Tokiwa Arena, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
The bigger of two shows this coming Sunday comes from Kobe thanks to Senrima Kobe promotions. The card isn't a huge one, but does have a Japanese Youth title fight, as well as two relatively interesting lower level domestic fights. The title fight will see Seira Kishida (5-1-2, 2) face off with Seika Fukuda (6-2, 1) for the vacant Japanese Youth Super Featherweight title. Aged 23 Kishida is the slightly older fight, and the mall taller one, standing just under 6 foot, and also the one bringing some momentum into the bout having gone unbeaten since losing in December 2018, running off a 4-0-2 run since then. As for Fukuda, who's 22, he's lost 2 of his last 3, though one of those was in the All Japan Rookie of the Year final in February 2021 to Tsubasa Narai. He'll go in with little momentum, but has gone 8 rounds, which Kishida hasn't and that could play a major role in this bout. Our in depth preview of this bout can be read here Kishida and Fukuda clash for Youth title In the chief support bout Sho Omote (9-3, 3) will take on JBC ranked Flyweight Shun Kosaka (16-8, 4). The 27 year old Omote will know this is a chance for him to crash into the rankings, but with 2 losses in his last 3 he hasn't much momentum coming in to this, though did show his ability in 2019 and clearly has got potential to move towards a Japanese title fight in the next few years. Kosaka on the other hand has really struggled recently and is 1-5 in his last 6, with his only win in that run being a razor thin one against Shunji Nagata in 2019. Whilst Omote has no momentum, it's hard to imagine Kosaka has any confidence. The main event of the card will see Japanese and WBO Asia Pacific ranked Super Flyweight Hiroki Tokuyama (11-3-1, 2) take on JBC 2 ranked Flyweight Keisuke Iwasaki (6-3-2, 2), in a bout at Super Flyweight. This should be on where Tokuyama is favoured, given the bout is at his weight and he is the local fighter, however it's certainly not a foregone conclusion and he has lost 2 of his last 4, and has struggled with the 8 round distance, even in bouts he has won over that distance. As for Iwasaki he comes into this on the back of a good win over Shota Asami last year, and also holds very solid wins over Ryuku Nakamine and Mammoth Kazunori, and whilst he is the smaller man, he has regularly fought at 115lbs and could end up having the tools to over-come Tokuyama here in a very matched bout. Barangay Ligaya Gymnasium, General Santos City, Cotabato del Sur, Philippines As well as the action in Japan we also have a small card in the Philippines. Sadly at the time of writing, the show hasn't yet had the B-sides announced, and even the A-sides aren't hugely appealing, though it's obvious they are being matched to pick up easy wins. One of the A sides is veteran Ernie Sanchez (19-17-2, 10), who has genuinely faced a who's who of the sport over the years. In his 39 fight career he has faced the likes of Rey Vargas, Sergey Lipinets, Oscar Valdez, Masayuki Ito, and Evgeny Chuprakov. Sadly Sanchez has been struggling for victories in recent years, and comes into this with a 0-5-1 record in his last 6, so it's perhaps fair for his team to try and get him an easy win here. One of the other A sides of note is young puncher Ken Jordan (9-1-2, 8) who seemed to be rebuilding well following a 2017 loss to Jimboy Haya. Sadly his rebuilding hit a wall at the start of the pandemic, and he's not fought since stopping touted Japanese fighter Tulio Dekanarudo in December 2019, which is a genuine shame, as that was the sort of win that should have served as a platform for his career taking off. Aged just 24, time is on his side, but it's still a huge shame that he has lost 2 years of his career.
0 Comments
Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California, USA
The biggest bout involving an Asian fight this coming Saturday is a bit of an unexpected one as Mongolian fighter Tugstsogt Nyambayar (12-1, 9) took a short notice chance to face unbeaten American Chris Colbert (15-0, 6), for Colbert's WBA interim Super Featherweight title. Originally Colbert had been set to face Yuriorkis Gamboa, but Gamboa had to pull out due to injury with Nyambayar replacing him. The Mongolian will be moving up in weight for this bout, but he will likely be aware that he's also being over-looked, and has nothing to lose here. He'll be hungry to claim a "world title", even a WBA interim belt, and it would open big doors for him. Colbert on the other hand looks like one of the future stars of American boxing, and a good performance by him could open the doors to some potentially huge fights at 130lbs down the line. Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan As well as the great fight in California, it's also a busy day through Asia this Saturday, with the most meaningful single bout coming from Korakuen Hall, in the main event of a Dynamic Glove show. That main event will see former WBO Super Featherweight champion Masayuki Ito (26-3-1, 14) take on former Japanese Light Welterweight champion Valentine Hosokawa (25-8-3, 12) in a bout at Lightweight. Coming in to this both men will feel they need to win. Ito was beaten last December, losing a close decision to Hironori Mishiro, and has lost 2 of his last 3, including a loss to Jamel Herring in 2019. He really needs a big win to get his career back on track. The 40 year old Hosokawa on the other hand was last seen losing to triple crown Lightweight champion Shuichiro Yoshino and he will be hoping that a win over Ito will secure him one more shot at a title. This should be a great mix of skills, excitement, and under-rated power from both men. It just really is a shame the rest of the card is rather weak on paper. IPI Tingub Gym, Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines As well as the card in Japan we have more action across Asia with shows in the Philippines and Korea. Of those shows it's the Filipino show which is the much more interesting and features a number of very notable fighters. The main event here will see the once beaten Pete Apolinar (14-1, 8) battle against the regularly entertaining Jess Rhey Waminal (14-3-1, 8) in a bout for the OPBF Silver Featherweight title. Coming in to this both men are 26, but that's almost where the similarities end. Apolinar has been busy over the last 12 months, with 3 fights since October 2020, and has put his sole loss well behind him, winning his last 9. Waminal on the other hand hasn't fought since November 2019 and has lost 2 of his last 5. Regardless Waminal is a live opponent and will be here looking for the win. In a truly fantastic match up we'll see Mark Vicelles (13-0-1, 7) take on Jerven Mama (12-0-1, 7) in a fantastic bout between unbeaten fighters. This is almost as good as it gets for All-Filipino bouts. The 25 year old Vicelles is world ranked and is looking to build on two wins in the last 12 months, but the southpaw is certainly not going to have things all his own way here. Aged 24 Mama is the slightly younger man and the slightly taller man, but will need to rely on more than those two small advantages. We genuinely wouldn't be surprised if this stole the show here. In a likely mismatch we'll see the fringe world class Christian Araneta (19-2, 15) take on veteran puncher Richard Claveras (19-7-2, 16). On paper this isn't an awful match up, but it's hard to imagine Araneta losing. In fact it seems to be a clever bit of match making to get Araneta a win after his controversial decision loss to Sivenathi Nontshinga back in April. Claveras has the power and aggression to make this interesting, if he lands, but that's a big if. On paper we're also set to get a mismatch between Tomjune Mangubat (13-2-1, 11) and Ernie Sanchez (19-15-1, 10), however this might be a lot tougher than it looks on paper. Sanchez, at his best, is a very upset minded fighter, with under-rated power, very high level experience, and the ability to take out opponents if they make a mistake. Mangubat should be favoured, but he'll need to make sure not to take liberties with Sanchez, or he could be made to pay. Urdaneta Cultural Sports Complex, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan, Philippines A second Filipino card will be coming from Urdaneta City, and this is a much less interesting event than the one in Cebu. The star of the card here is the unbeaten Charly Suarez (6-0, 5), who will be expected to pick up an easy win as he takes on the limited, but experienced, Eduardo Mancito (18-11-2, 9). Suarez is one of the best natural talented in the Philippines, but the 32 year old now needs to step up, massively, and sadly for him it seems unlikely he'll be able to get the competition he needs to have a genuinely meaningful somewhere down the line. Mancito is a good, solid stalwart of Filipino boxing, but should be very clearly out of his depth here. Another noteworthy name on this card is the upset minded, and heavy handed, Jhunriel Ramonal (17-8-6, 10), who looks set to shake some ring rust as he takes on the very limited Landy Cris Leon (13-22-5, 6). Sadly for Ramonal, who had such much momentum at the end of 2019, his career hit a brick wall due to the Covid19 pandemic and he's not fought since scoring a brutal KO win over Yusaku Kuga at the very end of 2019. He should pick up an easy win here, though we suspect he might want to get a few rounds before taking Leon out. DND Boxing Gymnasium, Hwaseong, South Korea On a KBM show in Hwaseong we'll see an international title fight as Min Ho Jung (10-3-2, 1) clashes with Hwang Kook Je (6-2-2, 2) in a bout for the WBC Asian Boxing Council silver Welterweight title, which is currently vacant. Coming in to this the 27 year old Jung will be the favourite, given his better record and the fact he's the slightly bigger man, but he's lost 2 of his last 3 and is really struggling for form coming in to this one. Je on the other hand has stopped two of his last 3 and was more active in 2020. Although this isn't for a major title the bout is still a pretty interesting one and should provide great entertaining for fans at the DND Boxing Gymnasium Songwon University, Nam-Gu, Gwangju, South Korea The card in Hwaseong isn't the only one in Korea this Saturday as we'll also be getting action from Gwangju, thanks to KBA who show case one of the most exciting talents in Korea in what appears to be a mismatch. The exciting local headlining the event is the unbeaten Jong Seon Kang (12-0-2, 6), who will be facing John Ray Logatiman (6-9-2, 2), who is a late replacement on this show. Originally Kang was supposed to defend his WBO Oriental Featherweight title but his original opponent was injured and has had to be replaced. As well as the chance to see Kang we'll also see Jung Woo Kim (4-3-1, 2) defending his KBA Welterweight title in the co-feature bout. This coming Sunday is set to be a busy day in Japan, with 5 shows set to take place across the country, including 2 in Osaka. Osaka, Japan The biggest show is one of those Osaka shows, and will be held by Green Tsuda, with 2 Japanese title bouts. The main event of the card will see Japanese Welterweight champion Ryota Yada (18-4, 15) defending his title against Yuki Nagano (15-2, 11) in a mandatory defense. This will be Yada's third defense of the title, and will be the first time he faces a puncher since dethroning Toshio Arikawa in April 2018. Nagano has earned his shot with wins over Riku Nagahama and Yuki Beppu, but this is easily his toughest test to date. We're expecting a very, very entertaining contest here. An indepth preview of this bout is available here Yada and Nagano battle for Japanese crown! The other title bout will see Japanese Super Flyweight champion Takayuki Okumoto (21-8-4, 10) make his second defense, as he takes on mandatory challenger Yuta Matsuo (15-3-1, 8). Okumoto won the title last August, dethroning Hiroyuki Kudaka, and this is a solid looking defense for the 27 year old champion. Matsuo earned this shot with a win over Rey Orais last year, and although that was a pretty straight forward win it is worth noting that the challenger is a live under-dog and he gave Masayuki Kuroda a real test in 2017. This could be a very close and competitive contest. A preview of this bout can be read here Okumoto hunts next defense, takes on mandatory Matsuo Another bout on this card will see the once touted Kazuki Tanaka (9-2, 6) take on Thai foe Songrit Ontha (2-2). This is clearly a confidence building bout for Tanaka, following a stoppage loss last year to Keita Kurihara, and we would expect him to take a very straight forward, and quick, win here. Ontha has been stopped in the 4th round in both of his losses, and we expect something similar here too. Osaka, Japan A second show in Osaka, which takes places after the Green Tsuda card, will be an Ioka promoted show featuring several notable fighters. The co-feature of this show sees former Japanese Super Flyweight title challenger Masayoshi Hashizume (16-0-2, 10) take on Japanese based Filipino journeyman Jayar Estremos (11-14-1, 4). It's hard to imagine Estremos beating the unbeaten Japanese fighter, though he did hold Hiroyuki Kudaka to a draw in December and is better than his record suggests. We're expecting a clear win for Hashizume, but one he has to work for. In a really good looking clash we'll see former world title challenger Sho Ishida (27-1, 15) takes on the under-rated Ikuro Sadatsune (9-3-3, 3) in a Bantamweight clash. On paper this looks like a huge mismatch, but Sadatsune is an upset minded youngster, who is always worth watching and is the naturally bigger, younger man. A loss for Ishida will end his hopes of getting a second world title fight, and he will know that he can't afford a loss. This is a huge change for Sadatsune to make a name for himself, but he will obviously be the under-dog. Hyogo, Japan The most notable show outside of Osaka takes place in Hyogo, and features a couple of Japanese ranked fighters each looking to move towards their first national title fights. The chief support bout will see ranked fighters clash as Giraffe Kirin Kanda (14-2, 8) and Fumisuke Kimura (8-4, 5) clash in an 8 round bout at a contracted 64.5KG's. This, on paper, looks like a straight forward win for Kanda, but Kimura has shown the potential to spring upsets, especially when fighters over-look him. We suspect that Kanda will be too good and too strong, but he will have to respect Kimura to avoid a shock defeat here. The other bout will see OPBF and JBC ranked Minimumweight Ryoki Hirai (10-6-1, 4) take on the limited Takayuki Teraji (9-17-1, 4), who isn't a world beater but is a fighter who can be relied on to give solid rounds to national level fighters. Hirai is an under-rated guy, but has sadly lost his last 2 and lost the momentum he had once built , and he should win here, but can't over-look Teraji. Teraji has lost his last 3, but was very competitive in losses to Seita Ogido and Takeru Kamikubo and is a potential banana skin here. Ishikawa, Japan In Ishikawa we get a card from Casimi gym, who put on a 7 fight card headlined by a Japanese female title fight. The Japanese title bout will see Asami Jinnari (6-3-1, 3) take on Miki Mitsuda (4-5, 3) in a battle for the Japanese female Featherweight title. The match up isn't the most interesting, especially given that Jinnari has already failed in 2 attempts to win the title, but given how we're seeing these female national titles act as something of a building block, we can't complain too much about title bouts like this. Jinnari is certainly a solid contender on the domestic front and Mitsuda is better than her record suggests. It's worth noting however that Jinnari did stop Mitsuda back in August and it's hard to see Mitsuda avenging that loss here. A pretty good looking support bout on this card will see Omrri Bolivar (7-1, 3) take on under-rated Filipino Ernie Sanchez (19-13-1, 10). Bolivar is an OPBF ranked fighter who is now based in Japan, though is originally from Venezuela. This looks like his toughest bout to date by far, with Sanchez being a fantastic journeyman. Sanchez has been in with a real who's who, and although he has suffered 13 losses, 5 by stoppage, he is a very good journeyman who gave Evgeny Chuprakov a scare last year and stopped Hurricane Futa in 2017. This could be a very entertaining and hotly contested match up. Yamaguchi, Japan The least notable of the cards takes place in Yamaguchi, where we get a number of 4 round bouts at a low level. There's set to be 12 bouts on this card, but none of the bouts here are particularly notable. October 27th is set to be a busy day, especially in the Philippines where there will be 3 different shows!
Ifugao, Philippines The most notable card being held in Asia this coming Saturday will come from Ifugao and will see one of the top teenage prospects in world boxing look to continue his rise. That teenager is Filipino “Wonder Boy” Carl Jammes Martin (10-0, 9), who looks to make his first defense of the WBA Asia Bantamweight title as he faces off with Korean visitor Moon Chul Suh (5-6-3, 4). The heavy handed Martin won the title back in June, when he stopped George Lumoly in 3 rounds, and is currently riding a 6 fight T/KO run. The Korean has a much less impressive record, but has stopped his last 3 and looks to be a dangerous fighter, even if he's not the most impressive, and he will be looking for the chin of the Filipino youngster. Another prospect on this card will be 16 year old Roy Nagulman (5-0-1, 3), though his opponent hasn't been named at the time of writing. The teenage hopeful debuted at the age of 15, with a draw, but has won his last 6 and will be hoping to continue his winning run here. Cavite, Philippines A second Filipino card will be held in Cavite. The most attractive bout on this card will see the very talented Alphoe Dagayloan (10-2-5-1, 4) take on Rongguo Wu (6-1-2, 2) in a mouth watering clash. The 26 year old Dagayloan proved last time out that he was a fighter developing his man strength, as he stopped Kazakh fighter Madiyar Zhanuzak, and showed he hit hard than his record suggests. Chinese fighter Wu on the other hand is a has goen 8 fights unbeaten, following a KO defeat on debut almost 3 years ago. We see Wu putting up a strong effort but coming up short here In another notable bout fans will see the unbeaten Denmark Quibido (8-0, 5) seek his 4th win of the year. At the time of writing however his opponent has yet to be announced. The unbeaten 22 year old southpaw is a genuinely promising prospect and should be stepped up in the near future, sadly though late notice opponents won't help his development here. One other bout on this card, that looks like a very clear mismatch, will see Roberto Gonzales (27-4, 17) take on Edsil Jungco (3-11-6). Coming in to this Gonzales has lost his last two bouts, both by stoppage, but Jungco shouldn't provide any real threat here. It's worth noting that Edsil has avoided defeat in his last 3 bouts, but with 9 stoppage losses against his name it's clear he can't handle the heat, and we expect Gonzales to take an early win here. Cavite, Philippines Another show from Cavite will be headlined by a fantastic match up between Neil John Tabanao (16-4, 11) and Eduardo Mancito (16-9-2, 9). This 10 round main event should genuinely be a real thriller and both men are better than the records suggest, and both can genuinely hit solidly at domestic level. The tough Tabanao was the last fighter to last the distance with Isaac Dogboe. On the other hand Mancito has competed against the likes of Tomjas Rojas and Satoshi Shimizu, the only two men who have stopped him. The only other bout of note on this card will see Daniel Lim (6-0, 2) battle against Menard Abila (5-6-4, 1) in a 4 rounder. New York, USA Outside of Asia fans will be able to see Uzbek Heavyweight prospect Bakhodir Jalolov (2-0, 2) fight in a step up, as he takes on Tyrell Wright (9-2-2, 6). The unbeaten Jalolov is a former amateur standout, having won a bronze medal at the 2015 World Amateur Championships and a gold at the 2017 Asian Championships. He'll be strongly favoured here but Wright is much tougher than Jalolov's first 2 professional opponents. The 31 year old American has never been stopped and has taken unbeaten prospects Jermaine Franklin and George Arias the distance his two losses. Despite being tough it is worth noting that Wright is more than 2 years removed from his last win. Maryland, USA Also in the US will be Kazakh prospect Shyngyskhan Tazhibay (7-0, 2), who looks to record his third win of the year as he faces off with Juan Rodriguez (8-11-1, 6). The unbeaten Kazakh has shown some promise but isn't really being developed with much ambition and his match making, after 3 years in the professional ranks, is disappointing to say the least. Rodriguez has lost 9 of his last 11 and it would be a huge surprise to see him pick up a win here. Rodriguez is tough, but very limit and is likely to lose a clear decision here. Lyubertsy, Russia We'll also get an interesting bout in Russia as Pavel Malikov (13-1, 5) looks to bounce back from a recent loss to Daud Yordan, and battles Filipino Ernie Sanchez (19-12-1, 10) for the vacant Eurasian Boxing Parliament Lightweight title. The once beaten Russian has been in some brilliant fights during his 16 bout career, including his loss Yordan and his 2017 win over Daiki Kaneko, and will be favoured here. Sanchez however is no walk in the park and he gave Evgeny Chuprakov a real test earlier this year and holds a 2017 upset win over Hurricane Futa. Malikov is the bigger man, and should be favoured, but we suspect he will be given a stiffer test than he may expect. Cebu, Philippines The biggest Asian show this coming Saturday takes place in Cebu where ALA host their latest “Pinoy Pride” card. The main event of the card will see former 2-weight champion Donnie Nietes (39-1-4, 22) take on Thai visitor Eaktwan BTU Ruaviking (22-3, 15) in a bout for the vacant IBF Flyweight title, that was vacated by Johnriel Casimero. On paper it's hard to go against the Filipino veteran, who hasn't lost since a very controversial defeat back in 2004, but at 34 years old and fighting in his first title fight at Flyweight this could be a really good test to see what Nietes has left in the tank. As for Eaktawan this could be a huge chance to score a break out win and announce himself on the world stage. In the lead support bout fans will see the touted Mark Magsayo (15-0, 11) take on Tanzania's Issa Nampepeche (24-7-4, 11). The unbeaten Magsayo is slowly working his way towards a world title fight and although this won't put him in the mix it does seem him go in there with a live opponent and he will have to make sure that he doesn't over-look the “Peche Boy”. Another notable prospect in a supporting role is Jeo Santisima (12-2, 11), who puts a 10 fight T/KO run on the line against Indonesian visitor Master Suro (11-8-1, 2). The heavy handed Santisima looks like he could be one of the next big stars of the Philippines and at just 20 years old there is real excitement in regards to his future. Suro isn't anything great but he has proben to be tough through his career so far, with his only stoppage loss so far coming to recent OPBF title challenger Kaewfah Tor Buamas. Metro Manila, Philippines Staying with the Philippines there will also be a small show in Metro Manila. The main event of thise card will see Danny Tampipi (7-6-2, 4) battle against experienced domestic foe Albert Alcoy (14-23-8, 4) in a bout for the "interim" Philippines Boxing Federation (PBF) Bantamweight title. It's not a great bout but it should be a competitive one, and could well be a fun one with both men fighting to claim some silverware. Osaka, Japan In Osaka fight fans will be able to get a little bit more world title action. That world title bout will see WBC female Flyweight champion Nana Yoshikawa (7-1, 4) battle against Mexican challenger Monserrat Alarcon (8-3-2). The bout will be Yoshikawa's first defense of her title and on paper looks a really good one, though truthfully we're not too sure what Alarcon really brings to the table here and she could be a very tough foe for the 38 year old champion. Also on this card will be a bout feature the promising Shingo Kawamura (13-3-1, 6), who takes on a Thai visitor, and an interesting looking bout will see Yu Konomura (7-4-2, 1) battle against Yuki Iriguchi (7-1-1, 4). Ishikawa, Japan Another Japanese show will take place in Ishikawa, where we get a pretty interesting looking card. The main event will see the unbeaten Genesis Servania (28-0, 11) battle against Ralph Jhon Lulu (12-1-2, 5) in a bout for the WBO Asia Pacific Featherweight title. The once touted Servania has seemingly wasted the last few years, but a win here will help put him back into the title mix with the WBO. For Lulu a win would be a potential career changer and put him in the mix for some notable fights later in the year. In the co-feature Hurricane Futa (22-6-1, 13) will be battling against Ernie Sanchez (16-9-1, 7) in what should be a really fun to watch battle. Both guys are better than their records suggest, with both being tough, heavy handed and exciting fighters. Hangzhou, China
In Hangzhou we'll see an interesting card featuring a trio of title bouts, across the weigh classes. The lowest weight covered by those title fights is at Flyweight where local hopeful Jing Xiang (9-4-2, 1) will face the once beaten Joy Joy Formentera (8-1, 4) for the WBO Oriental Flyweight title. On paper this looks like an interesting bout, and will see Xiang looking to turn the interim title into the full version of the belt. Formentera is the visitor but is unbeaten in almost 4 years and is a very live under-dog. At Heavyweight we'll see American based Romanian Razvan Cojanu (15-2, 8) battle unbeaten German based Kazakh born fighter Alexander Frank (11-0, 9) in a battle for the WBO Asia Pacific Heavyweight title, essentially guaranteeing a second successive European holder of this title, a strange thing given what the title was set up for. Another Asia Pacific title fight comes at Lightweight where the unbeaten Xiang Xiang Sun (8-0, 6) takes on Thai visitor Tabthong Tor Buamas (15-5, 12) in a very interesting looking match up. Sun, who we believe has an incomplete boxrec record, is one of China's more over-looked hopefuls and should he win here he could be in the fringes of the WBO rankings. Whilst this looks interesting Tabthong has gone 2-4 in his last 6. China Also in China will be a card that sees Li Quan Lin (7-1-1, 2) battle Filipino Ernie Sanchez (15-8-1, 6) in a bout for the IBO Asia Pacific Lightweight title. The bout doesn't look competitive on paper but Sanchez is a live opponent, and not the journeyman his record suggests, whilst Lin is still pretty unproven, despite this being his first defense of the IBO regional title. Victoria, Australia In Victoria we'll see two Indonesian fighters sharing the ring with the Australian Balla brothers. Up against the once beaten Ibrahim Balla (9-1, 6) will be the experienced Agus Kustiawan (17-5-1, 7), who is fighting for the 6th time this year. Kustiawan has gone 0-1 outside of Indonesia but has been success in recent bouts winning 4 of his last 6. Balla was stopped last time out, losing to Neil John Tabanao back in June, and will be looking to return with a win here. The other Balla is the unbeaten Qamil Balla (9-0-1, 3) who faces Musa Letding (11-5-4, 6), who was previously down to face Takuya Watanabe in Japan earlier this year. Letding is 0-3 outside of Indonesia but is a live dog here and is tough enough to give solid fighters a tough time, with his only stoppage loss coming years ago to Hurricane Futa. Balla will be favoured but should be tested. Thailand There will also be action in Thailand with two notable Japanese fighters. One of those is Cobra Suwa (18-11-2, 10), who will be defending his WBC Asian Boxing Council Light Middleweight title against former foe Ratchasi Sithsaithong (6-3, 5) whilst the other will be Hirotsugu Yamamoto (19-13-2, 3), who hasn't yet had his opponent named. Quincy, Massachusetts In the US fight fans will see 2008 Olympic medal winner Zhang Zhilei (12-0, 8) battle the highly experienced Galen Brown (44-35-1, 25). Browne, fighting for the 81st time, will be looking to secure a career best win whilst Zhilei will be looking to extend his unbeaten record and take a small step towards bigger and better fights. Tokyo, Japan The only show this Thursday is an interesting one from the Korakuen Hall. In the main event fight fans will see OPBF Super Featherweight champion Masayuki Ito (18-1-1, 8) defending his title against Filipino foe Ernie Sanchez (15-7-1, 6). The talented, yet criminally under-rated Ito, will be making the second defense of his title and looking to make a successful ring return following a hand injury, that already scuppered and arranged bout with Sanchez. For Sanchez the bout is an undeserved opportunity given he has gone 1-4-1 over the last 3 years but he has mixed with some very good fighters like Oscar Valdez, Sergey Lipinets and Rey Vargas. In a supporting bout we see the wonderfully fun to watch Katsunori Nagamine (11-1, 7) take on the very credible Yuki Yonaha (7-2, 5), who enters the bout with an OPBF rating and the hunger to move forward with his own career. For fans this is the sort of match up that makes Japanese boxing so brilliant, there is no waiting for either Nagamine, who comes in following two tough bouts, or Yanaha to get on with securing themselves a big fight and the winner of this could well move in to the mix for a title bout. Another man looking to move to a title fight is the unbeaten 21 year old Tsubasa Koura (7-0, 4), who claimed the Rookie of the Year crown last year. The unbeaten youngster will be taking on his most experienced foe to date, Bimbo Nacionales (14-11-1, 3). The experienced Filipino is nothing special but should be a good test for the hotly tipped Japanese youngster. Talking about fighters looking for titles there is also a former Japanese national champion on this card, that's former Japanese Super Flyweight, and current WBA International, champion Yohei Tobe (10-2-1, 6), who takes on the limited Masaya Kohama (6-4-1, 3). For Tobe this bout will be his first since his excellent win over Luzuko Siyo and should see him scoring a third successive win. For Kohama it's hard to see him winning but he'll get a chance to face a notable opponent. |
Categories
All
Archives
October 2024
|