Weekly Asian Boxing Results (January 12th To January 18th)
(Photo by A.McGovern)
The past 7 days of fights involving Asian fighters has certainly been interesting with a host of notable names in action along with some real emerging talent. The week may not have had massive names in action, but it did have a very nice mix of former world title challengers, prospects and regional contenders. Here I’ll bring you all up to date with the most notable of those bouts from the last 7 days.
January 12th-
Tuguldur Byambatsogt (2-0) UD5 Vladimir Baez (26-6-2, 24)
Back on Sunday we had a number of bouts take place in Tokyo. The fighter who shined the most on the show was Mongolian novice Tuguldur Byambatsogt, who took a clear and dominant decision over Japanese based Dominican veteran Vladimir Baez. The Mongolian, a former amateur standout, controlled the range and tempo through the first 4 rounds, before putting his foot on the gas in round 5, dropping Baez to put the decision beyond any doubt. At 140lbs Byambatsogt is fighting in a division where international fans are interesting and fingers crossed he faces someone of note in the West later in then year. Whilst Byambatsogt might not be an easy name to spell, it is a name I expect we’ll hear a lot about over the coming decade.
Marvin Esquierdo (16-2-1, 10) TKO4 Ribo Takahata (16-9-1, 6)
Filipino slugger Marvin Esquierdo shined as he stopped Japanese veteran Ribo Takahata in the 4th round a scheduled 5 rounder. The explosive Filipino had dropped Takahata in round 2 but couldn't close the show there and then. Takahata battled back in round 3 but was stopped in eye catching fashion in the 4th as Esquierdo netted himself a hefty bonus as part of a Prize Match tournament, where bonuses were paid for fighters scoring knockouts.
Shohei Omori (21-3, 16) TKO5 Danny Tampipi (9-11-2, 5)
Former world title challenger Shohei Omori struggled to break down rugged Filipino journeyman Danny Tampipi, but eventually got to him in the 5th, and final, round. Omori will be looking for a bigger bout later this year, but there's a feeling that he's maybe not quite the fighter some in Japan had hoped he'd become. Tampipi was never really in the bout here, but the fact he lasted into the 5th round was impressive and against a similarly sized fighter he could likely make for some interesting match ups.
Youli Dong (16-2-1, 9) UD10 In Duck Seo (12-3-2, 7)
Chinese hopeful Youli Dong scored an opening round knockdown against Korean fighter In Duck Seo but couldn't drop the visitor after that, instead relying on his boxing skills to take a clear decision. Seo made this into an bout when he could, but he was often too slow and too clumsy to keep up with Dong, who looked like a very solid fighter. With this win Dong claimed the OPBF "silver" Welterweight title and will likely be in the mix for the full talent later in the year.
January 17th-
Shohjahon Ergashev (18-0, 16) KO1 Adrian Estrella (29-5, 24)
Unbeaten Uzbek puncher Shohjahon Ergashev only needed around 90 seconds to leave an impact on Shobox as he almost gutted Mexican veteran Adrian Estrella. Ergashev controlled the pace and distance behind his aggressive footwork before landing a brutal left hand to the mid section of Estrella who hit the canvas in agony. Whilst Estrella was a relatively late replacement, coming in for Keith Hunter, it's now imperative that Ergashev steps up and really tests himself against a better level of competition.
January 18th-
Kazuto Takesako (12-0-1, 11) UD12 Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa (12-5-1, 11)
Japanese Middleweight champion Kazuto Takesako added to his gold as he unified the Japanese title, which he will defend later in the year against Riku Kunimoto, with the OPBF title. The hard hitting Takesako took a wide points decision over the tough Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa, who showed his toughness but was very much second best through out the fight. Sadly for Hosokawa he'll be seeing a lot of blood in his urine after Takesako repeatedly smashed him with body shots, and this is one which he'll be feeling for a few weeks.
Takeshi Inoue (16-1-1, 10) RTD2 Cheng Su (14-3-1, 8)
Former world title challenger Takeshi Inoue made light work of Chinese foe Cheng Su. Inoue, who was defending the WBO Asia Pacific Light Middleweight for the first time since reclaiming the belt last year, dropped Su late in the opening round and again in the second round, with Su deciding to retire between rounds 2 and 3. On paper a good win, but the reality is that this was an expected win for Inoue. What was pretty notable was that Inoue showed more to his actual boxing than his typical intense inside fighting, and he's clearly working on revising his style following his 2019 loss to Jamie Munguia.
Takuma Takahashi (5-0, 5) TKO3 Leonardo Doronio (17-18-3, 11)
Unbeaten Japanese prospect Takuma Takahashi should consider himself a lucky boy given that he could easily have been disqualified against Filipino journeyman Leonardo Doronio. The unheralded Filipino dropped Takahashi twice in the first round, before being dropped twice, and stopped in round 3. The major talking points were the two knockdowns that Takahashi scored, when he followed up with combinations on the visitor, and was very fortunate that Biney Martin didn't give him anything worse than a talking to. Takahashi has always looked a bit crude, and this really showed how crude he is and how much of an early work in progress he is. What's surprising in many ways is that he's still so flawed after more than 100 amateur bouts!
Michael Mendoza (11-1-2, 4) TKO1 Stevanus Nana Bau (10-13-2-2)
Once beaten Filipino prospect Michael Mendoza made light work of Indonesian journeyman Stevanus Nana Bau, in what was really a stay busy bout for the young Pinoy fighter. This is Mendoza's 6th straight win since his 2018 loss to Arvin Magramo, but was very much a step down in class following a very good away win over Kento Yabusaki last time out.
Al Sabaupan (26-3-1, 21) TKO2 Ray Rahardjo (6-14-5, 2)
The once touted Al Sabaupan returned to the ring after more than 3 years out of the ring and scored an easy return win as he took out Ray Rahardjo. Sabaupan was once a 23 year old prospect with an 18-0-1 (13) record but with a trio of losses in step up bouts his career completely stalled. At 31 he's probably too old to make much of a mark in the sport, but it's nice to see his name back out there, and fingers crossed he can land a big bout or two before calling it a day on his career.
Danilo Creati (6-0, 1) Dec Hyun Min Yang (9-4, 8)
Unbeaten Australian based Italian born fighter Danilo Creati impressed in Korea as he easily out pointed Korean Hyun Min Yang. Creati proved too quick, too sharp and too smart for Yang, who continued pressured Creati but struggled to dictate anything. It's hard to know how good Creati is on the back of this performance, as he was stylistic Kryptonite to Yang, but he looked genuine solid.
Min Jang (10-0-2, 2) Dec Junhui Zhao (4-6-2, 1)
Unbeaten Korean Min Jang claimed a lightly regarded WBA regional title as he out boxed, out sped and out though Chinese foe Junhui Zhao with a very impressive performance. Jang didn't do anything amazing, but controlled the bout with ease and looks to be a teenager with a lot of promise. Certainly one to keep an eye on from Korea, and someone who has a very good boxing brain.
Woo Hyun Kim (9-1, 1) Dec Keisuke Nakayama (11-6-2, 5)
Korean youngster Woo Hyun Kim secured himself a minor regional title as he scored a career best win and took a decision over struggling Japanese fighter Keisuke Nakayama. Kim, who was fighting for the second time since the end of 2017, looked quick and sharp though out, and with home field advantage it seemed like he always had his nose in the lead. Nakayama, a former OPBF Flyweight champion, has now lost 3 in a row, and 4 of his last 5, and the end of the line looms for the Watanabe gym fighter.
Dong Myung Shin (3-0) Dec Han Bin Suh (5-1-3, 4)
At 31 years old the future is probably not that bright for Dong Myung Shin, but his team have fast tracked him with his third bout being for the KBM Super Bantamweight title. The former amateur standout out pointed previously unbeaten teenager Han Bin Suh in what was a very solid all round performance. Shin showed he could box and move early on before engaging in Suh's trademark high volume war. Although not a flawless performance by Shin he answered a lot of questions, proving his engine was there was a high tempo 10 round bout and that he can hit harder than his record shows. Suh, who should probably think about a move to Bantamweight, has nothing to be ashamed by for losing here and it will interesting to see where these two men go after this bout. I wouldn't be surprised by Shin making a move to the regional title scene later this year and Yuh moving down in weight.
Please note - At the time of writing the results listed "Dec" are done so as the scores for them are unclear, however all winners did win by some form of decision.