June 14, 2008
WBC 108-pound champ Edgar Sosa (31-5, 16 KOs), a slick-punching Mexican speedster, will put his belt on the line against Japanese southpaw Takashi Kunishige (18-2-1, 2 KOs) at the Palacios de los Deportes (Sports Palace) in Mexico City today (Saturday).
After Jorge “Travieso” Arce outgrew the light-fly category and renounced his belt, the WBC championship busily changed hands to Eric Ortiz, Brian Viloria, Omar Nino and Sosa. “Hawaiian Punch” Viloria yielded his belt to Omar Nino in August 2006, and they battled again to a majority draw in November. It meant the defending champ Nino’s successful defense, but Nino tested positive in a post-fight exam, so the belt was declared vacant accordingly.
Sosa acquired the vacant throne via majority verdict (115-113 twice and 114-114) over Viloria in April of the previous year. Sosa impressively became a fighting champ, having kept it four times in ten months by defeating Luis Lazarte (win by a disqualification in the tenth), Lorenzo Trejo (TKO9), Roberto Leyva (TKO4) and Jusus Iribe (W12).
Sosa, making his fifth defense, has been unbeaten since his last setback by future and current IBF ruler Ulises Solis by a majority decision (115-112, 115-111 and 113-113) in a Mexican national title bout in September 2003. Having registered 19 wins straight, Sosa grew up strong and is one of the most stable champs in the 108-pound division. Sosa, 28, relies on quick combinations after sharp and accurate jabs, and can smoothly move side-to-side to frustrate his opponent (as he showed against Brian Viloria). Though he is not such a one-punch finisher as Morales, Barrera or Marquez, Sosa is an excellent boxer-puncher without doubt.
Kunishige, a 32-year-old lefty late-bloomer, may be quite unknown to Mexican aficionados. As his credentials of just two KO wins out of 18 victories, Kunishige isn’t a hard-puncher at all, but is an awkward sharpshooter with decent speed and skills. Having been rated highly in the national ratings long, the university graduate decked an upset decision over world-rated compatriot Ken Nakajima in Osaka in November 2006. Kunishige, an upright southpaw, recently had a crack at the Japanese belt against ex-world challenger Munetsugu Kayoh, but it ended in a fifth-round technical draw in Tokyo this February.
It is said that Mexican boxers, generally speaking, are not so good at coping with southpaw opponents, since there are not so many lefty fighters unlike in Asia. It might be proved in latest examples that Manny Pacquiao swept Barrera, Morales and Marquez, if it might be due to Pac Man’s own strength thanks to his speed and power. Mexican handlers have often changed original lefties to converted southpaws in order to make them utilize their stronger left hand for leading with left jabs or hooks.
Kunishige is a southpaw. He isn’t a bad fighter. He has heart and stamina if not a hard-hitter. According to the WBC office’s Luis Medina, there have been 72 WBC title bouts competed by Mexican and Japanese contestants with Mexico winning 45, Japan 24, two draws and a no contest. Though many Mexican boxers scored triumphs in Japan, only a Japanese boy named Kuniaki Shibata defeated Vicente Saldivar via thirteenth round stoppage to win the featherweight throne in 1970.
It may be hard to capture the world belt at the champ’s home-turf in Mexico, especially from such a formidable champ as Edgar Sosa. But we, from Japan, wish Kunishige will show his best and bring home the bacon, hopefully.
(6-14-08)