It's fair to say that nobody really likes the concept of an “Interim” title, they are for all intents an impostor champion whilst the real champion is unable to fight for one reason or another and in reality the bouts for interim titles are just glor...
In the last 12 months the Super Bantamweight division has been one of the focal points of Japanese boxing. Over here we have seen three world title bouts, with Shingo Wake fighting Jonathan Guzman, Hozumi Hasegawa fighting Hugo Ruiz and Yukinori Ogun...
Being a Japanese boxing fan means that I rarely get domestic Middleweight bouts to be excited about. Today however I was excited as the explosive Tomohiro Ebisu (17-4, 17) faced off with Makoto Fuchigami (23-12, 13) in a bout for the Japanese “interi...
To kick off the month of November Japanese fans at the Korakuen Hall got the latest Japanese title fight and saw 140lb champion Hiroki Okada (14-0, 10) record the 6th defense of his title. The heavy handed Okada, who won the title back in 2014 with a...
In late July 2013 Nihito Arakawa (28-6-1, 17) was the Japanese fighter on the lips of every Western fan, following his gusty and brave effort Omar Figueroa Jr. Although he came up short against Figueroa the “Japanese Rocky” had done enough to make an...
This past week has been a great one for fans of the Super Flyweight division. On Wednesday we saw Luis Concepcion claim the WBA title, with a victory over Kohei Kono in Tokyo, on Friday we saw Jerwin Ancajas upset McJoe Arroyo for the IBF title and t...
In the US boxing on TV can often be behind a paywall with subscription services and pay-per-view all limiting viewership of a big bout. In Japan however the limiter can be something very different with region actually being the key. That was the case...
This weekend sees boxing fans being let down once again by our great, addictive and regularly frustrating sport. This time however it's not an injury or fighters refusing to sign contracts that will frustrate fight fans but instead the television cov...
The 2012 Olympics in London was a brilliant one in many ways for boxing fans as it helped launch the professional careers of fighters like Anthony Joshua, Vasyl Lomachneko and Rau'shee Warren. All world champions today. It was also a great one for Ja...
WBA flyweight "regular" titleholder Kazuto Ioka (20-1, 12 KOs) successfully overcame the spirited challenge of Nicaraguan fighter Keyvin Lara (18-2-1, 6 KOs). Lara started the bout like a train and set off at an electric pace with a work rate that...
Fans at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo received an unexpected treat as Japanese Flyweight champion Takuya Kogawa engaged in a 10 round war with Masafumi Otake, claiming a well-earned by surprisingly wide unanimous decision on Friday evening. On paper...