Munoz, Aizawa collide on Monday!

September 24, 2007

By Joe Koizumi

Venezuelan hard-puncher Alexander "El Explosivo" Munoz (31-2, 27 KOs), 115, retained his WBA super-flyweight belt as he kept stalking Japanese footworker Kuniyuki Aizawa (13-2-1, 10 KOs), 114.75, decked him with a long left hook in the closing seconds of the ninth and gained a nearly lopsided decision over twelve Tom-and-Jerry rounds on Monday afternoon in Tokyo, Japan. The official tallies were as follows: Cesar Ramos (Puerto Rico) 118-109, Mikael Hook (Sweden) 120-107 and Glenn Feldman (US) 120-106, all in favor of the definitely aggressive champ. The referee was Luis Pabon (Puerto Rico), who had to urge Aizawa twice to exchange more punches rather than keep circling.

For Aizawa, ex-OPBF champ and ex-national amateur champ, it might be strategically successful, in a sense, that he could avert a defeat by knockout by making best use of his feet, but it was Munoz that took the initiative all the way. What Aizawa displayed at the Korakuen Hall was only his fast footwork and good defense, not his heart.

Munoz, making his first defense in his second reign, started throwing solid punches so aggressively as if he intended to score an early stoppage, while Aizawa kept circling without positively throwing punches. The champ kept attacking the negative challenger, regardless of the precision, to win the first four rounds with ease. Munoz seldom caught the elusive target with his vaunted power punches, but obviously piled up a point in every round. Aizawa sustained a slight cut over the left eyebrow caused by the champ's legal shot, which didn't bother him in later rounds.

It was in the fourth that Aizawa began to throw a few jabs and right crosses, but Munoz maintained the pressure to the defensive-minded challenger. In the sixth Aizawa threw only a single solid shot, a well-timed straight right, that effectively caught the champ's chin to have the crowd roaring. Aizawa, however, didn't follow up but returned to his original fight plan to utilize his footwork, while Munoz attempted to retaliate with busy and strong punches even with less precision. All the judges gave all six rounds to Munoz in the first half.

People expected to see Aizawa turn loose in the second half, as Munoz, an early starter as always, became a little slowing down and less aggressive than in earlier rounds. But it didn't happen, as Munoz kept taking the initiative even though he kept repeatedly missing punches against the Japanese dancer. Aizawa occasionally attempted to counter the onrushing champ, whose work-rate, however, still overwhelmed the challenger's retaliation.

Munoz finally caught the footworker in the closing seconds of the ninth, when he connected with a long left hook following a left-right combination, dropping him on the deck near the red corner. Aizawa temporally lost his equilibrium to avert the looping left of the champ and hit the deck. He didn't suffer a big damage with his visit to the canvas and resumed fighting with the bell coming to his rescue.

In the eleventh, Aizawa, for the first time in the fight, began to turn loose against the fading champ who had wasted his stamina through his aggression, which seemed a bit too late. But Munoz retaliated with more powerful punches to keep Aizawa from scoring solid leathers.

The twelfth and final session might be taken by Aizawa, who desperately threw punches to the still dangerous champ who sometimes unleashed a few solid shots. When it was over, the crowd felt a great disappointment in Aizawa's negative performance, even though he displayed his excellent defensive skills.

Aizawa simply made a mistake in judging the proper distance to fight on. Munoz had a longer reach and kept throwing long and strong punches. If Aizawa intended to score counterpunches after the champ missing big shots, he should have fought closer to

El Explosivo rather than keeping such a long distance all the way. Should he have shown such gameness in swapping punches at the middle range, Aizawa could have had a better chance to connect with his trade-mark right counters, though he might have absorbed Munoz's dynamite shots. Aizawa never took a risk to do so, and lost this game without suffering any big damage but without showing any climax. The champ kept stalking and missing great many shots in the air, but steadily won a point after a point to keep his belt with great ease. It might be a good lesson that Aizawa lasted the distance with such a devastating puncher, no matter how severely our experts criticize his disappointing performance.

Undercard:

Venezuelan sparring partner of Munoz, WBA#4 ranked light-fly Freddy Beleno (26-3, 15 KOs), 109.75, remained more aggressive and earned a close but unanimous nod (77-76 twice and 78-75) over Shinichi Yamaguchi (11-3-2, 4 KOs), 110, over eight. Ex-Japanese 122-pound champ Daisuke Yamanaka (21-3, 14 KOs), 115, pounded out a unanimous decision (98-94, 99-92 and 99-93) over Thai switch-hitter Sairung Singwangcha (13-5, 5 KOs), 123.25, over ten.

Promoter: Misako Promotions.