March 25, 2006
TOKYO, JAPAN-WBC 105-pound champ Eagle Kyowa (15-1, 6 KOs), a Japan-based Thailander, will put his belt on the line against the official challenger Rodel Mayol (22-0, 17 KOs), a Filipino left hooker, in Tokyo, Japan, on May 6. Eagle, 27, is an excellent boxer-puncher who dethroned Jose Antonio Aguirre by a shutout decision in 2004. He once forfeited his belt to another Mexican Isaac Bustos as he had the right shoulder injured during the bout and suffered an upset TKO defeat. Eagle, however, regained his belt by unanimously decisioning Katsunari Takayama (who had captured the throne from Bustos) after his recovery last August.
Mayol, 24, ex-OPBF champ, lately confirmed his right as the official challenger by disposing of Mexican Lorenzo Trejo via fourth round stoppage in Cancun, Mexico, this January. The Filipino wrested the OPBF crown by stopping Genki Ohnaka by a first round TKO in 2003 and kept it three times.
Eagle will be a prefight favorite due to his better experience in having fought in world title contests. He boasts of his sharpshooting with precision as well as his tight defense and superior speed. Mayol, however, may be able to hit harder than the formidable champ by utilizing the leverage in exploding trade-mark left hooks. It will be an interesting bout though being fought by a couple of foreign boxers. Problem is whether Japanese aficionados will show interests in such a Thailander-Filipino encounter at the Korakuen Hall.
On the undercard, Filipino southpaw Malcolm Tunacao (19-1-3, 13 KOs) will face OPBF#10 ranked Yasuo Kijima (19-8-2, 5 KOs) with his OPBF bantam belt at stake. Another title bout will be fought by Japanese 130-pound champ Yusuke Kobori (16-2-1, 8 KOs) and top contender Kazunori Fujita (21-4, 10 KOs) over ten. This show will be presented by Kadoebi Jewel Promotions.
(3-25-06)