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Philippines, 23 Mar 2026 |
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JAPAN UPDATE: YUBA REGAINS JAPANESE 147LB BELT; WBA FLY CHAMPS SAKATA, VASQUEZ COLLIDE IN JAPAN; TETSURO KAWAI PASSES AWAY By Joe Koizumi PhilBoxing.com Sat, 21 Apr 2007 YUBA REGAINS JAPANESE 147LB BELT TOKYO, JAPAN -- Elongated lefty Tadashi Yuba (30-4-2, 22 KOs), 146.5, regained the vacant Japanese welterweight belt as he made short work of previously unbeaten Akihiro Furukawa (9-1-1, 7 KOs), 146, dropping him three times en route to an automatic KO at 1:32 of the first in a ten-round elimination bout on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. The southpaw six-footer, who had gained national belts in three divisions (at 135, 140 and 147 pounds), sent him to the wild-swinging opponent with a countering left. Furukawa resumed fighting, but went down twice more with Yuba$B!G(Bs right hook and with his strong southpaw left. Yuba is hoped to avenge his previous annihilations by Motoki Sasaki and former champ Teruyoshi Omagari (who had renounced his belt due to his eye ailment and is taking a rest). Promoter: Global Kyoei Promotions. (4-20-07) ------------------------ WBA FLY CHAMPS SAKATA, VASQUEZ COLLIDE IN JAPAN TOKYO, JAPAN -- WBA flyweight champ Takefumi Sakata (30-4-1, 15 KOs), Japan, will face WBA interim ruler Roberto Vasquez (24-1, 17 KOs), Panama, at the Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo, Japan, on July 1. It was announced by Keiichiro Kanehira of Kyoei Promotions. The 27-year-old Japanese, in his fourth attempt, finally captured the WBA 112-pound belt by halting Venezuelan Lorenzo Parra in the third this March. In his third trial for the WBA throne Sakata had lost a hairline split decision to Vasquez, 23, in an interim title bout in Paris last December, so it will be a greatly anticipated grudge fight. Vasquez, nicknamed $B!H(BLa Arana (Spider)$B!I(B in Panama, boasts of his long reach in a southpaw stance, having gained the WBA 108-pound belt by demolishing Colombian Bebis Mendoza via tenth round stoppage in April 2005. Since then, the Spiderman impressively kept his title three times by defeating Jose Antonio Aguirre (TKO4), Nerys Espinoza (W12) and Noel Arambulet (W12) before moving up to the 112-pound category. Then he faced Sakata to acquire the WBA interim belt in France. It will be a very competitive rematch, as Vasquez is a vastly talented boxer-puncher who can box and punch with good speed, while Sakata relies on his abundant stamina and tremendous durability. We are looking forward to seeing the WBA flyweight belts unified between the excellent flyweight ringmen. (4-20-07) --------------------------- TETSURO KAWAI PASSES AWAY YOKOHAMA, JAPAN Japanese promoter/manager Tetsuro Kawai, 68, who handled ex-WBA flyweight champ Susumu Hanagata, passed away of liver complaint in Yokohama, Japan, on Tuesday. The funeral service was held today (Saturday) in his native city Yokohama, where he followed Kawai Gym established by his father and ex-boxer Kid Tetsu. Kawai himself was a successful amateur boxer, winning national championships twice in his high school days, and once more while he was a student of Keioh University. Kawai, a fleet-footed speedster, was unbeaten in his first seven outings, defeating ex-world challenger Leo Espinosa, Ray Ortiz, Tadao Kawamura, etc. prior to his first setback to Fighting Harada in March 1963. Kawai once fought to a draw with then world top bantam contender Jose Medel of Mexico in October 1963. He suffered a couple of KO defeats at the hand of elongated US hard-puncher, world rated Ronnie Jones in Manila and in Tokyo. His final appearance was seen in 1966, when he was demolished by world top feather contender Mitsunori Seki in two quick rounds. Then he called it quits. Though unsuccessful as a professional boxer having compiled only a record of 11-8-4, 1 KO, Kawai showed his excellent management of such good boxers as world champ Hanagata, Orient fly champ Jiro Takada (who lost to Miguel Canto and Guty Espadas Sr.), national titlist Kazuyoshi Kubokura, world-rated Shuzo Yoshida, et al. May his soul rest in peace. (4-20-07) Click here to view a list of other articles written by Joe Koizumi.  |
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