April 21, 2003
TOKYO, JAPAN-Unbeaten ex-WBA 105-pound champ Yutaka Niida will have a crack at the WBA minimum belt against the current ruler Noel Arambulet, Venezuela, after a 22-month hiatus in Yokohama on July 12.
Niida, 14-0-3, 7 KOs, captured the WBA throne by beating Thailander Chana Porpaoin in August 2001, but astoundingly announced to renounce it and retire without making even a single defense. Niida, still 24, served as a trainer for younger boys thereafter at a gym of his manager Mitsunori Seki, ex-Oriental feather champ and world top contender. The capricious youngster recently changed his mind to regain his motivation to return to the warfare. He was supposed to fight a tune-up bout, but it is surprising that he will have a direct shot at Arambulet to recapture his 105-pound belt after a rather long layoff. Arambulet, 19-2-0-1NC, 10 KOs, regained his title by whipping Japanese Keitaro Hoshino in the previous year. Niidafs idol may be Sugar Ray Leonard, and he follows his idolfs footstep.