CUELLO WINS TO KEEP HIS MANDATORY TITLE CHALLENGE ALIVE
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 08 Apr 2013
Promoter/manager and trainer Aljoe Jaro?s confidence in WBC minimumweight No.1 contender and mandatory challenger Denver Cuello paid off when he matched him against Japan?s Takashi Kunishige in Osaka, Sunday.
With a mandatory title shot at the winner of the May 6 Las Vegas title defense of China?s Xiong Zhao Zhong who faces Panama?s Carlos Ortega on the line, fighting Kunishige was a risk that Jaro was willing to take, confident of his fighter?s power to prevail.
Cuello who injured his shoulder when he beat Ivan Meneses of Mexico last year and was wary of re-injuring it, didn?t let loose with his usual devastating power but was still able to
drop the Japanese in round two but didn?t finish him off.
Two of the three judges had Cuello the comfortable winner by margins of 97-92 and 96-93 but the third judge scored it even at 95-95. Cuello improved to 33-4-6 with 21 knockouts. While the 36 year old Kunishige dropped to 24-9-2 with 2 knockouts.
Cuello?s stablemate and former WBC flyweight champion, 31 year old Sonny Boy Jaro who won the world title with a shocking 6th round TKO over veteran and longtime world champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam of Thailand on March 2, 2012 but lost the crown to Japan?s Toshiyuki Igarashi on a twelve round split decision on July 16, 2012, failed to overcome Hiroyuki Hisataka in a ten round bout losing by a unanimous decision.
All three judges scored the fight for the 28 year old Hisataka with one judge scored the fight 96-94 while the two other judges scored it 98-94.
Hisataka improved his record to 22-10-1 with 10 knockouts while Sonny Boy Jaro fell to 34-12-5 with 24 knockouts.
Over in Osaka hard-hitting 21 year old southpaw Mark Anthony Geraldo scored a 2nd round knockout in a scheduled ten round bout against Hirofumi Mukai.
Unable to be saved by the bell the Japanese fighter was counted out at 3:04 of the second round.
Geraldo earlier won the WBC Youth super flyweight title with a majority ten round decision over talented Jerwin Ancajas on March 17, 2012.
23 year old Roli Gasca of the ALA Gym, the former Pan Asian Boxing Association and Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation super bantamweight champion meantime had to settle for a majority draw against former WBA super bantamweight champion, 28 year old Akifumi Shimoda of Japan with two judges scoring it an even 96-96 and 95-95 while the third judge had Shimoda ahead 97-94.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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