This coming Sunday sees a number of shows taking place in Asia, though the reality is that much of the focus is on just one of those shows, as Watanabe gym put on world title double header. Despite that there is notable names on a second Japanese card and title action from Korea. Tokyo, Japan The obvious starting point for a look into the fights for the day begins with that Watanabe card, which will feature a trio of title bouts, including two at world level. The most notable of the world title fights sees WBA “super”, IBF and Ring magazine Light Flyweight champion Ryoichi Taguchi (27-2-2, 12) defending his titles against talented South African challenger Hekkie Budler (31-3, 10). The defending champion has a really strong claim to being the best Light Flyweight on the planet, with notable wins against the likes of Alberto Rossel, Ryo Miyazaki and Milan Melindo, though will know that this will not be an easy assignment against a former WBA Minimumweight champion. At his best Taguchi is a nightmare to fight, he's tough, has great stamina, freakish size and fantastic work rate. Sadly however he is inconsistent and can look like his mind is else where. If Taguchi is anything but his best he could be very easily beaten by the “Hexecutioner”, who had a notable title reign at 105lbs and can be a genuinely awkward fighter with his speed, determinedness and high out put. Whilst Taguchi should be favoured, this is far from a foregone conclusion and should be a very enthralling 12 round war. Whilst we're expecting the Taguchi Vs Melindo bout to go the distance the same cannot be said of the other title bout, which pits hard hitting IBF Minimumweight champion Hiroto Kyoguchi (9-0, 7) against big hitting Filipino Vince Paras (13-0, 11). This bout looks less likely to be a long drawn out war of attrition and more of a shoot out, with both men believing in their power and aggression. From the footage available it does seem like Kyoguchi has got more weapons in his arsenal, and he has showed them against a higher level of competition. Although Kyoguchi will be favoured Paras can bang and looks like a dangerous fighter, so the champion will not want to take too many risks here. Given how the two men fight this has the potential to be something very special, but also potentially very short. The third title bout will see WBOA Asia Pacific Lightweight champion Nihito Arakawa (31-6-1, 18) defending his title against Rimar Metuda (12-3, 7). It's been known that Arakawa is chasing another world title fight, and we suspect Metuda has been hand selected as an opponent to make Arakawa look good against. Metuda is tough and can bang, but with 3 losses in his last 5 he certainly come into this as the under-dog, and as the man taking a huge step up in class. Shizuoka, Japan A second, much over-shadowed, Japanese card comes from Shizuoka The main event of the card will see the fantastically promising Kento Hatanaka (5-0, 5) take on a Thai visitor over the 8 round distance in a Super Flyweight bout. The 19 year old Japanese youngster, who is already ranked by the JBC, shined last time out when he stopped Kenta Matsui and is expected to continue his rise here as he looks to move towards a title fight of some kind. Sadly little is known about the visiting Thai. The heavy handed but some what fragile Daiki Ichikawa (10-4, 8) will be up against Indonesian Agus Kustiawan (18-7-2, 8) in the shows chief support bout. On paper this doesn't look amazing but it could prove to be a pretty interesting bout. Ichikawa has lost 2 of his last 3, and needs a win if he's to keep his once promising career alive. The visitor has never won outside of Indonesia, but could see this as a great chance to pick up a win on the road. In a third bout of some note fans will see Yuta Horiike (13-6-3, 3) take on upset minded Filipino veteran Edison Berwela (16-37-8, 5), who looks to build on his big January win over touted Thai teenager Saenganan Sithsaithong. On paper this looks a bit like a mismatch but Berwela has shown a tendency to score the occasional shock win, beating Saenganan as well as Jetro Pabustan and Robert Udtohan, and could see this as a chance to take another unexpected scalp. Horiike will be favoured but can't make the same mistakes as others when it's come to facing Berwela. Seoul, South Korea In Korea fans will get a small but notable Boxing M card, headlined by a title fight and featuring a number of Rookie bouts. The title bout will see Gi Won Shin (3-1-2) and Shin Yong Kim (3-3-1, 2) face off for the vacant Boxing M Korean Welterweight title. On paper this probably shouldn't be a title fight, given that neither has a solid record and neither has won any of their last 3 bouts, but the contest should be competitive and both will be very hungry to pick up the win. Among the most interesting of the rookie bouts is a clash between Super Featherweights Dong Kwan Lee (5-1-2, 1) and Ro Joon Suh (5-0, 2), in what could be the bout of the show. Another bout that stands out is a Heavyweight clash between Korean based American Aaron Singleton (3-0, 1) and Sung Min Lee (3-1, 2). A third Rookie bout worthy of some attention will see Mu Soon Kwon (1-0) face off with Korean based Mongolian hopeful Batzorig Batjargal (2-0, 1) in a bout at Welterweight. All 3 of these bouts will be fought over the 6 round schedule.
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Victoria, Australia The biggest card this coming Saturday for us is from Australia where Asian fighters will battle against a pair of unbeaten Australian brothers. One of those Australian fighters is the promising Jason Moloney (16-0, 13), who goes up against former 2-time WBA Super Flyweight champion Kohei Kono (33-11-1, 14), with Moloney defending the WBA Oceania Bantamweight title. For Moloney this is a series step up in class after wins against the likes of Marco Demecillo, Lolito Sonsona and Immanuel Naidjala. As for Kono this bout will his first major bout as a Bantamweight. Not only is the former world champion moving up in weight but he also come into the contest in poor form following 3 losses in his last 4, including a stoppage loss to Naoya Inoue and a technical decision defeat to Rex Tso. A win for Kono puts him immediately into the Bantamweight title mix whilst a win for Moloney moves him towards his first world title fight, a really good match up. The other Australian on this card is Jason's brother Andrew Moloney (16-0, 10), who looks to make his third defense of the WBA Oceania Super Flyweight title as he takes on Filipino challenger Richard Claveras (18-3-2, 15). The defending champion showed his class earlier this year when dominating Rene Dacquel, and will be strongly favoured here against the naturally smaller Claveras. Moloney looks like a real talent, a fighter with great skill, speed and combinations, who could be up against far better opponents. As for Claveras he is best known for losing in a WBC Light Flyweight title fight to Pedro Guevara and is unlikely to fare well here against the more naturally gifted, and bigger, Moloney. Shanghai, China In Shanghai fans will get a relatively low key card under the auspices of the CPBA. Sadly the card is really poor and there's only really one bout of any note here. That bout will see the once beaten Jian Wang (5-1, 1) battle against Ayati Sailike (6-6-2, 2). On paper this looks like a really big mismatch but current form makes things seem much more interesting. The 21 year old Wang made his debut in 2015 and lost his third bout, a bout for the WBO Asia Pacific Youth Super Bantamweight title. Since that loss he has rebuilt and claimed the WBO Oriental Youth Super Bantamweight title last time out. As for Sailike he began his career 0-4-2 before going 6-2 in his last 8, and will feel confident coming in to this bout. Metro Manila, Philippines In Metro Manila fans get a title triple header. One of the bouts on this card will see the aggressive Allan Vallespin (11-2, 8) defending his GAB Super Featherweight title against the limited Warren Mambuanag (11-9-2, 3). Both of Vallespin's losses have been by stoppage, with the Filipino being stopped by both Masaru Sueyoshi and Denys Berinchyk, and he shouldn't be worried about Mambuanag's power here. The challenger has 4 of his last 5, including a loss to Vallespin in December 2016, and will be a major under-dog coming in to this bout. A second title fight will see Mugicha Nakagawa (22-5-1, 13), the brother of the aforementioned Match Nakagawa, battle against Ricky Manufoe (27-32-3, 10) for the WBA Asia East Super Bantamweight Title. This should be a mismatch and a pretty straight forward win for Nakagawa, who impressed us last year when he came up just short against Yasutaka Ishimoto. Indonesian foe Manufoe has lost 4 of his last 5, and is likely to be beaten again here. The two bouts above have both been rescheduled from late April, whilst a third title bout will see Eranio Semillano (15-8-3, 5) battle against former Hinata Maruta foe Wilbert Berondo (12-2-2, 5) for the GAB Super Flyweight title. This will be Semillano's first defense of the title that he won last September and despite entering as the champion he also comes into the bout on the back of a loss, having been stopped inside a round by Kenya Yamashita last November. As for Berondo he is 2-2-2 in his last 6 and it's going to be interesting to see how he performs here. Bangkok, Thailand
This coming Friday is a pretty quiet day in Asian boxing, the calm before the storm of a busy weekend, but does feature a notable Thai fighter in action. That Thai is former WBA Flyweight title challenger Stamp Kiatniwat (19-1, 7), who takes on Jaysever Abcede (15-8, 10) in a bout for the WBA Asia Flyweight title, which Stamp will be defending. The Thai has gone 4-0 since losing in his world title fight against Kazuto Ioka and will be looking to build his way towards another world title shot. Aged just 20 there is no rush for the Thai but it's clear that he and his team will be wanting to work their way up the WBA rankings with this Asia title. Abcede is a 23 year old Filipino who has mixed in great company, with losses to Wanheng Menayothin, Tsubasa Koura, Panya Pradabsri and Dexter Alimento. Despite coming up short in most of his most notable bouts Abecede he does hold a big win in Thailand against Pigmy Kokietgym and will come in to this bout with the mentality that he can get another big upset here. California, USA
There isn't much Asian action this coming Thursday but there is a small card in California with a couple of Filipino fighters involved. The main event of the bout will see hard hitting Filipino Romero Duno (16-1, 14) take on Gilberto Gonzalez (26-4, 22) in a 10 rounder. This will be Duno's third straight US bout, and his 4th bout Stateside in his last 5, and he'll clearly be looking to build on his growing reputation in the States with his power and exciting style. Gonzalez is also a big puncher, and will be looking to take Duno's head off, but is flawed and has been both out boxed and stopped. This is a bit of a step up for Duno, but a step up that he should manage to make without too many problems, if he can avoid the power of Gonzalez. The other Filipino fighter on this card is Rey Perez (22-9, 6), who takes on unbeaten Mexican Oscar Duarte (13-0-1, 9) in another 10 rounder. The 27 year old Filipino fighter is better than his record suggests and has mixed at a very high level with bouts against fighters like Nobuo Nashiro, Hugo Fidel Cazares, Andres Gutierrez and Jessie Magdaleno. Although no world beater Perez will be coming in to this bout on the back of a big win over Christian Gonzalez. As for Duarte the 22 year old Mexican has been stepping up his level of opposition in recent bouts, with wins over Juan Jose Montes and Jorge Rodriguez in his last 2 bouts. He's talented and heavy handed and will be favoured here, not only due to his power and skills, but also the fact he has a significant size advantage over the Filipino. This coming Tuesday is a pretty interesting day for fight fans in Asia, which a big show in Tokyo and a notable card in China. In total, across the two cards, there will be 6 title fights! And other notable fighters will also be in action. Tokyo, Japan For us the most notable card for the day is from the Korakuen Hall, where we'll be getting a Japanese title fight, an OPBF title fighter and several interesting fighters on the under-card. The main event of the card will see OPBF Light Welterweight champion Rikki Naito (19-2, 7) defending his title against tough Filipino challenger Jheritz Chavez (8-2-2, 6), in what will be Naito's first defense. The Japanese fighter won the title this past January, when he stopped Jeffrey Arienza in 9 rounds, and he looked great in that performance. Despite having fought much of his career at 130lbs Naito looks to have filled out his frame well into a Light Welterweight and could well have a really good run at his new weight. As for Chavez he has proven his toughness, having gone the 10 round scheduled in his two losses to Vage Sarukhanyan and Hiroki Okada. Despite being tough he has looked slow in both of his losses and that will likely be the case again here, with Naito likely to be too quick for the challenger. Chavez has the power to hurt Naito, but we suspect Naito will fight on his toes and look to keep distance between the two men and score at range. The second title on this fight will see former Japanese Welterweight champion Nobuyuki Shindo (19-4-1, 8) face off with Ryosuke Maruki (15-4-1, 10) for the vacant Japanese Light Middleweight title, which was vacated by Takeshi Inoue earlier this year. Shindo claimed the Japanese Welterweight title in his second shot at the title, beating Yasuhiro Okawa, but only held the title for 3 months before being stopped by Toshio Arikawa. Since then he has gone 2-0 (2) but not looked that impressive. As for Maruki this will be his second shot at the title, having come up short in a very competitive contest against Yuki Nonaka in 2016. Since then he has gone 3-0 (3) and looked very destructive. The bout really is a must win for both men, who can't really afford another loss at title level, and should be very exciting. On the under-card fans will see the hard hitting Ryosuke Takami (11-2, 10) take on Filipino foe Junny Salogaol (13-13-4, 12) in a bout that should be very explosive. Takami, given his record, will be the big favourite but the visitor has certainly got a punchers shot, and is tough enough to give Takami some real questions here. Although Salogaol was stopped by Hiroaki Teshigawara last year he does tend to go the distance in his losses and suspect Takami will be tested here. Interestingly another bout on this card will see the under-rated Ken Achiwa (11-13-5, 4) take on Japanese based Filipino Rey Orais (19-17-2, 5). Although his record is less than flattering Achiwa is actually a really decent domestic level fighter, who has scored draws against the likes of Tatsuya Takahashi and Joe Tanooka, and ran Suguru Muranaka very close last December. The bigger talking point however is that of Orais, who will be having his first fight in a decade. The Filipino is now a trainer at the Flame Yamagami gym and despite not fighting since March 2008, when he was stopped by Denkaosan Kaovichit, he is still only 33. Given that Orais is working as a trainer we suspect he will look in surprisingly good shape for this and could prove to be a very interesting match up. Xi An, China In China fans get a quadruple header of regional title fights. One of the most interesting of those bouts pits unbeaten fighters against each other, as China's Baolin Kang (4-0) takes on Indonesian puncher Ari Agustian (5-0, 5) for the vacant WBC Asian Boxing Council Youth Featherweight title. The 20 year old Kang made his debut back in October 2016 and despite never scoring a stoppage has looked pretty solid, whilst fighting mostly as a Lightweight. Agustian on the other hand has never fought outside of his homeland, though did score a notable domestic level win over Boido Simanjuntak back in November. The Indonesian fighter looks like a crude but very aggressive and hard hitting fighter. Although he has clearly been selected too lose he is a very under-dog here. Another pretty interesting looking bout will see unbeaten Chinese fighter ZongLi He (3-0, 1) take on Filipino Diarh Gabutan (20-6-3, 11) for the vacant WBC Asian Boxing Council Silver Super Flyweight title. The Chinese 23 year old really hasn't shown too much through his career so far, defeating 3 domestic novices, but this is a monstrous step up in class against a well schooled and experienced Filipino visitor. Gabutan, who has got a poor record on the road with 1 win from 4 bouts outside of the Philippines, is better than his record suggests and we think he'll be too good, too experienced and simply know too much for Chinese youngster. Another Chinese local who could find themselves up against it is 19 year old Li Ping Shi (2-2, 1), who battles against Korean Hyun Hee Kil (4-1, 1) for the vacant WBC Asian Boxing Council Female Flyweight title. The Chinese fighter won her first couple of fights, against limited Thai fighters, but has gone on to lose her most recent bouts, including one to Korean veteran Hee Jung Yuh and has no real form coming into this bout. Kil on the other hand lost her debut, but has won her last 4 and will feel like she's in great form her, despite having faced very limited opposition. Shi has a good chance here, but will be the slight under-dog. One bout where the Chinese local will be favoured is a contest between the hard hitting Yiran Li (4-0, 4) and the out of form Filipino Joe Tejones (10-5, 6), for the WBC Youth World Featherweight title. The Chinese puncher, who will be defending the title for the first time, has looked very dangerous at the lower levels and will be looking to step up here. The Filipino has been going on a win-loss, win-loss run over the last few years, with a notable stoppage loss to Hinata Maruta. Tejones is a decent fighter at this type of level, but we suspect the Chinese fighter will shine here and take his best win to date. Rizal, Philippines The most significant card this coming Sunday will come from Rizal where we get a world title eliminator as well as a card featuring a host of notable Filipino fighters, who are sadly taking on a number of over-matched foes. The main bout is an IBF Minimumweight final eliminator with unbeaten Filipino sensation Mark Anthony Barriga (8-0, 1) battling against Colombian Gabriel Mendoza (29-5-2, 23). The talented Filipino has been waiting for an eliminator for some time, having seen various foes drop out, and will now be looking to dazzle as he takes on the limited but hard hitting Mendoza. As for Mendoza this will be his second bout since losing to Jose Argumedo in an IBF title fight, and although he's not world class he can hit hard and could test Barriga chin, if he can land on the slippery Filipino. Interestingly the winner of this will likely face Hiroto Kyoguchi later in the year, if Kyoguchi can retain his title against Vince Paras later this year One of the most notable names on this show is recent world title challenger Genesis Servania (30-1, 13), who fights for the second time since his loss to Oscar Valdez. The talented Servania will be up against Indonesian journeyman Jason Butar Butar (27-23-1, 18), in what should really bee little more than a show case for Servania. Although a mismatch the bout will see Servania fight in the Philippines for the first time since February 2015. Another very notable name in action is the enigmatic Marvin Sonsona (20-1-1, 15), who looks once again to kick start his frustrating career. The former WBO Super Flyweight champion hasn't fought since May 2015, when he struggled past Jonathan Arrellano. Whilst Sonsona is a genuine talent there is real question marks surrounding the Filipino and his desire to make the most of his skills. He'll be up against Arief Blader (23-27-2, 8) in what should be a really easy ring return, though we really don't know what Sonsona will turn up. Also on this card are AJ Banal (35-2-1, 23), James Enterina (10-0-1, 4), Lolito Sonsona (21-2-4, 9) and Dave Apolinario (6-0, 4) among others. Bulacan, Philippines A second Filipino show will be held in Bulacan, and will be a much smaller show. The most notable bout here will see Jose Roda Jr (3-1-1) take on Richard Morales (3-2, 2) in a bout scheduled for 6 rounds. Both men will come into this feeling confident of picking up the win and as a result this should make for an interesting contest, but we're not expecting anything in terms of high quality, at least compared to the other Filipino show which is much, much better than this card. Yamaguchi, Japan As well as the action in the Philippines there is also two shows in Japan, one of which is being held in Yamaguchi by Kanmon Japan. The chief support bout on this card is a terrific match up as the unbeaten Kudura Kaneko (6-0, 4) takes on Change Hamashima (10-2-1, 4) in a rematch of their 2017 clash. In the first bout between these two Kaneko won a wide decision over 6 rounds but will be stepping up to the 8 round distance here. Interestingly this will be the first time either fighter has been scheduled in an 8 round bout, and should be a good test for the stamina of both men. Given how clearly Kaneko won the first bout however it's hard to see why these two are having rematch so soon after their first contest. The main event of this card is fantastic on paper with Accel Sumiyoshi (10-4-2, 3) taking on Shogo Yamaguchi (11-3-2, 6). Since losing to Masayoshi Nakatani in an OPBF Lightweight title bout back on 2015 we've seen Sumiyoshi go 6-0-1 with notable wins over Tatsuya Yanagi, Allan Tanada, Naotoshoi Nakatani and Motoki Sasaki and really build himself a solid record at this level. As for the 24 year old Yamaguchi we've seen him begin to struggle. Yamaguchi went 9-0-1 (4) to begin his career but has since gone 2-3-2 and was stopped last year by Andy Hiraoka. Given the momentum in both men's careers it's hard to pick against Sumiyoshi, but it is a very good bout on paper. Ibaragi, Japan The second Japanese show is from Ibaragi, where the fans will get the chance to see a number of unbeaten men in action. One of the unbeaten fighters is Fumiya Fuse (5-0, 1), who is scheduled to face off with an Indonesian visitor. Last year we saw Fuse claim the Rookie of the Year crown at Bantamweight, when he stopped Hiroki Tokuyama in the final, and he'll be looking to build on that success here as he kicks off his 2018 and looks to secure a 6th straight win. The bout scheduled as the final bout on the card is all unbeaten contest as Hideaki Onuki (3-0) takes on Akihiko Kurita (2-0) in a bout scheduled for 4 round. This looks almost certain to go the distance but should still prove to be a very interesting and well matched bout between two fighters with similar records and similar experience. New York, New York, USA
There isn't much Asian action this coming Saturday but we do see one very notable prospect in action in New York. That prospect is Uzbek fighter Fazliddin Gaibnazarov (3-0, 1), who claimed a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The talented Uzbek, who was dropped in his very first round as a professional, has claimed 3 wins since beginning his career in the paid ranked in April 2014 and will be looking to extend that winning run here against Jesus Silveira (8-5-2, 3). Although very talented the Uzbek has got questions over his chin and power as a professional, but has been matched tough and that's the case again here against someone who has never been stopped and should take the Olympic champion to the final bell, again, here. Georgia, USA In a less interesting bout we'll see 21 year old Azeri prospect Rufat Huseynov (2-0, 2) battle against professional loser Gabriel Braxton (2-22, 1), who hasn't scored a win in over 3 years and has lost his last 15 in a row. We understand Huseynov doesn't need to be fast tracked, but this is very slow progression for the youngster who had his first two bouts against win-less opponents, so we guess this is a minor step up, but only just. Virginia, USA Another Kazakh in action is Shyngyskhan Tazhibay (6-0, 2), who looks to kick start his career, which has faltered and been really frustrating so far. The unbeaten 26 year old made his debut in July 2015 and hasn't really moved beyond fighting in preliminary bouts yet. His opponent for this bout hasn't been announced, so we're not expecting to see any type of notable opponent here for him, instead another straight forward win, and potentially his 5th straight decision victory. Ontario, Canada In Canada fans will be able to see Indian novice Sukhdeep Singh Bhatti (1-0, 1) fight in his second professional bout, as he takes on fellow novice Abraham Medina (2-2, 2). The 25 year old Bhatti made his debut this past March and is staying busy with a second fight in less than 2 months. Medina has lost his last 2 and we suspect he'll lose again here, but he has proven to be dangerous with both of his wins coming inside the distance. Tokyo, Japan This coming Friday fight fans in Tokyo get the chance to see the next show in the Asign Bee series of shows, and it looks like a genuinely great show on paper, littered with notable domestic fighters and a number of good match ups. The main event is the pick of the bouts and will see the hard hitting Keita Kurihara (10-5, 9) take on the unbeaten Tetsuya Watanabe (3-0, 2). The 25 year old Kurihara lost 4 of his first 7 but has since gone 7-1 (6) with his only loss during that run coming against the very talented Hiroaki Teshigawara. Since that loss to Teshigawara we've only seen Kurihara once, but that was an impressive stoppage win over Ryan Lumacad. Watanabe debuted last year and despite winning his first 3 bouts in a combined 9 rounds this is a huge step up in class for him, with his opposition so far doing little to really show how good he actually is. A win for Watanabe would put him in the title mix, but this is a huge ask for the unbeaten man. In the co-feature we'll see 38 year old veteran Kinshiro Usui (28-6, 12) battle against Kyosuke Sawada (10-2-1, 5) in another really good looking match up. The veteran has lost 2 of his last 3, both to former world title challengers in Hisashi Amagasa and Hidenori Otake, but showed that he was still a very good fighter over 8 rounds in both of those bouts. Usui isn't a world beater, by any stretch, but is a very good domestic level fighter who will be a nightmare to Japanese level fighters at 122lbs. Sawada turned professional with some promise, but back to back losses to Yusuke Suzuki and Hiroaki Teshigawara saw him quickly fall to 0-2. Since then however he has rebuilt brilliantly, defeating the likes of Gaku Aikawa, Kenta Okumura and Yuta Horiike. The bout is pretty much a 50-50 and a win for either man will be significant, with both risking their JBC rankings here. A less well matched domestic bout will see Naoki Mochizuki (13-3, 8) face off with Hideyuki Watanabe (8-10-3, 6). On paper this is a bit of a mismatch, though with Mochizuki losing 3 of his 2, including his last bout, we can't really complain about him having an easier bout, especially as this will be a rematch of a razor thins 2015 bout. In their first bout Mochizuki took a raor thin win, and has since gone 5-2 (1), losing to Keisuke Nakayama and Eaktwan BTU Ruaviking in competitive bouts. Sadly for Watanabe he has gone 0-2 since losing to Mochizuki and will be looking to avoid a 5th straight loss here. Another promising fighter looking to bounce back from a recent loss is the hard hitting Kai Chiba (7-1, 6), who was stopped last time out by Brian Lobetania. The once beaten Chiba will be up against Keisuke Tabuchi (9-4-2, 7) in what could be a potential banana skin. The 25 year old Chiba looked really promising in 2017, going 4-0 (3) for the year with notable wins over Ikuro Sadatsune and Ryo Matsubara putting nim on the map, but his loss to Lobetania has slowed his ascent and shown defensive and mental flaws. As for Tabuchi he has lost 3 of his last 4, but has been mixing at a high level with losses to Ryohei Takahashi, Hiroyuki Kudaka and Yu Kawaguchi. Interestingly Tabuchi has had a lengthy break from the ring and will likely be looking to return as a rejuvenated man here in what could be a very exciting domestic bout. In another bout we'll see see multi-time title challenger Koshinmaru Saito (23-9-2, 13) take on a Thai foe as he attempts to earn one more shot before his career comes to an end. Tokyo, Japan A new week kicks off with an interesting Kadoebi card on Monday, with a host of notable fights, including two title fights a world ranked contender and a fast rising prospect. The main event of the card with see Japanese, OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific Heavyweight champion Kyotaro Fujimoto (18-1, 10) defending his two regional titles as he battles Australian Aaron Russell (11-4, 4). The bout seems to be more of a case of keeping Kyotaro busy rather than really testing him, with Russell being an under-sized and under-powered opponent who has fought mostly at Cruiserweight. With 4 stoppage losses against his name Russell seems like an opponent there to make Kyotaro look good, and that's exactly what we expect to see here. A much more interesting title fights comes at 140lbs, as Japanese national champion Valentine Hosokawa (22-6-3, 9) defends his title against Japanese based Dominican puncher Vladimir Baez (24-3-2, 22) in what looks like a bout that could be something special. Hosokawa might not be well known outside of Japan but he has been involved in some thriller during his career and has proven to be tough, have a great engine and loves to fight. Baez is a huge puncher at this weight and is a marauding fighter, who will come forward and look to bomb out his opponent. We're not expecting a technical masterpiece here, but we are expecting some great action. The aforementioned prospect is Flyweight hopeful Ryota Yamauchi (2-0, 2), who made his debut last June before shining in December by stopping Lester Abutan. Yamauchi will be looking to continue his rise as he takes on domestic contender Yota Hori (13-6-2, 8) in what is another still test for the 23 year old hopeful. A win for Yamauchi is likely to see him begin the push towards title fights and we wouldn't be surprised to see him in a title fight in the next 12 months, if he wins here. Of course a win for Yamauchi is no foregone conclusion and Hori is no push over, with wins over Musashi Suzuki, Kenta Okamura and a draw with Koki Eto showing he's a live underdog in this bout. Another unbeaten man on this card is the world ranked Hiroki Okada (17-0, 12), who is looking to get a world title fight in the near future. Okada will be up against visiting Filipino fighter Ciso Morales (19-6-1, 12). On paper this looks like it could be a test for Okada, but reality is that Morales was stopped in a round on his last visit to Japan, by Shuya Masaki, and has been stopped in 5 of his 6 defeats. Not only that but he has made his career fighting well before the Light Welterweight limit, that Okada competes at. There's a risk of Okada over-looking the Filipino here but the reality is that Okada should come out on top with no real worries. Osaka, Japan Fight fans in Osaka get a small card this coming Sunday, headlined by a local hopeful looking to extend his unbeaten record. The aforementioned hopeful is the 22 year old Takuya Uehara (14-0, 8), who battles against Shota Yukawa (8-4-3, 3). The unbeaten Uehara is the WBC Youth Featherweight champion and he comes in to this bout looking to continue his climb towards bigger and better titles. Coming in to the bout Uehara is ranked by the JBC and OPBF and will know that if he can keep ranking up wins he could open the door to a Japanese or Oriental title fight in the near future. As for Yukawa he's a bit of unknown and isn't expected to provide much of a test for the youngster. At 30 years old Yukawa is probably as good as he'll ever be and although he's unbeaten in his last 3 we do question his hunger coming in to this bout. Sadly other than the main event this show is a very weak one. |
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