Oct. 25
TOKYO--Korakuen Hall--Formerly world rated HIROMU KUWATA, 139 3/4, kept aggressive against a shorter and smaller Filipino named JAMES ANDIZO, 139, dropped him with a vicious left-right combo to prompt referee Kodai Kumazaki's intervention at just 1:00 of the 3rd round in a scheduled 10. Kuwata had been dethroned on an upset 7th-round stoppage by Hisao Arai on Oct. 21 of the previous year, and is aiming to regain the national junior welter throne. But Kuwata lately showed his unstableness in defense despite his winning streak since. Kuwata will meet Arai in a grudge fight in Osaka on Nov. 25, but he is not a prefight favorite by all means. Kuwata, 31, is 23-3-1, 16 KOs. Andizo reportedly fell to 7-7, 5 KOs.
In a semi-windup 10, JBC #3 ranked welter SHINJI SAEKI, 149, couldn't show a good performance only to roughly mix up with lefty TAKEO TAKUMA, a frequent loser at 149, and was awarded a TKO win due to the latter's corner tossing in the towel at 2:58 of the 3rd. Saeki, once a highly expected prospect, failed to win the national welter title from Makoto Nakahara last Aug., and this was his comeback go. As Saeki himself reflected after the fight in the ring, his performance looked terrible, losing his balance and swining too wild blows. But Takuma didn't belong to a class to cope with Saeki. Saeki, 25, is 13-3, 11 KOs, being handled by ex-WBA feather champ Shozo Saijo. Takuma, who previously went to Mexico and received a lesson of Nacho Beristain, dipped to 10-14-3, 4 KOs.
Lightie MASARU IRISAWA exploded a well-timed left hook to MASATAKA AOKI and sank him for the count at just 3:00 of the opening session in a scheduled 6.
Promoter: Kyoei Promotions.
Remarks: Since we had a regrettable ring tragedy of Akira Taiga this month, it becomes obvious that our referees stop fights early and our cornermen throw in the towel early. But our crowd doesn't get angry, nor claim. Taiga's passing away certainly renders us a sort of trauma.
Oct. 24
TOKYO--Korakuen Hall--Our Japanese boxing fratenity has a good sytem in realizing annual tournaments of 4-round boys, 6-round boys and JBC-ranked contenders. The last is called "A-Class Prize Tournament," the winners of which are entitled to be given mandatory title shots at our national champs. The results of the tourneys are as follows:
Lightweight:
Lefty Kengo Nagashima, 135, scored a fine TKO of Yoichi Iwamoto, 135, at 2:05 of the 8th and final session. Kengo, the son of a club owner Kiyoshi Nagashima, was formerly a high school amateur boxer. The lefty outpunched the slower and less skillful opponent all the way, and his last surge finally made the fading foe go down and surrender in the final session. Nagashima, 22, is 9-1-1, 7 KOs. Despite his record, he is not a good puncher. Iwamoto, 23, fell to 15-11, 12 KOs.
Featherweight:
Shinya Kiuchi, 126, earned a majority nod (78-77, 77-76 and 78-78) over Masayuki Furuya, 126, over 8. The winner, 24, is 11-4-1, 5 KOs. The loser, 25, dropped to 9-5-1, 3 KOs.
Bantamweight:
It was a stunning upset that ex-national champ Leo Arai (who changed his ring name from Yasushi Arai in this bout), 118, was sweeping almost all rounds before he collapsed prone with a beautiful right counterpunch by Wataru Kaito, 118, at 2:47 of the 5th in a scheduled 8. They belongs to the same Kadoebi Boxing Club, and Arai is his senior, probably underestimating his younger rival. All of a sudden, Kaito's short right caught the button of the prohibitive favorite, who stayed flat for minutes. Arai, formerly a car salesman of Toyota, quit his job to concentrate on his fistic career, so Toyota's sales achievement dropped due to his resignation (kidding). Arai, 28, is 23-7-2, 12 KOs. Kaito, 25, who is not a hard-hitter, is 9-3-2, 4 KOs.
Flyweight:
Yuto Asai, a 19-year-old prospect with a 7-0-2, 6 KOs mark, failed to show his performance, because his scheduld opponent, ex-Japanese fly champ Hiroshi Kobayashi, was forbidden to fight this night due to the JBC doctor's advice. Asai is regarded as a winner of this tournament on walkover.
Lightweight:
Yasuharu Yamaguchi, 135, uanimously decisioned Shigeyuki Ohno, 134 1/2, over 6.
Featherweight:
Suguru Okawa, 126, was also a unanimous points victor over Makoto Saito, 126, over 6. Okawa, 22, is 13-2-1, 3 KOs. He needs more power punching to cope with our top notchers.
Bantamweight:
Junichi Waanabe, 118, ran his good mark to 12-1, 9 KOs by outscoring Shuichi Uchida, 118, over 6.
Flyweight:
Shin Terao, 112, decisioned Shunichi Nagayama, 122, over 6.
Promoter: Japan Boxing Association (managers union of this country).
Oct. 22
Bangkok--Channel 7 Ring--DAOMAI SITHKODOM, WBC #5 ranked lightie, scored a unanimous decision over a Filipino named FRANCISCO VELASQUEZ over 10. Daomai, a veteran campaigner, is reportedly 60-7, 33 KOs.
Oct. 23
Bangkok--The PABA (Pan Asian Boxing Association) feather champ CHAMUOKPHETCH CHA-OWCHAMUENG, Thailand, kept his regional title on a majority decision (117-113, 116-113, and 115-115) over Mongorian ESHMAGAMBETOV SERIK over 12. The Thailander is 7-0, 3 KOs.
Another Mongorian SUK BALYAN impressively scored a 5th round TKO over Thai national bantam champ WETHYA SAKMUANGKLANG in a scheduled 10.
CORRECTIONS:
My report of Oct. 19 card in Japan:
Wrong: Higashishima
Correct:HIGASHIJIMA
My report on Oct. 14 card in Japan
Wrong: Moriyasu Tokuyama
Correct: MASAMORI Tokuyama
Also in the same report:
Wrong: Katsuhiko Yashimi
Correct: Katsuhiko YOSHIKAI
SINCE WE HAVE SOME PRONOUNCIATIONS IN THE SAME CHINESE LETTERS THAT WE USE IN THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE, I MAY MAKE SOME MISTAKES IN MY FIRST REPORTS, BUT THEY WILL BE CORRECTED FAITHFULLY. PLEASE DON'T ACCUSE ME OF THESE MISTAKES, AS THAT'S A DESTINY OF OUR LANGUAGE. THE ALPHABET CONSISTS OF JUST 26 LETTERS, BUT WE, JAPANESE, HAVE TO LEARN MORE THAN 3,000 LETTERS. TO ERR IS HUMAN, TO FORGIVE DIVINE.