June 3, 2004
TOKYO, JAPAN-A WBA doubleheader will take place tomorrow (Friday) the Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo, Japan. The official weigh-in ceremony was held at the Korakuen Hall exhibition hall. WBA feather champ Chris John (33-0, 19 KOs), Indonesia, tipped the beam 700 gram lower than the limit at 56.4 kg (124.5 lbs.), while Japanese challenger and ex-WBA 122-pound ruler Osamu Sato (27-2-3, 16 KOs) scaled in at 126. WBA flyweight champ Lorenzo Parra (22-0, 17 KOs), Venezuela, had to return to the scale and made the weight of the 112-pound class limit at his third attempt. WBA #2 ranked Japanese challenger Takafumi Sakata (22-1-1, 9 KOs) weighed in at 112.
The WBA officials are as follows:
For the WBA feather title bout, referee Luis Pabon (Puerto Rico); judges Erkki Meronen (Finland), Philippe Verbeke (Belgium) and Michael Lee (Korea).
For the WBA fly title go, referee John Coyle (England); judges Stanley Christodoulou (South Africa), Melchor Taylor (Tirindad Tobago) and Luis Pabon (Puerto Rico).
The WBA supervisor is Aurelio Fiengo (Panama).
Itfs a doubleheader with the unbeaten WBA champs, each making his first defense, coping with the game and aggressive Japanese challengers. The Indonesian John, 22, acquired the vacant WBA regular 126-pound belt by eking out a split duke over Colombian Oscar Leon during the convention held in Bali, Indonesia, last September (the WBA super champ in the feather class is Juan Manuel Marquez). John will fight for the first time since without any tune-up bout in eight months. Sato, 27, had moved to the feather division after forfeiting his WBA 122-pound title to Frenchman Salim Medjkoune on points in October 2002, and fought to a draw with ex-WBA champ Yokthai Sith-Oar last July and finished Korean Daekyun Park in two quick rounds in December. Sato is favored to win his second WBA belt due to his experience and superior power, but John had kept his PABA belt five times to his credit prior to his coronation, so his real power should not be underestimated. Since both are aggressive boxer-punchers, they will start swapping solid punches from the outset to see it end within the distance.
The Venezuelan Parra is a technically excellent boxer, having dethroned previously unbeaten and formidable Eric Morel in the champf s home turf, Puerto Rico, last December. Parra, 25, can move smoothly and punch with such precision as he dropped Morel in his title-winning contest. Sakata, a 24-year-old two-time national champ, boasts of his physical strength with great stamina and abundant fighting spirit. The Japanese may keep stalking the fleet-footed champ with busy combinations from the start and try to maintain his aggressiveness against the hard-hitting champ. Parrafs counterpunching may be a factor to decide the outcome, as Sakatafs work-rate and versatile combos may become a nuisance for Parra.
It is staged by Keiichiro Kanehirafs Kyoei Promotions.
(6-3-04)