Where we have had some interesting days already this month we see things go on to a totally new gear on July 11th with the Philippines really dominating a very, very active day. Cebu, Philippines The best of the shows comes from Cebu where ALA will be running the next in the “Pinoy Pride” cards. Not only is the card a “big name” one but it features a little bit of everything from a recognised champion in a really exciting match up to action involving touted prospects and a major debut for a man tipped as a future Filipino star. The main event is the world title bout which sees long term WBO Light Flyweight kingpin Donnie Nietes (35-1-4, 21) defends his belt against former unified Minimumweight champion Francisco Rodriguez Jr (17-2-1, 11). This is a genuinely mouth watering match up between arguably the best, and most proven, fighter in the division and one of the most promising and battle hardened young fighters on the planet. Credit to both men for getting this one sorted. In the co-feature we'll see the much touted Mark Magsayo (10-0, 8) attempt to claim his first title. The talented Filipino will be up against Mexico's Rafael Reyes (16-4, 12) in a bout for the IBF Youth Featherweight title. Magsayo has, generally, impressed but this is a much more significant bout than his previous 10 and we expect to learn something new of the 20 year old here. Whilst Magsayo is the most touted prospect on the card there is a lot of attention being given to Kevin Jake Cataraja (0-0) who makes his professional debut against Ardi Tefa (6-4, 4). From what we've been told the 20 year old Cataraja is expected to progress quickly through the ranks and could find himself in the same position as Magsayo within the the next year or two. One other prospect on this card worthy of a mention is the heavy handed Vic Saludar (9-1, 7) who has failed to live up to expectation so far. The once touted Saludar will be up against Michael Kaibigan (3-2-2, 2). Metro Manila, Philippines In Metro Manila we have a number of intriguing matches with more Filipino's including a match up that may go down as the best domestic Filipino bout of the year, the card will also feature a pair of former world title challengers and a GAB title fight. The match up we most like is a 10 round bout for the WBC Youth Super Flyweight title between the unbeaten Jhaleel Payao (11-0, 6) and Michael Dasmarinas (20-2, 13). We've been impressed in the past by Dasmarinas who looked fantastic beating Hayato Kimura last year ans was very unlucky against Lwandile Sityatha. As for Payao he's impressed in sessions working with Ryosuke Iwasa and the reports are that he's a very promising young prospect. We really cannot say enough good words about this one. Another WBC strap will be on the line as former world title challenger Richard Claveras (12-1-2, 12) looks to defend his WBC Asian Boxing Council title against Benezer Alolod (16-7-5, 5). This will be Claveras's first bout since his loss, in a WBC world title fight, to Pedro Geuvara back in April and this is a tough return to action, despite Alolod not holding the most impressive of records. A third title bout is for the GAB Super Flyweight title as Rene Dacquel (14-4-1, 5) defends his title against Jonas Sultan (8-2, 5). On paper it's hard to side with Sultan but he has looked good recently with 4 straight wins, 3 by T/KO, and was unlucky in his most recent loss. Whilst it's not the best match up on the card it certainly isn't a bad one. A final title but here will see Rey Juntilla (20-6-4, 13) trading blows with Danilo Pena (26-21-4, 11) for the vacant LuzProBA Featherweight title. We've got to admit we can't see a win for Pena who is now little more than a domestic journeyman, and is 3 years removed from his last win. Juntilla may go on to achieve something more notable, given he is just 25, but we can't see him progressing to the levels that he'd like to get to. One final bout of note here will see former world title challenger Ardin Diale (28-9-3, 14) take on Indonesian veteran Heri Amol (35-23-4, 14). From what we understand Diale is awaiting to get a shot at the OPBF Flyweight title and will know that a win here really will put him within touching distance of a shot later in the year. It does need saying Amol has lost his last 9, including a defeat to the then debuting Ken Shiro, but is still a decent enough journeyman to get Diale some good rounds. Cotabato del Sur, Philippines Another Filipino show really looks very exciting with some fantastic match ups on a more domestic level. The most promising fighter on the card is the unbeaten John Vincent Moralde (12-0, 6), who will be fighting for the first time since his tragic bout with Brayd Smith. The unbeaten Moralde has been matched easily here against William George (10-22, 3) in what should be an easy win, but that allows Moralde's handlers to know where he's at in terms of his mental state. Another very touted young fighter on this card is 20 year old Jade Bornea (3-0, 2), who holds a notable amateur victory over Kosei Tanaka. Bornea will be facing his stiffest test to date as he goes up against fellow unbeaten Salatiel Amit (6-0-2, 4) in what looks to be a very well matched bout. Jade's brother Jake Bornea (9-1, 4) is also in a very good looking bout as he takes on Richard Rosales (9-2-2, 4) in a bout for the WBC Asia Pacific Youth Flyweight title. Jake is highly tipped, like his brother, though it's hard to overlook his 2014 loss to Raymond Tabugon. One other prospect worthy of note from this card is Jelbirt Gomera (8-0, 5) takes on the highly experienced, though limited Prell Tupaz (8-27-5, 1) in a bout for the PBF Super Bantamweight title. Gomera hasn't received the plaudits of many others but has slowly carved out a promising record and a title win here will almost certainly move him onto bigger fights. Whilst this card doe feature a lot of prospects one bout stands out as being a truly mouth watering clash. That bout pits former world title challenger Vergilio Silvano (20-4-1, 12) takes on the talented Jetro Pabustan (25-2-6, 7). On paper this is a brilliant fight with the winner almost certainly being moved towards a bigger and better fight whilst the loser will hover around the top of the domestic scene. Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany It's not in the Philippines that we have a world title as fight fans in Germany get the chance to see WBA Heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev (33-2-1, 20) defending his title against German based Italian born fighter Francesco Pianeta (31-1-1, 17). On paper this looks mouth watering but in fairness Chagaev is not the fighter he once was and Pianeta was made to look like a journeyman in his last notable bout, a 6th round TKO loss to Wladimir Klitschko. Although it's a “heavyweight title fight” it's hard to see anyone even pretending that this features 2 of the divisions top fighters. Guerrero, Mexico One final bout comes from Mexico as Filipino Jhon Gemino (12-3-1, 5) takes on the touted and unbeaten Andres Gutierrez (31-0-1, 22). This is a huge task for Gemino, who has clearly been brought in to lose, but we can't criticise him for taking the fight. (Image courtesy of ALA Boxing)
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The busy level of activity continues on Sunday with a trio of Japanese shows Tokyo, Japan The most notable the 3 Japanese cards comes from Tokyo where fans get the next Dangan show, and it's a really good looking one despite the fact that the top bouts are only 8 rounders. The main event here will see former Japanese title challenger Shingo Eto (15-3-1, 9) battle against Tomoya Yamada (12-5, 3). Coming in Eto is risking his Japanese Super Featherweight ranking and although he'll be favoured to win it does need saying that Yamada scored a major win last time out, out pointing Akihiro Kondo last December. This is genuine an intriguing contest between two fighters who know that a win could help propel them towards a title fight. The chief support bout will see Filipino Flyweight Ardin Diale (27-9-3, 14) return to the Korakuen Hall for the first time since his dramatic loss to Koki Eto last June. Diale, who is 4-0 (4) since that loss, will be battling Japanese ranked Flyweight Yuta Matsuo (7-1-1, 4). This is a really good match up, possibly better than the main event, and could see Matsuo leaping towards an OPBF title bout or Diale taking a huge step towards getting a rematch with Eto. Fantastic bout. A third 8 rounder will come at Super Featherweight where Takumi Koyama (9-3-1, 7) battles against Spice Matsuhsita (13-8, 2). Koyama was beaten last time out by Dai Iwai though, at 24, he's still getting better and has the potential to move into title level down the line. Matsushita on the other hand is 32 and fighting for his career, he's much more experienced but really cannot afford another loss if he's ever going to get a title bout Another very interesting bout here is a 6 rounder between the hard hitting and exciting Daigo Higa (4-0, 4) and Filipino foe Virden Rivera (8-1-1, 2). We're fans of Higa and feel like he has a lot of potential, especially given that he's just 19, and this is the logical step forward against the once beaten Rivera. Wakayama, Japan The main event here will see Eita Kikuchi (16-4-4, 7) battle against the limited Keita Ito (8-19-2, 4). Coming in to the bout Kikuchi is ranked by the JBC and is less than 2 years removed from an OPBF title fight against Shingo Wake, in which he was stopped in 9 rounds. Ito on the other hand has lost his last 7 bouts and won just 1 of his last 13, suggesting he has the role of a patsy here for Kikuchi. In the chief support bout fans will see the unbeaten Shohei Kawashima (9-0-2, 2) battle against Yuta Sasaki (6-6, 1). Coming in to this bout Kawashima is ranked by the JBC and had a stellar 2014 as he won the Rookie of the Year at Super Bantamweight this however is a step up in class, despite the fact Sasaki's record doesn't suggest that he's anything special. Sasaki has certainly been in the tougher bouts and could well use his experience to really test the unbeaten 23 year old. The other main support bout will see Kazuki Hashimoto (10-4, 6) battle against Chikashi Hayashizaki (6-4-1, 2). On paper this looks like a mismatch however Hayashizaki is on a 2 fight winning streak against good opponents and is significantly better than his record suggests. We'd not be shocked if this was very close over the scheduled 8 rounds. Hiroshima, Japan In Hiroshima fans will get a card consisting of 10 bouts in total. Unfortunately from those 10 bouts only 2 are worth really noting. One of those bouts is the main event which will see OPBF and Filipino ranked Light Flyweight Benezer Alolod (16-6-5, 5) battle against Japan's Koji Itagaki (13-9-2, 6). Alolod comes in to this bout on the back of a razor thin loss to Renren Tesorio though he has previously scored notable wins against the likes of Rey Loreto, Jerson Mancio, Jomar Fajardo and Tesorio. As for Itagaki he has won just 1 of his last 6 bouts and we'd be surprised by anything but an Alolod win. The other 8 rounder will see Ryuji Ikeda (8-2-1, 4) battle against the experienced Kosuke Iwashita (14-17-2, 8). The 19 year old Ikeda has won his last 2 bouts, following a stoppage loss to Kenta Onjo in April 2014, whilst Iwashita has won just one of his last 8 dating back more than 3 years. It's again a fight that seems predictable, though given his age we won't complain about Ikeda getting a few easy ones at this stage in his career. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp) Although January has been a bit of a slow month it does end in exciting and busy fashion with a pair of Filipino shows. We won't pretend that any of them are ground breaking with huge headline bouts but there is certainly something to be intrigued by on both shows.
Davao del Sura, Philippines For us the best of the Filipino shows comes from Davao del Sur and features 4 notable bouts. They aren't earth shattering bouts but all 4 contests have some form of significance to them. The least interesting of the 4 contests will see that talented but light hitting Marlon Tapales (26-2, 9) battles against struggling compatriot Jecker Buhawe (16-10-1, 10) in what looks to bo a straight forward win for Tapales. Buhawe's record however is misleading and he is better than the numbers suggest, though we still favour Tapales. Another bout that looks like a mismatch will see Drian Francisco (26-2-1, 20) fight against Jason Egera (21-11, 10). We suspect this will be 1-sided with Francisco taking a stoppage over Egera, however Egera may feel he needs to put in a career best performance considering that he has lost his last 3 bouts and his career will certainly be on the rocks if he's beaten quickly here. Possibly the best bout on the card will be for the IBF Youth Super Flyweight title as the talented, young and heavy handed Aston Palicte (15-1, 13) battles against Thai visitor Jomyuthlek Sor Narongchai (12-2, 5). Palicte, dubbed “Mighty”, is a serious puncher and a really exciting guy to watch, and he should see off the Thai visitor here, however it's not a forgone conclusion and we hope to see Jomyuthlek really asking some questions of Palicte. In the main event we get another between a Filipino and a Thai as the unbeaten Adones Cabalquinto (18-0, 11) fights against Denkamon Pakdee Gym (12-3, 5) for the IBF Australasian Light Welterweight title. From what we understand this will be Dankamon's first bout in almost 4 years and it's really hard to see him even testing Cabalquinto here. Unfortunately however it does seem that the unbeaten Filipino is doing his best to avoid real challenges and bouts like this are becoming a big common place in his career, unfortunately. Metro Manila, Philippines Another of the Filipino shows takes place in Metro Manila and although this card isn't as good as the other one it does still have a few interesting contests scheduled. The main event will see the heavy handed Richard Claveras (11-0-2, 11) defending his WBC Asian Boxing Council Light Flyweight title as he takes on Indonesian visitor Demsi Manufoe (9-3, 6). On paper it looks like a test for Claveras however in reality it's a horrible mismatch and Manufoe has been stopped in both of his bouts outside out Indonesia, lasting 3 rounds with Knockout CP Freshmart and less than a round with Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr. This could be over very quickly. The co-feature will see Rene Dacquel (12-4-1, 4) looking to bounce back from a loss in December. The talented Dacquel, a former WBC Youth champion, will be fighting against Boy Dondee Pumar (10-6-3, 4) in what appears to be a genuinely good contest. Sadly much of the under-card appears to be mismatches however we do like the look of Kyota Otsuka's (5-0, 3) contest, which will see the unbeaten fighter up against the light hitting but under-rated Jesame Dela Cerna (5-2-3, 1). Otsuka will be the favourite though Dela Cerna has the ability to make this a good test for the unbeaten 20 year old from Tokyo. Whilst there are mismatches on the remaining parts of this card they do feature some very fighters including Michael Dasmarinas (18-2, 11) and Ardin Diale (26-9-3, 13) who will both be expect to pick up straight forward wins. Chiapas, Mexico As well as the action in the Philippines there is also a bout of note in Mexico as the unheralded Jomar Fajardo (14-5-2, 7) battles against former Minimumweight champion Francisco Rodriguez Jr (16-2-1, 11). These two traded blows in a thrilling encounter last year in the Philippines with Rodriguez being surprisingly taken a to a draw and this time out the Mexican will be hoping to make a statement as he looks to get an opportunity to become a Light Flyweight champion later in the year. New South Wales, Australia In Australia there are more Asian's in action, albeit as the clear B-side in bouts they are supposed to lose. One of those Asian fighters is Filipino fighter Rodynie Rafol (12-5-2, 5) who will be trying to upset the unbeaten George Kambosos Jnr (6-0, 3). The other Asian fighter is Indonesian whipping boy Erick Diaz Siregar (16-20-4, 4), who has lost 9 of his last 10 bouts. The Indonesian will need the performance of a life time if he is to win here however as he goes up against the promising Billel Dib (15-1, 6) here. The action really does continue through much of December and this coming Tuesday is no different with notable shows in 4 of the Asian countries and in fact all 4 countries play host to at least 1 title fight. Tokyo, Japan The most notable of the title fights is in Japan where heavy handed OPBF Super Middleweight champion Yuzo Kiyota (26-4-1, 24) defends his belt against unknown Fijian challenger Abhay Chand (16-13-4, 10), a man we really don't know a lot about. Kiyota, who is best known for his loss to Robert Stieglitz last year, will be making the first defense of his current reign and we suspect he'll make light work of Chand though we haven't managed to find much of Chand's footage and our view is just based on his record. Sadly whilst this Japanese card has the biggest title bout of the day it lacks markedly in terms of it's under-card. There will 7 undercard bouts but the only one worth noting is the 8 round contest between Kenta Nakagawa (7-2, 5) and Ryo Nakamura (7-4, 3), in what looks to be a very even match up. Metro Manila, Philippines Although the best title fight is in Japan we believe the best card comes from the Philippines with 4 bouts that have caught our eye. The most exciting of those bouts is one of two main events as the promising Rene Dacquel (12-3-1, 4) attempts to defend the WBC Youth Super Flyweight title against unbeaten compatriot Jhaleel Payao (10-0, 6). Dacquel impressed earlier this year fighting to a draw, in Japan, against Ryotaro Kawabata, and has since stopped Menard Abila in 8 rounds. On the other hand Payao is unbeaten and a former PBF champion who has scarcely lost a round in the last 2 years. A really interesting and genuine well made contest. The other main event will see highly ranked Super Flyweight Warlito Parrenas (22-6, 19) defending his WBO Oriental title against Indonesian visitor Hengky Baransano (11-4, 4). At the time of writing Parrenas is the #2 ranked Super Flyweight according to the WBO and is also one of the divisions most exciting and heavy handed fighters. We suspect the champion will stop the Indonesian visitor though as is often the case with Indonesian fighters, we don't know how good they are and every so often an Indonesian fighter does have some surprising talent so this could be interesting. A third bout to make a note of is a Light Flyweight bout featuring monster puncher Richard Claveras (10-0-2, 10). The heavy handed and much touted puncher will be fighting against experienced journeyman Rodel Tejares (20-31-6, 5) in what could be an interesting test for the young man who is with out a doubt heavy handed and one to keep a real eye on in the coming years. The fourth bout will see see former world title challenger Ardin Diale (25-9-3, 12) stepping up to Super Flyweight to fight against the experienced Ricky Manufoe (23-21-2, 10). On paper this is a mismatch however Manufoe's record is misleading and he has lost to numerous world champions including Kompayak Porpramook, Suriyan Sor Rungvisai, Amant Ruenroeng and Teppaith Kokietgym and he may well be a lot better than the numbers suggest. As for Diale we all know he has been in some draining battles recently, including his war with Koki Eto from earlier this year. We suspect this card will feature another 5 bouts but we've picked out the 4 most notable ones. Bangkok, Thailand In the “land of smiles” fans will get the chance to see Japanese teenage Riku Kano (4-1-1, 3) attempt to claim the WBA Asia Minimumweigth title. Kano, a 17 year old youngster who is yet to debut in Japan, will be fighting Madit Sada (9-18-1, 3). From what we understand Kano will be hoping to become the first Japanese fighter to win a WBA affiliated title prior to his Japanese debut and if he wins here the intention is to try and move towards a WBA world title fight and beat the long standing record of Hiroki Ioka's for the youngest Japanese fighter to become a world champion. For those who haven't yet seen Kano his skills were recently on show against Wittaya Sithsaithong and going on what we saw there we suspect he'll really shine against the poor Kano. Daejeon, South Korea In South Korea we see two more titles up for grabs. The most notable of those is the KBC Light Welterweight title which will be defended by novice champion Myung Soo Sun (1-0) for the first time. Sun, who won the title back in September with a majority decision over Jae-Ho Kim will be fighting against Jin Soo Kim (6-3, 3) here. Although we don't know much about the challenger we do recognise some of his opponents, including Quaye Peter, who Kim stopped in a round, and Taek Min Kim, who beat him in 8 rounds for a different version of this title. This could a be a very good test for the champion. In the other title bout the unbeaten Eun Hye Lee (5-0, 1) will be battling Filipino visitor Lady Love Sampiton (2-2, 1) in a bout for the WBO Asia Pacific female Flyweight title. Lee, a former Korean national champion, should be facing the best test of her career here though we've yet to be impressed by Sampiton. The rest of the card, 4 bouts, will feature debutants in action in what we suspect the KBC hopes will help to grow Korean boxing. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp) Some days are insanely busy and today is one such day with more fights of note than almost any other day this year, and better yet they are spread all over the globe form the Philippines to the US, from Germany to Mexico. It really is a great day to look forward to. New Jersey, USA The most important bout for many fans this Saturday is in the US where destructive Russian Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23) attempts to unify his WBO Lightweight title with the WBA "super" and IBF titles currently held by Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2-2, 32) in a bout that appears to have every boxing fans interested , even those that typically hate watching Hopkins. Kovalev, a destructive puncher, has been a on a real role recently wiping out decent contenders on a regular basis, often with out breaking sweat. Hopkins on the other hand has been the same old Hopkins we all know, lulling opponents to sleep en route to winning wide decisions. We suspect this bout could be over early if Kovalev hits as hard as we think, or could end up being a long and slow night if Hopkins can hypnotise Kovalev, like he has to many previous opponents. That's what makes this bout so interesting, who will manage to instill their natural game plan on the bout? On the undercard we have another Russian, Andrey Sirotkin (4-0, 1), risking his unbeaten record against the limited Michael Mitchell (3-4-2, 1) in what should be a straight forward 6 round affair for Sirotkin. Baden-Württemberg, Germany Whilst the main event in New Jersey is undeniably the biggest bout of the day it's very easy to pick the biggest female bout of the day as unbeaten Japanese boxing queen Naoko Fujioka (12-0, 6) attempts to become the first Japanese female fighter to become a 3-weight world champion. Unfortunately for Fujioka she will be up against her toughest challenge yet, Germany's popular Susi Kentikian (33-2-0-1, 17), the current WBA female Flyweight champion. The bout is a tough one on paper and it's made even tougher by the fact Fujioka is on the road traveling to Germany for the bout against on of Europe's most popular female fighters. México, Mexico A second very good female bout comes from Mexico as former WBA female Minimumweight champion Etsuko Tada (13-1-2, 3) attempts to regain the title and avenge her sole defeat. That however will see her needing to over-come Mexico's very own Anabel Ortiz (15-3, 3) who claimed a controversial split decision in Japan over Tada last year. We suspect this could be a better bout that the Fujioka/Kentikian one though in our eyes the other is slightly more significant considering that Fujioka is attempting to carve her place in history. We'll admit with this being a rematch we're hoping for something a bit special. On the same card in Mexico Ryuji Yokoyama (11-1-1, 3) will be looking for the biggest win of his career as he takes on the world class Jesus Silvestre (25-9, 21) in a very big test for the Japanese fighter. Pennsylvania, USA Back in the US we see the next bout of the talented Vasily Lepikhin (16-0, 9) who attempts to build on his excellent victory over Robert Berridge last time out. This time Lepikhin will be battling big punching Brazilian Jackson Junior (15-1, 13), was was last in the US about 20 months ago being taken apart by Cuban Umberto Savigne. We suspect that Lepikhin will have a very easy night with the Brazilian who isn't as dangerous as his record would indicate. Texas, USA In a third US bout fans will see Olympic gold medal winner Egor Mekhontsev (5-0, 5) take the next step on his way to a world title. Mekhontsev has had things all his own way so far but we wouldn't be shocked to see him struggle, at least a bit, with the extremely heavy handed Jinner Guerrero (7-2, 6). Guerrero is limited but what he hits, he hurts. Guerrero comes in with 2 losses in his last 3 but he is insanely heavy handed and if Mekhontsev gets caught or gets reckless this could get very interesting. Queensland, Australia A bit closer to "home" is a card in Australia that strikes us as interesting but not great with two bouts of note. The main event here will see world ranked Bantamweight puncher Zhanat Zhakiyanov (23-1, 16) battle against Filipino journeyman Roberto Lerio (16-20-1, 6) in what appears to be little more than a stay busy fight for the highly regarded Kazakh puncher. This will be Zhakiyanov's third bout of the year and will see him building on two stoppage wins, including an eye catching 1-punch KO over Karim Guerfi back in April and we'd be shocked if Lerio managed to take him the distance here. The other bout will see the always entertaining Filipino slugger Romeo Jakosalem (15-8-1, 8) battle against the fast rising Cameron Hammond (10-0, 4) in what is likely to be a painful night for the Filipino. Jakosalem comes into this bout with 4 losses in his last 5, including a 2nd round TKO loss to Min Wook Kim back in May 2012, though did win last time out against Elmer Legaria and, if he's on form, he could make life difficult for Hammond. Odds are however Jakosalem isn't going to be close to his best unfortunately and will instead be dominated by the talented Australian. Davao del Sur, Philippines Having just mentioned some Filipino's it makes sense to mention some more as we go to the first of two Filipino cards. This one in Davao del Sur involved two interesting bouts with the co-feature being the better of the two, at least on paper. That bout will see the heavy handed but limited Drian Francisco (25-2-1, 20) battle against former world title challenger John Mark Apolinario (17-4-3, 4). Having seen Apolinario struggle to survive against Koki Kameda last year we believe Francisco will stop him, though we do know that Francisco can be out boxed by a speedy fighter and that could prove to be an issue here. The main event looks like a total mismatch as the talented Adones Cabalquinto (17-0, 10) continues to toil and waste away his career. The talented Filipino Light Welterweight will be battling against Thai visitor Pankorn Mor Poowana (3-1-1, 1) in a bout for the vacant WBC Asian Boxing Council Light Welterweight title and we can't help but think he really should bite the bullet, take a risk and go for the OPBF title with a fight against Keita Obara, as was once arranged earlier this year. Metro Manila, Philippines The other Filipino show comes from Metro Manila and is a much deeper card. Sadly due to just how busy the day is we're only going to talk about a few of the bouts on the card. The main event will see the thunderously hard hitting Richard Claveras (9-0-2, 9) attempting to defend his WBC Asian Boxing Council Light Flyweight title against the limited but tough JC Francisco (6-8-3, 2). Francisco has won just 1 of his last 4 and we don't see it changing here but we do suspect that Claveras will be forced to work hard to get the win considering that Francisco has never been stopped so far. A second interesting bout on here will see Ardin Diale (24-9-3, 11) attempt to defend his his GAB Flyweight title against the heavy handed Jenny Boy Buca (9-1, 9). Diale is better than his record suggests though we're unsure how good Buca is. If Buca has got skills as well as power he may manage to upset Diale who has had a very hard year considering his slugfest with Koki Eto was just 5 months and he has already had a very hard fight with Renerio Arizala since then. This is going to be a tough year for the Filipino who needs a win here to remain relevant. Klimovsk, Russia In Russia we have yet more Filipino's in action with two Filipino's fighting in the Russian town of Klimovsk. At Lightweight we will see Rey Labao (26-5, 17) attempting to claim the PABA title as he takes on the unbeaten Roman Andreev (15-0, 11), a man attempting to make the first defense of his title. Labao's record may not make him look like a killer but he's a very good fighter and his only loss in his last 8 bouts came against Yoshitaka Kato in an OPBF title fight. As for Andreev this is a tough defense but advantage will likely help him some what against a testing opponent though one who is perhaps less rounded and skilled than Andreev is. The other bout comes at Bantamweight where Jason Canoy (21-4-2, 15) fights against Nikolay Potapov (12-0, 6) for the WBA Asia Bantamweight title. This bout, like the other one, looks really interesting and although we again suspect the unbeaten is more skilled we cannot rule out the Filipino fighter who we suspect will go to Russia with an upset on his mind. Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand One final show scheduled to take place is in Thailand where we have one interesting bout and one other bout worth noting, albeit a total mismatch. The interesting bout will see WBO Asia Pacific Super Flyweight champion Petchbarngborn Kokietgym (28-7-1, 11) defending his belt against the once beaten Filipino hopeful Macrea Gandionco (10-1-1, 6). We suspect Petchbarngborn will be too big for the Filipino however it's a bout we're interested in and hope that Gandionco will be comfortable at the weight. The other bout that interests us, despite it being a disgusting mismatch, will see Fonluang KKP (21-1-1, 9) take on journeyman Falazona Fidal (25-41-1, 8). This is an awful mismatch though it's nice to see Fonluang staying busy and this will be his 5th bout this year, a big change from 2012 in which he was completely inactive. (Image courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions) Although the world cup is in full swing that doesn't mean that the boxing world goes to sleep and on Tuesday we get a potential FOTY in Japan where two exciting fighters battle for the OPBF Flyweight title. In Thailand we see one of the most promising young Thai prospects in action in a day that is genuinely a great day for fight fans. Tokyo, Japan It's been a while since we last had an OPBF Flyweight title fight but we dare say that it'll have been worth the wait when fans get the chance to see this week's title fight between Koki Eto (14-3-1, 10) and Ardin Diale (23-8-3, 10). The fight has all the ingredients of an absolute barn burner with two men who have some what limited defences, a lot of heart and the mentality of being happy to fight. The show not only has the amazing Flyweight bout but 7 other bouts. The pick of those is a Light Welterweight bout between Toshihiko Adachi (13-7, 6) and former OPBF and Japanese title challenger Valentine Hosokawa (16-4-3, 8). Hosokawa, who enters the bout as the #10 ranked Japanese Light Welterweight, will be fighting for the first time in 10 bouts and has suffered back-to-back losses but will feel confident of beating Adachi here. Another bout of note on this show will see Yasuhiro Okawa (11-11-3, 3) putting his #4 Japanese Welterweight ranking on the line as he takes on Takuya Fuji (6-4, 2). We're not totally sure what Okawa has done to be so highly ranked, especially when you consider his stand out win, an opening round stoppage over Hidekazu Matsunobu, came some 4 years ago. Saying that we'd still favour Okawa against Fuji here. Samut Sakhon province, Thailand As well as the title action in Japan we also get a title fight in Thailand as the unbeaten Chalermpol Singwancha (4-0, 3) looks to defend his Asian Boxing Federation Welterweight title against Romeo Jakosalem (15-8-1, 8). We're unsure who the ABF are though we've got to admit we're relatively disappointed that yet another title is becoming prominent in world boxing. We'd love to have fewer regional titles though we do under-stand how they are used by promoters and fighters. On the same card in Thailand we also expect to see two other bouts. One of those will feature veteran Sirimongkol Singwancha (78-2, 50) whilst the other will see Petchsuriya Singwancha (9-8, 5) in action, though neither of these are expected to be in tough bouts due to future arrangements. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp) (Ed's note-the last time the OPBF Flyweight title was fought for was way back in December 2012!) |
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