November 6, 2011
TOKYO, JAPAN
Unbeaten Japanese southpaw Shinsuke Yamanaka (15-0-2, 11 KOs), 118, acquired the WBC bantamweight belt as he finally stopped Mexican Christian Esquivel (24-3, 18 KOs), 118, at 1:28 of the eleventh round on Sunday in Tokyo, Japan.
It was a very furious give-and-take affair, though Yamanaka continually had the upper hand on the game Mexican. The 29-year-old Japanese southpaw utilized his trademark left hand to take the initiative from the start, winning points steadily. In the fourth, Esquivel, 26, turned so aggressive that he connected with solid lefts and rights in the fourth.
The WBC open scoring system read: 39-37 by all three judges after the fourth round.
Yamanaka, ex-Japanese national champ who renounced it to concentrate on this elimination bout, turned more and more aggressive from the fifth on, and caught Esquivel to floor him in the closing seconds of the sixth session.
The seventh saw Yamanaka go for a kill with a flurry of punches, when he carelessly caught the Mexican’s counter and hit the deck for the compulsory eight count. Their exchange of knockdowns had the crowd on its feet, although Yamanaka still maintained the initiative with his sharp display of the southpaw left hand?fast, accurate and effective.
After the eighth, the tallies read: 78-73 twice and 79-72, all for the Japanese upright stylist.
Esquivel, despite both optics badly swollen, attempted to fight back hard in the ninth and tenth. An incredible happening took place at 0:07 of the eleventh session, when the light only over the ring suddenly and surprisingly went out. It took more than three minutes for the right light completely recovered to resume the fight.
It was Yamanaka that turned loose and effectively connected with a solid left followed by a southpaw right hook, flooring Esquivel on the deck. The Mexican claimed an optical pain, probably Yamanaka's shot might catch his eye. Referee Ian John Lewis (UK) generously allowed Esquivel to go on, although he looked almost out at his first visit in his session. Yamanaka swarmed over him with a same left-right combination, which decked Esquivel again. The ref this time promptly declared a halt.
The hit the canvas on four occasions in total, and it was a very interesting battle by the hard-hitting and lion-hearted combatants. But it’s Yamanaka’s night since his southpaw left hand was as sharp as a razor. Yamanaka has become the eighth current world champ out of Japan, but his talent and hard-hitting ability seem so superb that we may expect him to become a good champion. He extended his KO streak to nine upon his coronation this night.
Promoter: Teiken Promotions.
WBC supervisor: Mauricio Sulaiman.
(11-6-2011)