Title Fights Scheduled (May 23-26)

Another week without any televised title fight. All title fights involve Japanese boxers with Japan not hosting. I often criticize the Japanese for staying home but much respect this time for laying their belts on the line abroad.

First up on May 23 in Monterrey, Mexico, Japan's Toshiaki Nishioka [33(20)-4(1)-3] will defend his WBC Super Bantamweight title against former bantamweight title holder Jhonny Gonzalez [40(34)-6(2)-0] of Mexico. Nishioka was an interim champ when he was scheduled to defend his title against Genaro Garcia last January. The then titleholder, Israel Vazquez, was stripped and declared "champion emeritus" by the WBC because of inactivity due to his eye injury. With that, the WBC then promoted the Nishioka-Garcia fight for the full title. Nishioka stopped Garcia in the 12th. With a patsy challenger gone, he now defends against an accomplished mandatory. Gonzales is in a 6-fight winning streak with 5 knockouts and a lopsided decision. His last loss was against Gerry Penalosa due to a perfectly placed hook to the liver. Gonzales' has every reason to dethrone Nishioka and take another division belt. The home crowd is an advantage but with Gonzales' resume, I don't think he needs it. I believe even if this is in Tokyo, Gonzales will still win easily.

On May 26 in Uttaradit, Thailand, Denkaosan Kaovichit [46(20)-1(1)-1] will defend his WBA Flyweight title against Japan's Hiroyuki Hisataka [17(6)-7(1)-1]. Kaovichit took the title from Takefumi Sakata five months ago via a second round stoppage. That was a rematch from a controversial draw late 2007. Hisataka also challenged for the same title during Sakata's reign but loss on a unanimous decision. I don't expect Hisataka to give Kaovichit any problems.

Also on May 26, for the first time ever, Shanghai, China will host and challenge for a world title. Japan's Daisuke Naito [34(22)-2(1)-3] will defend his WBC Flyweight title against China's Xiong Zhao Zhong [12(8)-1(0)-1]. It's commendable that the WBC is opening the doors for China but, I believe, they can do a better job in finding a more deserving challenger. Naito, although only fought once outside Japan, is a world class fighter. Xiong, on the other hand, is nowhere close to any existing world flyweight division ranking. In his 12 wins, only one opponent has a winning record who actually retired after two pro fights. This can be an accident waiting to happen and I don't think that's a good first step for China to enter the sweet science pro ranks.

My Predictions:
Gonzales by early knockout
Late KO or wide decision for Kaovichit.
Naito by mid fight stoppage.