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The Drama In Saitama II - Inoue Vs Donaire "The Rematch"

6/2/2022

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November 7th 2019 will long be remembered for giving us one of the best Bantamweight bouts in recent memory, as Japanese star Naoya Inoue (22-0, 19) scored a unanimous decision over Filipino legend Nonito Donaire (42-6, 38) to unify the WBA and IBF Bantamweight titles, along with the Ring Magazine title and win the Bantamweight edition of the WBSS. The bout, later dubbed the "Drama in Saitama" was an instant classic, with everything a bout could want. It has intense respect between the two fighters, it had drama as Inoue suffered the first cut of his career, and was later diagnosed with a broken orbital and a fractured nose, and controversy with Ernie Sharif helping Donaire survive the penultimate round of the bout. The bout, later named the Ring Magazine Fight of the year, was brilliant and helped to enhance the reputations of both men.
 
This coming Tuesday we get to do it all again, in one of the most anticipated rematches of 2022. This time the bout will not only be for the WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine titles, but also the WBC title, with only the WBO title being missed on what would have unified all the Bantamweight belts together, for the first time in the 4 belt era.
 
Since their first bout we've not seen as much of Inoue as we would have liked, with the Monster's career stalling in part due to the injuries he suffered against Donaire, and in part due to the Pandemic, which made it nearly impossible to stage big bouts in Japan during 2020 and 2021. As a result Inoue has fought just 3 times in that time period and none of the bouts were huge ones against the divisional elite. Instead they were his Las Vegas debut in October 2020 against the capable Jason Moloney, a mandatory against the underwhelming Michael Dasmarinas and a homecoming defense against the brave but massive over-matched Aran Dipaen. There had been plans for a bout against John Riel Casimero, but that was cancelled due to the pandemic and never re-arranged, unfortunately, before Casimero was stripped of the WBO title.
 
Notably however the inactivity likely served Inoue well, allowing him a lot of time to heal up from the injuries he suffered to Donaire. He wasn't forced to rush back from what is a serious injury, and was instead able to take his time, and when he returned against Jason Moloney almost a year after that clash with Donaire he looked 100% the fighter he had been previously. He seemed very much the Monster we all know and love.
 
As we all know Inoue, arguably the face of Japanese boxing over the last few years, is indeed the Monster. He's one of the few fighters in the sport who really can do it all. He can play the boxer, the boxer-puncher, the counter-puncher and the pressure fighter, and has the tools in his arsenal to really pick and choose what he wants to do and when he wants to do it. He has brutal power, which has carried up from Light Flyweight to Bantamweight and is likely to carry up at least another division, if not two. He has incredible handspeed, impressive footspeed and worryingly for he also has an incredibly quick boxing brain. That boxing brain sees him seeing things before they even look to be there, including counter opportunities and defensive gaps that he can exploit. He's an offensive freak but is also a defensively under-rated fighter, with only Donaire really landing much of note on him since his 2012 debut, and has an incredible jaw, that saw withstand Donaire's much patented left hook.
 
Aged 39 Nonito Donaire should be retired, he should have his feet up, looking back on a great in ring career and either working with the new generation of fighters or using his brain as an analyst. Or even just walking away from boxing and enjoying one of his many hobbies away from the ring. Instead he's proving that a fighter who looks after themselves can give father time a bit of a fight, and still remain one of the most dangerous fighters in the sport. And when we talk about Donaire he really is dangerous, and has a very misleading KO ratio, of just 58.33%, despite being one of the heaviest handed fighters in the sport on a pound for pound basis. His power is legitimate and as he's gotten older, and lost some speed, he's adapted. He's not the same fighter he was, as a young Donaire was sharp, quick and destructive, but he's altered his in ring style to be deliberate, and has moved from a counter-puncher of sorts, to more of a stalking monster looking to take opponents heads off when he lands.
 
Donaire, who has won titles from Flyweight to Featherweight, is a first ballot Hall of Famer when he retires, and his resume reads like a who's who of who, of the lower weights from the last 15 years. Wins over Vic Darchinyan, Moruti Mthalane, Hernan Marquez, Fernando Montiel, Toshiaki Nishioka, Jorge Arce, Ryan Burnett and Nordine Oubaali are just a handful of his wins. Even since the Inoue fight in 2019 he has scored notable wins stopping the then 17-0 Oubaali in 4 rounds and the then 24-0 Reymart Gaballo, further enhancing his reputation as a modern great.
 
Early in his career Donaire lived up to the moniker of the "Filipino Flash". He was lightning quick, with great timing, vicious power but some what poor boxing skills. His power and speed allowed him to get away with making mistakes, and bailed him out of bad situations. With his speed gone now a days, he has changed into a fighter who uses his size, and his ridiculously big frame at Bantamweight, along with his incredibly chin, to take when he needs to. He applies intense stalking pressure now a days. It's slow, it's deliberate, but it's hard to deal with given he still has excellent timing and is happy to take a shot to land a shot. The change in style is almost a reinvention of a fighter, and it's one that has seen him have success well beyond the typical age of a Bantamweight, of almost any fighter for that matter. It's a change that has allowed him to have success in the last part of his career, and whilst it won't forever, he will remain a threat to all the top fighters at 118lbs, due to his toughness, power, size and timing.
 
In their first bout the expectation was that Inoue was going to slay Donaire, stopping him and sending him into retirement. Had that happened it's fair to say Donaire would have been downplayed as being shot, and old. The fact he gave Inoue a tough bout saw both men enhancing their profiles and their positions. For Donaire to then bounce back and blast out Oubaali and prove he was still an elite level Bantamweight further enhanced both men, and coming into the Donaire is older than he was, but is also, arguably, standing in a better position than he was in 2019.
 
Sadly for Donaire however, we don't see him having the same success he had in the first bout with Inoue. Instead we expect to see Inoue being smarter, sharper and using his brain more. He knows what Donaire's left hook can do, and he also knows Donaire can be hurt to the body, with a liver shot sending Donaire down in their first bout. We suspect that will be the key for Inoue here, as he uses his speed, to target the body of Donaire, landing single shots to to slowly take the wind out of Donaire in the early part of the fight. Single shots from Inoue, who will look to get in and get out, draw Donaire into mistakes and tag the body. In the later rounds those body shots will take a toll, force Donaire to defend his body, before Inoue goes up top with a burst of head shots, forcing a stoppage in the later rounds.
 
After the bout, win or lose, we expect to see Donaire retire sailing off in to the sunset as a modern legend. Likewise we expect this to be either the final, or penultimate, Bantamweight bout for Inoue who will move up to Super Bantamweight and begin to hunt world titles in his 4th weight class.
 
Prediction - TKO10 Inoue
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The monster returns to Japan to defend against Dipaen!

12/9/2021

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This coming Tuesday we'll see Japanese sensation Naoya Inoue (21-0, 18) return to a Japanese ring for the first time in more than two years as he defends his IBF and WBA "super" Bantamweight titles against unheralded Thai challenger Aran Dipaen (12-2, 11). On paper the bout is a mismatch, with one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet essentially fighting in a tick over defense, and giving local Japanese fans something to look forward as the year comes to an end. Something that became a lot more meaningful when Japan closed it's borders, and ended up having two massive world title unification bouts being scrapped due to the on going pandemic. As a result of those bouts being scrapped, this bout will be the final would title bout to take place in Japan in 2021.
 
Aged 30 Aran Dipaen is a relative unknown for many. Unlike many Thai's he has travelled for fighters, and has previously fought not just in Thailand but also Russia, Japan and the UK, but his bouts on the road haven't been particularly high profile. In fact from the three he's travelled outside of Thailand for, the most notable was in the UK where he lost a controversial split decision to Tommy Frank in a bout for the WBC International Silver Super Flyweight title. Despite not being well known that doesn't mean he's not a capable fighter, he made an impact last time he was in Japan, stopping Ryohei Arakawa, and has also notched stoppages over tricky Filipino Jomar Fajardo, and the experienced Sukkasem Kietyongyuth, who typically fights at Super Bantamweight.
 
In the ring Dipaen, like many Thai's, can look a bit raw at times, and like a man who didn't have a long and storied amateur career. Like many Thai's his styles comes from his days as a Muay Thai fighter, and shows he has a lot more experience in the ring that his 14 professional boxing bouts. It's due to that style that he has a quite an unusual guard, and why he tends to ignore his jab to instead throw heavy right hands. His boxing skills are limited, and that's being polite, but he is naturally heavy handed, he knows his way around the ring and he's tough, rugged and refuses to just lie down. Even when he's coming off second best. He's raw as a boxer but is still dangerous and like many former Muay Thai fighters he can take real punishment and has a surprising gas tank and will to win. Sadly though he isn't particularly quick and his flat footed style, along with his lack of an educated jab, his high guard, are just asking for trouble against someone as accurate, explosive and intelligent as Inoue.
 
Talking about Inoue it's hard to think of things haven't already been said about the biggest name in Japanese boxing. The "Monster" is a real star, and is an incredibly rare talent who has everything a fighter can need. He has brutal power, scary physical strength, incredible speed and timing, every punch in the book, and a fantastic boxing brain. His body shots are among the very best in the sport, his jab is crisp and sharp, his left hook is scary accurate, and worryingly for his opponents he is both defensively solid and frighteningly tough. So far in his career he has fought through bad damage to his right hand, including against Omar Andres Narvaez and Yuki Sano who he out boxed whilst fighting one handed, he has also battled through bad facial damage, which he suffered against Nonito Donaire, and has shown an impressive chin when he's been tagged. Interestingly the one worry about him earlier in his career was his hands, which were damaged in a number of early career fights, but since moving to Bantamweight the hands have held up, and appears cutting down to Light Flyweight and Flyweight earlier in his career may have played a part in those injuries. He has also been working with a specialist wraps guy in recent years, which will also have helped protect his hands.
 
Earlier in his career the one chink in his armour was the aforementioned hands. That seemed to be the one way a fighter was going to beat him. With stand his power, then fight a one handed Inoue and take advantage. Now however there doesn't appear to be a single chink in his armour. And worryingly he seems capable of being a chameleon in the ring. We've seen him fight as a boxer, a counter puncher, a pure puncher, a boxer-mover, and a pressure fighter. He and his team, including his father Shingo and promoter Hideyuki Ohashi, know what he can do, and also know how to work gameplans to beat opponents, take advantage of their flaws, rather than just relying on Inoue's fantastic all round destructive abilities.
 
Sadly for Dipaen there is a lot of flaws for Inoue to take advantage of, including his slow feet, high guard and lack of a jab. Given how brutal Inoue is with his body shots, we can't help but think that Dipean's flat foot and high guard will allow the Monster space and timing to land a brutal shot to the mid-section whenever he feels like. Dipaen is tough, and one knockdown is unlikely to be the end of him, but a knockdown from a body shot will likely start his downfall, and a knockdown or two later the referee will step in and save him from himself.
 
We don't expect Inoue to try and blow out Dipaen too early, especially given how long fans in Japan have had to wait to see him fight at home, but we do know that once he had his man hurt he will finish him off.
 
Prediction - TKO4 Inoue
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The Monster faces IBF mandatory Dasmarinas!

6/13/2021

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On June 19th we'll see Japanese star Naoya Inoue (20-0, 17) return to the ring for his first bout of 2021 as he defends his IBF and WBA "super" titles at Bantamweight, and takes on IBF mandatory challenger Michael Dasmarinas (30-2-1, 20) in Las Vegas. For Inoue this bout serves as his third defense of the unified titles, and sees him look to extend an excellent reign that included winning the WBSS final in 2019 and scoring a fantastic win over Jason Moloney last year. On the other hand the bout also serves as Dasmarinas's first world title bout, outside of IBO "world" title fights, and his US debut, making a huge fight for both men and one that could set the winner up for a massive fight at the end of 2021 against John Riel Casimero or Nonito Donaire.
 
Coming in to the bout it's fair to say the "Monster" will be close to an unbackable favourite, but is he going to have things all his own way? Or can Dasmarinas manage to ruffle a few feathers and score one of the biggest upsets of 2021? Lets take a look at the fighters and how we see this one going.
 
It's fair to say that Naoya Inoue is almost universally regarded as one of the best fighters on the planet. The 28 year old is already a 3 weight world champion, having won titles at 108lbs, 112lbs and 118lbs, and he has scored some brilliant wins already during his career. Victories over the likes of Ryoichi Taguchi, Adrian Hernandez, Omar Andres Narvaez, Kohei Kono, Jamie McDonnell, Juan Carlos Payano, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Nonito Donaire have seen many regard him, in just 20 bouts, as the greatest Japanese boxer of all time. Whilst others might feel Fighting Harada still outshines him, there really is many others in Japan's long and stories history that match up favourable against the "Monster".
 
In the ring Inoue lives up to the "Monster" tag that he's been dubbed with for years now. He's a huge puncher, with freakish physical strength, an ungodly amount of power in his punches, great movement, stupidly impressive timing, and criminally under-rated boxing skills. When many look at Inoue they see a power puncher, but the reality is that he's an intelligent boxer-puncher, who sets shots up perfectly, finds holes in opponents defenses and exploits them with his timing, speed, boxing brain and positioning. Staying with his offensive work he is also one of, if not the, best body puncher in the sport.

Not only is Inoue a great offensive fighter but he's also got solid defensive skills, and when he needs to he's also got a very impressive chin and a real ability to fight through adversity. In fact it's his ability to fight through adversity that takes him from a great fighter to an incredible one, and is something we've seen since his win over Yuki Sano, where he fought much of the bout one handed. We also, notably, saw it against Nonito Donaire, when he fought much of the bout with double vision and a fractured orbital. He has proven that when the going gets tough, he fights through it.
 
He is a scary fighter to face.
 
Dasmarinas on the other hand is much less well known, despite having debuted the same year as Inoue and fighting 13 bouts more than the Japanese star. Whilst part of that is down to what Inoue has done, winning world titles, winnings the WBSS and fighting around the globe, a lot is also down to what Dasmarinas hasn't done. And in reality Dasmarinas hasn't really done much, despite having more than 30 bouts to his name. His real crowning achievement was winning the IBO Bantamweight title in in 2018, when he knocked out Karim Guerfi in brutal fashion, but other than that there isn't too much to talk about on his record. If you want to go through the bones of his record the other notable wins results have been 2014 win over Hayato Kimura, a loss that same year to Lwandile Siyatha, a 2015 win over Jhaleel Payao, a 2018 draw with Manyo Plange and a 2019 win over Kenny Demecillo in an IBF world title eliminator. The reality is that there isn't a lot there.
 
Despite his record being thin Dasmarinas has shown plenty to like. His KO or Guerfi was a KO of the year contender in 2018, his wins against Payao and Demecillo showed that he was a capable fighter, his loss to Siyatha, a controversial one, showed that he could go into enemy territory and his bout with Plange, although a very lucky draw, showed he could take a shot and didn't stop trying. Sadly however those bouts also show one thing, he can be out boxed. In fact Guerfi made it look easy until he was tagged and Plange was really unfortunate not to get the win when he fought Dasmarinas. There was nothing about Dasmarinas' boxing that would worry any world class fighter. He has power, but lacks in terms of skills and often struggles to set  that power up properly. Unfortunately Dasmarinas, due to his wait to get his mandatory title fight, has also seen him out of the ring for 20 months, something that will likely leaving him looking rusty and mess up his timing.
 
Despite being limited Dasmarinas does have some things going for him. He's a southpaw, always an advantage, and he's also notable taller than Inoue, by around 2" or 3", with a longer reach and natural size advantages. On paper this should be something that Dasmarinas backers are going to like, however we would dare say this is not an advantage against Inoue. He chews up southpaws and taller men. This was seen when he smashed Narvaez and Payano, both southpaws, and guys like Yoan Boyeaux and Jamie McDonnell, both much bigger men. His body shots are brutal and break down tall guys.
 
With history in mind we suspect that Dasmarinas's success will be very, very limited. Inoue will take a few moments to have a look at the Filipino, then begin to pressure him, going to his body, and look to land single, hard, powerful shots. Breaking down the Filipino.

Inoue has suggested he was wanting to break down Dasmarinas, but in all honesty we see the breaking down process being a quick, explosive process, rather than a slow one and wouldn't be surprised if this was over in 3 or 4 rounds. Against a Dasmarinas who has been more active then this, maybe, would have lasted longer, but with his inactivity, and with Inoue wanting to make a statement on his return to the US, this could be over very, very quickly.
 
Prediction - TKO4  Inoue ​
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The Monster takes on Moloney in Las Vegas!

10/24/2020

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On October 31st we'll see Japanese sensation Naoya Inoue (19-0, 16) return to the ring for what is likely to be his only bout of 2020. The WBA "super" and IBF Bantamweight champion will be defending his straps against Australian challenger Jason Moloney (21-1, 18) in what will be Inoue's Las Vegas debut. The bout was put on due to the less than ideal situation we've seen the world in in 2020, though is certainly not a terrible bout, even if it wasn't the bout we all wanted to see at the start of the year.
 
Earlier in the year we had hoped to see Inoue defending his titles against WBO champion John Riel Casimero, in what would have been a triple title unification bout. That bout was ear marked for April, though when the world was essentially frozen whilst countries tried to cope with the ongoing global situation, the bout was postponed, and postponed, and postponed, and eventually cancelled. Casimero went his own way, defending his title against Duke Micah back in September, and as a result Inoue was allowed to go his own way, and landed a fight with the highly ranked Moloney.
 
Amazingly the two men were actually very, very close to fight in 2019. That's when both men were part of the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) and were on the same side of the draw. On October 7th 2018 Inoue blasted out Juan Carlos Payano in one of the most eye catching WBSS performances. His next round was against the winner of Jason Moloney Vs Emmanuel Rodriguez, with Rodriguez winning a split decision. We were literally one judge away from seeing these two men clash last year.
 
Regardless we're here now, and we're about to see them fight, so lets take a look at the men and the way we expect it to go.
 
The 27 year old Inoue is the jewel in the crown of Japanese boxing. Since turning professional in 2012 he has been on the fast track to the top. In just his third bout he beat the highly regarded Yuki Sano, claimed the Japanese Light Flyweight title in his 4th bout, the OPBF title in his fifth bout and his first world title in his 6th. All of that came in the space of just 18 months. From there on he has blossomed into a star of boxing, drawing the attention of fans around the globe and claiming notable scalp, after notable scalp. In just 19 bouts he has already beaten not just Taguchi but Adrian Hernandez, Omar Andres Narvaez, Kohei Kono, Jamie McDonnell, Juan Carlos Payano, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Nonito Donaire. Across those 19 fights only Donaire has really had success again Inoue, who has long been dubbed the "Monster".
 
In the ring Inoue is a fantastic boxer-puncher. He's naturally heavy handed, and his power has carried up from Light Flyweight to Bantamweight with no issues, he's a clean puncher, with incredible handspeed, timing, combinations and footwork. Whilst many top fighters in the sport are extremely good defensively Inoue is an offensive machine, and despite not always being the biggest man in the ring, he is usually the stronger man, and the one dictating the bout, usually from the center of the ring. Although an offensive machine Inoue is a solid defensive fighter, though he's not often had to show that side of what he can do in the ring due to his imposing offensive ability.
 
Despite being a fantastic fighter there are a bunch of question marks hanging over Inoue's head. Firstly whether or not he's 100% fit for this bout? After all the bout against Donaire resulted in a very nasty eye injury. Second is he going to be rusty after almost a year out? Or count he even be over-trained? After a training camp for a bout with Casimero in April as well as a training camp for this bout
 
It's fair to say Inoue is the very clear favourite heading in to the bout, but he's certainly not the only man who will be in the ring as Jason Moloney will be there as the hungry under-dog.
 
The Australian challenger is a 29 year old who debuted in 2014, after being a successful amateur, and, along with brother Andrew, was tipped for major success in the professional ranks. For many years Moloney was busy getting professional experience against regional level fighters, running up numerous wins against Filipino fighters. In 2018 he finally stepped up and easily stopped former world champion Immanuel Naidjala, before scoring a TKO win against former Inoue opponent Kohei Kono. His momentum was growing and he was 17-0 (14) when he entered the WBSS.
 
Sadly for Moloney his unbeaten record would go in October 2018 when he lost the aforementioned split decision to Emmanuel Rodriguez, who was the then IBF champion. This was a very competitive loss, and a great showing by Moloney, who enhanced his reputation in defeat. He had gone from being an unknown outside of the Asia Pacific scene to a man regarded as a legitimate world class Bantamweight.
 
Following the loss to Rodriguez we've seen Moloney pick up 4 wins, all by stoppage. They included a win this past June against Leonardo Baez in what was Moloney's Las Vegas debut, and was partly responsible for allowing this bout to take place.
 
In the ring Moloney is a really, really good boxer. He's got solid power, though not the destructive power of Inoue, he's a very nice mover, very fluid with his foot and hand speed, and a fantastic combination puncher. Every show he throws looks stinging and he's happy to let them go on the inside or the outside. He's also very good at getting in, letting shots go, and getting out. On a punch for punch basis he's less offensively impressive than Inoue, but is still a very good boxer, who has rebuilt brilliantly following his loss to Rodriguez.
 
As with Inoue there are questions over Moloney. For example what's his chin really like? This is the first time he's taken on a world class puncher, so can he handle it? Will he be able to handle such a big occasion? Has he got a plan B, C  and D? As he'll need them against a man like Inoue.
 
We've seen some fan try to downplay this fight. We'll be honest, we would have preferred the Inoue Vs Casimero bout, of course we would. However Moloney is a world class fighter, he's a better boxer than Casimero, though a much less dangerous puncher and a less experienced fighter. Moloney has got the ability to test Inoue, push Inoue and really ask questions of the "Monster", especially if Inoue is rusty or feeling the effects of last year's war with Donaire.
 
We expect quite a slow start, with Inoue taking center ring and Moloney showing a lot of caution to Inoue's power. A lot of respect from both. By round 2 or 3 we would expect Inoue to be putting his foot on the gas, pressing more, and cutting the distance. When that happens his brutal body shots will kick in, and we'll see Inoue begin to grind down Moloney.
 
We would be surprised if that was where Moloney moved to plan B, as mentioned earlier he'll need it. It'll need to be a really good plan B however, and we're not sure it'll be good enough. He'll need to cope with Inoue's power and pressure. Sadly we see that power and pressure, eventually causing cracks, and those cracks widening, until Inoue forces a stoppage somewhere in the middle of the bout.
 
Prediction - TKO6 Inoue
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The WBSS Final - Inoue Vs Donaire

10/30/2019

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By - George Delis (@Delisketo)
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The most anticipated fight in the Japanese boxing scene takes place on November 7th at the Saitama Super Arena, as Naoya Inoue and Nonito Donaire finally meet in the finals of the Bantamweight WBSS Tournament, for the WBA (Super), IBF & The Ring World championships as well as the prestigious Ali Trophy.

Naoya Inoue (18-0 / 16 KOs) is considered to be one of the best boxers that have come out of the land of the rising sun. His power, agility and precision have brought him immense success, while he is already ranked in the top 5 (P4P) list by The Ring, ESPN, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and others.

Before becoming a pro, he had a relatively short but rather accomplished amateur career, amassing 75 victories in 81 outings, with 48 of them being stoppages. Naoya won numerous (inter) high school tournaments, earned the gold at the 2011 Indonesia Presidential Cup and became the All Japan Light Flyweight champion, the same year. He also placed high at the Asian & World championships.

In 2012, the Monster finally made his pro debut and quickly made himself a guy to look out for. After going 3-0, in less than a year, he was set to face Ryoichi Taguchi (27-4) for the Japanese Light Flyweight title. Taguchi, at 18-1, not only was he the more experienced of the two, but he was also a world ranked fighter. Inoue displayed much aggressiveness, taking control of the fight from the opening round. We saw a lot of his body work at display, which became a signature strategy as his career progressed. After 10 rounds of action, the youngster took a clear unanimous decision win (one of only the two times a fight of his has gone the distance) and the belt. Taguchi eventually went on to become the WBA, IBF & The Ring Light Flyweight World champion.

Just 4 months later, he fought Jerson Mancio (18-6) for the vacant OPBF Light Flyweight title. Naoya’s offense was too fast for the Filipino. He weakened his opponent with body shots, before the referee was forced to stop the fight in the 5th as Mancio was getting repeatedly tagged.

It wasn’t long after that Inoue received his first world title shot against Adrian Hernandez (30-5) on April of 2014. The 2 time WBC Light Flyweight World champion had marked 4 successful title defenses coming into this one. Both strong body punchers, Hernandez seemed to be gaining ground in the 4th round but Naoya quickly bounced back with some heavy shots of his own. It was an even match until the 6th when the Japanese Monster dropped El Confesor with a lighting fast right hook, who despite getting up, refused to continue. As a result, Inoue was declared the World champion at 21 years of age, in only his 6th professional bout.

Inoue defended the WBC title only once against Wittawas Basapean (34-11), before moving 2 weight classes up and within the same year, he challenged Omar Andres Narvaez (49-3) for the WBO Super Flyweight World championship. Narvaez, a 1999 Pan American Games winner, enjoyed a 7 year reign with the WBO Flyweight World title (16 defenses) prior to winning the Super Flyweight strap, which he had held for 4 years at the time (11 defenses). This was meant to be the Japanese fighter’s toughest test yet. Instead, it turned out to be one of his most dominant performances, as he dropped the veteran 4 times in just 2 rounds, sealing the deal with the liver shot, to become a 2 division World champion. That was the sole KO loss in Narvaez’s career.

The Monster remained champion for 3.5 years, reaching an impressive number of 7 title defenses. Warlito Parrenas (26-10), Karoon Jarupianlerd (44-9), Ricardo Rodriguez (16-7) and Antonio Nieves (19-2) were easy work for him, as neither of them were close to his level. David Carmona (21-6) did better, simply because Naoya injured his right hand during the match. Still, he managed to outclass his opponent, even put him down in the last round, earning his second and last decision victory. Yoan Boyeaux (41-6), another promising challenger, was on a 31 fight winning streak (close to 5 years unbeaten) and with 26 KOs under his belt. This also ended up being a one sided beatdown, with Inoue scoring 4 knockdowns in less than 8 minutes.

His best challenge was against the 2 time WBA Super Flyweight World champion Kohei Kono (33-12) on December of 2016. Kono came out strong in the beginning, connecting with some good punches, surprising Inoue for a while. Before you know it, this was turned into a wild brawl with both men bringing the heat and exciting the fans. All that changed in the 6th when Naoya landed a perfect left hook that floored the former champ and proceeded to finish him off a couple of seconds later, putting an end to this thrilling encounter.

In 2018, Inoue decided to enter the Bantamweight ranks and immediately challenged the WBA (Regular) title holder Jamie McDonnell (30-3). The Yorkshire native hadn’t suffered a single loss in a decade (22 fights). A former British, Commonwealth, European & IBF Bantamweight World champion, McDonnell was his best opponent since Narvaez. The Monster, true to his nickname, overwhelmed the champ with powerful shots, dropping him in the very 1st round. McDonnell managed to stand up again, but found himself trapped against the ropes as Naoya delivered a lethal flurry to get the KO.

After the fight, the Japanese superstar announced his participation at the WBSS and in October of last year, he was matched against the former WBA (Super) World champion Juan Carlos Payano (21-3). In what was voted as one of the best knockouts of 2018 (#1 by The Ring Magazine), Inoue nailed him with a straight right and put his lights out, 70 seconds into the fight.

He proceeded to ruin Emmanuel Rodriguez’s (19-1) perfect record, by knocking him down thrice in the 2nd round, securing the IBF World championship in the process. McDonnell, Payano and Rodriguez had never been stopped before in their entire career.

Naoya is finally a step away from fulfilling his destiny and winning the Ali Trophy, but in order to accomplish that, he has to go through one of the most successful fighters that has come out of the Philippines.

Nonito Donaire (40-5 / 26 KOs) has been a boxer for over 20 years. Beginning his amateur career back in the 90s, the Filipino had won 3 U.S. national championships, as well as the 1999 International Junior Olympics gold medal. His record stood at 68 wins and only 8 losses.

As a pro, he went 17-1 before challenging Vic Darchinyan (43-9) in 2007, for the IBF Flyweight World title. The Armenian was 28-0 at the time and had been the reigning champion since 2004, boasting 6 successful title defenses. Donaire established his dominance from the opening round, with the left punch being the difference maker. He kept hitting hard, giving Darchinyan the biggest test of his career. As he was trying to close the distance, Nonito connected with a thunderous counter left, right in the jaw, ending the champ’s undefeated reign. Donaire, not only captured the World title for the 1st time, but also the “Knockout of the year” and “Upset of the year” awards from The Ring Magazine.

The Filipino Flash defended his belt 3 times, against Luis Maldonado (36-15), in what was an one sided beatdown, Moruti Mthalane (38-2), due to a cut, and the then unbeaten Raul Martinez (30-4), who he dropped thrice. In all of his matches, Donaire had showcased incredible speed and timing, especially with his left hooks & uppercuts and of course his counter shots, which all have been proven to be his favourite weapons, even to this day.

His second reign began in 2009 when he won the interim WBA Super Flyweight title, after a hard hitting battle with the former champion Rafael Concepcion (18-8) at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas. Nonito then made short work of Manuel Vargas (32-11) who seemed to be out of his depth. In the 3rd round, he was almost dancing around the former interim WBO Strawweight champion, while throwing punches, before finishing him off with a left uppercut. He also defended against Hernan Marquez (43-10) where once again, the left uppercut sealed the deal.

Donaire made his Bantamweight debut against Olympic Bronze medalist and former WBA (Regular) champion Volodymyr Sydorenko (22-3) back in 2010 and looked better than ever. He scored a knockdown in the 1st, courtesy of a right cross. Another one in the 3rd with a left hook and dropped him for the final time in the 4th with a right straight. By the end, Sydorenko’s face was a bloody mess, full of bruises after the all the punishment he had to endure. That was his only stoppage loss and last fight as well.

On February 19 of 2011, Nonito challenged 3 division World champion Fernando Montiel (54-6) for the WBC & WBO Bantamweight titles. Going into this one, both men were ranked amongst the top 10 boxers in the world. The Filipino Flash threw one of the best punches of his career, as he connected with a counter left in the 2nd round, dropping Cochulito hard to the canvas. Even though he got back up, he was clearly out on his feet and after 2 more shots, the referee stopped the fight.

His inaugural defense of the belts was against the aforementioned Omar Andres Narvaez (49-3) who was coming into this match with a perfect 35-0 record. Not the most exciting performance from Donaire, but he still managed to outbox the 2 division World champion and win a wide unanimous decision.

Moving up again a weight class, and in February of 2012, he fought the former WBO Super Bantamweight World champion Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (25-7) for the same vacant title. It was a rather close contest, during which Vasquez was dropped for the very first time of his career. When the final bell rang, Donaire was crowned a 4 division king.

Riding all that momentum, his next goal was to become the undisputed champion at Super Bantamweight. He first unified with the IBF champion Jeffrey Mathebula (27-5) in July of the same year. A much more impressive showing than his last 2 outings.

Next on the list was the WBC champion Toshiaki Nishioka (39-5). The WBC Diamond, The Ring and the lineal titles were also on the line. Nishioka played a defensive game, offering no significant offense of his own. Donaire utilized his patented left uppercut to score a knockdown in the 6th, but hurt his hand in the process, forcing him to rely only on his right for the rest of the match. The Japanese fighter finally put together some good combinations in the 9th, trapping Nonito against the ropes, but still got dropped with a counter straight right and shortly after the fight was stopped.

In what was basically an exhibition of his speed and power, Donaire defended his belts against fellow 4 division World champion Jorge Arce (64-8) in December, scoring 3 knockdowns and retiring another fighter once more.

His first loss in 12 years came on April of 2013, as he failed in his final unification fight with the WBA (Super) champion & 2 time Olympic Gold medallist Guillermo Rigondeaux (19-1). He still managed though to land a left hook in the 9th round, putting the Olympian down but not out.

The Filipino Flash bounced back with another stoppage victory over now 2 division champion Vic Darchinyan, before graduating to Featherweight and facing Simpiwe Vetyeka (30-4) for the WBA (Super) title. To no one’s surprise, the left hook did the trick again in the 4th, before the fight abruptly ended a round later, due to an accidental head clash. His reign however was short lived, as he lost the championship to Nicholas Walters (26-1) only 5 months later. Despite a strong start, Walters proved to be a much tougher opponent than expected, ending Donaire’s sole Featherweight title run, giving him the 1st (and thus far only) KO loss of his illustrious career.

In 2015, Nonito decided to return to Super Bantamweight and convincingly defeated William Prado (22-5), Anthony Settoul (24-8) and Cesar Juarez (24-7) in a fight of the year candidate, becoming the WBO champion for the 2nd time. He only defended the title once, against Zsolt Bedak (25-2), before losing it to the then undefeated Jessie Magdaleno (27-1).

He tried his luck at Featherweight one last time but, besides one minor victory, he came up short against Carl Frampton (26-2) when they met for the interim WBO championship in 2018. Even though he did throw the best punches and seemingly did more damage than his opponent, Frampton played a smart game, not engaging in any big exchanges, while scoring points which in the end earned him the strap.

Most recently, Donaire moved back to Bantamweight, in order to participate in the WBSS. In the opening round of the tournament, he clashed with the then undefeated WBA (Super) World champion Ryan Burnett (20-1). That was the Filipino’s first Bantamweight match since 2011. An injury, which seemed to have been caused from one of Donaire’s left punches to the body, rendered Burnett unable to continue, thus declaring him the new champion. Then earlier this year, the scheduled double title bout, with the WBO champion Zolani Tete (28-3), was cancelled, due to Tete suffering a shoulder injury. Instead, Nonito defended against last minute replacement Stephon Young (18-2), who he knocked out with a decapitating left hook. Now Donaire has the chance to once again be recognised as one of the best boxers in the world today, by winning his final fight this coming Thursday night in Japan. But this task is easier said than done.

It’s easy to be amazed by the careers of these men. Both have been in the ring with some of the best boxers from all over the world and have gathered countless championships. However this fight might be their most significant one yet. Their paths share many similarities but at the same time are completely opposite. For Inoue, it’s a chance to become a global star. For Donaire, it could very well be his last hurrah. After 20 years into the sport, the Filipino Flash has won world titles in 5 different weight classes. The experience factor is definitely on his side. Unfortunately, that also means that he’s not a young fighter anymore. His speed and stamina are no longer what they used to.

On the other hand, Inoue is at his prime. An unstoppable force that has rained havoc in every one of his opponents, with none of them being able to even score a single knockdown against him. Power, agility, precision, timing. Four attributes that once were used to describe Donaire. As that wasn’t enough, the Monster has looked even more spectacular in this division than in any other one he has been in. His entire Bantamweight run has been a total of 7 minutes and 21 seconds. That’s how long it took him to knockout 3 world champions. Whereas Donaire’s latest Bantamweight run can be described with only one word: Luck ! Burnett’s injury and Tete having to pull out of the tournament are the key reasons why he has made it to the finals. Still, this doesn’t mean he isn’t a dangerous opponent. His power is still here. His timing is still here. Inoue has to be careful of Donaire’s left hand and counter strikes, at all times. But, in the end of the day, the Japanese Monster seems to be in a completely different level from everyone else. For all of his achievements and accomplishments, make no mistake that, Donaire is coming in as the underdog.

So the final question is this: will Inoue demolish another world champion on his way to superstardom or can Donaire’s experience and luck bring him the big win one last time ? We will find out on November 7th, when these 2 warriors clash in Saitama !

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Inoue and Rodriguez go one on one in semi final!

5/11/2019

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By - George Delis (@Delisketo)

On May 18, at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, 2 World champions meet in the second round of the Bantamweight WBSS tournament, as the WBA (Regular) champion Naoya Inoue goes one on one with the IBF champion Emmanuel Rodriguez, with both titles on the line, as well as the vacant Ring Magazine championship.
 
Naoya Inoue (17-0/15 KOs) is considered to be one of the best boxers that have come out of Japan. His power, agility and precision have brought him immense success, while he is already ranked in the top 10 (P4P) list by The Ring, ESPN, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and others.
 
Before becoming a pro, he had a relatively short but rather accomplished amateur career, amassing 75 victories in 81 outings, with 48 of them being stoppages. Naoya won numerous (inter) high school tournaments, earned the gold at the 2011 Indonesia Presidential Cup and became the All Japan Light Flyweight champion, the same year. He also placed high at the Asian & World championships.
 
In 2012, the Monster finally made his pro debut and quickly made himself a guy to look out for. After going 3-0 in less than a year, he was set to face Ryoichi Taguchi (27-4) for the Japanese Light Flyweight title. Taguchi, at 18-1, not only was he the more experienced of the two, but he was also a world ranked fighter. Inoue displayed much aggressiveness, taking control of the fight from the opening round. We saw a lot of his body work at display, which became one of his biggest weapons as his career progressed. After 10 rounds of action, the youngster took a clear unanimous decision win (one of only the two times a fight of his has gone the distance) and the belt. Taguchi eventually went on to become the WBA, IBF & The Ring Light Flyweight World champion.
 
Just 4 months later, he fought Jerson Mancio (18-6) for the vacant OPBF Light Flyweight title. Naoya’s offense was too fast for the Filipino. He weakened his opponent with body shots, before the referee was forced to stop the fight in the 5th as Mancio was getting repeatedly tagged.
 
It wasn’t long after that Inoue received his first world title shot against Adrian Hernandez (30-5) on April of 2014. The 2 time WBC Light Flyweight World champion had marked 4 successful title defenses coming into this one. Both strong body punchers, Hernandez seemed to be gaining ground in the 4th round but Naoya quickly bounced back with some heavy shots of his own. It was an even match until the 6th when the Japanese Monster dropped El Confesor with a lighting fast right hook, who despite getting up, refused to continue. As a result, Inoue was declared the World champion at 21 years of age, in only his 6th professional bout.
 
Inoue defended the WBC title only once against Wittawas Basapean (34-9), before moving 2 weight classes up and within the same year, he challenged Omar Andres Narvaez (48-3) for the WBO Super Flyweight World championship. Narvaez, a 1999 Pan American Games winner, enjoyed a 7 year reign with the WBO Flyweight World title (16 defenses) prior to winning the Super Flyweight strap, which he had held for 4 years at the time (11 defenses). This was meant to be the Japanese fighter’s toughest test yet. Instead, it turned out to be one of his most dominant performances, as he dropped the veteran 4 times in just 2 rounds, sealing the deal with the liver shot, to become a 2 division World champion. That was the sole KO loss in Narvaez’s career. 
 
The Monster remained champion for 3.5 years, reaching an impressive number of 7 title defenses. Warlito Parrenas (26-9), Karoon Jarupianlerd (42-9), Ricardo Rodriguez (16-7) and Antonio Nieves (18-2) were easy work for him, as neither of them was close to his level. David Carmona (21-6) did better, simply because Naoya injured his right hand during the match. Still, he managed to outclass his opponent, even put him down in the last round, earning his second and last decision victory. Yoan Boyeaux (41-6), another promising challenger, was on a 31 fight winning streak (close to 5 years unbeaten) and with 26 KOs under his belt. This also ended up being a one sided beatdown, with Inoue scoring 4 knockdowns in less than 8 minutes.
 
His best challenge was against the 2 time WBA Super Flyweight World champion Kohei Kono (33-12) on December of 2016. Kono came out strong in the beginning, connecting with some good punches, surprising Inoue for a while. Before you know it, this was turned into a wild brawl with both men bringing the heat and exciting the fans. All that changed in the 6th when Naoya landed a perfect left hook that floored the former champ and proceeded to finish him off a couple of seconds later, putting an end to this thrilling encounter. 
 
In 2018, Inoue decided to enter the Bantamweight ranks and immediately challenged the WBA (Regular) title holder Jamie McDonnell (29-3). The Yorkshire native hadn’t suffered a single loss in a decade (22 fights). A former British, Commonwealth, European & IBF Bantamweight World champion, McDonnell was his best opponent since Narvaez. The Monster, true to his nickname, overwhelmed the champ with powerful shots, dropping him in the very 1st round. McDonnell managed to stand up again, but found himself trapped against the ropes as Naoya delivered a lethal flurry to get the KO. After the fight, the Japanese superstar announced his participation at the Bantamweight WBSS and in October he was matched against the former WBA (Super) World champion Juan Carlos Payano (21-2). In what was voted as one of the best knockouts of 2018, Inoue nailed him with a straight right and put his lights out, in just 70 seconds into the fight. Both McDonnell & Payano had never been stopped in their entire career.
 
Emmanuel Rodriguez (19-0), the reigning IBF Bantamweight World champion, unlike his Japanese foe, had quite an extensive run as an amateur. His most noteworthy accolades took place in 2010, when he won the gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games and the silver at the Youth World Championships. Amongst his 182 bouts (171 victories), he owned wins over the likes of AIBA Youth World & Central American and Caribbean Games champion Jonathan Gonzalez (22-2) as well as the current WBO Light Flyweight World titlist Angel Acosta (20-1).
 
As a pro, he mostly fought in his home country of Puerto Rico against local competition. In 2015, he KOed world title contender Luis Hinojosa (31-16), with a stunning right cross, in the 3rd round. He also picked up 2 decisions over former challengers such as David Quijano (16-7) and Alberto Guevara (27-4).
 
Rodriguez fought the former IBF Bantamweight World champion Paul Butler (28-2) for the same vacant title, on May of 2018. Butler was on a 9 fight winning streak since losing the belt. The Mexican fighter knocked him down twice in the opening round, once with the right and then with the left hook. Rodriguez continued to control the pace until the end, thus winning a wide decision and was declared the new World champion.
 
His 1st defense took place in October, against the WBA Oceania & Commonwealth champion Jason Moloney (18-1), as part of the WBSS. The Australian was undefeated at 17-0 when he entered the tournament. Much like Naoya Inoue, Manny utilized some excellent body work that, in the long run, won him the fight. Moloney started to put on a better offense half way through, giving the champ some trouble, especially in the closing rounds. When the final bell rang, Rodriguez was awarded a split decision to advance to the semi finals.
 
It’s obvious that Rodriguez has the better amateur pedigree than most of Inoue’s opponents, but he hasn’t faced the same caliber of competition as a pro. Moreover, both of his world championship fights has gone the distance and he hasn’t finished anyone since 2017. On the other hand, Naoya has been on a path of destruction, knocking out top contenders and champions alike, for 5 years straight (minus 1 match). It’s seemingly impossible to stop him at this point of his career, especially after the dominant 2018 he had. Considering that in his last 2 fights he spent a total of 3 minutes in the ring, it will be a surprise if Manny makes it past the 5th round.

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Zhakiyanov and Burnett fight to unify Bantamweight crowns!

10/15/2017

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Unification bouts are rare in boxing, though thankfully their rareness comes with the feeling that every one of them that we do get is that little bit special. That's arguably the case this coming Saturday as the WBA and IBF Bantamweight titles get unified in Belfast. Going into that bout as champions will be Kazakh brawler Zhanat Zhakiyanov (27-1, 18) and Northern Irish slickster Ryan Burnett (17-0, 9), with Zhakiyanov entering as the WBA champion and Burnett at the IBF king.

Aged 33, and soon to be 34, the Kazakh is really at the point in his career where a loss could well be the end of his career, at least at the top level. That's ignoring the fact that he has actually only just arrived on the world stage, winning his WBA title last time out in a split decision win over Rau-shee Warren in the US. Had the decision gone against him, there's a good chance that Zhakiyanov would have joined the “who needs him?” club and not been able to get a second shot at a world title.

Amazingly for Zhakiyanov his reign was rather lucky, and in his win he was dropped twice, in the opening round by Warren. A smarter fighter than Warren would have jumped on Zhakiyanov in round 2 and closed the show, but the American took his foot off the gas and let the Kazakh regroup, before he out hustled and out-worked the American to earn the decision. That bout proved that Zhakiyanov can over-come real adversity but also showed his limitations and it was clear that he really was a fighter with only one plan, and that pressure.

Although a pressure fighter at heart Zhakiyanov does have very solid power, as shown back in 2014 with his KO of the Year contender against Karim Guerfi. Sadly though he's slow of foot and his punches are certainly not the most technically correct or the fastest. As a results he can be out boxed.

Whilst Zahkiyanov is a pressure fighter Burnett is a pure boxer, and a very talented, slick one at that. He can box on the front foot, or the back foot, and although he's not the most aggressive or exciting of fighters he is one of those natural talents who looks so composed and at ease in the ring that boxing looks second nature to him. He moves wonderfully around the ring and controls distance brilliantly, especially on the back foot where his boxing brain really does shine. Although he can fight on the front foot he does look a lot more effective on the back foot.

Burnett has long been championed as a star for British boxing and at times has shown incredible skills. Whilst those skills are impressive he has also shown a lot of frustrating traits. He's note more than 2 years removed from his last stoppage and his lack of killer instinct has been really annoying, especially given that he has dropped a number of fighters but never gone for the kill, instead racking up unnecessary rounds and potentially boring fans, when he should be using those skills to shine.

Whilst Burnett is incredibly frustrating for fans he's also a nightmare to face, and stylistically Zhankiyanov is made to order. The pressure of the Kazakh will allow Burnett to tee-off on him and make him look stupid. There is a chance that Zhakiyanov will have some moments but the reality is that the movement of Burnett will simply be too much for him, and the sharp shots will take their toll. It's up to Burnett as to whether he'll want to up the pace and seek a stoppage late,but it's hard to see anything but a win for the Northern Irishman.

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Ryosuke Iwasa battle Lee Haskins, but will Eagle Eye claim the gold?

5/27/2015

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It's amazing to think that during the history of boxing no Japanese fighter has ever won a world title in Europe. That may change however on June 13th as the once beaten Ryosuke "Eagle Eye" Iwasa (19-1, 12) travels to England to take on the talented and tricky Lee Haskins (31-3, 13) in a contest for the IBF “interim” title, a title that Iwasa's handler believes will be upgraded to the IBF regular title later in the year.

Firstly, as many will know, we are typically critical of the “interim” title fiasco that the WBA have on their hands. However the IBF rarely hold “interim” title fights and they are limited to when a champion is injured. In this case their “proper” champion, Randy Caballero, is indeed injured and isn't expected back in to the ring for several months. Rather than freezing up the title the IBF have elected for their two top ranked contenders to meet in what is a genuinely appealing match up.

Of the two fighters Haskins is, by far, the more experienced man. He has been a professional since 2003 and already holds a number of notable wins, including decision victories over Jamie McDonnell, Stuart Hall and Jason Booth. Sadly for Haskins however he has had a number of issues including a style that has helped keep him away from British TV for swathes of his career and issues with durability, with all 3 of his losses coming by stoppage.

Early in his career Haskins looked brilliant and quickly raced out to 15-0 (9). He showed off impressive speed, lovely countering ability and a style that saw him fighting with hands down and switching stances. That perfect record was ended in his 16th bout as he was stopped by the under-rated Tshifhiwa Munyai. Just 2 fights later Haskins suffered his second set back, courtesy of an injury against the talented but light hitting Ian Napa.

Since falling to 16-2 Haskins has gone on an excellent 16-1 run scoring notable wins against Jamie McDonnell, Stuart Hall and Jason Booth. His sole loss during that 17 fight run came against Stephane Jamoye, in what was a contender for 2012's FOTY. Of course we know Jamoye's limitations, given his loss to Shinsuke Yamanaka, but Jamoye managed to impose his style on the fight and Haskins had to fight fire with fire.

Aged 31 and stood at 5'5” Haskins typically fights as a southpaw though has shown the ability to switch hit. At his best he's an elusive and tricky type of fighter who controls distance well and uses a sharp jab to keep opponents at range. Up close Haskins can go to war and has fast hands though on the whole he is happy to fight on the outside and tie up on the upside. When he's forced to take the fight to an opponent he can struggle but most opponents are unable to really force Haskins out of his safety zone.

At 25 years old Iwasa is significantly younger than his foe though in many ways lacks the experience of Haskins. He has been a professional since 2008 and lacks a genuine stand out win. He does however have some notable wins over the likes of Kentaro Masuda and David De La Mora. His most notable bout to date however was a loss, to the tremendous Shinsuke Yamanaka back in 2011. The step up to fight Yamanaka was too much too soon for Yamanaka though he managed to acquit himself well before being stopped very late in the bout.

Although Iwasa isn't a hugely experienced fighter as a professional he was a very accomplished amateur with a record of 60-6 (42) in the unpaid ranks. Those amateur credentials have been part of the reason that Iwasa has been fast tracked and has already claimed the Japanese and OPBF titles in his short career.

As a Bantamweight Iwasa is a relatively large fighter stood at 5'7” and physically he matched up with Shinsuke Yamanaka very well. At the time of that bout Iwasa lacked the experience though showed that he had the power and ability to really trouble Yamanaka.

In the ring Iwasa is a talented southpaw boxer-puncher. He hits harder than his record suggests, as seen by the fact he troubled Yamanaka, though at times he's reckless and can be tagged himself. When boxing smartly Iwasa is very sharp though he can be put under pressure, as Richard Pumicpic showed. Whilst Iwasa put the performance against Pumicpic down to weight issues it's fair to suggest that those issues may rear their head again in the future.

Coming in to this fight it really seems like a case of the man who can enforce his style will come out on top. It's a question as to whether or not Haskins will be able to keep Iwasa at arm's length or whether the Japanese fight can get his range and land his heavy shots with the left hand. We know Haskins has scouted the left hand but there is a lot of difference between know it's a weapon and being able to prevent it from being used. If Haskins can keep his movement up and make the most of his jab the odds are that he takes a decision at home in Bristol. If Iwasa can make it a fire-fight however we see the Japanese fighter stopping the home favourite and bringing back the title, doing what others, such as Hidenori Otake and Akio Shibata, were unable to do.

It's a compelling match up of styles and a really good match up on paper, we just hope it doesn't end up having some sort of controversy hanging over the result.

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    Beibut Shumenov V Bernard Hopkin
    Beibut Shumenov V Hamza Wandera
    Beibut Shumenov Vs BJ Flores
    Beibut Shumenov Vs Hizni Altunkaya
    Beibut Shumenov Vs Raphael Murphy
    Ben McCulloch
    Bernard Hopkins
    Billy Dib
    BJ Flores
    Blake Caparello
    Brian Viloria
    Brian Viloria Vs Artem Dalakian
    Byron Rojas
    Can Xu
    Can Xu Vs Jesus M Rojas
    Can Xu Vs Leigh Wood
    Can Xu Vs Manny Robles II
    Can Xu Vs Shun Kubo
    Carlos Buitrago
    Carlos Canizales
    Carlos Carlson
    Carlos Cuadras
    Carlos Licona
    Carlos Velarde
    Cedric Agnew
    Cesar Ramirez
    Cesar Rene Cuenca
    Charlie Edwards
    Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo
    Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo Vs Miguel Berchelt
    Chris Algieri
    Chris John
    Chris John V Simpiwe Vetyeka
    Christopher Diaz
    Craig Richards
    Cristofer Rosales
    Cruiserweight
    Cuello V Zhong
    Curtis Stevens
    Daigo Higa
    Daigo Higa Vs Cristofer Rosales
    Daigo Higa Vs Moises Fuentes
    Daigo Higa Vs Thomas Masson
    Daiki Kameda
    Daiki Kameda V Liborio Solis
    Daiki Kameda V Rodrigo Guerrero
    Danai Ngiabphukhiaw
    Daniel Geale
    Daniel Jacobs
    Daniel Martinez
    Daniel Roman
    Daniel Roman Vs Murodjon Akhmadaliev
    Daniel Roman Vs Ryo Matsumoto
    Daniel Valladares
    Danny Dignum
    Dante Jardon
    David Carmona
    David Lemieux
    Denis Lebedev
    Denis Lebedev V Guillermo Jones
    Denis Lebedev Vs Pawel Kolodziej
    Denis Shafikov
    Denkaosan Kaovichit
    Denkaosan Kaovichit V Kohei Kono
    Denkaosan Kaovichit V Nobuo Nashiro
    Dennapa Kiatniwat
    Denver Cuello
    Diego Ricardo Santillan
    Dmitry Bivol
    Dmitry Bivol Vs Craig Richards
    Dmitry Bivol Vs Felix Valera
    Dmitry Bivol Vs Isaac Chilemba
    Dmitry Bivol Vs Jean Pascal
    Dmitry Bivol Vs Joe Smith Jr
    Dmitry Bivol Vs Lenin Castillo
    Dmitry Bivol Vs Saul Alvarez
    Dmitry Bivol Vs Sullivan Barrera
    Dmitry Bivol Vs Trent Broadhurst
    Dmitry Bivol Vs Umar Salamov
    Dmitry Chudinov
    Dmitry Chudinov V Mehdi Bouadla
    Dmitry Chudinov V Patrick Nielsen
    Dmitry Sukhotsky
    Dmitry Sukhotsky Vs Adonis Stevenson
    Dominic Wade
    Donnie Nietes
    Donnie Nietes V Moises Fuentes
    Donnie Nietes V Sammy Gutierrez
    Donnie Nietes Vs Aston Palicte
    Donnie Nietes Vs Carlos Velarde
    Donnie Nietes Vs Eaktwan BTU Ruaviking
    Donnie Nietes Vs Francisco Rodriguez Jr
    Donnie Nietes Vs Gilberto Parra
    Donnie Nietes Vs Juan Alejo
    Donnie Nietes Vs Juan Carlos Reveco
    Donnie Nietes Vs Kazuto Ioka
    Donnie Nietes Vs Raul Garcia
    Downua Ruawaiking
    Downua Ruawaiking Vs Josh Taylor
    Dubai
    Duke Micah
    Eaktwan BTU Ruaviking
    Edgar Puerta
    Edgar Sosa
    Edivaldo Ortega
    Eduard Troyanovsky
    Edward Heno
    Edward Heno Vs Elwin Soto
    Elwin Soto
    Emanuele Felice Blandamura
    Emanuel Navarrete
    Emmanuel Rodriguez
    Ernesto Saulong
    Esteban Bermudez
    Evgeny Chuprakov
    Evgeny Gradovich
    Evgeny Gradovich V Billy Dib
    Evgeny Gradovich V Mauricio Javier Munoz
    Evgeny Gradovich Vs Jayson Velez
    Evgeny Graovich V Alexander Miskirtchian
    Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr
    Featherweight
    Fedor Chudinov
    Fedor Chudinov Vs Ben McCulloch
    Felipe Salguero
    Felix Alvarado
    Felix Valera
    Floyd Mayweather Jr
    Flyweight
    Foty Contender
    Francesco Pianeta
    Francisco Rodriguez Jr
    Francisco Vargas
    Fres Oquendo
    Froilan Saludar
    Ganigan Lopez
    Gary Russell Jr
    Gary Russell Jr Vs Mark Magsayo
    Genesis Servania
    Gennady Golovkin
    Gennady Golovkin
    Gennady Golovkin V Curtis Stevens
    Gennady Golovkin V Osumanu Adama
    Gennady Golovkin Vs Daniel Geale
    Gennady Golovkin Vs Daniel Jacobs
    Gennady Golovkin Vs David Lemieux
    Gennady Golovkin Vs Dominic Wade
    Gennady Golovkin Vs Kamil Szeremeta
    Gennady Golovkin Vs Kell Brook
    Gennady Golovkin Vs Marco Antonio Rubio
    Gennady Golovkin Vs Martin Murray
    Gennady Golovkin Vs Ryota Murata
    Gennady Golovkin Vs Saul Alvarez
    Gennady Golovkin Vs Saul Alvarez II
    Gennady Golovkin Vs Saul Alvarez III
    Gennady Golovkin Vs Sergiy Derevyanchenko
    Gennady Golovkin Vs Vanes Martirosyan
    Gennady Golovkin Vs Willie Monroe Jr
    Ggg
    Giemel Magramo
    Gilberto Parra
    Gilberto Pedroza
    Golovkin V Macklin
    Go Odaira
    Gregorio Lebron
    Grigory Drozd
    Guillermo Jones
    Guillermo Rigondeaux
    Guillermo Rigondeaux Vs Sod Kokietgym
    Hamza Wandera
    Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam
    Heavyweight
    Hekkie Budler
    Hidenori Otake
    Hidenori Otake Vs Isaac Dogboe
    Hidenori Otake Vs Scott Quigg
    Hirofumi Mukai
    Hiroshige Osawa
    Hiroto Kyoguchi
    Hiroto Kyoguchi Vs Axel Aragon Vega
    Hiroto Kyoguchi Vs Carlos Buitrago
    Hiroto Kyoguchi Vs Esteban Bermudez
    Hiroto Kyoguchi Vs Hekkie Budler
    Hiroto Kyoguchi Vs Satanmuanglek CP Freshmart
    Hiroto Kyoguchi Vs Tetsuya Hisada
    Hiroto Kyoguchi Vs Thanongsak Simsri
    Hiroto Kyoguchi Vs Vince Paras
    Hiroyuki Hisataka
    Hisashi Amagasa
    Hisashi Amagasa Vs Guillermo Rigondeaux
    Hizni Altunkaya
    Hozumi Hasegawa
    Hozumi Hasegawa Vs Hugo Ruiz
    Hugo Ruiz
    Ibf
    IBF Bantamweight
    Ibf Cruiserweight
    Ibf Featherweight
    Ibf Flyweight
    Ibf Flyweight
    Ibf Heavyweight
    Ibf Interim Super Bantamweight
    Ibf Light Flyweight
    IBF Light Heavyweight
    Ibf Lightweight
    IBF Light Welterweight
    Ibf Middleweight
    Ibf Minimumweight
    Ibf Super Bantamweight
    Ibf Super Featherweight
    Ibf Super Flyweight
    IBF Super Middleweight
    Ibf Wba Unification
    Ik Yang
    Ik Yang Vs Cesar Rene Cuenca
    Immanuel Naidjala
    Interim WBO Super Featherweight
    Inthanon Sithchamuang
    Iran Diaz
    Isaac Chilemba
    Isaac Dogboe
    Israel Gonzalez
    Israel Hector Enrique Perez
    Jaider Parra
    Jaime Munguia
    Jamel Herring
    Jamie Conlan
    Jamie McDonnell
    Janibek Alimkhanuly
    Janibek Alimkhanuly Vs Danny Dignum
    Jason Moloney
    Javier Mendoza
    Javier Prieto
    Jayson Mama
    Jayson Velez
    Jean Pascal
    Jean Piero Perez
    Jeff Horn
    Jeffrey Galero
    Jeo Santisima
    Jeo Santisima Vs Emanuel Navarrete
    Jerry Tomogdan
    Jerwin Ancajas
    Jerwin Ancajas Vs Alejandro Santiago Barrios
    Jerwin Ancajas Vs Daniel Martinez
    Jerwin Ancajas Vs Daniel Martinez II
    Jerwin Ancajas Vs Israel Gonzalez
    Jerwin Ancajas Vs Jamie Conlan
    Jerwin Ancajas Vs Jonas Sultan
    Jerwin Ancajas Vs Jonathan Javier Rodriguez
    Jerwin Ancajas Vs Jose Alfredo Rodriguez
    Jerwin Ancajas Vs McJoe Arroyo
    Jerwin Ancajas Vs Miguel Gonzalez
    Jerwin Ancajas Vs Ryuichi Funai
    Jerwin Ancajas Vs Teiru Kinoshita
    Jesse Rodriguez
    Jessie Magdaleno
    Jessie Vargas
    Jesus M Rojas
    Jesus Silvestre
    Jetro Pabustan
    Jeyvier Cintron
    Jezreel Corrales
    Jhack Tepora
    Jhack Tepora Vs Edivaldo Ortega
    Jhack Tepora Vs Hugo Ruiz
    Joe Cordina
    Joe Smith Jr
    John Mark Apolinario
    Johnriel Casimero
    Johnriel Casimero Vs Cesar Ramirez
    Johnriel Casimero Vs Charlie Edwards
    Johnriel Casimero Vs Duke Micah
    Johnriel Casimero Vs Guillermo Rigondeaux
    Johnriel Casimero Vs Paul Butler
    Johnriel Casimero Vs Zolani Tete
    Jomthong Chuwatana
    Jonas Sultan
    Jonathan Gonzalez
    Jonathan Gonzalez Vs Mark Anthony Barriga
    Jonathan Guzman
    Jonathan Javier Rodriguez
    Jonathan Taconing
    Jonathan Taconing Vs Ganigan Lopez
    Jorge Linares
    Jorge Linares Vs Javier Prieto
    Jorge Linares Vs Mercito Gesta
    Jorle Estrada
    Jose Alfredo Rodriguez
    Jose Argumedo
    Jose Argumedo Vs Hiroto Kyoguchi
    Jose Nieves
    Joseph Diaz
    Jose Velasquez
    Josh Taylor
    Juan Alejo
    Juan Carlos Payano
    Juan Carlos Reveco
    Juan Francisco Estrada
    Juan Francisco Estrada V Milan Melindo
    Juan Francisco Estrada V Richie Mepranum
    Juan Francisco Estrada Vs Rommel Asenjo
    Juan Hernandez Navarrete
    Juan Hernandez Navarrete Vs Daigo Higa
    Juan Jose Landaeta
    Juan Miguel Elorde
    Juan Miguel Elorde Vs Emanuel Navarrete
    Julian Yedras
    Jung Oh Son
    Junto Nakatani
    Junto Nakatani Vs Angel Acosta
    Junto Nakatani Vs Giemel Magramo
    Junto Nakatani Vs Ryota Yamauchi
    Kai Ishizawa
    Kamil Szeremeta
    Katsunari Takayama
    Katsunari Takayama V Francisco Rodriguez Jr
    Katsunari Takayama Vs Elwin Soto
    Katsunari Takayama Vs Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr
    Katsunari Takayama Vs Go Odaira
    Katsunari Takayama V Shin Ono
    Katsunari Takayama Vs Jose Argumedo
    Katsunari Takayama Vs Riku Kano
    Katsunari Takayama Vs Ryuji Hara
    Katsunari Takayama V Vergilio Silvano
    Kazuto Ioka
    Kazuto Ioka V Felix Alvarado
    Kazuto Ioka V Francisco Rodriguez Jr
    Kazuto Ioka V Kwanthai Sithmorseng
    Kazuto Ioka Vs Aston Palicte
    Kazuto Ioka Vs Donnie Nietes II
    Kazuto Ioka Vs Jeyvier Cintron
    Kazuto Ioka Vs Juan Carlos Reveco II
    Kazuto Ioka Vs Keyvin Lara
    Kazuto Ioka Vs Kosei Tanaka
    Kazuto Ioka Vs Noknoi Sitthiprasert
    Kazuto Ioka Vs Roberto Domingo Sosa
    Kazuto Ioka Vs Ryoji Fukunaga
    Kazuto Ioka Vs Stamp Kiatniwat
    Kazuto Ioka V Wisanu Kokietgym
    Keita Obara
    Keita Obara Vs Eduard Troyanovsky
    Keith Thurman
    Kell Brook
    Kenichi Ogawa
    Kenichi Ogawa Vs Azinga Fuzile
    Kenichi Ogawa Vs Joe Cordina
    Kenichi Ogawa Vs Tevin Farmer
    Kenshiro
    Ken Shiro
    Kenshiro Teraji
    Kenshiro Teraji Vs Masamichi Yabuki
    Kenshiro Teraji Vs Randy Petalcorin
    Kenshiro Teraji Vs Tetsuya Hisada
    Ken Shiro Vs Ganigan Lopez
    Ken Shiro Vs Ganigan Lopez II
    Ken Shiro Vs Gilberto Pedroza
    Kenshiro Vs Jonathan Taconing
    Kenshiro Vs Milan Melindo
    Ken Shiro Vs Pedro Guevara
    Kenshiro Vs Randy Petalcorin
    Kenshiro Vs Saul Juarez
    Keyvin Lara
    Khabib Allakhverdiev
    Khabib Allakhverdiev V Jessie Vargas
    Khabib Allakhverdiev V Souleymane M'baye
    Khalid Yafai
    Khalid Yafai Vs Sho Ishida
    Khalid Yafai Vs Suguru Muranaka
    Kiko Martinez
    Kiko Martinez V Hozumi Hasegawa
    Kiryl Relikh
    Kiryl Relikh Vs Eduard Troyanovsky
    Kki Kameda V John Mark Apolinario
    KnockKnockout CP Freshmart
    Knockout CP Freshmart
    Knockout CP Freshmart Vs Alexis Diaz
    Knockout CP Freshmart Vs ArAr Andales
    Knockout CP Freshmart Vs Byron Rojas
    Knockout CP Freshmart Vs Byron Rojas II
    Knockout-cp-freshmart-vs-carlos-buitrago
    Knockout CP Freshmart Vs Carlos Buitrago II
    Knockout CP Freshmart Vs Go Odaira
    Knockout CP Freshmart Vs Muhammad Rachman
    Knockout CP Freshmart Vs Norihito Tanaka
    Knockout CP Freshmart Vs Pongsaklek Sithdabnij
    Knockout CP Freshmart Vs Rey Loreto
    Knockout CP Freshmart Vs Robert Paradero
    Knockout CP Freshmart Vs Shin Ono
    Knockout CP Freshmart Vs Toto Landero
    Knockout CP Freshmart Vs Wanheng Menayothin
    Knockout CP Freshmart Vs Xiong Zhao Zhong
    Ko Dynamite
    Kohei Kono
    Kohei Kono Vs Inthanon Sithchamuang
    Kohei Kono Vs Koki Kameda
    Kohei Kono Vs Luis Concepcion
    Kohei Kono Vs Norberto Jimenez
    Koki Eto
    Koki Eto Vs Carlos Cuadras
    Koki Eto V Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep
    Koki Kameda
    Koki Kameda V Jung Oh Son
    Kompayak Porpramook
    Kompayak Porpramook V Koki Eto
    Kosei Tanaka
    Kosei Tanaka Vs Angel Acosta
    Kosei Tanaka Vs Jonathan Gonzalez
    Kosei Tanaka Vs Julian Yedras
    Kosei Tanaka Vs Moises Fuentes
    Kosei Tanaka Vs Palangpol CP Freshmart
    Kosei Tanaka Vs Ryoichi Taguchi
    Kosei Tanaka Vs Vic Saludar
    Kosei Tanaka Vs Wulan Tuolehazi
    Krzysztof Wlodarczyk
    Krzysztof Wlodarczyk Vs Grigory Drozd
    Kwanpichit OnesongchaiGym
    Kwanthai Sithmorseng
    Lebedev V Jones
    Lee Haksins
    Leigh Wood
    Lenin Castillo
    Leroy Estrada
    Liborio Solis
    Light Flyweight
    Light Heavyweight
    Light Middleweight
    Lightweight
    Light Welterweight
    Lookrak Kiatmungmee
    Lu Bin
    Lu Bin Vs Carlos Canizales
    Lucas Browne
    Lucas Martin Matthysse
    Luis Concepcion
    Luis De La Rosa
    Luis Nery
    Maksim Vlasov
    Maksim Vlasov Vs Joe Smith Jr
    Manny Pacquiao
    Manny Pacquiao Vs Adrien Broner
    Manny Pacquiao Vs Chris Algieri
    Manny Pacquiao Vs Floyd Mayweather Jr
    Manny Pacquiao Vs Jeff Horn
    Manny Pacquiao Vs Jessie Vargas
    Manny Pacquiao Vs Keith Thurman
    Manny Pacquiao Vs Lucas Martin Matthysse
    Manny Pacquiao Vs Yordenis Ugas
    Manny Pacquiao V Timothy Bradley II
    Manny Robles II
    Marco Antonio Rubio
    Mario Barrios
    Mark Anthony Barriga
    Mark Anthony Barriga Vs Carlos Licona
    Mark Magsayo
    Mark Magsayo Vs Rey Vargas
    Marlon Tapales
    Marlon Tapales Vs Ryosuke Iwasa
    Marlon Tapales Vs Shohei Omori
    Martin Murray
    Martin Tecuapetla
    Marvin Mabait
    Marvin Mabait Vs Carlos Cuadras
    Masahiro Sakamoto
    Masamichi Yabuki
    Masamichi Yabuki Vs Kenshiro Yabuki II
    Masataka Taniguchi
    Masataka Taniguchi Vs Kai Ishizawa
    Masataka Taniguchi Vs Wilfredo Mendez
    Masayuki Ito
    Masayuki Ito Vs Christopher Diaz
    Masayuki Ito Vs Evgeny Chuprakov
    Masayuki Ito Vs Jamel Herring
    Masayuki Kuroda
    Matthew Macklin
    Matt Korobov
    Matt Korobov Vs Andy Lee
    Mauricio Javier Munoz
    Ma Yi Ming
    McJoe Arroyo
    McWilliams Arroyo
    Mehdi Bouadla
    Melvin Jerusalem
    Mercito Gesta
    Merlito Sabillo
    Merlito Sabillo V Carlos Buitrago
    Merlito Sabillo V Francisco Rodriguez Jr
    Merlito Sabillo V Jorle Estrada
    Michael Dasmarinas
    Middleweight
    Miguel Berchelt
    Miguel Berchelt Vs Takashi Miura
    Miguel Cotto
    Miguel Gonzalez
    Miguel Vazquez
    Miguel-vazquez-v-denis-shafikov
    Mika Alvarado V Ruslan Provodnikov
    Mike Alvarado
    Mikey Garcia
    Milan Melindo
    Milan Melindo Vs Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr
    Milan Melindo Vs Hekkie Budler
    Milan Melindo Vs Javier Mendoza
    Minimumweight
    Moises Calleros
    Moises Fuentes
    Moruti Mthalane
    Moruti Mthalane Vs Jayson Mama
    Moruti Mthalane Vs Masahiro Sakamoto
    Moruti Mthalane Vs Masayuki Kuroda
    Muhammad Rachman
    Muhammad Waseem
    Muhammad Waseem Vs Moruti Mthalane
    Murodjon Akhmadaliev
    Murodjon Akhmadaliev Vs Jose Velasquez
    Murodjon Akhmadaliev Vs Ronny Rios
    Murodjon Akhmadaliev Vs Ryosuke Iwasa
    Myung Ho Lee
    Naoya Inoue
    Naoya Inoue V Samartlek Kokietgym
    Naoya Inoue Vs Antonio Nieves
    Naoya Inoue Vs Aran Dipaen
    Naoya Inoue Vs David Carmona
    Naoya Inoue Vs Emmanuel Rodriguez
    Naoya Inoue Vs Jamie McDonnell
    Naoya Inoue Vs Jason Moloney
    Naoya Inoue Vs Juan Carlos Payano
    Naoya Inoue Vs Kohei Kono
    Naoya Inoue Vs Michael Dasmarinas
    Naoya Inoue Vs Nonito Donaire
    Naoya Inoue Vs Nonito Donaire II
    Naoya Inoue Vs Omar Andres Narvaez
    Naoya Inoue Vs Petchbarngborn Kokietgym
    Naoya Inoue Vs Ricardo Rodriguez
    Naoya Inoue Vs Warlito Parrenas
    Naoya Inoue Vs Yoan Boyeaux
    Nathan Cleverly
    Nathan Cleverly V Sergey Kovalev
    Nawaphon Por Chokchai
    Nawaphon Por Chokchai Vs Juan Hernandez Navarrete
    Nehomar Cermeno
    Nicholas Walters
    Nihito Arakawa
    Nihito Arakawa V Omar Figueroa
    Nobuo Nashiro
    Noknoi Sitthiprasert
    Nonito Donaire
    Nonito-donaire-v-simipiwe-vetyeka
    Nonito Donaire Vs Jessie Magdaleno
    Nonito Donaire Vs Nicholas Walters
    Nonito Donaire Vs Nordine Oubaali
    Nonito Donaire Vs Reymart Gaballo
    Nonito Donaire Vs Ryan Burnett
    Nonito Donaire Vs Zolani Tete
    Nonito Donaire Vs Zsolt Bedak
    Nop Kratingdaenggym
    Nop Kratingdaenggym Vs Nehomar Cermeno
    Norberto Jimenez
    Nordine Oubaali
    Nordine Oubaali Vs Arthur Villanueva
    Norihito Tanaka
    Odilon-zaleta
    Oleksandr Gvozdyk
    Oliver Flores
    Omar Andres Narvaez
    Omar Andres Narvaez V Hiroyuki Hisataka
    Omar Figueroa
    Omari Kimweri
    Orlando Salido
    Oscar Blanquet
    Oscar Valdez
    Oscar Valdez Vs Genesis Servania
    Oscar Valdez Vs Hiroshige Osawa
    Osumanu-adama
    Oswaldo Novoa
    Palangpol CP Freshmart
    Panya Pradabsri
    Panya Pradabsri Vs Danai Ngiabphukhiaw
    Panya Pradabsri Vs Norihito Tanaka
    Patrick-nielsen
    Paul Butler
    Paulus Ambunda
    Paulus Ambunda V Tomoki Kameda
    Pawel Kolodziej
    Pedro Guevara
    Pedro Taduran
    Pedro Taduran Vs Daniel Valladares
    Pedro Taduran Vs Rene Mark Cuarto
    Petchbarngborn Kokietgym
    Petch Sor Chitpattana
    Petch Sor Chitpattana Vs Takuma Inoue
    Pigmy-kokietgym
    Pigmy-kokietgym-v-hekkie-budler
    Pongsaklek Sithdabnij
    Porpramook V Perez
    Povetkin V Wawrzyk
    Pungluang Sor Singyu
    Pungluang Sor Singyu Vs Jetro Pabustan
    Pungluang Sor Singyu Vs Marlon Tapales
    Qiu Xiao Jun
    Qiu Xiao Jun Vs Nehomar Cermeno
    Qiu Xiao Jun Vs Nehomar Cermeno II
    Rakhim Chakhkiev
    Randy Petalcorin
    Randy Petalcorin Vs Felix Alvarado
    Randy Petalcorin Vs Ma Yi Ming
    Randy Petalcorin Vs Walter Tello
    Raphael Murphy
    Raul Garcia
    Raushee Warren
    Raymundo Beltran
    Regular
    Reiya Konishi
    Reiya Konishi Vs Carlos Canizales
    Reiya Konishi Vs Felix Alvarado
    Rene Mark Cuarto
    Rene Mark Cuarto Vs Daniel Valladares
    Rene Mark Cuarto Vs Pedro Taduran II
    Rey Loreto
    Reymart Gaballo
    Reymart Gaballo Vs Emmanuel Rodriguez
    Rey Vargas
    Rey Vargas Vs Tomoki Kameda
    Ricardo Rodriguez
    Richar Abril
    Richar Abril V Jorge Linares
    Richard Claveras
    Richard Claveras Vs Pedro Guevara
    Richie Mepranum
    Richie Mepranum Vs Carlos Cuadras
    Riku Kano
    Ring
    Ring Magazine
    Rob Brant
    Robert Barrera
    Roberto Domingo Sosa
    Robert Paradero
    Robert Stieglitz
    Robert Stieglitz V Yuzo Kiyota
    Rocky Fuentes
    Rodrigo Guerrero
    Roman Gonzalez
    Roman Gonzalez Vs Brian Viloria
    Roman Gonzalez Vs Rocky Fuentes
    Roman Gonzalez Vs Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
    Rommel Asenjo
    Ronny Rios
    Ruslan Chagaev
    Ruslan-chagaev-v-fres-oquendo
    Ruslan Chagaev Vs Francesco Pianeta
    Ruslan Chagaev Vs Lucas Browne
    Ruslan Provodnikov
    Ruslan-provodnikov-v-chris-algieri
    Ryad Merhy
    Ryad Merhy Vs Zhaoxin Zhang
    Ryan Burnett
    Ryo Akaho
    Ryo Akaho Vs Pungluang Sor Singyu
    Ryohei Takahashi
    Ryohei Takahashi Vs TJ Doheny
    Ryoichi Taguchi
    Ryoichi Taguchi Vs Alberto Rossel
    Ryoichi Taguchi Vs Carlos Canizales
    Ryoichi Taguchi Vs Hekkie Budler
    Ryoichi Taguchi Vs Juan Jose Landaeta
    Ryoichi Taguchi Vs Kwanthai Sithmorseng
    Ryoichi Taguchi Vs Luis De La Rosa
    Ryoichi Taguchi Vs Milan Melindo
    Ryoichi Taguchi Vs Robert Barrera
    Ryoichi Taguchi Vs Ryo Miyazaki
    Ryoji Fukunaga
    Ryo Matsumoto
    Ryo Miyazaki
    Ryo Miyazaki V Carlos Velarde
    Ryo Miyazaki V Jesus Silvestre
    Ryosuke Iwasa
    Ryosuke Iwasa Vs Ernesto Saulong
    Ryosuke Iwasa Vs Lee Haskins
    Ryosuke Iwasa Vs TJ Doheny
    Ryota Murata
    Ryota Murata Vs Emanuele Felice Blandamura
    Ryota Murata Vs Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam
    Ryota Murata Vs Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam II
    Ryota Murata Vs Rob Brant
    Ryota Murata Vs Rob Brant II
    Ryota Murata Vs Steven Butler
    Ryota Yamauchi
    Ryuichi Funai
    Ryuji Hara
    Ryuya Yamanaka
    Ryuya Yamanaka Vs Moises Calleros
    Ryuya Yamanaka Vs Vic Saludar
    Samartlek Kokietgym
    Sammy Gutierrez
    Samuel Salva
    Samuel Salva Vs Pedro Taduran
    Sarawut Thawornkham
    Satanmuanglek CP Freshmart
    Sato V Srisaket
    Saul Alvarez
    Saul Juarez
    Scott Quigg
    Sergey Kovalev
    Sergey-kovalev-v-cedric-agnew
    Sergey Kovalev Vs Bernard Hopkins
    Sergey Kovalev Vs Blake Caparello
    Sergey Lipinets
    Sergey Lipinets Vs Akihiro Kondo
    Sergey Lipinets Vs Mikey Garcia
    Sergio-thompson
    Sergiy Derevyanchenko
    Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov
    Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov Vs Joseph Diaz
    Shingo Wake
    Shingo Wake Vs Jonathan Guzman
    Shin Ono
    Shinsuke Yamanaka
    Shinsuke Yamanaka V Alberto Guevara
    Shinsuke Yamanaka V Jose Nieves
    Shinsuke Yamanaka Vs Anselmo Moreno
    Shinsuke Yamanaka Vs Anselmo Moreno II
    Shinsuke Yamanaka Vs Carlos Carlson
    Shinsuke Yamanaka Vs Diego Ricardo Santillan
    Shinsuke Yamanaka Vs Liborio Solis
    Shinsuke Yamanaka Vs Luis Nery
    Shinsuke Yamanaka Vs Luis Nery II
    Shinsuke Yamanaka Vs Suriyan Sor Rungvisai
    Shinsuke-yamanaka-v-stephane-jamoye
    Shohei Omori
    Sho Ishida
    Sho Kimura
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