Weekly Asian Boxing Results (December 8th to December 14th)

(Photo by A.McGovern)

After a couple of quieter weeks the last 7 days really saw action ramp up in terms of Asian fighters, and boy did we get some fights worthy of extra attention, with a legitimate fight of the year contender in Osaka, a brilliant Youth title fight in Tokyo, the emergence of a legit prospect, and the evolution of a top Uzbek contender. This was a week where so much happened under the radar that fans who only watch the US and UK shows missed out, big time.

December 8th
Yuki Beppu (21-1-1, 20) TKO10 Ryota Yada (19-6, 16)
Lets start with the must watch bout of the week, if not the month! Yuki Beppu and Ryota Yada will never be known as skilled fighters, but they are both heavy, heavy handed guys and that power was all on show here with 6 knockdowns being traded in a fight that wouldn't look out of place in some Hollywood movie. Beppu struck first, dropping Yada in round, and came close to closing the show. He was then dropped 5 times himself before leaving Yada a swollen mess. This was back and forth, brutal, a huge come from behind win and a real spectacular for fight fans, and a bout that really showed how much both men wanted the WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight title. We were also lucky enough to see the video of full fight being made available, so those wanting to watch can click here to see the bout in full.

Kenta Nakagawa (18-3-1, 12) UD10 Takayuki Okumoto (23-9-4, 11)
The Japanese Super Flyweight title has again changed hands, for the 5th time in less than 4 years, as Kenta Nakagawa became a 2-time champion. Nakagawa, who held the belt in late 2016 and early 2017 before losing to Ryuichi Funai, out boxed, out worked and out fought Okumoto, who was looking for his third defense. Despite Super Flyweight being a great division globally it's a strangely weak one on the Japanese domestic scene and the hope has to be for someone like Ryusei Kawaura, Kosuke Tomioka or Suzumi Takayama to take the division by the throat In the next year or two.

Thanongsak Simsri (13-0, 11) UD8 Christian Bacolod (12-1, 9)
Thai youngster Thanongsak Simsri scored his biggest win to date as he out pointed world ranked Filipino Christian Bacolod over 8 rounds. This was an ultra-competitive bout with the Thai just that bit stronger than his Filipino foe. Strangely the only to have seen this bout was through the live stream from former world champion Malcolm Tunacao. This is a great win for the Thai youngster and hopefully he will continue to develop his skills. Despite the loss Bacolod showed enough to remain as one to watch and he is clearly a talent himself.

Musashi Mori (11-0, 6) UD12 Takuya Mizuno (17-2-1, 14)
WBO Asia Pacific Featherweight champion Musashi Mori retained his title with a decision win over the hard hitting Takuya Mizuno. This wasn't a great one to watch, but was the next step forward for Mori, who is redeveloping his style under the guidance of Ismael Salas. The hope for Mori and his team is to move into the world title mix in 2020, though in reality he will need to do a lot more than he did her to even deserve to be in the ring with the top Featherweights by the end of the year. Mori's young and ambitious, but he really needs more time to mature and develop before getting the big world level bouts.

December 10th
Hironori Mishiro (9-0-1, 3) SD12 Yoshimitsu Kimura (12-2, 7)
The unbeaten Hironori Mishiro notched his 4th defence of the OPBF Super Featherweight title as he took a razor thin decision over Yoshimitsu Kimura. Mishiro scored a knockdown in the opening round and that essentially decided the bout, which had momentum shifts and real competitive action through out. I suspect Mishiro's limitations were shown a bit here, and I wouldn't be surprised it Kimura did more with his career than Mishiro.

Yudai Shigeoka (2-0, 1) UD6 Lito Dante (16-11-4, 8)
When we talk about prospects a name that deserves to be on everyone's list is Yudai Shigeoka. In just his second bout Shigeoka schooled OPBF Minimumweight champion Lito Dante over 6 rounds. Shigeoka only debuted about 6 weeks ago and step up against Dante this early was incredibly impressive. It's unclear whether Shigeoka will replace Dante in the world rankings, but it's only going to be a matter of time until he's there on merit and I wouldn't be shocked to see him winning his first title bout in the first half of 2020.

December 12th
Hiroaki Teshigawara (21-2-2, 14) TKO5 Shohei Kawashima (18-4-2, 4)
OPBF Super Bantamweight champion Hiroaki Teshigawara scored his third notable win of the year as he continued his title run. The heavy handed Teshigawara took out Shohei Kawashima in at the very end of round 5 to record his third title defense, and after the bout he stated his intention was to become a world champion in 2020. Given that Kawashima had recently given Juan Miguel Elorde a close fight it does seem logical for Teshigawara to get a shot sooner rather than later.

Ryo Sagawa (9-1, 4) UD10 Ryo Hino (13-2-2, 8)
Japanese Featherweight champion Ryo Sagawa scored his first defense as he defeated mandatory challenger Ryo Hino. The talented Sagawa won the belt earlier in the year, when he took a decision win over Reiya Abe, and has been on a great roll over the last couple of years, with notable wins against the likes of Junki Sasaki, Ryo Matsumoto and Al Toyogon. It's hard to know what's next for Hino, who hadn't been in particularly tough to earn this shot. Interestingly Sagawa's next bout will come against Hinata Maruta in early 2020.

Toshiya Ishii (3-0, 2) TKO4 Haruki Ishikawa (8-2, 6)
In a really exciting shoot out for the Japanese Youth Bantamweight title teenager Toshiya Ishii stopped Haruki Ishikawa. The bout was a real instant classic. Ishii scored a knockdown in the first round before being dropped at the start of round 2. After being dropped Ishii spent the rest of the second round trading bombs with Ishikawa, before getting back to boxing in round 3. The bout ended in dramatic fashion, with Ishii almost sending Ishikawa out of the ring with a huge right hand. This was great action and can be seen in full here, and is well worth a watch if you have 15 minutes or so during the coming week.

December 13th
Bektemir Melikuziev (4-0, 3) UD10 Vaughn Alexander (15-4, 9)
Heavy handed Uzbek Bektemir Melikuziev showed he could do more than force opponents spleens out of their spines as he out boxed the tough Vaughn Alexander over 10 rounds. The "Bek Bully" had looked a truly destructive monster since his June debut but here showed there was so much more to him as he used Vaughn Alexander like a speed ball. The talented Uzbek southpaw might have looked better had he blown out Alexander, if that was even possible, but in reality he proved so much more here than a blow out would have. This was a really impressive performance from a man who is on the fast track to the top.

December 14th
Tenkai Tsunami (27-12-1, 16) TKO8 Jessebelle Pagaduan (12-2-1, 5).
WBO female Light Flyweight champion Tenkai Tsunami gave fans in Kagoshima something to celebrate as she retained her title and stopped Filipino fighter Jessebelle Pagaduan. The Filipino was having her third crack at a world title but never seemed big enough or good enough to be a test for Tsunami and it showed with the champion wearing down the Filipino in the middle rounds. There was a point in round 6, when Pagaduan tried to run away, that it seemed the Filipino gave up, though to her credit she refused to just fold. 

Dave Penalosa (16-1, 12) TKO1 Virgil Puton (18-14-2, 9)
The once reliable Virgil Puton looked like damaged goods here and had no answer for the aggression of Penalosa, who bounced back well from July's loss to Lerato Dlamini in Saudi Arabia. Penalosa is a real talent, and it would be a shame if he continues to fight at this level of competition going forward.

Reymart Gaballo (23-0, 20) TKO3 Kongfah Nakornluang (32-3, 20) 
Talented Filipino Reymart Gaballo continued to impress as he beat up and stopped the game, but out classed, Thai foe Kongfah Nakornluang. The Thai, also known as Chaiwat Buatkrathok, has never been a world beater but showed his toughness here as took a shellacking from the explosive Gaballo. I do wonder why Gaballo, who is a genuinely fantastic talent, is being matched so softly a bout between him and Joshua Greer would certainly be a lot more interesting than facing anyone else on the fringes of regional level.

Dave Apolinario (13-0, 8) RTD5 Richard Rosales (14-11-2, 8)
Another top Filipino prospect is Dave Apolinario and he showed what he could do by stopping countryman Richard Rosales. Apolinario has looked like a star in the making an at only 20 there is no need to rush him, however I would like to see him take a clear step up in the new year as he deserves better tests than this.

Also a huge thanks to A.McGovern for allowing me to use his photograph in this article. Mr McGovern is a fantastic Japanese based photographer who will hopefully be providing more photographs for these articles in the coming months.