August 19, 2001
August 19, 2001
TOKYO, JAPAN-The WBA 105-pound champ Chana Porpaoin (44-1-2, 16 KOs), Thailand, arrived in Tokyo a week before his first defense against Japanese challenger Yutaka Niida(right photo) (13-0-3, 7 KOs) in Yokohama on August 25.
Chana, 35, captured the WBA belt by upsetting Japan's Keitaro Hoshino on a split but well-received decision in Yokohama on April 16. The Thailander is such a veteran campaigner as to have defended the same title 8 times before he forfeited it by a decision to Nicaraguan Rosendo Alvarez in December, 1995. It was his one and only setback in his long career starting in 1988. Chana dethroned Japan's Hideyuki Ohashi by an unexpectedly lopsided decision in 1993 and enjoyed his first reign for some three years.
Niida, 22, is a fast-rising hard-puncher cultivated by ex-world No.1 featherweight contender Mitsunori Seki. The hard-puncher abruptly zoomed up from nowhere by impressively wresting the Japanese national 105-pound title by dropping then world-rated champ Makoto Suzuki time and again and finally stopping him in the 9th on January 8. But he may have a suspect chin, as he was held to a split draw by Daisuke Iida in his first defense in Tokyo on May 14. Niida was surprisingly dropped twice in the opening canto, but fought back gamely to barely retain his national title on a hard-fought draw.
Niida is one of the best prospects here, as he has good speed, power and youth. But Chana is a prefight favorite because of his superior experience with which he always nullify his opponent's weapon and take the pace at will, as shown in his title-winning fight against Hoshino. Niida has a puncher's chance.
The fight will take place at Pacifico Yokohama, where Chana annexed the title from Hoshino.
(8-19-01)