December 29, 2015
TOKYO, JAPAN
Japanese veteran Akira Yaegashi (23-5, 12 KOs), 107.5, impressively captured the IBF junior flyweight belt as he pounded out an upset unanimous decision over highly regarded defending champ Javier Mendoza (24-3-1, 19 KOs), 107.5, from Mexico, over twelve furious rounds on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan.
The tallies were as follows: Eugene Grant 117-111, Hilton Whitaker 119-109 and Mike Fitzgerald 120-107 (all from US), all in favor of the game and gallant challenger. The referee was Kenny Chevalier (US). The 32-year-old Japanese gained his third belt in as many categories (105, 112 and now 108) to his credit.
There were no knockdowns, but Yaegashi sometimes had the Mexican at bay with his solid rights to the face and body bombardments in a gory affair.
It’s true that Yaegashi, then WBC flyweight champ, was completely destroyed and dethroned by Roman Gonzalez via ninth round TKO in April of the previous year. It was a miserable defeat for Yaegashi, whose future looked dark and damaged then. In just four months after having absorbed such a terrific punishment Yaegashi appeared again to attempt to win his third belt in the 108-pound category only to succumb to Mexican Pedro Guevara with a vicious body shot in the WBC title bout for the vacant championship last December. People gloomily thought Yaegashi was thorough with another bitter defeat.
As Yaegashi wondered whether to fight on or not, he reportedly had a family meeting with her wife Aya (32), son Keitaro (10), daughters Shinobu (5) and Hitoe (2). All were against his retirement and expected him to fight on. Then Yaegashi made up his mind, saying, “I’ll be fighting father for my children.”
He returned to action and decked a couple of fine victories over mediocre Asian opponents such as Songsaenglek Phosuwangym (KO2) and Said M. Said (KO3). But Yaegashi, already past thirty, didn’t appear as sharp as he used to be when winning his first world throne by an upset stoppage of Pornsawan Porpramook in October 2011.
When Ohashi Promotions announced Yaegashi to have another world title crack at the IBF junior flyweight belt against Javier Mendoza, the Mexican seemed to be a very difficult target for Yaegashi to cope with under following reasons: (1) Yaegashi isn’t good at fighting a southpaw opponent, (2) Mendoza is still twenty-four, young and fresh in comparison with Yaegashi who already looked worn-out in his long career, and (3) The Mexican is an excellent combination puncher with very busy hands.
The available video footage showed Mendoza, under the tutelage of legendary Mexican hero Erik Morales, was a fighting machine in a southpaw stance, having acquired the vacant IBF 108-pound belt by unanimously outscoring Ramon Garcia in September 2014. The handsome Mexican youngster registered a couple of defenses by defeating Mauricio Fuentes (TKO2) and Filipino prospect Milan Melindo (TW6) to raise his international stock. Mendoza, unbeaten since 2011, was obviously a prohibitive favorite against Yaegashi before their confrontation.
It was Yaegashi, standing just 5’3 1/2”, that made a good start by showing his shifty mobility and fast combinations to the still cautious champ in the opening session. Mendoza, in round two, began to throw some shots that looked still slow and light, which indicated he might be a slow starter who would raise his tempo as the contest progressed. Moving side-to-side, Yaegashi effectively shook up the champ with a well-timed right uppercut in the closing seconds of the second session.
The third saw Mendoza start his engine late, but Yaegashi’s engine was already at top speed and he positively mixed it up with the champ, winning another point. The shorter Japanese veteran’s good shots occasionally caught the southpaw champ, who came back with less effective combinations to the elusive Japanese target.
Mendoza seemingly wasn’t in a tip-top shape, while Yaegashi looked very much determined as if he believed this would be his final shot at the world belt. He opened a gash on Mendoza’s left optic with sharp right counters in the fifth, when Yaegashi, a tiny veteran, stopped his footwork to exchange solid combos with the younger champ. The challenger was more accurate and effective.
Yaegashi, in the seventh, began to absorb the champ’s combinations to the face, as he often stopped his footwork and fought back hard. Mendoza appeared to have the tide turn in his favor thanks to his persistent combinations to the face and the midsection, pinning him to the ropes.
It was this November that Akira’s grandmother Yori passed away, and his cornerman, after the crucial seventh, cried, “Your grandma is watching you!” That encouraged the fading challenger so greatly that Yaegashi mentally and physically regained his form to take the initiative back from Mendoza.
The eighth saw Yaegashi once lose his equilibrium with his fatigue, but he took a point by connecting right counters with precision. The two-time world champ Yaegashi was amazingly in command by withstanding Mendoza’s retaliation in the ninth through eleventh sessions, while they swapped punches toe-to-toe in the center of the ring. It became a give-and-take war.
The twelfth and last was a dramatic round. Aware of comfortably leading on points, Yaegashi kept circling to avert a risk in exchanging punches with the desperate champ who might attempt to turn the tables and bring home the bacon by a come-from-behind knockout. The Japanese veteran, whose eyes were already swollen and who kept bleeding from the mouth since the opening session, happened to land a well-timed right to the button of the champ, who abruptly became rubbery-legged. Then Yaegashi turned loose to attempt to finish the younger champ by exchanging punches face-to-face and toe-to-toe in the center of the ring. It was really a combat. Yaegashi had him staggering and had him in great trouble. The ref Chevalier almost appeared to call a halt to save the champ from further punishment, but the final bell came to his rescue. The final session might be a good candidate for “The Round of the Year.”
It was surprising that a judge gave all rounds to Yaegashi and saw it 120-107 after such a see-saw affair by tallying 10-8 in the last stanza. But more amazing was that Yaegashi, against our expectations, showed such a dramatic and determined performance to win his third world belt to his credit.
In Japan, there had been only two ringmen that gained three belts in as many different classes?Koki Kameda (now retired) and Kazuto Ioka, but their achievements included some victories in elimination bouts for the vacant championships unlike Yaegashi, who truly dethroned such defending champs as Pornsawan Porpramook (105), Toshiyuki Igarashi (112) and thus Mendoza (108).
The ex-champ Mendoza frankly admitted his defeat and praised the new titlist, saying, “Yaegashi’s right hand was amazingly fast. He was a great warrior and I respect him. It’s my pleasure that both of us demonstrated our heart and showed such a great fight.” His manager Erik Morales who looked shocked at the unexpected defeat winced and said, “It wasn’t a night for Javier. He is still young and may be able to win back the belt.”
The happiest winner and new champion Akira said, “The late grandma made me survive the crisis and carried me to a victory. When I got knocked out by Pedro Guevara, people might think that I was unable to move down from the flyweight class and win the third belt in the lighter division, but I then believed that I could. I’m happy to prove it.”
Yaegashi, a Vito Antuofermo stylist, whose damaged face--as usual--might show a really hard fight reviewed it and said, “I paid my great respect to Mendoza’s power until the end. I feel pain on the face even now.”
Now we, in Japan, have eleven world champions. Besides such technically excellent champs as Takashi Uchiyama, Shinsuke Yamanaka, Kazuto Ioka and Naoya Inoue, the most popular ringman might be Akira Yaegashi due to his give-and-take performance that always showed his heart rather than his brain. His fight always moved the crowd and television watchers.
Since 2005 after turning professional with some amateur national championships and credentials (56-14, 15 stoppages), he had a roller-coaster career as he won the OPBF minimumweight belt from Weerasak Chuwatana by a fifth round knockout in his only fifth pro bout and failed to win the WBC throne via very one-sided defeat at the hand of Eagle Kyowa in his seventh bout in 2007. It was a long way for Yaegashi to accomplish his triple crown acquisition. We admire Akira Yaegashi’s persistence and perseverance.
Promoter: Ohashi Promotions.
IBF supervisor: Eduard Cotton (US).
(12-29-2015)