February 28, 2004
TOKYO, JAPAN-WBA #11 ranked Mexican Julio Zarate (20-2-1, 14 KOs) has arrived in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday night. The Flaco (skinny guy) will have an ambitious crack at the WBA interim 118-pound belt against Japanfs Hideki Todaka (21-3-1, 10 KOs) in Saitama on March 6. Zarate, 28, has been unbeaten in his last 16 bouts, winning the FECARBOX and Mexican national bantam titles to his credit. The defending champ Todaka was supposed to fight the legitimate champ Johnny Bredahl in Denmark after Danish promoter Morgens Palle fs winning the purse bid, but Palle and Akihiko Honda (Todakafs promoter) reached an agreement on Bredahl and Todaka each making a voluntary defense prior to the unification bout. Todaka, therefore, will meet Zarate, while Bredahl will face former Japanese champ Nobuaki Naka in Copenhagen on March 13. If both champs should be victorious, they will encounter in Denmark in June or July. For Todaka, a shorter but game champ, Zarate will not be so easy an opponent, as he is physically superior to the champ who had moved up from the 108-pound division to the fly, superfly and then bantam classes. But Todakafs heart, durability and stamina may be too much for the lanky Mexican. It will become a very interesting bout.
(2-28-04)