YOKOHAMA, Japan — Eriberto Gejon came close to winning a world title for the Philippines on Sunday night, dropping a dubious technical split decision in the 10th round to defending champion Yutaka Niida at the Yokohama Arena.
Leaning on his stiff left jab and pet right straight, Gejon got the nod of Panamanian judge Medardo Villalobos, 97-93, but the two others — Thai Pinit Prayadsab and Korean Wan Soo Yuh — saw it 96-95 for Niida.
Prayadsab had judged and scored in favor of Niida in his first two title defenses.
The end came at 2:01 of the 10th stanza after a clash of heads opened a ghastly one-and-a-half inches cut underneath Gejon’s right eyebrow. The wound was so bad that Puerto Rican referee Luis Pabon had no choice but to stop the scheduled 12-rounder on the advice of the ring physician who examined the cut.
“I thought I did enough to win on the scorecards,” said Gejon in Cebuano, who saw his win-loss-draw card drop to 21-1-1 with 13 knockouts.
“Tell them I want a rematch,” Gejon told a Japanese scribe in English while he was fixing his things.
Gejon was so distraught that he wanted to get out of the ring shortly after the decision was announced by the Japanese ring announcer instead of Jimmy Lennon Jr., who made the formal introductions.
“I don’t know why it was not Jimmy Lennon who read the results. There could have been hocuspocus in that,” blurted out Gejon’s chief handler, Wakee Salud.
Gejon demanded that he be given a rematch to prove that he should have been declared the winner.
Japanese boxing personality Joe Koizumi thought Gejon should have won the fight.
Niida hardly laid his gloves on the fleet-footed and taller Filipino in the first six rounds as he was on the receiving end of Gejon’s jabs and straights.
The Japanese clawed back and took the seventh, eighth and ninth rounds, but was again being hit just before they banged heads as Gejon wisely evaded Niida’s haymakers.
Salud was very disappointed with the scorecards submitted by the two Asian judges.
“Gejon deserves a rematch, definitely,” said Salud, who brought along friends from Cebu and even boxing star Manny Pacquiao.
The news of Gejon’s defeat cast a pall of gloom over the Philippine boxing community following the impressive string of victories posted by Pacquiao, Brian Viloria and Rey Bautista in Los Angeles two weeks ago.
Gejon earned $20,000 for his first title shot, but the fighter from Mandaue, Cebu, could not find consolation on the money he will bring back home since he has to start all over again.
In a fight that featured another Filipino, Ayon Naranjo lost a unanimous decision to Jorge Linares of Venezuela in their six-round featherweight duel.
Christened “El Ni?o De Oro” (Golden Boy) by his Venezuelan handlers, Linares decked Naranjo with an overhand right to the head in the fifth round, but the Filipino stood his ground.
Before heading here, Gejon heard morning mass at a Catholic church just a few minutes away from the Hotel Grand Palace where he was joined there by Salud and his cornermen who all expressed optimism that the title would change hands.
Gejon’s team is expected to arrive in Manila at 1:30 pm Monday (today) on board Philippine Airlines. They are slated to depart Narita at 9:30 a.m.
