 Over the last few years Japan has gained a reputation for ending the boxing year in style, with major shows in the final few days of the year. Typically those bouts get announced through November, as promoters officially announce the bouts and put their shows together along with major domestic television companies. As we enter November we thought it would be fun to look at some of those rumours for the month, and some of the confirmed bouts, as well as those that have been mentioned as possible, and those on the verge of being officially announced. We'll start by looking at what we know, with the confirmed notable bouts from the month. December 1st is set to be a crazy day with several major shows. In Tokyo we'll get a card televised by G+ which will be headlined by Valentine Hosokawa (23-6-3, 10) defending his Japanese Light Welterweight title against Takashi Inagaki (20-17-2, 9). The card will also feature a brilliant match up between Seiya Tsutsumi (4-0, 3) and Matcha Nakagawa (13-1-1, 5) as well as the ring return of former IBF Super Bantamweight champion Yukinori Oguni (19-2-1, 7) On the same day in Osaka we get two Shinsei Gym cards, featuring a combined 6 title bouts. The shows will be Real Spirits vol 60 and Real Spirits vol 61, with the first card featuring 4 female title bouts, including a WBO female Minimumweight title bout between Kayoko Ebata (12-7, 6) and Etsuko Tada (17-3-2, 5) and an OPBF Atomweight title bout between Eri Matsuda (1-0) and Minayo Kei (6-3, 1). The second card will see former world title challenger Reiya Konishi (16-1, 6) defending the WBO Asia Pacific Light Flyweight title against Richard Rosales (13-7-2, 7) and a potentially thrilling contest between Masao Nakamura (24-3, 23) and Carlo Magali (23-10-3, 12) for the WBO Asia Pacific Super Featherweight title. December 3rd will give us a single big show, headlined by OPBF Featherweight champion Satoshi Shimizu (7-0, 7) and Takuya Uehara (16-0, 10), with a brilliant supporting bout between Hinata Maruta (7-1-1, 6) and Tsuyoshi Tameda (18-3-2, 16), which is one of the bouts we're most looking forward to! On December 9th things get a bit crazy again. We will get a Japanese Welterweight title fight, as Ryota Yada (17-4, 14) defends his belt against Shusaku Fujinaka (16-9-2, 10), and a Japanese Super Flyweight title bout, with Takayuki Okumoto (21-8-3, 10) making his first defense against Masayoshi Hashizume (16-0-1, 10). These bouts have been officially announced and confirmed. The same day we're set to see to see Shohei Omori (19-2, 14) taking on Takahiro Yamamoto (21-5, 17) and Sho Ishida (26-1, 15) taking on Warlito Parrenas (26-8-1, 23). These bouts haven't been formally announced, though teams from both have confirmed they are taking place, and will be at the EDION Arena Osaka. It's unclear if they will share the same card as the other bouts or if the EDION will host another double dose of boxing with two shows. There is also some speculation that if this is a second show there will be one more big bout to add to the card. On December 13th we'll see Japanese Lightweight champion Shuichiro Yoshino (8-0, 6) defending his belt against Kazumasa Kobayashi (10-7-1, 6) at the Korakuen Hall and a week later we'll see Nobuyuki Shindo (20-4-1, 8) and Akinori Watanabe (37-7, 31) fight to unify the Japanese Light Middleweight title. The only other show of real significant that has been confirmed is the Japanese Rookie of the Year final on December 23rd. Nothing after Christmas, but before the start of 2019, has really been announced. But we have had a lot of rumours, speculation for December!  One bout that is supposed to be, finally, made is the long awaited IBF Light Middleweight world title eliminator between Takeshi Inoue (13-0-1, 7) and Julian Williams (25-1-1-1, 15), a bout that has seemingly been delayed, rescheduled and redelayed several times already this year. Fingers crossed this is actually made before the year is over, as it seems both fighters have wasted a lot of this year waiting for this bout to take place. Interestingly this could be the only bout to actually take place outside of Japan.
Another IBF eliminator which is rumoured to take place in December is a Super Bantamweight title eliminator between Ryosuke Iwasa (25-3, 16) and Cesar Juarez (23-6, 17). This bout is supposedly set to take place in Tokyo, though no date has been made public. If this is confirmed then we are in for a treat as these two, together, should be an amazing contest, with both being heavy handed and flawed. Fingers crossed we get this one announced shortly! Staying on the subject of IBF title fights there has been speculation in Japan that Masayuki Kuroda (30-7-3, 16) may get an unexpected shot at Flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane (36-2, 24). This rumour has come about after a scheduled eliminator with Kuroda and Eaktwan BTU Ruaviking fell through after the Thai suffered an injury. Kuroda's seemed to suggest this would be a long shot, but they are chasing the bout and it could, potentially, be on. The first of the rumoured big cards to end the year is expected to be on December 30th and is expected to be the Fuji TV card. The strongest rumour for this show is a WBO Super Featherweight title defense for Masayuki Ito (24-1-1, 12), with the named linked to him being Evgeny Chuprakov (20-0, 10). This bout is expected to be confirmed in the coming days, or at the very least Ito's part of it is, with Chuprakov perhaps not being the opponent. The same date is also pencilled in as a potential date for Kenshiro (14-0, 8) to make his next defense of the WBC Light Flyweight title, though no opponent has been linked to him. The December 30th Fuji card has also been set as the potential date for a WBC Bantamweight title bout between Petch Sor Chitpattana (48-0, 33) and Takuma Inoue (12-0, 3). This bout depends on another bout not taking place, as per an order at the WBC convention in early October, so we should see this bout being either confirmed or not very quickly. There is also a rumour that Takuma's stable mate at the Ohashi gym, Akira Yaegashi (27-6, 15) may also be involved on the same show. If the rumours for December 30th are a bit of an exciting mess things get even crazier for New Year's Eve. For weeks we've been hearing that WBC Minimumweight champion Wanheng Menayothin (51-0, 18) would be defending his title against Shin Ono (23-9-3, 6). This was rumoured to be part of a triple header, which has changed a few times but new seems most likely to feature a rematch between Ryoichi Taguchi (27-3-2, 12) and Hekkie Budler (32-3, 10), with Taguchi looking to reclaim the WBA Light Flyweight title from the South African. Along with that rematch is rumoured WBO Light Flyweight title bout between Angel Acosta (19-1, 19) and Hiroto Kyoguchi (11-0, 8). If this triple header is done, then TBS would be expected to show at least 2 bouts live on their Kyoguken show. Things get more complicated when we consider the other rumours, which include a potential WBO Flyweight world title defense by Kosei Tanaka (12-0, 7). His could be squeezed on TBS as an early bout, or could be used to stack the show to a quadruple header or could end up being only CBC live, with TBS showing it on tape delay. It's really unclear how he fits in, but he will almost certainly be wanting to fight on a year ending show, after missing out on the chance last year due to injury. Last, but certainly not least, is the rumoured WBO Super Flyweight title bout between Kazuto Ioka (23-1, 13) and Donnie Nietes (41-1-5, 23), a bout so big that TBS have seemingly given Ioka the option to take the date and broadcast if he wants it. This was rumoured strongly in September, and Japanese sources were suggesting that it could take place in the Philippines with TBS still airing it live, however the rumours did quieten quickly. It should be noted that Ioka's not been one for leaking news in the past, this could be well in the works. Given how silent things have gone however we may well see this bout being delayed into 2019, potentially as part of the next Superfly card. (Bottom image courtesy of boxmob.jp)
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 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. We'll pretend July was the greatest of months but we have had more than enough notable action over the last 4 weeks!
The month began with action in Thailand as the unbeaten Knockout CP Freshmart (11-0, 6) retained his WBA interim Minimumweight title with a 4th round TKO of the previously unbeaten Alexis Diaz (16-1, 10). Diaz was expected to put up a real fight against the Thai but was made to look second rate as he beaten by the defending champion. Following the win talk began of a contest between Knockout and Hekkie Budler. On July 4th we turned our attention to Mexico where Filipino slugger Warlito Parrenas (24-6-1, 21) found himself feeling robbed as he was held to a very debatable draw against David Carmona (19-2-5, 8) in a bout for the WBO interim Super Flyweight title. It seemed like Parrenas did far more than enough to claim the win here but he failed to convince the judges that he deserved the win. A really unfortunate outcome, but one that still keeps him in the hunt for a potential show down with Naoya Inoue later this year. We saw Japanese youngster Takuma Inoue (5-0, 1) claim his biggest win to date as he out pointed Mark Anthony Geraldo (31-6-3, 14) and claimed the OPBF Super Flyweight title. This was Takuma's toughest bout to date but also his most impressive and it appeared he has now filled into a full blown Super Flyweight. For Geraldo it's a second successive loss but at 23 he has plenty of time to rebuild and we'd be shocked not to see him at this level again in the near future On July 7th we had one of the months most interesting match ups as Donnie Nietes (36-1-4,21) took on Francisco Rodriguez Jr (17-3-1, 11). The bout saw Nietes have some problems, especially early, but take a clear decision over the former unified Minimumweight champion. Nietes looks to be the standout Filipino fighter at the moment but at 33 he really is getting on for a lower fighter and although he looked youthful in the ring some are wondering how long he really has left. On the same day fans saw WBA Heavyweight champion, well “regular” champion, Ruslan Chagaev (34-2-1, 21) retain his title with a very easy win again Francesco Pianeta (31-2-1, 17). Chagaev dropped Pianeta twice inside a round to retain his title. July 12th saw talented Korean teenager Kyoo Hwan Hwang (2-0, 2) claim his first professional title, the South Korean Light Middleweight title, as he scored a 6th round KO against Chan Hee Park (5-6-1). Hwang, tipped by some as the future face of Korean boxing, showed some really notable skills but it was very clear that he needs a lot of work before stepping up in class. We saw a new Japanese Flyweight champion being crowned on July 17th as Takuya Kogawa (24-4, 13) clearly out pointed the tough Hiroki Saito (9-5, 5). Kogawa, who previously held this title, is now looking at some excellent domestic show downs, including a potential rematch with Suguru Muranaka, or alternatively passing up the title to chase world honours. For Saito it seems clear that he will come again, though does need some more seasoning against lower level competition rather than continuing to be matched this hard. On July 18th we unfortunately saw Ik Yang (19-1-0-1, 14) being given a schooling by talented Argentinian Cesar Rene Cuenca (48-0-0-2, 2) in a out for the IBF Light Welterweight title. Yang was attempting to become a the second Chinese world champion though came up very short in this bout, which really showed how good Cuenca was. On the same card we saw Nonito Donaire (35-3, 23) destroy the completely out gunned Anthony Settoul (20-4, 8). Now it seems likely that Donaire will move towards a WBA title fight with Scott Quigg. Unfortunately the night ended in disappointment for Filipino fans as Arthur Villanueva (27-1, 14) was controversially beaten by McJoe Arroyo (17-0, 8). The Filipino seemed to do enough to rack up the rounds but the judges all disagreed, giving Arroyo a very wide technical decision when the bout was stopped in round 10. The same card also saw the US debut of Korean slugger Min Wook Kim (13-1, 10), who easily took care of Luis Alberto Pelayo (11-6, 7). Kim will hopefully return to the US later this year for a more notable bout. On July 20th we saw the much touted Sho Nakazawa (7-0, 4) take a huge step up in class as he defeated former world title challenger Silvester Lopez (25-10-2, 18). Nakazawa was dropped early in the bout but managed to regroup and clearly out boxed Lopez who proved that whilst he isn't the most skilled he is still very dangerous. On the same day we also saw South Korean hopeful Ye Joon Kim (12-1-2, 6) retain his IBF regional title as he stopped Yoshihiro Utsumi (12-7-3, 7) in 7 rounds. Kim, the face of the KBF, is one of Korea's most talented youngster and this performance showed that he does have real promise but really needs to be given more progressive tests. We saw a new star emerge on July 24th as Daigo Higa (7-0, 7) went to Thailand and surprisingly picked up a 7th round KO win against Kongfah CP Freshmart (14-1, 8). The bout was one of the best of the month and lived up the high expectations that we had for the contest. The hope is now that Higa will be defending his belt in Autumn before possibly being matched with a world class foe next year. Kazakh fighter Beibut Shumenov (16-2, 10) became a 2-weight world champion on July 25th as he claimed the WBA “interim” Cruiserweight title with a clear win over American fighter-come-analyst BJ Flores (31-2-1, 20). Flores showed good power early but Shumenov showed a completely revised style that saw him moving more than he had in the past. It was that movement that allowed Shumenov to claim the win with Flores later complaining about the Kazakh not standing still. The month ended, in terms of major action, with Thai teenager Stamp Kiatniwat (14-0, 6) claiming the WBA interim Flyweight title with a majority decision win over Gregorio Lebron (13-3, 11) on July 29th. The win has seen Stamp receive some international attention but domestically he's really boosted his popularity and it seems that the 17 year old is being pushed as the new face of Thai boxing. We'll be honest the month of June wasn't the most exciting of months to follow Asian boxing but it does seem like July promises a lot, and hopefully will deliver on that promise.
July 2nd- Knockout CP Freshmart Vs Alexis Diaz The month kicks off with a WBA interim title fight in Thailand as the home favourite Knockout CP Freshmart (10-0, 5) battles against unbeaten Venezuelan Alexis Diaz (16-0, 10). On paper this might only be an “interim” title fight but it's still a mouth watering match up between highly regarded and unbeaten fighters. The winner becomes the top contender for Hekkie Budler in what would be another very attractive match up. July 4th- Warlito Parrenas Vs David Carmona We get a second “interim” world title bout in a matter of a few days as Filipino slugger Warlito Parrenas (24-6, 21) takes on Mexico's David Carmona (19-2-4, 8) in a contest for the WBO interim Super Flyweight title. On paper it looks like a well matched bout between a vicious puncher and a decent boxer and styles should give us a very good contest. The winner of this one will be the mandatory to the sensation Naoya Inoue, and a sizeable payday in Japan, July 6th- Takuma Inoue Vs Mark Anthony Geraldo On July 6th we get the chance to see Japanese super prospect Takuma Inoue (4-0, 1) fight in his first title bout as he battles experienced Filipino Mark Anthony Geraldo (31-5-3, 14) in a bout for the OPBF Super Flyweight title. Takuma, the younger brother of the sensational Naoya Inoue, is hoping to claim a world title in his 6th professional bout will need to win here first in what is a genuinely excellent match up. July 7th- Yuzo Kiyota Vs Kajornsak Sithsaithong OPBF Super Middleweight champion Yuzo Kiyota (27-4-1, 25) looks the make the next defense of his title as he takes on Thai challenger Kajornsak Sithsaithong (7-5, 7) in what looks to be a hugely disappointing match up on paper. Although Kiyota isn't a world class fighter, despite some world rankings, he isn't a bad fighter by any means and to fight Kajornsak merely shows how few viable contenders there are in the division. Kajornsak enters the bout on two losses and it'd be amazing for it not to become 3 in a row. July 11th- Donnie Nietes Vs Francisco Rodriguez Jr WBO Light Flyweight champion Donnie Nietes (35-1-4, 21) looks to continue his long reign as he takes on the highly capable, former unified Minimumweight champion, Francisco Rodriguez Jr (17-2-1, 11) in a mouth watering bout. The contest is a mandatory defense for Nietes and looks to be one of his toughest on paper as he goes up against a fantastic young Mexican. It does need noting however that Rodriguez didn't look good in his last 2 bouts, both against Filipino Jomar Fajardo, and he'll need to do much better here than he did in either of those bouts. Ruslan Chagaev Vs Francesco Pianeta A rare Heavyweight bout of note sees WBA “regular” champion Ruslan Chagaev (33-2-1, 20), from Uzbekistan, defending his title against German based Italian born fighter Francesco Pianeta (31-1-1, 17). On paper this looks really matched, and in fact on paper it looks like a fantastic match up, in reality however Pianeta hasn't scored a win of note in quite some time whilst Chagaev appears to be less than half the fighter he once was. It should be competitive but we're not holding our breath on this being a fun one. July 17th- Takuya Kogawa Vs Hiroki Saito The vacant Japanese Lightweight title is up for grabs in what looks like like a sure fire FOTY contender. The bout will see former world title challenger Takuya Kogawa (23-4, 13) attempt to reclaim a title he once held as he goes up against the tough and rugged Hiroki Saito (9-4, 5). On paper we confess this one doesn't look great, in reality however we have very high hopes for the action with both men being aggressive, tough and enjoying a tear up. This really is one of the best bouts we've seen made this year and we're jealous of those who are going to be in attendance for it. Naoko Shibata Vs Esmeralda Moreno Japan's Naoko Shibata (14-3, 4) goes on the road, travelling to Mexico, to defend her IBF female Light Flyweight title against experienced Mexican Esmeralda Moreno (30-7-1, 10) in a mouth watering match up between two world class fighters. Originally this bout was scheduled for late June though got pushed back just days before Shibata was set to fly over to Mexico. The fight is a brilliant on paper and we really don't think many female bouts will be better than this. July 18th- Ik Yang Vs Cesar Rene Cuenca Chinese boxing is on the up and that's seen again in the next of the Macau cards as Chinese slugger Ik Yang (19-0-0-1, 14) takes on tricky Argentinian Cesar Rene Cuenca (47-0-0-2, 2) in a bout for the IBF Light Welterweight title. The title, which was stripped from Lamont Peterson earlier this year, is up for grabs and could see the second Chinese champion being crowned. Strangely a win for Cuenca would see him picking a world title in his 50th fight! On the same card as Yang Vs Cuenca fans will see an interesting card featuring the likes of Rex Tso (16-0, 9) and Filipino icon Nonito Donaire (34-3, 22), both of whom are against over-matched foes. Arthur Villanueva Vs McJoe Arroyo Another all-unbeaten title fight takes place in the US as Filipino fighter Arthur Villanueva (27-0, 14) takes on McJoe Arroyo (16-0, 8) for the vacant IBF Super Flyweight title. This is a really intriguing match up between two talented fighters who are each looking for a break out win, a win that would take them from contender to champion. The title, which was vacated by Zolani Tete earlier this year, is almost certainly going to put the winner in the mix for some big fights and this is really a fantastically matched contest. July 29th- Stamp Kiatniwat Vs Gregorio Lebron The final bout of note for us will see unbeaten Thai Stamp Kiatniwat (13-0, 6) take on Dominican puncher Gregorio Lebron (13-2, 11) for the WBA “interim” Flyweight title. The bout will see the 17 year old Stamp attempt to move on to the next level, though it's hard to be sure how good Lebron is given that his competition so far has been poor, in fact Stamp's win over Kwanthai Sithmorseng is far better than anything on Lebron's ledger. This bout, for those interested, will be on Thai channel 3.  The month of June has been a long and eventful one for boxing fans, and now we're about to roll into June, which again promises a lot of action. Here's what we, at Asian Boxing, have to look forward to over the coming weeks. June 2nd- The month kicks off with WBC Minimumweight champion Wanheng Menayothin (37-0, 12) defending his title for the second time. The talented Thai, who won the title last year by stopping Oswaldo Novoa, will be facing the unknown Jerry Tomogdan (17-5-3, 9) of the Philippines. For Tomogdan it's a huge opportunity to make a name for himself, however there is nothing about his resume that suggests he has any chance against the often under-rated Wanheng. June 6th- On June 6th we'll see popular Indonesian warrior Daud Cino Yordan (33-3-0-1, 24) battle against the experienced Maxwell Awuku (40-2-1, 26). This will be Yordan's first bout of the year and he's apparently looking to move towards a WBO world title fight. Better yet this card is set to be littered with the best prospect in Indonesian boxing, and be screened internationally on RCTI. A win all-round even if the card isn't the strongest. On the same day, in Japan, fans will have the chance to see a couple of former world champions in action as Toshiyuki Igarashi (20-2-1, 11) and Akifumi Shimoda (28-4-2, 12) both fight for the first time this year. Neither man is taking on a global name but it's worth noting that both men will be expecting big fights later in the year if they come through unscathed. June 8th- On June 8th Japanese fans get an interesting double header at the Korakuen Hall. The first of those bouts will see unbeaten Japanese Super Featherweight champion Rikki Naito (12-0, 5) make the move to Lightweight where he will face the teak tough Nihito Arakawa (25-5-1, 16) in a very attractive looking bout. Although no titles are on the line this is a really significant bout for both men with Arakawa's career really needing a win and Naito really wanting to continue his unbeaten run. The other bout will see exciting OPBF Flyweight champion Koki Eto (16-3-1, 12) defending his title against Japanese challenger Yuki Fukumoto (17-9, 5). We don't really see what purpose this bout serves but it's always a joy to watch Eto in action and he hope certainly seems to be to get him a world title fight later in the year.  June 10th- Talking about world title fights it has seemed like Shingo Wake (18-4-2, 11) has been on the verge or a shot at the gold for a long time. On June 10th Wake gets the chance to take a huge step towards a world title fight as he faces Thailand's Mike Tawatchai (35-7-1, 21) in an IBF world title eliminator. The winner of this is expected to fight Carl Frampton later in the year or early next year. In a female bout on this card Tomomi Takano (7-1, 5) will fight Nongbua Lookpraiaree (9-12-1, 1) for the OPBF female Super Bantamweight title. This will be Takano's first title bout and although it looks easy on paper it is still a test for the model-come-boxer who has shown frailties in the past. The same card will also see Hisashi Amagasa (28-5-2, 19) in his first bout since being stopped by Guillermo Rigondeaux. The lanky Japanese fighter will be up against Thai visitor Patomsith Pathompothong (12-3, 5) and has the intention of chasing an IBF Featherweight title bout later in the year. It's not a given that he will get one but this is his first step towards one. June 13th- Remaining on the theme of world title bouts, we'll see a the once beaten Ryosuke Iwasa (19-1, 12) travel to England to battle against Lee Haskins (31-3, 13) in a contest for the IBF interim Bantamweight title. Iwasa has the opportunity to become the first Japanese fighter to win a world title in Europe however he will be expecting to fight Randy Caballero, if he were to win here, to become the IBF's “real” champion.  June 20th-
On June 20th we get two very different looking “secondary” title bouts. Neither is great but, if we're being honest, one is a joke. The relatively interesting bout comes form Mexico where Filipino puncher Warlito Parrenas (24-6, 21) battles Mexico's very own David Carmona (19-2-4, 8) in a fight for the WBO interim Super Flyweight title. The winner of this will be matched with Naoya Inoue later in the year, giving us a bout that is genuinely significant for both Inoue and Parrenas. On paper Carmona has nothing to trouble the Filipino though this will be Parrenas's first bout outside of Asia. The other fight is in Las Vegas as Beibut Shumenov (15-2, 10) attempts to claim the WBA “interim” Cruiserweight title. Shumenov, a former title holder at Light Heavyweight will be up against once beaten American BJ Flores (31-1-1, 20) in a bout that we're really struggling care about. The bout will receive more widespread attention than the Parrenas/Carmona bout but it really shouldn't and the WBA really should be asked questions about sanctioning this contest. June 27th- The middle part of the month is mostly quiet but we do get an exciting looking closer for the month as unbeaten IBF Flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng (15-0, 5) defends his title against mandatory challenger Johnriel Casimero (21-2, 13). Casimero, a former champion at Light Flyweight, is a real threat to the talented Ruenroeng and although the Thai is a the king of slowing the pace Casimero is explosive enough to really give Ruenroeng a hard time here. On the same day female fans in South Korea can see their very own Eun Hye Lee (7-0, 2) battle against Thai youngster Ploynapa Sakrungrueng (12-5-1, 1) in a contest for the WBO female Light Flyweight title. This bout has really gone under-the-radar but it could potentially see South Korea claiming another female world champion, as recognised by “The Big 4”. It's certainly less high profile than some of the months other bouts but it is a notable one all the same and one where Lee seems to be the clear favourite. Images courtesy of- Thairec.com and boxmob.jp |
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