 Some times we get days that are ridiculously busy, and we mean ridiculously busy! This Coming Saturday is one such day with more action and more fights that we are used to seeing on a single day!
New Jersey, USA The most notable of the fights will feature former WBC Asian Boxing Council Light Heavyweight champion and current WBO Light Heavyweight world champion Sergey Kovalev (24-0-1, 22). Kovalev will be defending the WBO title for the third time since winning less than a year ago. The unfortunate man to share the ring with the "Krusher" will be the unbeaten, but light hitting, Blake Caparello (19-0-1, 6) who is almost certainly going to be the next victim of Kovalev's thudding power and vicious assaults. Going in to this bout Kovalev has stopped his last 8 opponents in a combined 31 rounds! The general view seems to be that Caparello won't last more than 3 or 4. New York, USA Kovalev isn't the only Russian in a world title fight and in New York Anton Novikov (29-0-0-1, 10) will be challenging for the WBA Light Welterweight title currently held by the unbeaten Jessie Vargas (24-0, 9). Vargas, who beat Khabib Allakhverdiev back in April, will be making the first defence of his title but the challenger, a former WBC Asian Boxing Council Welterweight champion, will be looking to upset the once touted American fighter. This bout certainly looks more competitive than the Kovalev fight and looks a bit like a coin toss right now. Tokyo, Japan As well as title action in the US we also get a female double in Japan in one two Tokyo shows. The female double header will be held at the Adachi Ward Sogo Sports Center and will be headlined by female IBF Light Flyweight champion Naoko Shibata (12-3, 3) who will be seeking the second defence of her title. Unfortunately for Shibata she's in a very tough one with the experienced Ana Arrazola (20-9-2, 13). Arrazola has been in with some of the best around and will be expected to give Shibata an incredibly hard fight here and we'd not be shocked by the title changing hands in what is truly a hard bout to call. Although Shibata/Arrazola is the main event we dare suggest that the other female title fight, between long reigning WBC Atomweight champion Momo Koseki (18-2-1, 5) and former Muay Thai sensation Denise Castle (2-0, 2). Castle really was tremendous in Muay Thai though this will be a big test of ho those skills transfer over. For Koseki we'd like to see her box more than usual, like she did against Maria Jimenez, as opposed to using the billy goat tactics that she has used through her career. If Koseki gets into a war this is anyone's fight whilst if she boxes she should win with out too many issues. In the chief support bout fans will get the chance to see two debutants in action in a 6 round bout at Welterweight. From what we understand this contest will see Takeshi Inoue (0-0) fighting Daishi Nagata (0-0). It's rare for debutants to collide in 6 rounders but both guys are B Class licensed fighters are have shown that they are capable meaning that this is a seriously tough way to start their careers. Tokyo, Japan The other Tokyo show will be at the Korakuen Hall and feature several interesting fighters and match ups. The most interesting of the fighters is former WBA Super Featherweight world title challenger Daiki Kaneko (20-3-3, 13) who will be hunting his second win since losing his world title bout to Takashi Uchiyama. Kaneko will be fighting the limited but tough Filipino visitor Cirilo Espino (19-13-3, 12) who has only suffered a controversial stoppage loss in his 35 fight career. Disappointingly Espino as beaten last time out by Ryota Kajiki a man who Kaneko stopped back in December 2012 and with that in mind we can't see anything but a win for Kaneko. The question here is just how long can Espino last with the heavy handed Kaneko. Whilst Kaneko is the most interesting fighter on the card he's not in the most interesting fight. That honour belongs to Ryo Akaho (23-1-2, 16) and Masaaki Serie (25-6, 10) who get it on in a potential fire cracker. Akaho goes in to this bout hunting a second world title tilt though, as shown in his fight with Jacker Buhawe, he will need to tidy up his boxing if he wants to have any chance of winning a world title. Serie is probably past his prime but has the toughness, experience and skills to make life very difficult for Akaho here. Batangas, Philippines The most interesting of 2 Filipino shows will take place in Batangas an will feature two title fights. The most interesting of these is a bout between the unbeaten JR Magboo (15-0-2, 7) and the the promising youngster Virgil Puton (14-3, 7). The men, who battle for the vacant IBF Pan Pacific Super Bantamweight title have been matched up very well here and the winner will likely earn an IBF ranking position next month meaning there is a lot to gain by wining this all Filipino clash. Unfortunately the other title fight is a mismatch to say the least as the talented and unbeaten Ben McCulloch (13-0, 10) defends his PABA Super Middleweight title against the very limited Yodkhunsuk Mor Poowana (3-1-1, 1). There is little one can say to defend this type of match up though we do question why the PABA would allow this contest to go ahead. Although there are 5 other bouts on the card there was only one that really stood out and that was the contest between Roberto Gonzales (23-2, 14) and the exciting and under-rated Allan Tanada (13-2-3, 5). Gonzales won his first 20 fights but has gone 3-2 in his last 5 with both of those losses coming by stoppage as he career has began to falter. Tanada is best known for his upset win over Japan's Rikiya Fukuhara for the OPBF Super Featherweight title though he has struggled himself since then and this should prove to be a very important cross roads fight for both men. Cebu, Philippines The second of the Filipino cards seems to be more of a prospect show than one one with really interest contests. It does however have 2 bouts of note. One of those will see the unbeaten Ardie Boyosi (10-0-1, 7) taking on the experienced and tough Richard Betos (20-8-1, 7). Boyosi has won his last 10 bouts including 6 successive T/KO wins whilst Betos has proven toughness having only been stopped once in his 29 fights. Sadly Betos's has lost 3 of his last 4 and is likely on a slide physically. Boyosi should win but we'd expect this to be a good test for the hard hitting prospect. The other bout of note will see the unbeaten Neil John Tabanao (7-0, 6) battling against against Jhon Gemino (10-2-1, 4). Tabanao has looked good so far but this should be considered a step up for the unbeaten youngster who will be facing an opponent coming to win as opposed to someone with little self belief. California, USA Back in the US we're expecting to see Filipino slugger Drian Francisco (24-2-1, 19) in action though his opponent has yet to be named. Francisco has been out of the ring for more than a year following his loss to Chris Avalos though he will be expecting to win here in an attempt to restart his career. Quintana Roo, Mexico In Mexico we will get to see Filipino Adones Aguelo (21-9-2, 13) battling against former world title challenger Sergio Thompson (29-3, 26). Thompson, best known for his thriller with Takashi Miura, is hoping to earn himself a second world title fight but will likely need to do more than just beat Aguelo here to secure a rematch with Miura, the current WBC champion. Aguelo will know that this is a huge opportunity for him to throw his name into the mix but he won't be expecting to over-come the tough and heavy handed Thompson. (Image courtesy of http://boxenplus.com)
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After July ending with fight after fight we actually have a bit of an easy day to kick off August with only a spattering of bouts involving fighters that we tend to keep an eye on.
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso In Burkina Faso fans will have a chance to see former WBC Super Flyweight world title challenger Silvester Lopez (22-7-2, 16) in action. Lopez, who has lost 3 of his last 5, will be looking to kick start his faltering career as he battles the once beaten Alexis Boureima Kabore (22-1, 6) in a fight for the WBC International Super Bantamweight title.* Thailand Unbeaten Thai Thewa Onesongchaigym (5-0, 1) looks to claim the first title of his career as he battles China's Xian Wei Qian (4-3-1) for the vacant WBC Asian Boxing Council Featherweight title. It's hard to see anything but a win for Thewa but a stoppage win would be very impressive given that Qian went 10 rounds with Petch Sor Chitpattana last year. Florida, USA One more bout involving a fighter of interest is in the US as Russia's Andrey Klimov (17-1, 8) takes on Guillermo Avila (12-2, 9) in a battle for the WBO Inter-Continental Super Featherweight title currently held by the Russian. Klimov, best known for his clear loss to Terence Crawford, is a fighter who seems more suited to 130lbs than Lightweight and should be able to put up a good performance here against Avila who has lost 2 of his last 3. *Since this piece was first published we have received word that the fight between Lopez and Kabore has been cancelled due to visa issues. Tokyo, Japan
The Rookie of the Year competition takes a big step towards complete as we close out July with the quarter finals of the East Japan part of the tournament. The show, the final show of July in Japan, will feature a total of 14 bouts taking place between Minimumweight and Light Welterweight. The winners here will move on to the Semi Finals which take place on September 25th/26th and it's clear that things are now very serious for the men who are left. Whilst we won't be naming names ahead of their fights we will be informing you of the results after the fights.  Tokyo, Japan
Sometimes bouts just look great. They don't need titles attached to them, they don't need big names, they don't need HBO or Showtime to tell us how good they are going to be because we just know they will be good. This Wednesday sees one such bout as former OPBF Super Featherweight champion Masao Nakamura (18-1, 18) battles the unbeaten Masayuki Ito (14-0-1, 6). The fight, dubbed "The Battle" is a contest that looked great when it was signed and looks even better now we're close to it. For those who don't know about the fighters Nakamura is another Japanese Super Featherweight with stunning power. His 18 stoppages have included an opening round blow out of Thai veteran Fahsai Sakkreerin and a victory over the previously unbeaten Allan Tanada for the OPBF title. Unfortunately for Nakamura his reign as OPBF champion was short lived and he was stopped just 61 seconds into his first defence by Ronald Pontillas. As for Ito he's a arguably a more skilled fighter though he's less tested and has considerably less power. We'd expect Nakamura to win but he'll likely be given some difficulties before the bout is through. In the co-feature fans will get the chance to see Japanese domestic legend, and multi-weight champion, Tadashi Yuba (45-9-2, 32) fighting against experienced but limited Filipino Dondon Lapuz (19-45-7, 7). Yuba is an exciting and hard hitting fighter who won Japanese titles from Lightweight all the way up to Middleweight and although he is limited he does bring a lot of fun to the ring, as shown in his Middleweight title thriller with Carlos Linares. As for Lapuz it's really hard to see him surviving long with Yuba. Another very interesting bout between a Japanese fighter and a Filipino will be the contest between Hayato Kimura (21-6, 15) and the once beaten Michael Dasmarinas (16-1, 10). Going in to this bout Dasmarinas is riding a 13 fight winning streak though he has been facing very limited opposition. Kimura, also known as "Big Yoo" or Joon-In Yoo, began his career aged 16 and has scored some solid wins, including a good victory over Little Roseman, though has lost to a number of notable names such as AJ Banal and Oleydong Sithsamerchai. We need to favour Kimura here, due to his better level of competition, but Dasmarinas is certainly going to put up a good fight. One final bout of note is a contest between Yusaku Kuga (8-1-1, 5) and Koji Aoki (16-7-2, 6). Kuga is a very promising 23 year old who holds a very good draw with the emerging Naoto Uebayashi and is ranked #11 in Japan at 122lbs. Aoki is clearly more experienced and has shared the ring with the likes of Hidenori Otake, Masaaki Serie, Mikihito Seto and Takafumi Nakajima though will know that this is very much a must win bout if he is to ever get a domestic title shot. We've simply got to say that this bout is the result of fantastic match making and a credit to both men for signing up to it. With a further 4 bouts on this card it does look likely to be a great fight card and, if nothing else, fans are likely to see some explosive knockouts. Queensland, Australia In Australia fans will get the chance to see South Korea's Joon-Yong Lee (4-1-3, 2) battle against the unbeaten Rocky Jerkic (7-0, 5). It would take a career best performance for Lee to beat Jerkic but it's a bout where Lee has nothing to lose and no expectation on his shoulders. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp) Pathum Thani, Thailand
Thai fans get televised action on back-to-back days this week as Channel 11 televise action on Tuesday. The headline bout here will see the experienced former 2-weight world champion Sirimongkol Singwancha (79-2, 51) battle against Tanzania's Omari Ramadan (11-6-1, 7). The bout, being fought for the WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight title, will see Sirimongkol attempting to claim another belt in his long and stories career and try to extend his current winning streak to an 11 year run. Although many of the Thai's recent fights have been against poor opponents it's still incredible that the 37 year old former Bantamweight champion keeps going and his 36 fight winning streak is amongst the longest in world boxing. Other action on this card will include the next fight of the promising Chalermpol Singwancha (8-0, 6), who has impressed us so far with his aggressive match making, including a win over former OPBF title challenger Dan Nazareno Jr. There will also be a bout featuring the unbeaten and heavy handed Pankorn Mor Poowana (3-0, 3) who we hope will be stepping up.  Some times we get shows that have a bit of everything and that's what we're expecting this coming Monday, a day in which we get two separate cards in Asia.
Tokyo, Japan The most important of the two Asian cards takes place in Tokyo as Kadoebi Jewel put on a very interesting show with several of their most notable fighters taking part on a 7 fight card. The first of the notable fighters in action will be the hard hitting and thoroughly exciting Shuhei Tsuchiya (15-3, 13). Tsuchiya is a former Rookie of the Year though in recent times his career has started to fall apart and he has suffered notable losses to former domestic contender Shoji Kawase, the then unheralded Masayoshi Nakatani and most recently Leonardo Zappvigna, in what was a great fight. With 3 losses in his last 4 it's no wonder Tsuchiya is having an easy one and he'll be expected to make very light work of Thailand's Fonluang Sor Singyu (6-4, 4). Following Tsuchiya's bout with Fonluang we're then expecting to see former OPBF Super Bantamweight champion Yukinori Oguni (12-1, 3) who will be up against Anuntachai Sor Por Lor Krungthep (6-7. 4). Oguni will be fighting for the third time since losing his OPBF belt and will hunting a second successive stoppage. World ranked by the WBC Oguni has a reputation for being highly skilled and despite being dominated by Shingo Wake there is real promise with this young Japanese fight who has the potential to challenge for world honours in the next year or two, as long as he keeps winning bouts. The first of two title fights on the show will see Japanese Light Welterweight champion Hiroki Okada (8-0, 7) making the first defence of his belt as he takes on the exciting Shamgar Koichi (18-5-1, 11). Okada, who won the title earlier this year with a hard fought decision over Masayoshi Kotake, will know that this is likely to be the toughest bout of his career and although Koichi was blasted out in a round by Shinya Iwabuchi back in 2011 he has strung together 5 wins in his last 6 bouts, including a thrilling war with Tomohiko Sakai. Of the 7 bouts on this card this one looks like the most exciting by a long way. In the shows second title bout we get a rematch as long reigning Japanese Welterweight champion Suyon Takayama (20-1, 7) defends his belt against the man he beat for the belt back in December 2012, Koshinmaru Saito (20-5-1, 11). The men fought a very competitive bout back in '12 but since then Takayama has improved whilst Saito has turned 35 and been relatively inactive. We're favouring Takayama though we do tend to feel that the winner of this bout should begin targeting a bout with Yoshihiro Kamegai as that really is the only bout of interest in the division in Japan right now. Laguna, Philippines We get more title action in the Philippines as Benezer Alolod (14-5-5, 4) attempts to record the first defence of his GAB Light Flyweight title. Alolod will be taking on Jomar Fajardo (14-4-1, 7) in what looks like an even bout on paper though we do need to favour the champion who has mixed with the better opposition by far, including Rey Loreto, Nkosinathi Joyi and Vergilio Silvano. In the co-feature on this card there is another relatively well matched bout as Desson Cag-ong (14-11, 8) takes on Jonel Alibio (16-18-5, 8) in a 10 round affair at Super Featherweight. This is a hard one to call and should be very competitive with both men giving their all in an attempt to claim a win. A third bout of note will see the unbeaten Justo Bornilla (4-0-2) battle against the experienced Ronald Postrano (7-19-2, 3). The 18 year old Bornilla will be having his toughest test to date though if he can come through this 8 rounder he maybe be given some more experience building contests. Bangkok, Thailand We also get title action in Thailand as PABA interim Super Bantamweight champion Nop Kratingdaenggym (8-0, 1) defends his title against limited Indonesian Hendrik Barongsay (16-17-3, 15). From what we understand Barongsay has lost every time he has fought outside of Indonesia though he should be tough enough to get Nop some good rounds under his belt. (Image courtesy of Kadoebi.com)  This coming Saturday is an amazingly busy day for boxing fans though it does build to a clear highlight that should get the attention of every single boxing fan on the planet.
New York, USA The aforemention standout bout of the day is in New York where Kazakhstan's sensational Gennady Golovkin (29-0, 26) attempts to defend his WBA Middleweight "super" title for the first time since being upgraded earlier this year. Golovkin, who made numerous defences of the WBA interim and regular titles, will be facing his toughest test as he goes up against former double champion Daniel Geale (30-2, 16). Despite the notable step up in class Golovkin is widely viewed as unbackable favourite against the talented Australian fighter. Metro Manila, Philippines We get two shows in Metro Manila this Saturday though for us the more interesting of the two takes place at the Mandaluyong Gym. This card is headlined by a trio of 10 rounders and although they don't look the most competitive of bouts they do look interesting. The best of the three, at least on paper, will see Bernabe Concepcion (32-6-1, 18) battle against Eden Sonsona (32-6-1, 10) in a very even looking contest. Although Concepcion is more well known to Western fans, courtesy of his bouts with Juan Manuel Lopez and Mikey Garcia, Sonsona has mixed comparable company courtesy of fights with Pungluang Sor Singyu and Kohei Kono. We do make Concepcion a slight favourite but this has the potential to be a great contest. Another of the 10 rounders will see the criminally over-looked Richard Pumicpic (14-6-2, 4) battle against Rex Olisa (10-28-1, 8). We are big admirers of Pumicpic who has proven to be a man who is very tricky to beat, as Yohei Tobe and Ryosuke Iwasa have found out in recent times and with that in mind we need to suspect he'll have more than enough to see off the limited Olisa. The third 10 rounder is unfortunately a giant mismatch as the explosive and promising Dodie Boy Penalosa Jr (12-0, 11) battles Indonesia's Dicky Amtiran (3-8). Dodie Boy Jr, the son of Dodie boy Sr and newphew of the show's promoter Gerry Penalosa, really should be matched than this considering his potential and although we are happy to admit we think Amtiran has an "incomplete record" he should still be no match at all for Penalosa. Whilst some will point to the fact Amtiran is a late replacement for On the under-card their will be a chance to see Dodie's brother Dave Penalosa (8-0, 5) battling against Danilo Gabisay (5-2, 3). This should actually be a tougher test than the one Dodie Boy Jr gets. Gabisay isn't great but he has only lost to Rex Wao and Jack Tepora, two very talented Filipino's who are both getting some notable attention for their potential. The same Filipino card has a further 3 bouts listed for it. The other Manila card, held at The Flash Grand Ballroom of the Elorde Sports Complex, will feature 8 bouts in total with the most interesting of those bouts being a contest between the "world ranked" Lionel Legada (11-6-1, 5) and journeyman Ricky Oyan (4-20-2, 2). We've got to admit we're not sure how Legada is still world ranked despite losing 4 of his last 6 but he should still have way more than enough to beat Oyan. Legada's former foe Lionel Mark Duran (12-10-2, 5) will also be on the same card as he battles Ruben Traza (4-6-3, 1) in what is another less than pulsating bout. Amazingly the main event is an 8 rounder between Bebong Manalo (8-2, 5) and Jovill Marayan (8-17-3, 3) in what really isn't fit to main event a show. Thankfully however the card does have something of real intrigue, the 4th professional bout of Warlight Dapidran (3-0, 2). Dapidran will be fighting against Diover Mangaya-ay (1-5-1) and should win without any problems but will hopefully go 6 rounds here. For those who are unaware Dapidran is Manny Pacquiao's young cousin. Hidalgo, Mexico One of the most interesting shows of the night takes place in Mexico where fans get a trio of Mexico Vs Asia bouts. The most interesting of those bouts will see Japan's Takahiro Shigee (11-0-1, 9) battle against former IBF Super Flyweight champion Rodrigo Guerrero (20-5-1, 13). Shigee will be Guerrero's second Japanese opponent in just 3 fights with Guerrero having been beaten by Daiki Kameda 10 months ago in what was one of Daiki's best performance. Shigee however will need to have a sensational night to over-come the Mexican in Mexico. In an IBF International Flyweight title fight fans will get the chance to see former OPBF Minimumweight title challenger Jonathan Refugio (13-4-4, 3), of the Philippines, battle Mexico's Armando Santos (14-3, 8). Santos is no stranger to fighting Asian fighters having already shared a ring with Toshiyuki Igarashi and Rolio Golez and will almost certainly be the favourite against Refugio who will need a career best performance to over-come the Mexican. Sadly the third bout is a complete mismatch as WBA female Minimumweight champion Anabel Ortiz (14-3, 2) defends her belt against Filipino challenger Norj Guro (7-3-1, 4). The bout will be Ortiz's second defence of the title and it's hard to see anything but a straight forward win for the Mexican fighter. Queensland, Australia "Down under" fans will get the chance to see Thailand's Phissanuthep Chaiyonggym (4-10-1, 3) battle for the IBO Asia Pacific Super Bantamweight title. Unfortunately for the limited Thai he will be up against Australia's very own Jason cooper (10-2-1, 5). Cooper, a very capable fighter, is probably best known for his loss, in China, to Qiu Xiao Jun though he is 2-0 since that loss in February and we'd expect him to extend that winning run to 3 here with very few problems. (Image courtesy of http://www.thegarden.com)  We're all for more countries turning to boxing and whilst we're still waiting for India to embrace the sport it's great to see the sport developing in China. Notably its not just Macau but also the mainland that seems to be fostering an interest in boxing that could well turn the country into a boxing super power.
Changsha, China In't in China that we get the best card of the day as the Chinese city of Changsha hosts a card with truly international appeal courtesy of fighters from Romania, Ghana and Argentina as well as several Asian countries. Not just is it a cosmopolitan show but it's also one that which be shown live on CCTV 5. The running order of the card isn't something we have access too though we're expecting the show ti begin with a bout between China's unbeaten Zhou Yun Fei (2-0) and Thailand's Atthaporn Jaritram (4-1, 1). Atthaporn will be a fighter somewhat familiar to those who have been following the Macau cards that Top Rank have been having as he faced the then 1-0 Egor Mekhontsev back in February. In that fight Atthaporn was dominated by the talented Russian however Fei is no Mekhontsev and this should be more competitive. For the second week running we get the chance to see a Chinese Heavyweight in action as the 6'4" Xia Shunkai (1-0, 1) fights for the first time since December 2012. Whilst we doubt Shunkai will get the attention that Taishan Dong did when he beat Alex Rozman he should still be an interesting fighter to keep an eye on. A second Heavyweight bout on this show will see Romania's Razvan Cojanu (10-1, 5) battles Argentinian veteran Manuel Alberto Pucheta (37-9, 30) for the vacant WBO Asia Pacific Heavyweight title. We're unsure how a Romanian or an Argentinian are eligible to fight for an "Asia Pacific" title but that's the world of boxing we guess! Thankfully there is a title fight that makes some sort of sense as China's Xiang Jing (7-3-1, 1) battles against unbeaten Filipino Ben Mananquil (10-0-1, 2) in a contest for the WBO Asia Pacific Flyweight title. Although both Jing and Mananquil are relatively unknown fighters both deserve a lot of respect for the tests they have faced. Jing fought the ultra talented Jerwin Ancajas very early in his career and gave a good account of himself whilst Mananquil was giving the world ranked Kwanpichit OnesongchaiGym fits before a headclash caused an early ending in one of his recent bouts. Interestingly we've stoppages given for less than what Mananquil did there and with that in mind we need to favour him over Jing. Another bout on this show will see former WBC Minimumweight world champion Xiong Zhao Zhong (23-5-1, 13) battle against Indonesia's Jack Amisa (20-30-2, 14). Going in to the bout Zhong is still trying to rebuild his career following his upset loss to Oswaldo Novoa for Amisa however he really is just making up the numbers and he's won just once in the last 6 years! A final bout that we know of will see former Olympian Isaac Dogboe (2-0, 1) attempt to extend his unbeaten record, though he has not yet had his opponent announced. Victoria, Australia As well as the Chinese show we also get action in Australia where fight fans will get the chance to see some interesting contests. In the main event Yutaka Oishi (11-3, 6) will be seen as a huge under-dog as he fights #1 ranked OPBF Super Middleweight Zac Dunn (13-0, 11) in a battle for the WBC Eurasia Pacific Boxing Council Super Middleweight title. Oishi will know he needs a career best performance to over-come Dunn, who should be eyeing up a fight with Yuzo Kiyota if he wins here. Oishi isn't the only Asian on this card as we also get a pair of Thai's in action. Of the two Thai's the only one we give a chance to is Paitoon Jaikom (1-6) who fights the unbeaten Lewis Goodritch (3-0) in an 8 rounder. The other Thai is the win-less Pramool Boonpok (0-6) who takes on once beaten Khoder Assi (3-1, 1) in a 6 round bout. We give neither Thai much of a chance though Paitoon is better than his record indicates. Bangkok, Thailand In Thailand, and televised on Channel 3, we're expecting to see Filipino Fernando Lumacad (29-8-3, 12) fighting for the interim WBO Asian Pacific Super Flyweight title as he battles Petchbarngborn Kokietgym (26-7-1, 10). Petchbarngborn enteres this bout on a 4 fight winning streak following his stoppage loss to Sho Ishida whilst Lumacad will be hoping to end a 2 fight skid. Interestingly this is the third WBO Asia Pacific title fight of the day and it seems clear that the WBO are going to push this title as hard as they can. On this same card we get to see a rematch between Fonluang KKP (19-1,-1 8) and Budi Risky (8-4, 5). The men fought last December with Fonluang, then fighting as a Kokietgym, stopped Risky in 2. A third bout on this card will see Chaiyong Sithsaithong (33-12-4, 24) battling against the very poor Boido Simanjuntak (18-21-1, 7). Simanjuntak will be hoping to avoid a 5th successive defeat. Chonburi, Thailand A second televised Thai card will take place on Channel 7. This card is headlined by WBC Youth Minimumweight champion Knockout CP Freshmart (7-0, 4) taking on Filipino youngster Cris Alfante (10-2, 3). Alfante, who last last time out to Florante Condes, will know he's up against it here but will likely be aware of Knockout's fight with Jonathan Refugio which saw the Thai fighter being forced to work for his win. Also on this card will be Kongfah CP Freshmart (6-0, 2) who faces the win-less Jomthong Sor Songsaeng (0-2) in what appears to be little more than a clear mismatch. (Image courtesy of Zovi Boxing)  Tokyo, Japan
The only Asian show this coming Thursday will be a rookies show held at the Korakuen Hall and fought under the "Dangan" banner. Originally their was 12 bouts scheduled for this show though one has sadly been called off leaving us with 11 bouts still set to take place, all of which are scheduled for 4 rounds due to the rookies involved in the contests. Of the 12 bouts we have 4 Dangan tournament semi finals. These are set into two divisions with both the Bantamweight and Super Bantamweight divisions having tournament bouts with the winners set to fight in their respective divisional finals. As well as the Dangan tournament bouts we will also have 6 Rookie of the Year qualifying bouts. From those 6 bouts we've got to admit the one that stands out to us the Super Bantamweight clash between Renji Ichimura (1-0, 1) and Ryo Hino (3-0, 1). Both men will be putting their unbeaten records on the line and both will know that the reward for a win is huge. The show, not a big one by any stretch, should be great if you can make it to "The Hall" though if you can't we'd not be shocked if it just passes you by like most other Dangan Rookie shows. (Image courtesy of Danganboxing.com)  Tokyo, Japan
When we talk about "double headers" we tend to immediately think that a card must feature a pair of title bouts. This coming Wednesday however we only get a single title fight on a card that looks to be a genuinely sensational domestic double header. The title fight on the card will see Japanese Lightweight champion Yoshitaka Kato (27-5-1, 8) taking on the hard hitting Tsukasa Saito (19-2, 14) in a very exciting looking contest. Kato, who has defended the title 6 times already, will be favoured here though with Saito's power he is certainly a live under-dog in a bout that looks almost certain to be exciting. Following the title bout we then get the other half of the double header as the exciting and teak tough Nihito Arakawa (24-4-1, 16) battles against former rival Akihiro Kondo (19-3-1, 8). The two men met 4 years ago with Arakawa taking a narrow decision over Kondo to claim the Japanese Lightweight title. Since then Arakawa has had a tough career with 10 fights including his 2013 FOTY contender with Omar Figueroa. As for Kondo he has fought just 7 times and has a short lived retirement of around a year. With the two men involved in this bout we're expecting noting but an all out war. Expect this one to be a contender for Japanese fight of the year. As well as the Lightweight double the card also features some other interesting bouts including a Middleweight contest between former WBA title challenger Makoto Fuchigami (20-9, 11) and Indonesian veteran Jamed Jalarante (23-16-1, 11). Fuchigami, best known for his loss to Gennady Golovkin, has lost 3 of his last 4 though will be expected to pick up an easy win here against Jalarante who has been stopped 11 times in his 40 fights, including a stoppage loss to Nihito Arakawa. In total there will be 6 bouts on this show though the 3 mentioned above are easily the 3 worth nothing. New York, USA As well as the action in Japan there is also a fight of note in the US where the win-less Azamat Umarzoda (0-4-1), originally from Tajikistan, battles former amateur stand out Ivan Golub (1-0). It's hard to see this being anything but a quick blow out for Golub who is an an exceptional boxer despite his "novice" status. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp) |
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