October 9, 2000
NAGOYA, JAPAN-37-year-old Venezuelan veteran LEO GAMEZ, 114 3/4 (114.75), amazingly captured his 4th world throne in as many divisions when he battered WBA super-fly champ HIDEKI TODAKA, 115, Japan, with solid shots repeatedly and finally flattened him with a vicious right at 2:13 of the 7th round at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
Some 7,000 spectators watched the stunning upset as Todaka, making his third defense, was a prefight favorite. His overconfidence might account for this unexpected defeat.
Scored after the 6th: Oscar Perez (New York) 58-56, Melchior Taylor (Trinidad Tobago) 59-55 and Hector Hernandez (Venezuela) 60-56, all for the only 5-foot Gamez, 33-7-1, 24 KOs. Todaka, 10 years his junior, fell to 16-3-1, 7 KOs.
Todaka, who dethroned Venezuelan Jesus Kiki Rojas on a unanimous nod here in July of the previous year, made a good start, being an aggressor with good overhand rights to the old soldier. But Gamez, 4 inches shorter, began his fireworks in the second by connecting strong right uppercuts and left-right combinations to the stationary champ.
It was a question why Todaka sticked to his initial strategy of mixing it up though he has an ability to outbox and outleg his opponent. Gamez covered himself up for Todaka’s attack and retaliated with more accurate and more effective uppercuts and one-two combos, dominating the third and fourth in succession.
Todaka, in round five, furiously attacked the Venezuelan in order to take back the initiative, but Gamez fought back with crisp punches with precision. The sixth followed a similar pattern as Todaka maintained the pressure, but Gamez displayed his fine retaliation with right uppercuts that repeatedly bounced off the champ’s head.
The fatal seventh saw Gamez explode his lethal shot in staggering the champ to the ropes. Todaka became groggy, but attempted to fight back with his exaggerated gesture of “Come on! Let’s fight!”
Gamez followed up with a beautiful right to the button of the wide-open champ. Down he went. Todaka stayed completely prone, when his manager Toshiro Matuso hurriedly entered the ring to signal the champ’s surrender. Referee Stanley Christodoulou, South Africa, declared a KO win for the small giant.
Leo Gamez, through his career since 1985, gained the four WBA titles of the 105, 108, 112 and 115 pound divisions. That’s an astonishing achievement, which was praised even by all the Japanese spectators.
Promoter: Toshiro Matsuo’s Midori Promotions.
WBA supervisor: Yangsup Shim (Korea).
Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi.
(10-9-00)