YOKOHAMA HEIST: GEJON VERSUS THREE
By Manny Piñol
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 27 Sep 2005
There was an air of confidence that filled the lobby of the Waterfront Hotel in Lahug, Cebu City Thursday night as the handlers of Philippine miniflyweight champion Eriberto Gejon talked about his chances of winning the World Boxing Association title held by 26-year-old Yutaka Niida of Japan.
Boxing hero Manny Pacquiao, Gejon's manager Rex Wakee Salud and the journalists who were in the group that would leave for Yokohama, Japan the following day were almost sure that the 25-year-old Gejon, undefeated in 21 fights with 13 knockouts and 1 draw, would bring home the title.
Tall and fleet-ffooted, Gejon is reputed to be the best miniflyweight in the country now which would justify his being the Philippine miniflyweight champion.
And so when we parted for the night, we were almost certain that when Sunday comes, the country would have another boxing title courtesy of Yuka Gejon.
There was one person in the group though who did not feel so comfortable about Gejon's chances.
American Terry Carter, whom I had dinner with earlier that night, confided to me that Gejon has not had difficult fights and he considers the Filipino champion "a protected fighter."
"I think he is just too open and he drops his hands," said Terry who also manages boxers based in Cebu City.
I don't know what happened in Yokohama except for what appeared in the internet the following day. Yuka failed to win the title following what was described as a "weird" 11th round technical decision awarded to Niida.
The fight was stopped in the 11th round following a deep cut suffered by Gejon below the right eyebrow in the 10th. Under the WBA rules, when a fight is stopped on account of an injury suffered following an accidental headbutt, the winner is determined by totalling the scores. Whoever is ahead don points, wins the fight.
When the result was announced, Niida was declared the winner by split decision simply because two of the three judges -- Pinit Prayadsab of Thailand and Wanshooh Yuh of South Korea both had Niida leading 96-95 in their scorecards.
What was surprising was the fact that the third judge, Medardo Villalobos of Panama had Gejon leading in his scorecard by a mile - 97-93.
Now, I don't exactly know whether Villalobos was looking at the same fight as the two other judges because I cannot simply understand why three people who are obviously judging the same bout would judge it strangely in contrasting manner.
There can only be one explanation and that is the fact that in boxing, a boxer sometimes does not only face one opponent inside the ring. In a foreign land, he has to face the referee and the judges as well.
Which is what may have happened to Yuka Gejon.
There is another factor that may have led to the "Yokohama Heist" and that is explained by Terry Carter.
In spite of Gejon's sterling record, he did not go through tough fights which could have helped him a lot in facing a veteran like Niida, who was also assisted by two cross-eyed judges.
Gejon's lack of punching power made him vulnerable to the pencils of the two judges who may have enjoyed the beautiful sights of Yokohama the night after the fight.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Manny Piñol.
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