August 11, 2008
TOKYO, JAPAN
A couple of female world title bouts took place on Monday in Tokyo, Japan. It was the very first promotion with the world belts on the line since the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) authorized women’s boxing games this year.
WBC#3 Ann Marie Saccurato (14-3-2, 6 KOs), 135, New York, acquired the vacant WBC lightweight belt as she showed a very good performance in countering WBC#2 onrushing Japanese Fujin Raika (18-4-1, 6 KOs), 134.5, all night, winning a unanimous decision (97-93, 97-92 and 98-92) over ten. The referee was Gene Del Branco (Philippines), who excellently handled the hard-fought battle.
Saccurato, a 31-year-old veteran, made good use of her shifty foot work, and accurately scored solid and effective counters to have Raika’s nose bloodied in the opening session. Raika, ex-champ at 32, kept boring in but couldn’t catch the fleet-footed counterpuncher. The shorter and stocky Japanese was penalized a point because of an accidental butt that opened a laceration on Saccurato’s left eyebrow in round six. As the scores after the eighth were announced as 79-72 twice and 78-74, all in the New Yorker, Raika went all out for a knockout, swinging her trademark left hooks. Raika, in the tenth and final session, almost caught the fading but still elusive opponent, who managed to last the round and earned a verdict. It was a good fight.
Japanese challenger Momo Koseki (6-2, 2 KOs), 101.25, wrested the WBC atomweight belt as she demolished defending champ Winyu Paradorn Gym (7-2-1, 1 KO), 102, Thailand, with a southpaw combination at 0:48 of the second round in a scheduled ten. There was a controversy on the outcome afterward, as the Thai corner claimed it had been caused by Koseki’s headbutt. As the supervisor and the referee watched the video due to the WBC’s newly adopted instant replay system, they finally supported the result as announced.
Ex-OPBF light-fly champ Takahisa Masuda (19-7-3, 4 KOs), 114, finely displayed his hit-and-run strategy and decked an upset and important decision (99-93, 98-94 and 98-95) over WBA#5/WBC#6 flyweight Wandee Singwangcha (56-9-1, 12 KOs), 114, ex-WBC minimum ruler, over ten. The taller Masuda kept his distance and had the ex-champ missing time and again, piling up points steadily by utilizing sharp jabs.
Promoter: Misako Promotion.
Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi (as for the Masuda-Wandee bout).
(8-11-08)