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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 Japanese world champion Takashi Uchiyama to former Filipino world champion Eric Jamili.
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-Although best known for his success in the professional ranks Takashi Uchiyama was a very impressive amateur, who numerous titles in the unpaid ranks. That included a number of Japanese National titles, including one in 2002, at 60KG's. At the very same tournament we also saw Yu Kimura pick up a championship win, down at 48KG's. 2-As a professional Yu Kimura had an interesting and notable career after turning professional in 2006. His most notable achievement was winning the WBC Light Flyweight title, with an upset win over Pedro Guevara in 2015. Prior to that however he had been a key figure on the Japanese domestic scene and shared the ring with a number of notable Japanese fighters. They included Tatsuya Fukuhara, who he beat in 2013. 3-When we look back on his career Tatsuya Fukuhara will not go down as a legend, despite that he won the Japanese and WBO Minimumweight titles and was the face of boxing in Kumamoto for the best part of a decade. He also fought to a draw with Fahlan Sakkreeerin Jr and twice challenged Wanheng Menayothin for the WBC Minimumweight title, an was the opponent for Takuma Inoue's professional debut. That bout with Inoue came on a card headlined by Akira Yaegashi, in December 2013. 4-During his long and successful career Akira Yaegashi won world titles in 3 weight classes and had a genuinely excellent career. Sadly though he also suffered a number of painful losses, where his toughness and heart saw him taking prolonged punishment. The one strange exception to that was his IBF Light Flyweight title loss in 2017 to Milan Melindo. That bout saw Yaegashi being taken out in the first round by the talented Filipino. 5-Before winning the IBF Light Flyweight title Milan Melindo had won a number of minor titles, such as regional and youth belts. The first of those was the WBO Asia Pacific Minimumweight title, which he won in October 2007. Interestingly the previous champion to Melindo was Donnie Nietes. 6-The excellent Donnie Nietes was always closely affiliated with the WBO, winning the WBO Minimumweight title in 2007 before later winning the WBO Light Flyweight and Super Flyweight titles. He was actually the second Filipino to win the WBO Minimumweight title, following in the footsteps of Eric Jamili, who won the belt in 1997. Interesting that title win saw Jamili become the first Filipino to win a WBO world title, at any weight.
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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 Kazakh Middle star Gennady Golovkin to former Japanese world champion Takashi Uchiyama.
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-On May 6th 2006 Gennady Golovkin made his professional debut, beating Gabor Balogh inside a round in Dusseldorf. On the very same day Eagle Den Junlaphan retained the WBC Minimumweight title with a unanimous decision over Filipino challenger Rodel Mayol, over in Tokyo, to record his second defense of his second reign. 2-The talented Japanese based Thai born Eagle Den Junlaphan would go on to successfully make 2 more defenses of the WBC Minimumweight title after his win over Rodel Mayol. He then lost the belt in 2007 when he travelled over to Thailand to take on Oleydong Sithsamerchai in the 8th world title bout between two Thai's, otherwise known as a "Bloodline Battle". 3-Following his WBC title win Oleydong Sithsamerchai went on to make 6 successful defenses, which at the time put him third for the most defenses of the WBC Minimumweight title behind Ricardo Lopez and Jose Antonio Aguirre. Included in those 6 defenses was a draw against Pornsawan Popramook in 2010. This meant he was only the third WBC Minimumweight champion to retain with a draw, the first was Hirioki Ioka in 1988. 4-Japan's Hiroki Ioka is well known for being a 2-weight world champion, the youngest world champion in Japanese boxing history, the final student Eddie Townsend and the uncle of Kazuto Ioka. He was a genuinely big deal in the 1980's and 1990's. Interestingly his final bout came on December 19th 1998, that was the same day Floyd Mayweather Jr beat Angel Manfredy to record his first defense of the WBC Super Featherweight title. 5-At the 1996 Olympics Floyd Mayweather Jr won an Olympic bronze medal at Featherweight, losing in his semi-final to Serafim Todorov. The eventual gold medal winner in the division was Thailand's Kamsing Somluck, who defeated Todorov 8-5 in the final. 6-It wasn't just the Olympics that Kamsing Somluck had success at but he was actually a really,really successful amateur, winning medals across various international competitions and tournaments. Included in those was the 2002 King's Cup in Bangkok. On route to that win win Kamsing beat future WBA Super Featherweight champion Takashi Uchiyama in the semi-final! 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 Takashi Uchiyama to former Korean world title contender Seung Soon Lee.
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-The hard hitting Takashi Uchiyama made his professional debut on July 16th 2005, when he beat Chandet Sithramkamhaeng in 35 seconds at Korakuen Hall. On the very same day there was a major shock in the US as Bernard Hopkins lost his unified Middleweight throne to fellow American Jermain Taylor. 2-Although now somewhat forgotten, sadly, Jermain Taylor was a tremendous talent as both an professional and an amateur. We've just mentioned his crowning glory as a professional but as an amateur his biggest success was at the 2000 Olympics, where he won a Bronze medal. His Olympic dreams were ended in the semi finals by Kazakh fighter Yermakhan Ibrayimov, who stopped Taylor in the 4th round of their bout. 3-After stopping Taylor in the semi-final of the Light Middleweight division Yermakhan Ibrayimov went on to win the Gold medal, improving on the Bronze medal that he had won in 1996. Another man who took home Gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics was Cuban fighter Guillermo Rigondeaux, who also took Gold at the 2004 games in Athens. 4-The talented, yet often frustrating, Guillermo Rigondeaux fought a number of Asian fighters as a professional. Among them was Hisashi Amagasa, who he fought at the end of 2014 in a memorable and dramatic bout that saw Rigondeaux being dropped twice, Amagasa being dropped once and then being stopped with serious facial swelling. 5-Japan's "Slimming Assassin" Hisashi Amagasa was born on October 18th 1985. On that very same day American fighter Mark Breland scored his 7th professional win, stopping Donald Gwinn in New York City. 6-In 1989 Mark Breland became a 2-time world champion, scoring an opening round blow out win over Korean fighter Seung Soon Lee in Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. This win netted Breland the WBA Welterweight title that he had lost in 1987 to Marlon Starling. 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 multi-weight world champion Nonito Donaire to former world champion Takashi Uchiyama.
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-Way back on July 7th 2007 we saw the then unknown Nonito Donaire announce himself on the boxing world with a huge upset win over the then IBF Flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan. The win was a massive shock and put the unheralded Donaire on the boxing map. On the very same card fans in the venue also saw the previously unbeaten Bermane Stiverne suffer a shock himself, losing to Demetrice King. 2-Prior to beginning his professional career Bermane Stiverne was a solid amateur and scored a very notable win in the 2004 Tammer Tournament in Tampere, Finland. In that tournament he stopped British fighter David Price, in what was regarded as a notable amateur upset. 3-After losing to Stiverne in 2004 David Price would go on to make his mark as one of the most notable British amateurs of his time. That was, in part, helped by an Olympic bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing at Super Heavyweight. In the Olympics that followed, both the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, Kazakh fighter Ivan Dychko went on to claim bronze. 4-Although Ivan Dychko's professional career was a very slow burn he turned professional with a lot of expectations on his shoulders. Interestingly the big man from Kazakhstan appears to have made his professional debut on the same date as Thai hope Satanmuanglek CP Freshmart, with both men kicking off their professional career's on August 9th 2017*. 5-Within just a few years of his professional debut Thailand's Satanmuanglek CP Freshmart moved through the rankings and secured a world title fight with Japan's Hiroto Kyoguchi. Although Kyoguchi won that bout it's fair to say that Satanmuanglek impressed, getting a lot of credit for his performance, in even in defeat. Interestingly that win was Kyoguchi's second defense of the WBA Light Flyweight "Super" title. 6-Talented and exciting Japanese fighter Hiroto Kyoguchi made his debut in 2016, and by the and of the year he was 5-0 (5). His final bout of the year saw him defeat Junel Lacar in 3 rounds. In the headline bout of that card was Kyoguchi's then stablemate Takashi Uchiyama, who fought his final professional bout, losing to Jezzrel Corrales in their second meeting. *Given the way Thai records can be misleading it should be noted that we are going on how BoxRec has Satanmuanglek's record at the time of writing. 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. 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 OPBF Light Welterweight champion Chang Kil Lee to former world champion Takashi Uchiyama. 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-Whilst certainly not one of Korea's greatest ever fighters Chang Kil Lee had an interesting career that took him around the world and saw him battle a number of notable fighters. They included the likes of Guts Ishimatsu, Ken Buchanan, Pedro Adigue Jr and Antonio Cervantes. Sadly though his biggest mark on history came in his final bout, when he was beaten by Wongso Suseno, losing the OPBF 140lb title to Suseno. What made the bout so notable was that the win saw Suseno become the first Indonesian to win an international title. 2-Whilst Wongso Suseno was the first Indonesian to win an OPBF title he's not the only Indonesian fighter to win an OPBF title. Another was Boy Aruan, who held the OPBF Super Flyweight title back in 1995. He actually elected to vacate that title to challenge WBC Super Flyweight champion Hiroshi Kawashima that December. 3-The talented Hiroshi Kawashima was dubbed "Untouchable" in Japan due to his smart defensive work. That was a nickname that was also used, years earlier, by Argentinian legend Nicolino Locche, who was dubbed "Untouchable" due to his defensive skills and his incredible ability to make fighters swing and miss. 4-The brilliant Nicolino Locche sadly passed away on September 7th 2005, at the age of 66. Rather oddly that was the same day that Kongsurin Sithsoe, also known as Sommai Suksawaeng, scored his first recorded professional win, after losing his first 8 bouts*. 5-Whilst Kongsurin Sithsoe is certainly an obscure fighter, to say the least, the Thai Featherweight did share the ring with some pretty notable fighters. Among them were several world title challengers, including Filipino warrior Michael Farenas, who stopped the Thai in 5 rounds back in 2007. 6-Rugged Filipino Michael Farenas is probably best known in the West for his 2012 bout with Yuriorkis Gamboa, or maybe his 2014 bouts with the then unbeaten Mark Davis or Jose Jose Pedraza. Before he had those bouts Farenas actually fought the then WBA Super Featherweight champion Takashi Uchiyama, with the two men sadly having their bout curtailed in round 3 due to a clash of heads resulting in a technical draw. *As per boxrec at the time of writing, we are fully aware records for Thai and Korean fighters are often incomplete.  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 Part 4 is here Part 5 is here
 Whilst Christmas is fast approaching the action doesn't really end for Asian fight fans with Japanese and Filipino fighters being in a number of notable before the year is out. Here we look at those big upcoming bouts. December 26th- Shun Kubo Vs Lloyd Jardeliza The first of the “post Christmas” bouts comes just a day after the festivities and sees one of Japan's most promising prospects, Shun Kubo (8-0, 6), battle against a Filipino puncher, Lloyd Jardeliza (7-2-3, 6), for the OPBF Super Bantamweight title. The bout looks to be, on paper, a late Christmas present, and one that could well be a cracker. Kubo is seen as the next fighter of note from the Shinsei Gym, the gym that has managed Hozumi Hasegawa, and Kubo is supposed to the fighter who follows in Hasegawa's footsteps. Jardeliza has lost 2 of his last 4 but is regarded as a serious puncher and could well follow in the footsteps of Marlon Tapalese, who recently upset Shohei Omori in Japan. This could be a shoot out, an exposure or a break out win. December 27th- Kenichi Horikawa Vs Ken Shiro Just a day after the Kubo/Jardeliza fight we get two Japanese title fights. In our eyes the more interesting of the two comes down at 108lbs where veteran Kenichi Horikawa (30-13-1, 7) defends his title, for the first time, against the fast rising Ken Shiro (5-0, 3). The men have a good friendship but have a local rivalry, with both being Kyoto fighters, and are likely to have that rivalry over-rule their friendship in what could be a real coming out party for the talented Ken Shiro, or a statement win for Horikawa, who looked better than ever last time out when he stopped Shin Ono. Yuki Nonaka Vs Koshinmaru Saito The other Japanese title fight on December 27th sees Light Middleweight champion Yuki Nonaka (27-8-3, 9) defending his title against Koshinmaru Saito (22-7-1, 12). Nonaka, now in his second reign as champion, will be hoping to secure his third successive defense of the title whilst also making his ring return for the first time since his controversial draw against Takayuki Hosokawa back in April. Saito is an experienced title level fighter though has gone 0-4 in title bouts so far, and isn't really being given much of a chance to end that run. Riku Kano Vs Pigmy Kokiegym Whilst the two title bouts on December 27th are worthy or attention there is another bout which perhaps deserves to be more than just a foot note. That bout will see teenage hopeful Riku Kano (7-1-1, 4) go up against former world title challenger Pigmy Kokietgym (58-8-2, 23). For Kano, 18, this is a monstrous step up in class however it's one his team will believe he's capable of making, especially considering they are talking about Kano challenging the record for the youngest Japanese world champion. Notably Pigmy is just 4 months removed from his upset loss to Jaysever Abcede.  December 29th- Naoya Inoue Vs Warlito Parrenas Whilst December 26th and 27th are notable days it's fair to say that December 29th over-shadows the earlier action. That is mostly due to the ring return of wunderkind Naoya Inoue (8-0, 7) who defends his WBO Super Flyweight title against Filipino slugger Warlito Parrenas (24-6-1, 21). On paper this shouwl be a win for Inoue, especially if he's as good as we believe, however Parrenas is a huge puncher and Inoue's inactivity and injuries could well take their toll and he might not be the fighter he once was, or become he fighter we all wish he would become. Akira Yaegashi Vs Javier Mendoza The Inoue/Parrenas bout isn't the only world title fight on December 29th as Inoue's stablemate and close friend Akira Yaegashi (22-5, 12) attempts to become a 3-weight world champion. The popular Yaegashi will be up against aggressive Mexican fighter Javier Mendoza (24-2-1, 19), who will be defending his IBF Light Flyweight title. Yaegashi, a former champion at 105lbs and 112lbs, lost twice last year and will likely know that a loss here will be the end of his career at the top level. He has however got the experience and skills to give Mendoza a tough one, if his body can hold up at 108lbs. Takuma Inoue Vs Rene Dacquel Takuma Inoue (5-0, 1), Naoya's younger brother, is also on the card defending a title as he risks his OPBF Super Flyweight title against talented, yet under-rated, Filipino Rene Dacquel (15-5-1, 5). This will be the first defense by Inoue of a title he won earlier this year, when he out pointed Mark Anthony Geraldo, and an impressive showing could see his team push him towards a world title fight in 2016. For Dacquel, a former GAB champion, this is a chnce to really make a name for himself, and add another belt to his collection, as well as improving his 1-1-1 record in Japan. This really could be a tough ask for Inoue. Satoshi Hosono Vs Akifumi Shimoda One other title bout here sees a former world champion take on a former world title challenger in a bout that could, very easily have, have headlined a lesser show. That bout will see former 3-time world title challenger Satoshi Hosono (29-2-1, 20) defending his Japanese Featherweight title against former WBA Super Bantamweight champion Akifumi Shimoda (30-4-2, 12).. The loser of this really can kiss their dreams of another top level fight good bye, however the winner will be regarded as a genuine world title challenger for 2016. This bout will be over-shadowed but is incredibly significant.  December 31st-
Takashi Uchiyama Vs Oliver Flores We get a host of title bouts on New Years Eve, in fact there are 5 world title bouts on the day. Of the bouts in action the biggest mismatch is in Tokyo where long term WBA Super Featherweight champion Takashi Uchiyama (23-0-1, 19) defends his belt against limited Nicaraguan challenger Oliver Flores (21-1-2, 17). On paper this looks like an interesting match up for the unbeaten 36 year old champion though footage of Flores really doesn't impress and we suspect Uchiyama finishes off the challenger quickly before moving towards a major bout in early 2016. Ryoichi Taguchi Vs Luis De la Rose Staying in Tokyo fans get the chance to see Uchiyama's stablemate Ryoichi Taguchi (22-2-1, 9) defending his WBA Light Flyweight title against the horribly limited Luis de la Rosa (24-5-1, 14). The talented champion is looking for his second defense and shouldn't have to look too hard given the Colombian challenger has lost every time he has faced a notable opponent, and is 3-4 in his last 7. Sadly for Taguchi's fans this is a farce and they will know it, especially given the talent that is in the division and hopefully Taguchi will be facing a much better opponent in early 2016. Kazuto Ioka Vs Juan Carlos Reveco II Although both the title bouts in Tokyo are poor we have to admit that Osaka has got a great title fight to end the year as Kazuto Ioka (18-1, 10) defends the WBA Flyweight title against Juan Carlos Reveco (36-2, 19). Ioka beat Reveco, by majority decision, to win the title earlier this year in a really good bout. This rematch was ordered by the WBA but it really is almost certainly going to be one of the most exciting bout to end the year. Both men have a lot on the line here and both will bring the action in what should be something very special. Katsunari Takayama Vs Jose Argumedo Staying in Osaka it's also the venue for an IBF Minimumweight world title bout between defending champion Katsunari Takayama (30-7-0-1, 12) and little known challenger Jose Argumedo (15-3-1, 9). This will be Takayama's 3rd defense of the year but seems like a significant step backwards following a win last time out against Ryuji Hara. For Argumedo this is his first bout in 13 months and he enters the bout 1-1 in the last 2 years, leading to real questions as to why he's managed to get a world title fight. Kosei Tanaka Vs Vic Saludar Takayama isn't the only Minimumweight champion defending his title as WBO champion Kosei Tanaka (5-0, 2) makes the first defense of his title, in Aichi. The talented 20 year old will be up against Filipino puncher Vic Saludar (11-1, 9) in what looks like a solid first defense on paper. The talented Tanaka has been frustratingly inactive since winning his title in May but is likely to get a chin check here against a man who has serious power and will be looking to continue a 9 fight unbeaten run. Takahiro Yamamoto Vs Yuki Strong Kobayashi Going back to the Osaka card, the same show also has two lower level title fights on it, with an OPBF and a JBC title up for grabs. In the OPBF title fight we see Bantamweight kingpin Takahiro Yamamoto (16-4, 13) defending his crown against Yuki Strong Kobayashi (9-4, 5). For Yamamoto this will be his first defense since winning the title, with a TKO victory against Yu Kawaguchi, sadly however it is a bit of a “gimme” against a man we don't see posing any threat to the champion. Sho Ishida Vs Ryuta Otsuka As for the Japanese title fight, that comes at Super Flyweight where unbeaten champion Sho Ishida (20-0, 10) defends his belt against Ryuta Otsuka (15-8-2, 5). The talented Ishida will be looking for his 4th title defense whilst Otsuka will be hoping to claim a title in his shot. It's hard to see what Otsuka really offers, given he has lost 3 of his last 5, though it's clear that Ishida still needs a little bit more experience and seasoning before he moves onto the next level.  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. |
Thinking Out East
With this site being pretty successful so far we've decided to open up about our own views and start what could be considered effectively an editorial style opinion column dubbed "Thinking Out East" (T.O.E). Archives
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