 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
This coming Wednesday we get the next show from Flash Akabane, and while it’s a relatively weak one, it does have two bouts worthy of some note. The main event of the show is a battle fo Riku’s as Jirolian Riku (14-4, 13) takes on Riku Nagahama (13-6-1, 4), at a contracted 68KG’s (149.9lbs) in a very peculiar one that we couldn’t have imagined taking place before it was made. Jirolian is a former domestic Lightweight contender, who was a very heavy handed fighter at 135lbs. Aged 36 he hasn't fought in over 2 years, since being stopped in 3 rounds by the then Japanese Lightweight champion Shu Utsuki, yet appears to have spent all that time bulking up, moving from 135lb up to Welterweight. As for Nagahama he's a former OPBF Welterweight champion, who has fought as high as Middleweight, before settling at 147lbs. Notably Nagahama has lost his last 3, and 4 of his last 5, and was stopped in just 99 seconds last time out. Nagahama is the naturally bigger, heavier, stronger fighter though with the recent losses and Jirolian’s power, this is a very, very intriguing match up, and it’s really hard to see where the loser goes after it. The chief support bout could end up being one of those Korakuen Hall specials, where the match-making provides us a very special 8 rounder. The match up in question will see Tomonori Nagao (8-2-2, 5) take on Yuta Nakayama (8-6-3, 5) in a Flyweight bout, and it’s a match up where the styles and mentalities of the two men should gel to give us a high tempo war. Nagao, who has been stopped in both of his losses, is riding a 3 fight unbeaten run, though was held to a draw by Temple Kamihara back in June and he will be desperate to get back to winning ways. As for Nakayama, he's 29 and is winless in his last 5, drawing his last 2. Notably he hasn't won since December 2019, when he beat Yuki Uchida, and like Nagao he has a questionable chin, with 4 of his 6 losses coming early. Both men will be desperate for a win, and we suspect that whilst this one could start slowly it’ll warm up into something of a thriller. ProBox TV Events Center, Plant City, Florida, USA Over in Florida ProBox give us a bout that can genuinely be described as intriguing, as the unbeaten, and criminally under-rated, Katsuma Akitsugi (11-0, 2) takes on former multi-time world title contender Aston Palicte (28-6-1, 23) in a truly brilliant match up. Akitsugi, an unbeaten US based Japanese fighter, has slowly been building a cult following, originally as an upset minded B-side, taking the unbeaten records of Arnold Dinong, Eros Correa, Rasheen Brown and Gregory Morales, before linking up with ProBox who have done the obvious, and actually backed him, with him beating Jesus Ramirez Rubio on a Probox show in July. Now being matched with Palicte it seems obvious ProBox feel a win over a former world title challenger would boost Akitsugi and move him towards a title shot of his own. As for Palicte the hard hitting Filipino, who fought both Donnie Nietes and Kazuto Ioka for the WBO Flyweight title, has struggled in recent years, losing his last 2 bouts by stoppage, but has some name value, which will help boost Akitsugi. Of course this isn’t a gimmie, as Palicte does have genuine power, and if he lands this could get hairy for Akitsugi and his unbeaten record. Fortitude Music Hall, Fortitude Valley, Queensland, Australia Down under unbeaten Australian prospect Tyler Blizzard (8-0, 4), which we need to say is a great name, will be up against Chinese visitor Chengcheng Yang (7-6, 4). Blizzard has been slowly stepping up the quality of his opponents, and will be looking to squeeze in a 4th win of the year here. He's still fighting at a low level but "The Wizard" does look like a talented Aussie prospect to keep an eye on going forward. Sadly Yang is very much under-sized here, being a natural Flyweight to Super Flyweight and fighting this bout at closer to Featherweight This will be his third bout down under, where he notably took a major upset in April against Rocky Ogden, but lost the rematch. He shouldn't be overlooked and written off here, and his wins over Ogden and Hiroki Ogawa show him to be dangerous, but he is likely to be too small to be a real threat for Blizzard. Still, he is much better than his record suggests and is a step up for Blizzard.
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 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
This coming Friday we’ll see a Teiken promoted card from Korakuen Hall. Although not the biggest, or most stacked card, it does feature three very notable bouts, with one being a regional title bout, one featuring a leading regional contender and the other being a really compelling bout between two leading domestic contenders at 154lbs. The title fight in question will be a rematch between Masahiro Suzuki (10-1-1, 7) and Shu Utsuki (13-1, 11) as Suzuki defends the OPBF Lightweight title against the hard hitting Utsuki, in what will be his first defense. The talented Suzuki, a former Japanese champion at 140lbs, suffered his only loss in 2022 when he faced Utsuki for the Japanese Lightweight title, being stopped in 9 rounds by Utsuki, in what was Suzuki’s third career bout at the weight. Since then he has settled at Lightweight, with 3 more fights at the weight including a win over Roldan Aldea for the OPBF title earlier this year. As for Utsuki he would defend the title twice before being stopped in 3 rounds by Shuma Nakazato in April 2023. Since that loss he has fought just once, a win over Ryugo Yanagibori back in December. At the time of their first bout both men were unbeaten, though with both now having a stoppage loss to their name, and with the history of their first bout this really is a must win for both, and a great match up, much like it was the first time around. The chief support bout on this card will see #1 ranked WBO Asia Pacific Super Bantamweight contender Katsuya Fukui (7-0, 5) take on Filipino visitor Ben Mananquil (19-4-3, 6). The talented Fukui will be hoping to land a title fight later this year, and this, we suspect, will be seen as something of a tune up for him, after 4 months of inactivity. He’s fast, explosive, aggressive and fun to watch, but in many ways he is somewhat untested, with his best wins coming against Jetro Pabustan and Sang Heon Oh. As for Mananquil his most notable result is a very, very, questionable draw with Hinata Maruta. Since then however Mananquil has gone 3-3 , was stopped twice and his most notable win was a close decision win at home against Tenta Kiyose. He is a former WBO Asia Pacific champion, at 118lbs, but that was more than 5 years ago, and it’s hard to imagine him putting up much of a test for Fukui here. At a contracted 69.4KG's, or 153lbs, we’ll see Junpei Tsujimoto (10-2-3, 6) take on former OPBF Welterweight champion Riku Nagahama (13-5-1, 4) in what should be a great fight. Tsujimoto is the naturally bigger man, standing at just over 6’1” and fighting much of his career at Light Middleweight. He is a former Rookie of the Year winner at Welterweight, before out growing the division and is now 5-1 in bouts fought above 147lbs, with the sole loss coming to Nath Nwachukwu. He will be looking to move towards a regional title fight of his own, and is currently riding a 4 fight winning run. As for Nagahama, he has lost 3 of his last 4, but has fought at a high level, with bouts at regional title level, going 1-1 in OPBF title fights, and has suffered loss to Ryota Toyoshima, Jean Carlos Torres Jorge Lugo Cota. Sadly for Nagahama he is the much smaller man, a natural Welterweight, who is 5’10” and probably lacks the power and toughness to make a real mark at 154lbs. Despite that the styles here should gel to give us a very, very fun fight.  Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
We get the first live televised Japanese card of the year this coming Saturday, though it's a relatively small show from Kadoebi with the focus more on debutants than established names, with one very clear exception. The one exception on the card will see OPBF Welterweight champion Riku Nagahama (12-2-1, 4) make his first defense of the title he won back in February 2020, as he takes on Ryota Toyoshima (12-2-1, 8) in a very interesting looking match up. The talented Nagahama has bounced back well from stoppage losses to Takeshi Inoue and Yuki Nagano, and is currently riding a 4 fight winning streak, including his title winning bout against Kudura Kaneko last year. Despite that run he still has question marks over his toughness and his chin. Toyoshima on the other hand is unbeaten since a 2017 loss to Masaharu Kaito, who also gave him his first loss way back in 2015. The challenger has won his last 5 and certainly enters the bout as the puncher, but a win here would be his most meaningful by far. Our preview of this bout can be read here Potential thriller as OPBF champion Nagahama takes on Toyoshima! In the middle of the card is another bout between two men with some experience as Japanese ranked Super Flyweights Chikato Sumida (9-3, 1) and Ken Achiwa (12-15-5, 4) clash in an 8 rounder at Bantamweight. Coming into this the 27 year old Shumida has won 5 of his last 6, and will know another win will continue to move him towards a title bout. On the other hand the 34 year old Achiwa has only scored a single win in his last 6, though he is much better than his record suggests and should give Sumida a bit of a test here. Most of the card here is based around introducing some Kadoebi promoted novices, who will make their debuts. One of those is Flyweight hopeful Jukiya Iimura (0-0), who went an excellent 68-13 in the amateurs. He’s being matched in a 6 rounder against 36 year old Daisuke Yamada (6-5, 1), who reached the East Japan Rookie of the Year final, back in 2016 when he was then blasted out in a round by Junto Nakatani. We suspect Iimura will have too much for Yamada, though it’s nice to see him making his debut in a 6 rounder. Another of the debutants, this time at Super Bantamweight, will be Jun Ikegawa (0-0) who takes on Kakeru Yoshikawa (4-1-2) in a tough looking debut. As an amateur Ikegawa went 51-15 and was a very solid amateur in the Kansai League, where he made his name as a talented southpaw. The 23 year old Yoshikawa has gone unbeaten in his last 4, and is unbeaten since July 2017. Notably he enters this bout following back to back draws in 6 rounders, and may well have the stamina and experience to ask real questions of Ikegawa. Another of the debutants is 21 year old Yugo Kon (0-0), who notched a 23-11 amateur record during his relatively short career in the unpaid ranks. He’s been matched with Koji Tsurumi (4-3-1, 1) in a 6 round bout at a contracted 54.5KG’s (just over 120lbs). Kon wasn’t the deeply experienced amateur that some of the others on this card were, but he seems to be incredibly hungry to prove a point and we suspect he could end up being moved relatively quickly over the next few years. Although his record might not show it, Tsurumi is going to be in a confident mood here, having taken the unbeaten record of Shion Yokoyama 2 bouts ago, and scoring a draw with the aforementioned Kakeru Yoshikawa. In an all debutant bout Kadoebi fighter Yudai Murakami (0-0) will be taking on Naoki Shimizu (0-0) from the MT Gym, in a 4 rounder at Lightweight. Murakami went 29-6 in the amateurs, and does have some hype behind him as he begins his career. Reportedly Shimizu went 14-7 in the amateurs, and will be regarded as the under-dog here in what will be the opening bout of the show.  Tokyo, Japan
After a bit of a break from events at Korakuen Hall return to the Japanese boxing "Holy Land" this coming Thursday for a really good looking card featuring an OPBF title bout, two Hajime No Ippo 30th anniversary tournament semi finals and two under-card bouts featuring notable names! The main event will see Riku Nagahama (11-2-1, 4) take on unbeaten Japanese-Afghan Kudura Kaneko (11-0, 8) in a bout for the vacant OPBF Welterweight title fight. The talented Nagahama has won 3 in a row since losing to Yuki Nagano in May 2018, and will be getting his second title fight, follow a loss in a Japanese Light Middleweight title bout against Takeshi Inoue. Kaneko on the other hand is someone who is getting his first title fight, but has earned it on the back of impressive wins against the likes of Toshio Arikawa, Rikuto Adachi and Moon Hyon Yun. Neither of these two are well known, but a win here will put the winner on the map, and see them become the new OPBF champion. Our preview of this bout can be read here Kaneko and Nagahama clash for OPBF crown! In one of the two Hajime No Ippo 30th anniversary tournament semi finals we'll see hard hitting and teak tough Korean fighter Jae Woo Lee (7-2, 6) take on Japan's Shingo Kusano (12-8-1, 5). On paper this could end up the more fun of the two semi final bouts, especially given the quarter final bouts the men were involved in. Jae Woo Lee got past Tsuyoshi Tameda in a 3 round war, whilst Kusano was dropped multiple times before bouncing back to beat Qiang Ma. This could be a thriller, but it's hard imagine Kusano handling the pressure of Lee. The other semi final will see Filipino fighter Richard Pumicpic (21-10-2, 6), who had a bye in the round of 8, take on Daisuke Watanabe (9-4-2, 6), who advanced on the basis of a technical draw against Koshin Takeshima. This is the tougher of the two semi finals to predict. Pumicpic is, and has long been, an under-rated terror to face off with, but he is the naturally smaller man and is on away soil. Watanabe has an incredibly under-rated record, and on his day is a threat with his solid boxing and heavy hand. We expect another exciting fight here, though this could easily end up being a real mess, with head clashes, if the fighters aren't careful. One of two notable fighters on the under-card is former OPBF Minimumweight champion Tsubasa Koura (14-1, 9), who will be up against Ariston Aton (9-2, 5). Koura, who hasn't fought since losing the OPBF title last year to Lito Dante, was originally scheduled to face Yujie Zeng (14-10-1, 6) before Zeng was replaced by Aton. For Koura the clear purpose of this bout is to rebuild however Aton is no push over and he was very competitive last December against Tatsuro Nakashima. The other notable fighter on the under-card is former Japanese Lightweight champion Shuhei Tsuchiya (23-5, 18), who who has his first fight since June 2017, as he takes on Shogo Yamaguchi (11-5-3, 6). Tsuchiya was in the ring in January, albeit in a public exhibition, after his planned opponent failed to secure a visa, and we suspect he'll come on top here. As for Yamaguchi he has scored just 2 low level wins in his last 9, and was stopped last time out by Masanori Rikiishi.  Tokyo, Japan
Kadoebi return to Korakuen Hall this coming Monday for a card that has a few good domestic fights, and an almost farcical Heavyweight rematch. The main event is rematch between Yusuke Sakashita (18-8-3, 19) and Naoki Mochizuki (16-4, 8), with Sakashita looking to make his first defense of the WBO Asia Pacific Flyweight title. The champion was actually the clear loser when these two men fought a few years ago, however since that first bout the career trajectory of both fights has gone in opposite directions with Sakashita's career trending upwards and Mochizuki's trending downwards. This will be a chance for Sakashita to avenge his loss, whilst a win for Mochizuki would be a huge boost to his career just when he needs it. Our preview of this bout can be read here Sakashita looks to defend title and gain revenge in Mochizuki rematch! In a Japanese title eliminator at 140lbs we'll see Japanese-Brazilian puncher Cristiano Aoqui (14-7-2, 10) take on the solid, if relatively unspectacular, Daishi Nagata (13-2-1, 5). On paper this might not look hugely competitive, but in reality we wouldn't be surprised if this was an instant classic. Aoqui is an exciting fighter, who lets his hands go, and Nagata applies a lot of intelligent pressure, so we could see some frighteningly fun exchanges when these two go to work. The winner of this will be expected to challenger for the Japanese title at Champion Carnival next year. In theory the winner would get a showdown with Koki Inoue next year, though it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see Inoue vacate if he picks up a win in December for the WBO Asia Pacific title. A full preview of this bout can be read here Thriller expected when Aoqui and Nagata clash! Another interesting fight here will see Riku Nagahama (10-2-1, 4) look to score his third successive win, following a 2018 loss to Yuki Nagano, as takes on Fumisuke Kimura (9-4-1, 6). On paper this doesn't look interesting, but looking below the numbers we do have a good fight here. Nagahama has been stopped in both of his losses, and whilst he's a pretty talented fighter he is 3-2 in his last 5, and has question marks over his durability and his confidence. Kimura is unbeaten in his last 3, and has scored notable upsets against Hayato Ono and Giraffe Kirin Kanda this year, he'll be the under dog but he can punch, and this could be another upset win for him this year. And after those 3 bouts we come to what is really a bout that we don't like. At all. This bout will see Japanese Heavyweight Kyotaro Fujimoto (20-1, 12) take on Thai foe Suthat Kalalek (13-10, 12), in their second meeting. Whilst we understand there aren't many Oriental Heavyweights worth putting Kyotaro in with this is a second bout with Suthat, Kajornsak Saikaew Boxing Camp, and the two men fought just over a year ago with Kyotaro taking a 6th round TKO win. Given potential bouts with foes from China, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan this seems like a waste for Kyotaro, who is world ranked. His career is losing all momentum and it's a real shame that he's not being tested in bouts.  Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
The big focus this Saturday is in the Kazakh Capital of Nur-Sultan, where the country will be celebrating Capital City day. To celebrate the day MTK will be putting on a stacked card in the city with a world title fight main event, several interesting support bouts and a host of prospects. The main event will see WBC Bantamweight champion Nordine Oubaali (15-0, 11) defending his title, for the first time, as he takes on Filipino challenger Arthur Villanueva (32-3-1, 18). The talented French-Moroccan is a real talent, and he was one of the many top Bantamweights frozen out of the WBSS, but is getting on in age and won't remain the skilled boxer-puncher that he's looked for much longer. Despite being the older fighter Oubaali will be strongly favoured here against a challenger who has lost his 3 biggest bouts, and would need a career best performance to even come close against the Frenchman. Villanueva isn't a bad fighter, but his ability is more that of a gatekeeper than a true contender. A full preview of this bout is available here Villanueva takes on Oubaali for WBC Bantamweight crown In the main supporting bout we'll see unbeaten Kazakh Zhankosh Turarov (23-0, 16) take on Mauro Maximiliano Godoy (31-4-1, 16) in a bout for the WBO Inter-Continental Light Welterweight title. The unbeaten Turarov returned to the ring in June after almost 21 months out of the ring, and took a really disappointing win over Richmond Djarbeng, who sat in his corner complaining of stomach cramps after the second round. Godoy should prove to be a good test for Turarov, but the Argentinian has lost 3 of his last 7 and may be on the slide from the fighter he once was. Still this is easily Turarov's best test on paper, so far. Another notable supporting bout will see the unbeaten Viktor Kotochigov (9-0, 4) taking on Jairo Lopez (24-10, 16), who was once regarded as a fringe contender. On paper this is a step up for the unbeaten Kazakh but Lopez is 3-4 in his last 7 and has been stopped in 3 of those 4 losses. This should be easier than it looks on paper for Kotochigov. This card will b stacked with other Kazakh prospects, as MTK go all out to put on a show for local fans with Kazakh talent. Among the prospects are Ali Baloyev (8-0, 7), Sultan Zaurbek (7-0, 5), Nurtas Azhbenov (5-0, 1), Abay Tolesh (2-0, 2) and Abilkhaiyr Shegaliyev (5-0, 4), who are in relatively easily here and won't face too much of a test as they continue to build their careers and move towards bigger bouts. Tokyo, Japan As well as the Kazakh show there is also a notable card in Tokyo thanks to Teiken. This card is a really interesting one, with a notable name in the main event, a really good chief support bout, and a host of notable prospects The main event will see Kenichi Ogawa (23-1-0-1, 17) take on limited Filipino visitor Glenn Medura (10-5-1, 6) in what will be little more than a stay busy bout for Ogawa. Originally the Japanese puncher was scheduled to have an IBF world title eliminator eliminator with South African Azinga Fuzile (14-0, 8), but Fuzile failed to secure a visa in time for the bout leading to Medura, who is 0-4 in Japan, getting the bout. We don't see this going very long at all. A much better Japan Vs Philippines bout will see Shuya Masaki (12-1, 5) take on Al Toyogon (10-3-1, 6) in an excellent match up. The once beaten Masaki, who's only loss came to Hironori Mishiro, hasn't really shined as Teiken would have wished and this is a long way from a gimme. Masaki is talented, but really needs to get prove he can put on good performances, something we don't really see from him with any consistency. Toyogon on the other hand is looking to bounce back from a recent loss to Ryo Sagawa, and will be coming into this out with a point to prove. A very interesting bout contest. One of the other main supporting bouts will be a Welterweight bout between Masaya Tamayama (12-1, 6) and Riku Nagahama (9-2-1, 4), with both men wanting to tak a big step towards a potential Japanese title fight in the near future. Nagahama is looking to secure a second win since his TKO loss last year to Yuki Nagano, who has since gone on to win the Japanese title, whilst Tamayama is looking for a 9th straight win, and a chance to take a huge step towards a big bout. Among the other supporting bouts we will see Japanese Super Flyweight prospect Hayate Kaji (12-0, 9) take on Japanese based Filipino veteran Rey Orais (20-18-2, 5), in what looks to be a chance for Kaji to take a huge step towards a Japanese title fight. It feels like Kaji has been on the verge of a break out fight for a while and whilst this isn't going to be it, it seems like a win and his next one will be his long awaited break out bout. For Orais questions should be asked why he's continuing to fight, rather than focus more on the training role he has at the Flare Yamagami gym. Lower down on this card we'll see two more touted Japanese prospects both take big steps up in class against Filipino foes. One of those is the fantastic Mikito Nakano (2-0, 2), who takes on Arvin Yurong (12-2, 3) in a genuinely good test. Nakano looks like he has the ability to move through the rankings quickly, and could fight for a title as early as late 2020, and Yurong is a very under-rated young fighter who should force answers from Nakano. The other is Kuntae Lee (1-0, 1), who's debut saw him look fantastic against an opponent who didn't want to be there. Here Lee takes on unbeaten Filipino Marlon Paniamogan (9-0-1, 5) in what should be a much, much better match up. Sadly not much is known about the visitor, so it's unclear what type of a test he will actually pose for the very talented Lee. Cebu, Philippines A smaller show takes place in the Phillipines where we see a few interesting Filipino fighters in action with a really good main event. The main event will see the unbeaten Mark Vicelles (10-0-1, 5) take on the once touted Jesse Espinas (19-3, 11). The 23 year old Vicelles isn't well known but comes into this on the back of an excellent win over Robert Onggocan, and this is a logical step up in class. As for Espinas this is a slight step backwards, but is one that makes sense given he was beaten last time out in an OPBF title bout against Edward Heno. A very interesting match up, and rightfully the main event of the card. In a good supporting bout Ponciano Remandiman (10-4-1, 5) and Prince Andrew Laurio (10-2-1, 7) will face off for the Philippines Visayas Professional Boxing Association Super Flyweight title. The 22 year old Remandiman has turned around a 2-4-1 start with 8 straight wins and has great momentum coming into this bout, as well as a good win last time out against Renz Rosia. Interestingly Lauio's career is going in the opposite direction, and he is 2-2-1 in his last 5, with stoppage losses in his last 2 bouts. His early potential appears to have been massively over-hyped and he is now really faltering. One other bout of note here will see the one beaten Tomjune Mangubat (10-1-1, 9) take on Joffrey Garcia (6-10-4, 5), in what should be another straight forward win for Mangubat.  Tokyo, Japan
This coming Wednesday attention turns to the Korakuen Hall for the next Dynamic Glove show, headlined by a Japanese title fight with a number of notable fighters through the under-card. The main event of the card will see Japanese Super Featherweight champion Masaru Sueyoshi (17-1, 11) defending his title against veteran Tsuyoshi Tojo (14-15-5, 3), in what will be the champion's second defense. The talented, yet frustrating, Sueyoshi made his first defense earlier this year, when he over-came Ken Osato, but had to pull himself off the canvas to record that win and looked pretty beatable at times, before finding his rhythm in the second half of the fight and stopping Osato. As for Tojo he is a pretty limited fighter at this level, but when he clicks he can be a frustrating night for decent fighters, having run Satoru Sugita close in 2016, and given stiff tests to the likes of Koji Umetsu and Hisashi Amagasa. The main support bout will see the once beaten Shuya Masaki (9-1, 5) look to bounce back from a recent loss to Hironori Mishiro as he takes on Korean visitor Hyun Je Shin (8-7, 2). Masaki has shown touches of genius but has also flattered to decieve, and it's hard to really know how good he is. He might get in the ring be the fighter who looked poor against Vergil Puton or he might be the man who dominated Shingo Eto. At his best Masaki is very good, but we're not sure how well he can put a performance together going forward. Saying that however we doubt Masaki will need to be at his best here, as Shin is unlikely to have In a Welterweight bout we'll see Japanese ranked fighters face. In one corner is JBC ranked Welterweight Yuki Nagano (13-2, 10) whilst the other will have JBC ranked Light Middlesbrough Riku Nagahama (8-1-1, 4). The hard hitting Nagano comes into this bout in great form, having won his last 11 in a row after a 2-2 (2) start to his career, but does lack wins of note during that running and really doesn't look ready for a title fight, yet. Whilst not ready to fight for a title Nagano will know that a win here against Nagahama will help prepare him for a shot. As for Nagahama he won the 2015 Rookie of the year and was unbeaten until last August, when he lost in a Japanese title fight to Takeshi Inoue. Since the loss to Inoue we've seen Nagahama fight just once, scoring a straight forward confidence boosting win over a a very poor Thai foe. Also on this card is exciting Super Flyweight prospect Hayate Kaji (9-0, 7), who takes on Indonesian visitor Kichang Kim (8-5-1, 2). The explosive Kaji failed to shine last time out, when he narrowly over-came Jun Blazo in what was a poor performance from the 20 year old Teiken man. It's fair to say his team will not have been happy with that outing and and he really will have to show more here than he did there if he expects his team to push him towards a title fight. As for Kim, he has been stopped in 3 of his last 5, and should be the perfect foil for Kaji to look good against. The Indonesian is 0-4 outside of his homeland and we'd be genuinely shocked to see him claim a win here.  This coming Wednesday sees action in both Japan and China as Asian fight fans get a couple of low key cards.
Tokyo, Japan The more notable of the two shows is at the Korakuen Hall, where we get a Japanese Youth title fight and an interest chief support bout, on what is likely to be an entertaining but over-looked show. The main event of the card will see Japanese Youth Featherweight champion Kazuma Sanpei (13-4, 4) defending his title against the heavy handed Ryuki Ishii (6-2, 4). We saw Sanpei win the title back in August, when he narrowly defeated Ryusei Ishii, and that was only his second win in 4 bouts as his career has really struggled, despite the fact he was the 2013 Rookie of the Year and was touted for big things. Ishii has been stopped twice, once on debut and once in the 2016 Rookie of the Year final against the brilliant Shawn Oda. This is a really interesting bout, between two flawed but well matched fighters. A second bout of note takes places at 154lbs and sees recent Japanese title challenger Riku Nagahama (7-1-1, 3) take on Filipino veteran Mark Sales (22-42-4, 8). This should be little more than a confidence builder for Nagahama, who came off second best in August when he challenger Takeshi Inoue and was stopped in 8 by the talented Inoue. Shenzhen, China The other show takes place in Shenzhen and is another low key card, featuring a pair of title fights. One of those bouts will see Kun Wang (9-3, 3) take on Qi Xiu Zhang (6-2-1, 1) for the WBC Asian Boxing Council Light Welterweight title. Wang is the better known of the two, and although he was blasted out early in his career he has shown solid toughness in going 8 rounds with Xiangxiang Sun earlier this year. As for Zhang he's now on a 6 fight unbeaten run and will feel full of confidence here. The other bout will see the faltering Zhimin Wang (8-2, 3) take on Aketelieke Jieensi (6-2-3, 2) for the WBO China Zone Lightweight title. Wang turned professional with a lot expected of him, but 2 losses in his last 3 have left him in need of a strong run and he will know that he really needs a win here if he's to keep his career alive. As for Jieensi he's unbeaten in 5, but has struggled and looks to have been very fortunate during that run, with a loss expected here.  Tokyo, Japan
Attention turns to Tokyo again this coming Thursday, ending a few days of quietness for the sport in the Land of the Rising sun. The main event of the card will see the heavy handed Keita Obara (17-2-1, 15) take on Thai visitor Saddam Kietyongyuth (26-2, 21) in a bout for the WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight title. For Obara this will be his first title bout since losing in a world title fight to Eduard Troyanovsky last September. It will also confirm that he is now a full time Welterweight, finally letting his body ditch the crippling limits of Light Welterweight. For Saddam this looks like a really tough contest, with the Thai scoring 3 low key wins in the last 6 years. Losses to Alisher Rahimov and Cole Smith don't bode well for Saddam and we suspect Obara will break him down in the middle rounds. In the co-feature we'll see Japanese Light Middleweight champion Takeshi Inoue (10-0-1, 5) making the first defense of his title, as he takes on fellow unbeaten Riku Nagahama (7-0-1, 3) in a really mouth watering clash. Coming in to this Inoue is riding a 9 fight winning run, including notable wins over Chan Ho Lee, Akinori Watanabe and Koshinmaru Saito, who he beat for the title earlier this year. The champion is an exciting fighter who can box, or brawl, and is looking to make a statement by taking on such a tough challenger in his first defense. As for Nagahama, the #1 ranked contender, he comes in on a 7 fight winning run, including victories over Brandon Lockhart and Hideo Mikan, with his last 3 by stoppage. Given the recent performances by both men this should be a really fan friendly contest. The most notable of the under-card bouts will see the fast rising Shuichiro Yoshino (4-0, 2) take on Thai visitor Katika Saithonggym (0-1), in what is a stay busy fight for the Japanese fighter. Yoshino will know that he's supposed to win here with not issues, but can't over-look the Thai as he has got a Japanese title eliminator bout with Spicy Matsushita lined up for October. If Yoshino suffers a cut here he will be kicking himself, so expect to see the talented youngster show some caution, but see off the visitor relatively early. In another supporting bout we'll see the unbeaten Yoshimitsu Kimura (7-0, 3), who claimed the Rookie of the Year crown at Featherweight last year, take on Kanehiro Nakagawa (4-4, 3) in what looks like a decent for the unbeaten 20 year old. Nakagawa is a very beatable fighter, but he does have plenty of sting on his shots and should give the unbeaten man a chin check, at the very least.  Tokyo, Japan
We get more Korakuen Hall action on Tuesday with an SGS/Dangan card. In the main event we'll see the exciting Koki Eto (19-4-1, 14) take on a Thai foe. At the moment the Thai is an unknown quantity, but it's fair to say that Eto will be favoured here. Although favoured Eto hasn't looked great in his last two bouts, struggling past both Michael Escobia and Jun Blazo, who actually dropped Eto, and it's fair to say that he's not the fighter he once was. Eto's style never seemed to be made for a long career and it could be that he's only got a few more fights left in him. In the chief support bout we'll see Japanese ranked Takahiro Araki (9-6, 4) will take on the once beaten Ryota Ishida (7-1, 5) in what should be a competitive and exciting Super Featherweight bout. Neither of these will likely move beyond domestic level, but bouts at this level, against well matched opponents could be really fun, as we expect this one will be. Anbother Japanese ranked fighter in action on this card will be Japanese ranked Middleweight Riku Nagahama (6-0-1, 2), who takes on the experienced Hideo Mikan (7-11-1, 2). Coming in to this bout Nagahama is only a few wins from a potential Japanese Middleweight title bout, and although not a puncher he has stopped his last two foes, and looks to be improving with every fight, as he develops his confidence. Mikan, a good servant for Japanese boxing, has lost his last 4, but has mixed with good company and his better than his record suggests, having run both Hikaru Nishida and Yosuke Kirima close in recent losses. Arguably the best bout on paper will see the heavy handed Hokuto Kawana (6-2, 5) face off with the very hard matched Burning Ishii (7-4-1, 2). Kawana is a glass cannon, who has been stopped in both of his losses. Although he has won his last two bouts there is always a chance he'll unravel as he did twice in 2015. With Ishii we have a solid fighter who is seemingly always in with good opponents, and was stopped twice last year, by Kosuke Saka and Teiru Atsumi. This is a bout which will go over-looked but will be very competitive as long as it lasts. |
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