This past week has been a bit of a crazy one with numerous bouts being announced, almost on a daily basis. In fact the rest of the news was really limited, but there was that many bouts, and orders that there was always something happening.
To begin with I’ll quickly run through the orders from the various world title bodies.
The WBA have ordered negotiations to begin for a mandatory Minimumweight title bout between unbeaten Thai champion Knockout CP Freshmart (15-0, 7) and heavy handed Filipino slugger Rey Loreto (23-13, 15). It’s likely this bout will end up in Thailand and could be a real corker, with Loreto being one of the most under-rated fighters on the planet.
The WBA have also stated that Shun Kubo (12-0, 9) will make his first defense of the WBA Super Bantamweight title against American Daniel Roman (22-2-1, 8). This bout is expected to take in August with Shinsei suggesting they’d be trying to get the bout in Japan. Notably this bout has been linked to a Japanese double header along side a WBO Minimumweight title defense by Tatsuya Fukuhara (19-4-6, 7) defending his title against mandatory challenger Ryuya Yamanaka (14-2, 4). Notably Yamanaka and Kubo are stablemates and Shinsei will be desperate to get this double header sorted.
The IBF have ordered their Super Flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas (26-1-1, 17) to begin negotiations with former title challenger Teiru Kinoshita (25-1-1, 8). This bout is a really intriguing one on paper, though the reality is that the champion should be strongly favoured. Kinoshita has fought for the title once before, losing to Zolani Tete, and has done little since to deserve a mandatory title shot, though it appears to what’s coming for the Senrima Kobe promoted fighter.
As well as all those bouts being ordered there has also been several bouts actually announced this one.
The most significant of those will see WBC Minimumweight champion Wanheng Menayothin (46-0, 17) defending his title on June 3rd against Omari Kimweri (16-3, 6). The bout will see Wanheng, potentially, move to 47-0 , and record his 7th defense, unless Kimweri can score one of the biggest upsets of the year.
The following day we’ll see former world title challenger Hiroshige Osawa (30-4-4, 19) return to the ring for the first time since his loss to Oscar Valdez. The Japanese fighter is set to be in tough again as he takes on unbeaten world ranked Ecuadorian puncher Julio Cortez (13-0, 11) in what looks like a real tough out for Osawa given the beating he was given by Valdez. Despite this looking tough it’s hard to know how good Cortez really is, though the footage suggests he’s not bad at all.
Another world title bout announced was a contest for the WBO female Minimumweight title, with that bout pitting veteran Kayoko Ebata (10-7, 6) against unbeaten novice Erika Hanawa (7-0, 2). The bout will take place on May 19th and be the first world title bout for Hanawa, whilst Ebata will be looking to secure a world title in her 6th attempt! The card will also feature the Korakuen Hall debut of the popular Fuka Komura (3-0, 2), who will battle against Mikiko Muto (2-4).
Staying on the subject of female boxing it was announced that Koki Kameda was the new trainer for boxer-model Tomomi Takano (9-2, 6), who will be back in the ring on May 26th to take on Kai Johnson (5-10-3, 2), who was the first fighter to actually beat Takano.
With all the bouts that are on it’s worth noting that one bout was cancelled this week, as Kazakh Cruiserweight Beibut Shumenov (17-2, 11) was forced out of his WBA/WBA Interim Cruiserweight title unification bout with hard hitting Cuban Yunier Dorticos (21-0, 20). The bout was scheduled for April 29th but will now be getting rescheduled for later in the year.
In other news, a number of Thais of Thais were banned by the JBC this past week for lack of skills. They included Aekkachai Saengthapthim (0-1), Ekajakaphan MorKrungthepThonburi (0-3), Phetnara Phetphumgym (0-1), Nattawut Siritoem (0-3) and Anucha Pleengam (0-3), who were all stopped inside a round. The story wasn’t out of the ordinary, with the JBC often banning fighters who lack skills, but for some reason the Thai media ran with this and in the space of a few days the video of Aekkachai’s loss to Haruaki Kamiya had around 230,000 hits! Impressive numbers for such an obscure bout!
(Scott Graveson covers the Asian boxing scene for www.asianboxing.info)
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