deserving of the win. Valuev on the other hand went back to his corner looking dejected and exhausted. Despite Chagaev having done some great work, there was always the risk of him being robbed on the cards, especially given the relatively strong finish for Valuev. It was something that Chagaev and his corner didn't seem to consider. They seemed to have felt he dominated the bout and did so in a way that he couldn't be robbed. Despite Chagaev seemingly winning the bout with ease the first card was read out as 114-114, drawing huge boos, the second score was 115-113, a card that felt all too close, then the third card came in 117-111. The bout was a majority decision...with Chagaev being announced as the new champion. The win wasn't just a solid upset, without being a massive one, but was also a massive moment for Asian boxing, with Chagaev, from Uzbekistan, becoming the first Asian to win a Heavyweight title. Sadly Chagaev's reign was a terrible one with two defenses in 2 years before a rematch with Valuev was cancelled and Chagaev would then lose to Wladimir Klitschko. Despite how poor his reign was this win, this fight, this moment was huge for Chagaev and for Uzbek boxing. It would take until 2019 for another Uzbek fighter to win a world title, when Murodjon Akhmadaliev took the WBA and IBF Super Bantamweight titles with a huge win over Daniel Roman.
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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 world champions Ruslan Chagaev and Ben Villaflor. 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-Uzbek Heavyweight Ruslan Chagaev made his name in the amateur and as a top Heavyweight of his era, albeit a relatively weak era. Although his professional career started in an odd manner, in what are regarded as exhibitions in some circles, he turned professional properly in 2001. In September that year he was on a card in Tashkent, in what was either his professional debut, or his third professional bout. The bout was his only one in the country, and came on a show that also featured Korean fighter Hyuk Jin Kwon. 2-Korean fighter Hyuk Jin Kwon was blasted out in a round on that Uzbek card, in a bout for the WBO Asia Pacific Light Middleweight title. Prior to that loss he had fought much lower down the weights, and had managed to take Japanese puncher Hiroyuki Sakamoto the 10 round distance in 2000.  3-Whilst Hiroyuki Sakamoto failed to win a world title he was a very notable fighter in Japan, and a popular power puncher. His career, and life in general, was full of bad luck, though he has turned things around amazingly and now helps provide assistance to children in care. Sakamoto was born on December 30th 1970, the same day that Takatsune Shimizu won the Japanese Welterweight title.
4-Although an obscure fighter Takatsune Shimizu held the Japanese Welterweight title for almost 2 years and challenged for the OPBF title. In 1973 he made his US debut, and was stopped in 3 rounds by Zovek Barajas in Los Angeles. 5-Mexican fighter Zovek Barajas, also known as Hipólito Barajas Ayala, not only beat Shimizu in 1973 but also beat Filipino Ernesto Villaflor, actually doing so in the bout before he faced Shimizu. Rather impressively Barajas actually went 8-1 (7) during a busy year. 6-What few may know is that Ernesto Villaflor was the brother of the excellent Ben Villaflor. Sadly few details are known about Ernesto's career, and it seems that things like his birthday and complete record are a mystery, but Ben was a 2-time WBA Super Featherweight champion and one of the most over-looked and under-rated Filipino fighters in history. When we look through the history books there's a boxing oddity of sorts from Central Asia. That is Ruslan Chagaev. He's the only Asian fighter to win a world Heavyweight title, he's only the second ever Uzbek world champion and he also holds another notable first.
Although not the most well regarded fighter Chagaev plays an important part in history, for both professional boxing and amateur boxing, and is someone who deserves a lot more attention than he gets. Whilst we can't get Chagaev the attention he deserves what we can do is bring 10 facts you probably didn't know about...Ruslan Chagaev 1-Although Chagaev wanted to be a boxer at a young age, trying to do so in first grade, he was turned away from the sport due to his age. As a result he actually ended up playing basketball originally, then went on to weight lifting, before finally turning to boxing and linking up with Aleksandr Razmakhov 2-Chagaev has a reported amateur record of 81-4. His losses came in the semi final of the 1996 World Junior Championships, to Yurkis Sterling, the 1996 Olympics, to Luan Krasniqi, the 2000 Olympics, to Vladimir Chanturia, and the 2009 World Championships, to Felix Savon. 3-After making his professional debut in 1997 Chagaev would go on to win the World Amateur Championships that same year, before being stripped due to his professional experience. He would however go back to the amateurs full time, following the decision to regarded his first 2 professional bouts as exhibitions, and win the gold at the 2001 World Championships. Essentially he became the first fighter with a professional record to win a World Amateur Championships medal, 18 years before fellow Uzbek Bakhodir Jalolov did it, albeit under very different circumstances. 4-As an amateur he would twice defeat Cuban great Felix Savon, though one of those wins came at the aforementioned 1997 World Amateur Championships, which he was later disqualified from. 5-Chagaev was the first Asian fighter to win a world Heavyweight title, winning the WBA Heavyweight title for the first time in 2007 when he out pointed Nikolay Valuev. He would later reclaim the title to become a 2-time WBA Heavyweight champion. 6-In his 38 fight professional career Chagaev fought in his native Uzbekistan just once. He also fought in the US (6 times), Germany (26 times), Austria (2 times) and Russia (3 times). 7-Chagaev married a woman called Victoria, and they've reportedly had 3 kids together, Arthur, Alan and Adam. 8-Chagaev's mother, Zamira, died in Moscow in 2005 9-The Uzbek press once ran a story that Chagaev was having an affair with Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of the then President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov. 10-In 2019 Chagaev was announced as the new trainer for Russian female fighter Fatima Dudieva. Their first bout together came in November with Dudieva defeating Dorota Norek with an 8 round decision.  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 fighters from opposite ends of the scales, going from former Minimumweight and Light Flyweight Hiroki Ioka to former Heavyweight king Ruslan Chagaev. 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-Japan's Hiroki Ioka was a world class fighter in the late 1980's and most of the 1990's, featuring in 13 world title fights and being a 2-weight Japanese world champion. He was also the final student of the legendary Eddie Townsend, and the uncle of future 4-weight world champion Kazuto Ioka. Ioka made his debut on January 23rd 1986. Another fighter who fought on January 23rd 1986 was the excellent Kongtoranee Payakaroon, who picked up his 6th professional win fighting in Rangsit, Thailand. 2-Although Kongtoranee Payakaroon wasn't as well as his younger brother, who we'll name in a minute, he was an excellent fighter himself and was very unlucky not to take a professional boxing title, to go alongside his Muay Thai achievements. His brother was the amazing Samart Payakaroon, one of the great Muay Thai fighters of all time and excellent boxer himself.  3-Samart Payakaroon's first world title win in professional boxing saw him win the WBC Super Bantamweight title. His reign came to an end in 1987 when he was beaten by Australian fighter Jeff Fenech.
4-Although a massive success as a professional Jeff Fenech was also an excellent amateur boxer and competed at the 1984 Olympics reaching the quarter finals before losing to Steve McCrory. 5-Given that Steve McCrory was part of the US boxing team in 1984 it's needless to add he was part of the US Olmypic team that picked up 9 gold medals, a silver and a bronze. The bronze medal winner was Evander Holyfield, probably the greatest Cruiserweight of all time and one of the all time great Heavyweights. 6-In 2008 Evander Holyfield fought Nikolay Valuev, losing a hotly debated decision to the Russian giant who had previously been beaten by Ruslan Chagaev. Interestingly, though as an aside, Valuev was supposed to face Ruslan Chagaev in 2009, in what would have been their second bout and would have followed Valuev's win over Holyfield. Despite being ordered the bout never took place, due to a medical issue with Chagaev's blood test showing that he had Hepatits B. We'll pretend July was the greatest of months but we have had more than enough notable action over the last 4 weeks!
The month began with action in Thailand as the unbeaten Knockout CP Freshmart (11-0, 6) retained his WBA interim Minimumweight title with a 4th round TKO of the previously unbeaten Alexis Diaz (16-1, 10). Diaz was expected to put up a real fight against the Thai but was made to look second rate as he beaten by the defending champion. Following the win talk began of a contest between Knockout and Hekkie Budler. On July 4th we turned our attention to Mexico where Filipino slugger Warlito Parrenas (24-6-1, 21) found himself feeling robbed as he was held to a very debatable draw against David Carmona (19-2-5, 8) in a bout for the WBO interim Super Flyweight title. It seemed like Parrenas did far more than enough to claim the win here but he failed to convince the judges that he deserved the win. A really unfortunate outcome, but one that still keeps him in the hunt for a potential show down with Naoya Inoue later this year. We saw Japanese youngster Takuma Inoue (5-0, 1) claim his biggest win to date as he out pointed Mark Anthony Geraldo (31-6-3, 14) and claimed the OPBF Super Flyweight title. This was Takuma's toughest bout to date but also his most impressive and it appeared he has now filled into a full blown Super Flyweight. For Geraldo it's a second successive loss but at 23 he has plenty of time to rebuild and we'd be shocked not to see him at this level again in the near future On July 7th we had one of the months most interesting match ups as Donnie Nietes (36-1-4,21) took on Francisco Rodriguez Jr (17-3-1, 11). The bout saw Nietes have some problems, especially early, but take a clear decision over the former unified Minimumweight champion. Nietes looks to be the standout Filipino fighter at the moment but at 33 he really is getting on for a lower fighter and although he looked youthful in the ring some are wondering how long he really has left. On the same day fans saw WBA Heavyweight champion, well “regular” champion, Ruslan Chagaev (34-2-1, 21) retain his title with a very easy win again Francesco Pianeta (31-2-1, 17). Chagaev dropped Pianeta twice inside a round to retain his title. July 12th saw talented Korean teenager Kyoo Hwan Hwang (2-0, 2) claim his first professional title, the South Korean Light Middleweight title, as he scored a 6th round KO against Chan Hee Park (5-6-1). Hwang, tipped by some as the future face of Korean boxing, showed some really notable skills but it was very clear that he needs a lot of work before stepping up in class. We saw a new Japanese Flyweight champion being crowned on July 17th as Takuya Kogawa (24-4, 13) clearly out pointed the tough Hiroki Saito (9-5, 5). Kogawa, who previously held this title, is now looking at some excellent domestic show downs, including a potential rematch with Suguru Muranaka, or alternatively passing up the title to chase world honours. For Saito it seems clear that he will come again, though does need some more seasoning against lower level competition rather than continuing to be matched this hard. On July 18th we unfortunately saw Ik Yang (19-1-0-1, 14) being given a schooling by talented Argentinian Cesar Rene Cuenca (48-0-0-2, 2) in a out for the IBF Light Welterweight title. Yang was attempting to become a the second Chinese world champion though came up very short in this bout, which really showed how good Cuenca was. On the same card we saw Nonito Donaire (35-3, 23) destroy the completely out gunned Anthony Settoul (20-4, 8). Now it seems likely that Donaire will move towards a WBA title fight with Scott Quigg. Unfortunately the night ended in disappointment for Filipino fans as Arthur Villanueva (27-1, 14) was controversially beaten by McJoe Arroyo (17-0, 8). The Filipino seemed to do enough to rack up the rounds but the judges all disagreed, giving Arroyo a very wide technical decision when the bout was stopped in round 10. The same card also saw the US debut of Korean slugger Min Wook Kim (13-1, 10), who easily took care of Luis Alberto Pelayo (11-6, 7). Kim will hopefully return to the US later this year for a more notable bout. On July 20th we saw the much touted Sho Nakazawa (7-0, 4) take a huge step up in class as he defeated former world title challenger Silvester Lopez (25-10-2, 18). Nakazawa was dropped early in the bout but managed to regroup and clearly out boxed Lopez who proved that whilst he isn't the most skilled he is still very dangerous. On the same day we also saw South Korean hopeful Ye Joon Kim (12-1-2, 6) retain his IBF regional title as he stopped Yoshihiro Utsumi (12-7-3, 7) in 7 rounds. Kim, the face of the KBF, is one of Korea's most talented youngster and this performance showed that he does have real promise but really needs to be given more progressive tests. We saw a new star emerge on July 24th as Daigo Higa (7-0, 7) went to Thailand and surprisingly picked up a 7th round KO win against Kongfah CP Freshmart (14-1, 8). The bout was one of the best of the month and lived up the high expectations that we had for the contest. The hope is now that Higa will be defending his belt in Autumn before possibly being matched with a world class foe next year. Kazakh fighter Beibut Shumenov (16-2, 10) became a 2-weight world champion on July 25th as he claimed the WBA “interim” Cruiserweight title with a clear win over American fighter-come-analyst BJ Flores (31-2-1, 20). Flores showed good power early but Shumenov showed a completely revised style that saw him moving more than he had in the past. It was that movement that allowed Shumenov to claim the win with Flores later complaining about the Kazakh not standing still. The month ended, in terms of major action, with Thai teenager Stamp Kiatniwat (14-0, 6) claiming the WBA interim Flyweight title with a majority decision win over Gregorio Lebron (13-3, 11) on July 29th. The win has seen Stamp receive some international attention but domestically he's really boosted his popularity and it seems that the 17 year old is being pushed as the new face of Thai boxing. We'll be honest the month of June wasn't the most exciting of months to follow Asian boxing but it does seem like July promises a lot, and hopefully will deliver on that promise.
July 2nd- Knockout CP Freshmart Vs Alexis Diaz The month kicks off with a WBA interim title fight in Thailand as the home favourite Knockout CP Freshmart (10-0, 5) battles against unbeaten Venezuelan Alexis Diaz (16-0, 10). On paper this might only be an “interim” title fight but it's still a mouth watering match up between highly regarded and unbeaten fighters. The winner becomes the top contender for Hekkie Budler in what would be another very attractive match up. July 4th- Warlito Parrenas Vs David Carmona We get a second “interim” world title bout in a matter of a few days as Filipino slugger Warlito Parrenas (24-6, 21) takes on Mexico's David Carmona (19-2-4, 8) in a contest for the WBO interim Super Flyweight title. On paper it looks like a well matched bout between a vicious puncher and a decent boxer and styles should give us a very good contest. The winner of this one will be the mandatory to the sensation Naoya Inoue, and a sizeable payday in Japan, July 6th- Takuma Inoue Vs Mark Anthony Geraldo On July 6th we get the chance to see Japanese super prospect Takuma Inoue (4-0, 1) fight in his first title bout as he battles experienced Filipino Mark Anthony Geraldo (31-5-3, 14) in a bout for the OPBF Super Flyweight title. Takuma, the younger brother of the sensational Naoya Inoue, is hoping to claim a world title in his 6th professional bout will need to win here first in what is a genuinely excellent match up. July 7th- Yuzo Kiyota Vs Kajornsak Sithsaithong OPBF Super Middleweight champion Yuzo Kiyota (27-4-1, 25) looks the make the next defense of his title as he takes on Thai challenger Kajornsak Sithsaithong (7-5, 7) in what looks to be a hugely disappointing match up on paper. Although Kiyota isn't a world class fighter, despite some world rankings, he isn't a bad fighter by any means and to fight Kajornsak merely shows how few viable contenders there are in the division. Kajornsak enters the bout on two losses and it'd be amazing for it not to become 3 in a row. July 11th- Donnie Nietes Vs Francisco Rodriguez Jr WBO Light Flyweight champion Donnie Nietes (35-1-4, 21) looks to continue his long reign as he takes on the highly capable, former unified Minimumweight champion, Francisco Rodriguez Jr (17-2-1, 11) in a mouth watering bout. The contest is a mandatory defense for Nietes and looks to be one of his toughest on paper as he goes up against a fantastic young Mexican. It does need noting however that Rodriguez didn't look good in his last 2 bouts, both against Filipino Jomar Fajardo, and he'll need to do much better here than he did in either of those bouts. Ruslan Chagaev Vs Francesco Pianeta A rare Heavyweight bout of note sees WBA “regular” champion Ruslan Chagaev (33-2-1, 20), from Uzbekistan, defending his title against German based Italian born fighter Francesco Pianeta (31-1-1, 17). On paper this looks really matched, and in fact on paper it looks like a fantastic match up, in reality however Pianeta hasn't scored a win of note in quite some time whilst Chagaev appears to be less than half the fighter he once was. It should be competitive but we're not holding our breath on this being a fun one. July 17th- Takuya Kogawa Vs Hiroki Saito The vacant Japanese Lightweight title is up for grabs in what looks like like a sure fire FOTY contender. The bout will see former world title challenger Takuya Kogawa (23-4, 13) attempt to reclaim a title he once held as he goes up against the tough and rugged Hiroki Saito (9-4, 5). On paper we confess this one doesn't look great, in reality however we have very high hopes for the action with both men being aggressive, tough and enjoying a tear up. This really is one of the best bouts we've seen made this year and we're jealous of those who are going to be in attendance for it. Naoko Shibata Vs Esmeralda Moreno Japan's Naoko Shibata (14-3, 4) goes on the road, travelling to Mexico, to defend her IBF female Light Flyweight title against experienced Mexican Esmeralda Moreno (30-7-1, 10) in a mouth watering match up between two world class fighters. Originally this bout was scheduled for late June though got pushed back just days before Shibata was set to fly over to Mexico. The fight is a brilliant on paper and we really don't think many female bouts will be better than this. July 18th- Ik Yang Vs Cesar Rene Cuenca Chinese boxing is on the up and that's seen again in the next of the Macau cards as Chinese slugger Ik Yang (19-0-0-1, 14) takes on tricky Argentinian Cesar Rene Cuenca (47-0-0-2, 2) in a bout for the IBF Light Welterweight title. The title, which was stripped from Lamont Peterson earlier this year, is up for grabs and could see the second Chinese champion being crowned. Strangely a win for Cuenca would see him picking a world title in his 50th fight! On the same card as Yang Vs Cuenca fans will see an interesting card featuring the likes of Rex Tso (16-0, 9) and Filipino icon Nonito Donaire (34-3, 22), both of whom are against over-matched foes. Arthur Villanueva Vs McJoe Arroyo Another all-unbeaten title fight takes place in the US as Filipino fighter Arthur Villanueva (27-0, 14) takes on McJoe Arroyo (16-0, 8) for the vacant IBF Super Flyweight title. This is a really intriguing match up between two talented fighters who are each looking for a break out win, a win that would take them from contender to champion. The title, which was vacated by Zolani Tete earlier this year, is almost certainly going to put the winner in the mix for some big fights and this is really a fantastically matched contest. July 29th- Stamp Kiatniwat Vs Gregorio Lebron The final bout of note for us will see unbeaten Thai Stamp Kiatniwat (13-0, 6) take on Dominican puncher Gregorio Lebron (13-2, 11) for the WBA “interim” Flyweight title. The bout will see the 17 year old Stamp attempt to move on to the next level, though it's hard to be sure how good Lebron is given that his competition so far has been poor, in fact Stamp's win over Kwanthai Sithmorseng is far better than anything on Lebron's ledger. This bout, for those interested, will be on Thai channel 3. |
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