SPORTSCLOPEDIA 9: KJ CATARAJA FIGHTS EDWARD HENO FOR THE OPBF SUPERFLYWEIGHT TITLE
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 08 Jan 2023
Undefeated world-ranked contender Kevin Jake Cataraja will fight a similar dangerous opponent in Edward Heno for the vacant Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) super flyweight title scheduled on February 11, 2023 in General Santos City.
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Cataraja’s last fight was on August 28, 2022 when he made a short workout of Ronel Dela Cruz also in General Santos via a first-round knockout in an undercard of a bout promoted by Sanman Boxing.
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The 27-year-old Cataraja of Tabuelan, Cebu is ranked by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) in the super flyweight division. He is the WBO No. 6 contender under Kazuto Ioka of Japan as the champion. He is rated IBF No. 13 with Fernando Martinez of Argentina as the champion.
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Cataraja was with the ALA Boxing Gym before its closure, now he fights under ZIP Sanman Boxing Team. He has a professional record of 15 wins, no defeat, with 13 knockouts. He has a high KO rate of 86.67%.
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He defeated Victor Reyes Bernabe by unanimous decision to grab the WBO Youth super flyweight title on November 24, 2018 at the IEC Convention Center in Cebu City. It was his last bout which went the distance.
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Cataraja's other non-KO bout was on February 27, 2016 when he beat Pedro Antonio Rodriguez by unanimous decision at Cebu Waterfront Hotel & Casino, Cebu City.
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Cataraja was hired several times by Japanese world pound-for-pound sensation Naoya Inoue as a sparring partner which made him a celebrity. He has also sparred other Japanese world champions.
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The 30-year-old Heno of Paranaque City has a professional record of 15 wins with five knockouts, one loss, and six draws. His solitary defeat was dealt by Mexico's Elwin Soto for the WBO world light flyweight title on October 24, 2019 in the Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California. Heno failed to wrest the title from Soto by a unanimous decision loss.
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Heno, a southpaw, is a dangerous opponent since he was once the OPBF superflyweight champ. He won the title defeating Japanese Seita Ogido by seventh-round TKO on September 10, 2017 in Nakagami, Japan. Heno defended it three times until 2019 when he earned a world title shot against Soto.
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On December 27, 2022, Dallas Mavericks played the New York Knicks, Luka Doncic had 60 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and one block, 21-of-31 shooting from the field, 2-of-6 from three point range, and 16-of-22 from the free-throw line. He achieved the first 60-20-10 game in NBA history. and capping a great comeback in a wild 126-121 Dallas overtime victory against the Knicks.
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Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks were down nine with less than 30 seconds remaining on the clock when they started a next to impossible run. NBA teams were 0-13,884 in the last 20 seasons when trailing by at least nine with 35 or fewer seconds remaining, per @ESPNStatsInfo.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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