 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
This coming Tuesday we get the next Phoenix Battle show from Ohashi Gym. The show is built around two things, a solid looking main event which will see a double crown regional champion defending their titles, and the Asia Heavyweight Challenge Cup, which make up 7 of the undercard bouts. We won’t go through the entire line up of the Heavyweight tournament, but several bouts did catch our eye from this round of the tournament, which will feature 15 men in total and will look to find the new Heavyweight stars of the Japanese scene, by bringing fighters through from early in their careers, with many of the men being debutants. The tournament comes with a large financial reward for the winner, and could end up boosting their careers. One bout of particularly interesting bouts is an all debutant bout between youngsters Ken Onuma (0-0) and Hussein Rottofuro (0-0), with Rottofuro being an 18 year old and Onuma only being slightly older at 20. Onuma is promoted by Kadoebi, one of the traditional gyms of the Japanese scene and one that has been around for years, whilst Rottofuro is one of the few fighters from the small and newly set up Tenyu Maruki Gym. Another all debutant bout will see Japanese based American Jordan Green (0-0) take on 19 year old Musa Nakano (0-0). Green isn’t the only import on this card, as China's Muhanhaili Nuertai (1-0, 1) takes on Ryunosuke Hoshi (1-0, 1), Jiayi Huang (1-0, 1) faces Shuho Takayama (4-1, 3), the most experienced man in the tournament, and German fighter Jan Backus (0-0) debuts against American Ron Wilburn (0-1). In the main event of the show OPBF and WBO AP Lightweight champion Shu Utsuki (15-1, 13) will take on Chinese challenger Aketelieti Yelejian (10-4-1, 3), with Utsuki defending the unified titles for the first time. Utsuki unified the OPBF title with the WBO AP title last year, when he won a FOTY contender against Katsuya Yasuda, with both men being dropped several times, and will be looking to build on that win here, without taking the same amount of punishment he took in that bout. The dangerous Japanese puncher has won his last 3 and will feel confident he has the tools needed here to not just sweep aside Yelejian, but also move onwards and upwards towards much bigger fights. As for the Chinese fighter Yelejian has a poor looking record, on paper, but has been unlucky in some of his wins, and has also scored some notable wins. He has beaten Scorpion Kintaro, in his only previous bout in Japan, Jin Su Kim, in Vietnam, and Genesis Servania, in the Philippines. He has also close losses to Yangyang Li, Yangcheng Jin and, notably, Albert Pagara. Utsuki is, understandably, the big favourite here, but his challenger is a live under-dog and will not be there to just roll over.
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 Aktobe, Kazakhstan
We get title action in Kazakhstan, with two domestic title bouts taking place in Aktobe. Sadly however they don’t don’t look the most even of bouts on paper. At Lightweight Kazakh champion Nurtas Azhbenov (15-1, 5) will make his first defense, taking on Zamanbek Danabekov (4-1, 2). The 30 year old Azhbenov has been a professional since 2018, and fought much of his early career in the UK, where his lack of power really sucked drama from his bouts. As he's progressed as a professional, he has still failed to really develop power, and that has held him back, despite returning to Kazakhstan where he has fought 10 of his last 11 bouts, including a loss to Isa Chaniev. As for Danabekov all of his bouts so far have been in Kazakhstan, and all against professional novices, with non going more than 6 rounds. It's almost impossible to get any real read on how good he is, especially given he's not had a fight in almost 4 years. Sadly this is the level of the domestic Kazakh scene right now, and might be for a while, as the domestic level needs to be built up over the coming years. The other title bout will see the inaugural Kazakh Super Bantamweight champion being crowned, as Aidos Medet (12-0, 8) takes on Kanagat Manatuly (6-1, 4), in another bout that makes it clear just how undeveloped the Kazakh professional scene is. Medet has scored 11 wins at home, and in Turkey, in 2023, and has been inactive for well over a year now. He is really untested, and despite being 12-0, it's hard to have any idea how good he is, as his competition really has been dire. Manatuly on the other hand last fought back in 2021 as a Flyweight, and has never fought above Super Flyweight, making it seem clear he’s going to be the much smaller man in the ring for this one. Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, Philippines We get more title action in the Philippines, with Asian Boxing Federation Fly and Super Flyweight title fights being scheduled for a show in Bacolod City. The Flyweight bout will see the unbeaten John Michael Zulueta (17-0-3, 10) look to keep his unbeaten run going as he takes on former world title challenger Komgrich Nantapech (38-14-1, 28). The 29 year old Zulueta has won 17 of his last 18, but has been fighting at a low level and his last 6 wins have been at a very low level in Thailand. Despite being unbeaten he really is untested. As for Komgrich, he was, once, a solid contender giving Dinnie Nietes a tough bout in 2017 and putting up a fair effort against Juan Carlos Revecco the same year, losing to both but not embarrassing himself. Sadly however that was almost a decade ago and he is 16-9-1 since then and a win over him no longer means what it once did. As for the Super Flyweight title bout, that will see former OPBF Flyweight champion Jayr Raquinel (17-2-1, 13) fight a yet to be announced opponent. Raquinel is among the best fighters to have not landed a world title fight, with wins against the likes of Takuya Kogawa, Landile Ngxeke and most recently Yahir Alan Frank Verdugo. He has proven he’s fringe world class so far and really just needs the opportunity to compete against the best, sadly however with no opponent named for his bout at the time of writing it feels that this bout will be something of a stay busy fight, rather than a real test, for someone who deserves a big fight. Juroku Plaza, Gifu, Gifu, Japan Over in Gifu we get a small card from Gifu Yokozeki Promotions, with most of the bouts being 4 rounders. The one exception to that is an 8 rounder, which will see Ruito Saeki (11-6-1, 3) take on Bakuto Nakahara (6-6, 3) in what looks like a clear mismatch. Saeki is best known as the only fighter to have gone the distance with Mikito Nakano, though he has been stopped in 2 of his 5 other losses including a loss to former world champion Shun Kubo. Notably he has won 4 of his last 5 and does seem to have some momentum going. As for Nakahara he has had mixed form, and is stepping up massively here, despite that he does tend to make for fun fights and the styles of the two men should gel well here. Qayyum Sports Complex, Peshawar, Pakistan We also get a title bout in Pakistan, though much like the Kazakh show, it’s one that seems to show just how low level the domestic scene is, as Amin Ul Haq (7-11-1, 5) takes on Farhan Hasan (4-7, 3) for the Pakistani Lightweight title. Ul Haq is an Afghan born-Pakistani based fighter 1-7-1 in his last 9, and has been stopped in 5 of those 7 losses. Hasan on the other hand was fighting as a Flyweight back in 2021, and was a Featherweight earlier this year, when he was stopped by a debutant. It’s good to see domestic titles from Pakistani, and Kazakhstan for that matter, but they need a domestic scene for them to make sense, and a bout like this does not bode well for the domestic title picture. York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom In the UK we’ll see once beaten Kazakh Ray Seitzhanov (11-1, 7) take on Octavian Gratii (8-83-4, 4) in what appears to be a massive mismatch. The 26 year old Seitzhanov was stopped last time out, by Vadim Musaev, which was his unbeaten record come to an end, and whilst this is a massive step back, we do understand an easier fight following a recent loss. As for Gratii, the 33 year old Romanian is a professional loser of sorts, however he is someone who goes round, and has only been stopped 3 times in 83 losses. Amazingly this will be his 12th bout of 2025 following 22 fights in 2024. Whilst Gratii hasn't scored a win since November 2021, when he upset Yaser Yuksel in German, losing 63 in a row since then, he has become a staple on the European scene, fighting all over the continent, including in Greenland where he took part in the first ever pro boxing contest in the country. Gratii is there to lose, but will be expecting to take Seitzhanov the distance here.  Intex Osaka, Osaka, Osaka, Japan
The big card this coming Saturday is a huge one in Osaka, which features two world title bouts, a clash between, a Heavyweight clash, an all-Japanese rematch on the under-card and several notable hopefuls. The main event is a really intriguing bout as IBF Featherweight champion Angelo Leo (25-1, 12) makes his first defense, as takes on mandatory challenger Tomoki Kameda (42-4, 23), in what feels like a must win for the youngest of the 3 fighting Kameda brothers. Leo, who is a former WBO champion at 122lbs, shocked the boxing world last August when he scored a scary KO win over Luis Alberto Lopez to claim the IBF title. That win showed, in some ways, that he hits much harder than his record suggests, and is also a very skilled, crafty and intelligent fighter, who made Lopez pay for his mistakes. As for Kameda, the 33 year old is pretty much in last chance saloon, and is now fighting at a weight where he really lacks power. He’s very skilled, wonderful to watch, and very sharp, but at Super Bantamweight and now Featherweight he’s not had stopping power, and has to work hard every round, which has seen his stamina being questioned, and sometimes coming up short. We suspect this will start very technically, before Leo’s power and physicality will come into play down the stretch and run away with the bout in the end. The other world title bout on this card will see IBF Minimumweight champion Pedro Taduran (17-4-1, 13) defending his title against Ginjiro Shigeoka (11-1, 9), the man he beat for the belt last year. Notably since winning the title, with a 9th round TKO win over Shigeoka in July, we’ve not seen Taduran in action, and we do wonder if 9 months of inactivity as the champion was a mistake, given that he could have picked up a defense in the interim and kept the momentum rolling, rather than essentially losing some steam after one of the biggest wins of his career. In their first bout he took the best Shigeoka had to offer, before breaking down the Japanese fighter, in a bout where he seemed like a man against a boy. As for Shigeoka, who has also not fought since the first bout with Taduran,, the long break has likely served him well, following a number of injuries suffered against Taduran, though we do query why he wasn’t given an easy return bout. The game plan from Shigeoka needs to be smarter here if he’s to avoid another loss, though we do wonder whether he has the tools in the locker to deal with someone like Taduran, who is tough, a solid puncher, has under-rated skills and is very highly experienced. At Heavyweight Ugandan visitor Herbert Matovu (7-1, 6) takes on Mitsuro Brandon Tajima (12-1, 10), in what should be an explosive clash between two men who are flawed, but hunt early wins. Matovu has picked up 7 wins in Africa, 6 in Uganda and 1 in Kenya, and suffered his only loss when he travelled away from Africa, losing in 2 rounds in Russia to Umar Salamov. Only 1 of his bouts has gone beyond 2 rounds. As for Tajima, the quick handed, yet rotund, Japanese-Brazilian is looking to score his third win since his loss to Alexandru Jur, and this is not really a step up from his last two wins. It feels like a case of Tajima being a talent, but wasting that talent, and a bout like this will do nothing to move his career forward. The IBF Minimumweight title bout isn’t the only rematch on this show as Hiroki Hanabusa (14-4-5, 6) and Matcha Nakagawa (17-2-2, 6) face off for the second time, following a draw last year. Since their first bout Hanabusa has been busy, going 2-2, though both of his wins, by stoppage, have come against low level Thai imports whilst his losses have been clear ones, losing a wide decision to Angelo Pena and being stopped by Mikito Nakano. As his best Hanabusa is solid, but we do wonder what ambition and resistance he has left. As for Nakagawa he's picked up two wins, including a notable one over Pete Apolinar, but didn't look great against Rocky Ogden back in December and aged 31 might well be on the way out himself. Neither of these men seem to have what it takes to get to the next level, but they are well matched and should put up an interesting contest early on the show. Among the other bouts on the card unbeaten Filipino Vencent Lacar (9-0, 4) will take on Ryo Mandokoro (5-0, 3) in an excellent looking 8 rounder, Hong Kong's Raymond Poon KaiChing (10-3-1, 6) will take on promising 20 year old Shuri Oka (4-1, 1), and the second fight for second generation fighter Daigoro Marumoto (1-0, 1), as he takes on Thai teenager Sukrit Nakpreecha (6-2-0-1, 4). Mapo Sports Center, Seoul, South Korea As well as the big action in Japan, we also have a small card in Korea. The card is a really small one, with 6 bouts in total, including 4 bouts over the 4 round distance. One of the two bouts scheduled for longer, is a 6 rounder between Juyeong Lee (5-3, 3) and Seung Woo Yang (3-2, 2). Lee is an 18 year old Korean, who has fought 5 of his bouts in Vietnam, but is, rather notably, 3-0 in Korea, where he has fought his last two bouts. Yang on the other hand Lee is an 18 year old Korean, who has fought 5 of his bouts in Vietnam, but is, rather notably, 3-0 in Korea, where he has fought his last two bouts. It’s hard to see anything but a Lee win here. One notable concept used for this show is a KO bonus payment. The fighters on the show will be given triple their purse if they score a stoppage in the first 2 rounds, and double their purse if they score a KO in round 3 or afterwards, which should help spur on some action from the off and see the men involved looking to win and win early, which should make for more fan friendly action.  Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
On Thursday we don’t have a lot of action, but Nita Kawasaki Gym put on a small show at Korakuen Hall. Sadly much of the card is easy to overlook, with almost all the bouts on card being 4 rounders. Despite the 4 round nature of many of the bouts on this show, one bout does stand out as being different and that’s the 8 round main event, which will see Reo Nishioka (5-0, 2) take on Taisei Sakai (6-6-3, 2). Aged 24 Nishioka is one of the many former amateur standouts making his way through the Japanese amatuer scene, and in just 5 bouts he has already climbed into the JBC top 15 at Bantamweight and began his pursuit of a domestic title bout, in arguably the deepest division in Japan. As an amateur he went 53-12 and has been matched well since his August 2023 debut, taking on 3 unbeaten fighters in his first 3 fights, before picking up wins against Kento Uchigamae and Bryl Bayogos, with the Uchigamae bout being a genuine test for him. He is a very good technician, has really good speed and timing and is a very good counter puncher. As for Sakai, he is an aggressive fighter who has had very mixed results through his career, though is currently on a 4 fight unbeaten run going back to 2023. In many ways Sakai is made to order for Nishioka’s counter punching, and this should highlight how good the unbeaten youngster is, before he takes a major step up later in the year and begins to chase a bout with the top domestic fighters.  Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
This coming Tuesday Masayuki Ito’s “Treasure Boxing” will be putting on a card that really beggars belief in some ways, with 3 former world champions on it, with a combined age of 109, all competing in really interesting bouts, with a good chance that all 3 could end up picking up losses. The main event will see one of those former world champions in action, as WBO Asia Pacific Super Bantamweight champion Subaru Murata (9-0, 9) takes on former IBF Super Bantamweight champion Yukinori Oguni (22-3-3, 9), in what is probably the most likely of the bouts to see a former world champion come up short. The hard hitting Murata is seen as part of the new wave of Japanese fighters at 122lbs and his 9 career bouts have consisted of just 36 rounds, as he's won and defended his regional title and taken the 0's of 3 fighters, including Kaito Yamasaki who he beat in a thriller last year. He looks to be a star in the making, and a win here would boost his profile and standing. As for Oguni, the 36 year old former champion retired in 2017, after losing to Ryosuke Iwasa, but since then has fought on and odd, ending his retirement and going a very mixed 3-1-2. On paper that looks good, especially when you consider he has draws against Keita Kurihara and Johnriel Casimero, but in all honesty the real result of note was an opening round blow out loss to Fillipus Nghitumbwa last year, a loss that doesn’t bode well ahead of a fight with Murata. At his best Oguni was a skilled fighter, with good ring craft, IQ and the ability to use his feet. In recent years he has looked a slower version of himself, and against someone like Murata this could be a very painful day for the popular former champion. A second former world champion in action here is Masataka Taniguchi (19-5, 13), a former WBO Minimumweight champion who has failed to have the same impact at 108lbs. For this bout the 31 year old will be up against Condor Inaba (9-6-2, 5), in what looks like a mismatch. Notably however Taniguchi will be moving up from Light Flyweight to a contracted 51.5KG (113.5lbs) to take on a fully fledged Flyweight, who has nothing to lose and everything to gain. At his best Taniguchi is a very good boxer-puncher, who can get dragged into wars Kai Ishizawa, Wilfredo Mendez, Kenichi Horikawa and Phai Pharob are the standout ones on his record. Notably however he has had losses through his career, and lost last time out, to Thanongsak Simsri in December. As for Inaba this is a massive step up for him, and the 30 year will be the clear under-dog, but given his size advantage he will look to make the most of a career defining opportunity. Notably Ianaba’s record does show him losing 6 of 17, however his is something a little bit different and he is 5-1-2 since 2018, after a 4-4-1 start to his career. The oldest, and most respected and accomplished, of the former world champions is 42 year old Filipino legend Donnie Nietes (44-2-6, 23), who returns to Japan to take on Jun Ikegawa (7-1-2, 2) at Super Bantamweight. Nietes, a genuine legend and a 4 weight world champion who claimed world titles at 105, 108, 112 and 115, has etched his legacy over the last 22 years but is looking to add one final successful chapter to his career. His only other bout in Japan was his 2022 loss to Kazuto Ioka, a bout that seemed like his final career bout until earlier this year, when he beat Miller Alapormina and began an unexpected comeback, with this being the second bout of that comeback. At his best Nietes was an elite technical boxer, but at 42 and with just 6 rounds in over 2 years, it’s hard to know what he has to offer. Ikegawa on the other hand is a 27 year old Southpaw who made his debut in 2021 and has really put his name in the mix at the top end of the domestic scene, with wins over Issei Ochiai, Ryo Hino, and Tomoya Kishine, and draw against Shigetoshi Kotari and Toshiya Ishii, along with a loss last year to Ishii in a second meeting between the two. Given his size, age and activity, Ikegawa has a genuine chance to score a genuinely career defining win, even if the bout in question is a 6 rounder against a 42 year old, who made his name way lower down the weights. In other bouts on this card former amateur standout Ryusei Baba (3-2-1, 1) will face off with Yuya Kumagai (6-3, 4) and the once beaten puncher Kenshin Hosokawa (8-1-1, 6) will battle against American Adrian Alvarado (12-2-1, 6), who takes part in his second US bout following a win over Adrian Lerasan last October, in two very good supporting bouts.  Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
This coming Monday we get an MT Promoted show at Korakuen Hall, featuring 3 JBC ranked fighters, all fighting bout they are strongly favoured to win. The main event of the show will see JBC ranked Super Featherweight contender Shigetoshi Kotari (7-2-1, 5) take on OPBF ranked Filipino Jonniel Laurente (11-2-1, 5) in a very good looking match up, at least on paper. Kotari is a 28 year old who has shown plenty of promise and power, with his first loss, at 126lbs, being a debatable one against Junya Shimada, and his most recent being at Lightweight against Hiromasa Urakawa, in what looks to have been an ill fated and short lived experiment at the weight. In regards to his other results he has a good draw with June Ikegawa and wins over Kanehiro Nakagawa and Riki Hamada. He's a well schooled and technical fighter with nasty power which he will be looking to show off here. Laurente , a 24 year old southpaw, is 0-2 outside of the Philippines, with losses in China and Switzerland, whilst all his best wins are against domestic level Filipino fighters, like Alven Vergara, Rechel Calo and Jestine Tesoro. On paper this looks like a showcase for Kotari as he continues to chase a title fight. The chief support bout, like the main event, is an 8 rounder at 130lbs as Shuji Haraguchi (5-4-2, 2) takes on JBC ranked Soreike Taichi (11-7, 7). Coming in the 27 year old Haraguchi will be the under-dog but he is often the under-dog and that label won't bother him. He started his career in 2020 and was 1-2-1 after 4 bouts before getting on something of a run that only came to an end in 2023 when he lost to the under-rated Ren Yamabe. Sadly however he was also beaten, last time out, by Taketa Yamahara and it’s hard to know how he’s going to fight after those two losses. As for Taichi the 33 year old has often fought notable names, losing early in his career to Reiya Abe, and losing to the likes of Kazuma Sanpei, Masanori Rikiishi, Tsuyoshi Tameda, Tsubasa Narai and Ryusei Ishii since then. He has mixed, consistently, with notable domestic fighters, but has regularly lost to the most notable of them. The level of Taichi’s competition is likely to be the key difference maker here, but we do wonder how much Taichi has left, especially after being stopped 6 times in 18 bouts. On paper the most interesting bout on this show will see former Japanese Minimumweight title challenger Hizuki Saso (13-9-2, 4) take on JBC ranked Yuri Kanaya (5-3, 1), who has come up short in bouts for both the WBO Asia Pacific and Japanese titles. Saso is a genuine stalwart of the Japanese scene, who has fought a domestic who’s who, sharing the ring with Tsubasa Koura, Rikito Shiba, Yuni Takada and Masataka Taniguchi. Sadly his career has struggled for results since a 2019 win over Desierto Nagaike, going 1-3-1 since then and it feels like his career is starting to peter away. As for Kanaya he made his debut in 2021 and has been matched hard since debut, and has lost 3 of his 8 bouts, including defeats to Goki Kobayashi and Yuni Takada. It's hard to know how good he really is, but he did run Takada close in a Japanese title fight in July and will feel that despite that loss he showed enough to build on. He’ll know that the pressure is on him, that he needs to perform here and that anything other than a win leaves his career hanging by a thread, after just 9 fights. Saying that however, Kanaya will feel he has the tools needed to overcome the struggling Saso without too many issues here.  FujisanMesse, Fuji, Shizuoka, Japan
The real talking point this coming Sunday is in Fuji, as Suruga Danji Promotions put on their latest show under their Fujinokuni PROFESSIONAL BOXING series. The shows, which are as much a regional festival as a boxing event, are a regular part of the Japanese boxing calendar, and this is certainly set to be a showcase of some of the brightest local talent in Shizuoka. The main event will see the exceptionally skilled Rentaro Kimura (9-1, 5) take on Filipino visitor Arnel Baconaje (18-9, 13). When he turned professional there was a lot of expectations on Kimura, who was a solid amateur, who seemed to have a pro-ready style and looked to tick a lot of boxes. Sadly since turning professional he has failed to make good on that potential, and injuries have blighted his professional journey. Now aged 27 it’s time for him to kick on, and move towards a title fight, and he and his team will be aware of that as he looks for his 5th straight win. Early in his career he showed a lot of potential, but a lack of power, however he has blasted out his last two and will be hoping to make it 3 quick wins in a row here. Baconaje is an experienced Filipino but the 31 year old has been racking up losses in recent years, losing 4 of his last 7 and has been stopped in his 3 previous bouts in Japan. It’s hard to see this being anything but a win for Kimura, but the question is really about how impressive he looks and whether he can make a statement as he chases title glory. Many of the other notable bouts on this card are Japan Vs China bouts. These include a bout between unbeaten 21 year old Aoi Murata (7-0, 5) and China’s Huerban Qiatehe (9-3-3, 3), with Murata looking to secure a 6th straight stoppage. The unbeaten youngster won the All Japan Rookie of the Year in 2024 and has climbed into the JBC rankings and will feel this is a great chance to put himself on the verge of a national title fight. As for Qiatehe he has mixed with some notable names, and has gone 2-2-1 in his last 5 with losses to Carl Jammes Martin and Yujie Zeng, both by stoppage. Murata isn’t on the level of Jammes, yet, but should be far, far too good for his foe in this one. Other Japan Vs China bouts include a battle between the once beaten Chihiro Iwashita (7-1-1-1, 4) and journeyman Peng Huang (11-11-3, 6); another sees the aggressive Narumi Yukawa (8-2, 7) battle Bo Hao Sun (6-4-1, 4); whilst the skilled Shunpei Ohata (5-1, 2) looks to pick up a win against ShunCai Hou (6-4-1, 3). The most interesting of the other bouts on the card will see once beaten Mark Vicelles (19-1-1, 11) make his Japanese debut, as he takes on Xiang Li (9-3-2, 4), one of the many Chinese fighters on this show. Vicelles has long been regarded as a world level contender, but his career has stalled somewhat after a 2023 loss to Regie Suganob, though he has won both of his fights since then. His name isn't one of the top Filipino ones, but with wins against Toto Landero, Jaysever Abcede, Jerven Mama, Jesse Espinas and most recently Albert Francisco he has shown he belongs on the regional scene. As for Li, the Chinese 26 year old is best known for a win in Hong Kong against Raymond Poon KaiChing and a draw with Ryu Horikawa. Last time out he lost to Arvin Jhon Paciones in Thailand, and is likely viewed as someone Vicelles should beat, but get some good rounds against. Bangalore, India Away from Japan, we also have a show in India. The most notable of the local fighters on this card is the unbeaten Faizan Anwar (19-0, 9) who looks for his 20th win as he takes on Kpakpo Allotey (19-1, 15) in a very good looking 10 rounder. Anwar, one of the brightest hopefuls for Indian boxing right now, has slowly been stepping up his competition and making his name, particularly in Dubai where he has fought 17 of his 19 professional bouts. Anwar’s competition hasn’t been the most testing, but he has scored several wins of note, including wins against Ricky Sismundo, Viktor Plotnikov and Harley Benn, and has shown plenty of promise. As for Allotey the 30 year old fighter from Ghana has a good looking record, until you look at his opponents, at which point it's clear his record is paper thin. His loss came in his most notable bout to date, against Robert Quaye, and he is 7-0 (6) since then against opponents who have had a combined 44 wins, 150 losses and 7 draws. On paper this looks good, but in reality Anwar should have the tools to pick up a comfortable win. One other bout of note on this card is a bout between Ukrainian fighter Danylo Honcharuk (8-1, 8) and Russian Ruslan Kamilov (15-3-1, 9), in what feels like a bout which will be charged with emotion, anger and politics. The once beaten Honcharuk has won his last 6, and whilst they have been at a low level, he has been getting rid of opponents like he's been supposed to, and has never gone beyond 5 rounds with 5 of his wins coming in the first 2 rounds. Kamilov on the other hand is a 36 year old Russian fighter who debuted in 2017 and was 12-0-1 at one point, with good wins against Evgeny Chuprakov and Stanislav Kalitskiy. Since then however he has gone 3-3, with his recent wins coming at a very low level and his most recent loss seeing him stopped in 3 rounds. Interestingly this will be Kamilov’s first bout outside of Russia, whilst his foe has regularly fought in a number of countries, becoming something of a boxing nomad.  Commerce Casino, Commerce, California, USA
The main bout for us, this coming Saturday, comes from California, as unbeaten WBO female Super Flyweight champion Mizuki Hiruta (7-0, 2) looks to make her next defense, taking on Carla Ayelen Merino (16-2, 4) in a very good looking match up .The talented Hiruta, seeking her 4th defense, made a genuine impression on fans in her last bout, as she dominated Maribel Ramirez in January, in her US debut. That bout had followed a year of inactivity for the champion, who has won the title in 2022 and made a single defense in 2023 and in 2024, as her career seemed to stall somewhat after he title win. Despite the frustrating lack of activity since winning the world title, Hiruta has been impressive when she’s been in the ring and will be looking to impress again here, in what is probably set to be her toughest defense. Merino is one of the top contenders in the division and has really turned her career around after a 3-2 start. She has gone 11-0 in the last 4 years, with notable wins over Leiryn Flores and Micaela Milagros Lujan. Those wins showed there was a lot to like about the Argentinian, though here she is up against the most talented fighter she’s faced. If Hiruta wins, as many expect, it would make sense for her to begin chasing unification bouts, rather than continue to defend her belt in bouts like this. The Flash Grand Ballroom of the Elorde Sports Complex, Paranaque City, Metro Manila, Philippines As well as the world title fight in the US, we also have a small Filipino show, headlined but a solid domestic title clash, and also involving a good regional level fighter on the under-card. The most interesting looking bout on this card will see the once beaten Archiel Villamor (8-1, 4) take on the unbeaten Kurt John Pabular (6-0, 4), with Villamor defending the GAB Light Flyweight title. The talented Villamore won his first 8 bouts, winning the GAB title 2 fights back, but was beaten last time out by the sensation Yuga Ozaki, who broke him down in 9 rounds. The loss to Ozaki is a setback, but the 22 year old Villamor shouldn’t be written off on the back of that loss, especially given that Ozaki looks likely to go all the way to the top. The real question is what that loss took from Villamora. As for Pabular he has got a good looking record, but his opposition so far has been very poor and he has been fighting at Minimumweight, for the most part. Pabular will come into this one with hunger and desire, but it’s hard to see him overcoming Villamor, unless the Ozaki bout has ruined “The Archer” Also on the card is Ben Ligas (16-5-1, 10) who takes on the highly experienced Danny Tampipi (9-22-2, 5) in a 6 rounder. At his best Ligas is a very solid regional level fighter who has scored wins over Alphoe Dagayloan, Roland Jay Biendima and Genisis Libranza, and also a draw with Miel Fajardo. He’s not a world beater, but he’s someone who can make a competitive bout with many on the regional scene at 112lbs or 115lbs. Notably however he has lost 3 of his last 5 and been stopped in 2 of his previous 3, leaving us unsure what he still has left to offer. Here he’s in soft, with Tampipi being really little more than a journeyman, who usually gives a fair effort, and can take good fighters rounds, but has lost 12 in a row, and 14 of his last 15. Given Ligas’s recent losses this is common sense matchmaking, even if Ligas is far, far too good for Tampipi. This coming Friday isn’t a busy day, but there are several fights of note, including one for a fast rising young prospect.
IPI Compound, Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines Unbeaten Filipino based Swedish youngster Alexander Fredriksson (2-0, 2) looks to continue his impressive start to his professional career as he takes a huge leap up in class to take on former OPBF Bantamweight champion Mark John Yap (34-19, 17). The 21 year old Fredriksson is a promising 140lb’der who made his debut in December and has yet to see round 2 of a fight, taking out both of his opponents quickly, however this is a massive step up in class for him, and his first bout against someone who has got some proven quality, albeit at a much lower weight than this bout. Yap, who is now 36, was a very good Bantamweight in his prime, sadly however his prime was the better part of a decade ago and at 118lbs when he went on a great run beating the likes of Hiroyuki Kudaka, Takahiro Yamamoto, Kentaro Masuda and Takafumi Nakajima. Notably he is 4-6 in his last 10, going back 6 years, and was stopped last time out by Jerald Into, in what was his first stoppage loss since 2014. Yap still has the tools to make a nuisance of himself, but it’s hard to see him overcoming someone as good as Fredricksson, even if it is still amazingly early in the younger man's career. Chengdu Continental hotel, Chengdu, China As well as the interesting bout in the Philippines, we also get a bout of note in China, as LeQuan Wang (8-2, 5) takes on Bogdan Utegenov (3-2, 1). Wang has lost his last two bouts, but those losses have come to very good prospects with decision losses to Phoobadin Yoohanngoh and Hiroki Horiike, both of who look likely to be mixing in regional title bouts if not higher. He has shown, in both of those bouts, that he is game, tough and comes to fight, even if he is somewhat flawed and lacked the tools needed to push either of those men close. As for Utegenov, he is a 23 year old Kazakh who began his career with 3 wins, but has lost his most recent bouts, both on the road, including a 1st round TKO loss to Komronbek Turgunboev in a Welterweight bout in Uzbekistan. Notably his last win, at least as a professional, was almost 3 years ago and it's really hard to know what he will have to test Wang here.  Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
This coming Tuesday Ohashi gives us a real treat, with a show that features 4 Japanese Youth title fights, showcasing some of the future stars of Japanese boxing. The title bouts, which take place from Light Flyweight to Lightweight, along with a really good looking non-title bout, in what is a solid domestic card, packed with really good 8 rounders. The show’s nominal main event will see JBC Youth Bantamweight champion Shunpei Kaneshiro (4-0, 2) make his second defense, as he takes on fellow professional novice Yushi Yamaguchi (2-1). Kaneshiro won the belt in July, when he scored an 8th round TKO win over Daichi Hirai, and made his first defense in December, when he took a shutout against Hyuga Gushiken. Coming into this he isn’t just the Japanese Youth champion, but is also an OPBF and JBC ranked fighter, who will likely be looking to move towards a senior title in the not too distant future. As for Yamaguchi, the 23 year old made his debut last year, and won his first two fights, including one in South Korea, before being stopped in 8 rounds by Yuya Tanaka this past January. Sadly for him he seems to lack power, which doesn’t bode well for his aggressive style, which puts him in harm’s way and allows opponents to take risks. Kaneshiro is a very well schooled boxer and will look to control this behind the jab, but if brought into a fire fight we suspect his edge in power will play a factor here. At 108lbs we’re expecting explosive action as Yuma Saeki (3-1, 3) and Rikuto Sezutsu (4-0, 3) battle for the vacant JBC Youth Light Flyweight title. For Saeki this is a second Japanese Youth title fight and comes just over a year after he lost to Rento Miyazawa in a bout for the Minimumweight title, in a split decision. Prior to that loss he had taken out his first 3 foes in 10 combined rounds and looked like a dangerous and emerging young fighter. Notably he has been out of the ring since that loss, and it's hard to know what such a long lay off may have on him here. As for Sezutsu the 20 year old southpaw has been a professional since 2023, looked destructive in his first 3 bouts, including an international bout in Thailand, and showed plenty of skills against the then 4-0 Kiyoto Narukami in December to claim his first decision win. Saeki is an aggressive fighter with good speed and good combinations, whilst Sezutsu is a counter puncher, and we suspect the styles will clash really well. On paper paper this is a toss up, and we suspect we’ll get a very, very hotly contested bout here, with both men looking for their first professional title. At Flyweight the unbeaten Atsuki Sano (6-0, 4) will take on Atom Sunagawa (6-2, 3), again for a vacant title. On paper this is maybe the most interesting bout, with both men competing in the 2024 Rookie of the Year, with Sano winning and Sunagawa reaching the West Japan Final before losing to Isse Hirota, and both looking to make a big splash in 2025. Sano , who is a 21 year old southpaw, looks the real deal and has shown both dangerous power, stopping his first 4 opponents, and the ability to dig deep if needed, which he had to do against Hirota in the All Japan Final. Sunagawa has suffered 2 losses, but has mixed at both a heavyweight weight, debuting around Bantamweight, dug out victories in several close bouts, and learned a lot in his loss to Hirota. As with the Light Flyweight bout the styles of these two should gel, with Sunagawa being an offensively minded fighter, pressing and coming forward, and Sano being heavy handed and skilled counter puncher. We expect Sunagawa to look to make the fight, and Sano to to look to make him pay for his aggression. The other title bout will see Naoto Komatsu (9-2, 4) clash with Seiya Iwamoto (8-1, 5) for the Lightweight title, with this being another bout featuring fighters who made their name in the Rookie of the Year, with Komatsu going deep in the 2023 competition and Iwamoto having success the year earlier, with both being losing finalists at Super Featherweight. With 11 bouts to his name the 21 year old Komatsu is the more experienced and has bounced back from his Rookie of the Year set back with two quick wins, though this is a clear step up in class from those wins. Notably he has been stopped in both of his losses, and there are question marks about his durability. Iwamoto, who is also 21, has also scored wins since his Rookie of the Year setback, but the most recent of those wins was in August 2023, and it's almost 2 years since his last bout, and he's had only 56 seconds of action in 24 months. Style wise Iwamoto is the more aggressive, whilst Komatsu looks to be the more skilled, however the real question, for us, is how the lay off will affect Iwamoto. One other bout of interest on this card will see the unbeaten Ryusuke Sunagawa (3-0-1, 2) take on Takuya Uehara (18-3, 11), in a bout that looks like a huge step up for Sunagawa, but in reality is pretty much a step backwards from his last bout. The unbeaten 26 year old has been matched tough almost from the off, with his second bout coming against Seira Kishida, his third bout against Narumi Yukawa and his most recent against former Japanese champion Yuna Hara, with the two men fighting to a draw in December. Sunagawa is ranked #2 by the JBC and #7 by the OPBF, after just 4 bouts, and will look to take one more step towards a title fight with a win here. Uehara on the other hand is a former WBC Youth Featherweight champion who challenged for the OPBF Featherweight title in 2018, when he was 16-0. Sadly he is 2-3 in his last 5, has lost his last 2, has been stopped in all 3 of his defeats and hasn't fought since a 5th round TKO loss to Yoji Saito in September 2023. On paper this looks like a really good bout, but in reality it should be something of a showcase for the very promising Sunagawa, who will want to make a statement before getting his first title fight. |
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