October 8, 2002
TOKYO, JAPAN-Game and gutsy Japanese Osamu Sato (26-1-2, 15 KOs) will put his WBA 122-pound belt against top contender Salim Medjkoune (39-3-1, 21 KOs), a French southpaw, in Tokyo tomorrow.
Each tipped the beam at the 122-pound super-bantam limit today. Sato, 5 years his junior at 30, said, “I’ll fight fair and square, wear him down and win by a knockout.” Medjkoune, an inch shorter at 5’6”, also confidently said, “I am in tip-top shape, so will show my best form to bring the belt to France.”
The officials were announced as follows: referee Gillermo Pineda (Panama); judges Silvestre Abainza (Philippines), Philippe Verbeke (Belgium) and Rodolfo Maldonado (Panama).
It is the second world title bout between a Japanese and a Frenchman to be staged here in Japan since Julien Lorcy dethroned the then WBA lightweight kingpin Takanori Hayakeyama on points in July last year.
(10-8-02)