March 22, 2002
TOKYO, JAPAN-The official weigh-in for tomorrow’s WBC super-flyweight title bout was over, as defending champ Masamori Tokuyama (25-2-1, 6 KOs) and lefty challenger Kazuhiro Ryuko (13-1-3, 4 KOs) both tipped the beam at the 115-pound class limit.
The WBC officials are announced as follows: referee Kazumasa Kuwata (Japan), judges Carol Castellano (US), Gale Van Hoy (US) and Ken Morita (Japan). The WBC supervisor is Edward Thangarajah (Thailand).
Tokuyama, making his 4th defense, is favored to defend his WBC throne, at Yokohama Arena, Yokohama City, due to his latest improvement in power and skills, though Ryuko, who recently renounced his OPBF belt, is a fast-handed southpaw.
Tokuyama, a North Korean born and residing in Japan, captured the WBC crown by dropping Korean Injoo Cho en route to a lopsided decision in Osaka in 2000, and kept it three times by beating hard-punching compatriot Akihiko Nago, dispatching ex-champ Cho with a single right in 5 rounds in Korea, and outscored ex-champ Gerry Penalosa to his credit.
Ryuko, whose amateur mark was 85-25 in 110 contests, failed to win the Japanese flyweight belt on a close decision to Nolito Suzuki Cabato in 1997, but it was his first and last setback in his 7-year career. The stylish lefty had beaten future WBA world 115-pound champ Celes Kobayashi on points in 1996.
The southpaw speedster almost wrested the OPBF 115-pound belt with his game performance, but failed on a controversial draw with imported Filipino Mangoro Ishimaru (AKA Raffy Montalban) in 1998. He acquired the vacant national super-fly title by an impressive 4th-round KO over hard-punching Yoshiaki Matsukura in 1999. After defending it twice, Ryuko seized the vacant OPBF 115-pound throne by flattening Indonesian Kid Hamzah in two rounds in October 2000.
But Ryuko fought just once last year, defeating Thailander Roongchai Muangsurin by a unanimous nod in February. He has been inactive for 13 months due to his shoulder injury. He has completely recovered and is reportedly in best shape.
Tokuyama, two years his junior at 27, has a suspect chin as floored with a southpaw left of Akihiko Nago, but has flashing speed and increased power in his right hand, which may be a good weapon against the lefty challenger.
If Ryuko has an opportunity to dethrone the favored champ, it will be his hit-and-run strategy dependent on his faster footwork and countering right hook. But Tokuyama beat a couple of southpaw opponents, Nago and Penalosa, in his last three bouts, and has good confidence to cope with the lefty rival.
It will be a good fight of the North Korean and the Japanese both belonging to Japanese boxing clubs.
(3-22-02)