 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
In Tokyo this coming Friday we're set for a really good card under the A-Sign Bee banner. The card isn't the most stacked, but has an excellent main event, and 3 well matched and interesting looking supporting bouts. The main event of the card will see former IBF Super Bantamweight champion Yukinori Oguni (21-2-1, 8) take on the hard hitting Keita Kurihara (16-6, 14) in a mouth watering bout that pits skills against power. The 34 year old Oguni is best known for his 2016 win over Jonathan Guzman, but sadly since then he has been fairly inactive, suffered numerous injuries, retired, and really not managed to have any momentum since then. In fact the last time he fought was 3 years ago, and it's really hard to know what he has left to offer the sport. There's no doubting that he was a good fighter, but we really don't know what a 2022 version of him will be like. As for Kurihara the 29 year old has been wanting to score a break out win for a while, and announce himself as one to watch, with wins over Yuki Strong Kobayashi, Warlito Parrenas and Kazuki Nakajima not quite being enough. Sadly for him he did suffer a wide technical decision loss last year, albeit to Takuma Inoue, but has bounced with his win over Nakajima to become a 2-time OPBF champion and it's clear he wants to move towards a huge fight in the next year or two. A win over a former world champion would certainly help him secure such a big fight. In a really interesting supporting bout former world title challenger Ryohei Takahashi (19-5-1, 8) takes on the unbeaten Tentaro Kimura (8-0-2). The 32 year old Takahashi is best known for his 2019 bout with TJ Doheny for the IBF Super Bantamweight title, and since then he has looked poor, squeaking past Kiyohei Endo and losing in a major shock loss to Hyuma Fujioka last time out. He needs a win if he's to remain even semi-relevant on the Japanese scene. As for Kimura, the cousin of Rentaro Kimura, he's starting to make a name for himself and has broken into the WBO Asia Pacific and JBC rankings. He'll know a win here will help him push his career towards a title fight, and in fairness to him, he has the speed and skills to beat Takahashi here. Although we're not expecting a thriller here, this could be a genuinely compelling bout between a fading contender, and an emerging hopeful. In a Bantamweight bout we'll see OPBF and JBC ranked contender Kai Chiba (13-3, 8) take on Koji Tsurumi (6-4-1, 3). Coming in to this Chiba has lost his last two, and desperately needs a win which is why he's being matched relatively softly here. Chiba is a solid boxer-puncher, but it does feel like he has lost a lot of momentum since a 2019 win over Matcha Nakagawa and he really needs to string together some good results over the next few years. As for Tsurumi he's bounced back well since a loss to the then debuting Josuke Nagata, last June, but will be taking on his toughest and most notable opponent so far. Hard to see anything but a Chiba win, but the real thing to pay attention to is how he scores that win. One other interesting looking match up will see Kazuki Kyohara (5-1-2, 3) clash with Koki Tyson (14-4-3, 12) in a really interesting Middleweight bout. On paper this looks like a young novice being matched hard, and it is. But it's one that has more too it than that. Tyson is the clear favourite, and the former OPBF Middleweight will go in to the bout feeling that his power and experience will be the difference maker. He is however, someone who hasn't had a fight since October 2019, and has only had a single win since the start of 2018. His confidence and sharpness is unlikely to be there. As for Kyohara, he's proven to be a decent and aggressive fighter, who will likely look to get close and take the reach and height from Tyson, which could mean we end up getting a really good fight here. Whitesands Events Center, Plant City, Florida, USA As well as the interesting card in Japan we also get a show with Asian interest in Florida. That's due to Chinese fighter unbeaten Fanlong Meng (17-0, 10), who faces his most notable opponent to date, as he clashes with former world champion Jean Pascal (35-6-1-1, 20). The 34 year old Meng was set to fight for a world title before Covid19 got in the way, and since then he has been frustratingly wasting time, with just a single fight in the last 2 years, and that was against Israel Duffus last October. Given his age, Meng looks like he's going to age himself out of contention and will likely suffer a loss before getting a world title fight now. Jean Pascal on the other hand is someone who has been there, seen that and got the T-shirt whilst fighting a genuine who's who, of who over the last 15 years. Sadly Pascal is now 39, and his career is coming to an end, but there is no doubting that he has had a remarkable and thrilling career which has seen him never turn down tough competition. Even now he is dangerous enough at this sub-world level to spring upsets and although the under-dog here, we wouldn't be surprised at all by a Pascal win over the unbeaten Chinese fighter.
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 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
The most notable show for us this coming Friday comes from Korakuen Hall as Yokohama Hikari put on a really interesting card, with an excellent main event, and several solid under-card bouts, which will go under the radar of many Western fans. The main event will see Japanese Light Middleweight champion Hironobu Matsunaga (19-1, 12) take on the hard hitting Ryota Yada (20-7, 17) in a potential war. The 34 year old Matsunaga has been on a great run in recent years, not just winning and defending the Japanese title but also scoring a recent in Mexico on a rare international excursion. Given his aggressive style Matsunaga is a great fighter to watch, he always come forward and he looks to pressure opponents into mistakes. Yada on the other hand is looking to rebuild his career as a massive 2020 loss to Yuichi Ideta, and he'll know another loss here essentially ends his his hopes of winning a major title before his career comes to an end. Yada is aggressive, heavy handed and exciting, but flawed and he would need a career best performance here to take home a victory. Recent Japanese youth title challenger Yuni Takada (8-8-2, 3) will be in a notable support bout as he takes on Yoshiki Yamashita (8-3). On paper this looks like a mismatch, especially given that Takada has gone 0-4-1 in his last 5 bouts, but he has fought at a decent level, with competitive losses against Kai Ishizawa and Norihito Tanaka, and he'll see this as a chance to get his first win since July 2019. Yamshita on the other hand is 4-1 in his last 5, including a really good win over Hizuki Saso back in June, and he'll be looking to continue building momentum and head towards title fights of his own. Another noteworthy bout on this card will see former world title challenger Ryohei Takahashi (19-4-1, 8) take on veteran Hyuma Fujioka (11-10-1, 1). The 31 year old Takahashi is best known for his 2019 loss to TJ Doheny, and since then he has scored 3 wins, but the most recent of those was a controversial one more than a year ago against Kiyohei Endo. Fujioka on the other hand is man with a win some lose record, and can be a banana skin for decent fighters, when he turns up. He's certainly no world beater, but he is better than his record suggests and could be a bit of a nightmare for Takahashi here. Motospace Dubai Investment Park, Dubai, United Arab Emirates As well as the action in Japan we also have a card of note in Dubai, where we'll see a talented Pakistani fighter in action, against a former world title challenger, and a bout featuring a promising Indian fighter. The talented Pakistani fighter on this card is former IBF world title challenger Muhammad Waseem (11-1, 8), who looks to score his first win of 2021 as he takes on Colombian fighter Rober Barrera (23-3-0-1, 13), who is best known for his 2017 bout with Ryoichi Taguchi. Once regarded as the big hope of Pakistani boxing, Waseem is with out a doubt a talented fighter, but like too many talented fighters he has let his talent go to waste, and now aged 34 it's hard imagine him getting another world title fight. In fact it seems almost like he has aged out of contention, and that's not much of a surprise given this will be only his 5th bout since 2018! Barrera, on paper, looks a good opponent, but in reality he has he's been beaten in 3 most notable bouts and is a natural Light Flyweight. We suspect Barrera will put up an effort, but natural size will play a part and he'll come undone here against the bigger, more skilful Waseem. As well as Waseem's bout there is another interesting one as 20 year old Indian fighter Faizan Anwar (9-0, 4) takes a huge leap up in class and takes on Viktor Plotnikov (33-13-0-1, 15). Anwar has shown some promise, but has also had some luck, and was very fortunate this past August when he took a decision over Ricky Sismundo. At his best Plotnikov was a very solid European level fighter, though sadly those days are well behind him and the 44 year old has now lost 10 in a row, leaving him without a win since 2015.  Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
For a second day in a row we get title action at Korakuen Hall, this time with a great show from Dangan, who give us a brilliant double header and a solid supporting bout. The main event will be a rematch as Kyosuke Sawada (14-2-2, 6) and Ikuro Sadatsune (11-4-4, 4) face off foe the Japanese Bantamweight title, in a very interesting match up. These two men fought earlier this year, and Sawada managed to drop Sadatsune, before a headclash early in round 2 forced the bout to be halted with both men suffering brutal cuts, and left us with a technical draw. This time we suspect both men will be more cautious than they were back in July, especially Sadatsune who looked like he had no answers to the speed and accuracy of Sadawa. Aged 33 this could be Sawada's last chance, though given how round 1 of their first fight went, he needs to go into this as a clear favourite. Our in depth preview of this bout can be read here Sadatsune and Sawada go again for Japanese Bantamweight title The other title bout is arguably an even better match up as the once beaten Tsubasa Koura (15-1, 10) takes on Yudai Shigeoka (3-0, 2) for the vacant WBO Asia Pacific Minimumweight title, which was vacated by Yudai's younger brother Ginjiro Shigeoka. The 27 year old Koura was once tipped as a serious prospect, and a man with the potential to win a world title. With wins against Yuto Takahashi, Jaysever Abcede, Masataka Taniguchi and Norihito Tanaka he is clearly a talent, but he looked very poor in 2019, when he was stopped in a huge upset against Lito Dante, and has only fought 3 rounds since that loss, beating Ariston Aton in early 2020. Shigeoka on the other hand has looked since his 2019 debut and holds not only a win over Lito Dante, but also Ryu Horikawa, and has shown a brilliant combination of skills, power, heart, and desire. On paper this is a huge step up for Shigeoka, who is fighting in a bout scheduled for more than 8 rounds for the first time, but he'll go in full of confidence. This really could be something very special, and the styles of the two fighters should gel really well. Our in depoth preview of this bout can be read here Tsubasa Koura and Yudai Shigeoka clash for WBO Asia Pacific title! In a solid supporting bout the JBC ranked Ryohei Arakawa (7-4-1, 3) will take on Naoki Kabayama (5-4-3, 1). The 32 year old Arakawa is certainly nothing special, but he is better than his record suggests and is best know in Japan for his 2019 loss to upcoming Naoya Inoue opponent Aran Dipaen. Kabayama on the other hand is better than his record suggests and has gone 2-1-2 in his last 5. Neither of these two are likely to fight for domestic, or regional honours, but together they should make for a compelling bout over 8 rounds.  This coming Saturday is an exciting day in Asian boxing with bouts taking place across Asia, and a promising Filipino getting a great chance to shine on US TV, just a week after we saw what John Riel Casimero can do when given an opportunity to shine.
Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan The biggest show of the day, for us at least, comes from the Japanese Holy Land of boxing, Korakuen Hall, and will will be shown live on G+. This is a pretty deep an interesting card and will be headlined by a Japanese title fight, whilst featuring plenty of young hopefuls making up the noteworthy under-card. The main event here will see Japanese Light Middleweight champion Hironobu Matsunaga (16-1, 10) make his second defense as he takes on mandatory challenger Yuto Shimizu (14-4-2, 5) in a delayed Champion Carnival bout. Matsunaga won the belt last year, stopping Nobuyuki Shindo, and successfully defended it with a win over Koki Koshikawa, in what was a short but thrilling little bout. As for Shimizu he comes into this bout on the back of noteworthy wins over Charles Bellamy and the aforementioned Shindo. Coming into this we expect a really interesting match up, with the champion giving up notable size to the challenger, and but having the power and work rate to neutralise the size difference. Given the styles of the two men we are expecting a genuine tear up here. Our full preview of this one can be read here Matsunaga faces mandatory challenger Shimizu! In the chief support bout former world title challenger Ryohei Takahashi (18-4-1, 8) will take on Kiyohei Endo (3-3, 3). We all saw Takahashi have his limitations exposed in 2019, when he was stopped by TJ Doheny, but since then he has resumed his career at a lower level and picked up two low key wins as he looks to build towards another fight of note. When he turned profession there was real expectations on Endo but he has shown poor durability, and very unpredictable form. Another loss for Endo here could end up spelling the end of his career. In a mouth watering battle between unbeaten 25 year old Kenshi Noda (2-0, 2) will face off with Toshiki Kawamitsu (4-0, 1). As an amateur Noda went 45-16 (10) and is regarded as one of the more promising young fighters at the Teiken Gym, who have signed a lot of talented youngster in recent years. Since beginning his career Noda has looked sharp, aggressive and like the type of fighter who can be fast tracked. Although Noda was a very solid amateur Kawamitsu was a pretty decent one himself, going 35-15 in his amateur career. Kawamitsu has looked a lot more limited than Noda since turning professional, but has racked up rounds, and has 18 of them compared to Noda's 2. Of the two Kawamitsu has faced stiffer competition, got more rounds and shown more as a professional, though is likely to still be the under-dog here. Another notable prospect on this show is Shigetoshi Kotari (1-0, 1), who notched an impressive 50-23 record in the amateurs. Kotari is tipped for very big things and looked decent in his debut, a year ago. Sadly Kotari has failed to build on his debut, in part due to what has gone on in the world in 2020, and looks to be easing himself back into the ring with a bout against 33 domestic fighter Motosuke Kimura (3-4-2, 1). Whilst Kimura has never been stopped he has lost his last 3 and with that in mind it's hard to see this being anything but an easy one for the talented Kotari. Workpoint Studio, Bang Phun, Thailand As well as the Japanese show there is also a pretty notable one in Thailand, thanks to Nakornluang and Work Point. The main event here will see former 2-time WBC Super Flyweight champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (48-5-1, 41) taking part in a stay busy bout as he faces Filipino foe Jomar Fajardo (17-17-2, 9). This will be Srisaket's first bout since he disappointing performance against Amnat Ruenroeng earlier in the year and it's clear that his team will be looking to keep him busy and prevent ring rust before a potentially huge fight in 2021. Fajardo was once a good test down at Light Flyweight, but he's been picking up a lot of losses recently and we expect him to be taken out early on by Srisaket here. In a solid supporting bout we'll see unbeaten Thai hopeful Apichet Petchmanee (6-0, 2) [อภิเชษฐ เพชรมณี] defending the WBC Asian Boxing Council Lightweight title against Thai based Russian challenger Musheg Adoian (7-1, 7). The unbeaten Apichet has faced some stiff tests since tunring professional, but recent bouts have seen some question his potential, and there does seem to have been some worries in Thailand that he's not as good as he first looked. In Adoian we have a man who's on a 7 fight T/KO run, but is stepping up massively here. Despite stepping up Adoian looks destructive and he could ask questions of Apichet and his chin. 100-day yuan shopping mall, Zhuzhou, China At the wonderfully named 100-day yuan shopping mall we'll be getting a small Chinese card. The bouts here are, on paper, nothing to get too excited about, but there is an interesting hopeful in one of the 6 rounders. That interesting hopeful is the once beaten Dacong Wang (6-1-1, 1), who is seeking a 6th straight win as he takes on the debuting Hairula Maimaitiaili (0-0). Wang was 1-1-1 after 3 bouts but has scored 5 wins in a row, including one in Korea against Do Hyuk Kim, and will be hoping to continue building his momentum here. Unfortunately not much is known about Maimaitiaili, though it is reported that he is 20 years old, and will be hoping to kick his career off with a win. Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles, California, USA Outside of Asia we have some of our attention on the US with unbeaten Filipino Mark Magsayo (20-0, 14) taking on Rigoberto Hermosillo (11-2-1, 8) in a 10 round bout. Magsayo is one of the most highly regarded hopefuls in the Philippines and fingers crossed we see him shine now he's linked up with MP Promotions and PBC. We had hoped to see him face Jose Haro in September but that date slipped, before Haro decided to retire. As a replacement Hermosillo is a poor one, and comes into this with back to back losses. We really don't see this as being much more than a showcase for the talented Filipino.  This coming Saturday is an incredibly busy day for Asian boxing, with a two notable shows in Japan and very high profile bouts in the US.
California, USA The most notable of the bouts takes place in California, and is world title fight, with a supporting that also features an Asian fighter. The main event will see IBF Super Flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas (31-1-2, 21) battle against Mexican challenger Jonathan Javier Rodriguez (21-1, 15). For Ancajas this will be his 8th defense, though it's not the type of defense which will really improve his profile. Ancajas is incredibly talented, but seems to have been kept away from most of the other top Super Flyweights, which is incredibly disappointing and frustrating. For Rodriguez this bout is a big step up, and despite a win over Felipe Orucuta last time out there's very, very little quality on his record. Our full preview of this bout can be read here IBF king Ancajas takes on Rodriguez On the same show we'll see Japan's Hiroki Okada (19-1, 13) attempt to bounce back from his first loss, as he takes on 2008 Olympian Javier Molina (20-2, 8) in a very interesting looking bout. Okada was stopped last time out, by Raymundo Beltran in a very entertaining bout, and is not being given an easy comeback bout here. Molina isn't a big puncher, but is skilled and has won 3 in a row since his most recent loss, a 2016 decision loss to Jamal James. Las Vegas, USA A second US show of note will see two very interesting looking match ups. The most interesting of those will see the once beaten Romero Duno (21-1, 16) take on unbeaten American Ryan Garcia (18-0, 15). The talented Duno has won 12 in a row since suffering his sole defeat, a 2016 loss in Russia to Mikhail Alexeev. During his winning run he has scored some solid wins but a win here would put him on the map in a big way. On the other hand Garcia is a hotly tipped prospect, and is a hugely popular fighter who will be expected to get a real test here. Garcia has been able to build his record with noteworthy wins over the likes of Jayson Velez and Jose Lopez, but has yet to fight a young prime fighter. This is a big step up for both men and the winner will be ear marked to go a very long way. The second bout featuring an Asian fighter will see Kazakh fighter Meiirim Nursultanov (12-0, 8) take on tough Mexican fighter Cristian Olivas (16-5, 13). The talented Kazakh has looked good coming through the ranks but this is set to be a genuine test against a flawed but tough and heavy handed for. A very interesting match and a great test, on paper, for Nursultanov. Tokyo, Japan The most significant show in Asia for the day is at the Korakuen Hall and will be shown on G+ in Japan. The card has 6 bouts scheduled for it, but 2 of those really stand out. The main event of the show will see Japanese Light Middleweight champion Hironobu Matsunaga (15-1, 9) defending his belt against Koki Koshikawa (9-1, 6). The talented and exciting Matsunaga will be looking to make his first defense of the belt, following his title win over Nobuyuki Shindo earlier this year, and is riding a real hot streak with 9 straight wins. For Koshikawa, who was once tipped as a future star following a strong amateur background, this will be a big step up and marks his first title fight. A very interesting match up, and a very hard one to call. Our full preview of this bout can be read here Matsunaga seeks first defense as he goes up against talented Koshikawa The chief support bout on this show will be a Japanese Light Middleweight title eliminator, as former champion Nobuyuki Shindo (20-5-2, 8) takes on Yuto Shimizu (13-4-2, 5). This a match that will decide who challenges for the title in next year's Champion Carnival and is another hard one to call. Shindo is the more accomplished fighter but Shimizu has impressed in recent fights and will be there to build on a recent win over Charles Bellamy. Our preview of this eliminator can be read here Shindo and Shimizu battle in eliminator As well as the two main bouts there will supporting bouts featuring former world title challenger Ryohei Takahashi (17-4-1, 7) and the once beaten Kai Chiba (11-1, 7). Tokyo, Japan A second show at Korakuen Hall on Saturday, though the one which will actually take place first, is a Teiken show featuring 6 of their brightest hopefuls all in 8 round bouts. One of those hopefuls is Shuya Masaki (13-1, 5) who looks to be heading towards a title fight in the near future. He will be up against Filipino foe Roman Canto (14-13-3, 8) in what should be a relatively easy bout for Masaki. The Japanese fighter is only a bout or two from a title of some kind, though is likely to head for an OPBF or WBO Asia Pacific title fight in 2020. Canto has lost in 5 previous visits to Japan and it's hard to imagine him getting a win here. Another bout pitting a Japanese hopeful against a Filipino will see unbeaten Japanese puncher Hayate Kaji (13-0, 9) take on Diomel Diocos (14-4-3, 4). Early in his career Kaji looked like a star in the making, he looked like he had all the tools to go to the top, combining skills, power, speed and ambition. Sadly he's not really progressed as we'd hoped and his career seems to faltered, and he's had disappointing performances in his last two bouts. The Filipino has lost 2 of his last 3 and was stopped in 4 rounds last time he fought in Japan, being stopped in 2017 by Daigo Higa. Former amateur stand out Kuntae Lee (2-0, 1) takes his next step up as he takes on unbeaten Indonesian hopeful Rivo Kundimang (9-0-1, 5). As an amateur Lee really was a stand out, and he is hotly tipped to be a a future star in Japan. Despite only being a novice Lee he has already taken one unbeaten record, beating Marlon Paniamogan back in July. Kundimang will be fighting outside of Indonesia for the first time, and has win his last 9 bouts in a row, following a draw on his debut back in September 2017. In a good step up we'll also see Mikito Nakano (3-0, 3) take on Filipino foe KJ Natuplag (8-1-2, 7), in an excellent bout. The talented Nakano has adapted well to the professional ranks and looks to be on his way to real success at Featherweight in the coming years. On paper this is a step up, but Nakano has looked very good, and last time out he really impressed against Arvin Young. Natuplag has shown real promise, and back in March he stopped Robert Udtohan, but was beaten last time out by Joe Tejones. We're expecting an excellent showing from Nakano who will likely find himself in the title mix next year. Also on this card will be Kenshin Oshima (6-1-1, 3) and Masaya Tamayama (12-2, 6), who look to continue their rise through the ranks and move towards a title fight in the coming 18 months or so. Ekaterinburg, Russia One of the other interesting bouts for the day will see the unbeaten Tajik fighter Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov (14-0, 9) take on the once beaten Abraham Montoya (18-1-1, 13), in what will be Yaqubov's second defense of the WBC International Super Featherweight title. The talented Yaqubov has impressed recently and moved towards a world title fight thanks to wins over the likes of Mark Urvanov, Victor Alejandro Zunigaabd Emanuel Lopez, and another win here would leave him on the verge of a shot. Montoya, from Mexico, is unbeaten in 19 but this will be his first bout outside of Mexico. Unbeaten Kazakh Heavyweight Issa Akberbayev (20-0-0-1, 15) takes on his biggest test so far as he battles against 2016 Olympic champion Evgeny Tishchenko (5-0, 3), who is of course best known for his controversial Olympic win over Vasiliy Levit in the Olympic final. Despite being unbeaten the Kazakh will be the very clear under-dog and the Russian will be the favourite. Notably Akberbayev has been away from the ring for almost 2 years, and it's hard to not imagine that being a major issue here, against his most notable foe so far. Queensland, Australia In Australia we'll see the unbeaten Chris Brackin (7-0, 3), an Australian local, take on Indian fighter Balkar Singh (3-1, 1). Singh lost last time out, when he was out pointed by the unbeaten Andrew Hunt over 4 rounds, and we suspect he will suffer another loss here to the talented Brackin.  This coming Tuesday we get two notable Asian cards, one in China and one in Japan. Both of those cards have an international feel and both have some really interesting match ups.
Xi An, China The most interesting of the two cards is the Chinese one from Xi An, featuring local Chinese fighters along with Japanese and Korean visitors. The show features 3 regional title bouts along with several other less under-card bouts. One of the title bouts will see local fighter Qixiu Zhang (10-5-1, 3) take on unbeaten Korean Jong Sun Gang (8-0-1, 5) in a bout for the WBC Youth Intercontinental Super Featherweight title. Zhang was stopped last year by Joe Noynay, in 8 rounds, though he can't be written off and did impress in stopping Nak Yul Park in Korea. On the other hand Gang, a natural Featherweight, was held to a draw last time out but has scored stoppages in 4 of his last 5. This could be the bout of the daY. In a female bout we'll see Li Ping Shi (4-2, 2) make her first defense of the WBC Asian Boxing Council female Super Flyweight title as she takes on Japanese challenger Yuko Henzan (8-7-4, 2). Shi won the belt last year stopping Hyun Gee Gil and looks to be much, much better than her record suggests. Henzan on the other hand is a pretty limited fighter, despite having previously won the OPBF female Bantamweight title. Henzan lost last time she faced a Chinese fighter, coming up short to Fan Yin, and could only manage a draw with Phannaluk Kongsang last time she fought outside of Japan. A third title fight will see Yougu Yu (5-1-3, 2) take on Hyuma Fujioka (10-8-1, 1) for the WBC Asian Boxing Council Continental Bantamweight title. Yu is 2-0-3 in his last 5 bouts, but those draws are a bit strange. He certainly deserved to lose to Yuya Nakamura in December, but also deserved a win over Yushi Tanaka back in April and that Tanaka fight showed he is a solid fighter. Fujioka has a poor looking record, but has been competitive with the likes of Ryo Akaho, Shohei Kawashima and Naoya Okamoto, so if a game fighter who will be in China to win. One other bout of note here will see local fighter Shan Wu (8-5, 1) take on Chinese fighter Seita Ogido (13-4-3, 3). The 29 year old Wu has won his last 4 bouts, but has faced limited competition since losing to Min Jang in Korea. On the other hand Ogido is 2-2-2, with his last 2 wins really not being impressive and it does look like the Okinawa man will fall short of the expectations some had for him. Tokyo, Japan As well as the Chinese card there's also a really notable Japanese card, featuring two former world title challengers and a member of the Kameda family. The main event of the show will see recent world title challenger Ryohei Takahashi (15-4-1, 6) look to bounce back from his loss to TJ Doehny, as he takes on Korean visitor Jin Wook Lim (10-6-5, 3). Whilst Takahashi is the much more well known fighter, given the Doheny bout, he's not a very skilLed fighter, relying more on toughness and work rate than technical skills. Lim isn't too well known but he but he has challenged for AN OPBF title before and is certainly a live under-dog here. Sadly for Lim he has been stopped in 2 of his last 4, and he would need a career best performance to pick up a win here. The other world title challenger is Thai visitor Samartlek Kokietgym (34-9-1, 12), who has lost in world title fighters to Naoya Inoue and Akira Yaegashi. The highly experienced Samartlek will be up against Naoki Mochizuki (15-4, 8), a recent Japanese title challenger. Although the Thai is the more experienced man he is the much smaller fighter and we suspect that Mochizuki will be too big, too strong and too powerful for Samartlek. One other bout of interest will see Kyonosuke Kameda (3-1, 2), the cousin of the Kameda brothers, facing off with the unbeaten Ryugo Ushijima (3-0, 2). Kameda comes into this on the back of 3 straight wins, following a stoppage loss on his debut, but we see this as a step up for Kameda. The 18 year old Ushijima really impressed us this past February in his win over Shota Ogasawara and we do believe he's very, very talented, with the potential to develop into a pretty solid domestic fighter. If Ushijima is as a good as he looked against Ogasawara he should take the win here. Our attention turns to New York this coming Friday where we get the chance to see several Asian fighters in action.
New York, USA The biggest of the bouts in New York will see little known Japanese fighter Ryohei Takahashi (15-3-1, 6) challenge IBF Super Bantamweight champion TJ Doheny (20-0, 14). This is a huge step up class for Takahashi and an opportunity that few would have expected to see Takahashi get. This is Doheny's first title defense, and he really be the major favourite as he takes on the little known challenger. Takahashi had to wait until January 11th to get his visa for the fight but had been training for a potential clash with Doheny since early December. We've previewed this bout bout here Preview: Doheny Vs Takahashi New York, USA A separate card in New York will feature a trio of Asian fighters in bouts. One of those Asian fighters in action is Filipino fighter Jessie Cris Rosales (22-1-1, 10), who will take on the very highly regarded American Shakur Stevenson (9-0, 5) in a very attractive looking contest. Stevenson, a 2016 Olympic silver medal winner, is regarded as one of the brightest prospects in American boxing and looked fantastic last time out, when he blitzed Romanian veteran Viorel Simion. Rosales on the other hand has a good record and his only loss is to the monstrously hard hitting Jhonny Gonzalez. A win for Rosales isn't expected, but he should be the best test for Stevenson so far. Former Indian amateur stand out Vikas Krishan (0-0) will be making his debut on this show as he faces off with Steven Andrade (3-3, 2). The gifted Krishan is a 2-time Olympian who announced his intention to turn professional last year and signed with Top Rank, who will look to guide his career to the top. There are huge hopes for Krishan who will begin his career in a 6 round bout here and will be looking to show what he can do. Sadly Adrade has lost his last 3, his last 2 by stoppage, and it's hard to see Krishan being tested at all here in what is likely to be an easy showcase for his debut. A third Asian on this show is Uzbek fighter Fazliddin Gaibnazarov (6-0, 3), a 2016 Olympic gold medal winner and a 27 year old who is starting to understand the professional boxing scene. The unbeaten Uzbek will be up against Dominican fighter Ricardo Garcia (14-4-1, 9), in what is a very credible step up in class for Gaibnazarov. The Olympic champion has had his struggles, and was dropped on his debut, but does look to be improving and this is a real test. We would expect Gaibnazarov to win, but it'll be very interesting to see how he looks en route to that win. Thailand We also get some action from Thailand. In one of the major bouts Flyweight contender Dennapa Kiatniwat (20-1, 15), aka Sarawut Thawornkham, will be up against Filipino foe Mateo Handig (15-17, 9), in what looks likely to be a straight forward win for the Thai, who is currently ranked #1 by the WBA at Flyweight. In recent years Handig has been picking up a lot of losses, and we expect to see another one here against the hard hitting Thai. On the same card we'll see Teerachai Kratingdaenggym (39-1, 29) make his first defense of the WBA Asia Light Middleweight title he won last year, as he takes on Tanzania's Meshack Mwankemwa (17-5-2, 10), in what we're expecting to be a total mismatch in favour of the Thai fighter. September 1st-Saito and Kikuchi fight for Japanese honours, Bellamy, Abe, Kondo and Kaji in action!8/26/2018  Tokyo, Japan
This coming Saturday sees a new month begin, and it kicks off in stylee with a strong card from the Korakuen Hall. The main event of card will see the Japanese Bantamweight title finally have a champion crowned, after having been vacated in January by Ryo Akaho and having seen several bouts to crown a new champion fall through. The void at the top of domestic scene will be filled by either Yuta Saito (10-9-3, 7) or Eita Kikuchi (21-5-4, 8) who will both see this as a massive opportunity to claim a national title. Saito was supposed to face Suguru Muranaka for the title earlier in the year before Muranaka pulled out due to making weight. Kikuchi on the other will be getting his first title bout since losing to Shingo Wake in an OPBF title fight way back in 2013. The winner of this will likely enter 2019 with a target on their back, but will have claimed the biggest win of their career. The leading support bout will see former Japanese and OPBF champion Charles Bellamy (27-3-2, 18) taking on Yuto Shimizu (12-3-2, 5) in a bout between Japanese ranked fighters. The hard hitting Bellamy has struggled for activity in recent years but is devastating at this level and will know, at the age of 36, that he really only has more run left in his body. A win over Shimizu will not assure Bellamy of a title shot, but will move him much closer to one. As for Shimizu this will only be his third fight since the start of 2016, and his first of note since losing to Yuki Nonaka more than 2 years ago. At 30 years old Shimizu has got youth on his side but would need a career best performance to pick up a win here. In another notable supporting bout we'll see the very talented Reiya Abe (17-2, 8) battle against Masashi Noguchi (12-10-1, 6). Originally the plan had been for Abe to fight in a Japanese Featherweight title eliminator but with no suitable opponents being able and free he's fighting a bit of a stay busy bout whilst awaiting for a title fight, likely in 2019. Abe is currently riding a 9 fight winning streak, which saw him avenge one of his defeats and over-come the likes of Tsuyoshi Tameda and Satoshi Hosono. Noguchi is a former Japanese title challenger, but comes into this bout on the back of 5 straight losses. Noguchi has no momentum coming into this and has been hand selected to keep Abe busy, but won't be expected to offer much competition. Arguably the biggest single name on this card is recent world title contender Akihiro Kondo (30-7-1, 17), who will be looking to tick over with a stay busy fight of his own. The teak tough Kondo will be up against domestic journeyman Tatsuya Miyazaki (9-11-1, 9) in what should be Kondo's second victory since losing in 2017 to Sergey Lipinets in an IBF title fight. Miyazaki has been stopped in 8 of his 11 losses and we suspect to see another loss here for the 34 year old. Miyazaki has got power, but given the toughness of Kondo we don't think that will matter too much in this bout. On paper one of the more even match ups will see the in form Ryohei Takahashi (15-3-1, 6) take on Shingo Kusano (11-6-1, 4), who is one of the two men to hold a win over the aforementioned Reiya Abe. Takahashi has rebuilt well since suffering an August 2017 defeat, and was last seen scoring an upset win in Thailand against Mike Tawatchai for a regional IBF title. Kusano on the other hand has been stopped in his last 2 bouts and is without a win since February 2016, when he defeated a Thai novice. It's hard to see past a Takahashi victory here, but he should get some good rounds in against a usually durable foe. One other fighter of note on this show is Hayate Kaji (10-0, 8), who will be taking on a Thai foe. The talented Kaji has looked fantastic at times, but a disappointing performance last December against Jun Blazo has left some serious questions for him to answer. If Kaji can commit himself to the sport his potential is huge, but her really does just need to make sure he can focus on his training and what he needs to do in the ring. We're not expecting him to be tested here, but we are hoping to see an impressive performance from the Japanese youngster. Pathum Thani, Thailand In Thailand fight fans will be able to see veteran Sirimongkol Singwancha (95-4, 60) continue his journey to being a centurion as he take on Muhammad Nsubuga (0-6-1) in a bout for the vacant Thai Light Heavyweight title. The 41 year old Sirimongkol, who had world title reigns at Bantamweight and Super Featherweight more than a decade ago, is long past his prime but clear still has hunger and that shows by the fact he'll be fighting at 175lb for the first time in his career. Ugandan born Thai based Nsuubuga has been stopped in 6 of his 7 bouts and we suspect he'll be stopped again here as Sirimongkol marks his 100th professional bout!  Tokyo, Japan
The main show for us this coming Wednesday will come from the Differ Ariake in Tokyo. The card will feature a number of a very good bouts, mos of which will be Japan Vs China, though is headlined by an OPBF title fight between a Filipino champion and a Japanese prospect, in what ios a really mouth watering match up. The main event of the card will see OPBF Super Featherweight champion Carlo Magali (23-9-3, 12) face off with Japanese prospect Hironori Mishiro (5-0, 2), in a bout that is genuinely mouth watering. Magali has had a frustrating 2018, with several bouts announced and then falling through, and as a result this will be his return to the ring for the first time since his impressive January win over Masatoshi Kotani. Against Kotani we saw the Filipino show that he was a lot better than his record suggests, and it seems the OPBF title is helping Magali improve as a fighter, building his self belief. As for Mishiro the Japanese fighter was a former amateur stand out who only debuted 15 months ago but already holds notable domestic wins against Shuma Nakazato and Shuya Masaki and will be full of confidence coming into this bout. A win for Magali will perhaps move him on to bouts against top tier regional fighters, such as Masaru Sueyoshi or Reiya Abe, however a win for Mishiro will shoot him up to being one of the leading prospects in Japan. A really good match up, and a tough one to call! The leading support bout is one of the many Japan vs China bouts and will see recent Japanese Flyweight title challenger Katsunori Nagamine (14-2-1, 10) battle against Yujie Zeng (11-7-1, 6) in what should be a very exciting bout, as is the norm for a Nagamine bout. Nagamine came close to claiming the Japanese Flyweight title this past March, when he lost a very lose decision to Masayuki Kuroda, and he should come in to this bout with a point to prove. It's also worth notign that Nagamine's only other loss was to WBC Light Flyweight champion Ken Shiro, more than 3 years ago. Zeng on the other hand is pretty much an unknown outside of those who follow the Chinese domestic scene. His only real bout of note came last September, when he lost to promising Filipino Genesis Libranza, and aside from that there isn't really much we can take from the Chinese fighter's record, other than that he seems to be fighting from Minimumweight to Super Bantamweight. Given what we know of Nagamine we're expecting a win for the Japanese fighter here. In another Japanese Vs China bout fans will see the once beaten Shuma Nakazato (7-1-1, 6) battle against Qixiu Zhang (9-4-1, 3). Nakazato is one of the many hidden gems in Japanese boxing and managed to reach the 2015 Rookie of the Year, before needing to take almost 18 months away from the ring. Last year Nakazato suffered a narrow loss to Mishiro but has bounced back since with a blow out win against a Thai foe. The Chinese fighter is pretty unknown, though did impress last time out, when he travelled to Korea and scored an 11th round KO win against Nak Yul Park in May. That win aside there is little of note on Zhang's record and it;s hard to say what eh really has the potential to do, so this should give him a chance to answer some questions about his potential. Bangkok, Thailand As well as the action in Japan there will also be a show in Thailand, headlined by a regional title fight between Japan's Ryohei Takahashi (14-3-1, 6) and Thai veteran Mike Tawatchai (45-11-1, 28). The two men, who are clashing over the IBF Pan Pacific Super Bantamweight title, are at different stages in their careers and Tawatchai, a genuine veteran with close to 60 fights, seems to be looking past his foe already with another bout set for September. That could well be a mistake as Takahashi is a very capable fighter with good wins over Kazuki Tanaka and Matcha Nakagawa, and defeatuing Tawatchai isn't out of the question here.  Tokyo, Japan
In Tokyo this coming Friday fight fans will see the next Asign Bee show. The main event of the card is a mouth watering match up between Reiya Abe (16-2, 8) and Daisuke Watanabe (6-3, 3). Coming in to this Abe is ranked the JBC, OPBF and IBF and looks to be well on his way to a title fight thanks to wins over the likes of Ryo Hino, Hikaru Marugame, Tsuyoshi Tameda and Satosho Hosono. On paper Watanabe looks like an easy opponent for for the red hot Abe but the reality is that Watanabe is a very credible fighter who holds notable wins over the likes of Jun Blazo, Yosuke Fujihara and Gakuya Furuhashi. This is a really well matched bout and should be very contest in the ring. In the led support bout recently title challenger Akihiro Kondo (29-7-1, 16) will be up against a Thai foe. Kondo gained some international respect last November when he gave the talented Sergey Lipinets a competitive 12 round bout for the IBF Light Welterweight title, this will be his first bout since loss In another notable bout fans will see the under-rated Ryohei Takahashi (13-3-1, 5) battle Tetsuya Koyama (7-9, 2). The under-rated Takahashi has been matched hard, but looks like someone who will always be able to mix in and around the top of the domestic level. He shouldn't struggle with Koyama, but Koyama is the naturally bigger man and could ask some questions of his man. Another bout worth noting from this card is a competitive contest between Ryuto Araya (11-6-1, 3) and Tatsuya Otsubo (10-8-1, 3). Both of these men have fought in title bouts, with Otsubo losing a decision to the then Japanese Featherweight champion Satoshi Hosono in 2015 and Araya losing to then then OPBF Featherweight champion Rtyo Takenaka early last year. It's also worth noting that these two fought last October in a nail biting fight,that Otsubo won with cards of 76-75 in his favour from all 3 judges. This could be the highlight of the card. New South Wales, Australia In Australia local fans will see hard hitting prospect Brock Jarvis (12-0, 11) take on once beaten Indonesian fighter Hamson Tiger Lamandau (8-1-1, 5). The hard hitting Jarvis has stopped his last 11 foes, including the notable but very shop worn Rasmanudin, and looks like one of the most exciting prospects down under. As for Lamandau he is best known for suffering a 6th round loss to Hinata Maruta last year, and has fought only once since then. |
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