October 31st-Juri and Yamaguchi battle in eliminator, Kira looks for win #2, Mori returns10/27/2024  Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
We end the month of October with an interesting card from Shisei Promotions, headlined by a Japanese title eliminator, supported by a top prospect in a major step up, a once beaten hopeful returning after a lay off and the boxing debut of a former kickboxing champion who turns to boxing at the age of 37. The main event of the show will be a brilliant match up between unbeaten hopefuls as Kantaro Juri (7-0-1, 2) faces Jinya Yamaguchi (5-0, 2) in a Japanese Super Flyweight eliminator, with the winner likely to face Suzumi Takayama next year at the Champion Carnival. The bout will be Juri’s 6th bout scheduled for 8 round and he has the edge in experience, but there are question marks about his chin, having been dropped by Pai Pharob, and his power, having not scored a stoppage in his last 5 bouts. Whilst he has been fighting at a good level we do wonder whether his lack of power will hold him back in fights like this. As for Yamaguchi his competition hasn’t been as strong as Juri’s, though a win over Ryutaro Nakagaki in 2023 was very impressive. On paper this is very much a 50-50, with two talented former amateur fighters facing off early in their careers for a title fight next year, very interesting a very hard one to call. In the chief support bout we’ll see the very highly regarded Daiya Kira (1-0, 1) compete in his second professional contest, as he faces Venezuelan Orlando Pino (15-2, 9) in a notable step up. Kira was a stellar amateur, going 46-6 (16) in the unpaid ranks, and is ranked by the WBA after just a single professional bout. Sady as a professional we really don’t know what he has in the locker as his debut foe, Khomsan Kaewruean, offered little and was stopped within 2 minutes. Unlike Kaewruean it’s fair to say Pino has some ambition though he has been stopped in both of his losses, losing in 5 rounds to Robias Reyes in Argentina and 8 rounds to Erick Rosa in the Dominican Republic. This should be a genuine chance to see what Kira has to offer, and if he blows through Pino it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him in his first title bouts next year. In another supporting bout we’ll see the talented Musashi Mori (14-1-1, 7) take on Chinese visitor Peng Huang (10-9-3, 5). Mori was once tipped as a future world champion, and whilst a loss to Satoshi Shimizu and a draw with Takuya Watanabe didn’t hinder those hopes, at least not too much, it does feel like he’s not really kicked on from an excellent start to his career. Notably he comes into this on the back of a 16 month break from the ring, so we can’t complain about the poor competition, who will be expected to take him the distance, but the focus for 2025 needs to be on getting back to regional level. As for Huang the Chinese fighter has mixed with decent fighters from Asia, coming up short against them, but has never been stopped and will be expected to give Mori rounds without being a real test. Also on the card is former Kick Boxing champion Tsukuru Midorikawa (0-0), who debuts in a 6 rounder at 154lbs. Midorikawa, who is 37, is coming to boxing at a late age, but is vastly experienced in combat sport, fighting in both Kick Boxing and Muay Thai. Nicknamed the “Green Monster”, it’ll be interesting to see how Midorikawa does in boxing, especially given his age, though it did long seem like his hands were his best weapon in kick boxing. Sadly his debut isn’t anticipated to give him much of a test, as China’s Dacong Wang (8-3-1, 1) has no wins of note on his record, has shown little in the way of power, will be making his international debut and has been stopped recently. Spaceplus Bangkok RCA, Bangkok, Thailand Over in Thailand we’ll see a show being put on by Brico Santig. One of the main bouts here will see Australian based Liberian born fighter Victor Nagbe (8-1, 3) take on Indonesian veteran Stevie Ongen Ferdinandus (35-17-1, 19) in a bout for the WBC Asian Super Welterweight title, which is currently vacant. Nagbe has won his last 3, but has been fighting at a low level, though oddly fought as a Middleweight last time out. As for Ferdinandus the 44 year old “Wonder” has been a professional since 2009 and is amazingly on one of the best runs of his career with 8 straight wins, 5 by stoppage. Despite his good run, he will be the under-dog here. Another regional title bout on this card will see Iranian fighter Mahdi Sarbaz (4-1, 4) take on Filipino veteran Jimmy Paypa (20-6-1, 8) for the WBC Asian Continental title at 140lbs. Sarbaz only made his debut this past March and is 4-0 (4) in Thailand, though did suffer a loss in May, when he travelled to Bangladesh and suffered a 4 round decision defeat in a Middleweight bout. As for Paypa the Filipino has been around for a very, very long time, debuting in 2009 and facing Shingo Wake for the OPBF Super Bantamweight title in 2015, scoring one of his best wins just 13 months later when he edged out Bernabe Concepcion. Since the win over Concepcion however he has gone 2-3 becoming a semi-retired fighter with only a single fight since 2019. One other title bout worthy of some note is a Thai Atomweight title bout, as Watcharaporn Namphon (11-1, 7) and Muthita Iamsaard (10-1, 5) battle for the vacant title. Aged 23 Namphon is the older fighter and the more experienced though all 11 of her wins have come at a very, very low level. Her most notable bout is her 2023 loss to Sana Hazuki, where she was stopped in 3 rounds in Japan. Iamsaard, who's 19, has also picked up a lot of low key domestic wins, with her sole loss coming by TKO in Japan, by Noa Sakamoto back in 2023. It’s an interesting bout, and the winner will have tier biggest win, but it’s clear the top Thai Atomweights are several levels behind the top Japanese ones. Shimla, India We also have a low key card in India. Sadly the action here really isn’t going to get much attention, with all the bouts being 6 or 4 rounders, between novices. Given the action elsewhere it’s certainly got the feeling of a very low key card, as Indian boxing continues to lay down the foundations for the future, but the foundations are starting to take a very, very long time. Sadly the domestic action really hasn’t unearthed a notable talent, with the best Indian fighters coming from the amateurs, rather than being developed from the pro scene.
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 Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan
This coming Sunday we will get a very notable show at the Kokugikan in Tokyo, headlined by the second huge Super Flyweight title bout in just over a week, as well as a bout viewed as a warm up for a potential world title fight for an unbeaten Bantamweight, and a notable prospect taking on a man who seemed on the verge of a world title fight a few years ago. The main event of the show will see WBA “super” champion Kazuto Ioka (31-2-1, 16) take on IBF champion Fernando Daniel Martinez (16-0, 9) in a Super Flyweight unification bout, with the winner expected to pursue a bout with WBC champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in the near future. Ioka, now enjoying a world title reign in his 4th division, has been one of the major faces of Japanese boxing for over a decade now, though at 35 is starting to get to the point where father time will be picking a fight with him. He’s still a technical genius, and comes into this on the back of his first stoppage in over 3 years, but he is up against a very good fellow champion. In Martinez we have a whirling dervish of a fighter, with a very high output and a very aggressive style. The Argentinian first announced himself as one to watch back in 2019, when he stopped Athenkosi Dumezweni, but had to wait until February 2022 to really show what he could do, when he dethroned Jerwin Ancajas. Since winning the title he has fought just twice, but now has the chance to unify titles after more than a year of inactivity. This is expected to be a bout pitting the technical brilliance and counter punching, of Ioka, against the aggression and bloody mindedness of Martinez, in what should be a stylistically thrilling contest. In the main supporting bout Seiya Tsutsumi (10-0-2, 7) is expected to get some rounds under his belt as he tunes up for a world title fight. The talented and heavy handed Tsutusumi will be up against Thai visitor Weerawat Noolae (4-1, 2), who is expected to put up something of a fight but not really be a test. The Thai, who gave the fast rising Reo Nishioka 8 rounds back in April, is supposed to give some resistance to Tsutusmi, who has been out of the ring since December. The unbeaten Japanese fighter has eyes on a potential world title fight at the end of the year, and has stated he wants to face Takuma Inoue, so will likely want to make a statement here to land a shot at the WBA champion. Another unbeaten on this card is Kantaro Juri (6-0-1, 2), who takes on Thai veteran Phai Pharob (37-4, 28). Juri was last seen out in December, when he beat former world title challenger Danai Ngiabphukhiaw, and will be looking to get some good rounds here. As for Pharob, who was once the WBO #1 ranked Minimumweight contender and had looked like he was on the verge for a world title fight, this will see him look to avoid a 4th defeat in less than a year. At his best Pharob was a top contender, but is now a faded force, fighting not just above his best weight, but also well beyond his prime and his is 5-4 since 2016. In a good looking supporting bout Yudai Murakami (4-2) will face Hiro Ichimichi (8-1-1, 6), in what should be a very solid domestic bout, but one where Ichimichi will feel his power should be the difference. Despite the lack of power Murakami has shown himself to be a very capable fighter, with an upset minded mentality. He has scored notable upsets over Junki Shirasaki and Narumi Yukawa, and gave the then Japanese Lightweight champion Shuma Nakazato a real test back in December. Ichimichi went the distance with current Japanese Super Featherweight champion Tsubasa Narai last year, but his best win to date is a win over Ryuto Araya, and at 39 it is hard to know just how much he has left in the tank.  Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
This coming Tuesday we'll see the next show from the Ohashi Gym, and it's one that will show case some of the top young talent in Japan. The main event of the show will see WBO Asia Pacific Light Welterweight champion Andy Hiraoka (20-0, 15) defending his title against the crude, but hard hitting Filipino Alvin Lagumbay (13-5-1, 11). The talented Hiraoka is touted as Japan's biggest and best hope at 140lbs, and the hope is that this will be his last bout at this level, before progressing onto facing top 20 or so fighters, and begin moving towards a world title fight. As for Lagumbay he is very dangerous, as we saw in his first bout with Keita Obara, but he's certainly not unbeatable, and Hiraoka should have the tools to beat him. Our preview of this bout can be read here Hiraoka faces dangerous Lagumbay In a major supporting bout third generation fighter Keisuke Matsumoto (5-0, 5) will look to continue his rise through the ranks, as he takes on Ryota Ishida (11-3, 6). The talented Matsumoto is stepping up here, and it's something that he's needed to do, though he shouldn't struggle with Ishida who was stopped inside a round last time out by Kai Watanabe. In a mouth watering bout we'll see two unbeaten hopefuls face off as Ryutaro Nakagaki (2-0-2, 2) takes on Kyotaro Yoshida (2-0). Nakagaki turned professional with a lot of expectations on his shoulders following an excellent amateur career, but has had back to back draws coming into this bout, and desperately needs a win, but isn't being given a gimmie here as Yoshida was also a talented amateur. Notably Yoshida hasn't been hugely active since making his debut over a year ago, but he will see this as his chance to make an impact, whilst Nakagako looks to get back to winning ways. One other unbeaten fighters on this card is Kantaro Juri (4-0, 2), who takes on Filipino fighter Danrick Sumabong (12-2, 9). Juri is very highly regarded and the 26 year old was last seen sending former world title challenger Masayuki Kuroda into retirement. On paper this is a step backwards for him, but we'd rather a fighter takes a step back rather than sits inactive, which has been an issue for Juri since his 2019 debut. Even as a step back Sumabong is no push over, and he showed what he could do when he pushed Alphoe Dagayloan all the way, and since then he has won 5 in a row.  Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
also set for a decent looking show in Tokyo as we get the second Japanese title fight of the year, as well as a couple of bouts featuring promising young prospects. The main event of the show is a rematch of the 2021 Asian Boxing fight of the year as Japanese Super Bantamweight champion Gakuya Furuhashi (28-8-1, 16) defends his title against Yusaku Kuga (20-5-1, 13), the man he beat for the title last January. In their first bout we got a thrilling clash that saw Furuhashi finally break down Kuga to claim the title, in a performance that was genuinely inspired. It seemed, that day, nothing was going to deny Furuhashi. Since then Furuhashi has defended his title once, beating Seigo Hanamori in a short but thrilling little war. Aged 34 it's hard to know what Furuhashi's body has left in it, but he 2021 was a huge year for him and we feel he has a lot of momentum coming in to this bout. As for Kuga, who's 31 himself, he has taken a lot of punishment in recent years, the stoppage to Furuhashi was a big beating in the end, and he only just scraped a win over Ryoichi Tamura, in their bout back in October. This will be brutal, exciting and action packed, though we suspect it not quite live up to the level of their first bout. Out in depth preview of this potential barn burner can be read here Furuhashi and Kuga go again in Japanese title rematch! The most interesting of the under-card bout will see former 2-time world title challenger Masayuki Kuroda (30-8-3, 16) take on professional novice Kantaro Juri (3-0, 2), in a really compelling match up. Kuroda hasn't fought since May 2019, when he lost to Moruti Mthalane, and has had major injuries since then that delayed his in ring return. Now aged 35 it's really, really hard to know what he has left to offer the sport, but this fight should let us know whether he still has enough to be a force on the domestic scene. Juri on the other hand was an excellent amateur, who debuted in 2019, but has sadly lacked activity. On paper this is a massive step up up Juri, though he may well be getting Kuroda at the right time, and a win here would be huge for his career, even against the 35 year old, inactive, Kuroda. There are a lot of questions over both men here, and we suspect we will see a lot of them being answered with this bout. Another prospect on this card is the debuting Kotoji Irita (0-0), who takes on the once touted Kosuke Tomioka (4-2, 3) in a very interesting match up. The 20 year old Irita went 36-11 in the amateurs and is kicking off his career in a 6 rounder, with Dangan Aoki promoting him. Although he wasn't a standout amateur he did look very good in the unpaid ranks and certainly has the skills to make a good mark in the professional ranks. Tomioka on the other hand desperately needs a win, after back to back stoppage losses to Shunpei Kubo and Suzumi Takayama. Tomioka has flare and skills, but his questionable chin will always be a problem and we suspect it will hold him back, whether he over-comes Irita here or not. One other bout of note will see Japanese, OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific ranked Lightweight Toru Kiyota (11-4, 8) taking on Taison Mukaiyama (6-2, 3) in a scheduled 8 rounder. Coming in to this Kiyota has proven to be better than his record, and despite having 4 losses to his name 3 of them have been in very close bouts. He could, easily, be 14-1 (8) and if that was his record we suspect he would be on the verge of a title fight right not. Mukaiyama on the other hand is an explosive fighter, but someone who has started to learn his craft, and despite his first 5 fight bouts ending early his last 3 have gone the distance, including two wins over Ryugo Ushijima. This should be a lot more interesting than it looks on paper, though will be over-shadowed by the other match ups on the show.  This coming Saturday is set to be a hectic day, with two notable Japanese shows, a world title eliminator in South Africa and a show in the Philippines featuring several noteworthy fighters.
EDION Arena Osaka, Osaka, Osaka, Japan The most notable card comes from Osaka and is a lovely mix of everything Japanese boxing has to offer. It has a world title bout in the main event, a brilliant domestic bout in the co-feature role and several talented prospects in tough bouts through the card. The main event will see WBC Light Flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji (17-0, 10) look to record his latest defense as he faces Japanese veteran Tetsuya Hisada (34-10-2, 20), in a bout that has a surprising amount of history behind it. The two men were originally scheduled to fight in 2017, before Kenshiro vacated the Japanese title and went on to fight for the WBC belt. They were also scheduled to fight in 2020, before legal issues scuppered the bout. Of the two men Kenshiro is the more well known and the more proven, with this being his 8th defense, but the highly experienced Hisada is a very capable fighter, who gave Hiroto Kyoguchi a tough test in 2019 and will know that this is his last chance at a world title. We expect this one to be a brilliant bout between a strong, aggressive, veteran and a talented and intelligent champion. A genuinely fantastic match up. Our in depth preview of this can be read here 4 years in the making - Kenshiro Teraji Vs Tetsuya Hisada The co-feature for this show will see talented teenage hopeful Ayumu Hanada (5-0, 4) take on the huge punching Mammoth Kazunori (6-3-1, 6) in a 6 round bout between the Flyweight and Super Flyweight limits. Hanada began his career in Mexico before moving back to Japan last year and he made his JBC debut late last year in a very impressive performance. He's very young, but lives up to the "Flaco" nickname, with an aggressive, exciting and explosive style. Talking about explosive however Kazunori is one of the heaviest handed fighters in Japan, and if he catches an opponent clean he can wipe some one out. This is a very dangerous bout for Hanada, but a win here will likely lead him to a potential bout with a Japanese ranked opponent next time out. Another prospect on this card is Kantaro Juri (2-0, 1), who looks to score his third win as he takes on the light punching Toma Kondo (8-6-1, 1). The 24 year old Juri is a talented southpaw, who has a lot of promise and showed a lot of ability as an amateur, but is yet to show what he can really do as a professional. Fingers crossed we see him put together a better performance here than we've seen from him so far. Kondo is no world beater, but he is much better than his record suggests and 4 of his 6 losses have been by split decision. He's coming in to this on the back of a minor high, as he he surprisingly held Yuki Nakajima to a draw in December, and will feel like he can build on that result here. One other bout that deserves a bit of attention is a match up between Daiki Asai (0-1) and Yu Konomura (10-9-2, 4). Asai lost his debut, last year, to Kyonosuke Kameda, but showed a lot as an amateur and clearly has some tools in his arsenal that could see him in some interesting bouts over the next few years. Konomura is a win some-lose some, type of fighter, but has began to find his self belief and power, scoring his last 3 wins by stoppage, and we suspect he'll come in to this confident that he can get another KO. Both of these guys are better than their records suggest, and they could end up giving a genuine treat deep on the under-card of this show. Convention Center, Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan A second Japanese card, which will be aired live in Okinawa and be shown on tape delay in Tokyo, will be a card that has a very easy to over-look main event, and a solid prospect on the under-card. It's not as interesting, or as big as the Osaka card, but is a show worthy of attention. The main event here will see former WBC Flyweight champion Daigo Higa (17-1-1, 17) look to score his first defense of the WBO Asia Pacific Bantamweight title, as he takes on the unbeaten Ryosuke Nishida (3-0, 1). Higa won the title in impressive fashion last December, when he stopped Yuki Strong Kobayashi, but hasn't looked the most convincing since his forced move to Bantamweight. He is certainly heavy handed and very exciting, but we do wonder whether he has the natural size to compete against the better fighters in the division. For Nishida this is a massive step up, but he has impressed since turning professional, and he looked a real talent last time out, when he beat Shohei Omori. He has the style and size to neutralise Higa, and if he can put a complete performance together here he could upset the local hero. Our in depth preview of this one can be read here Higa returns to Okinawa to take on unheralded Nishida! Higa's once beaten stablemate Ryuto Owan (6-1, 4) will also be on this show, as he takes on the tough and rugged Takafumi Iwaya (4-4). Owan won his first 5 bouts before losing in 2018, in a Japanese Youth title bout. Following that loss he disappeared for a couple of years before returning last year with a win over Tomoya Kishine and he looked really good in that win. Iwaya isn't a particularly well known fighter, but he is insanely tough and last year we saw him take a battering at the hands of the brilliant Rentaro Kimura, before finally being stopped in round 5. He's very limited but there is no doubting his toughness and he will be a potential nightmare for Owan here. Owan should have the tools to win, but he will have to work hard against one of the toughest men in the sport. Suamlum Night Bazaar, Ratchadaphisek, Bangkok Over in Thailand we get the next show from TL Promotions and it's one with a very peculiar main event. That main event will see former Welterweight contender Teerachai Sithmorseng (44-1, 31) clash with former Bantamweight and Super Featherweight champion Sirimongkhon Iamthuam (97-5, 62), with the bout taking place all the way up at Light Heavyweight. The bout will be for Teerachai's WBA Asia title and it's fair to say that neither man will look in their best physical shape and condition. The show will also feature the third professional boxing contest of Nonthasith Petchnamthong (2-0) who will be defending his WBA Asia Bantamweight title , as he takes on Suradech Ruhasiri (6-2, 5). Nonthasith is a top Muay Thai fighter who has been solid since turning to professional, and should be far, far too good for his Thai foe here. Though sadly Nonthasith has shown little power in professional boxing gloves, and it's going to be interesting to see whether or not he can stop his limited foe here. 2nd Floor, Mega Mart Burgos Poblacion Norte, Paniqui, Tarlac, Philippines In the Philippines we're set to get a show that is rather disappointing overall, but one that does feature several fighters of note. Sadly however as with many Filipino shows it has the look of "mismatch city". One of the notable fighters on this card is former amateur standout Charly Suarez (5-0, 4), who had been tipped as a future force for Filipino boxing when he turned professional. The now 32 year old Suarez turned professional disappointingly late and now, in his 6th bout, is taking on regional journeyman Lorence Rosas (9-5-2, 3). We know that Filipino fighters, like Japanese fighters, are limited right now due to travel issues brought on by covid19 but in reality Rosas is a poor choice of opponent, and he shouldn't really force Suarez to break a sweat. Rosas has lost his last 4, last fought in 2019, as a Super Bantamweight, and offers very little to test Suarez with. In a potentially better match up the under-rated Richard Pumicpic (21-11-2, 6), who is much, much better than his record suggests, will take on Landy Cris Leon (13-21-5, 6). Although Pumicpic's record is underwhelming he's a real nightmare to fight and has given the likes of Ryosuke Iwasa, Cesar Juarez and Musashi Mori fits. He record might not show it, but he is a legitimate handful at the Oriental title level and shouldn't be over-looked, even with 11 losses to his name. Leon on the other hand has gone from once being a decent regional journeyman to a man who has started to collect losses bout after bout after bout. This should be an easy win for Pumicpic, but given he's lost his last 3 we won't complain too much. He deserves an easy one if we're being honest. Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, South Africa Outside of Japan the most significant bout of the day comes from South Africa, where once beaten Filipino Christian Araneta (19-1, 15) takes on hard hitting South African prospect Sivenathi Nontshinga (9-0, 9), in what is an IBF world title eliminator at 108lbs. The talented Araneta suffered his only loss in 2019, when an arm injury forced him to retire against Daniel Valladares, in what was a fantastic though disappointingly short bout. Since that loss he has notched 2 domestic wins and appears hungry to make a statement. Nontshinga on the other hand is somewhat unknown outside of South Africa but has got notable wins over Siyabonga Siyo and Ivan Soriano. Interestingly he did go 7 rounds before stopping Muhsin Kizota in 2018, the same Kizota who looked clueless recently against Hasanboy Dusmatov, and there maybe is some doubt about how good he really is. The winner of this will be right in the mix and may well end up getting a shot at Felix Alvarado later in the year. This is easy to over-look but could be the bout that steals the weekend. Universum Gym, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany Over in Germany we'll see unbeaten German based Thai Phannarai Netisri (7-0, 4) fight for a WBC Youth title. Sadly her opponent, at the time of writing, is yet to be announced as her original opponent appears to have been pulled out of the contest due to some nasty injuries suffered in their last bout. "Fai" is a really exciting young fighter at just 20 years old, and it's going to be very interesting to see how she develops from here GK Ekaterininskiy, Krasnodar, Russia As well as everything we've already mentioned there is also set to be an appearance from rising Uzbek hopeful Ulugbek Qayumboev (4-0, 4), who will be looking for his 5th straight early win as he takes on a yet to be named opponent. The 20 year old Qayumboev, who fights around the Lightweight division, debuted last year and has been blowing out very low level competition so far. Fingers crossed we see him stepping up later this year, though sadly this bout doesn't seem like to be much of an upgrade given no opponent was named 7 days out.  We really are closing in on Christmas, and even though we're a few days away we are set for one of the annual treats boxing calendar, the All Japan Rookie of the Year final. As well as the Rookie of the Year's there's a lot of other stuff going on, with a title bout, an eliminator and a host of prospects in action. This Sunday is big for Asian boxing!
Tokyo, Japan Our attention is obvious focused on the All Japan Rookie of the Year final from Korakuen Hall, with G+ airing the show live, and in full. For fans who want to know what makes Japanese boxing special at the lower end this is it. This is the culmination of a tournament that covers the whole country and takes the better part of a year. To get to the final you need to have won your regional final, and you don't get this far by chance. You get here on merit alone, and as a result we get some amazing match ups. We won't be going through all 12 bouts, but we have picked out favourite match ups from the line. It's always great to see all-unbeaten fights in the final and at Minimumweight we have one such bout, as Katsuki Mori (5-0, 1) takes on Takumi Chono (5-0, 3). This is a brilliant fight, with both men being young, having very similar records and both proving themselves to get this far. Mori is a sensational pure boxer from the Ohashi gym and will be looking to show case his skills, but Chono is not a push over, and has looked strong and powerful through out. The winner of this will really be one to watch in 2020. At Featherweight we expect to see fire-works as Kyonosuke Kameda (5-1-1, 4) and Jinki Maeda (3-0, 2) face off. It's been an emotional year for Kameda, the cousin of Koki, Daiki and Tomoki, and only 2 weeks ago there was a a real chance he'd miss out on this bout due to the politics at the Kyoei gym. Now here the hard hitting 21 year old will be wanting to make the most of his opportunity. Maeda has quietly made his way to the final, blowing out his first two professional opponents before shutting out the then 4-0 Hikaru Fukunaga. We expect this one to be the standout bout of the day. More fireworks are expected up at 140lbs where Kodai Honda (4-1, 3) and Yasutaka Fujita (5-0, 5) will face off. The 20 year old Honda lost on debut, more than a year ago, but has reeled off 4 wins since then, and he has stopped each of his last 3 opponents. Fujita on the other hand has been blitzing opponents and his 5 bouts have lasted just 10 rounds. Expect bombs to be thrown, and to be thrown early here! Osaka, Japan Whilst the Rookie of the Year show is the biggest it's certainly not the only show of note, and at the Sumiyoshi Ward Center the Muto Gym will be show casing some of their brightest young talents, as well as a regional champion. The main event of the show will see WBO Asia Pacific Bantamweight champion Yuki Strong Kobayashi (15-8, 9) defending his title against Korean challenger Ki Chang Go (8-3, 4). This will be Kobayashi's first defense since winning the title in May with a minor upset against Ben Mananquil, and he'll be looking to go into the new year with some real momentum behind following a bizarre decision loss to Keita Kurihara at the end of 2018. It's really hard to see what Go offers here, and it was only last year that Go was stopped by career Flyweight Masahiro Sakamoto, a stablemate of Kobayashi's at the time. Our full and in depth previous of this regional title bout can be read here Kobayashi defends against Go in Osaka! In supporting bouts we'll see a trio of Muto gym prospects taking on Filipino foes. The most notable of the trio is Yusuke Mine (2-0, 1), who takes a huge step up to take on veteran Ardin Diale (35-15-4, 17). This is a brilliant bit of match making from the Muto team, who know that Diale is on the slide, but still very live and has been in there with a who's who of the lower weights. A risky match up for their star prospect, but a win here will instantly launch him into the mix for regional titles. High risk and high reward for Mine here. Another stellar prospect is Tulio Kuwabata (3-0, 2), who will be fighting as Deka-narudo Torio, who takes on hard hitting Pinoy Ken Jordan (8-1-2, 7). The 23 year old Kuwabata is tipped very highly by those in Japan and has been matched aggressively so far, with this being a pretty logical looking step. Jordan is unbeaten in over 2 years and recently claimed an ABF title, back in August. This is a bout between two youngsters each coming to win, and it should give us some very competitive action over 8 rounds. The third prospect of note is Ryosuke Nishida (1-0, 1), who made his debut in Thailand back in October. Unlike his fellow hopefuls he won't be in an 8 rounder, but instead he'll be scheduled for 6 rounds against the tough Pablito Canada (7-17-4, 1), and will likely be taken the distance by Canada who has only been stopped twice in his 28 bout career. Osaka, Japan A second Osaka, card, this time from the EDION Arena, will also be worthy of some attention. The main event here is a Japanese Super Flyweight title eliminator, the final of the eliminators to take place this year, and will see former world title challenger Hiroyuki Kudaka (26-18-3, 11) clash with Yuta Matsuo (15-4-1, 8) for the chance to fight Kenta Nakagawa in the new year. At 34 years old a loss will likely send Kudaka into retirement, ending an incredibly interesting and often exciting career, so we expect to see him being fired up for this. Matsuo is no world beater, but he is better than his record suggests and is hoping to secure a second Japanese Super Flyweight title fight, following a loss to Takayuki Okumoto earlier this year. Our in depth preview of this eliminator is available to read here Kudaka and Matsuo to clash in final Japanese eliminator of 2019! In an 8 round supporting bout Kenta Nomura (6-3, 3) will battle Ryo Suwa (11-2, 2), in a very interesting looking contest. Nomura is looking to bounce back from an August loss to Toshiki Shimomachi, in a Japanese Youth title fight, and although he's nothing special he does tend to make for good fights. Suwa on the other hand has won 4 of his last 5 and will see this as a chance to take a huge step towards a potential youth title fight of his own. This show will also feature the debut of former amateur standout Kantaro Juri (0-0), who fought in the Asian and World Youth Championships back in 2014, who will be in a 6 rounder at a contracted 53KG's. Sadly his opponent here hasn't been confirmed, though we have been told it will be an Indonesian opponent. Golaghat, India As well as the Japanese action there is also a low level Indian card in Golaghat. This card will be headlined by Sagar Narwat (9-1-1, 3) taking on Shiva (9-3, 3) in an 8 round bout. For Narwat this is a chance to get back to winning ways following October's loss to Troy O'Meley in Australia. As for Shiva he's now wheeled off 3 straight wins after he suffered a trio of losses on the road in 2017. Sadly this bout aside the card isn't really worth getting too excited about. |
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