May 06, 2006
TOKYO, JAPAN
Japan-based Thailander Eagle Kyowa (16-1, 6 KOs), 105, kept his WBC 105-pound belt by winning a unanimous decision over previously unbeaten official challenger Rodel Mayol (23-1, 17 KOs), 105, Philippines, over hard-fought 12 rounds on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.. The official tallies were as follows: Gale Van Hoy (US) 117-110, Chuck Hassett (US) 115-112, and Alejandro Rochin (Mexico) 114-113, all for the defending champ. The referee was Vic Drakulich (US).
Mayol was a dangerous left hooker who had the champ at bay in the second round. The Filipino effectively connected with vicious left hooks and repeatedly rocked the champ, and had the part under the right optic swollen with the damage by his left hooks. Mayol kept aggressive to attack the cautious champ to be in command in the second through fifth rounds. Eagle also sustained a gash over the left eyebrow due to an accidental butt in round five. The crowd sensed that it was a night for the hard-hitting Filipino.
The tide, however, turned in the sixth, when the champ started his retaliation and opened a cut on the cheek of the challenger. Eagle scored with short left-right combinations, while Mayol was so anxious that he kept missing big punches and gradually lost his stamina. The champ cleverly battered the breadbasket of the challenger to visibly weaken him as the contest progressed.
Eagle, in the tenth, had Mayol staggering with well-timed one-two combos as the Filipino became less aggressive than in earlier rounds. The twelfth and final session saw Eagle explode wicked left-right combinations to drop Mayol to the deck. The fading Mayol gamely stood up and resumed fighting, but the final-round knockdown confirmed Eaglefs victory after the hard-fought competition. It was truly a crowd-pleaser of the small hard-punchers.
Malcolm Tunacao (20-1-3, 13 KOs), 117.75, retained his OPBF bantam belt by a late stoppage of Yasuo Kijima (19-9-2, 5 KOs), 117.5, at 2:04 of the eleventh session. Japanese 130-pound champ Yusuke Kobori (17-2-1, 9 KOs), 129.75, kept his national title by halting Kazunori Fujita (21-5, 10 KOs), 129, a karate expert, at 1:07 of the sixth round.
Promoter: Kadoebi Jewel Promotions.
Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi (as for the Eagle-Mayol title bout).
(5-6-06)