TWO GREAT LIGHTWEIGHTS ON KOTV ?SUPER FIGHTS?
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 24 Feb 2012
Buchanan vs Laguna.
Two great lightweights Ken Buchanan of Scotland and Ismael Laguna of Panama headline the widely-watched ?Super Fights? telecast on AKTV IBC Channel 13 on February 28 at 9:00 p.m.
The two met twice and on both occasions Buchanan prevailed on points over 15 eventful rounds.
In their first title fight Buchanan ignored an order by the British Board of Control not to fight Laguna who had been stripped of the title by the WBC for failing to defend against Mando Ramos but Buchanan traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico for a title fight recognized by the Neww York State Athletic Commission.
Buchanan won a close fight with referee/judge Waldemar Schmidt scoring the fight for Laguna 144-143 but judges Pito Lopez and Jose Soto giving Buchanan the nod by scores of 145-144 and 144-143.
Both fighters were stylists but Buchanan came on strong in the championship rounds to win an action-packed bout.
The fight was close all the way with Laguna taking the fight to the challenger and scoring with chopping right leads and short, snappy punches on the inside.
But the stylish Buchanan working behind a reapier-like jab began to turn things around in the fifth and 6th rounds before dominating Laguna in the later rounds.
He shook Laguna in the 12th round with a series of solid blows to the head, forcing the champion to clinch.
In February 1971 Buchanan defended his WBC title in Los Angeles where he won a 15 round decision over Ruben Navarro who on February 15, 1969 lost a unanimous 15 round decision for the vacant WBC super featherweight title to Filipino southpaw Rene Barrientos in a fight we covered for Radio Station dzHP Manila at the Araneta Coliseum.
Buchanan gave Laguna a rematch in New York and retained the title with a unanimous decision at New York?s famed Madison Square Garden on September 13, 1971.
Scoring referee Jimmy Devlin had Buchanan winning 9 rounds to 6, judge Harold Lederman who is the unofficial judge in HBO Sports coverage of championship boxing also had Buchanan ahead by a wider 10-5 margin while Tony Castellano had it also for Buchanan by a closer 8 rounds to 6 margin.
Also featured on AKTV ?Super Fights? will be highlights of Chris? Simply the Best? Eubank?s 2nd round TKO of Jean Noel Camara on October 24, 1989 and one of the finest super featherweight title fights between South Africans Philip Ndou who was a brawler with a knockout punch and Cassius Baloyi, a boxer with a KO punch in a fight that took place in Carnival City, Brakpan, Gauteng, South Africa on November 3, 2001 in a card titled ?Fire and Ice.?
Baloyi lost by a unanimous decision and next faced the Philippines Tiger Ari for the vacant IBO title on April 17, 2002 in a bout where Tiger Ari started off well but fell prey to the high altitude and lost by a 7th round TKO.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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