June 12, 2008
TOKYO, JAPAN
WBA super-feather champ Edwin Valero (24-0, 24 KOs), 129.75, kept his belt as he collected another victim and extended his KO streak by demolishing Japanese challenger Takehiro Shimada (22-4-1, 15 KOs), 129.75, at 1:55 of the seventh round on Thursday in Tokyo, Japan.
Valero had seemingly swept all rounds with his aggression against the defensive challenger. In the seventh, Valero finally caught the footworker and floored him with a southpaw right hook following a strong left to the face. Referee Guillermo Perez Pineda, Panama, made a well-received halt to the onslaught, though Shimada barely stood up with rubbery legs.
While the southpaw Valero kept throwing right-left combinations all the way, Shimada finely displayed his defensive skills to almost nullify the champ’s attack in the first three rounds. But Shimada, ten years his senior at 36, was all out just to avert Valero’s continual aggression, and forgot to attack the champ as the challenger.
Valero said afterwards, “Shimada’s defense was so good that I thought after the third about a possibility that this fight might go the distance.” The Japan-based Venezuelan, however, found the openings in the fourth, when he landed a strong straight left to the solar plexus, which had the Japanese counterpuncher visibly slowing down.
No matter how many punches he missed, Valero kept punching and forced him to the ropes in the fifth, when he opened a gash on the challenger’s left eyebrow. Valero’s acceleration of attack improved his precision, in the fifth, following more combinations after his favorite one-two combo.
The sixth witnessed Valero swarm over the suddenly fading Japanese with a flurry of punches. Forcing him to the ropes, the lefty champ caught him with a vicious right hook, almost depriving him of equilibrium. Shimada hung the upper rope with his hand. Then, another southpaw right hook exploded as if Floyd Patterson threw a mercilessly additional punch to the opponent who was already about to go down.
Down went Shimada. The ref counted a mandatory eight against the challenger, and then saw him unfit to go on against the pugnacious finisher. He declared a halt. It might look like Valero hit the fallen opponent with another shot, but the third man had not declared a knockdown before Valero landed a final leather.
It was clearly shown by a video. It is very ironic that the WBC announced that the WBC bantam title go, the main event on the night, was the very first that an instant reply should be officially adopted in a world title bout. However, it was this WBA title bout that would require the instant replay provided that the loser’s corner complained of Velero’s additional shot. It was neither Valero’s fault nor his foul.
The official tallies after the sixth were as follows: Tom Miller (US) 60-54 (which was identical with this reporter’s score), Derek Milham (Australia) 59-56, and Raul Caiz Jr. (US) 58-56 (a little too generous to the game but beaten challenger), all for Valero.
How about Valero as a future opposition against Manny Pacquiao? The Venezuelan southpaw is an exclusively offensive-mined puncher, never a technician. Probably Pacquiao may be more sophisticated than Valero, but Valero will be so pugnacious as to welcome any mix-up with Pac Man whenever they swap punches toe-to-toe. The dream fight in the 130-pound class or the 135-pound class must be Pacquiao-Valero, since Valero is rumored to move up to the lightweight division in the nearest future.
If Valero shows a good performance in Texas in September and entertains the HBO as well as US fight fans, there may be a possibility of their encounter zooming up with high expectations. Akihiko Honda, Valero’s manager/promoter, said, “This may be Valero’s last fight in Japan, as he will continually campaign from now on in the US, if possible.” Time will tell when it will materialize.
Shimada fought better than expected. His left optic was badly swollen and almost closed at the termination of the contest, which obviously showed his damage caused by Valero’s southpaw right hooks. His new trainer Kenny Adams improved the champ’s right hand, especially a right after a solid straight left. It may become Valero’s new weapon, as he had demolished almost all 24 victims with his southpaw left hand.
When this reporter left the Budokan (Japan Martial Arts Hall), the loser Shimada was standing at the gate. “You fought very well,” yours truly said to console the TKO loser. Shimada replied, “Valero was strong, but I did my best.” It is our Japanese boxer’s virtue that he shows his best even though there’s a difference of real power. Shimada need not be ashamed of this defeat by the KO artist at all.
WBC bantam champ, Japanese southpaw Hozumi Hasegawa (24-3, 8 KOs), 117.5, successfully retained his throne for the sixth time as he impressively dropped Uruguayan challenger Cristian Faccio (15-3, 10 KOs), 117.75, twice to prompt the referee Toby Gibson's well-timed intervention at 2:18 of the second session in the main event of the world title twinbill on Thursday in Tokyo, Japan. Hasegawa's southpaw left was a haymaker.
Should both of world title doubleheader each result in a disputed decision, this reporter would need a longer time to analyze the controversy in writing a fight report. But it was fortunate that the main event, as well as the first title go, ended within the distance without any disputes on the verdicts.
To make a short story long, it was a short but entertaining fight. Hasegawa, from the outset, showed his improvement in good balance and relaxation as he constantly maintained the pressure and smoothly threw accurate combinations to the still nervous challenger from Uruguay. The lefty champ’s three-punch combination (right jab-straight left-right hook) was sharp and accurate enough to effectively shake up the challenger. The all US judges (Stephen Blea, Max De Luca and Alan Krebs) scored the opening canto in favor of the defending champ.
The second saw Hasegawa’s eye-catching left-hand counter that dropped Faccio with a thud. It was such a beautifully-timed straight left that indicated that the end would be a matter of time, though the Uruguayan gamely regained his feet and resumed fighting.
No sooner had Faccio fought on than Hasegawa went forward and threw fast and strong combinations to the still dizzy challenger. The champ accurately connected with a straight left followed by a right hook, and went on landing a solid left in succession. Faccio lost his balance and fell from the side of the body crashing to the canvas. The third man Gibson promptly called a stoppage without bothering to count. Probably Gibson’s halt in good gesture might be taken in good pictures between the winner and the loser.
Faccio, led by Sebastian Rivero (Argentine promoter Osvaldo’s son), looked more stunned than hurt by Hasegawa’s kamikaze attack. The crestfallen loser only said, “I wanted to show more.” Should this fight be shown in his country, his performance may disappoint his compatriots or adherents. But he was so unfortunate that he absorbed such a good counter in the early round. And before his recuperation from the damage the champ went for a kill to terminate the affair.
It might be a great step that the Uruguayan challenger fought here in Japan for the first time, following footsteps of Alfredo Evangelista (L15 to Muhammad Ali in 1977), Jose Maria Flores Burlon (L12 to Carlos De Leon in 1988), Mauro Leonardo Blanc (KO5 by Veeraphol Sahaprom in 1999) and Wilson Enrique Gallli (TKO10 by Artur Gregorian in 1999). We hope Faccio will be more experienced and come back to have a world shot again, if not in Japan.
The jubilant victor Hasegawa said, “I’m happy if the crowd were entertaining by my showing. I’m glad to win by a good stoppage.” Hasegawa is very much eager to campaign in the US to show his fists. Why do our excellent athletes (such baseball players as Ichiro, Matsui, Matsuzaka, etc.) aim at the destination in the US? Hasegawa eagerly wishes to follow their way just to show his excellence against name opposition there.
On the same night, in Thailand, a WBC bantam eliminator to decide the official challenger took place with South African Vusi Malinga annihilating ex-champ Veeraphol Nakhornlunag-Promotion in four rounds just before the Hasegawa-Faccio title bout commenced. Before his next mandatory defense with Malinga next January, Hasegawa hopes to test his fortune in Texas along with Edwin Valero. It will depend on his promoter Akihiko Honda’s final decision soon.
Unbeaten WBC#11 Takashi Uchiyama (10-0, 7 KOs), 129.75, ex-national amateur champ, kept his OPBF 130-pound belt as he survived a critical moment only in the third and dominated almost all other rounds with his hard-hitting performance, if not so accurate, to pound out a unanimous nod (119-110 twice and 119-109) over gutsy and durable compatriot Hero Bando (19-9-6, 8 KOs) over twelve. Just before the bell to end the third, Bando’s big overhand right caught the champ right at the jaw, which was such a powerful shot that we wondered why Uchiyama didn’t fall to be saved by the bell. Uchiyama became careful since then and raised his left guard to keep Bando to land the same shot again. Bando was the victim Edwin Valero annihilate in the first round in 2005, though this reporter is reluctant to say more about the comparison of Valero and Uchiyama (who is willing to have a shot at the WBA throne against the hard-hitting champ).
Promoter: Teiken Promotions.
(6-12-08)