Hyogo, Japan This coming Sunday attention turns to Hyogo where we get a world title double header, supported by two notable fighters taking on limited Thai foes in mismatches. The main event of the card is one of the two titles bouts, and will see WBO Minmumweight champion Ryuya Yamanaka (15-2, 4) making his first defense of the title, as he takes on under-rated Mexican Moises Calleros (28-7-1, 16). The 22 year old Yamanaka won the title last year, when he over-came Tatsuya Fukuhara in a thrilling war, and took the title from Fukuhara, who had himself beaten Calleros for the title last year. Given that both men had thrilling bouts with Fukuhara we're expecting something a bit special here. Neither of these two is a big puncher, but both are grinders with high work rate and that should make for a really entertaining bout with a lot of 2-way back and forth action. The other world title fight sees hard hitting Venezuelan Carlos Canizales (19-0-1, 16) battle against Reiya Konishi (15-0, 5) in a contest for the vacant WBA Light Flyweight title, or rather the “regular” version of the title. On paper this looks like a real barn burner. Canizales is best known for giving Ryoichi Taguchi absolute hell in 2016, fighting to a draw with the Watanabe gym fighter, and will know that a win here takes him very close to a rematch with Taguchi. For Konishi the bout sees him abandoning the Minimumweight division and getting his first shot at a world title, with his body likely out growing the 105lb limit. Konishi will also know that he can earn a shot at Taguchi with a win here, and that would be a very notable all-Japanese contest, between fighters from Kanto and Kansai, likely leading to huge TV numbers. As for the two men involved in this bout both are aggressive fighters who throw a lot of leather and as a result this has the potential to be an all out war. The main bouts will be supported by the ring return of Masao Nakamura (22-3, 21), who will be fighting for the first time in almost 2 years. The heavy handed Nakamura announced his retirement in 2016, just as he was being linked to a fight with Jezreel Corrales, stating that his body wasn't physically up to being a boxer any more. A long break has however reignited the fire within Nakamura, who kicks off his comeback with a contest against Thai novice Phaendin Saithonggym (0-1). It's unlikely we'll see Nakamura struggle here, with the bout made to shake some ring rust, and it does sound like Nakamura has now got his eyes on working his way towards winning titles. The other notable fighter in a non-title fight on this card is 38 year old Kenichi Horikawa (34-15-1, 8), who fights in his 51st professional bout. The former Japanese Light Flyweight champion announced his retirement in following his loss to Ken Shiro in late 2015, but has bounced back and fought 4 times last year as he continues to be a busy fighter, and could well end up fighting a similar number of times this year, whilst trying to reclaim a national title. His opponent is a yet to be named Thai, and is unlikely to provide any sort of a test for the veteran.
0 Comments
Tokyo, Japan The biggest card, at least for us, this coming Thursday is a doubler header at the Korakuen Hall, with a WBO Asia Pacific title fight and a Japanese domestic title fight, along with a supporting bout involving a former Japanese champion. The main event will see former world title challenger Keita Obara (18-2-1, 16) defending his WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight title against the exciting Shusaku Fujinaka (16-7-2, 11). The bout will be Obara's first defense of the title, which he won earlier this year when he stopped Saddam Kietyongyuth, and should be a relatively straight forward one, against a limited but aggressive Fujinaka. The challenger is best known for a his 2015 loss to Randall Bailey and has shown a questionable chin, with 3 stoppage losses. Saying that however he's an exciting warrior and his recent bout with Moon Hyun Yun is one of the best Japanese fights of 2017. We expect action and excitement, but a clear win for Obara here. The other title fight will see Japanese Light Welterweight champion Koichi Aso (22-7-1, 15) taking on exciting challenger Valentine Hosokawa (21-6-3, 9). The bout is set to be one between two men who simply like to fight. They have styles that should gel, they have mentalities that should be made for each other, and it's hard to see how this bout will fail to be anything but thrilling. Aso, defending the title for the second time, is a high octane pressure fighter whilst Hosokawa is a bit more of a swarmer and the bout should be a balls to the wall war. One other bout on this card worthy of note will see former Japanese Light Flyweight champion Kenichi Horikawa (33-15-1, 7) fight for the 50th time! The 37 year old veteran will be up against a limited Thai foe, and will be expected to pick up a win to mark his half century of bouts. Quebec, Canada In Canada we'll see a couple of talented fighters from Central Asia. One of those will be heavy handed Canadian based Kazakh Ablaikhan Khussainov (6-0, 5), who faces off with Mexican Jesus Silveira (8-4-2, 3). The talented Kazakh has quietly gone about business and looks like a real talent but does still need some seasoning and it looks like that's the purpose of this bout. Silveira's record might suggest that he's a very limited fighter but but he's mixed with quality fighters, like Jose Zepeda, and no one has managed to stop him yet, suggesting he'll be a durable foe for Khussainov. A second Canadian based Kazakh on this card will be Nurzat Sabirov (3-0, 3), who will be looking to record his 4th win in just over 6 months. The talented 23 year old has just needed 6 rounds to dispose of his first 3 opponents and if he keeps ripping through low tier foes it won't be long until they push him into bigger and better bouts against stiffer competition. New York, USA There will also be some central Asian interest in the US, courtesy of American based Uzbek fighter Hurshidbek Normatov (4-0, 2), who risks his unbeaten record against fellow unbeaten Nicklaus Flaz (5-0, 4). So far through his short career Normatov has impressed, not losing any of his 13 professional rounds, and looks like a potential one to watch. However the 25 year old born in Andijan hasn't really faced a notable test and this bout with Flaz should serve as a test of sorts. Puerto Rican puncher Flaz is a 22 year old with genuine bang, having stopped his first 4 opponents in a combined 5rounds, but was taken the distance last time out by Elie Augustama and may be biting off more than he can chew here. Kyoto, Japan This coming Tuesday Japanese fight fans in Kyoto get the chance to see a world title fight featuring one of the biggest boxing names in Asia. Sadly though the rest of the card really is lacking and isn't worth talking about too much. The exciting main event will see WBC Bantamweight champion Shinsuke Yamanaka (27-0-2, 19) look to score a record equalling 13th defence of the title as he takes on unbeaten mandatory challenger Luis Nery (23-0, 17), in a bout that looks truly mouth watering. With both fighters having unbeaten records and reputation as big punchers the bout does have the potential to be something really special, though it is viewed as a monstrous step up in class for the challenger. The champion, the longest reigning active champion, will tie a long standing Japanese record for most defences of a world title, held by Yoko Gushiken. For Nery the bout will be his first outside of Mexico, his first at world level and potentially his chance to announce himself on the world stage. The one under-card bout worthy of some mention will see veteran Kenichi Horikawa (32-15-1, 7) take on Takayuki Teraji (7-13-1, 4), in what really looks like a mismatch. The 37 year old Horikawa was beaten last time out, by Tetsuya Hisada in a bout for the Japanese title, but showed enough fight back in February to over-come Koji Itagaki and claim the WBO Asia Pacific Light Flyweight title. Teraji has shown some ability at times, but he's scored just 1 win in his last 6, and has been stopped 3 times during that run including a 3rd round stoppage to Sho Kimura last year. Age may play a part here, but it's hard to imagine anything but a win for Horikawa. Tokyo, Japan This coming Friday is an interesting day in Japan where we get several shows of note, with arguably the best of them taking place in Tokyo. In the main event we'll see the unbeaten Daishi Nagata (8-0-1, 4) risking his 0 against the more experienced Vladimir Baez (21-3-2, 19), a Japanese based Dominican fighter. So far Nagata has impressed, and has been matched relatively tough, though this is a step up in class for him and he will almost certainly have to show more than he has so far into his career. As for Baez, also known as “Destino Japan”, the bout will see him seeking to return to winning ways following a stoppage loss to Teerachai Kratingdaenggym last July. A must win for Baez, and a potential career booster for Nagata. In the chief support bout we'll see unbeaten youngster Izuki Tomioka (2-0) battle against Shun Shimazaki (8-8-1, 3) in a really good looking 8 rounder. Tomioka will be fighting over the 8 round distance for the first time and has impressed since his debut back in December, but this is a clear step up in class. Although no world beater Shimazaki is a solid fighter who was competitive with Takuya Watanabe just a few fights ago and should be a solid test here for the youngster. Another notable supporting bout will see former OPBF title contender Dai Iwai (20-4-1, 7) battle against the upset minded Masaki Saito (13-11-6, 4). On paper this looks a mismatch but Saito, on his day, can be a banana skin and and holds a win over Seiichi Okads as well as draws with Yuichiro Kasuya and Tsuyoshi Tojo. Coming in to this Iwai has won his last 3 bouts, and will be favoured here, but it's not a given win for the Misako man. Osaka, Japan As well as the show in Tokyo there will also be a notable card in Osaka, headlined by the biggest Japanese bout of the day. That big bout will be the third meeting between Tetsuya Hisada (27-9-2, 17) and Kenichi Horikawa (32-14-1, 7), who battle for the vacant Japanese Light Flyweight. Hisada was supposed to face Ken Shiro earlier in the year, but that bout was cancelled on late notice when Ken Shiro was set to fight for a world title, and ended up having this bout made on short notice instead. Coming in to this bout Horikawa is 2-0 against Hisada, and a former Japanese title holder, but is he is now 37 and well beyond his physical prime. In an under-card bout we'll see the once beaten Yuki Takahashi (7-1, 3) battle against Sam Puadi (7-7, 5) in what looks likely to be a one-sided contest, and in another under-card bout we'll see Takeru Kamikubo (12-2, 8) battle against Masashi Odaira (6-7-2, 2). These bouts aren't the most interesting on paper but should allow fight fans to see two promising prospects in action. Laguna, Philippines There will also be an Asian show in the Philippines. In arguably the most interesting bout of the show we'll see the under-rated pairing of Ernesto Saulong (19-2-1, 8) and Jestoni Autida (9-6, 4) face off in what looks like a mismatch but should be an interesting fight. On paper Saulong will be strongly favoured, he has lost just twice in his career and has got some good wins including a 2015 victory over Alie Laurel. Although Saulong has the better record Autida is no push over and has scored upsets before, and been competitive in many of his losses. This is a really intriguing match up. In another notable bout on this card we'll see Benezer Alolod (17-8-5, 5) face off with Renz Rosia (12-5, 6) in a really well matched bout. Both of these men are good domestic level fighters, who can impress away from home, and should make for a fantastic match up against each other. Shanghai, China One other card will take place in China, with the most interesting looking bout being a contest between the unbeaten pairing of Venson Delopere (5-0-3, 2) and Alimu Wushouer (9-0, 7). Filipino fighter Delopere will be fighting outside of his homeland for the first time, but is being matched hard here against the very talented Wushouer. Another unbeaten on this card will be Yongqiang Yang (6-0, 5) who risks his unbeaten record against Indonesian visitor Geisler AP (9-9, 6), who won't be expected to take the power of the Chinese hopeful Hiroshima, Japan The end the weekend attention turns to Hiroshima where Japanese fight fans get an easy to over-look card from Hiroshima. In the main event of this show we see veterans colliding for the WBO Asia Pacific Light Flyweight title. The match up sees former Japanese Light Flyweight champion Kenichi Horikawa (31-14-1, 7) taking on 33 year old Koji Itagaki (17-10-2, 7). It's fair to say that Horikawa is the more proven fighter, having been in with a variety of well known fighters, such as Akira Yaegashi to Florante Condes, Edgar Sosa, Yu Kimura Shin Ono and Ken Shiro, and has typically held his own with them. Although he has 14 losses to his name Horikawa has proven to be a very solid fighter during a very hard career. Itagaki on the other hand has been in good form, winning 5 of his last 6 bouts, with notable victories over Benezer Alolod, Michael Enriquez and Michael Landero. Although neither man will be in the running for a world title fight, this should be a very good match up and a real war between two men really fighting for their pride. Whilst the main event is something we're excited about we also really like some of the supporting bouts. One of those bouts we like will see the heavy handed teenager Ryoya Ikema (11-2, 10) take on domestic foe Koki Ono (11-3, 5). Ikema debuted back in 2013, as a 15 year old, and although he was 4-2 at one point he has been impressing recently with a 7-0 (6) run, including an 8 round decision win over Jomyuthlek Sor Narongchai. Ono is currently riding a 4 fight winning streak and will feel confident here of upsetting the teenage hopeful, but he has been stopped before and it's clear that Ikema has got power. Another supporting bout will see the once beaten Retsu Kosaka (7-1, 2) battle against the out of form Yuki Ozawa (10-5, 2). Last time out Kosaka suffered a competitive loss to fellow youngster Ken Osato and will be looking to get back to winning ways here. Ozawa will be looking to end a 5 fight slide here, and looking to make the most of a ring return following a sizeable break from the ring. On paper 5 losses looks terrible for the once 10-0 Ozawa but he has been matched hard with bouts against the likes of Masaaki Serie and Ryo Takenaka. If Ozawa is in form he could prove to be an excellent test for Kosaka and he is much better than the raw numbers suggest. This coming Sunday is a busy day for fight fans, specifically those in Osaka who get 3 shows. Osaka, Japan The most notable of those shows comes from the EDION Arena where the Boxingraise cameras will in attendance to stream live content, featuring some of the brightest young prospects in Japan. The most notable of those prospects is Japanese Light Flyweight champion Ken Shiro (7-0, 4), who faces the much more experienced Toshimasa Ouchi (20-8-3, 6) in a bout for both the Japanese and the vacant OPBF Light Flyweight titles. Ouch is a man looking to secure his biggest win to date and will go into the bout knowing that pressure is on Ken Shiro, however the veteran may not get another title fight if he loses here. For Ken Shiro this is a brilliant chance to put himself into the window for a world title fight in December. Whilst the attention is on the main event it's not the only really good bout on this card with another exciting match up seeing the very promising Hiroto Kyoguchi (2-0, 2) going up against Kenichi Miyazaki (10-2-1, 3) in a mouth watering clash. Miyazaki does come in to this on the back of a loss but isn't a push over whilst Kyoguchi is leaping up in class. A really good match up and a really good test for the unbeaten 22 year old. In another bout of note we'll see 22 year old Light Flyweight hopeful Masataka Taniguchi (3-0, 3) look to extend his great start as he takes on a Thai opponent. Taniguchi is fighting for the 4th time in a little over 4 months, though that's scarcely an issue given he has wiped out his first 3 opponents in a combined 4 rounds. We're unsure who the Thai will be for this bout, but there is little to suggest that he should be favoured over Taniguchi. Osaka, Japan There will also be another show at the EDION Osaka and this one was originally set to features some notable bouts, though sadly has seen some adjustments. Originally the main event was supposed to see Kazuki Tanaka (5-0, 4) battle, in what would have been a huge step up in class, against Hideo Sakamoto (16-2-3, 5) with the key supporting bout being set as a contest between Seizo Kono (16-8-1, 11) and Filipino Jhon Gemino (13-7-1, 5). Sadly however Tanaka has been forced out of the bout leading to a contest between Sakamoto and Kono. It's an alright bout, especially given the short notice, but the reality is that it's not the main event that had had us excited for several weeks. As a result of the shake up at the top of the card the new main event will see Takayuki Okumoto (16-7-12, 6) face off against the once beaten Sonin Nihei (8-1-2, 1) in what is a really nice match up and a good step up for Nihei who's only loss came to Kenya Yamashita almost 2 years ago. Another notable bout here will see young female fighter Fuka Komura (0-0) make her debut, as she takes on Kaori Nagai (0-1). Although a debutant, and one without a host of amateur titles, Komura has received a lot of press and there is serious talk about her being fast tracked to a title following a very impressive pro-test bout earlier this year. Osaka, Japan A third show in Osaka comes form the L-Theatre. The main event here sees OPBF and Japanese ranked Featherweight Ryota Kajiki (28-9, 19) take on Japanese ranked Super Bantamweight Taiki Minamoto (11-5, 10). Kajiki is looking to move towards a second title bout, following a 2012 loss to the then Japanese Super Featherweight champion Daiki Kaneko and is currently riding a 6 fight winning streak, dating back more than 2 years, with notable wins over Shota Yamaguchi and Kota Fukuoka. As for Minamoto he's looking for a second win following last year's loss to Yukinori Oguni, in a Japanese Super Bantamweight title bout. In the chief support bout for this show fans will see former Japanese Light Flyweight champion Kenichi Horikawa (30-14-1, 7) end his retirement to take on Akiyoshi Kanazawa (13-5-4, 7). For Horikawa the bout will be his first since losing the Japanese title, back in December, to Ken Shiro. Interestingly Kanazawa is returning following a less this year to Toshimasa Ouchi, with Ken Shiro and Ouchi facing off across the city in the first show mentioned in this article! Aichi, Japan The only other show in Japan, and the only one taking place outside of Osaka is a small one in Aichi, which is being used to as a Rookie of the Year qualifying show. The best bout on this card is a 5 rounder between Jinya Ito (4-0-1) and the hard hitting Yuto Nakamura (4-2, 4). The card is a huge step down from the Osaka shows but should provide some thrills in well matched novice type bouts. Penglai, China As well as all the action in Japan there will also be a show in China where Heavyweight puncher Zhang Junlong (13-0, 13) headlines. The Chinese puncher will be risking his perfect KO record against Brazilian puncher Julio Cesar Dos Santos (30-6, 27), who has been in with a who's who of the Cruiserweight division. It's hard to back against Junlong here, but the hope is that a big bout is only around the corner. So there we go, Christmas has been and whilst we wish you all had a great one boxing does continue and continues in style with December 27th being the first really notable day post Christmas. Kyoto, Japan Attention turns back to Kyoto for one of a multitude of Japanese sjhows. The main match up here is possibly the fight of the day and sees a youngster look to establish himself a genuine star in the making. That youngster is Ken Shiro (5-0, 2) who will be taking a huge step up in class to face Japanese Light Flyweight champion Kenichi Horikawa (30-13-1, 7). The bout is Ken Shiro's first bout against the best in Japan but he has looked brilliant so far into his career whilst Horikawa will be defending his title for the first time since his emphatic win over Shin Ono back in September. This really could be something very special. The only supporting bout worth noting here will see Atsushi Aburada (10-8, 6) battle against Takahiro Murai (11-6-2, 4) in what looks like a really good match up. Aburada has gone 3-3 in his last 6, but those losses have included a defeat in a Japanese title fight and a loss to the solid Tetsuya Hisada. Murai has never been stepped and will see this as a great opportunity to claim a Japanese ranking, though will know that Aburada is a tough test. A really good bit of match making has gone in to this one. Osaka, Japan The first of two Osaka shows is the more notable with a title fight and a bout featuring a former world title challenger. In the main event of this one fans will get the chance to see Japanese Light Middleweight champion Yuki Nonaka (27-8-3, 9) defending his title against multi-time challenger Koshinmaru Saito (22-7-1, 12). On paper this is genuinely a great bout, though one that Nonaka should win given his more intelligent boxing. Given that both fighters are well in to their 30's this is a must win to keep their careers alive and we expect a very good bout, even if it's not likely to lead either man to a bigger and better fight down the line. The only supporting bout worth mentioning here will see former 4-time world title challenger Hiroyuki Hisataka (24-13-1, 10) battle against Japanese based Filipino Mark John Yap (22-12, 10). Whilst both men have got double figure losses both are talented fighters and both tend to be in entertaining bouts suggesting that this really could be the bout of the day. Both have lost to their best opponents but they are about the same level and could potentially put on a barn burner Osaka, Japan The second of the Osaka shows comes after the first, in the same venue and it put on by Hiroki Ioka Promotions The main event here will see world ranked Featherweight contender Hiroshige Osawa (28-3-4, 17) in a 10 round bout. Osawa, a former OPBF champion, will be hoping to record his 7th straight stoppage win and continue an unbeaten run that began back in 2009. Talented but yet frustrating Osawa seems to be a man who has wasted the last few years, with suspension and mismatches, but hopefully we'll see him kick on in 2016. The co-feature bout will see former world title challenger Pablo Carrillo (17-4-1, 10) take on Thai visitor Jaipetch Chaiyonggym (5-4, 1). Carrillo, who fought Kazuto Ioka in 2014, is now based in Japan and will be making his debut as a Japanese based fighter with the hope of moving towards a world title shot in the future. This however is just stay busy for the Colombia, who has fought just once this year. A final bout from this card worth noting sees the Japanese ranked Kosuke Saka (11-3, 8) in action. This bout was put together on late notice after Saka had a bout with Andres Gutierrez fall through earlier in the year. Hyogo, Japan Another Japanese card comes from Hyogo where Taisei hope to show case some of their most notable fighters. The most notable of those Taisei gym fighters is Riku Kano (7-1-1, 4) who takes on former world title challenger Pigmy Kokietgym (58-8-2, 23). Pigmy is currently world ranked and it's cleat that Kano's team are looking at this bout as a chance to get their man into the world rankings as quickly as possible, with their task being to get him a world title fight before the year is out. The match up is however a risky one and Pigmy cannot be written off, despite a recent defeat to Jaysever Abcede. Another notable bout featuring a Taisei fighter will see Hiroki Taniguchi (6-7-1, 2) battle against the Japanese ranked Toshimasa Ouchi (18-8-3, 5) . This is a really harsh match up for Taniguchi, who has won just 1 of his last 6, but it's the sort of match up that sums up the Taisei gym, where they don't protect their fighters just for the sake of it. Ouchi will be the big favourite here, but has lost 2 of his last 4 and will likely be seeing this as a confidence builder. Tokyo, Japan Tokyo also gets some action with a small show courtesy of Hanagata. The main event of this card sees Japanese ranked Bantamweight Yuta Saito (8-7-2, 6) battle against Yoshiyuki Takabayashi (8-6, 3) in a strangely well matched bout. Although ranked by the JBC Saito has gone 1-4-1 in his last 6, though did beat Keita Nakana in that win and has generally been competitive despite piling up the losses. Takabayashi however is 3-3 in his last 6, though has been fighting at a higher weight and could well bee too physical for Saito. This isn't a top tier bout, but it is an intriguing one. A second bout of note here is a female bout that sees former world title challenger Saemi Hanagata (10-6-2, 4) battle against Chie Higano (4-3, 1). In all honesty this looks like a stay busy fight for Hanagata who will likely be hoping to have another world title fight in 2016. Higano should prove no threat for Hanagata but could go the distance. Seoul, South Korea The day also features a KBF show in the Korean capital The main event here sees former WBO world champion Su Yun Hong (12-1-1, 6) battle against Chinese visitor Jian Li Liu (6-0-1, 3)*. The bout is a WIBF Light Flyweight title defense for Hong, who claimed the title last year and will be hoping to record the third defense of the belt. Although talented Hong's run of recent opposition has been poor and we hope in 2016 she will step it up, significantly. Cebu, Philippines The most interesting of the match ups sees former OPBF Super Bantamweight challenger Jimmy Paypa (16-3-1, 6) battle against Jason Egera (21-15, 10). For Paypa this is his first bout since he was stopped, way back in February, by Shingo Wake. He'll be looking for a win though does appear set to move up in weight to Featherweight for this match up. Whilst Paypa was beaten last time out it does need to be said that Egera has lost his last 7 with 4 of those coming by stoppage. The other 10 rounder will see 19 year old hopeful Elmo Traya (9-1, 7) battle against the out of form Gabriel Royo (10-13-2, 8). Traya comes in to this on an 8 fight winning run whilst Royo is 1-6 in his last 7 bouts, dating back just over 2 years. *Record reported by the KBF September 17th-Ono faces Horikawa for Japanese title, Masuda, Tanoka and Takahata also in action!9/14/2015 Tokyo, Japan For a second day running Japanese fans have domestic title action as we see the vacancy at Light Flyweight being filled. The vacancy, which arose after Yu Kimura gave up the title to focus on getting himself a world title shot, will be filled by either former world title challenger Shin Ono (18-6-2, 2) or multi-time domestic challenger Kenichi Horikawa (29-13-1, 6), who meet in an intriguing match up. Of the two men Ono will likely be favoured, he is a former OPBF champion and did, as mentioned, fight for a world title however Horikawa may well “win a big one” after coming up short numerous times in title bouts. We wouldn't suggest this will be a FOTY contender, but it should be very entertaining with a lot of exchanges and trading. Interestingly the winner of the Ono/Horikawa bout may well become an immediate target for the fast rising Ken Shiro who will almost certainly be eyeing up a potential national title clash in 2016. In the chief support bout fans will get the chance to see former Japanese Bantamweight champion Kentaro Masuda (21-7, 11) fight in a warm up bout against Wataru Miyasaka (9-3-1, 2). This should be a relatively straight forward win for Masuda who will be back in action, if he wins, on November 2nd as he takes on Hideo Sakamoto in the Strongest Korakuen bout, with the winner of that one to get a shot at the Japanese Bantamweight title in 2016. Although a clear favourite this will be Masuda's first bout since he was blitzed by Shohei Omori earlier this year Another supporting bout will see Japanese ranked Super Featherweight Ribo Takahata (11-5-1, 3) battle against 2013 All Japanese Rookie of the year Kazuma Sanpei (11-2, 4). Sanpei, who looked really promising back in 2013 has lost back-to-back fights, by stoppage, and will know that he needs a win here if he's to do anything going forward with his career. One other bout of note will see the talented, but light hitting, Jo Tanoka (11-2-3) battle the gutsy, but limited, Mako Matsuyama (7-9-2, 3). Coming in to this bout Tanoka is JBC ranked at Flyweight and will be hoping to move towards a title fight in 2016. Whilst limited Matsuyama is the more well known of the two men following his memorable war with Rex Tso in Macau. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp) This coming Monday is a busy day in Asian boxing with a number of notable and important bouts. Osaka, Japan The biggest show of the day comes form Osaka where we get numerous bouts of note, each being significant for the fighters involved with neither man, in some cases, being able to afford a loss. The main event is a 10 round bout which will put highly regarded Japanese prospect Sho Nakazawa (6-0, 4) up against former world title challenger Silvester Lopez (24-10-2, 18). For Nakawazawa this is a massive step up in class and a really significant test against a big puncher who is considered to be on the slide. For Lopez however it's a chance to move towards another major fight, possibly and OPBF title fight, later in the year. Both men have a lot to gain with a win and we suspect we'll learn a lot about both fighters and where they are heading with their careers. Another notable bout will see the tough Myung Ho Lee (18-4-1, 6) battle against the promising Akiyoshi Kanazawa (12-3-4, 6). On paper it's hard to go against the 32 year old Lee, who is ranked by both the JBC and the OPBF, however at just 23 years old Kanazawa has youth on his side and is genuinely a fighter who has flown under the radar whilst improving markedly. It's a tough ask for the youngster but it's also a huge opportunity. A high profile 4-rounder will see Juiki Tatsuyoshi (1-0, 1), the son of the great Joichiro Tatsuyoshi, battle against the limited Naoki Okamura (1-3). This should be a straight forward win for the 18 year old Tatsuyoshi, though he'll have a lot of pressure on his shoulders, just for being his father's son, and will know that Okamura will be gunning for him here. The remaining bout of note, and one with direct implications on the Japanese title scene, will see JBC ranked Light Flyweight Kenichi Horikawa (28-13-1, 5) battle Il Che (7-8-5, 1). On paper this is a mismatch and Horikawa knows that. He also knows that if he loses here he will lose a shot at the vacant Japanese Light Flyweight title against Shin Ono. Che doesn't have the opportunity up for grabs if he wins but he will be given a notable ranking if he can upset his experienced foe. As well as the 4 bouts mentioned, this card will feature a further 5 bouts, Fukuoka, Japan The “secondary” card in Japan comes from Fukuoka where fans get an 8 bout card. Although there's 8 bouts in total most of them come at a low level with only 2 really standing out for us. The most notable of those is the main event of the show, which will see Yoshihiko Matsuo (18-5-6, 3) battle against Satoshi Ozawa (9-6-1, 2). On paper this should be an easy win for Matsuo, especially considering the fact Ozawa has been stopped in 3 of his last 5. Matsuo however will be risking his #9 JBC ranking and that may draw the best from Ozawa who knows that a win will kick start his fledgling career. The other bout of note will see Koki Ono (7-3, 4) battle Aiki Koto (8-2-1, 4) in a really mouth watering match up between fighters looking to to bounce back from losses. Ono's loss actually came last November, via majority decision, to Koto and he'll be looking for revenger here. As for Koto his loss was a stoppage in March, and he'll be looking to return with a win. Very good match up. Ulsan, South Korea There isn't much action today but what there is is a really interesting bout from Ulsan on South Korea for the IBF Youth Super Bantamweight title. The bout will see Ye Joon Kim (10-1, 4), one of the very few Korean fighters worth making a note of, take on Japan's Yoshihiro Utsumi (12-6, 7) in a well matched test. On paper it's perhaps viewed as a straight forward win for Kim, though he was pushed all the way last time out by Vergil Puton in what was a surprisingly tough bout. Utsumi did lose last time out, though was up against Yasutaka Ishimoto, and did run Ishimoto very close. Another bout on this card will see Sa-Myung Noh (7-2, 1) battle Filipino fighter Jaymart Toyco (15-7, 11) in the co-feature bout. Sadly with this being a KBF show the rest of the details from the card are scarce to find and are unlikely to ever be put on boxrec.com. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp) This coming Sunday sees the Japanese action continuing and whilst it's not the most exciting day of action there will be some knockouts courtesy of some really notable mismatches. Hyogo, Japan On a card in Hyogo Japanese fans will get the chance to see a former world title contender in action, though the card does look very poor. The former world title challenger is Teiru Kinoshita (20-1-1, 4) who will be up against Thailand's Nongbeer Sor Bangkru (0-5). The Thai he has been brought in to lose to Kinoshita, who is said to be eyeing up an opportunity to reclaim the Japanese Super Flyweight title that he held for 2 years, and will be returning to Japan for the first time since he was stopped by Shun Kubo back in April 2014. Kinoshita, best known internationally for his loss to Zolani Tete in an IBF world title fight, will be doing little more than sharpening his tools here. Another apparent mismatch will see Kazuya Murata (10-4, 4) facing an opponent that wasn't even named until the start of the month. When that happens you know the promoter has scrambled around looking for someone to come in and pad their fighters record. From what we understand the opponent is another poor Thai who has been brought in to lose. The most interesting looking bout here is actually an 8 round support bout at Light Flyweight which will see former multi-time Japanese title challenger Kenichi Horikawa (27-13-1, 4) battle against Munehito Kijima (6-6-1). Kijima lacks any sort of a notable win though at 26 is coming into his prime and will know that a win here would set him up for a big fight. Horikawa on the other hand is now 35 years old and has had a long and hard career which in fact saw him beginning things with a 3-4 record. Since that poor beginning Horikawa has gone 23-9-1 and faced off against the likes of Akira Yaegashi, Florante Condes, Edgar Sosa, Ryuji Hara, Noknoi Sitthiprasert and Yu Kimura and often managed to really test his more notable foes. This could be Horikawa's last run or it could be a break out opportunity for Kijima. Okinawa, Japan In Okinawa we get a show that against appears to be mostly mismatches with three clear mismatches making up the bulk of the notable contests. The main event will see OPBF Ranked Super Featherweight hopeful Masatoshi Kotani (15-2, 11) battle against Thai visitor Non Sithsaithong (12-7, 8). Kotani comes into this bout having won his last 5, including a close win over Filipino veteran Edgar Gabejan last time out. We're not going to pretend that Kotani is sensational but he's in solid form. Non on the other hand has won just 1 of his last 5 and has been stopped in 3 fights during that run and has in fact been stopped every time he has fought outside of Thailand. We suspect that will continue here. An even bigger mismatch will see the world ranked Go Onaga (23-2-2, 16) battle against Thai 22 year old Saengkeng Saknarong (0-1). In his only previously recorded bout the Thai lasted 50 seconds with the then debuting Daigo Higa last June and it's hard to see him last long with the heavy handed Onaga. We admit we do like Onaga but he should be looking at making one more drive towards a title fight, not wasting time with this sort of farce. Another mismatch will see Japanese based Filipino Dado Cabintoy (14-4-2, 7) battle the win-less Prayoot Saknarong (0-2). Prayoot has been stopped in both of his losses, both in Japan, and we suspect he'll be stopped again here, despite the fact that Cabintoy is not a big puncher. On paper the interesting match up on this show is a 6 rounder which will see Yusuke Iju (6-4-1, 3) battle against Yoshiki Kawamura (4-6-1, 3) in a rematch of bout from last August. Unfortunately however their first bout was over after just 175 seconds with Iju taking an opening round TKO and it wouldn't be a huge surprise for Iju to pick up another early win here. (Image courtesy of boxmob.jp) |
Categories
All
Archives
October 2022
|