THREE BIG WORLD TITLE FIGHTS IN JAPAN TODAY
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 31 Dec 2011
Three big world title fights will be staged in Japan today as professional boxing continues to thrive in the Asian nation.
Classy little man, unbeaten 22 year old WBC minimum weight champion Kazuto Ioka (8-0, 5 KOs) defends his title against unbeaten Thai Yodgoen Tor Chalermchai (8-0, 4 KOs) in Osaka, Japan later today.
Ioka is the youngest and one of the most talented of Japan?s current eight world champions according to Hall-of-Fame media man Joe Koizumi. Ioka who is making his second defense will face the 21 year old Yodgoen along with a couple of WBA title in Yokohama.
Ioka, described by Koizumi as ? a baby-faced youngster popular in his native Osaka? tipped the scales at the 105 pound limit while his Thai challenger came in at 104 ? pounds in the official weigh-in yesterday.
Ioka was confident of winning. He said ?I?ll keep my belt without problem.? Yodgoen responded , ?I hope to bring back a good gift to my family in Thailand. I?m not scared of Ioka but keep going forward to win the belt.?
Internationally respected referee Bruce McTavish will be the third man in the ring.
Over in Yokohama, two huge world title fights will be held almost simultaneously. Lanky Panamanian Celestino Caballero (35-4, 23 KOs) will defend his WBA featherweight belt against Japanese banger Satoshi ?Bazooka?Hosono (21-1, 15 KOs) in the first of a twin-bill.
Although standing 5?11?Caballero made the featherweight limit, tipping the scales at 125 ? pounds while Hosono checked in at exactly 126-pounds.
Caballero who is being trained by Floyd Mayweather Jr?s uncle, Jeff Mayweather, is 35 year old but is bound to exploit his 74 inch reach advantage and his eight inch height advantage against the stockily buiold Hosono.s advantageous by some eight inches.
Caballero won the WBA featherweight title by outpointing Jonathan Barros in a rematch last October.
Japanese fight fans expect the 28 year old Hosono to win according to Koizumi mainly because he can punch and lives up to his nickname of ?Bazooka.? But Caballero, among boxing experts, is favored to win because of his all-round skills.
The champion himself said ?I hope to win elegantly.? Trainer Mayweather added, ?If in good shape, there?s no one who can beat this champ.?
Undefeated WBA super-feather champ Takashi Uchiyama (17-0, 14 KOs)Japan battles WBA interim titlist Jorge Solis (40-3-2-1NC, 29 KOs) in a highly-anticipated unification bout. Both fighters tipped the scales at the 130 pound limit.
A confident Uchiyama who is making his fourth title defense predicted ?I?m in tip-top shape, and will keep my belt.?
Uchiyama won the title when he beat Juan Carlos Salgado by a twelfth round stoppage some two years ago.
The 32 year old Solis who once lost by an 8th round TKO to Manny Pacquiao was also confident of winning. He said ?I?ve got acclimated with the climate here and am well-prepared enough to win the belt and bring it back to Mexico.?
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