YOSAM CHOI CAPTURES WBC LIGHT FLY TITLE FROM SAMAN SORJATURONG

Oct. 17, 1999
SEOUL, KOREA-The long reign of the WBC light flyweight champ SAMAN SORJATURONG, a mighty Thailander, was over. Pugnacious Korean YOSAM CHOI, WBC No.1 contender, captured the WBC 108-pound title as he battered the inexplicably defensive champ in the first 9 rounds, piled up points comfortably and weathered Saman's retaliations in the last three sessions to score a unanimous decision over 12.

It was a lopsided affair. Saman, making his 11th defense since his coronation by upsetting Humberto Gonzalez in 1995, didn't show his usual zip at all-probably due to his severe reduction of weight or due to his inactivity since his last defense against Mexican Ladislao Vazquez in November of the previous year.

Choi, ex-OPBF champ, started fireworks in the opening session, positively throwing fast combinations to the cautious champ. In the closing seconds of the round, Choi caught him with a looping left hook and almost stunned Saman. The second round saw Choi turn so aggressive as to force him to the ropes with a fusillade of punches. A judge, Herbert Minn, tallied 10-8 to this round for Choi.

Saman, who had iced 32 victims in 41 wins, looked sluggish and negative all the way, losing a point in every round. Choi, a short and fast fighter, kept boring in from the head, and Mexican referee Jose Medina took a penalty from Choi for his headbutts in the 5th.

Choi, in the 6th, shifted his target to Saman's breadbasket, which worked well. He doubled up the champ with his effective body shots. Saman became a bit aggressive for the first time in the fight in the 7th, but Choi cleverly outboxed him and counterpunched the wild-swinging champ.

Strange enough, Saman slipped down many times throughout the contest-probably because of his weak legs. In the 8th, Saman made his visits twice, being pushed by Choi, though he attempted to be an aggressor. Saman missed plenty of roundhouse blows.

Choi turned loose in the 9th, when he positively threw fast combos and had the champ at bay, as two judges scored 10-8.

Saman showed his pride and guts only to avert a humiliation by desperately going forward with wild, less accurate and slower punches in the 10th. Choi changed his strategy, and began to fight with his guard tight to avoid a come-from-behind defeat. Saman became pugnacious as he threw many punches, most of which failed to catch the elusive Korean. Circling and jabbing with his coolness, Choi defended himself from Saman's last surge.

When the fight was over, the result was very obvious. People realized that the new champ was born.

Scored: Tony Perez (US) 116-111, Takeaki Kanaya (Japan) 116-110, and Herbert Minn (US) 116-108, all in favor of Choi, 21-1, 10 KOs. Saman dropped to 41-3-1, 32 KOs.

Promoter: Sungmin Promotions.
WBC supervisor: Dominador Cepeda (Philippines).
Mr. Jose Sulaiman, WBC president, was in attendance.
(10-17-99)

PS This reporter has never seen Saman in such a poor shape. Saman was known for his power-punching with which he demolished Humberto Chiquita Gonzalez. But Saman didn't look what he used to be. Choi, who became the OPBF champ by beating Kenzo Ando in Osaka, Japan, in 1996 with yours truly's matchmaking, was regarded as a fast but light puncher. But Korean experts point out his gain in power while he was waiting for his mandatory shot for a long time, since Ricardo Lopez was scheduled to have a crack at Saman, though it eventually didn't materialize. Choi is handled by Madam Yongja Shim, who lately re-established her promotional enterprise with the aid of a rich Sungmin Inc. Choi became Sungmin's first world champ. The arena-Olympic Gymnastics Gymnasium-was occupied by great many of the Sungmin employees. Anyway, Korea now boasts of a couple of WBC champs-Choi and WBC super-fly boss Injoo Cho. With Choi's coronation, Korean boxing at its bottom may rebound soon, hopefully.

SCORESHEETS

REFEREE: JOSE MEDINA (MEXICO)

Back to Oriental Boxing

Go to Top