As of September 11, 1999
TODAKA VS. NAGO, WBA SUPER-FLY TITLE BOUT SET
HIDEKI TODAKA, newly crowned WBA super-flyweight champion, decided to
risk his title against unbeaten hard-hitting lefty AKIHIKO NAGO, a
sensational prospect, at Ryogoku Sumo Arena, Tokyo, on November 7.
Todaka, 15-2-1, 7 KOs, impressively dethroned Venezuelan veteran Jesus
"Kiki" Rojas, dropping him in the second round en route to a unanimous
decision to his credit last July. His manager Toshiro Matsuo says,
"Without beating Nago, my champ Todaka won't be regarded as the world
champ by our boxing fans. So, we want to defeat Nago in our first
defense to prove Todaka is the real champ." Nago, managed by ex-world
junior fly kingpin Yoko Gushiken, is a very popular KO artist whose
southpaw right hook decked 11 clearcut wins within the distance in 15
victories against no losses. Nago, formerly All Japan high school
champ, was scouted by Gushiken, whose financial backer is an influential
wig-making enterprise. Nago, a fast footworker with devastating power,
finished ex-Orient & Pacific champ Jinhyun Yuh in the 10th and final
round, displayed a beautiful 9th-round KO over another KO puncher
Yoshiaki Matsukura, and beat ex-WBA junior fly champ Keiji Yamaguchi on
points. This will be a crowd-pleasing competition with the dame and
durable Todaka boring in and the clever and cautious Nago outlegging to
look for openings to score his lethal shot.
YAMAGUCHI TO GO AND FIGHT ABROAD
KEIJI YAMAGUCHI failed to win the WBC super-fly belt on a nearly
lopsided decision to unbeaten Korean champ INJOO CHO in Tokyo on
September 5. Yamaguchi, 28-4, 11 KOs, previously dethroned Panamanian
Carlos Murillo on an upset decision to become the WBA 108-pound champ in
May, 1995. The tall lefty, whose idol is Prince Naseem Hamed,
unanimously beat Murillo again in his first defense three months later,
but forfeited his crown to lefty Thailander Pichit Chor Siriwat on a
second-round TKO in December that year. Yamaguchi now wishes to fight
abroad after a severe lesson by Cho, if possible, in the US to try his
fast fists and feet. If so, he may appear with the costume of
leopard-trunks and fight as a Japanese Hamed.
ISHII RISKS OPBF 122-POUND CROWN
KOZO ISHII, OPBF super-bantam champ ranked No.7 by the WBC, will put his
regional title on the line against Korean champ KIOH KIL in his home
turf, Nagoya, on November 21. Ishii, 21-1, 14 KOs, is gunning for a
shot at the WBA 122-pound crown against Nestor Garza here, but the
negotiation seemed to have met a deadlock. So, his manager/promoter
Takao Maruki, who had an unsuccessful crack at the WBA 130-pound crown
via a unanimous decision to Samuel Serrano in 1978, couldn't wait any
longer, and decided to book Ishii's OPBF title defense. Ishii, a short
and powerful prospect, is a hard-puncher at the Asian level, but lacks
finesse and defensive skill. When Ishii moved up to Tokyo for the first
time in his career and stopped Korean bantam champ Palman Shin at the
Korakuen Hall, ex-world junior light champ Yoshiaki Numata severely
castigated Ishii's poor defensive skill. Furthermore, Ishii is too
short in height to cope with Garza, much less Erik Morales.
MAGRAMO VS. NAKANO, OPBF FLYWEIGHT TITLE GO DECIDED
MELVIN MAGRAMO, OPBF flyweight champ ranked No.15 by the WBC, lately
decked his tune-up bout by chalking up a 7th-round TKO win over Jun Loma
in Paranaque, Philippines, on August 28. Melvin, three fighting sons of
formerly world rated flyweight Ric Magramo, will face unbeaten Japanese
lefty HIROSHI NAKANO, 11-0, 8 KOs, in Nagoya on November 23. But Nakano
has a fundamental flaw in his defensive skill, usually hanging his hands
too low. If Melvin applies a strategy of non-stop punching, Nakano,
managed by ex-WBC 122-pound champ Kiyoshi Hatanaka, will have a tough
time.
RICK'S CAMPAIGN HERE TO EXPECT 19TH NATIONAL TITLE DEFENSE
RICK YOSHIMURA, WBA No.4 ranked lightweight contender and a New Yorker
living in Japan with a Japanese wife, will risk his national 135-pound
title against highly expected challenger TADASHI YUBA, a very tall
lefty, in his 19th defense in Tokyo on September 20. Rick, an Alexis
Arguello stylist, is a good jabber with excellent defensive skill, but
Yuba, 12-1, 7 KOs, may give him a trouble with his vaunted southpaw left
hand. However, Rick, 35-5, 20 KOs, will successfully keep his title,
and will beat the current record of the most defenses by the national
champ, ex-junior middle champ Hitoshi Kamiyama's 20, in the nearest
future.
DUAL WORLD TITLE GO OR NOT IN KOREA
SUNGMIN PROMOTIONS of Korea is likely to promote a dual world title bout
at Olympic Gymnastics Gymnasium, Seoul, on Oct. 17. One is the WBA
super-feather title bout between Korean-based Mongolian LAKVA SIM and
unbeaten OPBF light champ JONGKWON BAEK. Another is the WBC light fly
title go between Thailand's KO artist SAMAN SORJATURONG and the WBC's
perennial top contender and OPBF champ YOSAM CHOI. But Ms. Yongja Shim,
called Korean Dragon Lady, hasn't announced yet whether she will promote
both on the same date, or put off one to another date. It's strange
that, in Korea, they usually wouldn't announce the exact date and fight
venue some weeks before world title bouts, chiefly because the Korean
impresarios tend to look for more favorable local sponsors until the
time limit of the promotions.
SENSATIONAL FEATHER MATCH, IMAOKA VS. WEHBEE
TAKEO IMAOKA, WBC No.2 ranked feather contender, will put his OPBF title
at stake against WBC No.12 ranked TONY WEHBEE, Australian champ, in
Tokyo on October 11. It is a good match with the highly ranked
126-pounders. Imaoka, a lanky speedster with good punching power, may
try to outbox the more powerful but slower Aussie, and it may be a close
fight unless Imaoka's occasionally remarable right cross explodes.
Joe Koizumi
If you wish to refer to my previous reports, please access to:
http://www.ring-japan.com/oriental.htm
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