Japanese boxer Takashi Uchiyama, super featherweight world champion was chosen by the ratings committee as the Boxer of the Month of the World Boxing Association.
So was announced in the last ratings running from December 6, 2014 to January 5, 2015. The results of the fight held after January 5 will be taken into consideration for the next ratings. (more…)
The WBA congratulates its champions Takashi Uchiyama, Kazuto Ioka and the female champion Naoko Fujioka, who were all awarded among the best of the year in Japan.
Uchiyama received the Technique Award in the ceremony that took place last Friday at the Tokyo Dome Hotel in Tokyo.
The WBA Super-Featherweight champion also received the Fight of the Year award for his battle with Daiki Kaneko.
WBA Flyweight champion Kazuto Ioka received Fighting Spirit Award. (more…)
Japan, Land of the Rising Sun and a country where they like big fights in the middle of the week, saw three world title contests take place on Tuesday, two at Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo and one at the remarkably named Bodymaker Colosseum in Osaka.
Osaka saw a clash of unbeaten fighters as WBA light flyweight king Kazuto Ioka, 14-0 (9), met the challenge posed by Nicaragua’s Felix Alvarado, 18-1 (15).
While Ioka on paper has had less fights than Alvarado, the Osaka man has traded in much more accomplished circles, going from winning four WBC and/or WBA minimumweight bouts to two WBA light fly defenses, giving him a huge advantage in experience over Alvarado, who had largely only fought domestic level competition.
But Alvarado came to fight and tried to make the best of his first world title opportunity, coming forward for the entire contest. Ioka handled the pressure like the seasoned vet he is, staying right there with the challenger and using sharp skills to outbox and outfight Alvarado in a bruising affair.
After 12 rounds, Ioka came out on top by scores of 119-109, 119-109 and 115-113, retaining the WBA strap for the third time.
Heading over to Tokyo, there were two super feather belts on the line; the WBC and the WBA ‘World”, held by Takashi Miura and Takashi Uchiyama, respectively.
WBC champ Miura, 27-2-2 (19), faced the challenge posed by WBC Continental Americas beltholder Dante Jardon, 24-4 (20), a chinny banger from Mexico. (more…)
Universidad Autonoma in Guadalajara, Mexico was the site of a thrilling fight last evening that saw Juan Carlos Salgado survive a rocky final round to capture the vacant IBF super feather crown against Argenis Mendez.
Salgado went into the bout having won two straight after losing the WBA super feather title to Takashi Uchiyama in Japan last year but the Mexico City man was expected to have a tough night against New York based Dominican Mendez.
Earlier this year Mendez had won an IBF title eliminator with a sharp performance against a former owner of that title, Cassius Baloyi, in South Africa, and had been victorious in his last six appearances.
Once the bell rang, the fighters got right down to combat with Salgado bringing the pressure but Mendez surprisingly chose to stand and fight rather than to use his advantages of speed and skill and box. (more…)
WBA Super Feather kingpin Edwin Valero and WBC Bantamweight Champion Hozumi Hasegawa were in action at the Nihon Budokan in Tokyo on Thursday night and both retained their titles.
Valero, 24-0 (24), kept his magnificent knockout streak alive with a seventh round pasting of former Japanese Lightweight titlist Takehiro Shimada, 22-4-1 (15).
Shimada used his considerable experience to evade the brunt of the Venezuelan southpaw’s firepower and was only down by two rounds on one of the scorecards but the 36 year’s luck ran out at 1:55 of the seventh frame when Valero found the target with a crisp right hook, straight left combination to the head.
Valero retains his title for the fourth time and continues his campaign to engage Manny Pacquiao in a high profile showdown but the multi-weight Filipino legend is on a trajectory to face world light welter champ Ricky Hatton later this year. (more…)