July 24, 2004
SEOUL, KOREA-WBC feather champ Injin Chi (29-2-1, 18 KOs), 126, successfully kept his belt as he controlled the hard-fought battle except in the seventh when he became really groggy, took back the initiative and finally floored game Japanese challenger Eiichi Sugama (26-4-1, 19 KOs), 126, twice before the referee declared a halt at 1:03 of the tenth round on Saturday afternoon at the Millennium Hall of Central City, Seoul, Korea.
The official tallies were as follows: Alejandro Rochin (Mexico) and Noppharat Sircharoen (Thailand) both 98-92 and Fred Ucci (US) 99-91, for the 30-year-old defending champ. For Chi, it was a much tougher bout than the scores indicated, as he had to overcome Sugama's desperate retaliation that had the champ on the brink of a KO defeat in the seventh.
Chi, making his first defense, showed a good start with a positive opening attack in the first round. The champ was also in command in the second, throwing many jabs and busy combinations. Chi, in the third, maintained his aggressiveness, but Sugama, 28, occasionally caught the champ with sharp and accurate left hooks and right crosses to take a point.
Chi wasn’t as fast and sharp as he had acquired the WBC belt by a seventh round demolition of Michael Brodie in Manchester last April probably because of his underestimation of the ex-Japanese champ. But Chi’s work-rate was such that he kept stalking the footworker with his trademark combos upwards and downwards, winning the fourth and fifth. Sugama was penalized a point for having sometimes hit low by referee Malcolm Bulner (Australia) in the fifth.
A trick almost happened in the end of the sixth, when the Korean champ was aggressive with busy combinations, but Sugama caught him with a solid left-right combo to the chin just when the bell sounded to end the round. Down went Chi, but the third man didn’t count as he saw it thrown after the bell. Chi returned to his corner like a sleep-walker. The seventh was the most dangerous round for the still dazed Chi, who absorbed Sugama’s best shots, right uppercuts and right crosses, to become so rubbery-legged that the ref Bulner later recalled it, saying, “I thought Chi was going to be knocked out in that round.”
The tide dramatically turned in the eighth. The determined Chi kept going forward to mix it up with the arm-weary Sugama, and took back the pace with a fusillade of punches as he forced the Japanese to keep retreating. The Korean turned loose in the ninth by accelerating his revenging attack, while Sugama was outhustled by the aggressive champ though occasionally catching the champ with a strong shot at a time.
The fatal tenth witnessed Chi swarm over the fading foe with a barrage of punches followed by a wicked right uppercut, which badly dropped him to the deck. Sugama barely managed to raise himself to resume fighting only hit the deck again with Chi’s furious follow-up, when the ref didn’t bother to call a stoppage. Sugama then collapsed prone until he finally could stand up by himself. It was a give-and-take affair, but Chi’s superior physical power especially in the close range was effective enough to prevail throughout the contest.
Chi wasn’t apparently in a tip-top shape as he was slower than he used to be and his punches lacked snap and sharpness. But he displayed his lion-heart in overcoming the critical moments in the seventh, and finally carried himself to a well-received victory by some 3,000 packed-house aficionados. Chi demonstrated what they wanted after the Korean boxing had been at the bottom. Kusung Lee, his promoter, criticized Chi’s performance, saying, “Chi might have been overconfident and lacked the necessary discipline. But he finally overpowered the big-hearted challenger.”
Unbeaten ex-amateur star and Korean 122-pound champ Heungsik Kim (5-0, 1 KO), 123.75, exchanged hot rallies with Philippine bantam ruler Joel Bauya, 123.75, and pounded out a unanimous verdict (97-93, 98-93 and 99-93) over ten.
Promoter: Poongsan Promotion.
WBC supervisor: Edward Thangarajah (Thailand).
Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi
(7-24-04)