So a new year is upon us and we’ve already seen the announcement of the annual Japanese “Champion Carnival” bouts in 13 weight divisions, from Minimumweight to Middleweight.
For those who aren’t aware, the “Champion Carnival” is one of the many annual events on the Japanese calendar, much like the “Rookie of the Year”, the fights over the “Golden Week” and the now annual end of year shows, held by Ioka, Watanabe and now Ohashi. The “event” spans several months and sees all the Japanese national champions defending their titles against their mandatory challengers.
This year the event kicks off on March 11th when Middleweight ruler Akio Shibata (27-8-1, 13) defends his Japanese and OPBF titles against the under-rated Hikaru Nishida (14-7-1, 6). This will be the second time the two men face off following a competitive 2014 bout, that saw Shibata taking a very hard earned decision over the lesser known man. Since their first bout Shibata has been in great form, but Nishida is certainly a live under-dog.
The follow week, on March 18th, we get two more “Champion Carnival” bouts. One of those takes place at Flyweight, where defending champion Takuya Kogawa (25-4, 13) defends his title against former world title challenger Masayuki Kuroda (24-6-3, 14). This should be one of the more action packed bouts from the 13, and is the only one where both fighters have got world level experience. The other bout is at Bantamweight, where the vacant title is on the line as Kentaro Masuda (23-7, 12) battles the unbeaten Yushi Tanaka (16-0-3, 10). Masuda is a former champion, who actually lost his title at last year’s “Champion Carnival” to Shohei Omori, whilst Tanaka is fighting at the top of the domestic level for the first time. Incidentally this is the only vacant title fight during the hole event.
Next is the Minimumweight title, which will be on the line on March 26th when defending champion Tatsuya Fukuhara (16-4-5, 6) defends his belt against the world ranked Takumi Sakae (13-0, 8). Fukuhara won the title at the end of last year and this is a very tough first defense, though Fukuhara is used to tough, having already fought the likes of Fahlan Sakkreerin Jr, Yu Kimura and Takum Inoue. For Sakae the bout acts as an acid test before his team start matching him with fellow world ranked fighters and possibly move him towards a world title bout. It should be noted, for those unaware, that the JBC prohibits Japanese fighters from fighting for a world title in Japan unless they first claim either the Japanese or OPBF crown.
Just days later, March 28th, we see the next bout in the event as former world title challenger Satoshi Hosono (30-2-1, 20) defending his Featherweight title against rival Rikiya Fukuhara (31-8-1, 23), in what will be the third meeting between these two. So far Hosono leads 2-0 against Fukuhara however he has looked on the slide in recent bouts and this is perhaps the perfect time for Fukuhara to avenge one of those losses. Sadly for Hosono it does seem like his dream of getting a 4th world title shot is looking unlikely and a loss here would totally kill the dream.
On April 2nd we again get a double header. One of those bouts is at Super Bantamweight where the fun to watch Yasutaka Ishimoto (27-8, 7) defends his title against first time title challenger Yosuke Fujihara (16-3, 4). This will be Ishimoto’s first defense of the title that he won late last year, when he over-came Yusaku Kuga, and it’s another tough bout for the Teiken fighter who has faced almost everyone of note domestically. For Fujihara it’s a chance to make a name for himself, but he is the clear under-dog. The other bout sees Super Featherweight champion Kenichi Ogawa (17-1, 14) battle against Satoru Sugita (11-2-1, 7). Some in Japan have suggested that this is the stand out bout though Ogawa does seem to be the more proven and more capable fighter, and really broke out last year, with wins against the likes of Rikki Naito and Raymond Sermona.
The next bout from the event comes on April 14th when we see the much touted Ken Shiro (6-0, 3) defending his Light Flyweight title against former world title challenger Atsushi Kakutani (17-4-1, 10). Those that recognise Kakutani’s name may remember he challenged the then WBC champion Adrian Hernandez a few years ago, and actually dropped Hernandez in the opening round, and that experience could serve him well against the super-talented Ken Shiro, who is defending his title for the first time.
A couple of days later, April 16th, fans get the chance to see another recognisable name in action as Nihito Arakawa (26-6-1, 16), the one that faced Omar Figueroa in “that bout”, challenges Lightweight champion Kota Tokunaga (17-2, 11). Tokunaga is man who emerged last year as a notable fighter, winning and defending the Japanese title, but does look like one of the weaker champions and has been stopped twice in his career. We know Arakawa is tough but perhaps question over his head is just how much has he got left after a very long and hard career.
A day later, April 17th, we get the next fight as the talented and unbeaten Sho Ishida (21-0, 11) defends the Japanese Super Flyweight title against Ryuichi Funai (24-6, 16). For Ishida, who’s stablemates include Kazuto Ioka and Ryo Miyazaki, this bout is going to be his 5th defense of the title, and his second defense during a “Champion Carnival” event. The talented and lanky champion will be up against a man who is 11-1 in his last 12, with his only loss over the last few years coming against Rolly Lunas, this is a tough ask for the touted champion.
The busy run through Mid-April continues on April 19th when the unbeaten, and heavy handed, Hiroki Okada (11-0, 9) defends his Japanese Light Welterweight title against the all-action Koichi Aso (20-6-1, 13). This is the second meeting between these two and Okada will be looking to record his 4th defense, and to continue a 2 fight stoppage run. For Aso this is a second shot at the title and he’ll be looking to avenge his most recent defeat.
The final “Champion Carnival” bout comes on April 28th when the newly crowned Nobuyuki Shindo (17-3-1, 6) defends his Welterweight crown against the heavy handed Toshio Arikawa (12-4, 10). This may not be a match up that interests many fans in the west but it should be a really good match up of styles and a bout that could end at any time given Arikawa’s power, and defensive frailties. Shindo only won the title in January, and this is a tough first defense, but the match should be a very good one with the two men having very different styles and mentalities.
The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that I mentioned there was 13 bouts announced but I’ve only listed one. That’s because there is no set date yet for the Light Middleweight title bout between talented veteran Yuki Nonaka (28-8-3, 9) and the fast improving Yuto Shimizu (11-2-2, 4). The champion will be going in to the bout seeking his 4th defense whilst the challenger, who was unfortunate in all 4 of his set backs, will be seeking a 9th straight win. This is expected to be fought in Osaka but, as mentioned, there has been no date set for the contest as of yet.
Scott Graveson covers the Asian Boxing scene for www.asianboxing.info
