ANOTHER LOOMING MISMATCH
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 18 Apr 2007
There’s another looming mismatch which the Games and Amusements Board boxing division doesn’t know anything about despite the fact that it has been publicized on the popular boxing site Philboxing.com as well as boxrec.com.
The fight, this time scheduled at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, features former Orient and Pacific Boxing Federation bantamweight champion Jess Maca and undefeated Russian Sasha Bakthin who lives and fights out of Japan and is the Japanese national champion.
Maca is 35 years old with a record of 47-22-6 with 18 knockouts while Bakhtin , is a tough 5’7 slugger with an imposing record of 16-0 with 5 knockouts. Bakhtin who won the Japanese bantamweight crown with a seventh round TKO over Yuji Nukaga on February 17, 2003 has had nine successful title defenses.
In contrast, the ageing Maca is coming off a ten round loss to Ariel Delgado in Taytay, Rizal on the boxing show “In This Corner” last February 17. TV analyst Moy Lainez who covered the fight said Maca suffered a bad beating.
The Japan Boxing Commission has a rule that only Filipino boxers rated in the top ten by the Games and Amusements Board can fight in Japan and according to the GAB boxing division Maca is not ranked in the top ten once again raising questions as to how such a fight can take place without the necessary clearance from the GAB.
The GAB also hasn’t received an application for a scheduled WBC Youth flyweight title fight in on May 10 in Thailand in which southpaw Benedict Suico clashes with undefeated 18 year old champion Pungluang Sor Singyu who has a record of 13-0 with 9 knockouts. Suico has a record of 13-2 with 10 knockouts is coming off a second round KO of Gerald Ubatay last October 14. Pungluang whose birth name is Panya Utok won the vacant title with a first round TKO over Filipino Bryan Vicera on July 27, 2006.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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