June 23, 2003
June 23, 2003
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN-Slick-punching jabber Masamori Tokuyama (29-2-1, 8 KOs)(right photo), 115, kept his WBC superfly belt as he finely outjabbed game Japanese Katsushige Kawashima (23-3, 16 KOs), 115, in early rounds, but sustained a left hand injury in the 6th, and withstood the challenger’s retaliation in later rounds to barely save his early lead on points.
Scored: Anek Hongtongkam (Thailand) and Hisatoshi Miyazaki (Japan) both 116-112, and Ken Morita (Japan) 116-114, all for the defending champ. Referee was Nobuaki Uratani (Japan). Tokuyama, making his 7th defense since dethroning Korean Injoo Cho in 2000, made good use of his sharp left jab and shifty footwork to be in command in the first half. It looked like a onesided affair for the champ, but the tide almost turned as he stopped jabbing in the 6th because of his supposed left hand fracture. Kawashima, a rugged puncher, occasionally landed big shots, while Tokuyama maintained his hit-and-run and hit-and-grab tactics. Though the challenger clearly dominated the last two sessions, that wasn’t enough to overcome his early deficit on points.
Mexican Jose Antonio Aguirre (30-1-1, 19 KOs), 105, retained his WBC 105-pound throne as he weathered some tough moments in middle
rounds and finally dropped ex-WBA ruler Keitaro Hoshino (23-10, 6 KOs)(right photo), 105, with a looping left hook to prompt the referee’s
intervention with his furious follow-up at 2:15 of the 12th and final session.
It’s a hard-fought battle before the trick happened. Aguirre was so aggressive all the way that he threw many punches regardless of catching the target. Hoshino, the more skillful boxer-puncher, averted Aguirre’s big punches and connected with less powerful but accurate combinations. The Japanese had him at bay in the 10th, but the champ took back the initiative in the 11th. Aguirre’s sweeping left hook was so effective in the final canto that Hoshino fell as if he had consumed all energy. Though barely standing up to go on, Hoshino looked so helpless that referee Bruce McTavish, New Zealand, made a well-received halt to the loser. Then, Hoshino collapsed prone for minutes. We saw many difficult rounds to score, as the judges saw it so differently as: Oren Shellenberger (US) and Hubert Minn (US) both 106-103 for Aguirre, and Daniel Van de Wiele (Belgium) 106-105 (identical with this reporter’s tally) for Hoshino.
Japanese #8 middle Ryo Kawai (6-1, 3 KOs), 156.5, scored a shutout nod over Korean Kyonghoon Lee (4-4, 2 KOs), 155, over 8. Japanese #7 superfeather Yoshihiko Shimoda (13-8, 8 KOs), 132.25, barely outpointed Koji Toyoshima (13-8-1, 6 KOs), 132.25, over 8. Yusuke Kobori (10-2, 5 KOs), 132, survived a first round visit to the deck, floored Ryuji Nishihara (10-3, 6 KOs), 132, in the second and earned a unanimous duke over 8.
Promoter: Ex-WBC 105-pound champ Hideyuki Ohashi’s Ohashi Promotions.
Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi (as for the Tokuyama vs. Kawashima title bout).
(6-23-03)