Mexicali, Mexico
The most exciting of the match ups, at least in terms of what the bout means, comes all the way from Mexico where the exciting Min Wook Kim (11-1, 8) will resurface for his first bout in more than 18 months. The exciting Kim, a former OPBF Light Welterweight champion, will be up against Lizandro De los Santos (22-12, 9) in what looks like a bout made to shake off some rust with the intention of moving on quickly an attempting to move towards a world title. From the training footage we've seen of Kim he's looking ready to resume what was once a really exciting and promising career and we hope he'll manage to get back on the fast track following this bout. Western Australia, Australia In Western Australia fans get two title bouts involving Filipino fighters. On paper the more even of those two bouts will see Benjie Suganob (9-3-1, 5) battle against Brandon Ogilvie (9-1, 3) in a bout for the WBO Asia Pacific Youth Super Featherweight title. Suganob has lost 2 of his last 4 bouts but can spring the off upset, as he did in April 2012 when he stopped Rey Juntilla. Ogilvie is on a good run with 4 straight wins, including a KO against Jerope Mercado though will need to make sure not to take risks considering there are question marks about his chin. The other bout here will see the once beaten 20 year old Lloyd Jardeliza (6-1-3, 5) take on Nathaniel May (9-1, 5) in a bout for the WBO Asia Pacific Youth Featherweight title. This has potential to be an explosive encounter though one where, again, the Filipino fighter will be seen as the under-dog. Seoul, South Korea In South Korea fans get the chance to see an interesting looking female title bout as the light hitting Ji-Hye Woo (14-2, 1) attempts to claim the WIBA Featherweight title as she battles unbeaten Thai Wanphen Sithpracha (9-0, 3). This will be Wanphen's first bout against an opponent with a win however Woo hasn't looked good in recent bouts and only just managed to notch up wins against Xu Chan Yan and Jennifer Han in her last 2 bouts.
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California, USA The most significant bout of the day takes place in the US where the popular and exciting Yoshihiro Kamegai (25-2-1, 22) battles against former world title challenger Alfonso Gomez (24-6-2, 12). For Kamegai this will be his 6th bout in the US, and his first since signing for Golden Boy Promotions. Currently Kamegai has a record of 2-2-1 (2) when he has travelled Stateside with the last win there coming last December against Oscar Godoy. The 34 year old Gomez is himself best known for coming up short against Saul Alvarez and Miguel Cotto and we suspect that this is a make or break fight for the popular Mexican, who famously took part in the first season of “The Contender”. In the ring these two should make for a great fight with both men having styles that should gel for a very memorable action fight. Victoria, Australia In Australia fans will have the chance to see the world ranked Czar Amonsot (27-3-3, 17) facing off against Thai veteran Decha Kokietgym (34-11-3, 18) in what looks to be a huge mismatch in favour of the Australian based Filipino fighter Bangkok, Thailand Thai fans get two shows, the most notable of which comes from Bangkok where fans get the chance to see unbeaten fringe contender and a former world champion. The fringe contender is the limited but always entertaining Kongfah Nakornluang (19-0, 11) who will be defending the WBC Youth Silver Super Flyweight for the first time. Kongfah, who won the title in January with a 3rd round TKO against Rendi Stone, will be defending his belt against the unbeaten Ricky Morales (4-0-1), who is apparently unbeaten but his record appears incomplete. As for the former champion, that is Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (32-4-1, 29) who stays busy with a bout against Indonesian journeyman Samuel Tehuayo (18-34-2, 3), who has amazingly gone 18 fights with out a stoppage loss. The tough Tehuayo is likely to be stopped here but that says more about the destructive power of Srisaket than anything else. A relatively interesting looking lower tier bout will see Denchai Por Korkua (1-2) battle against the win-less Petch-ek Sithsaithong (0-1). We won't pretend this is a special contest but it could be entertaining all the same. For those wanting to watch this card it will be televised on Channel 7. Chachoengsao, Thailand This other Thai show will be on Channel 11 and features a long term unbeaten fighter who has yet to full convince us of his ability. The aforementioned unbeaten but untested fighter is Kaewfah Tor Buamas (17-0, 11) who battles Indonesia's Boido Simanjuntak (18-27-1, 7) in a bout for the vacant WBA Asia Lightweight title. This should be a straight forward win for Kaewfah however it is a huge step up in class for the Thai who really has got a paper record, to be polite. In a second bout on this show fans will see the unbeaten Pharanpetch tor Buamas (14-0, 10) in a non-title bout, unfortunately however we've not yet got the name of his opponent. Chiba, Japan In Japan fans get a small show with little to really get excited about. The main event here sees Japanese ranked fighter Tsukasa Saito (19-3, 14), a former Japanese Lightweight title challenger and former WBC Youth champion, battle against regular visitor Fasanghan Or Benjamad (0-7). Fasanghan has lost all 7 recorded bouts by stoppage with 6 losses coming in Japan and we suspect this will be #7 in the country. In the chief support bout fans will see the once beaten Haruka Itakura (4-1, 1) battle against the limited Katsunori Imai (5-6-1). Itakura was a participant in last year's Rookie of the Year and came up short against the talented Reiya Abe, in what was his most recent contest. Imai however comes into this bout in appalling form having won just 1 of his last 7 bouts. That bad form of Imai's dates back to 2008! (Image courtesy of http://www.goldenboypromotions.com) Ayutthaya, Thailand
Thai fans get another televised show this Wednesday as channel 3 show a small but notable show that sees the lightly regarded EPBC getting some attention. Firstly lets start with the EPBC who have two of their titles on the line. They are the Eurasia Pacific Boxing Council who appear to be affiliated with the WBC and were, looking at the details on their website, founded last year. From what we understand they will be yet another regional organisation looking to have their fingers in the Asia pie alongside the PABA, WBA Asia, OPBF, WBC Boxing Council, and IBF Asia, among others. We really do wonder just how many organisations are wanted, or needed in the area though it appears we've not seen them all yet. In a bout for the vacant EPBC Light Flyweight title fans will see Yokthong KKP (17-4, 11) battle against Indonesian foe Frans Damur Palue (10-7-2, 5). Yokthong is best known for losing every time he steps up with notable stoppage losses to Ryuji Hara (KO2) and Zou Shiming (TKO7). Palue however isn't at that level and is himself 0-3 outside of Indonesian including an 8th round TKO loss to Petchbarngborn Kokietgym earlier this month. Interestingly Yokthong was ranked #5 in the recent EPCB rankings whilst Palue was #9. The other EPBC title fight will see the unbeaten, and genuinely promising, Petchchorhae Kokietgym (11-0, 7) battle against Indonesia's Oscar Raknafa (12-8, 5) in a bout for the Flyweight title. The unbeaten Thai has shown some glimpses of real talent though this hardly seems like a step forward for him. Notably Raknafa has lost his life 5 bouts, including a loss to the then debuting Kosei Tanaka, and we expect that run will continue here in what appears to be another mismatch against the Indonesian. In terms of the rankings for this bout, the Thai is ranked #3 whilst Raknafa is #12. Another mismatch on this card will see former world title challenger Terdsak Kokietgym (54-5-1, 34) back in the ring for his second bout since his thrilling 11th round loss to Orlando Salido last September. Terdsak will be up against Yakobus Heluka (8-9, 1), who has lost 5 of his last 6, including a 3rd round KO to Thong Sithluangphophun last August. This is one of those horrible match ups that is simply used to keep a guy like Terdsak ticking over. One other bout on this card will see the unbeaten Mai Lookboonmee (1-0, 1) battle against the win-less Singsomdech Kwanjaisrikot (0-2). This, on paper, looks the most even match up on the show though we still suspect it could be 1-sided in the ring. Tokyo, Japan For the second day running we get action from the Korakuen Hall with an under-rated yet interesting show which features a number of ranked fighters and several genuinely meaningful bouts. The opening bout on the show is a 6 rounder which will see the 2014 All Japan Rookie of the Year winner at Featherweight, Reiya Abe (8-1, 4) battle for the first time since he claimed the Rookie title. Abe will be, on paper, in his toughest bout to date as he battles against Shingo Kusano (8-4-1, 4) who will be entering the bout in search of his biggest win, since he won the East Japan Rookie of the Year crown, also at Featherweight, in November 2013. Interestingly coming into this fight Abe is ranked #15 by the JBC at 126lbs. In a contracted 80KG bout fans will see Thai debutant Kompayak Sithacharnkom (0-0) battle against former OPBF Super Middleweight title challenger Shintaro Matsumoto (10-4, 8). Matsumoto has lost his last two bouts by stoppage, including a 4th round TKO loss to Yuzo Kiyota last time out, though we know next to nothing about his Thai opponent, other than the fact he shares a “first name” with a former Minimumweight world champion. An interesting Featherweight bout will see the hard hitting Tsuyoshi Tameda (10-1-2, 8) battle against Takenori Ohashi (11-3-1, 7) in a genuine well matched bout. We need to favour Tameda here though only just and Ohashi's draw against Mikihito Seto last June was an impressive result that he may build on here. A second Japan Vs Thailand bout comes at Super Featherweight where IBF Asia champion Takuya Watanabe (23-5-1, 11) fights a hastily arranged bout with a Thai foe Sam Saknarong (1-1). Although this bout was relatively short notice Watanabe had been training for a bout on March 1st and should be in great shape for this non-title bout. The show's co-feature will be one of the most significant bouts of the week as Quaye Peter (6-5-2, 3), an OPBF and JBC ranked fighter, battles against JBC ranked foe Ryoji Tanaka (8-2-1, 2). Outside of rankings this may not mean much, especially for fight fans outside of Japan, though it could well see the winner move on to a national title fight and that is significant. Peter, a Ghanaian born fighter who has fought solely in Japan, scored his biggest win last time out, taking a clear decision over Kazuya Maruki in a major upset. That win was Peter's first in more than 2 years and saw him ending a 5 fight win-less streak. On the other hand Tanaka enters this bout on a 5 fight winning streak including a notable win over Dai Taoka in the 2013 Rookie of the Year final at Welterweight. Possibly the pick of the bouts will see Filipino visitor Alie Laurel (12-3, 8) battle against the heavily experienced Nobuhisa Coronita Doi (29-14-8, 11). Doi has come up short in a couple of Japanese title fights, including a 2013 clash with Hidenori Otake, and knows another loss could be the end of his career. As for Laurel he made a name for himself last year when he shocked the then unbeaten Tiger Tor Buamas in 5 rounds to claim the WBO Oriental Bantamweight title. Although Lurael has got defeats on his record his is a brilliant and dangerous little fighter who has been unlucky in all 3 defeats. We suspect Laurel could well end Doi's career here in a very, very interesting match up. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp) Tokyo, Japan The action in Japan keeps coming through March and one of the most interesting shows comes on the 16th as we get several notable names in action, with one of the bouts being particularly notable. That notable bout will see former Japanese Lightweight champion Akihiro Kondo (20-5-1, 9) battled against former “world” title challenger Jimrex Jaca (39-7-4, 22) of the Philippines. Jaca is a serious puncher and is capable of hurting almost anyone in, or around, the Lightweight division and Kondo is tough which means that this could be an explosive and exciting encounter with Jaca's power battling against Kondo's will and toughness. In a female bout on this card former female world champion Tenkai Tsunami (20-10, 9) will fight in a stay busy contest against Thailand's Rathsada Sor Worasin (0-4). This really is a stay busy contest for the talent Tsunami who will likely be looking for another world title bout later in the year. Another bout of note will see the fast rising Kenta Onjo (4-0, 3) battle against Japanese based Filipino Jonathan Baat (27-6-3, 13). On paper this is a huge step up in class for the talented Onjo however he will be strongly favoured and should have a considerable size advantage against Baat who will be going from Bantamweight all the way up to Super Featherweight for this contest. From what we've seen of the 25 year old Onjo he is massively talented and should be able to see off his smaller but more experienced for with out too many issues. One other bout that looks particularly interesting will see the light hitting Yukiya Hanabusa (7-2-2, 1) face off against Yudai Arai (6-1-3, 3). This looks like a brilliantly even contest on paper even if the two men aren't well known. In 2013 Hanabusa reached the All Japan Rookie of the Year final whilst Arai has gone 5-0-2 in his last 7 bouts. This really does look promising and both guys will know what a win will boost them to moving towards a national ranking. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp) After a little pause in the action it now seems everything has come alive and this weekend ends with a number of interesting bouts, including a major showdown in Yemen and a really good bout in Japan. Fukuoka, Japan For us the best of the Japanese bouts comes from the Fukuoka show which is scheduled to feature a number of interesting bouts with one in particular standing out as being something a little bit special. The main event on this card will see Aiki Koto (8-1-1, 4) battle against Yamato Uchinono (5-3-5, 3) in an interesting looking 8 rounder, but not the best on the show. Koto brings an 8 bout unbeaten run into the contest, including a streak of 6 successive wins, and will enter as the clear favourite. Uchinono however is a potential banana skin and this could be more interesting than records suggest. For us the stand out bout isn't the main event but instead the main support bout which will see once beaten Japanese ranked Hideo Sakamoto (15-1-2, 5) battles against the highly capable Ryoichi Tamura (3-1-1, 1). Sakamoto comes into this bout on the back of a huge win last year over Hiroki Shiino and is on a 5 fight winning streak dating back to 2011. On paper Sakamoto is clearly going to be favoured given his experience. Tamura however is no push over and his competition for a novice has been insane, including his 8th round TKO win last time out against Kenji Kubo. This could end up being something very special. On paper another competitive bout on this card will see Yuki Miyoshi (11-4-3, 9) battle against Koichi Ito (10-3-2, 9) in what looks likely to be an explosive encounter at Lightweight. Both of these guys can whack but neither has the best of chins and this could be over very early and in very exciting fashion. One other 8 round on this card will see OPBF and Japanese ranked 154lb fighter Yosuke Kirima (19-4-2, 13) in action against tough journeyman Hideo Mikan (7-8-1, 2). Mikan has lost 3 of his last 4 but has only been stopped once in his 16 fight career. As for Kirima he'll be hoping to keep his current winning run alive and avoid a major upset, like the one he suffered against Arnel Tinampay, in another bout he was supposed to win. Aichi, Japan The other Japanese card comes from Aichi and looks like the lesser of the two shows with only one bout that really looks even slightly interesting. The standout bout here is again the chief support bout which will see light hitting Flyweight hopeful Yuji Shimizu (17-8-1, 1) battle against the less experienced Tomohiro Sawada (8-4-2, 4) in a good domestic clash that sees the two men meeting for the second time. In their first meeting way back in April 2011 Shimizu won a close decision and will be favoured to do the same again but this could be very competitive with Sawada looking to avenge one of his losses and Shimizu attempting to extend his current 3 fight winning run. Although we like the chief support bout we do need to note the main event which will also be a rematch as the heavy handed Daisuke Hayakawa (8-3, 7) battles against tough Filipino journeyman Roque Lauro (12-16-4, 2) for a second time. In their first meeting, last December, Lauro sprung the upset with an 8 round decision and will be hoping to repeat the feat again here in a bout that could see Hayakawa's once promising career being left in tatters. Another potentially interesting bout comes at Welterweight where Marcos Sogabe (6-9-1, 5) attempts to avenge a 2011 loss to Shinich Tsukahara (8-7-3, 3). We don't expect this bout to a domestic fight of the year contender but we do suspect that both men will give it their all in what could turn out to be a very competitive bout. Sanaa, Yemen In Yemen we appear to have a brilliant and key match up that has been rescheduled several times. This bout will see world ranked puncher Ali Raymi (24-0, 24) battle against fellow unbeaten puncher Hani Ansi (18-0-1, 16) in a bout to decide who really the best in Yemen. Raymi will be risking his world rankings as he attempts to capture the UBO Super Flyweight title whilst Ansi will be looking to record the biggest win of his career, by far. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp) This coming Saturday is a busy day with action taking place all over the place with a really interesting domestic bout in the Philippines and a female super fight in Mexico. Metro Manila, Philippines The Filipino domestic scene is somewhat over-looked by our selves as there seems to be only a handful of really good looking domestic bouts. Thankfully we have one such bout this Saturday as we get a brilliant rematch between two talented but under-rated fighters. One of those fights is GAB Light Flyweight champion Benezer Alolod (16-5-5, 5) who will be defending his title against the unfortunate Renren Tesorio (13-6-3, 4). These two met last year in a razor thin bout won by Alolod who successfully defended his title for the 2nd time this time around we're expecting an equally as competitive match up and possibly a contender for the Filipino domestic bout of the year. Whilst neither man is viewed highly by international fans we need to admit both are much better than their records suggest. In the main support bouts we have a trio of unbeaten fighters in action. One of those will be the promising Nino Valenzuela (7-0-1, 2), who will be strongly backed to over-come journeyman Jhon Jhon Faminiano (1-10-3). Another will be Rolly Sumalpong (7-0-1, 4) who takes on novice JR Florendo (3-2-1) in what looks to be a mismatch. The one notable bout involving an unbeaten fighter will see the unbeaten Toto Landero (4-0-1, 1) battle against the once beaten Philip Luis Cuerdo (7-1, 4) in what looks to be a brilliant match up on paper. Cuerdo has beaten his last 4 foes since being beaten by the touted Vic Saludar however this is a step up in class and could be a bit of a thriller between two 19 year old fighters. Chonburi, Thailand In Thailand it appears we're getting some title action involving some interesting Korean fighters. One bout will involve the very promising Hyunwoo Yu (3-0, 3) who will be fighting in Thailand for the second time in his career. At the moment we're unsure who Yu will be fighting with Boxrec.com listing Yu's opponent as Indonesian journeyman Oke Haryanto (5-5-1, 2) whilst AK Promotions list Yu's opponent as Thai based Italian Ricardo Redbluegym (2-0, 2). From what we understand however Yu will be fighting for the WBC Asian Boxing Council Silver Light Welterweight title The other bout on the card is a mystery with AK Promotions stating it will be a contest between Jaesung Lee (17-4-2, 9) and Jaoquim Mahe (9-2, 5) in a bout for the WBC Asian Boxing Council Silver Featherweight title. Boxrec.com however claim this bout will be taking place next month and instead we'll be seeing a bout between Hong-Kyoon Shin (9-3-1, 5) and Jack Madison (2-3) with the WBC Asian Boxing Council Continental Super Flyweight title. México, Mexico In Mexico fans get a potentially thrilling female bout as 2-weight world champion Naoko Fujioka (12-1, 6) battles against Mexican icon Mariana Juarez (40-7-3, 17). This is as a good a female fight as can be made. Fujioka comes into this contest following her first loss, a close decision to Susi Kentikian on Germany, and will know that she needs to win here as for Juarez she knows a loss will derail another super fight, a much touted contest with Zulina Munoz. Baja California, Mexico Another bout in Mexico will see the touted Rogelio Jun Doliguez (19-2-2, 14) face his biggest name opponent so far as he goes up against former world champion Fernando Montiel (53-4-2, 39). Coming into this bout Montiel has won his last 7 bouts but hasn't looked himself since fighting Nonito Donaire back in 2011. Unfortunately for Doliguez he has lost 2 of his last 3 and really needs a win if he's going to get his career back in track after those stumbles. Queensland, Australia Another Filipino on the road this weekend is John Vincent Moralde (11-0, 6) who puts his unbeaten record on the line against Brayd Smith (12-0, 10) in a bout for the WBC Asian Boxing Council Continental Featherweight title. New Jersey, USA In the US fans will get the chance to see a pair of promising Chinese fighters. The lesser experienced of those two fighters is novice fighter Wang Zhimin (1-0) who will be taking on the light hitting but under-rated Jesus Lule (7-10, 1), who has lost 6 of his last 7 but mixed in very good company with the likes of Dodie Boy Penalosa Jr and Oscar Valdez among others. This looks like a really good test for Zhimin who we suspect will be forced to answer a number of questions about his ability. The other Chinese fighter will be Heavyweight hopeful Zhang Zhilei (2-0, 2) who takes on Eric George (2-8) in what looks like a relative mismatch in favour of "Big Bang" Zhilei. (Image courtesy of notifight) As we come to another week we've got to be honest, the last few days have been disappointing. That disappointment however ends on Friday with a flurry of bouts, including a notable debut and some seriously interesting looking Thai action.
Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand On Thai channel 7 fans will be will be able to see several interesting fighters in action, albeit in relatively one-sided looking bouts. One of those notable fighters is 23 year Light Flyweight hopeful Hanuman Sithluangporphun (7-4, 1) who will be defending his PABA interim Light Flyweight title against Indonesian fighter Stevanus Nana Bau (2-2-1, 2). The Indonesian fighter, also known as Stevanus Nanai, will be fighting for the first time since his 7th round TKO loss to Iwan Zoda in February though does have half a chance at spring the upset here against a less than spectacular champion. Another Thailand Vs Indonesia bout will see the unbeaten Thong Sithluangphophun (10-0, 7) fighting in a non-title bout with Ruben Manakane (14-13-1, 9). Thong has looked solid as a prospect and is the PABA Featherweight champion entering this bout however he hasn't scored that “big win” yet. As for Manakane he is a professional loser but he's also a fighter who has mixed with good company including Tabtimdaeng Na Rachawat, Marlon Tapales and former world champion Billy Dib. Also on this card we're expecting to see once beaten Yodsingdaeng jor Chaijinda (6-1, 4), who is set to fight for the first time since being stopped by Daryl Basadre last November. Bangkok, Thailand As well as the Channel 7 card fans in Thai can also tune in to 5 who are showing a title double header with one of our favourite Thai prospects being involved on the show. That prospect is the wonderfully talented Eaktawan mor Krungthepthonburi (7-0, 6) who will be defending his lightly regarded WBA Asia Flyweight title against Indonesian visitor Ardi Tefa (6-3, 4). Tefa has mixed with really good company and has shared the ring with Denver Cuello and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, however both of those men stopped him in round 3. We'd not be surprised by Eaktawan also stopping him, relative easily. The other title bout will see Amin sor Wangmoo (10-1-1, 8) defending his WBA Asia Super Featherweight title against Indonesian southpaw Smile Brown (6-19-1, 3). Brown is win-less in almost 8 years and has been inactive for a year suggesting this is a bit of a stitch up with Amin almost certain to retain his title. A third bout on this card will feature Inthanon Sithchamuang (25-7, 15) though his opponent is unknown at this moment. Tokyo, Japan The only Japanese show of the day doesn't look to be a great one but there is likely to be some fun for the fans in attendance with a total of 8 bouts. The main event will see Japanese ranked Welterweight Shusaku Fujinaka (10-5-2, 6) battle against the limited Hisashi Kato (7-7-2, 4). The limited Fujinaka might be ranked by the JBC but has lost 3 of his last 4 and we're not expecting him to show anything great here, though we do suspect he will defeat Kato. The main event is one of 3 bouts scheduled for 8 rounds and one of the others looks to be very competitive as Takahiro Fujii (6-3-1, 2) battles against the light hitting Koya Sato (7-2-1, 1). This bout doesn't look “exciting” as such but should be wonderfully competitive with both men having similar looking records. Another even looking bout will see Ryo Narizuka (7-4) battling against Kazuhiro Nakamura (8-5, 3). Narizuka has won his last 2 bouts coming into this contest, including a notable win over Kazuaki Moriya and he will be favoured over Nakamura who hasn't fought in over a year. California, USA In the US fans will get the chance to see former Mongolia amateur stand out Tugstsogt Nyambayar (0-0) make his professional debut as he battles Gabriel Braxton (2-8, 1). This is an “easy” debut for “King Tug” though the expectation is that Nyambayar will be raced to a title given his amateur pedigree, which included silver medals at the 2009 World Amateur Championships and the 2012 Olympics. We would like to say a huge thank you to Pal for the details involving the bouts from Thailand. It is really appreciated. Cotabato del Sur, Philippines
To close out a busy weekend we got to the Philippines where fans are set to expect a small but somewhat interesting card. The main event here will see the promising Raymiond Tabugon (15-3-1, 6) battle against Juan Purisima (11-6-1, 4) in a very interesting 10 round bout. Tabugon may not be a big name but he is in good form having beaten Jake Bornea and Luzuko Siyo in recent bouts and is unbeaten in 4 contests. Purisima has been beaten in his last 3 bout they have included bouts with the sensation Roman Gonzalez and future world title challenger Froilan Saludar and are unrepresentative of his over-all ability. In the co-feature fans will see the unbeaten Markquil Salvana (6-0, 1) put his 0 on the line against Ernesto Tata Fontanilla (10-7-1, 5) in an 8 round bout that could well test the unbeaten teenager, who is genuinely stepping up here. Fontanilla has been stopped in his last 3 bouts, including bouts with Jerry Nardo and the much touted Mark Magsayo. This really cold be a good test for Salvana. Another 8 round bout will see former amateur standout Adam Diu Abdulhamid (4-2, 1) battle against the highly experienced Jesar Ancajas (15-26-2, 7). Abdulhamid has failed to set the world alight since turning professional but at just 20 years old there is a lot of time for him to hit the heady heights that his team had hoped for. Ancajas is little more than a journeyman and is win-less since 2006, he's not meant to test the youngster here but he may well tell us something about Abdulhamid's power. In an interesting 6 rounder Raymart Gaballo (7-0, 5) will be battling against Michael Padayag (3-3-1) in what will be expected to be the 8th straight win for the “GenSan Assassin”. Aged 18 Gaballo is a genuinely promising youngster but needs to step up, which he is doing here, slightly. Padayag has gone 0-2-1 in his last 3 and could prove to be a banana skin, though we can't see it here. On the remaining part of this card there are 2 moire unbeaten prospects in action, albeit against very poor opposition. The start of the year has been tediously slow at times however March is certainly seeing in ring action liven up, in a big way. The first real date to mark down on your calendar is March 7th which sees action across Asia with several big names a host of notable fights ranging from a world title bout to world title eliminators to national title bouts. Macau, China The biggest of the days show's comes from Macau where fans are treat to another of Bob Arum's foray's into the gambling capital of Asia. In many ways this is the most important of all the Macau shows and is, potentially, the biggest banana skin on the road to making the experiment a major long term success. The tricky part of this card is the main event which will see Chinese megastar Zou Shiming (6-0, 1) put his unbeaten record on the line as he takes on IBF Flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng (14-0, 5) in a brilliant match up. These two men are both unbeaten, both under-rated and were major amateur rivals. They are also men looking to claim a major scalp. For Shiming this a test that really could see him becoming a national hero or boxing's biggest villain, for Ruenroeng it's a chance to level the score with Shiming, who holds a 2-1 record over him from the amateur ranks. For Bob Arum this is a real test of his nerve. Shiming is talented and fast but this is a major step up for the double Olympic champion. Shiming of course isn't the only Chinese born fighter on this show, nor is he the most exciting. One of the contenders for the tag of “most exciting” is the heavy handed Ik Yang (18-0-0-1, 13) who will be up against Thailand's experienced Patomsuk Pathompothong (30-2-1, 18) in an IBF Pan Pacific Light Welterweight title bout, which will also double as an IBF world title eliminator. Yang has been on a number of Top Rank shows and is known for his power and offensive style though his flawed defense may be a problem here against the talented Patomsuk, who gave world ranked Takayuki Hosokawa a very close bout back in late 2013. This could be very interesting. Another rival to the tag of China's most exciting fighter is the very flawed but fun Rex Tso (15-0, 9) who battles Filipino Michael Enriquez (10-2-1, 6) in a bout for the WBA International Super Flyweight title. Tso will go into this bout as the favourite and is viewed as being likely to get a fight with WBA world champion Kohei Kono if he comes through here. For Enriquez this is a major opportunity though he has lost both of his previous title fights. Going further down the card fans will get the chance to see the explosively heavy handed Aston Palicte (16-1, 14), of the Philippines, take on one of his toughest tests as he goes up against Ismael Garnica (13-5-1-1, 5). Garnica is best known for losing a decision British fighter Paul Butler last year, other than that however there is very little of note on his record. Palicte on the other hand is a dynamite puncher who comes into this bout on the back of 5 successive opening round blow outs, including a very notable one against Gerpaul Valero. Another Filipino in action here will be Raymond Sermona (17-4-5, 8) who will be hoping to record his 3rd successive win as he battles former “world” title challenger Jose Felix Jr (28-1-1, 23). Felix Jr's only loss came last year when he stepped up to fight Bryan Vasquez and was well beaten, despite two horribly close scorecards, and he'll be favoured to make light work of Sermona. To open the show we're expecting to see some local talent in action. One of those locals will be the unbeaten Zhou Yun Fei (4-0, 1) who battles against Paul Valenzuela (2-1-1, 2) whilst the other will be Macau's Kuok Kun Ng (6-0, 2), who will be facing Thailand's Chingchai Kiatpracha (7-2, 3). Tokyo, Japan As well as the action in Macau there is also a show, with title action, in Japan where fans will get a couple of domestic title fights courtesy of Kadoebi. One of those title bouts will see once beaten Japanese Welterweight champion Suyon Takayama (21-1, 7) defending his belt against former foe Nobuyuki Shindo (16-2, 6) in what looks like to be a very competitive match up. Takayama has the title, the better looking record and a win over Shindo already on his record however he is a weak champion and a lot of bouts have been very close. Shindo has height and reach advantages though the question coming in is whether or not he will be able to make them count. In the other title fight the unbeaten Hiroki Okada (9-0, 7) will be up against former title contender Hayato Hokazono (18-4-1, 11). We like Okada though are unsure how far he can really go, though it is obviously early days in his career. Hokazono is best known for his losses to the monstrously hard hitting Keita Obara, aside from those losses there is little else to note about his record other than a win over Kazuyoshi Kumano way back in December 2010. On the under-card there is little of note though a bout between Hisao Narita (8-1, 4) and Yusuke Konno (8-2, 3) does look likely to be very competitive over the scheduled 8 rounds. Another undercard bout that we'll mention will see former Japanese Super Bantamweight title challenger Yukinori Hisanaga (16-5-2, 9) battle against Takuma Takahashi (6-4-1, 1). South Korea In South Korea we get 3 bouts between Korean fighters and Japanese visitors as Watanabe send a trio of their stable over to Korea. The most notable of the Japanese fighters is Sonin Nihei (5-1-1, 1) who came runner up in last years East Japan Rookie of the year. The talented 21 year old, who lost a split decision to Kenya Yamashita, will be taking on the debuting Tae Un Jung (0-0) who we know nothing about. Another of the bouts will see unbeaten Korean Joo-Young Kwon (2-0) take on Keisuke Kanazawa (2-4, 1). On paper it's hard to go against the Korean though he has only faced debutants so far whilst Kanazawa holds a very surprising win over the much touted Koki Tyson Maebara from back in January 2013. The remaining bout, and the most looking on paper, will see Shingo Yabu (4-4-2) battle against Chan-Hee Park (4-5-1). Yabu is 0-2-1 in his last 3, including a loss to Jumbo Oda Nobunaga Shoten Petagine in the 2013 All Japan Rookie of the Year final. Park on the other hand has lost his last 4 and hasn't notched a win since 2009, in fact he's not fought since October 2010. Interesting match up in some ways but neither guy is anything great. (Image courtesy of http://www.sandscotaicentral.com) |
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