SPORTSCLOPEDIA 36: KJ CATARAJA, THE NEW OPBF SUPERFLYWEIGHT CHAMPION
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 16 Feb 2023
Kevin Jake Cataraja maintains his immaculate record by scoring a unanimous decision win over fellow Filipino Edward Heno to gain the vacant Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) super flyweight title on Saturday, February 11, at the Oval Plaza Gym in General Santos City.
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The victory placed Cataraja of Tabuelan, Cebu nearer to a world title challenge within this year. He is rated No. 6 by the World Boxing Organization and No. 13 by the International Boxing Federation and is expected to enter into the World Boxing Council super flyweight rankings with the win.
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The 27-year-old Cataraja has sparred several times with Japanese pound-for-pound contender Naoya Inoue, former three-division world champion Kosei Tanaka, former four-division world champion Donnie Nietes, and former two-division world champion Johnriel Casimero, among other stars.
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In the early rounds, Cataraja dictated the tempo of the bout with his stinging jabs and booming right straight. He got staggered by several power punches in the sixth round and barely survived a ferocious left uppercut followed by a solid hook from Heno in the ninth. But Cataraja stood still in spite of the flurry of punches released by his raging opponent.
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Cataraja recovered in the 10th round even as Heno continued his offensive. In the 12th, Cataraja found his target and became the obvious winner over his very strong opponent.
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Cataraja triumphed by unanimous decision with the scores of 116-112, 117-111, and 118-110 to post his 16th straight win in 16 bouts. He has fought a total of 69 rounds including 13 KOs with a KO rate of 81.25%. Heno dipped to 15-2-6 with 5 KOs.
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On July 11, 2015, Cataraja made his professional debut and defeated Indonesian Ardi Tefa by a 6th round knockout. Four months after his debut, he defeated another Indonesian Ellias Nggenggo via a 4th round technical knockout. Three months later, Cataraja defeated Mexican Pedro Antonio Rodriguez via a unanimous decision in eight rounds.
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On May 28, 2016, Cataraja stopped Thai boxer Wanchai Nianghansa via a 4th round technical knockout. On November 24, 2018, Cataraja defeated Mexican Victor Hugo Reyes winning via unanimous decision in ten rounds, winning the vacant WBO Youth super flyweight title.
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February 16, 1970 - Joe Frazier defeated Jimmy Ellis to become world heavyweight champion. The fight was made to determine who would be the next WBA and WBC heavyweight champion after Muhammad Ali was stripped of his titles.
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Ali was forced to vacate his titles after he refused to join the United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War due to his religious beliefs. Ali was not able to secure boxing licenses in every state, which led to his championship belts being stripped.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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