Quiet Cannon Country Club, Montebello, California, USA
The main action for us this coming Thursday is in the US where we see a once touted Kazakh return to action for the first time since suffering his first professional defeat. That Kazakh is Ali Akhmedov (16-1, 12), who lost in a barn burner to Carlos Gongora last year. The hard hitting an exciting Akhmedov will be up against Peruvian fighter David Zegarra (34-5, 21). Zegarra won his first 30 bouts but has looked dreadful in recent years, going 4-5 and being stopped 4 times in those 5 losses, At the age of 36 he's pretty much heading to boxing's scrap head. On paper Zegarra has a nice looking record, but in reality this is very much expected to be an easy comeback win for Akhmedov, who will be looking to get a confidence building W on his record after 9 months out of the ring. Barnaul, Russia Attention also turns to Russia for a small card in Barnaul, featuring a few low key Asian fighters. One of those Asian fighters is Dastanbek Imankaziev (2-3, 1), from Kyrgyzstan, who takes on once beaten Russian Tikhon Netesov (6-1, 2). Imankaziev started his career with back to back to wins, but has now lost his last three, and been stopped in his last two, suggesting that maybe his future in the sport isn't too bright. Netesov on the other hand won his first 4 bouts before suffering a loss in late 2020. Since his loss he has racked up two simple wins and will be expecting a third here. Not only does Imankaziev come in out of form, but he's also the much smaller man and should have nothing to test Netesov with. Another fight from Kyrgyzstan who will be in action on this show is Sardar Atakishiev (7-1, 5), who will be up against professional novice Abubakar Abkhalimov (1-0). Atakishiev won his first 7, against some very limited opponents, but was upset last time out when he lost in a surprising bout against Evgeny Smelov. He'll be looking to bounce back from that defeat. As for Abkhalimov, he won his professional debut, but that was in 2019, and it's going to be interesting to see what sort of ring rust he has coming into this bout. On paper Atakishiev should be favoured, but in fairness he has not proven himself, at all, in his 7 wins so far.
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This coming Sunday isn't a big day for Asian boxing but there are a few shows taking place with some action on them.
Jekpe-Jek Arena, Nur-Sultan (Astana), Kazakhstan The most notable card of the day is in Kazakhstan where we see some notable unbeaten fighters look to step up and show what they can do. One of those unbeaten fighters is 22 year old Heavyweight hopeful Danila Semenov (3-0, 2), who looks to score his second win of the year as he takes on the experienced Vikapita Meroro (30-10, 15), from Namibia. Semenov has looked good since beginning his professional career, and it is hard to criticise him and his team for this match up, but Meroro is a 36 year old who is 2-6 in his last 8 and has been stopped 5 times in those 6 losses. Semenov should pick up the win, with out any problems, but we would like to see him in with better opponents than this sooner rather than later. Another touted youngster on this card is 21 year old Yevgeniy Pavlov (4-0, 3), who is stepping up in impressive fashion to take on the once beaten Isaac Sackey (25-1-1, 20) in a bout for the WBA International Super Bantamweight title. Pavlov was a stellar amateur and the way his team are moving him is really impressive. He appears to have the talent to go a long way and we don't imagine Sackey will be much of a test, despite his impressive looking record. Sackey, from Ghana, will be fighting away from home for the first time, and it's always interesting to see how fighters look when they away from home. Sadly we don't imagine Sackey is going to travel well. A genuinely interesting match up at Super Middleweight will see 23 year old Kazakh hopeful Bek Nurmaganbet (4-0, 2) take on former Ryota Murata opponent Bruno Sandoval (21-4-1, 17) in a bout for the WBA International title at 168lbs. Nurmaganbet was regarded as one of the best Kazakh amateurs a few ago and turned professional to a lot of fanfare, but hasn't yet really shown what he can do, something we expect to see change here as he takes a big step up in class. Sandoval is a decent fighter, but he is 3-3 in his last 6 with all 3 of those losses coming by stoppage, including one to Murata in 2016 one to Louis Toutin in 2019. The Kazakh should win here, but it's nice to see him in with someone who has faced some notable fighters and has some ambition of his own. The main event is a brilliant Super Middleweight bout as unbeaten Kazakh Aidos Yerbossynuly (15-0, 10) takes on Lennox Allen (22-1-1, 14), who was last seen losing to Cuban sensation David Morrell just over a year ago. Yerbossynuly was supposed to get a world title eliminator earlier this year, before a case of Covid19 forced him to cancel those plans, and he's been out of he ring for a while now. Rather than having an easy stay busy he's in there with a solid fighter in Lennox, though Lennox will, clearly, be the under-dog. This should be a genuine test for the Kazakh, but he needs to begin kicking on sooner rather than later, especially given how he pulled out of the aforementioned eliminator. Dubai, United Arab Emirates Over in Dubai we have a really interesting card, but that one really doesn't make too much sense. It's a card that features some notable non Asian names, such as Diego Gabriel Chaves. It's a card that really does look like it's been thrown together at random and has got some strange match ups as a result. The strangest of the match ups on the show will see once touted American Light Middleweight Glen Tapia (23-5, 15) take on Thailand's Saddam Kietyongyuth (28-8, 22), who was at his best down at 135lbs and 140lbs. Saddam was once regarded as a promising fighter bus has gone 2-6 in his last 8 and is not a natural fighter at Welterweight, never mind Middleweight, where this bout will be. This should be a very, very easy win for Tapia. Another odd looking bout is a clash between Filipino puncher KJ Natuplag (8-3, 7) and Colombian fighter Argel Berrio (18-8, 11). On paper this one doesn't look too odd, but Berio is moving up from Bantamweight to Featherweight for the contest. We expect this one will be exciting, and a bit of a shoot out, but Natuplag should be too big, too strong and too powerful for Berrio. Thankfully there is an all Asian bout on the card that really does actually have something going for it, and that's a bout between Sachin Dekwal (10-0, 6) and Muhammad Bilal (9-1-1, 7), in what looks pretty much like a 50-50 style bout for the WBA Asia Lightweight title. The unbeaten Dekwal has impressed in his homeland of India, and he'll know this is a chance to really build his name, but is also stepping up, massively here to take on a man who wants to beat him, and not just make up the numbers. Bilal, from Pakistan, was beaten last time out, at the end of 2020, but feel confident he has the power to hurt his foe. Given the issues between India and Pakistan we can imagine tensions running high here, and this could be a very intriguing match up. Arena, Beppu, Oita, Japan In Japan we get a very low key card in Oita. The card is mostly 4 rounders, in fact 3 of the 4 bouts on the show are set for the short distance. The one bout that is scheduled for a little bit longer is the main event, which is an 8 rounder between Japanese Youth Welterweight champion Takeru Kobata (10-5-1, 4), who won the title in March when he stopped Rikuto Adachi, and 33 year old Fumisuke Kimura (9-7-1, 6). Whilst this is certainly not a great bout, especially given that Kimura has lost his last 3 and hasn't scored a win since April 2019, it is good to see Kobata staying busy and this is his 4th bout since December 2020 and it's great to see a Japanese youngster being active during this current situation, which has slowed the progress of so many young fighters. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam In Vietnam we'll see the once touted Van Thao Tran (13-1, 8) look to defend his very, very, lightly regarded IBA title as he takes on Fadhili Majiha (27-14-4, 13), from Tanzania. The talented Tran was expected to be the real star of Vietnamese boxing, but the last few years has seen his career stall with inactivity, bouts falling through and a loss in 2019 to Billy Dib. We would love to see Tran being tested, but Majiha is not going to be a test here. The man from Tanzania has lost consistently when fighting away from home, and it's almost unthinkable for him to pick up a win in Vietnam here. This coming Saturday looked like it could be an interesting one for fans of Asian fighters, though sadly a number of bouts being cancelled turned what was a good looking weekend into a pretty ordinary one. Despite that we do still have quite a few fights to look forward to.
Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan With the planned IBF Flyweight title bout between Sunny Edwards (16-0, 4) and Jayson Mama (16-0, 9) falling through in the middle of the week the real focus for us is Tokyo, ad we get the latest show in the Dynamic Glove series of shows. This card features a Japanese title fight, a Japanese title eliminator and an interesting test for a novice professional. The main event is the aforementioned title bout, which will see the once beaten Rikito Shiba (5-1, 3) clash with the touted Shokichi Iwata (6-0, 4) for the vacant Japanese Light Flyweight title. The title became vacant a few weeks ago when Masamichi Yabuki, the one man to have beaten Shiba, vacated it to focus on his up coming WBC world title fight with Kenshiro Teraji and we've been left with this really interesting match up as a result. Of the two men Shiba is the slightly more proven as a professional, having scored the better wins and shared the ring with Yabuki, but Iwata has long been seen as a special talent following a very good run in the unpaid ranks, and he will enter as the favourite here. Despite the fact both men have only got 6 bouts to their name both are regarded highly, both were solid amateurs and both will be feeling they have the tools to not just win the Japanese title but to go much, much further in the coming years. Our in depth preview of this bout can be read here Iwata and Shiba clash for Japanese title! In the chief support bout we'll see former Japanese Welterweight champion Yuki Nagano (18-3, 14) take on former WBO Asia Pacific champion Yuki Beppu (21-2-1, 20) in a rematch of a clash the men had in 2018, when Nagano gave Beppu his first loss. Since their first bout both men went on the achieve their biggest success, with both winning titles, but both half also suffered recent stoppage losses and it's probably fair to say that neither man is quite the same fight that they were when they first faced off. We expect bombs to be thrown here, though it's a very, very hard bout to predict. Notably the winner of this will land a Japanese Welterweight title fight at the 2022 edition of the Champion Carnival. The third bout of note on this card will see Goki Kobayashi (1-0, 1) take on Hayato Aoki (4-1, 3) in a very, very interesting match up. Kobayashi made his debut earlier this year, stopping the 2020 All Japan Rookie of the Year runner up Hyogo Kimura. The hope is that he can be moved incredibly quickly, and taking on Aoki this early in his career is a good chance for him to prove himself. Aoki on the other hand will be desperate to rebuild following his first loss, which came this past June. Ekaterinburg, Russia As well the action in Japan we'll also see a number of Central Asian hopefuls in action in action in Russia. One of the Asian fighters on this card is once beaten Kazakh fighter Stanislav Kalitskiy (11-1, 4), who takes on unbeaten Russian foe Ruslan Kamilov (10-0-1, 5). The 24 year old Kalitskiy was beaten 2 fights ago, but bounced back in March this year when he stopped Dmitrii Khasiev, and he will be looking to add another win here as he looks to get his career back on track. Whilst Kalitskiy is coming in on the back of a good win Kamilov is on a string of them, including a stoppage win over former world title challenger Evgeny Chuprakov back in March. Unbeaten Tajik hopeful Asror Vokhidov (9-0, 5) will be looking for his 10th successive win as he takes on Mukhammad Shekhov (9-0-1, 3). This is a really well matched bout, and whilst neither man is heading towards a world title fight any time soon, this should still be a very, very interesting one. Another Tajik fighter on this card is world ranked Super Featherweight Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov (17-0, 9), who will be looking to defend his WBC International Super Featherweight title against Cristian Palma (31-10-2, 7). The talented Yaqubov is banging on the door of a world title fight, and is being matched relatively softly here in what looks like a bit of a stay busy bout rather than a genuine test. Palma, from Chile, is experienced but shouldn't be any sort of a problem here for the talented Tajik. Casino Del Sol, Tucson, Arizona, USA
We don't have much in terms of Asian action this coming Friday, but there is one bout of note that does deserve some major international interest, and that's a WBO Flyweight title bout as Japanese world champion Junto Nakatani (21-0, 16) defends against mandatory challenger Angel Acosta (22-2, 21). The talented Nakatani, who won the belt last year, is among the youngest active world champions on the sport, at 23, and is regarded as one of the Japanese fighters with the best potential to break out, and be an international star. Unlike many Japanese boxers Nakatani does spend a lot of time in the US, training quite frequently in the US and has been picking up the language over the last few years. A win here, against the heavy handed Acosta, would give his profile a massive boost. As for Acosta, the Puerto Rican is a former world champion at 108lbs and will be looking to become a 2-weight world champion here. He's the more proven fighter, but we do wonder whether he has an answer for the size, reach and jab of Nakatani, who is a huge guy at Flyweight. Our full, in depth, preview of this bout can be read here: Nakatani makes US debut as he faces off with Acosta Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
The main action this coming Thursday takes place at Korakuen Hall as we get a touted prospect being matched hard, a potentially explosive bout just under the Light Middleweight limit and a Super Middleweight bout between two debutants. The most notable bout, and the show's main event, will see former Kick boxing champion Yoshiki Takei (1-0, 1) continue his professional boxing career as he goes up against fellow unbeaten Azusa Takeda (5-0, 5). as a kick boxer Takei was a genuine standout, but has changed over to boxing, signed with the Ohashi Gym and is being trained by former 3-weight world champion Akira Yaegashi. This is just his second bout as a boxer, but the expectations are high, and he looked very good in his debut. Takeda on the other hand has been a professional boxer since 2018, and has looked destructive, with 5 wins all inside the distance, but his last bout was more than 2 years ago, and his bouts, so far, have come against very inexperienced fighters. He's looked dangerous but, if we're being honest, this is a major step up in class for him, even if Takei is a novice boxer himself. In another main bout on this card we'll see the once touted Rikuto Adachi (14-3, 11) battle against Tetsuya Kondo (6-3, 4), in a scheduled 8 rounder. Adachi was touted a few years ago, though sadly his career has fallen apart recently, and he is 2-2 since May 2019, having been stopped in both of those losses, both in bouts for the Japanese Youth Welterweight title. We suspect the plan here is for Adachi to dip his toes the Light Middleweight limit, though with his chin and the relatively tough domestic picture at the weight it may not be the best move for him. Kondo has had mixed results, losing in his debut and be splattered inside a round by Jin Sasaki in 2019. Notably Kondo will be the smaller man, but he does have decent power and if he can get close to Adachi he may have the power to take him out. One other bout we want to mention from this card is a Super Middleweight clash between the debuting pair of Dan D Dillinger (0-0) and Kazuma Ito (0-0). Dillinger, originally from Liberia, is 34 years old and we don't expect him to have a long career, but at 6'1" he's certainly a huge guy to be fighting in Japan and it's going to be interest to follow his career, no matter how short it ends up being. Ito on the other hand is 32 and has some amateur experience, going 5-3 in the unpaid ranks. We don't expect either of these to make much of a mark on the sport, but it is interesting to see a Japanese bout at Super Middleweight, something that really is rare. Guru Kashi University, Talwandi Sabo, India As well as the Japanese card there will also be a small one in India. Sadly this card is mostly packed with debutants and novices, and the most experienced fighter on the show is limited Featherweight Sandeep Singh Bhatti (3-2), who takes on debuting 18 year old Sandeep Singh (0-0). This coming Sunday is an interesting day for Japanese fight fans who get three shows across the country. The most notable show of the day is Shizuoka, packed with prospects, whilst the other two shows are both at Korakuen Hall as part of the East Japan Rookie of the Year.
FujisanMesse, Fuji, Shizuoka, Japan The show we like the most of the three is the show from Shizuoka, which features a bunch of notable prospects, many of whom are tipped to win titles over the next few years. The most notable of the prospects on the show is the brilliantly talented Rentaro Kimura (4-0, 3), who takes on a really tough bout foe here as he battles the heavy handed Yoji Saito (3-1-2, 3). We've loved watching Kimura so far, and he does look like a very, very special talent who can do it all in the ring, but he has been caught a few times in the past and we suspect his team have put this bout together to give him a genuine chin check, with Saito being a genuine brute in the ring. This will be a battle between Kimura's skills, speed and movement, and Saito's power, strength and aggression and it should make for a genuinely brilliant contest. Another major prospect on this card is Kimura's stablemate Tsubasa Murachi (7-1, 3), who looks to continue to move his career forward as he takes on Yuto Nakamura (11-6-1, 8). The talented Murachi has been rebuilding well since a 2019 loss to Froilan Saludar, winning his last 3 by decision, and it certainly seems that that brutal KO loss has seen him fighting in a more safety first style that could end up really being a great change for his career, and longevity in the sport. Nakamura on the other hand is now world beater, but he is better than his record suggests and will looking to get his career back on track following a TKO loss in December to Ryo Akaho, in a bout that never really made much sense. At his best Nakamura is a good Super Flyweight and he should ask questions of Murachi, but not be a real threat to him. Another very highly regarded prospect on this card is second generation fighter Kento Hatanaka (11-0, 9), the son of former world champion Kiyoshi Hatanaka, who looks to fight for the first time since beating Roland Jay Biendima in February 2020. Sadly Hantanaka's bout appears to be more of a tick over fight than a really competitive one as he takes on the limited Daisuke Sudo (7-7-3). Given lengthy break from action this is ideal to help Hatanaka shake some ring rust, but it really is a shame that his career has been on the back burner since the pandemic began to affect boxing in Japan. One final touted prospect here is Narumi Yukawa (2-0, 1), a sparring partner of Kimura's and a man with a great story of redemption following an criminal issue before he got the chance to begin his professional career. He's in a really good match up on this show as he takes on Yuji Awata (12-8-1, 5), in what is arguably the most well balanced of the bouts with prospects, outside of Kimura's. Awata is no world beater but he's a very competent domestic level fighter and we suspect Yukawa will want to shine, but will have to work hard here. It's also worth noting that Renataro Kimura's cousin Tentaro Kimura (6-0-2) is also on this card, as he takes on Satoru Hoshiba (7-5, 2). Kimura, although unbeaten, isn't regarded as a prospect in the same way that his cousin is, but is a talent and Danji Suruga, his promoter, does speak very highly of him, and his talent. Hoshiba's record is very misleading, but he's aggressive, he comes to fight, and he could be a real thorn in the side for Kimura here. Kimura is the favourite, but we suspect he will be asked real questions from the aggression and pressure of Hoshiba. Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan The first of the Rookie of the Year cards starts at 11:30am and features a total of 8 bouts, all 4 rounders. We're not going to take a look at all of them but there are some have caught the eye. One of those worthy of some attention will see Ryugo Yanagibori (4-2, 1) take on the amazingly named Scorpion Kintaro (2-0, 2), who we really do think might be a Mortal Kombat fan. The 27 year old Yanagibori made his debut in 2018 and and has been stopped in both of his losses, but is coming into this bout with a recent win over Yuki Aizawa, a win that secured his place in this stage of the Rookie if the Year. Kintaro on the other had debuted in April, and has scored two quick wins, but this will be the first time he's facing a fighter with some professional experience. In a bout at Featherweight novice fighter Daisuke Yoshikawa (1-0) will take on heavy handed 32 year old Kiyoharu Nunozaki (4-0, 3), in what should be an explosive encounter. Interestingly Yoshikawa is just 5'6" and will be giving up 4" here to Nunozaki, who will be the bigger man, the more experienced man and the heavier handed. Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan The second Rookie of the Year card, which will take place from 5:30PM, is a show with 6 bouts on it, including 3 at Welterweight. On this card there are a couple of debutants that we're going to be focusing on. One of the debutants is 28 year old Sarimanu Suzuki (0-0), who takes on 29 year old Yusaku Minami (2-2, 2). Whilst we're interested to see how Suzuki fares it's worth noting that Minami has been a stop or be stopped fighter, with his bouts never getting past round 3. Suzuki will know about Minami's history, and will be looking to make the most of Minami's questionable chin, whilst looking to also avoid his power. Another debutant we'll be interested in seeing is 22 year old Middleweight hopeful Ryuya Kusamura (0-0) who takes on the limited, but experienced, Kazuki Ikeya (1-4). Given how few Middleweights there are in Japan it's always good to see novice Middleweights and we're hoping that Kusamura can make a mark going forward. Urdaneta Cultural Sports Complex, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan, Philippines
This coming Saturday attention turns to the Phillipines for a small card in Pangasinan, which features several noteworthy Pinoy fighters all looking to tick over before bigger and better things in the future. Hopefully the not too distant, future. The most noteworthy name on the show is former Filipino amateur standout Charly Suarez (7-0, 5), who seemed destined for big things when he turned professional in 2019, but is still very much facing lower level domestic talent as he takes on Lorence Rosas (9-5-2, 3). Suarez had all the talent to make a mark on the world rankings, though sadly turned professional at an advanced age, and saw his climb though the rankings slowed by the on going pandemic. He should have absolutely no issues with Rosas here, especially given that Rosas has lost his last 4, is without a win since March 2018, and has been stopped in 2 of his last 3. A really disappointing bout for Suarez, who really needs bigger bouts in 2023. In one of the supporting bouts the heavy handed Arnel Baconaje (13-4, 11) will be up against Danny Tampipi (9-12-2, 5). The 27 year old Baconaje is now world beater, but he's someone who could mix on the regional title level over the next few years. Sadly however he is going over old ground here, having stopped Tampipi back in 2018, before a career best win over Tomjune Mangubat. It's a real shame he's not managed to kick on and really push his career forward since 2019, just as it seemed there was something bright on the cards. The once beaten Lorenz Ladrada (10-1-1, 3) is another fighter worthy of some attention, as he takes on Gary Tamayo (4-1, 3) in a 6 rounder at Featherweight. Ladraba is unbeaten since his secnd bout, a close loss to Reymark Taday in 2015, and has looked like a fighter with the potential to go far over the next few years. Tamayo on the other hand was beaten just 2 fights ago, by Lienard Sarcon, and has only fought once in the last 24 months, not a good signing coming in to a bout like this. |
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