Tokyo, Japan Action returns to the Korakuen Hall this coming Monday as we get the next show in the A Sign Bee series of cards. The show isn't the best, in fact it's main event looks to be a huge mismatch between a 2-time world title challenger and a limited domestic fighter, but it does have a well matched Japanese Youth title fight, and a well matched domestic support bout. As mentioned the main event will feature a 2-time world title challenger, that's Ryo Akaho (32-2-2, 21) who really is being matched softly here, as he takes on Naoto Mizutani (5-4-1, 2). On one hand Akaho has had a frustrating year, giving up the Japanese title in December and then blowing out Robert Udtohan inside a round when he returned to the ring. On the other hand he really should be wanting to shake some ring rust before a bit 2019. Mizutani has no right being in the ring with Akaho, and has already been stopped 3 times in his career. Not only has Mizutani been stopped a number of times but he brings nothing to the table to really test Akaho, who should have been matched against someone much more testing here. The main supporting bout here will see Japanese Youth Light Flyweight champion Ryuto Oho (11-4-1, 3) defending his title against Yuta Nakayama (6-1-1, 3). The 23 year old champion has had a weird career so far. He was tipped for big things when he won the Rookie of the Year back in 2013 but numerous set backs since then have hampered his rise. He dropped down in weight, from Flyweight to Light Flyweight for the Youth title earlier this year and stopped Tetsuya Tomioka for the title. Nakayama went 1-1-1 to begin his career, but has impressive gone 5-0 since then, and done so with a notable win over Tatsuhiro Toguchi. This should be very hotly contest and very exciting, with both men starting to believe in their power in recent bouts. A full preview of this bout can be read here Oho seeks first defense, takes on tricky Nakayama Lower down the card we'll see Japanese ranked Welterweight Makoto Kawasaki (9-7-1, 2) take on the limited but hard hitting Kentaro Endo (7-8-1, 6), in what looks like a surprisingly competitive contest on paper. Kawasaki is certainly the more skilled fighter, but has lost her last 3 bouts, and has taken punishment in recent bouts. Endo is limited, but he is very heavy handed and we suspect he'll be looking to use that power here, and he will be dangerous early on. Sadly for Endo the longer this bout goes the less chance he has of making the most of his power. One other under-card bout of note is a contest between Japanese ranked Heavyweight Ryu Ueda (6-1-1, 3) and unbeaten Korean Jong Kook Kim (3-0, 2). Interestingly these two men both stopped Sang Ho Kim in their last bout, with Ueda doing it last year and Jong Kook Kim doing it more than 2 years ago. Sadly the inactivity for Kim could be the difference here, but the Korean southpaw will not have travelled to lose his unbeaten record. The Japanese fighter is also a southpaw, but he is notably 1-1-1 in his last 3, and doesn't have much momentum coming into this, despite his win over Sang Ho Kim last time out.
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Osaka, Japan The big show this coming Sunday comes from Osaka and will be the West Japan Rookie of the Year final, which will decide the West Japan representative at the All Japan Rookie of the Year in December. Rather than going through all the bouts we've just picked 3 of the most interesting ones. One of the most even match ups is the Super Featherweight bout between Kanta Fukui (5-1, 4) and Takuya Ota (5-1-1, 4). The two men have very similar looking records and both are in their mid 20's. Strange they do differ massively in when they debuted. Ota made his debut way back in 2012, when he would actually go 2-1-1, before returning late last year and eventually earning his spot in this Rookie final. Fukui on the other hand debuted last year and despite losing his second bout is coming into this final on a run of 4 straight wins. Another good looking match up will see 24 year old Yuna Hara (6-1-1, 2) face off with unbeaten teenager Hiroki Hanabusa (4-0-1, 2) in a Super Bantamweight bout. Hara made his debut back in 2015 and seemed to have early success, including a draw in 2016 with Toshiki Shimomachi who went on to win the 2017 Rookie of the Year. He's reached this final by beating a couple of unbeaten foes, and will be hoping to make it 3 in a row. Hanabusa on the other hand debuted last year, going 2-0 in 2017, and has gone 2-0-1 this year. It's worth noting that for such a novice Hanabusa has faced two fighters with significantly more experience, and has shown that is better than his novice status would suggest. This could be a very interesting bout with skills being the key. Another bout where skills will be key sees unbeaten Super Flyweight's collide, with Tetsuro Ohashi (4-0-1, 1) taking on Shunichi Okazaki (4-0-1, 1). The 19 year old Ohashi fought to a draw in his semi-final, and is perhaps a touch lucky to be in this final, but is a talented young fighter and the draw shows how competitive these rookie bouts can be. Okazaki is the slightly older man, at 21, and is also somewhat fortunate to be in the final following a narrow win in his semi-final bout. These two youngsters will know that a win here will open big doors for the future, but they know that this will not be an easy bout to win. Hiroshima, Japan As well as the Rookie card there is also a show from Hiroshima, featuring a few notable names on the Japanese domestic scene. The main event will see Japanese ranked Light Welterweight Ryuji Ikeda (13-5-2, 9) taking on veteran Yuichi Ideta (13-12-1, 7). Despite only being 23 Ikeda is already a very experienced fighter and has fought a few times outside of Japan. Although he's only won 2 of his last 6 Ikeda is a promising domestic fight who could win titles down the line. Ideta on the other hand is a 34 year old veteran who debuted back in 2005, and has faced a relative who's who, including Koji Numata, Akinori Watanabe, Suyon Takayama, Keita Obara, Nobuyuki Shindo and Koshinmaru Saito. Sadly for Ideta he has lost his last 8, and is 1-12-1 in his last 14 bouts. We'd be shocked it Ideta can pick up his first win in over 7 years here. In a supporting bout we'll see international action as Taiyo Inoue (7-4-2, 5) takes on Filipino Roland Jay Biendima (12-2-1, 6) in a good looking match up. The Japanese fighter is better than his record suggests but this is a tough test. The visitor is a 22 year old who lost 2 of his first 4 bouts, both to fighters who are now considered very good prospects, but he's yet to score a big win. This is a great chance for both men to get a career best win, and we like those sorts of bouts. One other bout from this card worthy of a mention is a female bout between 18 year old Japanese hopeful Eruka Hiromoto (3-0) takes on unbeaten Filipino visitor Charimae Salvador (4-0, 1). On paper this is two female novices facing off, but given that neither will want to give up their unbeaten records this could be very competitive. It is worth noting that Salvador, despite being 4-0 has only fought two opponents, rematching both of her opponents so far whilst Hiromoto has faced 3 different opponents from her 3 career bouts. Metro Manila, Philippines As well as the two shows in Japan, there will also be a notable show in the Philippines, where the WBC will be holding their third Women's convention. The main bout of this show will see unbeaten Uzbek Azizbek Abdugofurov (11-0, 4) take on once beaten Chinese fighter Wuzhati Nuerlang (11-1, 9) in a very good looking match up. The unbeaten 26 year old will be looking to make his first defense of the WBC "silver" Super Middleweight title, a title he won back in May when he beat Dmitrii Chudinov. The Chinese fighter lost on his debut in 2015, up at Light Heavyweight, but has since reeled off 11 wins at home and dropped down to the more natural Super Middleweight limit. We suspect will take the win, but this is still a very interesting match up. The rest of the under-card is splattered with bout of various quality, the best of the bunch being a WBC Asian Boxing Council female Bantamweight title fight between Phannaluk Kongsang (4-7-1, 2) and Urvashi Singh (3-0, 3). Phannaluk is a 23 year old Thai who has gone 1-4 in her last 5 bouts, but has mixed with quality fighters like Tamao Oawa and Miyo Yoshida, showing that whilst she's coming up short she is facing good fighters. Singh on the other hand is a little known Indian fighter who only debuted in June, and is pencilled in for another fight in December, in what is a big step up in class. It seems like the Indian is favoured, but this is a slight step up in class for her at this early point in her career. Puebla, Mexico The biggest bout featuring an Asian this coming Saturday comes from Mexico where WBC female Flyweight champion Ibeth Zamora Silva (29-6, 12) takes on Japanese challenger Chaoz Minowa (6-1, 5). For Silva this will be her first defense, though she had a long and successful reign at Light Flyweight before moving up in weight and winning this title. The Mexican is a veteran who has competed at world level for several years and is a proper veteran with numerous top fighters on her record. For Minowa however this will be her second world title fight, and is a big step up in class. Minowa lost her first world title fight, losing to Tenkai Tsunami, and this is is expected to be a big test to see how much she has developed since that loss. This could be a very entertaining contest, but Minowa will be travelling as the under-dog and will need a career best performance to even be competitive. A full preview of this bout can be read here Minowa looks to end WBC Zamora's run in Chaoz! Hadong, South Korea As well as the world title fight in Mexico there will also be a notable card in Korea, as the KPBF put on a pretty notable card. The main event of the card will see WIBA Light Flyweight champion Eun Hye Lee (11-1, 4) make her third defense, as she takes on Chinese fighter Xiuli Liang (2-3). Lee is a real talent, and we hope to see her in with better competition in the near future. Sadly however Liang isn't a suitable opponent for Lee and we can't see her putting up any sort of a real challenger to the talented local, who really should be 12-0 with her sole loss being a very controversial one in Japan to Nana Yoshikawa. In a major supporting bout we'll see the once touted Ye Joon Kim (15-1-2, 7) return to the ring after more than 2 years out of the ring. Kim, who is now 26, still has a long way to go and a lot of potential so we'll be looking forward to seeing his ring return. The one unfortunate thing here is that we aren't sure who Kim isn't fighting, though we have been told that they are targeting a Japanese fighter. Also on this card is WBF Asia Pacific Light Middleweight champion, Do Hyuk Kim (4-0-2, 1). Kim will be making his first defense of the title as he takes on Chinese visitor Zhen Zhou (0-1). The Korean won the title in December but hasn't fought since. It's worth noting that Kim's competition so far has been dire, and it's the same here. The visitor here hasn't fought in over 2 years, and was stopped in 3 rounds back on his debut in 2016. Bang Phun, Thailand Staying in Asia we'll see 21 year old puncher Chainoi Worawut (3-0, 3) take a big step up in class as he takes on domestic rival Rakniran Muadransarakam (13-2, 8) in a very good looking match up. The unbeaten man has looked genuinely destructive since making his debut earlier this year, but this does look likely to be his first real test. Rakniran has never been stopped, but has fallen short in his two most notable bouts, against Shota Kawaguchi and Petchbarngborn Kokietgym. A win for Chainoi is likely expected but this is a very solid test at such an early stage in his career. Also on this card will be a WBC Asia Bantamweight title bout, a Nawaphon Por Chokchai (42-1-1, 33) takes on Filipino puncher Richard Claveras (18-5-2, 15). This should be an exciting bout between two hard hitting, but flawed fighters. Sadly for the Filipino we suspect size will be a major issue, and he is likely to look tiny compared to Nawaphon, who has always looked huge compared to opponents. New South Wales, Australia In New South Wales fans will see local hopeful Nae Kisona (0-0) battle Filipino “loser” Jayson Mac Gura (1-21-3, 1). The Filipino scored a win on his debut, back in 2009, but has failed to win any of his last 24 bouts. He has also been stopped 15 times during his career and we wouldn't be surprised to see him fail to last the 4 round distance again here. Victoria, Australia Staying in Australia we'll also see Dylan Conway (0-0) make his debut, as he takes on experienced Thai Plaisakda Boonmalert (33-28, 29), in what will be expected to be another win for the local debutant. The 46 year old Thai debuted way back in 1989 and has been stopped regularly in recent years, in fact with 23 stoppage losses and at the age of 46 we really do wonder why he continues to get in the ring. Conway will likely begin his career with a stoppage win here. Osaka, Japan Japanese attention turns to Osaka this coming Friday where we get a domestic title fight and a couple of supporting bouts between Japanese and Korean fighters. The Japanese title fight will see Japanese Light Flyweight champion Tetsuya Hisada (32-9-2, 19) make his 5th defense as he takes on 2016 Rookie of the Year winner Akihiro Toya (8-4, 1). This looks like a stay busy defense for the 34 year old champion, who is on the verge of a world title fight, but any sort of slip up here could end those dreams. At 23 years old Toya is still maturing, but a loss earlier this year to Takumi Sakae doesn't bode well for him against someone as talented as Hisada. A full preview of this bout can be found here Hisada defends Japanese crown against youngster Toya! One of the supporting bouts will see Japan's Yuki Takahashi (8-3, 4) battle against Korean rankled visitor Hwan Young Jo (5-5, 1). Takahashi has been stopped in his last 2 bouts and hasn't shown too much promise coming into this, but he will be favoured given he is the home fighter and has the better looking record. Jo on the other hand challenged for the Korean Super Featherweight title back in July, and will be looking to bounce back from a loss in that bout. Another Japan Vs Korea bout will see the limited but hard hitting 23 year old Shota Asami (6-5, 4) battle against Hyun Joo Lee (2-0). Asami began his career 4-2 (4) but hasn't scored a stoppage in his last 5 bouts, whilst going 2-3. Lee is ranked by the KBF but his record doesn't seem to be complete on boxrec, with the KBF listing him as being 5-1-1 (4). If the KBF record is complete then we could be in for a fun fight between punchers, though how good he actually is, is unclear. Thailand There's also a show in Thailand this coming Friday The big talking point is that WBC Minimumweight champion Wanheng Menayothin (51-0, 18) will be on the card in a stay busy bout, taking on Indonesian foe Tyson Lahagu (2-9-1, 2). The contest is supposed to be a tune up for the Thai ahead of a potential world title defense at the end of the year, and will see him stretching his record 52-0 as he looks to further increase his unbeaten record. Although Wanheng and his unbeaten record will get much of the attention it also seems like we'll see OPBF silver Minimumweight champion Panya Pradabsri (24-1, 13) defending his title against talented Filipino Dexter Alimento (13-4, 9), in a very good looking bout. This has the potential to be very exciting and very fun, and we wouldn't be surprised to see Alimento push the local all the way. Pennsylvania, USA We'll see US based Tajik prospect Anvar Yunusov (5-0, 2) look to continue his rise through the ranks as he takes on Joshua Davis (11-3, 5). The unbeaten man debuted last year, in a match up against the experienced Justin Savi, and has been matched well so far, but this should be regarded as his best test to date. Davis has lost his last 2 bouts but at 27 he will have ambition to get his career back on track and should make for a compelling opponent for the Yusunov, who was a 3-time Olympian. Johore Bahru, Malaysia As well as the show in Japan there will also be a card in Malaysia. One of the bouts on this card will see unbeaten local Adli Hafidz (3-0, 2) take on experienced Thai foe Yuttana Wongda (13-21, 9). The local fighter, aged 29, has been matched softly so far, and this should be considered as a step up in class, but a very manageable one. Yuttana has gone 2-10 in his last 12 bouts and we suspect he will come up short again here. Bangkok, Thailand
In Bangkok this coming Tuesday we'll see two Japanese fighters from the Watanabe gym fighting for regional titles. One of those will be Masataka Taniguchi (10-2, 7), who will be fighting against Filipino fighter Joel Lino (10-0-1, 3) for the vacant WBO Asia Pacific Minimumweight title. There was talk about Taniguchi getting a world title fight at the end of the year, though it seems those plans are off, due to him lacking a WBO world title, but a win here will put him in to the rankings. The unbeaten Lino may feel he's being over-looked, but he's certainly a live under-dog against the under-rated Japanese fighter, who's losses have come ton Reiya Konishi and Tsubasa Koura. It should be noted that Lino hold a really notable win over recent world title challenger Pedro Taduran and will be feeling confident of picking up another huge win here. The other title fight on this show will be an ABF Featherweight title bout between boxing-policeman Daisuke Sugita (4-0, 3) and Thai journeyman Worawatchai Boonjan (12-17-1, 11). Sugita is a very talented fighter and a win here is expected in what appears to be a mismatch in favour of the visitor. Tokyo, Japan This coming week is a quiet one, but it does have a highlight on Monday as we get a WBC “interim” world title fight from Tokyo, courtesy of ABEMA TV. The card is weak, other than the main event, but it should be worth tuning into if you're in the Land of the rising sun. The main event of the card will be an excellent match up as former WBO Bantamweight champion Tomoki Kameda (35-2, 20) faces off with Abigail Medina (19-3-2, 10) for the WBC “interim” Super Bantamweight title. Kameda is the more well known of the two men and is the youngest of the Kameda clan, though has yet to really score a big win since moving to Super Bantamweight back in 2016, and there are question marks about his power. Despite being a bit light punching Kameda is a talent, with speed and skills, and he comes into this bout on a 4 fight winning streak. Medina on the other hand is a Dominican born fighter currently based in Spain, and he is unbeaten in almost 5 years. In that time he has won the WBU title, taking it from Jeremy Parodi, and defended it twice over solid challengers. This might only be an interim title fight, but it should be an ultra competitive one. A preview of this bout can be found here Kameda and Medina battle for WBC interim title! The only under-card bout of real note will see Japanese ranked Welterweight contender Toshiro Tarumi (10-3-3, 5) take on Masafumi Ando (5-7-1, 2). The talented Tarumi comes into this bout following 5 straight wins, including victories over Takashi Inagaki, Noriaki Sato and Shusaku Fujinaka and will feel that he is edging towards a Japanese title fight in the near future. Ando looks to be a stay busy opponent for Tarumi, and has gone 3-5-1 in his last 9, but should get Tarumi some rounds before a potential title fight next year. Tokyo, Japan Attention turns to the Korakuen Hall once again this coming Saturday for a stacked Dangan card, with 4 very good bouts on it. The main event of the show will see former Japanese Super Flyweight champion Ryuichi Funai (30-7, 21) take on Mexican youngster Victor Emanuel Olivo (15-2-1, 7) in an IBF Super Flyweight world title eliminator, with the winner moving towards a world tittle fight against Jerwin Ancajas. Funai has been on a good run since losing in a Japanese title fight to Sho Ishida way back in 2016. He claimed the Japanese title last year and the WBO Asia Pacific belt earlier this year, and he's actually 6-0 (5) since the loss to Ishida. When it comes to assessing Olivo's career things aren't that impressive, with his most notable result being a narrow loss to Milan Melindo back in 2015. Aged 22 Olivo is a fighter who is developing but he was beaten just 2 fights back by Jose Briegel Quirino, in what looks to have been a home town decision. Olivo is probably better than his record indicates, but this is still a big step up in class for the Mexican. We've a full preview of this bout here Funai and Olivo battle in world title eliminator! The chief supporting bout will match once beaten fighters, as Shuya Masaki (10-1, 5) takes on recent OPBF title challenger Izuki Tomioka (5-1-1, 1). The talented Masaki was tipped for big things, but his rise through the ranks was slowed this past January, when he was out pointed by Hironori Mishiro. Masaki has bounced back since his loss, with a decision win over Korean Hyun Je Shin, but this is a big step back up since that loss. On the other hand the 21 year old Tomioka surprised the Japanese scene this year when he pushed OPBF Lightweight champion Masayoshi Nakatani very close in July, losing an 11th round TKO in a very competitive bout. Tomioka's biggest issue is his lack of power, but we wouldn't be surprised by him relying on his skills and picking up a career best win here. Another mouth watering support bout will see Seiryu Toshikawa (10-4, 6) face off with the unbeaten Shawn Oda (9-0, 8) for the Japanese Youth Lightweight title. The more experienced man is 22 years old and debuted back in August 2014. He suffered a few early career set backs, losing 3 of his first 6, but has since gone 7-1 with a very notable win last time out against Ryuji Ikeda. On the hand Oda is a 20 year old with insane upside, as he showed when taking the 2016 Rookie of the Year crown at the age of 18. Oda hasn't been the busiest since his Rookie win, but has impressed, with 3 solid wins this year including a stoppage against Masashi Wakita in August. Oda is the more naturally gifted man, but this is likely to be his stiffest test to date. A preview of this bout is here Oda and Toshikawa battle for Lightweight youth crown! A fourth major bout on this card will see 2017 Rookie of the Year Yuga Inoue (7-0-1, 1) take on the hard hitting Kai Ishizawa (4-0, 4) for the vacant Japanese youth Minimumweight title fight. The 19 year old Inoue, no relation to Naoya Inoue, really impressed last year before taking the Rookie crown in December against Retsu Akabane. Since that Rookie win Inoue has scored his only stoppage win, taking out Daisuke Sudo in 5 rounds this past May. As for the 21 year old Ishizawa he made his debut in June 2017 and has impressed ever since, scoring a huge win over Tatsuro Nakashima back in April. It should be noted that Ishizawa was supposed to fight for this title earlier in the year, against Daiki Tomita, but the bout was cancelled when Ishizawa suffered an injury, which he has now recovered from. Our in depth preview of this bout is here Ishizawa and Inoue battle for Japanese youth title! Cebu, Philippines As well as the stacked show in Japan there's also a notable card in the Philippines, headlined by former world title challengers facing off, and featuring several prospects in supporting bouts. The main event will see Melvin Jerusalem (13-2, 8) battle against Toto Landero (10-3-2, 2). Both of these men have fought for world titles in recent years, with Jerusalem giving Wanehng Menayothin arguably the toughest bout of his career, in 2017, and Landero recently losing to Knockout CP Freshmart. The loser will have some serious rebuilding to do, but given that both men are still young that won't be a huge issue with the right mind set. The winner however will have taken a huge step towards getting a second shot at a world title. Our preview of this bout is here Jerusalem and Landero battle in brilliant all Filipino clash! In one of the supporting bouts fans will see unbeaten 20 year old Esneth Domingo (10-0, 6) risk his unbeaten record against Reymark Taday (9-6-1, 4), in what could be a good test for the 20 year old Domingo. Another of the supporting bouts will see will see the unbeaten Christian Bacolod (9-0, 7) taking on fellow unbeaten Christoval Furog (5-0, 2) in what should be a compelling bout, though we do feel that Bacolod's power and extra experience will be the difference. Lancashire, United Kingdom The Funai bout isn't the only world title eliminator taking place as the UK plays host to a Lightweight world title eliminator between Indonesian warrior Daud Yordan (38-3-0-1, 26) and popular Englishman Anthony Crolla (33-6-3, 13), who will be hoping to take a step towards a WBA title shot. Yordan has been one of the few Indonesian fighters in recent years to make a mark internationally and his win earlier this year against Pavel Malikov was one of the best bouts of 2018. He is however up against here, with Crolla being a former WBA world champion and one of the best contenders in the division, with great stamina and under-rated skills. With a big reward for the winner we're expecting this to be a very exciting and action packed contest, with a lot of leather being thrown. We've previewed that bout here Yordan and Crolla set for a thriller... New South Wales, Australia In Australia we're set for a bit of a mismatch, with the all action Joel Brunker (33-3, 19) battling Indonesian journeyman Rivo Rengkung (37-27-6, 14). The 32 year old Brunker isn't going to reach the heights many had hopes for, but Rengkung shouldn't pose any sort of a threat at all, and will instead be expected to pick up his 28th career defeat. Ekaterinburg, Russia In Russia we'll see former Uzbek amateur stand out Makhmud Gaipov (0-0) make his professional debut. Sadly at the time of writing no opponent has been named for Gaipov, but we're expecting him to be moved quickly and in 2019 we'll expect to see him fighting in 6 or even 8 rounders. Tokyo, Japan Misako gym put on their next show this coming Friday in what is a pretty weak card, with a very interesting main event, and only one under-card bout of real note. The attractive main event will see the under-rated Noriaki Sato (5-4-1) take on former Japanese Light Welterweight champion Koichi Aso (22-8-1, 15). On paper it's hard to get excited about this contest but for once the paper is really off. Sato is a very under-rated fighter, who holds notable wins over Valentine Hosokawa and Cristiano Aoqui. Sadly whilst Sato is under-rated he has lost his last 3, including back to back stoppage losses to Woo Min Won and Hayato Ono. The always fun to watch Aso hasn't fought since losing the Japanese title to Hosokawa last December, but he seems to have a lot more in the tank than Sato. The only supporting bout of note will be a contest between domestic journeyman Takuya Yamaguchi (11-12, 9) and Japanese ranked Super Bantamweight Jin Miura (10-3, 1). Coming into this Miura has lost 2 of his last 3, but has mixed in good company against the likes of Mark Uranov and Takafumi Nakajima. Miura is talented but needs to re-find his groove and we suspect that's why he's been matched with Yamaguchi here. Yamaguchi is dangerous at this level, but he has lost 3 of his last 4 and we suspect his poor form will be why he's been selected here to fight Miura. It is worth noting Yamaguchi is a natural puncher, and he has been fighting at Featherweight, so he could be a surprising threat for Miura, if the ranked fighter has over-looked his upcoming opponent. Tokyo, Japan This coming Wednesday attention turns back to the Korakuen Hall where Kawasaki Nitta will be putting on a small but notable show with a Japanese title eliminator and the second bout for a very highly touted novice. The Japanese title fight eliminator will see former champion Hikaru Nishida (17-9-1, 8) battle against 2017 Rookie of the Year Shuji Kato (9-1-1, 6), with the winner set to get a title shot at the title in early 2019. Nishida lost the title earlier this year to Kazuto Takesako, who stopped him in just over 90 seconds, with that loss ending a reign of almost 2 years. Sadly Nishida hasn't fought since that defeat and he's now 18 months removed from a win of note. Kato on the other hand hasn't scored a major win yet, but did win the 2017 Rookie of the Year crown and has gone 7-0-1 since his sole loss, back in 2015. A full preview of this bout can be read here Former champion Nishida takes on Rookie winner Kato! In the only notable supporting bout we'll see the hotly tipped Takuma Takahashi (1-0, 1) take a clear step up in class as he takes on Filipino Joepher Montano (9-3-2, 8). The unbeaten Japanese fighter debuted back in June, when he defeated a Thai visitor in 2 rounds, and this is a clear step up from that bout. Takahashi is regarded as one of the most promising Japanese fighters above 130lbs though we're yet to to see him really face any adversity as a professional. The Filipino isn't a world beater by any stretch, but did give Atchariya Wirojanasunobol a decent test in August and will be hoping to do the same to Takahashi, despite being a very clear under-dog. We're hoping to see Takahashi being asked some new questions here, but we would be very surprised if he didn't come out on top. |
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