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ONE FC Challenging UFC and All Comers in Asia; Plus, Top Rank in Macau
Wow. Seems like everyone is headed toward Asia.
Mixed martial arts and professional boxing all have their eyes fixed on the area known as the “Ring of Fire” this week.
Better get used to it.
ONE Fighting Championship, an MMA organization actually based in Singapore, starts the motion in the ocean with its show this week.
ONE FC’s lightweight champion Kotetsu “No Face” Boku (20-7-2; pictured above) makes his first title defense against Shinya “Tobukan Judan” Aoki (32-6) on Friday, April 5 from Singapore. Called “Kings and Champions” the impressive fight card will be televised on web stream at WWW.ONEFC.LIVESPORT.TV.
The following day Top Rank brings boxing to that area. More on that later.
MMA in particular has long looked at Asia as an enriched area for the sport with a history of fight organizations that found success there. Pride FC was one of the major players in the sport until Ultimate Fighting Championship bought it out in 2007.
UFC has looked anxiously at Asia to expand its tentacles, especially into China and Japan where historically MMA and various fighting forms originated.
Now, another Asian MMA organization has surfaced to compete with UFC on equal terms.
Victor Cui, the CEO for ONE FC based in Singapore, said their organization has one major advantage that cannot be overlooked.
“Asia is the world’s most populous region with 500 million people. The market penetration was non-existent before we entered the market and we now have a 90% of the market share and have grown the sports by leaps and bounds,” said Cui, a Canadian now living in Singapore.
Cui formerly worked with ESPN Star, the PGA tours, and the Olympics in Sydney, Australia in 2000 and understands the importance of media exposure, especially for sporting events. His organization has begun gathering the best talent in Asia to garner interest for ONE FC’s fight cards.
Prizefighting depends on its entertainment appeal.
ONE FC’s fight card is headlined by hard-hitting Boku, a Japanese-born Korean who was nearly taken under by Brazil’s Zorobabel Moreira but rallied valiantly to win by a vicious knockout. Fans were delirious over his come-from-behind win and are anxious to see what he can do in the first defense of the title.
Challenging Boku is Japan’s top submission artist Aoki, considered one of the premiere lightweights in the world.
Aoki, 29, is a former Strikeforce and Pride FC MMA fighter specializing in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo. The Japanese submission expert is also famous for having a cavalier attitude and cares little for winning graciously. He looks to win at any cost. In 2009, he was verbally flogged for intentionally breaking an opponent’s arm and then openly admitting it. He’s a gem.
“It’s amazing that the paths of these two great mixed martial artists have not crossed, until now,” said Cui, who practiced taekwondo and garnered a black belt. “We have the most dangerous submission artist in the world in Shinya Aoki going up against a man who may be the pound-for-pound hardest hitter in all of MMA in Kotetsu Boku.”
Several other compelling bouts include American MMA fighters Jens Pulver and Brock Larson in separate bouts.
ONE FC’s Cui knows that the battle for MMA and prizefighting supremacy in Asia and the world will not be easy.
“The infrastructure in Asia is challenging at times, and we have to manage that for every event,” said Cui. “We will look to hold more events in world-class venues, such as the new 55,000-seater Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.”
Cui has ONE FC staunchly situated to grab a major portion of the MMA pie in Asia and the world’s attention.
“Asia is the most populous region in the world,” Cui said, adding that MMA was almost invisible in Asia the past few years due to lack of television. “Our events will be broadcast live to 500 million people.”
Asia is calling.
Fight time
The ONE FC fight card begins at 4 a.m. but can be seen throughout the day and week. The preliminaries can be viewed for free. The main portion of the fight card can be purchased for $9.99. To watch ONE FC’s fight card go to WWW.ONEFC.LIVESPORT.TV.
Top Rank
Top Rank boxing promotion company has an event on April 6 in Macao featuring WBO and WBA flyweight titleholder Brian Viloria (32-3, 19 Kos) defending against Juan Estrada (22-2, 18 Kos) at the Venetian Casino and Resort in Macao. Also, WBO junior lightweight titlist Roman Martinez (26-1-2, 16 Kos) fights Las Vegas boxer Diego Magdaleno (23-0, 9 Kos). Asia is definitely picking up its game. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming, of China, makes his pro debut on the card.
Top Rank also announced that it is planning a Manny Pacquiao fight in Macao perhaps this summer, said Bob Arum.
The suggested opponents named were either Juan Manuel Marquez, who brutally knocked out Pacquiao this past December, or Tim “Desert Storm” Bradley, who defeated the Filipino superstar by controversial decision.
Fights on television
Fri. pay-per-view, 4 a.m. Kotetsu Boku (20-7-2) vs. Shinya Aoki (32-6).
Fri. ESPN2, 7 p.m., Francisco Santana (15-3-1) vs. Vito Gasparyan (14-3-5).
Sat. HBO, 2 p.m., Brian Viloria (32-3) vs. Juan Estrada (22-2).
Sat. FOX Espanol, 8 p.m., Ricardo Alvarez (19-2-3) vs. Carlos Valdez (12-5).
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WBA Feather Champ Nick Ball Chops Down Rugged Ronny Rios in Liverpool
In his first fight in his native Liverpool since February of 2020, Nick Ball successfully defended his WBA title with a 10th-round stoppage of SoCal veteran Ronny Rios. The five-foot-two “Wrecking Ball” was making the first defense of a world featherweight strap he won in his second stab at it, taking the belt from Raymond Ford on a split decision after previously fighting Rey Vargas to a draw in a match that many thought Ball had won.
This fight looked like it was going to be over early. Ball strafed Rios with an assortment of punches in the first two rounds, and likely came within a punch or two of ending the match in the third when he put Rios on the canvas with a short left hook and then tore after him relentlessly. But Rios, a glutton for punishment, weathered the storm and actually had some good moments in round four and five.
The brother of welterweight contender Alexis Rocha and a two-time world title challenger at 122 pounds, Rios returned to the ring in April on a ProBox card in Florida and this was his second start after being out of the ring for 28 months. He would be on the canvas twice more before the bout was halted. The punch that knocked him off his pins in round seven wasn’t a clean shot, but he would be in dire straits three rounds later when he was hammered onto the ring apron with a barrage of punches. He managed to maneuver his way back into the ring, but his corner sensibly threw in the towel when it seemed as if referee Bob Williams would let the match continue.
The official time was 2:06 of round ten. Ball improved to 21-0-1 (12 KOs). Rios, 34, declined to 34-5.
Semi-wind-up
A bout contested for a multiplicity of regional 140-pound titles produced a mild upset when Jack Rafferty wore down and eventually stopped Henry Turner whose corner pulled him out after the ninth frame.
Both fighters were undefeated coming in. Turner, now 13-1, was the better boxer and had the best of the early rounds. However, he used up a lot of energy moving side-to-side as he fought off his back foot, and Rafferty, who improved to 24-0 (15 KOs), never wavered as he continued to press forward.
The tide turned dramatically in round eight. One could see Turner’s legs getting loggy and the confidence draining from his face. The ninth round was all Rafferty. Turner was a cooked goose when Rafferty collapsed him with four unanswered body punches, but he made it to the final bell before his corner wisely pulled him out. Through the completed rounds, two of the judges had it even and the third had the vanquished Turner up by 4 points.
Other Bouts of Note
In a lightweight affair, Jadier Herrera, a highly-touted 22-year-old Cuban who had been campaigning in Dubai, advanced to 16-0 (14 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of Oliver Flores (31-6-2) a Nicaraguan southpaw making his UK debut. After two even rounds, Herrera put Flores on the deck with a left to the solar plexus. Flores spit out his mouthpiece as he lay there in obvious distress and referee Steve Gray waived the fight off as he was attempting to rise. The end came 30 seconds into round three.
In a bantamweight contest slated for 10, Liverpool’s Andrew Cain (13-1, 12 KOs) dismissed Colombia’s Lazaro Casseres at the 1:48 mark of the second round.
A stablemate and sparring partner of Nick Ball, Cain knocked Casseres to the canvas in the second round with a short uppercut and forced the stoppage later in the round when he knocked the Colombian into the ropes with a double left hook. Casseres. 27, brought an 11-1 record but had defeated only two opponents with winning records.
In a contest between super welterweights, Walter Fury pitched a 4-round shutout over Dale Arrowsmith. This was the second pro fight for the 27-year-old Fury who had his famous cousin Tyson Fury rooting him on from ringside. Stylistically, Walter resembles Tyson, but his defense is hardly as tight; he was clipped a few times.
Arrowsmith is a weekend warrior and a professional loser, a species indigenous to the British Isles. This was his twenty-fourth fight this year and his 186th pro fight overall! His record is “illuminated” by nine wins and 10 draws.
A Queensberry Promotion, the Ball vs Rios card aired in the UK on TNT Sports and in the US on ESPN+.
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Alimkhanuly TKOs Mikhailovich and Motu TKOs O’Connell in Sydney
IBF/WBO world middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly, generally regarded as the best of the current crop of middleweights, retained his IBF title today in Sydney, Australia, with a ninth-round stoppage of game but overmatched Andrei Mikhailovich. The end came at the 2:45 mark of round nine.
Favored in the 8/1 range although he was in a hostile environment, Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 KOs) beat Mikhailovich to a pulp in the second round and knocked him down with one second remaining in the frame, but Mikhailovich survived the onslaught and had several good moments in the ensuing rounds as he pressed the action. However, Alimkhanuly’s punches were cleaner and one could sense that it was only a matter of time before the referee would rescue Mikhailovich from further punishment. When a short left deposited Mikhailovich on the seat of his pants on the lower strand of rope, the ref had seen enough.
Alimkhanuly, a 2016 Olympian for Kazakhstan, was making his first start since October of last year. He and Mikhailovich were slated to fight in Las Vegas in July, but the bout fell apart after the weigh-in when the Kazakh fainted from dehydration.
Owing to a technicality, Alimkhanuly’s WBO belt wasn’t at stake today. Although he has expressed an interest in unifying the title –Eislandy Lara (WBA) and Carlos Adames (WBC) are the other middleweight belt-holders — Alimkhanuly is big for the weight class and it’s a fair assumption that this was his final fight at 160.
The brave Mikhailovich, who was born in Russia but grew up in New Zealand after he and his twin brother were adopted, suffered his first pro loss, declining to 21-1.
Semi-wind-up
Topping the flimsy undercard was a scheduled 8-rounder between Mikhailovich’s stablemate Mea Motu, a 34-year-old Maori, and veteran Australian campaigner Shannon O’Connell, 41. The ladies share eight children between them (Motu, trained by her mother in her amateur days, has five).
A clash of heads in the opening round left O’Connell with a bad gash on her forehead. She had a big lump developing over her right eye when her corner threw in the towel at the 1:06 mark of round four.
Motu (20-0, 8 KOs) was set to challenge IBF/WBO world featherweight champion Ellie Scotney later this month in Manchester, England, underneath Catterall-Prograis, but that match was postponed when Scotney suffered an injury in training. Motu took this fight, which was contested at the catchweight of 125 pounds, to stay busy. O’Connell, 29-8-1, previously had a cup of coffee as a WBA world champion (haven’t we all).
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 299: Golden Boy in Saudi Arabia and More
Avila Perspective, Chap. 299: Golden Boy in Saudi Arabia and More
A small brigade of Mexican and Latino-American fighters gathered at the beautiful Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Their mission: to export Mexican style fighting to the Saudi Arabia desert.
Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez defends the WBA cruiserweight title against WBO cruiserweight titlist Chris Billam-Smith and they will be joined by several other top Golden Boy Promotion fighters on Nov. 16 at the Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
DAZN will stream the Golden Boy and BOXXER promotions card called “The Venue Riyadh Season.”
Mexican fighters are known worldwide for their ferocity and durability. Ramirez, a former super middleweight champion, surprised many with his convincing win over former champion Arsen Goulamirian last March.
Now Ramirez seeks to unify the cruiserweight titles against United Kingdom’s Smith who has never fought outside of his native country.
“I will become the first Mexican cruiserweight unified champion. It’s exciting because my dream will come true this November 16,” said Ramirez.
Smith has a similar goal.
“This opportunity for me is huge,” said Smith. “I’ve been written off many times before.”
The cruiserweights will be joined by two top super lightweight warriors who’ve been itching to face each other like a pair of fighting roosters.
Arnold Barboza, an undefeated super lightweight contender from Los Angeles, has been chasing top contenders and world champions for the past six years. Former super lightweight champion Jose Ramirez simply wants action and a return to elite status.
“I’ve been wanting this fight since 2019 for whatever reason it never happened,” said Barboza. “I want to give credit and thanks to Oscar, he’s a man of his word. When I signed to Golden Boy, he said he was going to give me this fight.”
“It’s honorable Barboza saying he’s been chasing the fight since 2019. Now that he stands in the way for me to reclaim my titles it’s time to get that fight on,” said Ramirez.
Others on the Riyadh fight card include Puerto Rico’s WBO minimumweight world titlist Oscar Collazo defending against Thailand’s Thammanoon Niyomtrong, along with Oscar Duarte and lightweight contenders William Zepeda and Tevin Farmer.
One fighter missing from the card is Charles Conwell, the super welterweight contender they recently signed earlier in the year. He last performed on the Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Serhii Bohachuk clash in Las Vegas.
Conwell has similar talent to those two.
And what about the women fighters”
Yokasta Valle recently re-signed with Golden Boy Promotions. What is her next scheduled fight? She was spotted facing up against Australia’s Lulu “Bang, Bang” Hawton at a fight card. Is that on the horizon?
West Coast venues
Speaking of the Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles, its just a few buildings north of the Belasco Theater where Golden Boy was staging its club shows for several years.
A majority of the boxing media favored that location for its cozy atmosphere and proximity to LA Live. A number of prospects that developed into contenders and world champions fought there including Vergil Ortiz Jr., Ryan Garcia, Joshua Franco, and Oscar Duarte.
On any given fight night celebrities like Mario Lopez, George Lopez and others would show up in the small venue that held several hundred fans in its ornate theater setting.
The Mayan Theater and Belasco Theater are still open for business. According to one source, LA Laker owner Jeannie Buss stages a pro wrestling show at one of those theaters.
World title fight
England’s Nick Ball (20-0-1, 11 KOs) defends the WBA featherweight world title against Southern California’s Ronny Rios (34-4, 17 KOs) on Saturday Oct. 5, at M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England. Starting time for the Queensberry and Top Rank promotion card is 11 a.m. PT.
Ball was last seen nearly toppling WBC featherweight titlist Rey Vargas but lost last March. He then defeated Ray Ford for the WBA title
Fights to Watch
Fri. ESPN+ 2 a.m. PT Janibek Alimkhanuly (15-0) vs Andrei Mikhailovich (21-0)
Sat. ESPN+ 11 a.m. PT Nick Ball (20-0-1) vs Ronny Rios (34-4)
Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy
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