IBF CONFIRMS HANDIG TO CHALLENGE TAKAYAMA FOR NO. 1 SPOT
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 05 Jul 2012
Takayama.
International Boxing Federation Championship Committee chairman Lindsey Tucker has confirmed that Filipino Mateo Handig will challenge former minimum weight world champion Katsunari Takayama of Japan for the No. 1 spot in the rankings.
The twelve round bout will take place in the Philippines in September.
Takayama is rated No. 7 while Tucker informed the Manila Standard that Handig is now ranked No.11.
When told that Handig?s last three fights which he won were against certified patsies with a total of 3 wins against 29 defeats, Tucker said ?my guess is that Handig must have beaten someone along the way with a good record in order to be rated.?
He said the IBF ?got all the way down to No, 11 because no one would take the fight against Takayama? who is under the famed ALA Promotions while Handig is handled by Highland Boxing owned by Brico Santig based in Benguet province.
The 22 year old Handig has a record of 12-5 with 7 knockouts. His most impressive win was on October 16, 2011 when he won the vacant WBC Asia Boxing Council title with a 7th round TKO of Bimbo Nacionales, dropping Nacionales twice in the seventh round after himself being dropped in the first.
Takayama who has a record of 24-5 with 10 knockouts is the ormer WBC straw-weight world champion having won the title by a unanimous twelve round decisions over Isaac Bustos of Mexico in April 4, 2005. In November 7, 2006 he won the interim WBA minimum weight title also by a unanimous twelve round decision over Carlos Melo.
Takayama flew to South Africa and bucked the odds to score a 6th round knockout against Tshepo Lefele in an IBF world title eliminator on September 1, 2010.
However, Takayama subsequently battled the fearsome Nkosinathi Joyi for the title on January 29, 2011 but an accidental head-butt in the third round resulted in a no decision as the fight was stopped. Takayama battled Joyi gamely in a rematch but lost by a unanimous decision on March 30 this year.
Takayama also battled Roman Gonzalez but driopped a unanimous twelve round decision in a WBA title fight on July 14, 2009.
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