## TADA, FUJIOKA, ANDO, JELENA WIN

September 22, 2011

TOKYO, JAPAN

A female tripleheader and a WBC final eliminator took place on Thursday in Tokyo, Japan.

Unbeaten WBA 105-pound champ Etsuko Tada (9-0-2, 2 KOs), 104.25, a fast-moving southpaw, kept her belt for the sixth time when she pounded out a nearly shutout decision (100-90 twice and 98-92) over ex-WBC 108-pound ruler Nongmuay Kokietgym (10-3-3, no KO), 104.5, Thailand, over ten hot rounds.

WBC 105-pound titlist Naoko Fujioka (7-0, 5 KOs), Japan, displayed a Naseem-Hamed style and freely battered official challenger Kanittha Kokietgym (13-4, 4 KOs), Thailand, from all angles en route to a well-received TKO win at 0:37 of the ninth session. Itfs the hard-hitting Fujiokafs initial defense since she dethroned Mexican Anabel Ortiz this May.

Slick-punching Japanese girl Mari Ando (8-3, 4 KOs), 101.5, impressively acquired the vacant WBA light-minimumweight belt by winning a unanimous verdict (98-92 twice and 97-93) over Amara Kokietgym (7-2-1, 3 KOs), 101.5, Thailand, over ten. The WBA newly established the 102-pound category, and Ando became the very first champ through this elimination bout.

Ex-WBC 130-pound ruler, Canadian Jelena Mrdjenovich (25-8-1, 12 KOs), 128.75, showed her superior speed and skills in defeating Raika Fujin (22-7-1, 9 KOs), a game Japanese veteran, by a unanimous nod (96-94, 98-92 and 97-93) in a WBC final eliminator to decide the official challenger over ten.

All were so competitive bouts that they fully entertained the crowd at the Hall. Estuko Tada made good use of speed on hand and foot, steadily piling up points. Tada, whose amateur mark was 47-3, kept moving side-to-side, utilized fast southpaw jabs and scored with sharp lefts to the onrushing Thailander. Nongmuay displayed her experience as ex-WBC titlist, but the champ was too fast for the flat-footed challenger to catch up with. Ferlin Marsh (New Zealand) and Kazunobu Asao (Japan) both tallied 100-90, while Chalerm Prayadsab (Thailand) had it 98-92, all for Tada, the most skillful and fast of six world female champs out of Japan. The referee was Michael Lee (Korea).

Hard-punching Naoko Fujioka kept whipping the official challenger Kanittha from the outset, but the Thailander was incredibly durable and kept coming forward to mix it up. The champ, moving to-and-fro, landed free-swinging combinations to the face. The open scoring system indicated 40-36 on all cards after the fourth, and 70-61, 70-62 and 70-63 after the seventh. Referee Katsuhiko Nakamura wisely called a halt when the champ had the fading challenger reeling to the ropes. Fujioka, whose idol was Naseem Hamed, fought with both hands low, but remained elusive and efficient all the way.

No one would have expected such a remarkable improvement in Mari Ando, as her opponent Amara had been regarded as too tough and aggressive for her. The Thailander was a prohibitive prefight favorite. Ando, however, utilized her footwork and displayed well-educated counterpunching to stun the spectators. Amara kept stalking the footworker, but absorbed much punishment until the seventh session. The Thailander, however, showed her last surge in the last three sessions to display her strength. Michael Lee (Korea) saw it 99-92, Toshio Sugiyama (Japan) and Chalerm Prayadsab (Thailand) viewed it 98-92 and 97-93 respectively. The referee was Ferlin Marsh (New Zealand) who handled such a fast-moving contest very well. The WBA supervisor Alan Kim highly praised the quality of the fight, and presented the championship belt to the jubilant victor. The WBC had already the female 102-pound category named atomweight, but it is the very first WBA title bout of this new light-minimumweight division with the vacant championship on the line.

The Canadian veteran Mrdjenovich proved too smart and sharp for the game but monotonous Japanese Raika, who kept going forward to fight in the close quarter. But Jelena kept her distance with good jabs and accurate right crosses. After the seventh, the tallies were still so close as 67-66 twice and 68-65, all for Jelena. The fading Canadian, however, finely showed her heart and swept the last three rounds to confirm her victory. The referee was Kenji Fukuchi (Japan) and the WBC supervisor was Frank Hadley (Australia).

Despite a furious typhoon having hit our capital Tokyo the customers were fully entertained with the busy-punching female fights.

Promoter: Futur Promotions.

(9-22-11)

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