Yota Sato v Ryo Akaho

All the eyes of the boxing world will be pointing towards Japan this New Years Eve with the country hosting 5 world title fights. Of those fights we have just a solitary all Japanese fight as WBC Super Flyweight champion Yota Sato (25-2-1, 12) attempt to make the second defense of his title as he faces countryman Ryo Akaho (19-0-2, 12).

Sato emerged as one of the top Japanese fighters back in 2010 when he stopped Go Onaga for the interim Japanese Super Flyweight title, a title that would later be upgraded to the full version of the belt. As the Japanese Super Flyweight champion Sato was impressive defeating the likes of Kohei Kono (who faces Tepparith Kokietgym on the same card) and the previously unbeaten Kenji Oba. He moved in to the world elite earlier this year as he defeated highly regarded Thai Suriyan Sor Rungvisai for the WBC title, dropping Rungvisai twice.

Since winning the world title Sato has defended it once out pointing the under-rated Filipino Sylvester Lopez though will now need to show his skill to end a year on a high against the very talented Akaho (who I will get on to in a minute). In terms of ability Sato is perhaps “the best fighter you've never seen” with excellent boxing, great speed and under-rated power (just ask Suriyan). The biggest issue is perhaps his inexperience over 12 rounds, a distance he has only done twice in his 28 fight career.

As well his ability Sato will be very confident having been unbeaten since 2005 with both of his losses coming in his first 7 professional contests (and they were both razor thin losses to more experienced fighters). Also, interestingly, the 28 year old is tall for a Super Flyweight at 5'7” and arguably he is in his physical prime. It's fair to say that whilst he may not have a punchers record he's grown into his power and knows how to use his size wonderfully well.

Whilst Sato is regarded by hardcore fans as one of the elite at Super Flyweight Ryo Akaho is much lesser known despite also being unbeaten since 2005 (the year in which he debuted). Akaho, sadly, lacks the notable names (such as Kono, Suriyan and Lopez) on his record however he has been fighting at national and continental title level for a few himself having drawn in a Japanese title fight back in 2009.

Despite failing to claim a title in his first title fight, Akaho has since gone on to claim the OPBF Super Flyweight title, a title that he has defended 4 times, with the most recent of those defense coming against super prospect Yohei Tobe (who was forced in to the fight a few bouts too early). Sadly for Akaho his best opponent was Daigo Nakahiro, the fight he drew with in his failed attempt at the Japanese Super Flyweight title (interestingly Nakahiro was beaten in his very next fight by Sato).

For Akaho this is a great chance and he will, like Sato, go in to this fight with a lot of confidence sadly however his limited competition worries me somewhat, especially having seen how good Sato is. I think that the level of the fighters will be obvious here and Sato will take a wide decision in a thoroughly engaging fight. Akaho will try hard but Sato's speed and jab will keep him out of range for long portions of the bout. At just 26 years old however I imagine that Akaho will come again.

Prediction-Sato UD12

Takashi Uchiyama v Bryan Vasquez

In the western world boxing seems to take a break over the Christmas and New Year period however in Japan New Year is a whole different ball game with an amazing 5 world title fights all on the New Years Eve. For me personally the stand out of those fights is the WBA Featherweight bout between regular champion Takashi Uchiyama (18-0-1, 15) and former interim champion Bryan Vasquez (29-0, 15).

Of the two fighters it's the Japanese champion who is much higher regarded than the challenger with some regarding him as one of the hardest punchers pound-for-pound in the sport. Although aged 33 Uchiyama is actually a very young 33 with just 118 rounds under his belt (around 6 rounds a fight) thanks to his fearsome power which has seen him move in to the top spot at 130lbs.

Whilst not well known in the west Uchiyama has a very respectable record with victories over proven world class fighters such as Juan Carlos Salgado and Jorge Solis as well as solid rivals like Takashi Miura and Roy Mukhlis. Though maybe the most telling thing on his record in regards to his up coming fight is the 3^rd round technical draw he suffered last time out at the hands of tough Filipino Michael Farenas, who recently gave Yuriorkis Gamboa a tougher than expected bout. That bout saw a clash of heads opening up a nasty cut around Uchiyama's eye that may not have fully healed.

As well as being hard hitting Uchiyama is also very fun to watch. He's not the slickest and he can be drawn in to a tear up, however with his power he always has the ability to end the fight at any moment, a trait that everyone at 130lbs needs to be fully aware of.

Whilst we know enough about Uchiyama to make an opinion that he's a top guy at the weight, we really don't know a lot about Costa Rican Bryan Vasquez who despite his long unbeaten record really hasn't faced anyone of note. In fact the best victory on the record of the 25 year old challenger came last time out against Jorge Lacierva who had previously challenger for silverware way down at 115lbs.

Despite not being really known about, Vasquez has actually looked like a “decent” fighter with good all round skills and respectable speed, though his lack of power is a trait that does stand out as being a key weakness. Although his record is littered with opening round wins (7) they have come at a very low level with no noteworthy stoppages other than the one against Lacierva (who interestingly had only been stopped once in his previous 55 bouts). This will be a real problem again Uchiyama who will try to establish his type of fight and try to land his booming shots.

For me the class and power difference as well as home field advantage should be far more than enough to see a clear winner. I imagine Vasquez will be game but out classed in the early rounds before fading in the second half and getting stopping by Uchiyama's very hurtful power.

Prediction-Uchiyama TKO8

Kazuto Ioka v Jose Alfredo Rodriguez

One of the final world title fights this year sees talented Japanese youngster Kazuto Ioka (10-0, 6) attempt to claim a second division world title as he tries to claim the vacant WBA Light Flyweight title against once beaten Mexican Jose Alfredo Rodriguez (28-1, 17). This is a fight all lower weight fans should be hugely excited by with both men looking to really fill the void of Roman Gonzalez who has vacated the title to campaign at Flyweight from next year.

For me personally the clear favourite is Ioka who, despite going up in weight, is a special talent as he proved earlier this year by unifying the WBA and WBC Minimumweight titles as he defeated fellow Japanese warrior Akira Yaegashi in an all out war. Though the win over Yaegashi is the standout win on his record, Ioka also holds wins over Oleydong Sithsamerchai, Juan Hernandez and Masayoshi Segawa, not bad for a guy with just 10 professional bouts under his belt.

Ioka's move to Light Flyweight always looked to be on the cards as the 5'4" 23 year old has simply out grown the 105lb weight division and he looked noticeably drained late in the fight with Yaegashi. At 108lbs I'd hope that Ioka's growing body has filled out with out too many negative effects to his speed as he's a fast, accurate boxer-puncher who can trade as well as box. At his best however I'd say he's a better boxer than puncher and his key punches are the jab and straight, though he does throw some lovely shots to the body as Oleydong found out.

Whilst I could wax lyrical about Ioka I find it much harder to be as complimentary about Rodriguez who despite having an excellent looking record has faced much lesser opponents than Ioka. In fact the best opponents Rodriguez has faced have been Karluis Diaz, Nethra Sasiprapa and current WBA interim champion Alberto Rossel, with his only loss so far coming to Rossel.

Like Ioka, Rodriguez is a growing youngster, in fact Rodriguez despite his huge edge in professional experience, is actually the younger man at just 23 years old. Sadly for him however he lacks the long amateur experience that Ioka has and he also lacks much in terms of international experience having only fought out of Mexico twice, including his loss to Rossel and a split decision victory in Japan over Sho Nakazawa.

Interestingly both men have only fought once this year, with Ioka's win over Yaegashi and Rodriguez's loss to Rossel being their only other action in 2012. I don't think this will play too much of a factor though if it does I'd guess it's more likely to effect Rodriguez who is with out a win in over a year.

I feel that Ioka's excellent amateur school and home field advantage will see him through to a clear win here. I'd fancy him to perhaps look for a stoppage late though thoroughly dominate the fight regardless of stopping Rodriguez who has never been stopped.

Prediction-Ioka TKO 11

Denis Lebedev v Santander Silgado

Exciting Russian Cruiserweight Denis Lebedev (24-1, 18) makes the first defense of his WBA title later today as he faced unbeaten power puncher Santander Silgado (23-0, 18) in a bout that promises fireworks. Despite this bout generally being one that has gone under-the-radar I'm certainly expecting a very fun to watch bout that really could be over if you blink.

The hard hitting Lebedev got upgraded from the interim champion just a few months ago after Panamanian Guillermo Jones was eventually stripped by the WBA who had seemingly gotten bored of his antics (including pulling out of fights on a regular basis).

For many fans of the sport the Cruiserweight division has slowly become one of the top divisions in the sport thanks to the combination of exciting fights and fun to watch fighters such as Yoan Pablo Hernandez, Marco Huck and Lebedev. In fact many fan of the sport consider Lebedev to be the best of the bunch with his only loss being a very highly debated decision loss to Huck in a bout that most felt the Russian has won.

Lebedev combines genuine toughness with both power and skill. He's not the quickest guy in the division or even the biggest but his all round ability and genuinely hurtful shots have made him his name. What has also helped has been his notable scalps including former WBO champion     Enzo Maccarinelli, once top amateur Alexander Alekseev and American legends Roy Jones Jr and James Toney (both admittedly well beyond their sell by date).

Despite being 33 years old Lebedev is a young 33 with just 132 rounds under his belt though a lot of this has to do with his power which is genuinely devastating. He can score stoppages both with stunning 1-punch KO power or by grinding opponents down which helps make him a dangerous fighter, every punch he lands hurts.

With plenty known about how good Lebedev is, the real question about this fight is just how good is Santander Silgado? The American based Colombian has a very similar looking record to Lebedev with a actually a higher KO% though though sadly these have been coming at a much lower level, with Silgado actually struggling when he has stepped up to face some more established fighters. Interestingly the Colombian has had to go the distance in his last 3 fights, all in the US against limited opponents.

Sadly, as we all know with Colombians it's hard to really judge just how powerful they actually are due to inflated records from fighting at home. Oddly with Silgado we've actually seen him fighting around the world (having fought in Colombia, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Germany and the USA) however he does have a 10-0 (10) record in Colombia, as opposed to the 13-0 (8) away from the land of his birth.

If Silgado goes in to this thinking he's the puncher he'll be wrong, if he thinks he's the boxer I'd again guess that he'd be wrong. Lebedev is just better in every which way and I'd be shocked if Silgado manages to do much other than get sparked out with a KO of the year contender.

Prediction-Lebedev KO5

Arthur Abraham v Mehdi Bouadla

German based Armenian Arthur Abraham (35-3, 27) will make the first defense of his WBO Super Middleweight title this weekend as he faces Frenchman Mehdi Bouadla (26-4, 11) at the Arena Nürnberger Versicherung.

Abraham claimed this title a few months ago as he controversially defeated Robert Stieglitz in a thoroughly fun to watch fight that saw both fighters giving and taking for 12 rounds. It did however take him 3 attempts to claim a Super Middleweight title after having also claimed a Middleweight title way back in 2005.

As a Middleweight Abraham was a really dangerous fighter who could KO fighters at any time, with either hand. His work rate was low, his guard was solid and his style was hugely frustrating, though when he let his hands go he was stupidly fun to watch. Sadly when he moved up to Super Middleweight he found that fighters weren't that easy to beat as the bigger men used their size, especially their reach and their ability to take harder shots. It was at Super Middleweight that Abraham suffered all 3 of his losses, 2 by decision and 1 by DQ.

Whilst Abraham is a known fighter with world credentials spanning the better part of the decade that has seen him in with fighters such as Andre Ward, Carl Froch, Andre Dirrell, Jermain Taylor, Kheron Gevor and Edison Miranda (twice, including a memorable and bloody battle) it's fair to say that Mehdi Bouadla is much less well known. Despite being less high profile Bouadla has himself mixed in world class company having faced a then 8-0 Gennady Golovkin, former title contender Morrade Hakkar and most recently Mikkel Kessler.

For most it's the Kessler fight that really suggest how good Bouadla is, and to be fair, it's not very. He's not bad as such but he's a long way from being a genuinely world class fighter and I think this will be shown as Abraham slowly breaks down Bouadla in the middle to late rounds. Kessler is admittedly a very different fighter to Abraham, but they both bang and I think that one thing in common will show again here.

Prediction-Abrahm TKO9

Leo Santa Cruz v Alberto Guevara

Exciting Mexican youngster Leo Santa Cruz (22-0-1, 13) looks to finish off an excellent year with his third, and likely final IBF Bantamweight title defense as he faces the unbeaten but untested Alberto Guevara (16-0, 6) live on CBS.

Santa Cruz is quickly becoming one of the new stars of Mexican boxing and appears to be one of the sports most fun to watch fighters regardless of nationality. In terms of his style he's a very tough but educated pressure fighter who brings not only an "in your face" attitude to the ring but also very under-rated boxing ability and a deceptively powerful punch which he uses to grind down opponents.

Although Santa Cruz's record doesn't show him to be a puncher he has developed a real mean streak with which he's been able to force numerous stoppages with in recent fights. In fact Santa Cruz has impressively stopped 11 of his last 12 bouts early with only teak tough South African Vusi Malinga seeing the final bell with others such as Eric Morel, Alejandro Hernandez and     Stephane Jamoye all being stopped in that run of 12 fights.

I'm expecting this to be the final time we see Santa Cruz at Bantamweight, a division he seems to be out growing and if he puts on an impressive showing it'll be great to see him mixing with some of the top guys at Super Bantamweight.

Whilst Santa Cruz is well known by boxing fans who have seen him becoming a bit of a star this year, it's fair to admit that Alberto Guevara is much more obscure. In fact it's worrying to discover that Guevara (at the time of writing) is unranked by the IBF and is ranked #47 by boxrec. Almost as interesting is that last time out Guervara apparently weighed in at a ridiculous 136lbs, and now needs to cut back down to 118.

Despite being unbeaten since he turned professional a little over 3 years ago Guevara is really, really untested having fought only 6 opponents with "winning records". Despite the level of his opponents it's fair to admit that Guevara has been stepping up in recent fights with arguably his best 3 wins coming in his last 3 bouts however they are all several levels below that of Santa Cruz.

In all honesty I can't see many fighters at 118lbs living with Santa Cruz's aggression, power and work rate. I think he'd be a nightmare for both Anselmo Moreno and Shinsuke Yamanaka (both fighters who I love) and in fact Santa Cruz could well be the division's #1 fighter as a result I can't Guevara upsetting him. I think Guevara will get ground down and quite early as well.

Prediction-Santa Cruz TKO5

Nonito Donaire v Jorge Arce

A week after Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao got starched by Mexican multi-weight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, we get another high profile Filipino v Mexican fight as Nonito Donaire (?-?) defends his WBO Bantamweight title against multi-weight world champion Jorge Arce (?-?). Whilst many are viewing this as forgone conclusion it's fair to say that it'll be fun to watch as neither man is often in a poor bout with one of them being known as a KO artist whilst the other is a blood and guts warrior.

Going into the bout Donaire is a big betting favourite (priced around 1/8) and with good reason having looked like a fighter who has been in cruise control in his his recent victories over solid competition such as Toshiaki Nishioka (TKO9), Jeffrey Mathebula (UD12) and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr (some how scored an SD12). Despite his victories there has been questions asked about whether Donaire actually is in cruise control or is actually not as spectacular as once though and whether or not the 30 year old Filipino born fighter is actually on the slide himself against opponents who were there to make him look good.

At his best Donaire is a hard hitting, swift accurate counter puncher who can fight either as an orthodox fighter or as a southpaw. With that ability he's managed to score highlight reel KO's over the likes of Fernando Montiel and Vic Darchinyan. Sadly however those victories seem a long time ago with Donaire's "cruise control" victories over the much smaller Omar Andres Narvaez, the limited Wilfredo Vazquez Jr and the very clumsy Jeffrey Mathebula.

Despite starting his career as a Flyweight, Donaire is still very capable in terms of his speed and power all the way up at Super Bantamweight, with the likely result of this fight seeing him move up to Featherweight for his next bout. Seen as a genuinely top pound-for-pound fighter Donaire, when he steps through the gears is a special fighter, though when he's fighting with in himself he looks awfully over-rated and unspectacular.

Like the champion, the challenger, Jorge Arce has gone through the weights having first won a world title way down at Light Flyweight and having also claimed versions of various titles at Flyweight, Super Flyweight, Bantamweight and Super Bantamweight. Although several of those titles were "interim" titles he is the first Mexican to have any claim to being a 5-weight world champion.

Although Arce is just 3 years older than the champion he's a very old 33 having not had 402 professional rounds, but also a career that dates back to 1996 and has featured more wars than your typical history book. It goes with out saying that Arce's wars have taken their toll on him and it's incredibly rare to see an Arce bout that doesn't see the Mexican left with claret pouring out of his face. Sadly the damage doesn't seem to have forced Arce to tighten up his defense as he attempts to draw everyone in to a battle of attrition, sometimes it works (such as 2011's 12 round TKO over Wilfredo Vazquez Jr) and sometimes it doesn't (as shown in an 11th round TKO loss to Vic Darchinyan).

Due to the fact Arce likes to come to fight I imagine this may not go the distance. Although Donaire is a big favourite, it's possible that Arce can wear him down if he can cut the distance and keep on Donaire's chest neutralising his deadly counter hooks. Sadly for Arce, one of my favourite fighters over the years, I don't think he can cut the distance with out being tagged by bombs on the way in.

Prediction-Nonito Donaire TKO6