 This Saturday is a day full of action but the action also continues on Sunday with yet more action of varying note.
Kanagawa, Japan The bigger of two Japanese shows is in Kanagawa as fans get to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the popular Tsuneo "Piston" Horiguchi. The show, which features 10 bouts in total is more of a celebration card than a huge boxing show though is plenty to be excited about. The main event is a middleweight bout which will see Kazuaki Irisawa (7-5, 4) battle visiting Thai Petchdum Manopchaygym (0-1) in a pretty miserable looking main event. In fact the chief support bout, which will see Wataru Miyasaka (7-2-1, 2) fighting Shogo Ojima (10-2-1, 2), looks a much better contest. Whilst the top bouts aren't great we have been informed that the show will see Ohashi world champions Naoya Inoue, the WBC Light Flyweight champion, Akira Yaegashi, the WBC Flyweight champion, and Ayaka Miyao, the WBA Atomweight champion, all making appearances on the show giving it some real star power even if the actual live boxing won't be great. Fukuoka, Japan The other show is in the Kyushu Electric Power Memorial Gymnasium in Fukuoka. This show, which features a scheduled 8 bouts, doesn't have any real quality on it and all but 1 of the bouts are scheduled to be 4 rounders. Despite that we do expect some interesting action to take place with the bouts, to our understanding, being competitive contests. The bout we are fully aware of is the main event which pits female novice Kasumi Fujimitsu (1-0, 1) again fellow novice Sayuri Koto (0-1). Mytishchi, Russia As well as the Japanese action there is also action in Russia with two world title fights. The more notable of those world title fights will see Dmitry Chudinov (12-0-2, 8) fighting against Patrick Nielsen (22-0, 11) in a WBA interim Middleweight title bout. We view this as a very even looking bout and although Chudinov is easily the bigger puncher Nielsen is far more skilled and this really does look like a boxer against a puncher type of fight. The other world title fight on the show will see Svetlana Kulakova (9-0, 1) fighting against Ana Laura Esteche (10-3-1, 2) in a bout for the WBA female Light Welterweight contest. We're favouring the technical skills of the Russian but it's not an easy fight, in fact it's another that could easily see an upset as Esteche really is a handful for more fighters out there. We're expecting 3 other bouts on this show, but the two above are easily the most notable ones. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp)
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 Sometimes in boxing we go days, if not weeks, with out any major fights. On other days it seems like everything is crammed into one day. We get one of those crammed days this Saturday with more notable fights than an average month and most interestingly they are spread across the world and come at us from every angle, almost every division and petty much non stop through out the day!
Macau The busy world title action for the day kicks off in Macau with a number of incredible fights as Top Rank put on arguably their best card of the year so far and really do give the clearest intentions that they are going to be committed to growing their Macau brand. This card kicks off with Macau's very own prospect Kuok Kun Ng (3-0, 1) battling against Muhammad Imam (9-4, 3) in what looks likely to be the toughest bout so far for the 23 year old "Macau Kid". Imam, also known as "Felix the Cat" is 0-3 outside of Indnesia though has never lost to a fighter as inexperienced as Ng and could well give Ng some problems. The second bout on this card will see Eun-Chang Lee (7-3, 1) attempt to upset former Ryota Murata rival Esquiva Falcao (2-0, 1). Lee is the current South Korean Super Middleweight champion though we don't see him really testing the talent Falcao who twice met Murata in major competitions including 2012 Olympic final. Falcao was twice beaten by Murata but there is the expectation that he will go on to be the next Brazilian star. In the third bout we're hoping to see the unbeaten Ik Yang (14-0-0-1, 9) fighting against Geisler AP (5-1, 3) though we've been disappointed in the past with Yang not having the bouts he was scheduled to have in Macau. We do like Yang but feel he's a frustrating fighter to follow at times despite being a joy to watch in action. The 4th bout for the show has been a bit of a headache for all those involved. Originally the unbeaten Hong Kong star Rex Tso (12-0, 8) was set to fight former world title challenger Atsushi Kakutani, unfortunately last week Kakutani was injured. The Japanese fighter was replaced by Thailand's Tiger Tor Buamas but over the weekend Tor Bumas was himself replaced by his compatriot Ratchasak Kokietgym (22-2-1, 10). On paper this is actually the toughest of the possible bouts for Tso who we believe could be in line for a WBA Super Flyweight title fight with Kohei Kono later this year if he beats Ratchasak here. With the WBO Asia Pacific Super Flyweight title up for grabs however Ratchasak may well turn in be inspired to take his big and unexpected opportunity here. We move seamlessly from one regional title bout to another with the shows next bout being the IBF Pan Pacific Super Bantamweight title fight between Japan's Yasutaka Ishimoto (24-6, 7) and the highly touted Chris Avalos (23-2, 17). This will be Ishimoto's second bout in Macau, returning to the scene of his famous victory over former world champion Wilfredo Vazquez Jr, though we expect it to be a much different one to his first with Avalos being a seriously hard punching on a good run of results. It's a great fight and with an IBF Super Bantamweight title fight up for grabs for the winner this really could be a career changing win for the victor. The first of three Featherweight world title fights will see unbeaten Russian Evgeny Gradovich (18-0, 9) defending his IBF title against Alexander Miskirtchian (24-2-1, 9) who will be attempting to become the first man from Belgium to become a world champion. Although Miskirtchian's compatriot Stephane Jamoye fell short in his recent world title bid there does seem to be an air of confidence behind Miskirtchain's bout though we really can't see him upsetting Gradovich who has been on tremendous roll in recent bouts and looks to be very difficult to beat due to his toughness and work rate. Following the IBF title bout we then get a fight for the WBA "regular" Featherweight title that will see the hard hitting Jamaican Nicholas Walters (23-0, 19) defending his belt against the always fun to watch Vic Darchinyan (39-6-1, 28). We tend to feel that Darchinyan is a faded fighter and isn't much of a Featherweight whilst Walters is a hard hitting beast and should run through the Armenian though Darchinyan always has the power to change fights himself and this could be a shoot out in the end. This could be the fight of the show though their is the risk it come become a 1-sided beat down like the recent David Lemieux/Fernando Guerrero bout which had promised to be a shoot out but became a very uneven contest very early on. The main event sees the very popular Nonito Donaire (32-2, 21) battle against WBA "Super" champion Simpiwe Vetyeka (26-2, 16) who famously beat Chris John and Daud Cino Yordan last year. This is a very, very tough bout and although Donaire is a clear betting favourite we think this could well be a third successive notable win for Vetyeka who has the skillset and toughness to make life very hard for the "Filipino Flash". We don't expect this to be a highly entertaining contest but it will be an interesting one with a lot of clever work from both fighters who will each be looking for their own counter shots more often than leading off. London, UK On the undercard of the huge fight in the UK between Carl Froch and George Groves fans will get the chance to see Thailand's Tabtimdaeng Na Rachwat (52-2, 34) battle against former IBF Bantamweight champion Jamie McDonnell (23-2-1, 10) in a bout for the vacant WBA Bantamweight title. We view this as a very tough assignment for the Thai though if he wins he'll have scored a huge profile victory and launched himself in to the upper echelons of the Bantamweight division. Distrito Federal, Mexico The final world title bout of the day sees WBC Super Flyweight champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (27-3-1, 25) taking on Mexico's Carlos Cuadras (29-0, 24) in a potential FOTY candidate. We'll admit we were excited when we first realised that this bout was on the table last December and now with it just a few days away we really can't contain how excited we are about the bout. This has all the ingredients for a really amazing contest. On the same card as the Srisaket/Cuadras bout is a female world title bout as Honey Mae Bermoy (6-3, 6), AKA Honey Katsumata, battles WBA female Bantamweight champion Irma Garcia (9-1-1-4, 1) on a non-title contest. We really can't see Bermoy winning this contest, especially not when you consider the way Tenkai Tsunami beat her back in March in an OPBF title fight, though we do give her credit for jumping into a tough bout immediately after losing to a world class foe. Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany We get another female world title fight in Germany as Korea's Dan-Bi Kim (9-2-1, 2) challenges German star Susi Kentikian (32-2, 16) for the WBA female Flyweight title. This is a hugely difficult assignment for the diminutive 23 year old from Anseong City though we can't see her travelling across the world if she didn't believe she could bring back the title. China We get, yet another, title fight on mainland china as the unbeaten Chinese Heavyweight Zhang Junlong (6-0, 6) battles former Japanese title challenger Kotatsu Takehara (10-9-3, 4) in a bout for the IBO Asia Pacific Heavyweight title. This is easily the toughest bout in Junglong's career though a win could put him on the verge of a huge regional bout with someone like OPBF champion Solomon Haumono. Big fight for both men and the loser will feel the loss as a major one. Aichi, Japan A third show in the Orient takes place in Japan and even as the third biggest show in the continent it's still a pretty notable one headlined by the return to the ring of recent world title challenger Daiki Kaneko (19-3-3, 12). Kaneko, who was last seen on New Year's Eve losing to Takashi Uchiyama in a very well fought WBA Super Featherweight title bout, will be expected to walk though former OPBF Featherweight challenger Shogo Ishikawa (10-6, 3). We think Kaneko will genuinely destroy Ishikawa in a bout that will be little more than a show case contest for the excellent Super Featherweight contender. Kaneko isn't the only former world title challenger on this card as former Super Flyweight challenger Ryo Akaho (22-1-2, 15) takes on Thailand's "body donor" Songseanglek Phosuwangym (1-10) in what appears to be little more than a stay busy fight for Akaho who we think may be lining up a title bout later this year and doesn't want to risk anything. A third bout of note on this show will see former Japanese Middleweight champion Tomohiro Ebisu (12-3, 12) battling against Frenchman Kevin Thomas Cojean (13-5-1, 4) in a bout made just above the Super Middleweight limit. For Ebisu this is a genuinely tough assignment against a former French Light Heavyweight title challenger. Cojean, although a tough opponent for Ebisu, probably doesn't hit hard enough to stop the Japan power house puncher. As well as the 3 bouts of note already mentioned this card is scheduled to feature a further 3 undercard bouts in what is the last Japanese card of the month. District of Colombia, USA In one of the lowest profile bouts of the day Sri Lankan Nuwan Jayakody (2-4-1, 2) battles the very limited David Warren Huffman (4-19-1, 1). We know Jayakody is unlikely to go far in this sport but we've got to confess we do like him and hopes that he manages to improve enough to become an "opponent" in a televised bout somewhere down the line. It's great to see a Sri Lankan fighter no matter how poor here is and with that in mind we really do wish him all the best in hopefully inspiring a generation of young Sri Lankan men in to boxing. We doubt we'll see the sport take off in the Cricket mad country but we'll continue to hope that one day we will see a Sri Lankan world champion. New South Wales, Australia Down under fans will get to see Australian based Filipino Michael Dan (3-9-1, 3) attempt to upset the unbeaten Ahmed Dib (13-0, 8) in a bout for the Australia - New South Wales State Light Middleweight title. It's incredibly hard to see anything but a win for Dib here though we do hope that Dan, who has lost his last 6, can put up a good effort even if he is clearly beaten. Yes, it's a busy, busy, day! (Image courtesy of http://www.venetianmacao.com/)  Whilst we know almost every boxing fan is looking forward to the action through out Saturday there is plenty going on on Friday to keep fans interested with former world champions, world class fighters and a genuinely great show in Russia.
Surat Thani, Thailand The earliest action of the day is in Thailand where one time world champion Oleydong Sithsamerchai (53-1-1, 19) defends his WBC International Super Flyweight title against Filipino challenger Noli Morales (10-4, 3), who has suffered all 4 of his losses so far in Thailand. This is the best opponent Morales has faced and that should sum up how we expect the contest to go. Moscow, Russia The biggest show of the day is the one in Russia as we get a genuinely fantastic show with several world class fighters in action in some very interesting looking contests. The main event is the pick of the bouts with former WBA Heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (26-1, 18) returning to the ring for the first time since his defeat at the hands of Wladimir Klitschko. Povetkin's opponent will be former WBC Heavyweight title challenger Manuel Charr (26-1, 15) and with both men looking to move back into a world title fight this is effective a title eliminator, despite only officially being a WBC international title fight. We'll be honest we're really looking forward to this one and expect it to be a very, very competitive bout between two top 20 Heavyweights each looking to earn their way to a major bout later in the year. Whilst the Heavyweight clash is brilliant it's also supported by two world class fighters on the undercard. One of these is former WBC Cruiserweight title challenger Rakhim Chakhkiev (18-1, 14) who will be defending his WBC international Cruiserweight title for the first time as he battles former world title challenger Santander Silgado (25-1, 20). Silgado is somewhat known to Russian fans for his loss to Denis Lebedev back in 2012 and has gone 2-0 (2) since then against opponents with a combined record of 44-5-2 despite that he really shouldn't be a problem for Chakhkiev who is a vicious fighter. The other world class fighter is Lightweight Eduard Troyanovsky (17-0, 14) who has had a disappointing few months due to an injury that has seen a WBA world title bout with Richar Abril fall through. Sadly Troyanovsky's disappointment won't be softened by his very weak opponent, Anton Bekish (5-10, 4), who is tough but has nothing at all to threaten the very talented Russian contender. A fourth bout of note on this card will see Sergey Lipinets (1-0) return to the ring for his second professional bout. Lipinets, who debuted just a few short weeks ago, will be hoping to score his second win as he takes on the once beaten Serbian fighter Dzemil Cosovic (3-1-1) in a scheduled 6 round bout. We've heard very promising things about Lipinets and we hope he progresses as the Russian media are suggesting he could. If the media are right this youngster has the potential to be a real star. Texas, USA In the US we get another Russian in action as Medzhid Bektemirov (13-0, 10) puts his unbeaten record on the line against a yet to be named foe. Thanks, as always, go out to Pal for his information regarding the action in Thailand. With out him we'd be at a real loss in regards to the Thai boxing scene. (Image courtesy of the 13th round)  One of the few "quiet" days this week comes on Thursday as fans in the Philippines get the only Asian show.
Tarlac, Philippines The main event here, on what we believe is the final Filipino card of May, will see Daniel Ferreras (12-8-2, 4) taking on the tough, but limited, Rex Olisa (10-23-1, 8). Olisa does look to be up against it here though has the toughness to make life very difficult Ferreras who is himself win-less in the last year and has lost 2 of his last 3. For those who recognises the surname "Ferreras" you may well remember Ronelle Ferreras (13-7-2, 5), who we think is Daniel's older brother. Ronelle, who was beaten by Japanese super prospect Kosei Tanaka in Tanaka's second professional contest, will be hoping to bounce back from the loss to Tanaka as he takes on the frankly hopeless Roy Albaera (2-22-5), who is every bit as bad as his record indicates. As well as the Ferreras's there is also the notable inclusion of the unbeaten Junar Adante (4-0-1, 2) on this card. Adante will unfortunately be in yet another mismatch on this card as he battles the very limited, albeit some what tough, Jomar Borbon (3-17-2. 1). We do expect this to go the distance though can't see much more than a 6 round unanimous decision win for the promising Adante. (Image, of Daniel Ferreras, courtesy of boxrec.com)  May has been a funny old month. It started like a house on fire with several major bouts one after the other the slowed down dramatically in the middle section. It now ends by slowly gearing up to move on to a very interesting looking July.
Tokyo, Japan The penultimate Japanese show of the month come on Wednesday as we get the next of the Dangan shows and the Korakuen Hall hosts yet another show. It may not be one of the best Dangan shows in recent times but it's still got some bouts of interest. The most interesting, as with most shows, is the main event which features two Japanese ranked fighters facing off against each other in a bout that means a lot domestically even if the bout won't register at all on the international boxing public. The bout in question sees the JBC #9 ranked Light Welterweight Kengo Nagashima (13-10-2, 12) battling against #9 ranked Welterweight Shusaku Fujinaka (10-3-2, 6). On paper it's a mismatch with Nagashima having, at best, a punchers chance though in reality it's a really good bout and Nagashima is much better than his record indicates with a number of his losses coming to very capable fighters like Tadashi Yuba, Keita Obara and Kazuhiko Hidaka. We'll admit that we like the look of this fight. The fighters in the main event aren't the only ranked fighters in action here and the chief support bout features Noriyuki Ueno (16-11-5, 5) who is ranked #8 by the OPBF and #6 by the JBC at 126lbs despite his less than stellar record. Ueno will be fighting the unranked Yudai Koizumi (11-6-2, 4) and whilst the records of the two men aren't great the bout it's self does look likely to be a very competitive one. One more ranked fighter in action is #3 ranked Japanese Minimumweight Yutaka Sowano (8-5-1, 6) who will be battling against Takahiro Fujii (6-2-1, 2). As well as the 3 bouts involving ranked fighters on this show there are a further 5 bouts, including a Rookie of the Year qualifying bout and another 8 rounder in what promises to be a show well worth the price of admission. (Image courtesy of danganboxing.com)  This coming Tuesday is an interesting day at the Korakuen Hall as Japanese fans have a typical domestic card that should help keep fans entertained as they await a series of big fights in the coming weeks.
Tokyo, Japan The show in question is the latest edition of "Excite Boxing", the shows run by Yonekura Promotions. The headline bout on this show will see the promising, and hard hitting, Tsuyoshi Tameda (9-1-1, 7) in a very competitive looking bout. The unranked Japanese fighter is taking a huge step up to fight the OPBF #14 ranked Bantamweight Jimmy Paypa (15-2, 5) of the Philippines and we'd be shocked if this wasn't a very good fight with both men looking to extend the best runs of their career. Paypa has won his last 11 bouts since started his career 2-2 whilst Tameda has won his last 5, with 4 KO's, and we view this as a tough and skilled fighter against a cruder but harder punching fighter. Very interesting bout. In the chief support bout we get a Middleweight contest as the Japanese ranked fighter Yasuyuki Akiyama (8-4-1, 7) battles against Thai visitor Chatchai Sithsaithong (8-3, 6). Akiyama is a limited fighter but really can bang when he connects and has scored decent back-to-back wins. Chatchai however is limited and has been stopped in his last 3 bouts, we're that run to continue to 4 losses in as many bouts for the Thai who is out of his depth here. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp)  A new week of action closes out the month of May with some interesting bouts in the Philippines. The day isn't a busy one, especially not by recent standards, but their should be enough worth while action to keep fans in the venue more than satisfied.
Camarines Sur, Philippines The main event here is between the well regarded Al Sabaupan (21-2-1, 16) and Tanzanian visitor Sadiki Momba (16-3-2, 4). Sabaupan may not be world class but he's not far off being a decent gate keeper and he should see off Momba, probably inside the distance in all honesty. Whilst the main event is really good thee card has a number of interesting support bouts. These include a very solid contest between the unbeaten JR Magboo (14-0-2, 7) and the under-rated Angelito Merin (7-3-2, 1) in what could be a tough ask for Magboo, despite the very different records of the two men involved in the bout. Another solid bout from the show will see Jetro Pabustan (22-2-5, 6) battling against journeyman Danilo Pena (26-17-3, 11). On paper this looks like a mismatch but Pena is a very testing opponent and we certainly don't expect this to be as one sided as the records would suggest. (Image, of Sabaupan, courtesy of boxrec.com)  This week ends with plenty of action in Asia as Japan has two separate shows whilst the Philippines also get in on the act.
Wakayama, Japan The better of the two Japanese shows is at the Big Wave in Wakayama with plenty of notable female action. In total this card features 7 bouts including 3 contests of relative interest with one of those being a female world title fight The main event is a WBC female Flyweight title bout between the very talented defending champion Shindo Go (13-2, 8) and Thai opponent Kledpetch Lookmuangkan (6-2, 1). Kledpetch comes in to this bout on the back of an excellent victory over Kanittha Kokietgym though, the Kanittha win aside, she is totally unproven at this level whilst Go is a very talented and proven fighter who we think probably sees off Kledpetch inside the distance. Go isn't the only proven world class fighter on this show as former WBA female Minimumweight champion Etsuko Tada (12-1-2, 2) fights a Thai opponent, albeit one we don't know the name of, as she attempts to rebuild following her upset loss to Anabel Ortiz last July. A third fighter of note on this show is Shingo Kawamura (9-1, 4) who looks to score her 10th successive victory. As with Tada, Kawamura will be facing a Thai opponent though unfortunately we've not got a name for either of the opponent. Kameyama, Japan The other Japanese show is significantly smaller and the main event here sees Masami Moriizumi (5-3-1, 4) in action. Sadly we're unsure on who Moriizumi will be fighting be we do know that he'll be hoping to end a 3 fight losing streak. This card, in total, features 7 bouts with 3 of them being scheduled for 6 rounds whilst the other 4 contests are all scheduled for 4 rounds. Rizal, Philippines As well as the two shows in Japan we also get one in the Philippines. This show is headlined by a pair of domestic title fights which are both competitive bouts than they look on paper. One of those title contests will see Rowel Rosia (7-2, 4) battle against the experienced Albert Alcoy (14-18-7, 4) in a bout that will be tougher than it looks. Rosia and Alcoy will be gunning for the Philippines Boxing Federation (PBF) Flyweight title. Alcoy isn't great but he is better than his record and did nearly win a domestic Super Flyweight title in his most recent bout. The other title fight will see the unbeaten Renerio Arizala (10-0-1, 4) battling against JC Francisco (6-7-2, 2) for the Philippines Luzon Professional Boxing Association (LuzProBA) Light Flyweight title. Although Arizala is unbeaten this looks likely to be the toughest test of his career so far and he is very much an untested fighter. Francisco has picked up losses through his career though has gone 6-1-2 in his last 9 bouts and is very much a fighter with a misleading record. This could be much, much better than it looks on paper. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp)  Not all days are about fights that take place in Asia, a lot are actually about fights that take place around the world. This weekend is a great example of that as we have a world ranked Japanese based fighter fight in Canada and a Filipino fighting in Mexico.
Quebec, Canada In a rare day a fight not in Asia takes the top billing for us as the Japanese based American Charlie Ota (24-1-1, 16) fights in the biggest fight of his career so far. Ota, a former Japanese and OPBF Light Middleweight champion, will be fighting against unbeaten American Jermell Charlo (23-0, 11) in an eliminator for the IBF #2 ranking. The bout is a genuinely tough one for "Charlie" and Charlo has looked very impressive at times, so much so that some in America are already dubbing him as a future champion. For Ota to win he will have to slow down the fast Charlo and that alone is a huge ask. The winner of this bout should, in theory, be a fight or so away from a clash with IBF Light Middleweight champion Carlos Molina. That's a very difficult bout but Molina doesn't have the power to bother many fights and Ota may well see Molina as an easier foe than Floyd Mayweather, the WBA/WBC champion, or WBO champion Demetrius Andrade, who himself has a mandatory against Brian Rose later this year. Cotabato del Sur, Philippines As well as the big international fight we have two notable cards in the Philippines. For us the more interesting of those is the small card at the Lagao Gym. This show's main event is a bout between Raymond Tabugon (12-3-1, 5) and the unbeaten Jake Bornea (6-0, 3) who will be meeting a battle for the currently vacant WBC Asia Council Continental Flyweight title. A second bout of note on this show will be between former world title challenger Jether Oliva (20-2-2, 10) and the over-matched Jopher Marayan (6-4-2, 2). It's hard to see anything but an easy victory for Oliva here and although he's not scored that breakthrough victory yet it's clear he's got the talent to mix it up at world level, as he showed in a recent bout with former IBF Flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane. At just 26 years old we are expecting to see Oliva claim a world title some day and he should make light work of Jopher Marayan here. On the under-card fans will get the chance to see the very talented John Vincent Moralde (8-0, 4) who battles the sketchy Rolando Omela (5-9-3, 1) in what we imagine could be a bit one sided, if Moralde is as good as we're being told. Metro Manila, Philippines On the other Filipino show the main event will see Giemel Magramo (9-0, 6) battle against journeyman Pit Anacaya (8-23-2, 1) in a 10 round contest. There is no title on the line here and we can't see anything but a Magramo victory. In the most interesting under-card bout Jay Loto (7-0) will be fighting against the once beaten Lester Abutan (5-1-2, 2). This is a better match up, on paper, than the main event but it;s still not a great bout in all honesty. Baja California, Mexico Talking about Filipino's it's worth mentioning that the promising youngster Jun Doliguez (18-1-2, 14) returns to Mexico after suffering his first loss there last month. He returns in an attempt to avenge that loss as he rematches Mexico's Gabriel Francisco Pina (11-11-5, 4), who claimed a controversial decision over him just a few short weeks ago. We're expecting Doliguez to make light work of Pina this time around and although he was dropped in the opening round of their first meeting many had him winning clearly. Hopefully however Doliguez shows a new found calmness to his work as he has often looked reckless through his career with his all out offensive mentality, which is fun to watch but can get him into trouble. Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany In Germany we get to see Kuwaiti Light Heavyweight Ali Rami (1-0, 1), not to be confused with Yemen's KO sensation Ali Raymi, in action as he takes on the win-less Emilio Beljan (0-3), who hasn't fought in over 6 years. It's hard not to feel that this is an easy win for Rami though we're unsure on what he imagines his ceiling is going to be in this sport. We doubt he'll go far and in fact the comparison's between himself and Raymi maybe his one claim to fame. Queensland, Australia In Australia we have a trio of Asian's in action. These include Filipino journeyman Roberto Lerio (16-19-1, 6) who will be looking to be the the second Oriental fighter this year to defeat Jason Cooper (9-2-1, 5), who was beat by Qiu Xiao Jun in February. Incidentally this is the second meeting between these two men with Lerio actually holding a split decision win over Cooper from back in 2012 when he gave Lerio gave Cooper his first loss. Cooper has improved since the first fight but Lerio may have the confidence and belief to think that he can repeat his achievement from a coupld of years back. Another of the Asians is Thailand's tough Paitoon Jaikom (1-5) who will be hoping to upset the debuting Dean Thomas (0-0) in a Welterweight bout. We know Paitoon is nothing special but we are impressed by his genuine toughness which he demonstrated against Ben Capps in a very recent bout. The other Asian is also a Thai in the form of Arnon Yuchareon (0-1) who will be hoping to score his first career as he battles the debuting Zoran Cassidy (0-0). (Image, of Ota, courtesy of http://dbe1.com)  On Friday we have an excellent day of fights with action through Japan, Thailand, Russia and a bout of interest in the US. A number of these bouts are tournament based bouts but what they all have in common is that they are sure to bring us some great action
Tokyo, Japan For us the best of the Oriental cards is in Tokyo and is the Dangan 101 show which features some fantastic bouts as part of the "B Class Tournament Finals". The card, on paper, doesn't look anything special but a bit of knowledge about the men in the bouts does convince us that the contests will be great, including the main event between Ryoichi Tamura (2-1) and Yoichi Ide (1-1, 1). Tamura comes in after back to back decision over decent, though unspectacular opponents whilst Ide was tipped for big things last year before coming up short against Shohei Kikuzato. Another of the interesting B class bouts on this show will see Hideto Miyoshi (7-2-1, 5) fight against Yoshiyuki Takabayashi (7-3, 3) in a very evenly matched contest. Again it's not a pair of big names but it's a bout that's sure to be very competitive and a bout that's almost certainly going to be an enjoyable watch. In total this show has 9 bouts with 5 of them being "B Class Tournament" final bouts, 2 are Rookie of the Year qualifiers whilst we also have 2 other, none-tournament, bouts Osaka, Japan A second Japanese card is in Osaka though unfortunately this bout is significantly less exciting than the Dangan show. The main event here will see Masato Morisaki (7-3-1, 4) fighting an unrecognised Thai. Whilst the main event isn't great, in fact the card it's self isn't great, the chief support bout does look interesting with Yusaku Suzuki (8-11-2, 5) fighting against Shunji Nagata (8-11-2, 3). Both men have nearly identical records and this should be a very even bout, even though it is a very lower tier contest. Thailand In Thailand we're expecting to see action continue despite the fact the country has come under martial law. The only bout we're aware of however is a contest between PABA Welterweight champion Teerachai Kratingdaenggym (25-0, 19) and limited Kazakh Kanat Kartenbayev (10-7-2, 4). Whilst we're expecting this fight to take place their is speculation that it could be called off or fought under heavy military presence. Although things don't appear to have gotten too violent in Thailand we do wish our friends over there, like Pal, manage to remain safe in what could be a very testing time. As we all know some things are more important than boxing and making sure everyone in Thailand is safe is of course a bigger issue than boxing. Krasnodar, Russia Whilst much of the days action is in the Orient that doesn't mean Russian fighters are just sitting on the side line, in fact we actually get an excellent card in Krasnodar with several bouts of note. The first of those bouts will see young Welterweight prospect Alexander Sharonov (1-0, 1) battle against Zamir Zekashev (2-3-2) in a scheduled 6 rounder. Whilst it's not rare to see prospects in this type of bout we have been told that Sharonov is one to keep a close eye on for the future. Another of the notable bouts will see the unbeaten Sergey Ekimov (10-0, 4) fight against the limited Mikhail Krinitsin (11-4-2, 7) in what should be a somewhat straightforward decision for the promising Ekimov. Whilst the other two bouts are notable the stand out contest, by quite a margin, is the Cruiserweight contest between the monstrously hard hitting Dmitry Kudryashov (13-0, 13) and Ivica Bacurin (17-5-1, 7). Kudryashov is looking like a monster at the moment and his rise through the rankings is a destructive one at the moment taking just 34 rounds to wipe out his first 13 opponents. Although Bacurin has been stopped just once in 23 bouts we don't imagine he'll manage to make it to the final bell here. If anything this is a slightly step backwards for Kudryashov who stopped Lubos Suda back in March in his best win to date. New York, USA In New York, and on ESPN, we get to see the end of the "Boxcino" tournament. This interests us for two reasons. Firstly the tournament shows that just having a "boxing tournament" can work really well, it gets fans talking and it can grow a small fan base for some fighters who get exposure in the competition. That doesn't mean every show needs to be part of a tournament but, as the Japanese fans know with the "Rookie of the Year" and the "B Class Tournament", they mini tournaments can be a big success. The other reason is that Russia's Petr Petrov (34-4-2, 16) is in the Lightweight final where he will battle the hard hitting Fernando Carcamo (17-5, 13) in what looks like a fantastic closing bout to what has been a very enjoyable competition. (Image courtesy of Danganboxing) |
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