July 15, 2000
TOKYO, JAPAN-Ex-Olympian and ex-bantam champ Setsuo Segawa(right photo), 122, displayed dirty tricks all the way, frustrated WBC #17 ranked Manabu Fukushima, 122, and wrested the Japanese super-bantam title on an upset close but unanimous decision in a foul-studded 10.
Scored: Uchida and Uratani both 97-95, and Kumazaki 98-95, all for the WBC #28 bantam Segawa, 14-2, 6 KOs. Fukushima dropped to 18-3-1, 13 KOs.
All spectators might vote their ballots to this terrible encounter as the Worst Fight of the Year in Japan without doubt. The 32-year-old veteran Segawa, formerly world-rated national 118-pound champ who had kept his belt 5 times, continually showed various violations of rules: rabbit punch, head-butt, clinching, etc. It’s a wonder why the referee didn’t take a penalty from Segawa.
Fukushima was a prohibitive prefight favorite having lately scored 16 wins straight, but looked bewildered by Segawa’s rough-and-tumble way of fighting all night. The beetle-haired champ was in command just in the 4th and 9th, while Segawa controlled the fight even though he kept on fighting by using whatever he knew based on the textbook of dirty tactics.
The new national 122-pound champ Segawa, who had fought some 140 amateur contests, bettered his mark to 14-2, 6 KOs. Fukushima, 7 years his junior at 25, fell to 18-3-1, 13 KOs.
Japan’s #4 ranked super-bantam Junichi Watanabe, 122, improved his ledger to 20-3, 17 KOs as he was awarded a TKO triumph over game and durable Shun Kunashiri, 122, at 1:29 of the 8th in a semi-final 10. Kunashiri, 8-4, 5 KOs, fought back well despite his absorption of punishment, but the ref Uchida intervened to save him.
Ex-national super-feather champ Ryuhei Sugita, 130, steadily ran on the comeback trail after his retinal surgery, stopping Shinya Kiuchi, 130, at 1:53 of the third canto in the first 10. Promoter: Naoto Takahashi’s JB Sports Promotions.
(7-15-00)