October 30, 2004
October 30, 2004
TOKYO, JAPAN-WBA champ Yutaka Niida (17-1-3, 8 KOs) (right photo), 104.75, Japan, successfully unified the WBA 105-pound championship as he turned aggressive in later rounds to be awarded a split decision over interim ruler Juan Landaeta (reportedly 20-3-1, 18 KOs), 104.75, over twelve close rounds on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. The official tallies were as follows: Pinit Prayadsab (Thailand) 115-113 and Lahcen Oumghar (Netherland) 115-114, both for Niida, and Levi Martinez (US) 115-113 for Landaeta. The referee was Rafael Ramos (US).
Niida, 26, made a good start by landing a solid straight right to the much taller Venezuelan southpaw in the opening session. Landaeta, also 26, took the second as he connected with a good left to the Japanese and kept the pressure with constant jabs. Niida, who had dethroned Noel Arambulet by a unanimous decision here last July, was in command with busy combinations in the third. The lanky Venezuelan, however, controlled the fourth through sixth as he kept going forward with incessant, if not effective, southpaw jabs, though Niida occasionally landed a few strong shots. The Japanese sustained a cut caused by a butt midway in the sixth, and it became worse in later rounds.
The tide seemingly turned in the seventh, when Niida turned loose with a flurry of punches to the bewildered Venezuelan. The early starter Landaeta, as expected, began to be fading in the second half, while Niida clearly dominated the ninth and eleventh by a fusillade of punches to Landaeta’s face. Though the Venezuelan barely took the final session, Niida’s superior power-punching seemed more evaluated by the judges. Landaeta seldom threw powerful punches in later rounds only to pace himself with pawing jabs.
WBC #5 ranked four-time world challenger Toshiaki Nishioka (24-4-3, 14 KOs), 123, dropped WBC #4 Japanese national champ Yoshikane Nakajima (15-6-5, 4 KOs), 123, with a vicious southpaw left in the seventh, withstood bad bleeding from gashes over both eyebrows and pounded out a unanimous decision (97-93, 97-94 and 96-93) over ten. WBC #4 ranked OPBF bantam champ Hozumi Hasegawa (17-2, 5 KOs), 118.5, stayed busy all night with positive combinations and scored a unanimous nod (98-93, 97-95 and 96-95) over WBA #5 Jun Toriumi (22-4-1, 9 KOs), 119.25, over ten. Hozumi’s regional belt wasn’t at stake in the encounter of speedy southpaws. WBC #7 ranked 122-pounder Shigeru Nakazato (24-7-1, 18 KOs), 122, was trailing on points in the first half, but came out swinging big punches en route to a split draw with unbeaten WBA #8 Shoji Kimura (17-0-1, 7 KOs), 122, over ten. The scores were as follows: 97-95 for Nakazato, 97-96 for Kimura, and 96-96.
Promoter: Akihiko Honda’s Teiken Promotions.
(10-30-04)