July 26, 1998
NAGOYA, JAPAN--RAINBOW HALL--Japanese lefty SATOSHI IIDA(right photo), 115, kept his
WBA super-flyweight title as he withstood the furious opening attack of
#1 contender JULIO "YAMBITO" GAMBOA, 115, Nicaragua, in the first two
rounds, fought back hard from the 6th on and earned a close but
unanimous decision in 12 hard-fought rounds before some 8,000
spectators. It was a battle of fast lefties who often exchanged left
crosses each other.
Scored: Lou Tabat (US), Francisco Sandoval (Venezuela) and Orlando Sam (Panama), all 115-113 for the taller southpaw Iida. The 28-year-old champ raised his mark to 25-1-1, 11 KOs. Gamboa, 2 years his junior, dropped to 23-3, 14 KOs.
Gamboa, in the first session, amazed the crowd with his furious aggressiveness, landing solid left crosses followed by southpaw right hooks to the still nervous champ. The 2nd followed the similar pattern with Gamboa taking the initiative with his incessant combinations to the face and belly. Gamboa, ex-Latin American champ, suffered a cut over the right eyebrow in the 3rd. Iida was penalized a point by referee Rafael Ramos, US, due to the accidental butt that produced Gamboa's cut in accordance with the new WBA rules and regulations.
Iida took the 3rd round despite the deduction of a point. Gamboa won the 4th as he landed his favorite left crosses to the Japanese, who retaliated with a few right jabs and one-two combinations. The Nicaraguan, however, had a gash on the right cheek, which grew so big and deep as to continue streaming blood as the contest progressed.
The tide began to turn in the 5th, when Iida changed his strategy by abandoning his original fight plan to outbox the Nicaraguan and turning aggressive to mix up positively. Iida also sustained a gash over the right eyebrow in the 5th. Iida was in command in the 5th through 8th rounds. He repeatedly scored with left crosses to the bloodied cheek of the onrushing opponent.
Gamboa dominated the 9th with effective combos and right hooks, though Iida still kept the pressure on him. The champ gamely mixed up to land solid body shots to the fading opponent to take the 10th and 11th. The game Nicaraguan showed his last surge in the 12th and final round with his face in crimson, but was not enough to overcome the deficits on points in the middle of the bout.
It was a gory but good fight with each desperately showing the best. Iida, having made his 2nd defense, said, "I fought very hard from the 6th. I wanted to outbox him, but my combinations in the close range were effective enough to weaken him in the second half."
Japanese-based Filipino NOLITO "SUZUKI" CABATO, 112, eked out a hairline but unanimous decision over previously unbeaten HAYATO ASAI(right photo), 112, to keep his Japanese national flyweight title over 10.
The hard-hitting local prospect Asai was aggressive enough to land vicious overhand rights to the veteran champ, dominating almost all of the first 6 rounds. WBA #11 ranked fly Asai, however, ran out of gas from the 7th onward, and Cabato was in complete command in the last 4 rounds. Cabato displayed his experience in mixing up in the close range, while Asai barely withstood the champ's incessant short punches.
Scored: Kodai Kumazaki 97-96, Ichiro Uenaka 99-96, and Takaomi Ito 96-95, all for Cabato. Cabato's record just in Japan is 14-4-2, 5 KOs. Asai, 20, tasted his first setback and dropped to 10-1-2, 8 KOs.
Japanese-based Ugandan residing in Nagoya, ISAAC SENTUWA, 124 1/4, displayed sharp and accurate attacks on ex-OPBF bantam champ INSIK KOH, 124 1/2, who surrendered with his cornerman tossing in the towel at 0:40 into the 3rd round of a scheduled 10.
The lefty Sentuwa, who had stopped world rated Bongchul Kim in his previous bout to enter the world top ten, proved too fast and ferocious for the slower Korean, who attemted to confuse him by switching to a southpaw stance, but in vain. Sentuwa, an elongated speedster, battered him to the punch in the 2nd, and it was a matter of time that Koh would sink to the canvas.
Sentuwa, 23, raised his ledger to 6-0, 5 KOs. Koh, 30, fell to 14-3-1, 6 KOs.
JBC #8 ranked fly HIDEKI TODAKA, 114 1/2, turned loose in the last round, dropping TAKEJI NOBEYAMA, 115, twice en route to a TKO win at 0:47 of the 10th and final session. Ex-national light fly champ Todaka, WBC #27 contender, outgrew the 108-pound division and bettered his credentials to 12-2, 6 KOs. Todaka must improve his defensive skill. The loser, 5 years his junior at 20, fell to 8-4-1, 2 KOs.
In a scheduled 8, AKINOBU YAMAMURA, 174 1/4, needed just 53 seconds into the opening session to dispose ex-Philippine welter champ ALLAN ALEGRIA, 170.
Co-promoters: Midori and Teiken Promotions.
WBA supervisor: Gonzalo Silvero Lopez (US)
(7-26-98)
LOU TABAT(US)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | TOTAL |
| Iida | 9 | 9 | 10(-1) | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 115 |
| Gamboa | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 113 |
FRANCISCO SANDOVAL(VENEZUELA)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | TOTAL |
| Iida | 9 | 9 | 10(-1) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 115 |
| Gamboa | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 113 |
ORLANDO SAM(PANAMA)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | TOTAL |
| Iida | 10 | 9 | 10(-1) | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 115 |
| Gamboa | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 113 |
NON-SCORING REFEREE: RAFAEL RAMOS (US)