The Cyber Boxing Zone Newswire

TOKYO JOE RINGSIDE IN THAILAND: JOE KOIZUMI
PICHIT KEEPS WBA LIGHT FLY TITLE AGAINST #1 GAMBOA

FEBRUARY 20, SAMUI, THAILAND-Fast-moving lefty PICHIT CHOR SIRIWAT, 108 lbs., withstood a crisis in the fourth round and outmaneuvered hard-hitting Filipino JOMA GAMBOA, 108, to defend his title with a 12-round unanimous decision at a makeshift ring on Chaweng Beach.

It was Pichit's fourth defense since he dethroned Japan's Keiji Yamaguchi in Osaka in December of 1996.  Gamboa, who had iced 19 victims in 25 wins (including eight first-round KO's), zoomed up to the top contender thanks to his first-round KO of ex-WBA champ Carlos Murillo in an elimination bout in Venezuela in September of 1997.

Each contestant entered the ringside area on the back of an elephant.  They respected each other in the first three sessions, but Gamboa looked stiff, aiming at a quick KO win.   The Thai threw a few more punches than the Filipino to take the first three on points.

In the next round, Gamboa finally caught the champ with a right-left-right combination that sent him reeling to the ropes.  Without the ropes Pichit would have fallen down.   Gamboa followed up  and was looking to punish the champ, but Pichit utilized his footwork and attempted to fight back with straight lefts to the belly.

The Filipino complained about the champ's low blows midway in the fifth, and referee Waldemar Schmidt (of Puerto Rico) stopped the proceedings and gave a brief break to the challenger.

Gamboa turned on the aggression in the seventh and pinned the champ on the ropes with sharp combos to the head to take the round.

From the eighth stanza onward, Pichit was moving well to avert Gamboa's power punches.   The Filipino maintained the pressure, but failed to land punches on the moving target.  The champ utilized his hit-and-run tactics and piled up the points. In the last two rounds Gamboa realized that he was behind on points and attempted in vain to score a KO win.  But he was too tight and tense to catch the fleet footed southpaw.

CARDS READ

Scored:  Erkki Meronen (Finland) 118-112, Melchor Taylor (Trinidad & Tobago) 118-110, and Hiroyuki Tezaki (Japan) 116-112, all for Pichit who is now 20-1, 11 KOs.

OFFICIAL SCORE SHEETS

ERKKI MERONEN
ROUND   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12  TOTAL
PICHIT 10 10 10 10  9 10  9 10 10 10 10 10   118
GAMBOA  9  9  9 10 10  9 10  9  9 10  9  9    112

MELCHOR TAYLOR
ROUND   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12  TOTAL
PICHIT 10 10 10  9 10 10  9 10 10 10 10 10   118
GAMBOA  9  9  9 10  9  9 10  9  9  9  9   9   112

HIROYUKI TEZAKI
ROUND   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12  TOTAL
PICHIT 10 10  9 10  9 10  9 10 10  9 10 10   116
GAMBOA  9  9 10  9 10  9 10  9  9 10  9  9    112


Joe Koizumi

Note: The writer has his own site on Asian boxing at
http://www.ring-japan.com/oriental.htm

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