Sumiyoshi SportsCenter, Osaka, Osaka, Japan
In Osaka we get a huge show, stacked with some of the best fighters in West Japan. In total the show has 7 genuinely noteworthy bouts, headlined by a world title bout and featuring former world champions, farmer world title challengers, former national champions and very highly regarded prospects, in what could be the best card in Osaka this year.

The main event will see IBF Bantamweight champion Ryosuke Nishida (9-0, 1) make his first defense, as he takes on unbeaten Thai challenger Anuchai Donsua (16-0, 7), in what appears to be something of a step back for the talented Nishida. The unbeaten Japanese fighter won the title back in back in May, as he took a well earned decision over Emmanuel Rodriguez, adding Rodriguez to a resume that also contains wins over Diago Higa, Shohei Omori and Christian Medina Jimenez. There was talk after that win of unification bouts, but they failed to materialise and instead Nishida is taking on an opponent without much of a profile, in what is certainly an underwhelming first defense for someone who showed he belonged at the top table of the division. Despite Donsua being underwhelming he’ll know all the pressure is on Nishida to not just win, but make a statement, and lay down his claim as being worthy of the attention of the other champions. The Thai, who made his debut in 2022, has never fought outside of Thailand, and has a mix of poor to decent wins on his record. The pick of the 16 are wins over Sukpraserd Ponpitak, Ricardo Sueno and Komgrich Nantapech, none of whom really serve as much of a measuring stick to world level. His other 13 wins have 17 recorded wins between. He’s taking a leap up, and will likely know that whilst the pressure isn’t on him to win, it is on him to have a good performance, as the odds are he won’t get another shot at this level, if he simply folds. A mismatch, at least from the resumes of the two men, but we are glad Nishida will fit in a first defense before the year is over.

In the chief support bout we have an excellent clash at 108lbs as OPBF champion Thanongsak Simsri (36-1, 33) takes on former WBO Minimumweight champion Masataka Taniguchi (19-4, 13), to decide the #2 IBF contender, and potentially land a shot at IBF champion Masamichi Yabuki. The once beaten Thai, who's only loss actually came to Yabuki back in 2022, has rebuilt his career brilliantly, scoring 12 wins in a row including winning the OPBF title earlier this year with a win over Miel Fajardo, and defending it against John Paul Gabunilas. His competition hasn't always been great, but he's stayed busy, rebuilt his confidence, and showed real maturity to overcome the dangerous Fajardo. Unlike most Thai’s Simsri has made a name for himself on the road, as well as at home, and is a regular to Japanese rings, with this being his 8th bout in Japan. As for Taniguchi, the 30 year old turned professional with a lot of expectations on his shoulders following a very good amateur career, however his career has been somewhat of a mixed bag. Close losses to Reiya Konishi and Tsubasa Koura left him sporting an 8-2 record with losses at both Japanese and OPBF title level. A third career loss, to Vic Saludar, in a WBO title fight left him 11-3, but since then he has gone 8-1 claimed the Japanese and WBO Minimumweight titles and bounced back from an upset loss in 2023 against Melvin Jerusalem, to become a notable contender at 108lbs, with a win here potentially securing him a chance to become a 2-weight world champion. Stylistically both are heavy handed, both can box and whilst Simsri is the faster man with better movement, we expect he’ll be dragged into a war here to give us a very exciting bout, especially in the second half of the contest.

In an interesting all-Japanese match up we’ll see unified WBO Asia Pacific and Japanese national Middleweight champion Riku Kunimoto (12-1, 6) defending his Regional, but not national, title against the hard hitting Kazuto Takesako (17-2-1, 15), in a rematch of what is Kunimoto’s only loss. The bout, which was originally scheduled as part of the now cancelled Prizefighter Japan tournament, where it would have been a semi-final bout, but the teams of the two men and the fighters themselves decided to go ahead with the bout, despite the tournament collapsing. Kunimoto is currently riding a 8 fight winning run, which has seen him winning the Japanese title, which he has defended numerous times since 2022, and unifying it with the WBO Asia Pacific title, which he won in March. He is skilled, but a long, long way below the top international fighters in the division. As for Takesako, he’s actually had mixed fortunes since stopping Kunimoto, inside a round back in 2021, going 4-2 since then. Takesako has suffered when he's faced international opponents, losing to both Meiirim Nursultanov and Tej Pratap Singh, with both losses coming in South Korea. It should be noted that he did beat Mark Dickinson in July, in the ill fated Prizefighter, but that bout seemed to say more about Dickinson’s lack of professional seasoning rather than anything about Takesako. Kunimoto is the better pure boxer, Kunimoto the bigger puncher, and with the history between the two men, this is expected to be a very intriguing contest, and winner will be the clear #1 in Japan at 160lbs.

Another title bout will see unbeaten Filipino Kenneth Llover (12-0, 7) face off with Japan’s Tulio Dekanarudo (8-2-2, 4) in a bout for the Interim OPBF Bantamweight title, with the full version of the belt having not been defended since Keita Kurihara reclaimed the title back in January. Llover has been quietly making a name for himself back at home, scoring solid wins against the likes of Chengcheng Yang, Edward Heno, James Pagaling and Benny Canete, however this will be his first bout outside of the Philippines, and we don't know how he will travel. Aged just 21 “The Lover Boy”, could be one of the best prospects in his Pearl of the Orient, but until we know he can do it on the road, it’s hard to get too excited. As for Dekanarudo the 28 year old Japanese fighter was tipped highly when he debuted in 2018, but a 2019 upset less to Ken Jordan show some of his flaws being shown, and he is 5-1-2 since then, with his second loss coming to Toshiki Shimomachi. He is good, but we’re not sure he has the durability at title level.

In a Japanese Youth title fight, also at Bantamweight, we’ll see Shunpei Kaneshiro (3-0, 2) seek his first defense of the title, as he takes on fellow unbeaten youngster Hyuga Gushiken (4-0, 3) in a mouth watering bout, and the sort of bout that has made the Japanese Youth title such a great title to follow. Kaneshiro won the title in July, when he stopped Daichi Hirai in 8 rounds. Despite only having 3 bouts, and 2 stoppages, to his name Kaneshiro has a surprising number of pro rounds, at 20, and has seen all 3 of his bouts enter the final round, allowing him to get extra ring time and test his stamina. As for Gushiken the 22 year old made his debut way back in 2021 and has just 11 rounds from his 4 bouts, with none going beyond the 4th round, so whilst he is technically more experienced, in terms of fights, he has significantly less ring time. Both of these fighters are southpaws though have different styles, with Kaneshiro being a very talented all rounder, particularly well suited at mid range, and Gushiken being a counter puncher. This will be really interesting to see how the styles of the two men gel, though it does feel like Gushiken is stepping up, for what will be his first bout outside of Okinawa.

In a really intriguing bout former Japanese Super Featherweight champion Yuna Hara (14-3-1, 8), who lost the national title earlier this year to Tsubasa Narai, will take on unbeaten, and fast rising, prospect Ryusuke Sunagawa (3-0, 2), who take sa huge leap up in class, in a Strongest Challenger bout. Prior to losing to Narai, in April, Hara had been riding an 8 fight winning streak including notable wins against Yamato Hata and Kosuke Saka, with 6 of the 8 wins coming inside the distance. He was dethroned in his second defense, and will be desperate to get back to winning ways here. As for Sunagawa, the former amateur standout made his debut in late 2022 and has been matched hard, with his last two wins coming against Seira Kishida and Narumi Yukawa. Despite those two wins coming against good domestic fighters, this is a huge leap up in class, but also a chance to announce himself on the domestic rankings, in a huge way. The winner of this will secure a shot at the Japanese title in next year’s Champion Carnival.

One other bout of some note will see former world title challenger Jeo Santisima (24-7, 20) take on 39 year old Japanese puncher Hiro Ichimichi (8-2-1, 6), in a bout that’s the least interesting of 7 bouts on the event. Santisima is best known for losing in 2020 against Emanuel Navarrete in a bout for the WBO Super Bantamweight title. Since that loss he has gone 5-4, but fought some very notable names, with losses to Joet Gonzalez, Toshiki Shimomachi, Hatato Tsutsumi and Kenji Fujita, and a notable win over Hiroshige Osawa. He is 1-3 in Japan, but has never been stopped and will be looking to score a stoppage of his own against Ichimichi. As for the local he is a natural Super Featherweight, who has proven to be dangerous on the domestic scene, but has fallen short against his best opponents so far, with Tsubasa Narai and Yudai Murakami both taking competitive decisions over him. Given his age Ichimichi will know he can’t afford another loss here if he wants to land a title fight, of any kind, and will also know this is a huge opportunity, against a former world title challenger on a really big show.

West Japan General Exhibition Center, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan
Staying in Japan we also have a card in Fukuoka, albeit a much, much smaller and less notable one with only really one bout of any note set for it. That bout, the main event of the show, will see Shido Arai (7-5-1, 3) take on the JBC ranked, and heavy handed, Yoshiki Shimomura (7-1-1, 7). Arai, is a local to Kitakyushu, and will be hoping to draw a fan given his local links, however he has lost his only fight in the area which came in his debut back in 2009. Although no world beater he will almost certainly feel encouraged by the local fan base and is expected to make the most as he competes against a JBC ranked fighter for the second time in his career. Shimomura on the other hand is a destructive 25 year old, who won the All Japan Rookie of the Year in 2023, and will be seeking to get back to winning ways after a loss in South Korea in August, against Tae Sun Kim. Given that Arai has been stopped twice and Shimomura is heavy handed, it does feel like the match up isn’t a good one for Arai.

General Santos City, Cotabato del Sur, Philippines
Over in the Philippines, we get an interesting card in General Santos City.

The show is headlined by the once beaten Ali Canega (11-1-1, 7), who will be looking to record his second win since losing to Mikyo Watarai in February in Japan. In August he had an easy comeback fight, beating Pressl Tupas in 3 rounds, and now takes the logical step up as he takes on a better level of domestic foe in the form of Rimar Metuda (17-9-1, 11). Canega is a good fighter and someone we expect to see in and around the regional title scene over the next few years. As for Metuda the 30 year old is rugged, knows how to go rounds and survive even if he’s under-sized at 140lbs, but is a far cry from the Featherweight who started his career 10-0, going 7-9-1 since that original unbeaten run. Despite picking up a lot of losses recently he has been matched hard, with losses really coming on the road. He has lost in Russia to Mirzhan Zhaxylykov, Isa Chaniev and Ravshanbek Umurzakov, in China, to Aketelieke Jieensi and Ju Wu, and Thailand, to Phoobadin Yoohanngoh. At home however he has proven to be very good losing just to Gabby Simpo and Al Toyogon. On paper this looks like a bit of a one sided bout, but in reality Metuda will be up for this and could make life very tough for Canega.

Also in action on this show is the unbeaten Kevin Villanueva (5-0. 3), with “The Spider” seeking his 6th win as he takes on Carl Jeffrey Basil (6-2-1, 4). Villanueva has been moved smartly since making his debut in August 2023, with each bout being a step up in some way, from the previous one. This will be his second 8 rounder and on paper Basil looks to be his toughest test. Not only have his opponents been improving but he's also been busy and this will be his 4th bout of 2024. Basil, known as the "Ibaloi Warrior", was matched hard early in his career, losing 2 of his first 5 to Elmar Zamora and Lorenz Dumam-ag, both of whom are still unbeaten prospects, but has won his last 2, beating the unbeaten pairing of Kasty Flores and George Sedillo earlier this year, and he'll be wanting to take a third straight 0. Villanueva will understandably be favoured, but Basil is a live under-dog.

Ilagan, Isabela, Philippines
A second, less notable, Filipino show will be held in IIlagan, and is very much a small card, with only really one bout worthy of attention, and even that is one that looks like it a one sided mismatch, at least on paper.

That bout will see 30 year old Claudevan Sese (10-6-3, 4) seek his second win of the year, as he takes on the win some-lose some Alvin Medura (11-10, 7), who will be looking to avoid falling to an 11-11 record. Sese was unbeaten in his first 10, going 7-0-3, but had struggled since then, going 3-6-3, with 5 of the 6 losses coming on the road. Whilst he has mixed at a good level, he hasn't really been competitive in his step up bouts. As for Medura he has gone 1-5 in his last 6, and whilst he, like Sese, as come up short again his better foes, he does have some notable wins to name, including one over Mugcha Nakagawa, one over Ardin Diale and one from earlier this year against the previously unbeaten Bryan Ascano. On paper this is a mismatch, but Medura is better than his record suggests and is a live fighter here, as we’ve seen in his upsets in the past.

Itaewon Primary School, Seoul, South Korea
We also get a show in South Korea, which is small, but does have several noteworthy bouts on it.

The main event local veteran Joo Young Kim (17-2-3, 10) will face once beaten Korean based Uzbekistani fighter Dovrugbek Ibragimov (4-1, 2). The 34 year old Kim has had a frustrating career. He debuted in 2013, and drew 3 of his first 5 bouts, and was 6-3-2 after 11, but is now unbeaten since a 2017 loss to Ma Roo Jung, who also give Kim his first loss the previous year. He has now won 11 in a row, with solid wins against Joo Hun Kim and Doniyorbek Khaitaliev, but at 34 it feels his career, which has been stop-start at times, is going to be one that could, and probably should, have been better. As for Ibragimov, he’s unbeaten since being stopped by Obboskhon Yuldashev on debut, but has reeled off 4 low quality wins, the most notable of which being a 6 round decision over the 42 year old Mark Sales. Sadly his wins say little about him, and this should be regarded as a clear leap up in class for him

Also on this card is a brilliant matchup between unbeaten fighters, as Chinese fighter Tuohatasen Sailibieke (3-0, 2) takes on Uzbekistan’s Faryozbek Dustmatov (3-0, 2). Unbeaten 21 year old Sailibieke made his debut in China last year, with his last two bouts taking place on the road including a win in South Korea against Khusniddin Maraimov, who like Dustmatov was an unbeaten Korean based Uzbekistani fighter. Notably the win over Maraimov was the only time Sailibieke has had to go more than 3 rounds, and he only narrowly took the win there, with a split decision. Dustmatov, the younger brother of Hasanboy Dusmatov, Dustmatov is quickly making his mark on the Korean seen, and a win over Sang Heon Oh back in October showed that he has genuine potential, potential that we expect the 20 year old to prove again here.

EDION Arena Osaka, Osaka, Osaka, Japan
This coming Saturday our attention turns to Osaka for an interesting card, that’s headlined by a Japanese title fight, and one that should be incredibly explosive, and features a number of promising prospects on the card, two of which are looking to extend their unbeaten runs and one is looking to kick start their professional career following a solid amateur career.

The main event of the show is a Champion Carnival bout at Super Featherweight, as hard hitting champion Yuna Hara (14-2-1, 8) defends his title against heavy handed challenger Tsubasa Narai (12-2, 9), in what is the 2nd defense by Hara, and a genuine shoot out of a bout. Hara won the title in April 2023, when he shocked Kosuke Saka, and scored an easy win in his first defense against Taison Mukaiyama. The win over Mukaiyama was Hara's 8th straight win since losing in the Rookie of the Year to Hiroki Hanabusa in 2018, and his 6th stoppage in that winning run. He has quickly proven himself as a brutal puncher, despite looking like a light puncher early on, when he was 6-2-1 (2). As for Narai he has always been touted as a dangerous puncher winning 6 of his first 7 by stoppage before losing in a thrilling shoot out for the Japanese Youth Featherweight title against Kyonosuke Kameda in 2021, and losing another shoot out to Kosuke Saka for the Japanese Super Featherweight in 2022, in what is a must watch fight. Since then he has gone 4-0 (2) and continued to be something of a brutally hard puncher. This has “shoot out” written all over it, and it really could be a case of “don’t blink”.

In a major support bout Filipino visitor Anthony Gilbuela (7-4-2, 2) will take on Shunpei Odagiri (3-0, 2). Coming into this bout Gilbuela is a Filipino ranked Light Flyweight, who recently came up short in a bout for the Philippines Boxing Federation (PBF) Flyweight title. Sadly Gilbuela has been stopped in 2 of his losses, and has been dropped in other fights, suggesting some durability or shin issues. Odagiri on the other hand is a technically excellent southpaw prospect, with good pop, and he combines skills and power well. Given Gilbuela’s questionable chin, he could be in trouble here if he can’t get Odagiri’s respect, and in fairness if Odagiri does respect Gilbuela there’s a good chance the local hopeful will rely on his pure boxing to take a decision win. 

Another bout pitting a Filipino visitor against an unbeaten Japanese prospect will see Claudevan Sese (9-5-3, 3) being brought in to test JBC and OPBF ranked Jun Ikegawa (6-0-2, 2). Sese is no world beater, but has mixed at a good level, and despite stoppage losses to Yuki Yamauchi and Sam Goodman, he has shown the toughness to test the tank of prospect, as seen in recent losses to Jinya Shimada and Kaishu Harada. He’s aggressive, clumsy and aggressive and should press Ikegawa. As for Ikegawa he’s technically very good, he's technically very good, but lacks power and can be dragged into the wrong type of fight, however he does seem to have settled into the pro ranks in recent bouts, with good win against Ryo Hinio, Carlo Demecillo and Tomoya Kishine in his last 3. This should be a good test test for Ikegawa, but one he should pass.

The debutant on this card is the very promising Sento Ito (0-0), an 18 year old who claimed a bronze medal at the 2023 Asian Youth Championships and had a stellar amateur record, whilst also being battled hardened as a kick boxer, twice beating Tenshin Nasukawa’s younger brother in amateur kick boxer. He’ll be up against Thai visitor Yotin Thongkhan (4-1, 2), who looks like a good test on paper, but Thongkha’s win have all come against debutants in gym fights in Thailand, as this is a huge step up in class for him, against someone who might be a professional novice, but is certainly not a boxing novice.

Tokiwa Arena, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
Action returns to Hyogo this coming Friday for a show promoted by Senrima Kobe. It's not a big card, by any stretch, but there are 4 bouts worthy of note from a show with 7 scheduled contests.
 
The first of the interesting bouts worthy of note will see Hiroyuki Takahara (7-3, 5) take on the once beaten Tom Mizokoshi (7-1-1, 4) in a 6 round Featherweight bout. The 28 year old Takahara is a win some, lose some type of fighter, who has reeled off 3 straight wins after back to back losses in 2017. It should be noted he's not fought since April 2019. On the other hand Mizokoshi is a highly regarded 21 year old who had won his last 5, including a win in South Korea against Ha Nok Shim last year. Interestingly Mizokoshi fought 4 times in 2019 and it'll be interesting to see what a lay off, since December, will do for him. This may only be a 6 rounder but it should serve as a good test to see what improvements and development Mizokoshi is making.
 
The first of three Japanese ranked fighters on this show is Japanese ranked Featherweight Chiharu Takasuka (7-6-1, 4), who takes on Yuna Hara (8-2-1, 4) in an 8 rounder. Despite being ranked Takasuka is certainly nothing incredible and he has lost 4 of his last 6. Hara on the other hand has won 4 of his last 5, and his only loss in that stretch was in the West Japan Rookie of the Year in November 2018. The momentum is all behind Hara who will be looking to gate crash the Japanese rankings here.
 
Another ranked fighter on this show is the once beaten Light Flyweight hopeful Yuga Inoue (9-1-1, 1), who enters ranked #8 by the JBC. Inoue will be in against Tetsuya Mimura (8-2, 1) in an 8 round Flyweight bout that really does look brilliant. Although very light punching the 21 year old Inoue is a real talent, and he won the 2017 Rookie of the Year at Minimumweight, before losing in a Japanese Youth title fight to Kai Ishizawa. Since that loss he has been trying to make a point and been facing solid domestic opponents. Mimura is a touch older, turning 24 just days before the fight, and is himself a former Rookie of the Year runner up, losing in the 2018 final. Despite that loss he has bounced back well, and was unlucky in his second loss, losing a razor thin majority decision to Riku Kano in Sanda last November. Expect this one to be high level boxing between two very skilled young boxers.
 
The final ranked fighter is Ryosuke Nasu (11-5-3, 2), who takes on Hiroki Tokuyama (9-2-1, 2) in the main event. The 24 year old Nasu has lost 3 of his last 6, but has been mixing in good company and wins over Tatsuya Terada and Toma Kondo in his last 3 bouts. He's not looking likely to get a Japanese title fight any time soon, but we suspect he will get one before his career is over. Although not ranked himself Tokuyama is banging on the door of a ranking having won 4 of his last 5. His most notable result was a loss to Fumiya Fuse in the 2017 Rookie of the Year final, and he bounced back with 4 straight wins, before a razor thin loss last December against Chikato Sumida. We expect this one will be close and competitive and it's a hard to pick a winner in.
 
Again this isn't a big card, but is a very competitive looking one, and we can't complain about getting several 50/50 type bouts on a single show!