The Past Week In Action

Rigondeaux vs. Amagasa

December 27 

Mercedes, Argentina: Light Heavy: Walter G Sequeira (12-1) W PTS 10 Roberto D Moreno (9-6-1).

Sequeira retains the interim WBC Latino title with unanimous decision over Moreno. It was the aggressive Sequeira against the counter-puncher Moreno. The fight was evenly balanced over the first six rounds with Sequeira having success when he could pressurise Moreno and trap him on the ropes and Moreno showing good lateral movement and countering. From the seventh the superior strength and stamina of the local boxer told and finally Sequeira ran out a clear winner. Scores 97-93 twice and 99-91. Now 12 wins in a row for the 27-year-old champion who is rated No 2 cruiser by the FAB. Moreno, 29, the FAB No 6 super middle, had won his last three fights. 

December 28

Osaka, Japan: Light Middle: Yuki Nonaka (27-8-2) W PTS 10 Charlie Ota (24-3-1). Light: Rey Labao (27-6) W TKO 2 Masao Nakamura (18-3).

Nonaka vs. Ota

Southpaw Nonaka retains the Japanese title with close split decision over Ota. A big win for Nonaka that puts him on the verge of the IBF ratings. The fight was close enough to have gone either way but the local fighter got the verdict. Scores 97-93 and 96-95 to Nonaka and 96-95 to Ota. The 37-year-old Nonaka makes it eight wins in a row and he is in his second reign as JBC champion. Thirty-three-year-old Ota (Charles Bellamy from New York) suffers his second loss in a row after taking a beating from Jermell Charlo in May.

Labao vs. Nakamura

Labao destroys Nakamura inside two rounds. The hard-punching Filipino southpaw put Nakamura down twice in the first round and the fight was stopped early in the second. The 29-year-old “Malone”, the GAB champion, has 18 wins by KO/TKO and is rated OPBF No 4. Two losses in a row for 26-year-old Nakamura a former OPBF super feather champion currently rated JBC No 4 in that division.

Paranaque City, Philippines: Bantam: Silvester Lopez (23-9-2) W KO 7 Rex Wao (10-1). Feather: Dennis Tubieron (19-3-2) DREW 12 Carlo Magali (18-7-3). Light: Tosho Makoto Aoki (19-12-2) W KO 2 Rengga Rengga (7-2).

Lopez vs. Wao

Important win for Lopez as he collects the WBC International title again. Lopez floored prospect Wao with a right in the first round. Wao fought his usual aggressive fight but Lopez was countering well with his left jab and scoring with uppercuts to the body. Wao began to take control in the fifth as he slowed Lopez with his aggression only for Lopez to have a good sixth as they traded shots and he staggered Wao with straight rights. Lopez finished the job in the seventh shaking Wao with hard combinations before a left hook to the chin and a right to the body put Wao down and out. The 27-year-old Lopez was WBC International super fly champion and WBC Silver champion in 2011 and lost a points decision to Yota Sato for the WBC super fly title in 2012. His recent form had been poor standing at 2-5 in his last 7 fights but he is back in the picture now. ”Igorot Warrior” Wao, 24, must show he can bounce back from this.

Tubieron vs. Magali

The WBC International title remains vacant after these two fought a majority draw. Magali made the better start taking the fight to the favourite over the first five rounds. He was working inside scoring well with rights. From the sixth “Scorpion” Tubieron managed to keep Magali on the outside scoring with southpaw lefts against the wild attacks of Magali. The ninth saw Magali again able to work close as Tubieron seemed to tire and although Magali also took the tenth a punch from Tubieron opened a bad cut over Magali’s right eye. Both fought hard over the last two rounds with Tubieron perhaps just shading the action but the judges saw it as a majority draw. Scores 114-114 twice and 115-113 to Tubieron and it was probably a fair result. The 25-year-old Tubieron’s three losses have come in bouts on the road in South Africa, Japan and Australia. Magali, 28, fought above expectations. He was having his second shot at a WBC International title having lost to Vincent Palicte for the bantam title in 2009.

Aoki vs. Rengga

Aoki wins the vacant IBF Pan Pacific title with second round kayo of Indonesian Rengga. After four losses in a row in prelim fights in Japan the 35-year-old Aoki has now run up six inside the distance wins, his best spell in 12 years as a pro. He holds the WBC ABC title. Two quick inside the distance losses in a row for Rengga.

December 29

Budapest, Hungary: Heavy: Zoltan Csala (6-0) W KO 3 Zoltan Petranyi (51-20). Heavy: Zsolt Bogdan (8-0) W PTS 10 Danny Williams (46-25). Fly: Gabor Molnar (16-6) W PTS 10 David Kanalas (5-1).

Csala vs. Petranyi

The “younger fighter” Csala wins the vacant WBFed International and Hungarian titles with kayo of Petranyi. Csala started strongly and aggressively with a surprised Petranyi forced onto the back foot. The more experienced man got into the fight in the second and looked to be taking control. However in the third the bull-like rushes from the 37-year-old “Furioso” overpowered Petranyi. Both shaped to throw a right but Csala’s got there first. It crashed into Petranyi’s jaw and he fell face first on the canvas and was counted out. Now 5 wins in a row by KO/TKO for Csala who has only been a pro for 5 months. He is strong but slow and crude. The 48-year-old “Csepi” Petranyi had stopped being a travelling test body and had been promoting his own shows recently with a result that he had won his last 15 fights. The defending champion, a pro since 1996, first won the national title in 2003 and with it falling vacant occasionally had actually won the title 5 times and was a huge local favourite. He announced his retirement having fought in 13 different countries in his 18 year career.

Bogdan vs. Williams

Romanian-born Bogdan takes unanimous decision over Williams to win the vacant Global Boxing Federation title. Bogdan was looking to end it early as he caught Williams with a right to the head in the first and again with a right uppercut at the end of the round. Williams employed rope-dope-tactics in the second just laying on the ropes for the whole three minutes but he was doing more holding than hitting. It was more of the same in the third with Bogdan scoring with some meaty hooks to head and body and Williams briefly using his jab but mostly just covering up on the ropes. The fourth was almost a carbon copy of the third except that Williams did score with a series of left hooks but for the rest of the time was content to lie on the ropes and block, duck or hold. Both fighters looked tired in the fifth (in fact they both looked tired from the first so I should say more tired) but Williams did actually drive Bogdan across the ring only to then retreat back to the ropes himself. It was the same in the sixth only this time Williams launched a sustained body attack and momentarily looked capable of turning the fight around only to again retreat to the ropes where Bogdan just threw bludgeoning hooks and crosses and Williams just held. In the seventh a Williams left hook sent Bogdan staggering back across the ring and Williams followed him scoring with hooks to the body. However the Brit was not able to sustain the attack and again threw the round away by just lying on the ropes and letting Bogdan flail away. Bleeding from the mouth and nose and exhausted Williams spent the last three rounds as he had for most of the fight laying on the ropes whilst Bogdan threw ponderous punches with enough getting through to win each round. Williams looked to be badly hurt by a series of uppercuts in the ninth and lost his mouthpiece in the last but survived. Scores 99-91 twice and 100-90.The refereeing was weak. Both fighters received plenty of warnings but no action was taken. Both Bogdan and Williams could have been thrown out for holding and Williams could have been disqualified for constantly leading with his head. The 35-year-old Bogdan was taking part in his first ten round fight having turned pro in 2011. He is just too slow to be a threat to any top fighter. The 41-year-old Williams is less than a shadow of the fighter who beat Mike Tyson ten years ago with the former British and Commonwealth champion no longer the “Brixton Bomber” he has to fight at a funereal pace to go ten rounds. Occasionally he digs in some left hooks which were a feature of the younger man Williams, but it’s a fleeting glimpse. He is 2-15 in his last 17 fights.

Molnar vs. Kanalas

A rousing little flyweight fight saw Molnar regain the Hungarian title with split decision over Kanalas. It was a tight fight which could have gone either way. Neither is a big puncher so they were able to trade often and there were plenty of frantic exchanges with the rounds being difficult to score. The cards read 98-93 and 96-94 to Molnar and 95-94 to Kanalas. Molnar had won the title in March by beating David Kanalas who I believe is Roberts’s brother. The national title became vacant after Molnar was stopped in three rounds by Jamie Conlan for the WBO European title in June. First loss for Robert. The 23-year-old was a good level amateur winning a silver medal at the European Schools Championships, competing at the World Cadet Championships and the World Junior Championships.

December 30 

Tokyo, Japan: Super Fly: Naoya Inoue (8-0) W KO 2 Omar Narvaez (43-2-2). Light Fly: Pedro Guevara (24-1-1) W KO 7 Akira Yaegashi (20-5). Light: Jorge Linares (38-3) W KO 4 Javier Prieto (24-8-2). Middle: Ryota Murata (6-0) W PTS 10 Jessie Nicklow (24-5-3). Super Fly: Ryo Matsumoto (13-0 W TKO 12 Rusalee Samor (25-6-2). Super Fly: Takuma Inoue (4-0) W PTS 8 Nestor Narvaes (20-3-2)

Inoue vs. Narvaez

It looked as though this was going to be a very short fight as a straight right and a left from Inoue put Narvaez down inside the first minute. The champion was up quickly and ready box on after the eight count. Inoue was coming forward throwing bombs from both hands with Narvaez being driven back under a storm of leather. A short right to the head saw the Argentinian indicating he though the punch was illegal but he was then caught by another short right to the head and as Narvaez went down into a corner an Inoue left hook just missed him. Then in an extraordinary sequence Inoue moved into the corner where Narvaez was on the canvas and looked out into the crowd raising his arms to salute his “Victory”. Narvaez climbed to his feet and walked across the ring to the opposite corner where the referee completed the eight count. The referee should never have allowed Inoue to stand in that corner. He should have ordered Inoue to another corner before picking up the count. The round was still not yet half over and it seemed that Inoue must finish it. However despite soaking up some hard shots to head and body Narvaez put his head down and tried to plow forward in his usual fashion and made it to the bell. Inouye was tigerish in the second chasing Narvaez down and landing heavily with straight right leads. Narvaez had to get inside but when he came forward a short left hook to the chin put him down for a third time. Again he was up quickly and tried to fight back but was hurt by crunching left hooks to the body and when Inoue landed that punch again Narvaez went down on his knees in agony and never looked like beating the count.  “Monster” Inoue wins his second world title in only his eighth fight. The 21-year-old Japanese fighter has 7 wins by KO/TKO and he looked awesome. Almost every punch he landed seemed to shake Narvaez who claimed he had never been floored or stopped before. Inoue, a former WBC light fly champion jumped up two divisions when a challenge to WBA secondary flyweight champion  Juan Carlos Reveco fell through which made his achievement all the more impressive. Inoue vs. Roma Gonzalez? What a fight that would be. The 39-year-old Narvaez a former WBO light fly and fly champion was in his 29^th world title fight. In the past his brawling all-action style had proved too much for all of his challengers but the power of Inoue’s punching was beyond anything Narvaez had encountered before.

Guevara vs. Yaegashi

Guevara wins the vacant WBC light fly title with knockout of Yaegashi. The young Mexican took the first round. Having a slight edge in both height and reach he was fighting behind a high guard and using a stiff jab and was just a bit quicker than Yaegashi who fought in a semi-crouch using mainly hooks. Yaegashi was pressing the fight more in the second but Guevara was scoring with stiff jabs and quick flurries to frustrate the efforts of Yaegashi. A clash of heads near the end of the round saw Guevara cut at the side of his right eye. The doctor examined it but it was not serious and Yaegashi had a swelling over his left eye. The third was close with Yaegashi trying to walk down Guevara and the young Mexican firing his jab and rocking Yaegashi with a peach of a left hook. Yaegashi was continuing to fight with his hands at waist level but his reflexes were not quick enough for that style and Guevara was picking up the points by scoring and getting away before Yaegashi could land his hooks. A clash of heads at the end of the round had Guevara pawing at his cut but in the most significant action he rocked Yaegashi with a series of hard head punches that had Yaegashi lurching forward and holding. At the end of the fourth Guevara was in front 39-37 on two cards with the third reading 38-38. You could see Guevara’s confidence growing in the fifth as he doubled and tripled his jabs and scored with slashing hooks and straight rights with Yaegashi slowing and looking wild with his attacks. Guevara started the sixth with a series of head shots all of which got through and although Yaegashi continued to plow forward throwing hooks he was being speared with jabs and had no defence against the rights to the head. In the seventh Guevara was handing out a solid beating. There was no snap in Yaegashi’s punches and the young Mexican was slamming home hard left hooks to the body and rights to the head. The end came suddenly when Guevara dug in a left hook below the ribs of Yaegashi who collapsed slowly to his knees in agony and stayed there for the full count. Guevara wins a version of the light fly title in his second shot. Back in August 2012 in his hometown of Mazatlan he was floored in the first round and lost a split decision to John Riel Casimero for the IBF title. He had rebounded with 5 wins and collected the WBC Silver title on the way. He has 16 wins by KO/TKO. Yaegashi, 31, a former WBA strawweight and WBC flyweight champion was coming off a ninth round stoppage loss to Roman Gonzalez in September and should never have been allowed to fight for the vacant light flyweight title as he not fought in the division. This fight was too soon after the beating he received from Gonzalez and it showed.

Linares vs. Prieto

The “Golden Boy” finally becomes a two division champion with kayo of modest Mexican Prieto for the vacant WBC title. Linares had the skills to win this one and the power. He boxed cautiously over the early rounds out of respect for Prieto’s 18 wins by KO/TKO. However the Mexican was crude and left plenty of openings for Linares to exploit and in the fourth a hard right to the side of Prieto’s head put the Mexican down and out. The 29-year-old Venezuelan was considered a massive talent when he turned pro. He won his first 27 fights and collected the WBA super feather title. The bubble was burst in 2009 when unsung Mexican Juan Carlos Salgado floored Linares twice and stopped him in just 73 seconds. Linares moved up to lightweight but back-to-back losses inside the distance to Antonio De Marco for the WBC title and Sergio Thompson dented his standing further. He returned with 6 wins against reasonable level opposition before crushing Prieto. He has 25 wins by KO/TKO. The 27-year-old Mexican was at most a modest level light welter until November 2013 when he floored and outpointed Vicente Mosquera for the vacant WBC light Silver title. However over the past year his only fights have seen him draw twice with Ivan Cano but somehow rise from No 6 to No 2 behind Linares. This is his fourth loss by KO/TKO.

Murata vs. Nicklow

Murata gets wide unanimous decision over Nicklow but does not shine. The Olympian was always the better man having the superior power and accuracy and Nicklow was never a threat, but neither was he in deep trouble. Murata was hampered by cuts caused by head clashes but was not his usual high pressure all-out aggressive self. Scores 100-90 twice and 100-91. The 28-year-old Japanese fighter took gold at the London Olympics and has yet to be really tested with WBC No 9 rating not really justified yet. Nicklow , 27, stood up to the punishment well but was having his first fight for 9 months coming off a tenth round stoppage loss to Scott Sigmon in March.

Matsumoto vs. Samor

Prospect Matsumoto again shows his skill and power. The 20-year-old had too much of everything for the game Thai. He slowly broke Samor down with hard punches from both hands until the fight was halted in the last round. The 20-year-old from Yokohama wins the vacant OPBF title and goes to 11 wins by KO/TKO. He already holds a two round kayo win over former WBA flyweight champion Denkasosan so looks one to watch. Samor had won his last 5 fights and was rated No 5 by the OPBF.

Inoue vs. Narvaez

Inoue made it a family double over the Narvaez (s) clan. Another burgeoning talent the younger Inoue out boxed the strong but crude Argentinian. His superior speed made the experienced Argentinian look ponderous and he and took the unanimous verdict on scores of 80-72 twice and 80-73. Still only 19 the younger brother of Naoya has plenty of talent. He already has a win over Thai Fahlan (23-2) who had kayoed Ryo Miyazaki. With only three fights behind him going into this one he was already rated WBA 5/WBC 10. Narvaes, the 33-year-old younger brother of Omar, only lost on a majority verdict when he challenged Toshiyuki Igarashi for the WBC fly title in 2012.

Prague, Czech Republic: Cruiser: Lubos Suda (33-9-1) W TKO 6 Lukas Skirca (1-2). Cruiser: Roman Kracik (36-11-1) W PTS 6 Jindrich Velecky (19-31).

Suda vs. Skirca

Veteran Suda makes heavy work of beating inexperienced Czech Skirca. The 38-year-old Suda found late substitute Skirca a handful for the first two rounds as Skirca came out punching and had Suda hurt a couple of times. Suda bounced back over the next two rounds with Skirca badly cut over his left eye. It was all even after four but in the fifth body punches from Suda slowed Skirca and Suda scored two knockdowns in the sixth to force the finish. First fight in almost 8 months for former undefeated EU champion Suda who was world rated way back after winning 19 of his first 20 fights. He blamed his poor performance on an arm injury suffered two weeks before the fight. Skirca, 31, had been stopped in 105 seconds by Brit Kash Ali in November.

Kracik vs. Velecky

No real highlights in this one as Kracik boxes his way to a clear points win. The 43-year-old Kracik announced his retirement after twelve years as a pro. He lost only one of his first 31 fights, to Suda, and is a former Czech champion. Velecky, another Czech, and 40-years of age, has lost his last 13 fights, but usually goes the distance.

December 31

Tokyo, Japan: Super Feather: Takashi Uchiyama (22-0-1) W TKO 9 Israel H E Perez (27-3-1). Light Fly: Ryoichi Taguchi (21-2-1) W PTS 12 Albert Rossel (32-9,1ND). Super Fly: Kohei Kono (30-8-1) DREW 12 Norberto Jimenez (20-8-4).

Uchiyama vs. Perez

Uchiyama retains WBA title with stoppage of game Argentinian challenger. Uchiyama started out pushing and probing with his jab keeping Perez on the back foot. The challenger was mainly hiding behind a high guard and then firing left hooks and right crosses. Perez came out in a more aggressive mood in the second throwing overhand rights and landing five left hooks in one burst. Some of Perez’s shots were straying low and he was given two warnings during the round. Uchiyama kept banging out the jab and forced Perez back with hard hooks and they traded shots at the close with the round about even. The third again saw Perez swinging hooks and overhand rights and getting a third warning for a low punch. Uchiyama soon had his jab stabbing continually in the face of Perez and the Argentinian was swinging wildly when a perfectly timed left hook to the body sent Perez staggering back. For the rest of the round despite a warning for him to keep his punches up Uchiyama was slamming jabs through the defence of a retreating Perez. The fourth was one-sided as Uchiyama slotted jab after jab through the gloves of Perez and occasionally mixing it with left hooks to the body and rights to the head. Perez had success with a right early in the fifth and scored with a good uppercut late in the round but again Uchiyama was practically winning the fight with just the jab but ominously started to bring the right cross into play at the end of the round. Perez unleashed a burst of 10 hooks and uppercuts to have Uchiyama under fire in the sixth only to get yet another warning for a low punch and by the end of the round Uchiyama was walking the Argentinian down and slamming home accurate right crosses and left hooks. The pace dropped in the seventh with Uchiyama still controlling the action with his jab and Perez winging away with left hooks and right swings when he saw an opening. They traded shots through the early part of the eighth with both scoring with heavy punches. A right to the body from Perez landed as Uchiyama was going backwards and the champion tumbled to the floor. However the left foot of Perez was on the top of Uchiyama’s left foot and that caused the fall and it was not counted as a knockdown Uchiyama made Perez pay for the rest of the round with brutal straight rights taking over from jabs as his instrument of torture. There was still some fire left in Perez at the start of the ninth but that disappeared half way through the round as two straight rights crashed into his chin and sent him stumbling back. Another right to the head saw the Argentinian’s legs wobble briefly and Uchiyama came forward relentlessly scoring with hard rights to the head with Perez trying bravely to fight back but his resistance was ebbing and he was absorbing a beating. It was a sensible decision by the Argentinian’s corner to retire him. The 35-year-old Japanese fighter was making the ninth defence of his WBA title and gets his 18^th win by KO/TKO. He was economical never wasting a punch and the power of his jab was something Perez could not get past. When it came to finishing the fight he drilled home shots to head and body with power and precision and this was a championship performance. Perez, also 35, showed real aggression and determination and occasionally had Uchiyama hurt with body shots and overhand rights. He lacked the accuracy and power of the champion but kept trying gamely to the end. This is his first loss inside the distance and he was on an unbeaten streak going back 19 fights.

Taguchi vs. Rossel

Taguchi wins the WBA title with stoppage of veteran Rossel. The Japanese challenger had big edges in height and reach (Taguchi H 5’6” 168cm, R 67 ½” 171cm.  Rossel H 5’1” 155cm/R 62” 157cm) and better skills with the much smaller champion mainly fighting on the back foot and relying on drawing Taguchi’s lead and jumping inside with short hooks. Taguchi could have stayed outside and won this one with his jab but insisted on taking the fight to Rossel and the Peruvian found what chances he could to counter. Taguchi staggered Rossel with a right cross in the sixth and blazed away with Rossel signaling for him to bring it on and by the end of the round Taguchi was himself caught by a couple of swings from Rossel. Taguchi seemed to be tiring in the seventh with his work not as tidy as it had been but he looked to be finishing the round strongly only for a right from Rossel to crash into his jaw and send the challenger reeling back across the ring as the bell sounded. Rossel planted himself in mid ring in the eighth looking for another chance to land that right and they exchanged on even terms until a clash of heads sent Rossel backwards pawing at his forehead. There was no cut so they continued the fight and a slashing left hook to the body put Rossel down with about 30 seconds left in the round. He was up at six and saw out the remaining seconds. Taguchi was pressing hard in the ninth and had Rossel down again with a body punch although Rossel indicated he slipped, which looked possibly. Both fighters tired over the championship rounds with Taguchi again assuming the role of aggressor and Rossel almost looking as thought he would settle for survival. Scores 117-109, 116-111 and 116-110 although the last two looked generous to Rossel. The lanky Taguchi, 28, looks too tall to stay ay light fly but now he is champion. He is a former JBC light fly champion, losing his title to Naoya Inoue in August last year and then scoring two eight round points wins before securing this title. Peruvian Rossel, 39, was a former interim champion who was upgraded to full champion when Kazuto Ioka relinquished the crown. He campaigned in the USA from 2001 to 2003 and had only fought outside Peru three times since then losing to Luis A Lazarte in Argentina, Vusi Malinga in South Africa and Hugo Cazares in Mexico in 2012 in a challenge for the WBA super fly title.

Kono vs. Jimenez

Kono retains his WBA title with split draw. Kono had trouble getting inside the reach of Jimenez over the early rounds and by the end of the second was showing a cut beside his right eye. Kono was busier but Jimenez was countering with solid uppercuts and hooks and stifling Kono’s attempts to work inside. In the fourth a low shot from Jimenez saw Kono complaining bitterly. The referee halted the fight and gave Jimenez a lecture but Kono was still complaining and seemed reluctant to continue for a while but then did enough to pull a round back. The fifth was all Jimenez as Kono rumbled forward Jimenez caught him with hooks and uppercuts and when Kono attempted to respond Jimenez dropped both hands, pointed to his body and invited Kono to try to hit him. For every punch Kono landed in the round Jimenez landed 3 or 4. Kono’s aggression got more reward in the sixth as his relentless pursuit saw him scoring more shots. Half way through the round Jimenez landed a very low left hook. Kono went down. He again looked as though he wanted out but the referee deducted a point from Jimenez and then made it clear he was not going to disqualify the challenger and eventually Kono was ready to continue. Kono took the round and with the deduction had leveled the fight. Over the remaining rounds it was the relentless pressure and more numerous punches of Kono against the vicious uppercuts and hooks from Jimenez. Kono was scoring well with rights and at times Jimenez was busier with arrogant posturing than fighting and he threw away a fight he could have won. Scores 116-111 for Kono 115-112 for Jimenez and 114-114 so that sixth round point deduction was critical. The 34-year-old Kono retains his title for the first time in his second reign. Dominican Jimenez, 23, proved an awkward, dangerous and arrogant challenger and will be a tough handful for any at this weight, but I can’t see Kono offering him a return match.

Osaka, Japan: Super Bantam: Guillermo Rigondeaux (15-0) W TKO 11 Hishashi Amagasa (28-5-2). Straw: Katsunari Takayama (28-7,1ND) W TKO 7 Go Odaira (11-4-3). Fly: Kazuto Ioka (15-1) W KO 5 Jean Piero Perez (20-8-1). Super Fly: Sho Ishida (17-0) W RSF 5 Masato Morisaki (9-4-1). Fly: Ryo Miyazaka (22-1-3) W TKO 3 Kajonsak (0-1).

Rigondeaux vs. Amagasa

Rigondeaux climbs off the floor twice to retain the WBA and WBO titles as he overcomes the physical challenges of facing a fighter with huge advantages in height and reach over him (Rigondeaux H5’4” 162cm, R 68” 173cm. Amagasa H5’10 ½”  179cm, R 71 ½” 181cm). Both fighters made a cautious start probing with their lead hands and throwing occasional punches. In the second Rigondeaux was finding the target with his straight southpaw lefts and Amagasa was not letting his punches go. In the third and fourth rounds the challenger was wasting his jab as he continually tried to get inside instead of using his big reach advantage. Rigondeaux was able to duck under Amagasa’s punches and use his superior hand speed to score with both jabs and straight lefts giving a lesson on skilful boxing and the Japanese fighter’s face was marking up badly. Rigondeaux was ahead 40-36 on two cards and 39-37 on the third. A straight left counter in the fifth had Amagasa badly shaken. Rigondeaux forced him to the ropes and landed a serried of punches to head and body. When the series ended Amagasa beckoned Rigondeaux in to try again but for some reason the champion backed off. He spent the rest of the round on the retreat but piercing Amagasa’s defence again and again with punches from both hands. In the sixth Amagasa was walking Rigondeaux down for the full three minutes but was unable to land a single hard punch. On one occasion he threw a series of 9 or 10 punches with Rigondeaux bobbing, ducking and weaving so that not one landed. For those same three minutes Rigondeaux threaded counters through Amagasa’s defence and shook him with a left at the bell. The pattern was the same until late in the seventh. A right from Amagasa landed just as Rigondeaux was stepping back and it sent the champion down. A very premature reflex from Amagasa saw him rush to his own corner trying to climb onto the middle ropes to celebrate his victory. A stupid move. Rigondeaux was up immediately and the referee ordered Amagasa to a neutral corner and the fight resumed after the eight count. Amagasa was throwing wild punches with Rigondeaux holding on and the Japanese fighter half punched/half wrestled Rigondeaux down. Rigondeaux was up immediately protesting that he had been thrown to the canvas but the referee continued the eight count with the bell ringing immediately the count was completed. Neither knockdown was convincing and Rigondeaux spent the eighth slamming home straight lefts time and again and even stood and traded to show who was the boss. The knockdowns had helped Amagasa to be level at 75-75 on one card but still behind 77-73 on the other two. Rigondeaux dominated the ninth with Amagasa reluctant to let his punches go knowing that every time he did he was leaving himself open to countering lefts from Rigondeaux. The tenth was painful. Rigondeaux was now the hunter and landed again and again with his left. A left hook to the body put Amagasa down and although he was up quickly he was a sorry sight with a big lump on his left cheek and a swelling by his right eye. It was obvious from the pain he suffered when his corner put his mouthpiece back in that he had a possible fractured jaw or orbital bone on the left side of his face and as his was already a lost cause he should not have been sent out for the eleventh round. If not his corner then the doctor should have stopped it but there was not even a medical examination. Rigondeaux seemed almost reluctant to add to the damage on Amagasa’s face and although the challenger staggered each time he was hit in the face Rigondeaux did not press hard and thankfully the fight was stopped after the bell to end the round. The 34-year-old “Jackal” was making the third defence of his WBA and WBO titles. The knockdowns were not significant, both owing more to a temporary off-balance rather than any fading of Rigondeaux. He remains a superb boxer and seems to genuinely trying to be more fan friendly in his style. Amagasa, 29, a former OPBF and undefeated JBC feather champion suffers his first loss by KO/TKO. After starting his career with a modest 7-3-2 record in his first 12 fights he had then lost only one of his next 22 and had won 14 fights in a row going in.

Takayama vs. Odaira

Takayama makes his own little bit of history as he becomes the first Japanese fighter to win all four versions of a title (almost! His WBA version was the interim and not the full title so 3 ½ not four). He won the vacant IBF and WBO versions with a late stoppage of Go Odaira. He had a big edge in experience over Odaira with the Japanese champion having only had three fights schedule for more than eight rounds and was in his first twelve round fight whereas the last 10 fights of Takayama had all been scheduled for twelve rounds. Odaira defied that imbalance and fought hard being all square on two cards at the end of the sixth and up 58-56 on the third. However he had put in a big effort to get there and it told as Takayama overpowered the exhausted Odaira and forced the stoppage late in the seventh. The 31-year-old Takayama had held the WBC title briefly in 2005 and the interim WBA title in 2006/7 before winning and holding the IBF title from March 2013 until losing it to WBO champion Francisco Rodriguez in August last year. Rodriguez vacated both titles. After being 3-3-1 in his first 7 fights Odaira, 30, had won 8 and drawn 2 of his last 10 fights

Ioka vs. Perez

Ioka makes it two wins in a row since losing his IBF flyweight title to Amnat Ruenroeng in May. Venezuelan Perez was competitive over the first four rounds with Ioka having the edge on two cards at 39-38 and 39-37 on the third. It became academic in the fifth when a crunching straight right from Ioka put Perez down and out. The 25-year-old former WBA/WBC strawweight and WBA light flyweight champion lost his chance to be a three division champion when beaten by Ruenroeng. He is rated WBA 3/WBC 8/IBF 9(7) and the Japanese promoters/TV are powerful enough to get him another chance to get that third title. Perez, 33, a former interim WBA flyweight champion, moves to 3 losses in a row by KO/TKO.

Ishida vs. Morisaki

Ishida retains the JBC title with stoppage of overmatched prelim fighter Morisaki. The 23-year-old champion was making the first defence of his title and he now has 10 wins by KO/TKO. Having been in only two fights scheduled for ten rounds he is flattered by his WBA 4 rating. Morisaki, 32, had won 5 of his last 6 fights but they were against very low level opposition and he was rated No 14 by the JBC.

Miyazaki vs. Kajonsak

A disgraceful mismatch saw former WBA strawweight champion Miyazaki stop Thai novice Kajonsak in three rounds. The least said about this rubbish the better. 

Abbreviations

ABC=Asian Boxing Council an affiliate of the WBC

ABF=Asian Boxing Federation. I assume this is an affiliate of the IBF

ABU=African Boxing Union an affiliate of the WBC

ACC=WBC Asian Council Continental title

ANBF=Australian National Boxing Federation who administer Australian titles

BBB of C=British Boxing Board of Control

BBB of C Southern/Central/Midlands/Scottish Area etc. British Area titles

BDB= Bund Deutscher Berufsboxer one of the German boxing bodies

B & H=Bosnia & Herzegovina

BSA=Boxing South Africa responsible for administering boxing in South Africa

CBC=Commonwealth Boxing Council a sanctioning body for titles competed for by citizens of Commonwealth countries

CISBB-WBC title covering the rump of the USSR and the Slovenian Boxing Board

DRC=Democratic Republic of the Congo

EBU=European Boxing Union

FAB=Argentinian Boxing Federation

FFB=French Boxing Federation

GAB=Philippines Games & Amusement Board responsible for administering boxing in the Philippines

GBC= Global Boxing Council a sanctioning body

IBA=International Boxing Association a sanctioning body

IBF=International Boxing Federation a sanctioning body

IBO=International Boxing Organisation a sanctioning body

JBC =Japanese Boxing Commission

NABA=North American Boxing Association, a WBA affiliate

NABF=North American Boxing Federation a WBC affiliate

NABO= North American Boxing Organisation, a WBO affiliate

NCC=National Championships of Canada

NGG=US National Golden Gloves

NZPBF=New Zealand Professional Boxing Federation a national sanctioning body

OPBF=Orient & Pacific Boxing Federation

PABA=Pacific & Asian Boxing Association, a WBA affiliate

PBF=Philippines Boxing Federation, a sanctioning body in the Philippines

UBF=Universal Boxing Federation a sanctioning body

UBO=Universal Boxing Organisation a sanctioning body

USBA= United States Boxing Association, an IBF affiliate

USBO=United States Boxing Organisation an WBO affiliate

WBA=World Boxing Association a sanctioning body

WBC=World Boxing Council a sanctioning body

WBFed=World Boxing Federation, a sanctioning body

WBFound=World Boxing Foundation, a sanctioning body

WBU=World Boxing Union, a sanctioning body

IBF WBA Rating=Both bodies leave vacancies in their ratings so when showing a IBF or WBA rating for a fighter where there is a vacant position ahead of them in the rankings which affects his rating I will put his numerical rating i.e. No 6 and in brackets and his rating based on the number of fighters ahead of him so IBF 6 (5) shows his numerical position is 6 but there are in fact only 5 fighters listed ahead of him due to one or more of the higher rating positions being vacant.