October 20th-Kyonosuke Kameda faces former World Champion!

10/16/2024

This coming Sunday is an interesting day for fight fans in Asia, with 3 cards in Japan and one in the Philippines. On paper the Japanese cards aren’t the strongest, with few really notable names in action , but there should be some good quality fights between well matched fighters. Over in the Philippines we get a really solid show, with 3 very good match ups on it.

KBS Hall, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
Starting with the Japanese cards, the most notable will be taking place in Kyoto and will be promoted by Futur Promotions who have a former world champion in the main event.

The former world champion in question is former WBC Super Flyweight champion Suriyan Kaikanha (52-7-1, 28), aka Suriyan Sor Rungvisai, who competes in Japan for the third time as he takes on Kyonosuke Kameda (13-3-2, 8). Suriyan, a true veteran, is now 35 and made his professional debut in 2006. He really began to make his name in 2010 when he gave the legendary Pongsaklek Wonjongkam a very close bout in a WBC Flyweight title bout, losing a narrow decision to the Flyweight great. Less than a year later he would beat Tomas Rojas for the WBC Super Flyweight title, which he defended once before losing it in Japan to Yota Sato. His only other appearance in Japan 2 years later was when he was beaten WBC Bantamweight champion Shinsuke Yamanaka. Sadly though that Yamanaka bout was a decade ago and whilst he has gone 15-1 since then he’s certainly not the same fighter he once was. As for Kameda, the cousin of the fighting Kameda brothers, who is now coming into his prime at 26, he has proven himself a very credible domestic level fighter with notable wins over Tsubasa Narai, Mugicha Nakagawa and Hikaru Matsuoka. He's a big, dangerous fighter at Featherweight, which appears to be his natural weight and although not the most polished fighter, he is rapidly improving having come a very, very long way since a TKO loss on debut against Shinnosuke Kimoto back in 2018. We can’t help but feel this is a bout set up to boost Kameda’s standing and get him a win against a faded former world champion, but in many ways that’s good match making, and even a faded Suriyan is still a very capable fighter.

In the chief support bout the once beaten Kotaro Kawai (5-1, 2) will take on Bakuto Nakahara (5-5, 2) in a 6 rounder. Kawai is 22 years old and is looking for his second win since suffering a razor thin loss to Ryugo Yanagibori in June 2023. He is quick, sharp and has a lovely 1-2. As for Nakahara he's a win-some, lose-some fighter from Okayama, where there really aren't many fights forcing him to travel for fights. Sadly for him he has struggled to find his weight class, and for this bout he's stepping up to Lightweight for the first time.

176BOX, Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan
Over in Toyonaka we get a pretty interesting card, with an unbeaten prospect and a title unification bout.

The main event will see the unbeaten Marina Loreto (6-0-2) look to unify the JBC female Minimumweght title with the vacant WBO Asia Pacific title, as she takes on the experienced Mont Blanc Miki (6-7-1, 2). Loreto won the Japanese title in April 2023, and she recorded her first, and so far only, defense in November with a draw. Sadly she has now been out of the ring 11 months, losing some of the momentum she was building. As for Miki this is her 5th shot at a title, having come up short in the previous 4. She’s aggressive and fan friendly, but is defensively flawed and limited, with much of her offense being wild and wide, leaving her open to counters.

In the chief support bout we’ll see unbeaten JBC ranked fighter Yamato Moriguchi (7-0-1, 2) take on hard hitting Thai visitor Sarawut Jiamthong (11-5, 10). Moriguchi is a 21 year old who won the All Japan Rookie of the Year last year, and looks to be a real prospect for the Kuratoki Gym to develop and nurture. He’s a clean accurate fighter with an aggressive style, who really impressed in the All Japan Rookie of the Year final, unfortunately however he has been out of the ring since winning the Rookie of the Year and lost much of the momentum he had been building at the end of 2023. Jiamthong is something of a glass cannon. The 25 year old has heard the final bell twice in 16 fights, with 10 wins inside the distance and 4 losses coming early. Notably he has been stopped in the 3 bouts where he has travelled outside of Thailand, including a loss to Olimjon Nazarov back in May this year. Whilst it looks like he has power, his competition has been awful and it's hard to put too much weight behind his power.

Foodpal Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan
A third card in Japan is set to take place in Kumamoto, and this one is the smallest of the 3, by some margin, in terms of its significance.

The main event will see Kazuhiro Imamura (3-3-1, 2) take on unbeaten American Alejandro Patrick Meniano (4-0, 2) in a 6 rounder. turned professional with some fan fare, and after a 2-0-1 start to the pros there was some hope he'd develop into a good fighter. Sadly 3 straight losses took away all momentum he was building and it took more than 4 years between his second win and his third win, which came earlier this year. Meniano on the other hand is something of an unknown quantity, though is no stranger to being on the road and will be confident of picking up his 5th straight win, in his third country, after notching a pair of victories in both Mexico and the Philippines.

In a support bout Shoki Yamauchi (7-5, 6) will take on fun to watch Korean fighter Ho Jun Kim (3-1-2, 3). Yamauchi is something of a glass cannon with only 3 of his bouts going the distance, all of which were 4 rounds early in his career. Since July 2022 he has never seen the 4th round, going 5-1 (5) in that run. As for Kim the 25 year old debuted last year and despite set backs in his last 2 fights hasn't been stopped. Like Yamauchi he's dangerous early and has an aggressive style, which could lead to some serious fireworks here.

Another Japan Vs Korea bout on this card will see once beaten JBC ranked fighter Misaki Hirano (10-1, 4) take on Korean ranked fighter Han Sol Lee (8-5, 4). Hirano is a 27 year old who has won his last 9, including a notable win over Ryo Suwa, and bounced back well from a razor thin loss in his second bout to Hikaru Fukunaga. Although not a nationally recognised name, his success is edging him towards a title fight and if he continues to pick up good domestic type wins he could find himself in the mix late next year. Lee on the other hand has won a couple of titles during his career, namely the WBF Intercontinental Flyweight and South Korean Bantamweight titles. Despite his success he has lot 5 of his last 6, including his last 3, and was stopped inside a round by Kanamu Sakama in his previous visit to Japan, back in 2022

Okada Manila Hotel and Casino, Paranaque City, Metro Manila, Philippines
As well as the shows in Japan we also get a pretty good looking Filipino show, with several notable names on it, and a few really good looking bouts, in what might end up being the best show of the day.

The main event on this show looks to be a really good match up, as former world title contender Giemel Magramo (29-4, 23) takes on rising youngster Judy Flores (14-2, 8) in a bout for the OPBF Super Flyweight title. Magramo was once seen as a future star for the Philippines but at 30 time is starting to run out for him to reach the heights expected of him. Coming from a boxing rich family and blessed with not just boxing in his blood but also spiteful power and well rounded skills he looked like being part of a new wave of Filipino fighters. Sadly for him he ran into Junto Nakatani in 2020 and has gone 5-2 since being stopped by the now 3-weight Japanese world champion. Notably however all 4 of his losses, which have come to Muhammad Waseem, Nakatani, Taku Kuwahara and Anthony Olascuaga, have come on the road to world, or at worst fringe world, level fighters. As for Flores the 25 year old is something of an unheralded Filipino who hasn’t had much fanfare but is 14-0 at home with his only losses, like Magramo's, coming on the road. His first loss was in 2022, to former Naoya Inoue opponent Antonio Nieves, and the second was last year to Andrew Moloney, both by decision, and both above Super Flyweight. Given the hunger of both men, and the fact both will know the OPBF title helps secure world title fights, we’re expecting a really special bout here, in what might be the Asian fight of the day.

The main event isn’t the only interesting bout on this card. Another will see unbeaten puncher Roderick Bautista (6-0, 5) go up against the once beaten Arvin John Sampaga (8-1-1, 3) in a 10 rounder. Bautista, dubbed The Bone Crusher, is a 19 year old with nasty power who is living up to his moniker and quickly putting together a solid resume early in his career. In just 6 bouts Bautista has won the OBF Youth Light Flyweight title, taken 2 unbeaten records, had a completed 8 rounder, and either stopped, or dropped, every opponent he's faced. As for Sampaga he's 26 years old has done a completed 8 rounds on 4 different occasions, and bounced back by going 2-0-1 since losing to Lorenz Dumam-ag in 2023, who has since claimed the WBO Oriental Flyweight title albeit in controversial fashion against Ramel Macado Jr. As with the main event this should be really interesting and a very good chance to see whether Bautista can be fast tracked beyond regional level or not.

A third bout of note on this show will see Benny Canete (11-2, 8) take on former world title challenger Edward Heno (16-5-6, 6). The 24 year old Canete, dubbed The bull, is an aggressive Southpaw. He's lost 2 of his last 6, losing to domestic foes Kenneth Llover and Noli James Maquilan, but is very much a young fighter who's fan friendly and the losses are unlikely to see him change his in ring mentality. Notably he has two solid domestic wins, over Renoel Pael and Jun Blazo, but a win over Heno would be his biggest, by far. Heno is best known for his 2009 bout with Elwin Soto, for the WBO Light Flyweight title. Despite losing a close decision to Soto it seemed like Heno would cement himself as a top contender for years to come, having given Soto a real test. Sadly however Heno has gone 2-4-1 since that bout, and moved through the weights fighting as high as 124lbs, and falling well out of world title contention. He's still tough, skilled and talented but under-sized, under-powered and as we saw against Toshiya Ishii in July, he's not as capable of taking shows at Bantamweight and Super Bantamweight as he was at Light Flyweight.

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