Over the last few years Teiken's dominance of the Japanese scene has really under threat and as we right this they currently have no world champions at the gym and only a pair of domestic champions. It wasn't that long ago that fighters like Shinsuke Yamanaka, Roman Gonzalez, Jorge Linares, Takashi Miura, and Carlos Cuadras all holding, or in the mix for, world titles. Now their hopes at the top level essentially lie with Ryota Murata, who will know a loss in July ends his career, the beyond their best trio of Gonzalez, Linares and Cuadras, who are all still in the mix, but not the fighters they once were, and Kenichi Ogawa.
 
Worryingly all of the names so far mentioned are 30 or above, and most of them are seen as being on the slide.
 
It would be easy to suggest the Teiken gym is now longer a leading gym in Japan. The likes of the Watanabe Gym and the Ohashi Gym seem to have over-taken it in recent years, and the gym hasn't replaced their faded stars. That however would be partially wrong. The gym isn't done as a top gym, what has happened however is that their transitional stage to the next generation of top fighters, has been delayed some what.
 
What we mean by that is that instead of having ready made replacements for their faded stars the gym really missed out on a generation of talent. They failed to secure the youngsters who were part of the current generation of stars. The likes of Naoya Inoue and Kenshiro and Hiroto Kyoguchi and Kosei Tanaka took other options, and didn't ink deals with the Teiken gym. Sometimes the reason was obvious, such as location or gym owner, and other times it wasn't, but what is clear is that the top Japanese fighters of today saw other avenues, and went their own way.

That left Teiken needing to chase the next wave of fighters, and that's exactly what they've done, signing 3 top Japanese amateurs in the last 18 or so months, and developing some lesser talents as well. They have essentially had to play catch up with the rival gyms since Yamanaka retired, and they have done so in a manner that could end up having them back on top of the Japanese scene in the coming years.
 
Before we look at their top prospects it's worth looking at both of their current national champions. They are Super Featherweight Masaru Sueyoshi (19-1-1, 11) and Welterweight Yuki Nagano (16-2, 12). Interestingly neither of these were amateur standouts, Sueyoshi managed to go 21-8 in the amateurs before competing in the 2012 Rookie of the Year, losing to Masayuki Ito. Nagano on the other hand won the 2015 Rookie of the Year. Both have developed from Rookies to national champions, and that leads us to one of the top Teiken prospects, one who doesn't have a strong amateur backing but has excited fans.
 
Super Flyweight hopeful Hayate Kaji (12-0, 9), like Sueyoshi and Nagano, came through the Rookie of the Year. In fact Kaji won the Super Flyweight competition on the same day that Nagano won the Welterweight competition, in 2015, winning the final in just his 4th professional bout. Sadly since that Rookie triumph Kaji hasn't shone like many suspected, and despite maintaining his unbeaten record the 21 year old has shown signs of ill discipline, and disappointing performances, especially his 2017 clash with Jun Blazo. Those poor performances, added to blow outs against some horribly over-matched competition, has seen Kaji essentially put on the back burner, with his team clearly focused on getting him experience before getting him a title fight. That's a risky approach for the youngster, who needs to be tested, but he is a big hope for the gym, with an exciting style and vicious power, and time well and truly on his side.
 
Whilst Kaji is clearly a prospect to keep an eye on the more interesting thing about the Teiken gym is a trio of former amateur standouts, who are just beginning their professional careers but all 3 are marked, already, for something huge.

Over the next 12 months we're expecting to see a lot of changes in the world of professional boxing. As a result we have put together a list of 30 Asian fighters to keep an eye out for 2016. These range from champions to novices but all are expected to make a mark on the sport over the next 12 months. Here is part 2 which looks at 5 young novices who have impressed in 2015 and look likely to do the same over the next year.

For those who missed them the previous parts are available below-
Part 1 is here 
Part 2 is here
Part 3 is here

This coming November is a hectic month to say the least with numerous title bouts as well as a major debut, of a man regarded as being a once in a generation prospect and a show to make a real note of for the effects it will have on the Japanese scene for the next 12 months.

November 2nd-
The notable action kicks off on November 2nd with a mouth watering “Strongest Korakuen” card. The show features 4 bouts to decide the mandatory challenger for 4 Japanese titles.

The lightest weight covered by those bouts is Flyweight where former world title challenger Masayuki Kuroda (23-6-3, 14) takes on recent Japanese title challenger Yusuke Sakashita (13-5-2, 8). Of the two men it's Kuroda who is the more established having been a former Japanese Light Flyweight champion and of course he challenged for a world title, losing a decision to Juan Carlos Reveco. Saying that however he has gone 2-3-3 in his last 8 bouts. Sakashita on the other hand did challenger for the Japanese Flyweight title last year, before being iced by a single shot by Suguru Muranaka, in what would actually be Muranaka's last fight as a Flyweight.

At Bantamweight we see former Japanese champion Kentaro Masuda (22-7, 11) attempt to move towards regaining the title he lost to Shohei Omori earlier this year. Masuda is in for a tough fight however with the under-rated Hideo Sakamoto (16-1-3, 5) who is quickly coming into his own. Masuda, a 32 year old late bloomer, was completely dismantled by Omori but had scored several notable wins, including a 3rd round blow out against Konosuke Tomiyama and a 2014 FOTY contender against Tatsuya Takahashi. Coming in to this Sakamoto is on a 6-0-1 (3) run including a win over Hiroki Shiino though was held to a draw last time out, against Hiroaki Teshigawara, albeit a controversial one. This could be something very special.

At Lightweight we see former Japanese and OPBF champion Nihito Arakawa (25-6-1, 16) attempt to move towards reclaiming the Japanese title. The teak tough Arakawa, who is of course well known for his bout with Omar Figueroa, will be up against recent challenger Yuya Sugizaki (20-10-1, 6). Strangely both of these men lost their most recent bouts with Arakawa actually going 2-5 in his last 7, with losses to Yoshitaka Kato and Rikki Naito in his last 2 bouts, and Sugizaki going 5-4 in his last 9, including an 8th round TKO loss to current champion Kota Tokunaga. Despite those losses we do suspect that this could be a very action packed fight.

The remaining bout is at Welterweight and, on paper at least, appears to be the most one sided. The fight will see former Japanese, OPBF and PABA champion Akinori Watanabe (33-4, 28) take on the little known Toshio Arikawa (11-4, 9). Given that both men have been stopped and both guys have real power, in fact between them they have 52 bouts with on 8 going the distance, we're not expecting this one to reach the final bell. Given the huge edge in experience and quality of opposition we're expecting Watanabe to earn a shot at Japanese title shot at Suyon Takayama, though we have seen Watanabe lose fights that he really should have won in the past.

All 4 of those bouts will come with an incentive, the MVP of the bouts will be the recipient of a 1,000,000 yen bonus, a really big reason to impress.

November 5th-
​Just days after the Strongest Korakuen show we get the first Japanese title fight of the month, and it's a fight that looks like a sure fire thriller. The bout in question is a rematch between Japanese Flyweight champion Takuya Kogawa (24-4, 13) and the highly ranked, at least by the JBC, challenger Tetsuma Hayashi (25-3-2, 9). When the men first met, back in 2012, Kogawa won a very competitive bout however the champion has been in some real wars since then whilst Hayashi is thought to be in his prime. Given the styles of the two men this really could be a FOTY contender with unbridled action and numerous exchanges.

November 7th-
The emergence of a new wave of Japanese youngsters rising through the ranks has been really exciting. Whilst the biggest name among those fast risers is, of course, Naoya Inoue, he may not actually be the most exciting. That tag could instead be applied to Daigo Higa (7-0, 7) who looks to make the first defense of his WBC Youth Flyweight title on November 7th at the Korakuen Hall. In the opposite corner to Higa will be tricky Filipino champion Renren Tesorio (15-6-3, 4), who is known to Tokyo fans due to his very competitive 2014 battle with Toshiyuki Igarashi. This could be the next step towards a world title for Higa, or could see the power punching 20 year old really given a very tough test by the much more experienced Filipino.

Talking about the “new wave” of Japanese fighters it's worth noting that just a few hours after Higa's bout we will see the American debut of Middleweight hopeful Ryota Murata (7-0, 5) who faces off against Gunnar Jackson (22-6-3, 8). The Japanese puncher is regarded as one of the sports most marketable stars and is a real celebrity in his home land. The hope here is to help him become a star in the US and build his marketability in the West before a potential world title fight in 2016. This is a good test on paper even if Jackson isn't the most recognisable name out there.

Also making his American debut on the same day is heavy handed 140lb fighter Keita Obara (15-1, 14) who looked to extend his 15 fight winning streak and impress Western fans as he takes on Nicaraguan fighter Walter Castillo (26-3, 19) in an IBF Light Welterweight eliminator. The bout is a great chance for the 28 year old Misako gym fighter to make a name for himself however Castillo isn't a bad fighter himself and this really could be something very special for US fans tuning in to the PBC show from Miami.

Although there are two Japanese fighters making their US debut's they aren't the only Asian fighters of note on the road. There are two in action in Monaco with one of those being Kazakh Bantamweight Zhanat Zhakiyanov (25-1, 18) who faces WBA interim champion Yonfrez Parejo (17-1-1, 8). For Zhakiyanov, who is limited but heavy handed, this is a big step up in class however it's a winnable bout for the Hatton protege.

​Another Asian on the Monaco card is the highly ranked Chinese fighter Qiu Xiao Jun (18-2, 8) who defends his WBC silver Super Bantamweight title against Frenchman Amor Belahdj Ali (14-3-1-1, 2). On paper this one looks likely to go the distance however Jun has stopped 4 of his last 5 foes, including former world champion Silvester Lopez, and it wouldn't be a shock for the crude Chinese “Dragon” to stop his relatively unknown Frenchman, who is the French champion.

November 9th-
Whilst the first Japanese title fight comes on November 5th we need to wait until the 9th for the first OPBF title fight, or rather the first OPBF/JBC title fight as unified Middleweight champion Akio Shibata (26-8-1, 12) defends his titles against the heavy handed, and genuinely fun to watch, Koki Tyson Maebara (9-1-1, 9). On paper this is a massive step up in class for Maebara however he does have 11 years of youth on the champion, a clear edge in power, a slight edge in height and is a southpaw. Shibata, whilst best known for losing a then debuting Ryota Murata, has been in good form recently and is 10-1 (4) in his last 11 bouts going back more than 4 years and is likely expecting to continue that run which has seen him notch wins over Makoto Fuchigami, Hikaru Nishida and Daisuke Nakagawa.

November 11th-
On November 11th we have a female world title double. The more interesting of those bouts sees boxer-model Tomomi Takano (8-1, 5) face off against WBO female Super Flyweight champion Daniela Romina Bermudez (17-3-2, 5). This is the first world title fight for Takano, who is much better known for her looks than her fighting ability, and it's fair to say she will be the under-dog against the much more proven Bermudez.

The other female world title fight will see Kumiko Seeser Ikehara (7-1-2, 3) defend her WBO female Minimumweight title against Momoko Kanda (9-7-2, 3). On paper this looks like a real mismatch in favour of the once beaten champion however the challenger is better than her record suggests and she has gone 5-1 (3) in her last 6 bouts as she's began to turn things around. Clearly Ikehara will be the favourite but this could be a very competitive match up.

​November 13th-
Staying with female title action we see another female world title bout on November 13th as IBF female Light Flyweight champion Naoko Shibata (14-3, 4) defends her title against Mexican foe Maria Salinas (11-4, 4). This looks to be very well matched on paper despite the fact Salinas has gone 3-4-1 in her last 8 bouts, including a loss to Etsuko Tada in Japan. For Shibata this is expected to be her 4th defense and is expected to be much easier than her last bout, a narrow win over Saemi Hanagata back in February.

November 21st-
Every so often a bout comes along that has us licking our lips in real excitement. The next such bout takes place on November 21st and will be another US debut of a Japanese fighter. The bout in question sees WBC Super Featherweight champion Takashi Miura (29-2-2, 22) face off against unbeaten challenger Francisco Vargas (22-0-1, 16), an unbeaten and exciting mandatory challenger. Given the styles of both fighters and their in-ring mentalities this bout is almost certainly going to be a war and given the power of both men there is a very good chance that it won't be going the distance. Whilst it's not the main event of the show it's got a genuine chance of being the bout of the night.

November 22nd-
The debut of the next in the long line of Japanese super-prospects comes on November 22nd as the very highly touted Hinata Maruta (0-0) kicks off his professional career. The talented 18 year old goes straight into the deep end with an amazingly ambitious debut against the world ranked, and heavy handed, Jason Canoy (24-5-2, 18). If Maruta wins here he could well end up with a lofty world ranking from the off, however Canoy, who has never been stopped, is a real danger man and recently blew away Drian Francisco. On paper this looks like one of the most ambitious debuts in recent memory and we really applauded the confidence of Maruta and his team.

The Maruta/ Canoy bout isn't the only Japan Vs Philippines bout of note. Another sees OPBF Light Middleweight champion Dennis Laurente (49-6-5, 30) defending his title against former Japanese champion Takayuki Hosokawa (27-10-4, 9). The 38 year old champion was last seen in the ring in August, losing a shut out to the touted John Jackson though has shown his toughness and could well break down Hosokawa who has been stopped 6 times from his 10 losses.

​The Laurente/Hosokawa bout is one of two title bouts for the day. The other sees Tatsuya Fukuhara (15-4-5, 6) facing off against Hiroya Yamamoto (9-3, 3) for the vacant Japanese Minimumweight title. The title, which was given up earlier this year by Go Odaira, has been a stepping stone to a world title fight for numerous former champions, and so the winner of this one will likely be looking at a major bout down the line. Interestingly however it would seem likely that the winner would have Genki Hanai chasing them for a title fight in early 2016 with the unbeaten Gifu man certainly looking to move into title level.

November 24th-
​The only world title fight in Thailand this month sees unbeaten WBC Minimumweight champion Wanheng Menayothin (39-0, 14) take on heavy handed Korean challenger Young Gil Bae (26-4-1, 21). For the challenger this is a huge step up in class as he looks to become the first Korean born man to claim a world title since In Jin Chi, and in fact he's the first Korean man to even challenger for a world title in 2 years, following Jung-Oh Sun's challenger against Koki Kameda. Saying that however Bae is a major under-dog against the criminally under-rated Thai who has remained under the radar despite his long winning run, which has admittedly come against some weak opposition that has reflected his actual ability.

November 28th-
On November 28th we get the next in the “WOWOW Touch!” events. The events are a free-to-air day of WOWOW in Japan and with the past few years Japanese fans get a boxing treat on the subscription based channel, which mainly airs international bouts from the West. This year Japanese fans get a couple of very interest Mexico Vs Japan world title contests.

The most interesting of those is a potential war between Teiken promoted Mexican Carlos Cuadras (33-0-1, 26) and the always fun to watch Koki Eto (17-3-1, 13). For Cuadras this is his first bout in Japan since winning the WBC Super Flyweight world title in 2014, when he over-came Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in Mexico, though is his 6th bout in the country over-all. Interestingly he holds a record of 5-0 (5) in the country with all 5 bouts 8 rounds. As for Eto this sees him returning to the Super Flyweight division for the first time in more than 4 years and could potentially help the all-action warrior become an international star. Worrying for both men the winner will be mandated to fight Srisaket in 2016.

The other part of this double-header sees Japan's Yu Kimura (17-2-1, 3) take part in his biggest fight to date. The former Japanese Light Flyweight champion will be up against WBC world champion Pedro Guevara (26-1-1, 17), in a bout that sees Guevara return to Japan for the first time since he won his title last December against Akira Yaegashi. The challenger, 32, is currently on an 8 fight winning run following a TKO loss in 2011 to current WBA champion Ryoichi Taguchi however he has never fought at close to this level. As for Guevara the challenger has to be a big favourite despite being given a real test last time out against Ganigan Lopez.

So, May has finally ended and we're now in June. What a perfect time to look back on the fights we've had over the past 31 days.

The action kicked off almost immediately with an intriguing Japanese show on May 1st. The headline bout saw Ryota Murata (7-0, 5) score an impressive TKO against Brazilian fighter Douglas Damiao Ataide (13-2-1, 6) and in fairness to Murata it was the sort of finish that he needed after going the distance in back-to-back fights. There is still a lot of questions regarding how far Murata will go but at times he looked world class, especially with the way he finished of Ataide, who had never previously been stopped.

Although Murata's bout was, technically, top of the bill there was also a world title fight on the card as Takashi Miura (29-2-2, 22) took care of Australian Billy Dib (39-4-0-1, 23) with a very destructive stoppage. This was Miura's 4th defence of the WBC Super Featherweight title and he's now looking to break out his passport and fight in the US or Mexico in the hope of building his international fan base.

The day wasn't all good for Japanese fighters however as Takahiro Ao (27-4-1, 12) got stopped in a WBO Lightweight title bout by Raymundo Beltran (30-7-1, 18). Beltran, who had failed to make weight for the bout, looked significantly bigger than Ao and made light work of the under-sized Japanese fighter. Interestingly a story has since broke that Beltran has failed a drugs test and if that story is confirmed this bout will be changed to a No Contest.

Just a day later we saw the richest fight in history as Manny Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38) and Floyd Mayweather Jr (48-0, 26) finally got it on. Sadly the bout failed to live up to the expectations of many and although the bout made an insane amount of money it really did little to advertise our great sport. Pacquiao, who lost the bout by unanimous decision, did himself no favours following the bout by citing an arm injury for his performance and numerous people have since filed court cases against the hugely popular Filipino.

On May 6th we had more title action with a Watanabe promoted triple header. The most impressive performance here saw WBA Super Featherweight “super” champion Takashi Uchiyama (23-0-1, 19) blast away Thai challenger Jomthong Chuwatana (9-1, 4) in just 2 rounds. Uchiyama looked sensational at times in one of his most impressive performances since winning the title more than 5 years ago. Although the Japanese fighter looked amazing he did later require surgery on his left elbow.

On the same show Uchiyama's stablemate Ryoichi Taguchi (22-2-1, 9) retained his WBA Light Flyweight title with an 8th round TKO of Thai veteran Kwanthai Sithmorseng (49-4-1, 26). Kwanthai brought the fight for the most part but was dropped numerous times by the champion who certainly his harder than his record indicates.

The third champion to defend their title on this show was WBO female Minimumweight champion Kumiko Seeser Ikehara (7-1-2, 3) who managed to take a very close technical decision over Kayoko Ebata (8-6, 4). Sadly for Ebata this was her 4th loss in world title bouts and it now seems unlikely for her to get another.

We saw more Japanese world title action on May 9th as WBC female Minimumweight champion Yuko Kuroki (13-4-1, 6) retained her title with a wide points win against Masae Akitaya (9-6-2, 3). For Kuroki this was the second defense of her title and it seems likely that the 24 year old is only going to get better and better. Sadly for Akitaya this was her 4th set back in world title bouts and the 37 year old, who actually fought on her birthday, is clearly coming to the end of her career.

Also in action on May 9th was the iconic Hozumi Hasegawa (34-5, 15) who put on a stellar performance to clearly defeat the heavy handed Mexican Horacio Garcia (29-1, 21). The bout was Hasegawa's first for more than a year and he looked like a fighter who had more fight in him than we had expected. On the other hand Garcia was disappointing and never looked like really testing the talented Japanese southpaw.

Sadly May 9th wasn't all good for Japanese fighters as it ended with Tomoki Kameda (31-1, 19) suffering his first professional defeat. Kameda, who vacated the WBO Bantamweight title, took on WBA “regular” champion Jamie McDonnell (26-2-1, 12) and despite dropping McDonnell in round 3 Kameda came up short on the cards. The Japanese fighter suffered his first loss though there has since been a lot of talk regarding a rematch later in the year.

On May 12th we saw the ring return of former world champion Kompayak Porpramook (51-5, 36). The Thai had been out of the ring for 21 months following his October 2013 loss to Koki Eto in a FOTY contender. His return was a very low key affair against the debuting Fahpratan Kwanjaisrikot (0-1) and it was no surprise when Kompayak stopped his foe in the 2nd round.

We had one of the biggest upsets of the year, so far, on May 16th when unheralded Filipino Eden Sonsona (34-6-2, 12) shocked previously unbeaten Mexican fighter Adrian Estrella (22-1, 20). Estrella had been touted as a future world title contender though was stopped in the 2nd round by Sonsona who may well find himself capable of getting a sizeable payday next time out.

On the same night we saw Kazakh puncher Gennady Golovkin (33-0, 30) continue his reign of terror in the Middleweight division. Golovkin, defending his WBC “interim” and WBA “super” titles saw off Willie Monroe Jr (19-2, 6) in the 6th round. Monroe had given a spirited effort, especially given that he was down twice in round 2, though it did often seem like Golovkin was toying with his American foe.

May 23rd saw our attention turning to South Korea where Hyun Mi Choi (10-0-1, 3) retained her WBA female Super Featherweight title with a wide decision win over Japanese veteran Chika Mizutani (14-5, 7). Choi was in control through out the bout and looked very talented whilst Mizutani generally looked out classed but brave.

On May 28th we saw Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (34-4-1, 31) score one of his best wins to date as he mowed down Mexican Jose Salgado (34-3-2, 27) in 4 rounds. This bout was for the WBC “silver” Super Flyweight title and with the win Srisaket is now the mandatory challenger for WBC world champion Carlos Cuadras, the man that actually took the title from Srisaket last year.

The final highlight of the month came on May 30th when Japanese teenager Kosei Tanaka (5-0, 2) claimed the WBO Minimumweight title in just his 5th professional bout. The youngster over-came Mexican Julian Yedras (24-2, 13) in a compelling 12 round affair which saw Tanaka show off everything he was capable off in the ring, including a few defensive issues that will hopefully be worked on when he gets back in to the ring. The youngster became the “quickest” Japanese world champion beating the previous record of Naoya Inoue by a single fight.

(Image courtesy of boxingnews.jp)

May 2015 will be one of the most significant in boxing history. We all know that professional boxing will get the attention of the world on May 2nd however that's not the only date of note this coming month.

May 1st-
To begin the month we get 4 notable bouts as the month kicks off in style. The first of those will see former 2-weight world champion Akira Yaegashi (20-5, 10) begin his career as a Super Flyweight following back to back losses in late 2014. The popular Yaegashi has been matched with an easy opponent though it's still going to be a joy to see him in action.

On the same card as Yaegashi's bout we will see Japanese Olympic gold medal winner Ryota Murata (6-0, 4) battle against WBO world ranked foe Douglas Damiao Ataide (13-1-1, 6). This is a step up for Murata and a win here will move him towards a possible WBO world title fight though it also promises to be his toughest bout so far.

Also on this card is a WBC Super Featherweight world title fight which will see the hard hitting Takashi Miura (28-2-2, 21) defending his title against former Featherweight title holder Billy Dib (39-3-0-1, 23). This is a high profile opportunity for Miura who has yet to become the star despite having a very fun to watch style.

The remaining bout of note takes place in the US where Japan's Takahiro Ao (27-3-1, 12) looks to claim the WBO Lightweight title and over-come the tough Raymundo Beltran (29-7-1, 17). This bout will give Ao an opportunity to become a 3-weight world champion though it's not an easy contest for the popular Japanese fighter.

May 2nd-
It goes with out saying that the biggest bout of the month takes place in a little venue in the US on May 2nd as Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38) battles against the unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr (47-0, 26) in a bout to unify the WBO, WBC and WBA “super” titles at Welterweight. This bout is set to break all sorts of records and is, with out a doubt, the most significant bout in recent memory. The winner of this long anticipated fight will be viewed as the fighter of their generation and it's fair to say the fans of the loser will be left wondering “what if” had the bout taken place several years ago when both were still in their pomp.

May 6th-
The action returns on May 6th world title triple header. The most exciting match up here will see WBA Super Featherweight “super” champion Takashi Uchiyama (22-0-1, 18) defending his title against unbeaten Thai Jomthong Chuwatana (9-0, 4) in what looks to be an amazing contest. This is not going to be easy for either man and a win for Uchiyama will hopefully lead to a unification whilst a win for Jomthong would instantly make him a boxing star.

In a Light Flyweight title bout Ryoichi Taguchi (21-2-1, 8) will be defending his WBA title against Thai veteran Kwanthai Sithmorseng (49-3-1, 26). This will be Taguchi's first defense following his victory against Alberto Rossel in December and whilst it looks like a good bout on paper it really isn't very good with Sithmorseng having come up short against almost every notable foe that he's faced.

The third world title fight will see WBO female Minimumweight champion Kumiko Seeser Ikehara (6-1-2, 3) defending her belt against Kayoko Ebata (8-5, 4). This will be Ebata's 4th shot at a world title having come up in 3 previous title fights whilst Ikehara will be defending her title for the second time following a disappointing technical draw with Jessebelle Pagaduan in February.

May 9th-
One of the busiest days of the year comes on May 9th when we get a host of notable bouts taking place around the world.

The most notable bout takes place in the US where Tomoki Kameda (31-0, 19) will battle against Jamie McDonnell (25-2-1, 12) in a WBA Bantamweight title bout. Originally this bout was announced a WBA/WBO unification contest but the WBO refused to sanction the bout and as a result Tomoki vacated the belt so that the bout could go on. It's a really good bout and one that we are genuinely excited about.

One of the most notable bouts takes place in Kobe as former 2-weight world champion Hozumi Hasegawa (33-5, 15) battles against the unbeaten and heavy handed Horacia Garcia (29-0, 21). This will be Hasegawa's comeback bout following his loss to the then IBF Super Bantamweight champion Kiko Martinez last year, sadly however he's up against a very, very good opponent.

Also in Japan we get a female world title fight as Yuko Kuroki (12-4-1, 6) defends her WBC female Minimumweight title against former world title challenger Masae Akitaya (9-5-2, 3). This isn't a great bout but it will likely give a lot of action for the fans at the Aqua Bunka Hall and will see Kuroki being forced to answer serious questions about her talent.

A notable bout in the UK will see the heavy handed Rey Megrino (21-20-3, 18) attempt to upset the very highly regarded Khalid Yafai (14-0, 9). Yafai is talented but this is a step up for the youngster and although it looks like a mismatch Megrino does have that power which can be a problem for anyone in the lower weight classes. [Note-This bout now appears to be in doubt]

May 16th-
A third successive Saturday of note comes on May 16th when we get two stateside bouts of note.

One of those bouts will see unbeaten Kazakh destroyed Gennady Golovkin (32-0, 29) defending his collection of titles against the once beaten boxer-mover Willie Monroe Jr (19-1, 6). This will be Golovkin's 7th bout in the US as he looks to continue to continue his destructive run through the contenders of the Middleweight division. For Monroe this is a huge opportunity but one we certainly can't see him winning.

On the same show we will also see the Teiken promoted Roman Gonzalez (42-0, 36) defending his WBC Flyweight title and making his long over-due HBO debut. The exciting Nicaraguan will be facing off against Mexican veteran Edgar Sosa (51-8, 30) in what should a very exciting bout and a great introduction for the US who haven't seen much of Gonzalez despite his sensational career.

May 30th-
On May 30th we get a couple of bouts that have us excited. To us the most notable of those is in Aichi as the unbeaten teenager Kosei Tanaka (4-0, 2) attempts to set the Japanese record for few fewest fight to win a world title when he battles the much more experienced Julian Yedras (24-1, 13) for the vacant WBO Minimumweight title. The bout isn't the best the division could have given us but it is a brilliant chance to see if Tanaka is as good as he looks and a stoppage against Yedras would be very impressive.

In the UK fans will see the Teiken promoted Jorge Linares (38-3, 25) defending his WBC Lightweight title against Britain's popular Kevin Mitchell (39-2, 25). This will be Linares's first defense of the title after winning the belt on December 30th last year, stopping Javier Preito, and will also be his UK debut. This bout really is exciting with men being able to hurt and be hurt and we'd be very surprised to see it go the distance.

Another world title bout takes place in Mexico as the once beaten Milan Melindo (32-1, 12) battles against Javier Mendoza (23-2-1, 19) in a bout for the IBF Light Flyweight title. This is a very tough bout for Melindo, as he takes on a very hard hitting, aggressive and exciting champion, however the Filipino has got the ability to bring back the title if he performs at his very best. [Note-This bout was originally scheduled for May 9th though was rescheduled due to TV]

May 31st-
The final bout of note will come on the final day of the month as former Japanese and OPBF Minimumweight champion Ryuji Hara (18-1, 10) battles against Petchnamchai Sor Sakulwong (1-2, 1). This will be Hara's comeback bout following his sole loss, a 10th round TKO defeat by Kosei Tanaka, and we're expecting to see a very impressive performance by Hara here who will be wanting to make up for lost time and begin fighting for titles sooner rather than later.

A number of fighters have had frustrating 2013's. One of those was WBC Super Featherweight champion Takashi Miura (28-2-2, 21) who's only fight all year was a mandatory defense against the undeserving Edgar Puerta in November. Prior to that bout Miura had had his name linked to almost everyone in the Super Featherweight division yet no one seemed willing to step up and actually fight him.

Those who were mentioned as possible opponents included fellow champion Takashi Uchiyama, the Mexican pair of Abner Mares and Orlando Salido, British fighter Stephen Smith and Cuban sensation Yuriorkis Gamboa. Going into 2015 many of those names are already being linked to the Japanese puncher who will be hoping for a much busier 2015.

The most obvious bout is still the contest with Takashi Uchiyama. The bout would allow Miura a chance to avenge his stoppage defeat to Uchiyama and would make the winner a unified WBC-WBA champion. For both men it's something they have spoke about though, for various reasons, not managed to actually get sorted. It's still the bout fans are wanting and the fighters appear to want but if that can't be made there are other options.

One of the most exciting is a rumoured bout with Gamboa. The rumour for this one is that Miura would be fighting Gamboa in Mexico, possibly in a bull ring. The bout would see Miura returning to Mexico, the country where he beat Sergio Thompson in a 2013 FOTY candidate, for the first time since the Thompson bout and would also see him fighting someone known to American and European fans. It's a bout that would guarantee serious fireworks and has the potential to be over at any time. Although exciting it's not one we suspect either will be a rush to make.

Another option that would take Miura to Mexico would be a bout against unbeaten and heavy handed local Adrian Estrella. The 22 year old Estrella has had his name linked to Miura in recent weeks and his impressive record, which reads 20-0 (18), boats a 90% KO rate. This would be two of the hardest hitters in the division colliding in a bout very unlikely to go the distance. Not only is this interesting on paper but it's even more so when one considers that Estrella has beaten both Dante Jardon, a former Miura foe, and Celestino Caballero in recent bouts.

A third possible contest involving a Mexican is talk of Miura facing the exciting and unbeaten Francisco Vargas who has really shone this year. The bout is unlikely, at least in 2015, though has all the ingredients of a really exciting contest between aggressive and exciting fighters who can both be involved in some thrillers down the line. At the moment Vargas is highly ranked by the WBC and we all know that the WBC will be willing to help Vargas an opportunity however we suspect he knows it'd be too soon for him

Outside of Mexico we've seen the name of Stephen Smith again mentioned as a possible foe for Miura. Smith is the current “silver” champion and has had his name linked to Miura on British TV more than once. The most interesting thing relating to this bout is that Smith's promoter Eddie Hearn has shown a willingness to match his fighters with Japanese foes recently and we've seen Scott Quigg fight Daiki Kaneko whilst Jamie McDonnell is set to fight Tomoki Kameda. Although this certainly a possible contest we're doubtful that this one is likely to come to more than just talk as Miura is, stylistically, all wrong for Smith.

A really interesting option, and one that would certainly end up in Japan, would be a contest between Miura and the winner of the upcoming OPBF title bout between Daiki Kaneko and Jomthong Chuwatana. The winner of that will be a clear top 10 opponent with the WBC, will be happy to fight in Japan and will certainly not be written off as just another challenger. More importantly however the winner of that would stylistically be a fun to watch contest.

Whilst we'll admit we would love to see Miura Vs Uchiyama II the fact there are other options out there really does leave us looking forward to an exciting year for Takashi Miura, a man we want to see a lot of in 2015.

(Image courtesy of Teiken)

It's fair to say that 2013 has been a great year for both ourselves and for boxing. Sure for us it's been our first year as a site, for boxing though it's been an excellent year with a number of brilliant fights almost on a weekly basis, plenty of controversies, a handful of upsets and some great KO's. In all honesty it's been on of the best years that we can remember with everything a boxing fan could dream about.

With that in mind we've decided to celebrate 2014 with our first ever “Annual Awards”. This award system will be our way of recognising the key fights, fighters and performances of the year. Of course, with this site being “Asian Boxing” we have tried to keep things to fights in Asia for the most part.

Fighter of the Year
Gennady Golovkin
Kazakhstan's Middleweight sensation Gennady Golovkin has possibly been the stand out fighter this year despite stiff competition from a number of fighters. Any year where a world champion defends his world title 4 times is impressive, even more when he stops all 4 men and never looks in any trouble. Not only did Golovkin defeat Gabriel Rosado, Nobuhiro Ishida, Matthew Macklin and Curtis Stevens but he also did it without losing more than a round or 2 between those 4 fights.

Sure the opponents weren't great for Golovkin but the WBA Middleweight champion is quickly proving to be an avoided fighter and with good reason. He's taking out the B grade Middleweights whilst the top guys seem happy to avoid a clash with him. If he continues to take out all willing challengers in 2014 he may well be forced to go to Super Middleweight just to look for willing dance partners.

Notable mention (1)
Takashi Miura
One man who has arguably impressed everyone this year has been Takashi Miura who has had a career defining year no matter what happens in 2014. He began the year by becoming the WBC Super Featherweight champion courtesy of a demanding victory over Gamaliel Diaz and since then has gone from strength to strength. In his first defense he went to Mexico and won a thriller with Sergio Thompson then ended the year by dominating Dante Jardon in what we expected to be a tough bout. Not only has Miura had a year to remember but he's also become the new Mexecutioner.

Notable mention (2)
Akira Yaegashi
After losing to Kazuto Ioka in a Minimumweight title unification bout in 2012 some may have expected to see Akira Yaegashi slowly fade away. Instead Yaegashi has had a 2013 to remembered and a year to genuinely celebrate. He jumped from Minimumweight to Flyweight and despite struggling with Thailand's Saenmuangloei Kokietgym in his first fight at the weight Yaegashi would end the year as the WBC and Linear champion. Yaegashi's year saw him scoring 4 wins including really notable ones over Toshiyuki Igarashi and Edgar Sosa and a very credible one over Oscar Blanquet.

Prospect of the Year
Naoya Inoue
There was little doubt who'd be getting this award this year because Naoya Inoue was the one stand out candidate. The 20 year old from Kanagawa scored 4 wins this year and showed everything a fighter had to show. He destroyed Thailand's Ngaoprajan Chuwatana, boxed the socks off Yuki Sano, beat up the brave Ryoichi Taguchi and then dismantled Jerson Mancio. In the process of those 4 victories Inoue became the Japanese and OPBF champion whilst also becoming world ranked and viewed as one of the worlds fastest rising stars.

Notable mention
Kosei Tanaka
Although the 18 year old Kosei Tanaka only made his debut this year he's already looking like a fighter heading to the top. Tanaka took on the well regarded Oscar Raknafa on debut and made a statement dropping Raknafa en route to a comfortable 6 round decision. His year wasn't as impressive as Inoue's but his performance showed the hall marks of a young fighter going a very way in the sport. Don't be shocked if this youngster is mentioned as the stand out prospect at the end of 2014.

Female Fighter of the Year
Naoko Fujioka
This was one the easier categories with Japanese Super Flyweight Naoko Fujioka having a year to really remember. She may have only fought twice this year but her win over Naoko Yamaguchi for the WBC female Super Flyweight title was the stand out performance of any Asian female this year. The former Minimumweight champion appears to be like a fine wine and despite being 38 years old she is still improving as shown as she defeated Yamaguchi and proved to be our female fighter of the year.

Notable mention
Su-Yun Hong
Korean boxing might not be riding a crest of a wave but they do have a shining light in the form of WBO Minimumweight champion Su-Yun Hong who defended her title twice this year. He first defense, over Buangern OnesongchaiGym, may not have been anything great but the fact that she then followed that up with a victory over Mari Ando left us with no doubt that Hong deserved a mention on here. What made her victory over Ando so impressive is that Ando herself went up and finished the year a world champion herself.

Performance of the Year
Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (v Yota Sato)
Back at the start of May we expected Yota Sato, the then WBC Super Flyweight champion, to travel over to Thailand and defeat Thailand's Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, a man who we admittedly knew little about at the time. Instead of Sato defending his belt and creating history we instead saw Srisaket have the break out performance of the year and stamp his name on the sport with one of the most notable and outstanding performances of the year.

Notable mention (1)
Koki Eto (v Pornsawan Porpramook)
Japan's Koki Eto may be little known outside of Japan and Thailand and might never again make a statement on the world stage but his memorable battle with Pornsawan Porpramook was one of those great performances and the type of thing that will live on. Eto went in to the bout with everything against him. No Japanese national had won a world title bout in Thailand, he was facing an experienced and well known world level fighter and the crowd were certainly behind Porpramook. Despite the deck being stacked against him Eto managed to upset Porpramook with a stirring performance.

Notable mention (2)
Takashi Miura (v Sergio Thompson)
Japan's Takashi Miura travelled around the planet to make the first defense of his WBC Super Featherweight title and take on mandatory challenger Sergio Thompson. Miura was the under-dog and the partisan crowd were clearly behind Thompson though they didn't prevent Miura from putting on a performance to remember as he and Thompson traded leather with reckless abandon. The fight wasn't Miura's first world title fight but was the fight that put him on the map as a real champion and a fighter who wasn't to be taken lighting.

Revelation of the Year
(The fighter than came out of nowhere to become a top tier fighter in 2013)

Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
To start 2013 Srisaket Sor Rungvisai was an unknown fighter with a record of 16-3-1 (15). The only notable things about him were his early career losses to Akira Yaegashi and Kenji Oba. In 2013 however Srisaket went 7-0 (6) won the WBC Super Flyweight title dominating Yota Sato and made a defense of that title stopping Hirofumi Mukai.

Notable mention
Ruslan Provodnikov
The American based “Siberian Rocky” Ruslan Provodnikov was viewed by many as a second tier fighter, an “ESPN fighter” if you will. This year though we saw Provodnikov proving that he was a world level warrior as he put on 2 fight of the year candidates. Although he came up short, narrowly, against Timothy Bradley his performance against Mike Alvarado solidified him as one of the revelations of 2013.

KO of the Year
Takashi Uchiyama (v Jaider Parra)
We all know that Takashi Uchiyama is one of the hardest punchers pound-for-pound on the planet though earlier this year we saw just how hard he hits as be destroyed the mid-section of Venezuelan challenger Jaider Parra with a single thunderous body shot. The shot may be forgotten by many but for us it was one of the best body shots in recent memory, destructive.

Notable mention (1)
Gennady Golovkin (v Nobuhiro Ishida)
Like Uchiyama we all know that Gennady Golovkin is a major puncher and he showed it with 4 stoppages this year including 2 KO of the Year candidates. Of those 2 KO's we've gone with his single right hand KO of Japan's Nobuhiro Ishida, a shot that was vicious, concussive and spiteful. We're not sure what was more striking, the shot or the way Ishida went down with half of his body lying out of the ring. It was devastation of the highest order.

Notable mention (2)
Ryo Miyazaki (v Carlos Velarde)
Although Ryo Miyazaki may have ended the year with an unexpected loss to Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr one thing that no one can take away from him was his KO of the year contender against Carlos Velarde. This KO, which came way back in May, was probably the best 2-punch combination Miyazaki has ever landed and was simply a perfect combination that sent Velarde crumbling instantly to the canvas. It genuinely was a beautiful highlight to Miyazaki's first world title defense.

Fight of the Year
Takashi Miura v Sergio Thompson
This was by far the hardest category out there though we've gone with Miura v Thompson as the winner. This war, fought in Mexico was nothing short of breath taking with both men being sent down, both men being hurt, both men unloading and both men needing to dig deep. Neither man looked likely to survive the distance and neither man looked likely to be the same fighter ever again. This was one of those wars that will live on with all those that saw it and will grow and grow as the men themselves become more famous.

Notable mention (1)
Ruslan Provodnikov v Timothy Bradley
When we talk about Fight of the Year we think of bouts with momentum shifts, styles that contrast well and a mix of the action. That's exactly what we got when Provodnikov put his name on the boxing map with his performance against Timothy Bradley. Of course Bradley played his part as had to battle through a serious shellacking and showed off the classy boxing we know he has in his arsenal. The bout had it all and best of all seemed to cause the birth of a new boxing star in Provodnikov.

Notable mention (2)
Koki Eto v Pornsawan Porpramook
Japanese youngster Koki Eto was a relative unknown to the world stage until he travelled to Thailand and put on a real show with Thai tank Pornsawan Porpramook. The both saw both men going to war in a real battle of attrition that eventually saw Pornsawan dropped to the canvas in round 12. It turned out that it was the knockdown that sealed the deal for Eto and won him the WBA “interim” Flyweight title. Unfortunately Eto would lose the title in his first defense showing that the bout had taken it's toll on him.

Notable mention (3)
Kohei Kono v Liborio Solis
We said it was a tough category and the fact that Kohei Kono's war with Liborio Solis is all the way down in the 3rd notable position says it all. This fight could well have been our fight of the year in previous years as both men went to war, both men gave it their all and both men got knocked down in a bout that saw Solis unifying the WBA and WBA “interim” Super Flyweight titles.

Comeback of the Year
Katsunari Takayama
When a fighter goes 1-3-0-1 in their previous fights you tend to feel their career is on the wane and that it's time to think about retirement. For Katsunari Takayama however 2013 has been his year as he's scored 2 wins and put himself back on the map. Not only did he claim a world title, the IBF Minimumweight belt, with a memorable performance against Mario Rodriguez in Mexico but he then returned to Japan to win his first fight in the country since 2009. Takayama, aged 30, looks to be a man who has turned his career around this year and now looks like a very difficult man to beat.


Before we close out our awards we want to say thank you to all the fighters, promoters, organisations and everyone else that has made our sport so great over the last 12 months. It's been an honour to watch these warriors in action.

One more thing before we end this, we'd also like to say, from the entire team, thank you to...you. Thank you for reading, thank you for supporting the site and thank you for supporting boxing, the greatest sport in the world. Hopefully 2014 will be an even better year with more great fights, more amazing KO's and more of the action that has made us all love this fantastic sport.