Boxing Challenge: Japanese Super Cards!

     The two night boxing extravaganza from Tokyo with seven world championships at stake had a little of everything over the two evenings.

A dominant knockout from the best boxer on the card, two champions losing their titles in upsets, vacant titles were filled, and competitive bouts showcased the best fighters in Japan, except for the very best- Naoya Inoue.

The biggest star retained his title on Monday as Junto Nakatani blasted Petch Sor Chitpattana out in six rounds to keep his WBC bantamweight title.

Nakatani was the one prohibitive favorite of the seven championship events and he followed up with an impressive performance in winning every round before the stoppage.

The lean Nakatani could move up to junior featherweight and a mega match against undisputed junior featherweight king Naoya Inoue and that may have been sped up a bit after the result of the Sunday main event where the Monster's brother Takuma Inoue was upset by Seiya Tsutsumi and lost his WBA bantamweight strap along with a possible unification match with Nakatani.

Tsutsumi's aggressive attack reminded me of WBA featherweight champion Nick Ball and while Inoue was competitive, he was unable to slow Tsutsumi down and lost a lucrative potential fight with Junto Nakatani.

Tsutsumi scored a knockdown in round eleven for the highlight before the reading of the cards, which read 117-110, 115-112, and a surprisingly close 114-113.

My score for Tsutsumi was 116-111 and I'll be very interested in the new champion's first title defense.

The junior bantamweight division had only one title match and it saw a new champion walking away with a title-winning surprise as Phumelele Cafu upset Kosei Tanaka via split decision.

The fight was filled with exchanges and excellent stages for both men with the difference coming in round five with Cafu landing a punishing counter-right that knocked down Tanaka.

The knockdown made the difference for Cafu who won on two cards (and mine) at 114-113 with Tanaka winning on the other card at 114-113.

Had there not been a knockdown, Tanaka would have retained his title by a Majority Decision Draw.

I would not be against these two hooking up in a rematch soon.

Three of the four flyweight world titles were on the line over the two days.

Former unified junior flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji won the vacant WBC title by battering former champion Cristofer Rosales into submission when the doctor stopped the fight before the start of round eleven.

Rosales was brave in taking his beating but Teraji's varied attack was more than Rosales could handle at this stage of his career.

Says here that I'd favor Teraji against anyone in the division, he's that good.

Seigo Yuri Akui retained his WBA version of the title by a split decision over Thananchai Charunphak.

Another tight battle that I could use close either way.

Scores for Akui at 117-111 and 115-113 with the dissenting score of 115-113 for Charunphak.

I scored 115-113 for Akui.

The WBO title held by Anthony Olascuaga remained with him after a first-round head clash opened a cut over Jonathan Gonzalez's eye, which resulted in a no-contest.

One junior flyweight title was filled when Shokichi Iwata won the vacant WBO belt by stopping Jairo Noriega in the third round.

Noriega won the first two rounds but Iwata knocked Noriega down twice in round three, the second knockdown dropping him face-first for the finish,

Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica: 147 Pts (4) 

TRS: 141 Pts (5)

Vince Samano: 86 Pts (6)

Boxing Challenge: Inoue survives knockdown

        "The Monster" was dented in the initial round by Luis Nery's left hook that knocked down Naoya Inoue in the first round for the first time in his career.

But Inoue responded with a left hook of his own in the second round that dropped Nery to the canvas and while Nery had his moments, Inoue dominated after the first round, added another knockdown in the fifth before finishing Nery in the sixth with a right hand that sprawled the challenger across the bottom rope to retain all four junior featherweight titles.

Nery, a former WBC bantamweight and junior featherweight champion, came with his best effort and landed his share of left hooks but Inoue was too fast and out of Nery's league, which says a lot as Nery received some consideration for top ten pound for pound a few years ago and entered the fight with only one loss since (a ninth-round knockout loss to Brandon Figueroa).

Naoya Inoue is just too good and is expected to face Australia's Sam Goodman in a fall fight that will count as one of Inoue's mandatory defenses.

In the co-feature, Yoshiki Takei completed the Japanese takeover of the bantamweight division with a unanimous decision win over Jason Moloney to take Moloney's WBO title.

All four of the titles in the 118-pound division now reside in the land of the Rising Sun with four different champions.

Takei lost a point in the second round for a low blow but controlled Moloney for most of the fight, although Moloney hurt Takei badly late in the final round, and had there been a round thirteen, Moloney may have been able to stop Takei but alas that round never occurred.

Takei won on the cards by scores of 116-111 times two and 117-110, my scorecard read 116-111.

WBA bantamweight champion Takuma Inoue retained his title by a unanimous decision over Sho Ishida but like his brother later in the evening, was knocked down in the first round.

Ishida did well early and seemed to be walking Inoue down but a busted nose that bled throughout the fight hampered the challenger.

The scorecards for Inoue were 118-109 times two and 116-111, while my card read 117-110.

In the cards opener, Seigo Yuri Akai retained his WBA flyweight title with a unanimous decision over Taku Kuwahara, who lost the second fight of his career, both to Akai.

Akai's winning scorecards were 118-110 and 117-111 times two with the latter score the same as my card.

There isn't a boxing challenge for this as I didn't have time to work on a preview or even post selections and I don't think it's fair for the competition to have me knowing my picks without putting them up on the site.

I wouldn't cheat but it removes any controversy.

Boxing Challenge: Nakatani, Inoue score KO's

    Two bantamweight titles were at stake Saturday in Tokyo and when the evening was over, one title was retained and the other had a new owner with the stage possibly set for a Japanese superfight in the division shortly.

Junto Nakatani made his first fight at 118 pounds a winning one as Nakatani won the WBC title with a sixth-round knockout of Alejandro Santiago.

Santiago had upset Nonito Donaire to win the then-vacant title last year and was regarded as one of the most vulnerable champions in the sport.

Nakatani won the race to fight Santiago first and dominated the champion, winning every round, despite a game effort.

Nakatani dropped Santiago twice in the sixth round to close the show with Santiago being saved by the referee after the second knockdown.

A Nakatani-Takuma Inoue unification fight for the WBA and WBC titles would be a massive event in Japan and I would make Nakatani a prohibitive favorite in such a bout.

Inoue retained his WBA title in the final fight of the card with a vicious body shot in the ninth round that crumbled former IBF junior bantamweight champion Jerwin Ancajas.

The shot from the previously light punching Inoue ended a fight that I scored even at the end of eight and was held mostly at close range with effective infighting from both men.

An Inoue-Nakatani unification match might depend on whether or not Inoue's camp wants to take the chance of losing to another fighter before cashing in on a lucrative Nakatani bout.

Inoue doesn't seem to be of the level of Nakatani, so the more prudent decision may be to try Nakatani now while the money is highest and maybe before Nakatani settles in at the weight.

In the other title fight on the slate, Kosei Tanaka outgunned the gritty Christina Bacasegua by a unanimous decision to win the WBO junior bantamweight title that Junto Nakatani vacated earlier this year.

Bacasegua won some early rounds but after suffering a slice from a clash of heads, the technical skills of Tanaka took over and controlled the second half of the fight, including a knockdown when Bacasegua's glove touched the mat in round eight.

Tanaka won 117-110 on my card, which was the same as one card with the others giving Tanaka edges of 116-111 and 119-108.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 25 Pts (4) 

Ramon Malpica: 24 Pts (5)

Vince Samano: 14 pts (2) 

Boxing Challenge: Stevenson Superb, Teraji retains titles

 I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter!

I will be covering the two cards from ESPN+ from Saturday here and the DAZN and Showtime cards tomorrow with two tremendous upsets involved on those two programs!

From Newark N.J., Shakur Stevenson staked his claim in the lightweight division with a dominant performance in a WBC eliminator against Shuichiro Yoshino.

Stevenson was never mildly pressed by Yoshino and knocked him down twice in the second and fourth rounds before battering him in the sixth to force the stoppage.

My scorecard had Stevenson up 50-43 at the time of the stoppage

Stevenson is transitioning into a more exciting fighter by moving less but still remaining elusive for opponents to find and while Yoshino may have been sent from central casting as the perfect foil, don't allow that to take away from Stevenson's effort- he looked terrific and should this version of Stevenson continue to evolve, he might not only be the best of the lightweight division, he may be the most exciting as well.

Top Rank placed arguably their two best prospects at the top of their supporting card with both scoring victories.

Heavyweight Jared Anderson didn't score a knockdown. Still, he did control a reluctant George Arias until hurting Arias late in the third round with the corner calling it a night for the previously undefeated Arias.

It may not have been a brilliant outing for Anderson but it showed that he's ready to jump a level in opponent quality as Arias wasn't a remotely substantial test.

Lightweight Keyshawn Davis stopped former title challenger Anthony Yigit in the ninth round of a lightweight tilt that was filled with headbutts and sloppy fouls from each man.

Davis and Yigit each committed their share of fouls with Davis literally landing a knee-lift reminiscent of Mr. Wrestling II to Yigit's face in the seventh round.

Davis crushed Yigit with seconds remaining in the eighth with a punishing body shot to send him to the floor that may have been better suited to end the fight but Yigit surprisingly rose and even more surprisingly came out for the ninth before Davis swarmed over the Swede to finish the fight.

I had Davis ahead comfortably at 79-73 at the end of the fight.

Earlier in the day from Tokyo, Kenshiro Teraji retained his WBA and WBC light flyweight titles with a ninth-round knockout of late replacement Anthony Olascuaga in an excellent action battle.

The quality of the fight was a surprise considering Olascuaga stepped in on a few weeks' notice for WBO champion Jonathan Gonzalez and was facing Teraji in only his sixth pro fight.

Teraji won six of the first seven rounds on my card but Olascuaga was constantly winging right hands and landing his share against the perpetually attacking Teraji often enough to make things entertaining.

And it became even more interesting with Olascuaga stunning Teraji in the eighth as out of nowhere it seemed as if a major upset was very possible.

However, Teraji may have decided that the fight may have been getting too close for comfort as he quickly leaped on Olascauga early in the ninth, sending him to the floor where referee Mark Nelson decided he had seen enough.

For Teraji, another action battle with a unification pairing against Jonathan Gonzalez coming up as soon as it can be re-scheduled, and for Olascuaga, gritty more than describe his outing under extraordinary circumstances.

I'm sure we will see Olascuaga again soon in the 105-pound division.

Takuma Inoue picked up the WBA bantamweight title that his brother Naoya vacated with a unanimous decision over Liborio Solis.

Takuma doesn't punch anywhere near as hard as Naoya but he controlled the second half of the fight with the aging Solis tiring badly down the stretch.

I scored Inoue a 117-111 winner, which agreed with the middle of the three scores of 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

Takuma has only four knockouts in his eighteen wins, so my guess is that Takuma's title defenses will be kept as easy as possible with those defenses held in Japan until an eventual mandatory against a top foe would be forced.

Japan's Reiya Abe dominated former junior featherweight and featherweight champion Kiko Martinez with an easy unanimous decision in a featherweight eliminator for the IBF.

Not much to say about this one as Martinez charged ineffectively as Abe scored easily with countershots or easily moved away from the Spanish veteran.

I gave Martinez the first two rounds and Abe the final ten for a score of 118-110.

The judges saw Abe as the winner at 119-109 times two and 117-111.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 58 Pts (10) 

Ramon Malpica: 53 Pts (12) 

Vince Samano: 43 Pts (10) 

Boxing Challenge: Inoue holds off Donaire!

It might have been held while East Coast fans were in the midst of their commute, but if you were able to watch Naoya Inoue's unanimous decision over Nonito Donaire, you won't be forgetting it anytime soon.

In a year with plenty of strong candidates for the fight of the year, my money is on Inoue-Donaire and it's going to take one hell of a fight in the waning weeks of 2019 to take that title away- Inoue-Donaire was that good.

Inoue's win unified the IBF title that he entered the fight holding, added the WBA title formerly held by Donaire, as well as the bonus cash for winning the World Boxing Super Series tournament.
Inoue was a heavy favorite to win the fight from his home country and most (me included) thought that Inoue could actually hurt the aging Donaire, who is on the downside of a career that will eventually land him in the hall of fame.

This fight had it all- action, both men fighting through facial adversity (Inoue dealt with a cut over his right eye, while Donaire dealt with both of his eyes swelling), constant shifts in momentum, and the storyline of the young lion at his peak and ready to take the final step into stardom against the aging gunslinger that had been counted out before the fight started, yet was prepared to fire one final shot.
Inoue looked like he was going to end the fight in the fifth when he was landing strong rights and had Donaire backing up, but Donaire had his moments too with the best rounds of the fight in the eighth and ninth, almost knocking Inoue down in the ninth.
The pendulum swung back towards Inoue again in the tenth, stunning Donaire and looking to finish the former champion off for the evening.
Inoue would try, but as he did so the stage was set for a round of the year contender.

Rather than be overwhelmed by the powerful Inoue or simply collect a paycheck for boxing cautiously, it was the once-great Donaire that made this fight what it was as it was Donaire that gave almost as good as he got and it was Donaire that fought on when he could have conceded after a valiant effort and called it a day.
When I watched Donaire finally knocked to a knee by an Inoue body shot in the eleventh round, you could almost read the story of the fight written- "a gritty Nonito Donaire finally was worn down by the younger, stronger, faster Naoya Inoue".
And honestly, the count by referee Ernie Sharif (Whom I remember from his boxing career) was very close to counting Donaire out, but then you could hear "My Way" in the background as Inoue charged in and was ready to close the curtain, it was the badly hurt Donaire firing back and for a brief second, Donaire stunned Inoue and thoughts of Corrales-Castillo began to float through my mind.
Inoue then turned the tide again and had Donaire in trouble late in the round.
Both fighters landed heavily in the final round in exchanges that were filled with action before the decision.

I scored Inoue a 115-112 winner (7-5 in rounds with the knockdown)  and I thought two of the three cards were a little wide (114-113 was fine, but 116-111 and 117-109 were off-base), but the winner was correct and that's the main thing.
After the fight, Inoue announced an agreement with Top Rank which will see him fight twice in the US next year and once at home in Japan.
Donaire would be best suited to consider retirement off such a terrific fight as I'm not sure that he can repeat the performance in a rematch and at 37 the time seems to be right to walk away

The natural next fight for Inoue would be a unification fight with Nordine Oubaali, who successfully defended his WBC belt with a unanimous decision over Takuma Inoue, the younger brother of Naoya, in the co-main event.
I scored Oubaali a 117-110 winner over Inoue, who showed heart against Oubaali, but nowhere near his older brother's punching power. although he did have Oubaali somewhat in trouble in the final round.
Oubaali knocked Inoue down in the fourth round for the fight's only knockdown.