 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
This coming Tuesday Korakuen Hall plays host to an interesting title double header, which features a former national champion on the under-card. The main event will see the exciting Toshiki Kawamitsu (10-1, 6) defending his Japanese Light Flyweight title for the second time, as he takes on Natsu Ohashi (8-3-1, 6). The talented champion has won his last 4, following a 2021 loss to Ginjiro Shigeoka, with wins against Sitthisak Simsri, Toshimasa Ouchi and Kosuke Ando. In the ring he’s aggressive, exciting and heavy handed a real handful. Technically he’s not the most polished, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him mixing at world level in the coming years. As for Ohashi, this will be his first title fight and he is 3-0 (3) since returning to the sport last year, after a 4 year break. Prior to the break he had been stopped 3 times in his final 6 bouts, but a big win over Ryusho Matsue has helped him earn this title shot. The other title fight on this card will see Taishin Isotani (7-3, 5) and Taiga Kato (6-2, 2) battling for the vacant JBC Youth Welterweight title. The 23 year old Isotani, the grandson of Koichi Wajima, has been something of a streaky fighter, winning his first 4, losing his next 3 and is now riding a 3 fight winning run. So far his competition has been rather poor and it's hard to read too much into his wins, which have all been low level or novice domestic fighters. What should be noted however is that he did 8 rounds last time out, in a win over Kojiro Nishikawa, and that could help him feel confident of the distance here. As for Kato he's 21 and will be fighting in his first 8 rounder, having completed a full 6 rounder last time out. Although this is, by far, the most meaningful bout for both men, we are expecting them to keep their usual aggressive styles, which should make for a fun fight. In a supporting bout former Japanese Featherweight champion Ryo Sagawa (12-4, 7) will return to the ring after a 14 month break, and will look to pick up his first win April 2022, when he stopped former world title holder Shun Kubo, as he takes on Jon Jon Estrada (18-13-1, 14) at 130lbs. At his best Sagawa is a fantastic boxer, though a somewhat fragile one, with a questionable chin, which has left him down in 3 of his 4 losses. He’s well balanced, with lovely shot selection and spiteful, if not concussive, punching power. As for Estrada, the heavy handed Filipino is dangerous if he lands, but the 35 year old has been stopped in 2 of hus last 4, including his previous visit to Japan against Kai Watanabe. This will be his 6th bout in the Land of the Rising Sun and whilst he did win his first bout there, back in 2018 against Tasuku Nakagawa, he has lost the subsequent 4. This might look like a mismatch, but Estrada has power and that could be an issue if he can land clean Sagawa. F.E Zuellig Avenue, North Reclamation Area. Mandaue City, Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines As well as the action in Tokyo, we’re also getting a show in Cebu, albeit a much lower profile card. At the time of writing, only one bout is listed for this show, and that’s a bout for the World Boxing Foundation Australasian Super Featherweight title, as Rhonvex Capuloy (11-3-3, 8) takes on limited veteran Jason Tinampay (14-19-2, 11). The 28 year old Capuloy is a solid domestic type fighter on the Filipino scene, who has god wins against Bryx Piala and Junrel Jimenez, but has struggled to get results this year, with technical draws against ZhiGang Zhang and Ivor Lastrilla, and also suffering a TKO loss to Shunpei Ohata to leave him 0-2-1 for the year, so far. As for Tinampay, the 29 year old is inconsistent, at best, and is bad few years, going 3-6-1 since the start of 2020 with 4 of those 6 losses coming early. He has faced pretty much all of the regional level Filipinos around his weight, with losses to the likes of Jhack Tepora, Romero Duno, Carlo Demecillo, Roli Gasca, Allan Villanueva, Al Toyogon and Pete Apolinar, but unfortunately he seems to be little more than a gate keeper for fighters looking to progress beyond just the domestic scene. We suspect that will be the case again here, against the decent Capuloy.
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 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
This coming Tuesday we get the next show from the Diamond Glove series of events. The card was, on paper, is one of the stronger Diamond Glove shows we'll get this year, but sadly saw it's main event being cancelled in the build up. The planned main event would have seen Japanese Welterweight champion Keita Obara (25-4-1, 22) defending his title against Yuki Nagano (19-3, 15), the man he beat for the title back in 2020. Sadly this was cancelled in March when Obara suffered a leg injury. As a result the main of the card will now see former Japanese Featherweight champion Ryo Sagawa (11-2, 6) takes on former WBA Super Bantamweight champion Shun Kubo (15-2, 10) in a scheduled 8 rounder. For Sagawa this is his second bout since losing the Japanese title last year, when he was stopped in 7 rounds by the sensationally talented Hinata Maruta. The talented Sagawa was last seen in the ring in October when he avenged his first loss, against Retsu Kosaka. As for Kubo, it's now more than 4 years since he lost the WBA world title, and since then he has gone 3-1, with his most recent bout being a 3 round win over Ruito Saeki more than a year ago The card also has a notable female bout on it, as professional novice Mizuki Hiruta (1-0) battles former world title challenger Terumi Nuki (12-4, 8), in a huge step up for Hiruta. As an amateur Hiruta was very solid, winning 29 bouts and racking up more than 40 bouts in the unpaid ranks. She looked excellent on debut last year, and seems set to be moved incredibly quickly through the ranks. Nuki on the other hand is battle tested, and has been in with the likes of Mariana Juarez and Debora Anahi Dionicius, and is a very capable fighter, despite not being competitive at world level. This should be a great chance to see if Hiruta is as good as her team believe her to be. Another really interesting supporting bout will see Mikyo Watarai (0-0) make his professional debut against Takafumi Shibata (2-0), in a battle between two former Japanese amateur standouts. As an amateur Shibata came in the top 3 in several major domestic competitions and had a style more suited to the pro ranks. Since making his debut in 2021 he has proven to be exciting, fun to watch and busy in the ring, though he does lack power and it does seem like he's still very much a work in progress. As for Watari he ran up an excellent 77-15 (19) record in the unpaid ranks and impressed in several national tournaments. As an amateur Watari was aggressive, exciting and and very composed, with a style that should translate over to the professional ranks very nicely.  Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
This coming Thursdays action returns to Korakuen Hall for the latest show in the Diamond Glove series of events. It's not a massive one by any stretch, but it is an interesting one, with a compelling main event, a very even looking supporting bout, and two talented former amateurs clashing in another supporting bout. The main event of the show will see former Japanese Featherweight champion Ryo Sagawa (10-2, 5) look to bounce back from his title lose, earlier this year to Hinata Maruta, as he takes on Retsu Kosaka (10-6, 4). On paper this doesn't look a great bout, though it's worth noting that these two men do have history, with Kosaka giving Sagawa his first loss, very early in Sagawa's career. Sagawa will obviously be looking to avenge that defeat, but Kosaka will be full of belief, knowing that he stopped Sagawa in the past and can, potentially, do it again here. In a really good looking supporting bout we'll see the in form Kanehiro Nakagawa (10-6, 5) take on Shinnosuke Hasegawa (13-2-1, 9) in a Japanese title eliminator at Super Featherweight. On paper this looks a 50-50 bout, or one that maybe leans towards Hasegawa, but coming in Nakagawa has a lot of momentum, having won his last 5, including big domestic victories over Seiichi Okada, Ken Osato and Taiki Minamoto. Although Nakagawa has been in great form, and is ranked #1 by the JBC coming into this, Hasegawa is ranked #2 by the JBC and is in impressive form himself, with 12 straight wins, and will feel he's the man with momentum behind him. This really could be something very special, and we expect something very brutal here. In another supporting bout we'll see the unbeaten Go Hosaka (5-0, 3) take on Ryo Nakai (2-1-1, 1) in what should be a brilliant tactical match up between two fighters who were very good amateurs. Hosaka began his professional carer in the Philippines and since return to Japan, following the decline of the ALA Gym, hasn't really shown the promise he did back in the Philippines, though it's clear he has a lot of potential and the skills to go a long way, if he can put the performances together. Nakai on the other hand was matched tough on debut, fighting to a draw with Jay Lloyd Quidlet, and was unlucky last time out, losing a close decision to Shu Utsuki. On paper his record is under-whelming, but he has been matched incredibly tough and is much, much better, than his 2-1-1 record suggests. This could be a very over-looked fight, but one that promises  Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
This coming Thursday we get the next Diamond Glove show from Korakuen Hall, and it's an interesting one with 3 bouts worthy of note on the show. The first of the three bouts will be the debut of former amateur standout Ryusei Baba (0-0), who takes on Kenya Okada (5-3-1, 3) in a tough looking debut bout. The talented Baba went 45-26 in the unpaid ranks, winning national and international titles and is regarded as someone to really keep an eye on over the next 7 or 8 years. He might not be the mega prospect, like Naoya Inoue or Kazuto Ioka were, but there is a lot of expectation on his shoulders and many are tipping him to be moved aggressively, potentially towards a world title fight. Although no world beater Okada is no push over, and he's been unlucky in two of his recent losses, and he will be coming into this one knowing that a win would put him on the map, even with losses in previous two bouts. This should be a genuine test for Baba. In the chief support bout we'll see former Japanese Featherweight champion Ryo Sagawa (10-2, 5) look to bounce back from his loss to Hinata Maruta as he takes on Retsu Kosaka (10-6, 4), in a really compelling match up. On paper this looks like an easy win for Sagawa, who is a genuine talent and a really intelligent boxer, however it's worth noting that he did suffered his first loss when he faced Kosaka in 2017. Since that 2017 bout Sagawa has gone 9-1, won a Japanese title and a WBO Asia Pacific title, and really built himself on the back of that loss, whilst Kosaka is 2-4 and really needs a win to remain relevant on the Japanese domestic scene. The main event will see Lightweight triple crown winner Shuichiro Yoshino (13-0, 10) defending his Japanese title as he takes on second generation fighter Shuma Nakazato (10-1-3, 7), who will be competing in his first title bout. Yoshino is probably the best Lightweight in Japan right now, though there is argument he deserves to be behind Masayoshi Nakatani, and is a fighter who can genuinely do it all in the ring. He can box, he can fight and he can certainly punch. He'll enter as the big favourite, and as a fighter who is eyeing up bigger and better things in the near future, including potential world title eliminators. He will however have to make sure he doesn't over-look Nakazato. The challenger is stepping up big time here, but is young, hungry, sharp, under-rated and coming in to this with no expectations on his shoulders. Although we strongly favour the champion heading in to this, we wouldn't be surprised to see a very good performance from the hungry challenger. Our in depth preview of this cone can be read here Yoshino looks to defend Japanese title as he takes on Nakazato February 11th - Double header at Korakuen Hall! Big names in exhibitions at Yoyogi first gym!2/8/2021  Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
It's fair to say that February is set to be a very, very quiet month with less action scheduled for the month than there was in January, also a super quiet month. Thankfully however this coming Thursday there is a notable show taking place at Korakuen Hall, and it's a genuinely exciting card with a Japanese Youth title fight and Japanese title fight both set for the show. Better than that, is the fact both of the title fights look very, very even and very interesting on paper.. The show only has 4 bouts on it in total. The most interesting of those will see Shinnosuke Kimoto (6-4, 2) take on Shota Ogasawara (5-3, 3) in a 6 round Super Bantamweight bout. Incidentally this is their second bout, but more about that in a moment. Coming in to this Kimoto is looking to rebound from a majority decision loss to talented youngster Tom Mizokoshi, a loss than ended a 2-fight winning run for him. As for Ogasawa he'll be fighting for the first time in over a year, following his loss in the 2019 All Japan Rookie of the Year. Although he lost last time out in a notable bout Ogasawara is better for a different loss, his thrilling 2019 loss to Ryugo Ushijima. As mentioned these two have fought before, with Ogasawara beating Kimoto back in 2017, in what was Kimoto's debut. Fair to say Kimoto will want revenge here! The first of the two title fights on the show will see Ryu Horikawa (3-0-1, 1) clash with Yudai Shigeoka (2-0, 1) in a sensational looking Japanese Youth Light Flyweight title fight, for the vacant title. The 20 year old Horikawa impressed in his 2019 debut and impressed even more in his second professional bout, when he beat Yuki Nakajima, though was unlucky in his third bout when he was controversially held to a draw in China against Xiang Li. Horikawa is a very skilled and quick boxer-mover and will be looking to make the most of his slick footwork here. On the other hand Shigeoka, the older brother of Ginjiro Shigeoka, looked promising on debut and sensational in his second bout, as he calmly outboxed OPBF Lito Dante over 6 rounds. Shigeoka looks the more imposing fighter, the physically stronger and more polished, but also the man with the slower footwork. This should be a genuinely fantastic match up, and a really high level bout between two sensational youngsters. Our preview of this bout can be read here Horikawa and Shigeoka battle for Youth crown in Tokyo! In the main event we'll see Japanese Featherweight champion Ryo Sagawa (10-1, 5) defend his belt against mandatory challenger Hinata Maruta (10-1-1, 8), in a bout that was originally scheduled for 2020 but was delayed due to Covid19. For Sagawa this will be his third defense since beating Reiya Abe for the vacant title in 2019 and he looks to continue an excellent 9 fight winning run which has seen him defeat Junki Sasaki, Ryo Matsumoto, Al Toyogon and the aforementioned Abe. The champion has looked fantastic in recent bouts, but there are question marks about his chin and durability. On the other hand Maruta, who turned professional with a lot of buzz, has failed to meet the expectations put on his young shoulders, however a win here would see that buzz return. Aged just 23 Maruta has the tools to go a very, very long way, but a 2017 loss to Hidenori Otake slowed his rise and a controversial draw against Ben Mananquil also slowed him down. Coming in this the challenger has won his last 3, and has shown a more aggressive side to his boxing than earlier in his career. Our in depth preview of this bout can be read here Sagawa and Maruta clash at last, in Japanese title bout! Yoyogi First Gym, Tokyo, Japan As well as the show at Korakuen Hall there will also be a special event at the Yoyogi 1st Gym in Tokyo. This however isn't one you'll find on Boxrec and is instead a charity event where we'll get 7 exhibition bouts, and nothing that will go down on a fighters record. Despite that it's something that is worth being aware of, in part due to the fighters featured on it, including several world champions, amateur standouts and genuine Japanese stars. One of those will be an potential dream bout as WBA "Super" and Ring Magazine Light Flyweight champion Hiroto Kyoguchi (14-0, 9) shares the ring with the now retired Akira Yaegashi (28-7, 16), who himself held the IBF Light Flyweight title along with titles at Minimumweight and Flyweight. It's a shame the careers of these two didn't over-lap as this is a brilliant match up. Another retired former world champion on this show will be former WBA Super Featherweight champion Takashi Uchiyama (24-2-1, 20) who will be in the ring with current Japanese national Super Featherweight champion Kosuke Saka (21-5, 18). Although Uchiyama would be strongly favoured to win, had the two men clashed for real, this could be an interesting exhibition, especially given that Uchiyama is in fantastic condition. A third former world champion included in the event is former WBO Flyweight champion Sho Kimura (19-3-2, 12) who will be battling with former K-1 fighter Yoshiki Takei (0-0), who makes his professional boxing debut in March. Whilst not the greatest match up it will be a chance to see what Takei brings as a boxer, and we always love seeing Sho Kimura in the ring. Former world title challenger Takeshi Inoue (17-1-1, 10) will be taking on amateur standout Yuito Moriwaki in one of several bouts between professional fighters and amateurs. Another of these will see 140lb hopeful Andy Hiraoka (16-0, 11) share the ring with Japanese Olympian Daisuke Narimatsu and the a third will see Japanese Youth champion Jin Sasaki (10-0, 9) [佐々木尽] face off with the very highly regarded Seon Okazawa. We've saved the best until last, and that's a bout between WBA "super" and IBF Bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (20-0, 17) and former WBC Flyweight kingpin Daigo Higa (17-1-1, 17) [比嘉 大吾], in what should be a sensational exhibition bout over 3 rounds and something worthy of paying the hefty admission fee for. This is two big names, both in their primes, facing off in a bit of a dream fight, even if it is just an exhibition.  Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
For the first in more than 5 months we are expecting to see fans return to Korakuen Hall this coming Thursday for the next Diamond Glove show. The event isn't a massive one, with just 3 bouts set for the show , but does feature some pretty notable and interesting fights, with a Japanese title fight serving as the main event. The main event of the show will see Japanese Featherweight champion Ryo Sagawa (9-1, 4) defending his title against Yuri Takemoto (8-1-1, 4). The bout isn't the bout we were expecting to see Sagawa in, with the talented champion being ordered to face Hinata Maruta before the who global situation, but isn't an awful substitution. For Sagawa this will be his second defense since winning the title last year, with a win over Reiya Abe, and will see him seeking a 9th straight win. As for Takemoto he did win Rookie of the Year in 2018, but it seems like he's taking a massive leap up in class here. Takemoto has a bright future, but for us Sagawa is fringe world class and will have far too much of everything for the challenger here. Our full preview of this bout can be read here Japanese champion Sagawa faces off with Takemoto! In a good looking 8 round support bout Shinnosuke Hasegawa (11-2-1, 8) and Kazuma Sanpei (19-5, 8) will face off in a clash of JBC ranked Super Featherweights. Coming in to this Sanpei is ranked #5 by the JBC and has won 4 in a row, including wins against Tatsuya Otsubo and Toru Kiyota. Hasegawa on the other hand is ranked #16 and has won his last 10 in a row, though they haven't been against the stiffest of competition. This is an interesting match up, and a win for Hasegawa would be his best, by far, though Sanpei will be the betting favourite. Another interesting bout on this show will see 2019 All Japan Rookie of the Year runner up Takeshi Takehara (5-1, 1) take on Beverly Tsukada (3-4-2, 2). The 25 year old Takehara lost a razor thin decision last December to Ryuya Tsugawa and will be looking to bounce back here with a win against the 31 year old Tsukada. Whilst this doesn't look great on paper it gets interesting when you scratch beneath the surface and realise Tsukada had lost his last and is winless in the last 24 months. This should be a simple win for Takehara. Notably there was a fourth bout scheduled for this card, between Munetaka Kihara (3-2-1, 1) and the debuting Reiji Kodama (0-0), but this was cancelled when Teiken had to close due to Jorge Linares's recent PCR test.  Tokyo, Japan
We get another excellent card from the Korakuen Hall this coming Thursday as we get a triple header under the Diamond Glove banner, featuring an OPBF, a Japanese and a Japanese Youth title bout. The main event of the card will see OPBF Super Bantamweight champion Hiroaki Teshigawara (20-2-2, 13) defending his title against fellow Japanese fighter Shohei Kawashima (18-3-2, 4), in what could be an intriguing clash of styles. On paper neither man looks like a puncher, but Teshigawara is certainly a heavy handed fighter and 7 of his last 8 wins have come inside the distance including wins over Keita Kurihara, Teiru Kinoshita and most recently Shohei Omori. On the other hand Kawashima is a boxer, and he managed to hold his own with a 2016 version of Cristian Mijares, yeah Mijares was a faded force but Kawashima should touches of being a legitimate talent. Sadly for Kawashima his lack of power and physicality is always going to be an issue against a fighter like Teshigawara, but he should have enough to ask questions of Teshigawara. Our preview of this bout can be read here Teshigawara takes on Kawahsima in next OPBF title defense The Japanese title fight on this card will see the in form Ryo Sagawa (8-1, 4) defending his Japanese Featherweight title against mandatory challenger Ryo Hino (13-1-2, 8). For Sagawa the bout will be his first defense of the title, whilst Hino will be getting his first title fight. Sagawa won the title back in September, when he took a close decision win over Reiya Abe, and has now won 7 in a row taking notable wins over Abe, Ryo Matsumoto, Al Toyogon and Shingo Kawamura. As for Hino, the challenger hasn't done a lot to deserve this shot at the title, but is unbeaten since a 2015 loss to Abe, and has gone 8-0-1 since then with a single big win of note coming against Sho Nakazawa. It's really hard to go against Sagawa at the moment, and we suspect he'll come out on top here, and set up a mouth watering clash at the 2020 Champion Carnival with Hinata Maruta. Our full preview of this bout is available to read here Sagawa takes on Hino in first Japanese title defense The third title bout on the card will see 20 year old puncher Haruki Ishikawa (8-1, 6) clashes with teenager Toshiya Ishii (2-0, 1) for the vacant Japanese Youth Bantamweight title. The two men were part of a 4 man tournament, with Ishikawa stopping Atsushi Takada in 3 rounds to progress to the title bout whilst Ishiiout pointed the skilled Fumiya Fuse, taking a technical decision over the Rookie of the Year winner. This might be less significant than the other two title bouts on the card, but could turn out to be the most compelling, and it's going to be very interesting to see what the future brings for both men as their careers progress. Our in depth preview of this bout is here Ishii goes for belt in third pro bout, faces hard hitting Ishikawa! In a non-title bout we'll see Jin Miura (10-3-3, 1) take on Shingo Kawamura (16-5-3, 8), in their second clash in 3 months. The two men fought in September, to a technical draw, and will be hoping for a decisive outcome this time around. Interestingly Kawamura is 0-2-2 in his last 4, with stoppage losses to Satoshi Shimizu and Ryo Sagawa, whilst Miura is coming into this bout on the back of 3 successive draws.  This coming Friday is a really notable one, with a lot of exciting action, even with the biggest bout of the weekend, for us, being cancelled.
New York, USA The bout that was cancelled, would have seen the unified Super Bantamweight champion Daniel Roman (27-2-1, 10) defending his WBA "super" and IBF titles against fast rising Uzbek amateur standout Murodjon Akhmadaliev (6-0, 5). Sadly this was called off due to an injury to Roman, however the plan seems to be to reschedule the bout for when Roman is 100%. Despite the main bout being called off the card will still feature 2016 Olympic gold medal winner Daniyar Yeleussinov (7-0, 3), who has promised a lot but is yet to truly shine as a professional. The unbeaten Kazakh will be up against unbeaten American Reshard Hicks (12-0-1, 6). On paper this looks a good test for the Kazakh but in reality he shouldn't struggle with Hicks, if he's as good as many hoped he'd be. Tokyo, Japan Due to the world title fight being called off in the US, the best card appears to be in Japan where we see a former world champion, a Japanese title fight, a Japanese youth title fight and a Japanese title eliminator. The main event will see former WBO Super Featherweight world champion Masayuki Ito (25-2-1, 13) fight for the first time since losing his belt to Jamel Herring. The talented Ito will be up against Indonesian foe Ruben Manakane (25-18-1, 14), who despite only being 26 will be fighting in his 45th pro bout. This is expected to be an easy win for Ito, who is flirting with the Lightweight division, but it's clear there is a lot to work on given before he returns to facing world class opposition, at least based on his performance against Herring. Despite this being a pretty obvious mismatch Manakane does enter as the Indonesian champion and is 7-1 in his last 8. Despite the main event being a mismatch the supporting card is solid with the best of the bouts being a Japanese Featherweight title bout, with Reiya Abe (19-1-2, 9) and Ryo Sagawa (7-1, 4) battling for the title that Taiki Minamoto vacated earlier in the year. This has the hall marks of a very, very special bout with both fighters being very highly skilled but having different styles and mentalities. Abe is the more pure counter puncher, a sharp shooting, back foot fighter, whilst Sagawa is a more offensively minded boxer-puncher. These style really should gel and the two fighters will both be looking for their most significant win to date. This could be one of the most thrilling bouts of the month. Our preview of this bout is available to read here Abe and Sagawa battle to crown new Japanese Featherweight champion! In what looks likely to be an exciting brawl we'll see Gakuya Furuhashi (25-8-1, 14) and Ryoichi Tamura (12-4-1, 6) battle in a JBC Super Bantamweight eliminator. The experienced Furuhashi is trying to secure a third Japanese title fight but will be the under-dog here against Tamura, who held the title earlier this year. Furuhashi is a solid national contender but he has been in tough bouts through his career and it's hard to know what he has left in the tank. On the other hand Tamura's last 2 bouts have been really hard wars, with his last bout being a brutal war with Yusaku Kuga, and they may well have added a lot of miles to his clock. A preview of this bout can be read here Tamura and Furuhashi to battle in eliminator! A second title fight will see fast rising youngsters Rikito Shiba (3-0, 2) and Shisui Kawabata (2-0, 2) battle for the JBC Youth Light Flyweight title. Both of these youngsters are tipped for big things, and in fact Shiba is pencilled in for a Japanese title eliminator later in the year, so to see them clash at this point is rather surprising, despite the Youth title. So far Shiba has looked the better fighter, and he really does look the goods, however Kawabata has sparred with Naoya Inoue among others and is very highly regarded. This could be another thriller. Our preview of this contest is here Shiba and Kawabata face off for Japanese youth title! The rest of the card is full of small but still interesting bouts. These include a battle between Japanese ranked fighters, as Kanehiro Nakagawa (7-6, 4) looks to build on a career best win against Seiichi Okada as he takes on Ryuto Araya (13-7-1, 4). Other smaller bouts on this card include Satoru Goto (4-4-2) taking on the unbeaten Ryugo Ushijima (3-0-1, 2) and the debuting Taison Morishita (0-0) battling Kojiro Nishikawa (5-1, 2) in a tough 6 round debut. Dubai, United Arab Emirates Another notable fighter pencilled in for the day is former world title challenger Muhammad Waseem (8-1, 6), who will be in action in Dubai. Sadly at the time of writing his opponent hasn't yet been announced.  This coming Saturday is a really interesting day for Asian fight fans, with a notable show in Japan and the Philippines, and then fighters from those two countries colliding in California at the end of the day. As well as the major shows there is also a small card in Singapore.
California, USA The biggest bout of the day is, obviously, the US bout, which will see IBF Super Flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas (30-1-2, 20) defending his title against mandatory challenger Ryuichi Funai (31-7, 22). For Ancajas the bout will serve as his 7th defense of the title, which he won back in September 2016, and will be his third mandatory. The champion really under-performed last time out, narrowly holding on to the belt against Alejandro Santiago Barrios, and would be expected to put on a better showing here. Funai on the other hand is an unknown outside of Japan, though is a former Japanese and WBO Asia Pacific champion who has mixed in good company, with bouts against the likes of Shinsuke Yamanaka, Rolly Lunas, Sho Ishida and Warlito Parrenas. The challenger has earned this shot, winning an eliminator last year, but will be regarded as a clear under-dog. A full preview of this bout is available here - Ancajas takes on mandatory challenger Funai Tokyo, Japan In Tokyo fans will get the chance to attend a Teiken promoted card at Korakuen Hall. Sadly this will only be shown on tape delay, meaning those not in the venue will have to wait to see the bouts. The main event here will see Japanese Super Featherweight champion Masaru Sueyoshi (18-1-1, 11) defending his title in a mandatory bout against Ken Osato (15-2-1, 4), in what is their second meeting. These two fought in February 2018, when Sueyoshi had to recover from a knockdown to stop Osato in the 8th round. Since then Sueyoshi has gone 1-0-1, fighting to a draw over 12 rounds with Hironori Mishiro, and will be looking for bigger bouts later in the year. Osato on the other has scored back to back decision wins since losing to Sueyoshi, but this is a step up from those wins. A full preview of this bout is available here Sueyoshi looks to over-come Osato again! The chief support bout here will see the once beaten Shuya Masaki (11-1, 5) take on Korean visitor Nam Jun Lee (10-5-3, 4). For Masaki the bout is the first since his narrow win over Izuki Tomioka last year, in what was his third bout of 2018. It's notable Lee's first bout since June 2017. Notably the 35 year old Korean has had a very stop start Korea, but does hold notable wins over Sa Myung Noh and Jelbirt Gomera, so could be a better test than his record suggests. Another very notable bout on this card is the Japanese debut of Shokichi Iwata (1-0, 1), who debuted last year in the US. The talented and touted Iwata will face 2018 Rookie of the Year winner Daiki Kameyama (7-2-1, 2), in a very, very interesting match up. Iwata won his debut but didn't look sensational, and this could prove to be too much too soon for the former amateur standout, and a huge chance for the 22 year old Kameyama to build on his Rookie success. Other interesting bouts on this card include Junpei Tsujimoto (4-1-3, 2) battling against Tetsuya Yoshimura (5-3-1, 4) and Hiroki Yajima (9-7-3, 4) facing off with Mirai Imagawa (9-5, 3), with both Imagawa and Tsujimoto having won Rookie of the Year in recent years. There will also be a chance for the hard hitting Yamato Hata (7-1, 7) to pick up another win, as he takes on Indonesian Alvius Maufani (6-2-2, 3), in what should be a straight forward bout for the local. Metro Manila, Philippines Of course it's not just Japan that has a great show but also the Philippines, with ESPN5 set to show a title fest from Metro Manila, with this show being aired live. The pick of the bouts here is another Philippines Vs Japan clash, as Al Toyogon (10-2-1, 6) looks to defense his WBC Asian Boxing Council Silver Super Featherweight title against in form Japanese fighter Ryo Sagawa (6-1, 4). The 21 year old Toyogon will be seeking his second defense here, and will be looking to record a 6th straight win as he continues to develop into a very solid fighter. Sagawa on the other hand gets his first title shot, and he clearly deserves it on the back of wins against Junki Sasaki, Ryo Matsumoto and Shingo Kawamura. This is probably the more intriguing bout of the day, even more saw than the world title bout. A full preview of this bout is available here Toyogon and Sagawa battle for regional title! A second WBC Asian Boxing Council Silver title fight takes place at Bantamweight and will see the heavy handed Jun Blazo (11-6-3, 8) take on Benezer Alolod (19-11-5, 7). Blazo has lost 4 of his last 7, but has spun off 3 straight wins coming into this bout and will be confident of extending that run. Alolod is very much Mr Inconsistent with a 6-6 record in his last 12. Hard to get a read on this, but if both are up for it we could get a very good fight. In a GAB Lightweight title fight Roldan Aldea (12-7-1, 7) will be seeking his first defense, as he takes on Rey Ramos (8-11-2, 3), in what looks like a mismatch whilst 5lbs north we'll see Jheritz Chavez (8-3-2, 6) seek his second defense of the GAB Light Welterweight title, facing off with Junar Adante (7-11-1, 4). Sadly neither of these domestic title bouts look particularly competitive. Singapore, Singapore In Singapore local hopeful Nurshahidah Roslie (12-2, 9) will be seeking a 5th straight win as she takes on Thai novice Suphansa Phooong (1-0), in what looks like a mismatch, over 6 rounds. Roslie isn't the huge star that Singaporean boxing needs to really kick-start something but the Thai is an inexperienced teenager, and will be making her international debut.  Tokyo, Japan
We get Japanese title action from the Korakuen Hall this coming Thursday as the next Diamond Glove card takes place. The headline bout looks to be a stay busy defense by Japanese Lightweight champion Shuichiro Yoshino (8-0, 6), who defends the title against Kazumasa Kobayashi (10-7-1, 6). For the talented Yoshino the bout will serve as his third defense of the title that he won back in October 2017, when he stopped Spicy Matsushita for the then vacant title. Since then he has impressed, but this is really just a chance to stay busy as opposed to really building on his reign. The 35 year old Kobayashi has been a professional for close to 13 years and never done enough to earn a title fight. Coming in to thus Kobayashi is horribly out of form, especially given that he has gone 2-6-1 in his last 9 fights, but he will know this is is one and only chance to grab a title before his career is over. A full preview of this bout is available to read here Yoshino defends Japanese title against veteran Kobayashi! Whilst the main event is less than great the under-card is a pretty good one, topped by an excellent match up between Ryo Sagawa (5-1, 3) and Shingo Kawamura (16-4-1, 8), in what we suspect will be the show stealing fight. Coming in to this Sagawa is riding an impressive 4 fight winning run including big domestic wins over Junki Sasaki and Ryo Matsumoto, who he stopped in September. Sagawa was a top amateur and despite an early career loss is showing the potential to build on that amateur success. As for Kawamura he last fought in a losing effort against Satoshi Shimizu, though gave Shimizu fits before losing to the OPBF Featherweight champion. Given the styles, skills and hunger of the two men this has the potential to be a tremendous contest, and the winner will certainly see themselves in the title mix in the new year. An in depth break down of this fight can be read here Sagawa and Kawamuro battle in mouth watering showdown! One of the other supporting bouts will see Kei Iwahara (9-5, 4) face off with the hard hitting Daiki Ichikawa (11-4, 9), in another bout between two fighters with a Japanese ranking. The 28 year old Iwahawa has gone 2-2 in his last 4, but has mixed against decent domestic foes, such as Genki Ishikawa, Yuji Awata and Kazuma Sanpei. On the other hand the hard hitting Ichikawa is a 23 year old who has proven to be a bit of a glass cannon, being stopped in 2 of his 4 losses including a defeat last year in Russia to Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov. If Ichikawa can catch his man he'll be very dangerous, but there's a chance that Iwahara will be too good to be caught by a bomb here. On paper the weakest of the support bouts will see the talented but light punching Joe Tanooka (15-5-4, 1) battle against Motoki Osanai (2-2, 1), a former amateur standout who has struggled as a professional so far. The 24 year old Tanooka came runner up in the 2013 Rookie of the Year and has been in with a who's who of the Japanese scene, scoring notable wins over Ryuto Oho, Kenya Yamashita and Hajime Nagai. Although a very light puncher Tanooka is popular and often fun to watch and will be risking his Japanese ranking here. Osanai was tipped for big things, but has been matched hard and is yet to really shine. The feeling is if, or when, Osanai finds his groove he could prove to be a real talent, and this could well be his chance to shine as he drops down to Bantamweight. Another interesting match up on this card will see the limited but heavy handed Tetsuya Tomioka (5-3, 5) battling against Filipino visitor Jeronil Borres (8-4-1, 5). The hard hitting Tomioka has been stopped in all 3 losses, but has mixed with top domestic competition losing to Junto Nakatani and Katsunori Nagamine, but can certainly bang and fighters do need to respect his power. Borres, who was last seen getting stopped by Nakatani, has scored just a single win in his last 5, though was unlucky to lose in Korea against Joo Hyun Jung last year. For both this will be a chance to bounce back from a recent stoppage loss, and should make for a good action bout. |
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