April 26, 2003
TOKYO, JAPAN-Mexican banger Oscar Larios, 122, barely kept his WBC 122-pound belt as he took 7 points on two judgesf tallies in the first five rounds, but absorbed the furious retaliations of Japanese Shigeru Nakazato, 122, and had to desperately show hit-and-grab tactics to last the distance, winning a unanimous decision over 12 hot frames at Ryogoku Sumo Arena, Tokyo, Japan.
Rafael Mendoza, the business manager of Larios, revealed that the champ had the jaw broken as he immediately accompanied Larios to hospital after the fight without any press interview. Mendoza said, gIt happened in the 9th when he took Nakazatofs light but well-timed left hook to the jaw. Since then, he complained of pain, so had to jab and move since then without mixing up.h For Larios, who might have expected an easy payday, itfs like a nightmare in Tokyo.
The taller, faster and more skillful Larios sent him to the deck with a flurry of punches in the 5th, when all the audience thought it was over as they expected it might be a mismatch. Nakazato, however, was saved by the bell, and showed his tremendous recuperation to almost topple the champ in the 6th and 8th. As Lariosf jaw was broken, he was forced to make the best use of jab and footwork to barely last the last three rounds against Nakazatofs last surge.
Scored: Tony Castellano (US) and Malcolm Bulner (Australia) both 116-110, and Gale Van Hoy (US) 114-111, all for Larios, who made his first defense since he, as the interim champ, seized the legitimate WBC belt by dispatching Willie Jorrin in the first session last November. Larios, 26, raised his credentials to 48-3-1, 33 KOs. Nakazato, ex-OPBF champ, 30, fought much better than expected, but fell to 23-6, 18 KOs. Larios confessed afterwards, gThis was my toughest fight I ever experienced. Nakazato was really strong.h But his ring experience and strong heart saved his crown on the verge of suffering a come-from-behind KO defeat.
WBC #10 ranked OPBF 140-pound champ Masakazu Satake (18-2-4, 11 KOs), 140, kept his belt by a single southpaw right hook to the chin of previously unbeaten OPBF top contender and Filipino champ Dindo Castanares (12-1-1, 9 KOs), 140, at 2:04 of the 8th round.
The fleet-footed Satake, making his 9th defense, kept circling and scored effective counterpunches to pile up points steadily. Castanares, a game and aggressive challenger, threw much more shots but failed to catch the elusive champ only to absorb countering lefts. In the fatal 8th, Satake landed a vicious right hook to have him down face first. Castanares barely raised himself, but was wobbling with his rubbery legs to be counted out by the Korean referee Byungki Kim. Scored after the 7th: ref Kim 70-64 and Ken Morita (Japan) 70-65, both for Satake, and Antonio Pesons (Philippines) inexplicably 70-69 (scoring 10-10 in 6 rounds) for his compatriot Castanares.
Free-swinging Manabu Fukushima (24-5-1, 17 KOs), 122, slugged it out to batter a previously unbeaten but methodical Korean champ named Jaekwang Chung (6-1-2, 2 KOs), 122, to pound out a split but well-received decision over 12 heats to acquire the vacant OPBF 122-pound throne recently relinquished by Nakazato.
Itfs a bloody affair, as both continually bled from a gash over the optic. They put on a see-saw battle in the first 5 rounds, but Fukushima found Chungfs weak point in the breadbasket. His body shots so visibly weakened him that Fukushima swept almost all rounds from the 6th round on. Scored: referee Malcolm Bulner (Australia) 118-113, Kodai Kumazaki (Japan) 117-113, both for Fukuhsima, but Byungki Kim (Korea) 115-114 for Chung.
Larios made a good start, using his footwork and faster jabs to win the first two rounds with ease. In the third, Nakazato suddenly turned loose with powerful left hooks and right crosses. Larios, in the 4th, returned to his hit-and-run tactics to take a point, but sustained a cut on the forehead caused by an accidental butt, so a point was deducted from the uncut Japanese.
The 5th witnessed Larios almost finish it to bring home the bacon. He furiously attacked the peek-a-boo stylist Nakazato, made him groggy, and pushed him down. His damage was so heavy that he slowly pulled himself up. The Mexican swarmed over the fading foe with a flurry of punches, and finally sent him sprawling to the canvas in the corner. Only Nakazatofs determination and gameness made him stand up and resume fighting for some seconds before the bell coming to his rescue.
It might be a question why Larios didnft go for the kill to finish the affair in the beginning of the 6th, though Nakazato obviously had a considerable damage. Larios kept circling and jabbing to avert mixing up with the heavy-fisted Japanese, who gradually regained his sense and reflexes, and amazingly had the tide almost turn by shaking up the champ with powerful rights and left hooks.
Larios, in the 7th, kept his distance but threw many strong combinations even onto the block of Nakazato, winning back a point. Nakazato displayed his best in the closing seconds of the 8th, as he had Larios at bay with destructive right crosses and vicious left hooks. The Mexican was forced in a predicament, but his cornerman actually saved him from a possible disaster when he entered the ring at 2:50 in the 8th when he became panic and erroneously entered the ring as he wrongly thought it a bell to end the round. The referee Toby Gibson stopped the action for a while and ordered him out of the ring, but Nakazatofs rare opportunity to finish the champ was gone.
During the 9th and 10th, Lariosf corner feverishly shouted, gBox, jab, move!h The champ followed its instructions to keep moving and jabbing to win points. Retrospectively, it seemed strange that Larios suffered a broken jaw during the 9th, when Nakazatofs left hook might hit him, but it wasnft so strong a shot.
It was Nakazato that very positively came out fighting in the last two rounds. Larios occasionally took solid shots and his legs became very shaky. The champ desperately grabbed Nakazato to avert his furious follow-up. The awkward and less skillful Japanese kept stalking Larios, but failed to land his vaunted lethal shot.
Obviously, the winner should be Larios. But he might have underestimated the shorter and slower Japanese, who turned out to have a more destructive power in a single punch. Nakazato will deserve a rematch, if Lariosf jaw should recover. This give-and-take affair fully entertained the crowd, which praised the fighting spirit of the combatants.
Promoter: Akihiko Hondafs Teiken Promotions.
Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi (as for a couple of OPBF title bouts).
(4-26-03)