February 28, 2012
February 28, 2012
TOKYO, JAPAN
WBC#3/WBA#9 Japanese southpaw Nihito Arakawa (22-1, 14 KOs) (left), 135, successfully retained his OPBF lightweight belt as he kept peppering WBC#8/WBA#12 ex-OPBF ruler Ryuji Migaki (17-3, 13 KOs) (right), 135, withstood critical moments in the tenth and finally emerged victorious with a hard-fought unanimous verdict (116-112, 117-112 and 118-111) over twelve heats on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan.
It was a highly anticipated encounter of our top-notch compatriots as Migaki had renounced his regional belt due to his perennial hand injury and Arakawa acquired the vacant throne in an eliminator last October. The shaven skulled southpaw Arakawa never wore the championship belt, saying “Without defeating Migaki I’m not a champ yet.” From the start it became a total war with Arakawa busy-punching and Migaki switching between orthodox and southpaw.
Migaki, 30 years of age as the champ, was a harder puncher, as shown in the first two sessions when he occasionally scored with looping rights to the cheek of the defending titlist. But the ex-champ inexplicably switched to southpaw in round three and kept fighting in the unfamiliar stance from then onward. It was Migaki that unfortunately sustained a couple of lacerations at the right eyelid in the fifth and sixth. The champ’s more accurate combinations gained more points after the eighth, when the open scoring system indicated: 77-75, 78-75 and 78-74 for the busier Arakawa.
The tide almost turned early in round ten, when Migaki exploded a solid short right to the button of the champ who temporarily lost his equilibrium. Another right almost stunned the champ with Migaki turning very aggressive since then. Clever and crisp-punching, Arakawa, however, went forward to keep punching in the close quarter, and his work-rate barely stopped the aggressor from accelerating his lethal attack. In the closing seconds of the give-and-take round it turned in favor of the champ, who dominated the last two sessions with ease. It’s really a see-saw affair.
Promoter: Hachioji Nakaya Promotions.
(2-28-2012)