## YUBA WINS JAPANESE INTERIM LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE

October 16, 2000

SENDAI, JAPAN-Elongated southpaw Tadashi Yuba(right photo), 135, acquired the interim Japanese lightweight title when he was awarded a unanimous technical decision over Junichi Ono, 134 1/2, after the 6th round because of the latterfs bad bleeding in a scheduled 10.

Yuba raised his mark to 15-1-1, 8 KOs. Ono, former national 140-pound champ previously rated by the WBA, failed in his attempt to move down to the lightweight division and win the vacant interim belt, dropping to 19-3-2, 8 KOs.

The legitimate Japanese light champ is Rick Roberts Yoshimura, ranked No.4 both by the WBA and the WBC, who recently registered his 21 consecutive defense, but the US military worker was ordered to move to a base camp in Florida, having left Japan where he had been residing long with his Nipponese wife and their child.

It becomes actually impossible for Rick to keep defending his national title here, so the aforementioned elimination bout to decide the interim champ took place under the permission of the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC).

Rick will make his 22nd and final defense against Takehiro Shimada in Tokyo on November 27, and even if he successfully keeps it, he decides to renounce it. If the underdog Shimada should win the national title, he will be obliged to face the interim champ Yuba for the Japanese 135-pound title in a unification bout. Rick has contributed much to the Japanese boxing fraternity, so the JBC allows him to make his final defense under these circumstances. Meanwhile, Rick is one of candidates as the next challenger to the WBA light ruler Takanori Hatakeyama who lately kept his throne via 10th round KO over compatriot Hiroyuki Sakamoto to his credit on October 11.

Promoter: Shichiro Kimurafs Shin Nihon Kimura Promotions.

(10-16-00)

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