September 20, 2004

By Joe Koizumi

WBC 115-pound champ Katsushige Kawashima (27-3, 18 KOs), 115, Japan, kept his newly acquired belt as he dropped Mexican challenger Raul "Baby" Juarez (32-10-1NC), 114.25, three times in the second, sixth and seventh, withstood Juarez's last surge and earned a unanimous decision over twelve heats on Monday in Yokohama, Japan.

The official tallies were as follows: Tony Castellano (US) 114-110, Julie Lederman (US) 113-111 and Brad Vocale (Australia) 117-107, all for the muscular champ. Referee was Bill Clancy (US). This reporter saw it 116-108 for Kawashima.

Why were the scores of the two officials so close although Juarez clearly lost seven points with three 10-8 rounds and a point deducted for dropping a mouth guard twice upon his visits to the deck? It was because Juarez showed a good recovery and threw light but fast combinations even without precision. Obviously Kawashima was the much harder puncher than the Mexican, as shown in the second when the champ caught Juarez right with a heavy overhand right and flattened him before he barely regained his feet and resumed fighting on. Had it happened in later rounds, the third man could have counted him out as his legs appeared still unsteady. Kawashima again decked him with a Hopkins-like left hook to the side of the belly in the sixth and seventh, and accordingly looked so eager to finish the affair to bring home the bacon. The champ ignored Juarez's powder-puff shots and tried to ice him with big shots, so the judges might give some rounds to Juarez for his desperate, if not effective, blows.

Kawashima, who displayed a shocker in dethroning the WBC ruler Masamori Tokuyama in the first session last June, landed a picture-perfect right cross and had him prone in the second. The crowd thought it would be a matter of time that the champ finish him, but Kawashima, 29, was trying to score big shots in the third, when Juarez, 30, threw good combinations to the willing mixer and amazingly took back a point. Kawashima, some two inches taller, turned aggressive with his favorite overhand rights (with which he had blasted out Tokuyama) and solid body shots in the fourth. Juarez was a light puncher, but seemingly dominated the fifth with busier combos despite absorbing the champ's big right once to lose his balance in the fifth.

Kawashima, piloted by ex-WBC and WBA 105-pound champ Hideyuki Ohashi, floored Juarez with a left hook in the closing seconds of the sixth, when the ref stopped the proceedings after counting the mandatory eight and allowed Juarez to return his corner to have the fallen mouth piece washed and make him put it in. The spectators jeered the third man's generosity for Juarez, which apparently killed the champ's good opportunity to follow it up and finish it soon. The same happened again in the next seventh, when the ref did the same by taking the Mexican to his corner to make him have a washed mouth guard again. But he deducted a point this time to see Juarez deliberately drop it out of the mouth.

Juarez, however, surprisingly showed his best in the eighth, while Kawashima attempted to finally sink him for the count but the Mexican landed an effective countering shot to have the champ staggering for a while. Encouraged by the corner, the champ turned loose in the ninth and maintained the pressure on the challenger, taking a point. Juarez, in the tenth, threw more blows in combination, but almost lost his balance as he took big right crosses to the side of the head in the closing seconds of the round. It was a really difficult round to score, as the judges might wonder which was more effective, Juarez's busier combo or Kawashima' s double overhand right. The eleventh clearly went to Kawashima, who displayed his persistent pressure and continual aggressiveness. The Mexican showed his heart in the twelfth and final stanza, as he threw many light combos to be in command with the champ swinging a strong blow at a time and missing the target.

The female judge Julie Lederman's score, 113-111, stunned the crowd, since it meant 113-112 if without the ref having penalized a point from Juarez in the seventh. The partisan crowd, after the fight, thought Kawashima was a much clearer winner by a bigger margin than Lederman saw, sensing it wasn't such a close affair but Kawashima's obvious victory. The difference of view among the judges came from whether or not they evaluated Juarez's many but very light combinations though blocked by the champ or hitting the air.

Kawashima wasn't impressive tonight in spite of scoring three knockdowns, as he threw too roundhouse shots in later rounds like a baseball pitcher. Only good was that he proved he could punch as he had dismantled former champ Tokuyama with a right cross three months ago. He should have utilized his left hand more effectively before he often attempted to release powerful but less accurate blows after Juarez hitting the deck for the third time in the seventh.

Kawashima said, "I feel sorry to my supporters not to be able to show a victory by a knockout, though flooring him three times. I became too tense and stiff to score an anticipated KO win." The Japanese champ will be obliged to face the perennial top contender Jose Navarro within four months.

Undercard:

WBC #14 ranked flyweight contender Trash Nakanuma (25-5, 11 KOs), 112, captured the OPBF 112-pound belt when he was awarded a controversial majority verdict over previously unbeaten defending champ, WBC #2 ranked Noriyuki Komatsu (19-1-5, 8 KOs), 112, over twelve close rounds. The official tallies were: Yuji Fukuchi (Tokyo) 114-113 and Nubuyuki Kitamura (Osaka) 115-113, and scoring ref Brad Vocale (Australia) 114-114. This reporter had it 115-113 for Komatsu.

Komatsu was the aggressor all the way with his incessant combinations, while the peek-a-boo stylist occasionally turned loose to stagger the champ with big left hooks and wild rights. There were some hard rounds to score, because Komatsu sometimes dominated a round for two minutes 45 seconds with Nakanuma staggering the champ with a very few but vicious swings.

It was their grudge fight, as Komatsu had been given a highly disputed decision over Nakanuma in his OPBF title defense in Osaka 13 months ago. Nakanuma, this time, was rendered another controversial nod, which might show their real power was competitive enough. But this triumph may mean a lot to Nakanuma's future, as he will most probably get a shot at a world flyweight throne early next year. The WBC officials watched this semi-final OPBF title go and a majority of them had Komatsu a winner thanks to his fast incessant combinations.

Promoter: Ohashi Promotions.