Weekly Asian Boxing Results (January 5th to January 11th)
This past week has been a quiet one for Asian boxing, with only a couple of shows that really caught my eye. Thankfully though things are set to pick up, and next week's results will certainly be a lot more interesting than this weeks.
Despite the lack of action there were some interesting events.
January 5th
Da Won Gang (4-0, 2) TKO1 Jin Su Kim (3-4, 1)
Unbeaten Korean teenager Da Won Gang booked himself a KBM title fight at 140lbs as he blitzed Jin Su Kim inside a round. Kim was down twice in the opening round with the bout being stopped after the second knockdown. Gang has been tipped by friends in Korea and on the back of this performance, and his triumph in last year's "Battle Royal" he may well be one of the real gems for Korean boxing going forward.
Sung Min Yuh (4-0) UD6 Se Yul Yang (3-5-2, 1)
Another "Battle Royal" winner who picked up a win last weekend was Sung Min Yuh, who looks like a sensational natural talent, but also a frustrating and lazy fighter. He easily out boxed the much smaller Se Yul Yang, who was hurt a number of times, but a lack of real intensity saw Yuh failing to secure the stoppage that he should have got. This win nets Yuh a show at the KBM 154lb title later in the year.
Do Ha Kim (7-1) UD6 Seung Hee Lee (4-7, 1)
Sung Min Yuh's opponent for the KBM 154lb title will be Do Ha Kim, who set up a rematch of the "Battle Royal" final when he beat the game Seung Hee Lee over 6 rounds. Lee came to win here, and gave a great account of himself but was just unable to make his effort and work rate count against the more naturally talented Kim
January 6th
Jun Zhao (13-2-1, 10) TKO2 Jay Francis Buray (11-2-1, 2)
Rising Chinese hopeful Jun Zhao impressed local fans whilst making the first defense of the WBA Asia Bantamweight title. The talented and heavy handed local dropped Filipino Jay Francis Buray twice in round 2 to secure the win and kick off the year with a win.
Yihao Wang (7-4, 3) TKO7 Keon Woo Kim (5-1, 3)
Chinese fighter Yihao Wang fought excellently off the back foot against the aggressive Keon Woo Kim, bursting up Kim's face and forcing the bout to be stopped. Kim won at the Korean Rookie of the Year last year and was named the KBM MVP for December, but was under-sized and under-skilled here. Few could questions Kim's desire and effort, but he never really looked like he was in this bout.
Erkhembayar Batbayar (7-0, 5) TKO4 Majid Shahriyaritahsein (0-0)
Unbeaten Mongolian Erkhembayar Batbayar continued his rise through the ranks with a TKO win over Iranian Majid Shahriyaritahsein. Despite being a debutant Shahriyaritahsein looked like he knew his way around the ring, he was however up against a little terrier and in round 4 the pressure from Batbayar became too much, forcing the referee to save Shahriyaritahsein.
January 10th
Jaron Ennis (25-0, 23) TKO4 Bakhtiyar Eyubov (14-2-1, 12)
In a total mismatch Kazakh fighter Bakhtiyar Eyubov was beaten by sensational American prospect Jaron "Boots" Ennis. Ennis dropped Eyubov twice in the opening round and then beat Eyubov at Eyubov's fight. This was exciting, despite being one sided and Ennis looks like a real star of the future. As for Eyubov this is likely to be the start of the end for him and I wouldn't be surprised to see him becoming little more than a gatekeeper going forward.