The month of August hasn't been great for Japanese Super Bantamweights. Back on August 16th we saw Ryosuke Iwasa lose the IBF title to TJ Doheny in Tokyo. On August 23rd Hinata Maruta was held to a controversial draw against Ben Mananquil in the Philippines. That run unfortunately continued this past Saturday when 37 year old Hidenori Otake (31-3-3, 14) suffered his first stoppage loss, being taken out inside a round by WBO Super Bantamweight champion Isaac Dogboe (20-0, 14).
Otake had gone over to Arizona confident, he had spoke about taking Dogboe long and defeating him based on his stamina. That confidence showed as he looked to stand toe-to-toe with Dogboe and take the fight to him. Sadly for Otake that was a mistake as Dogboe was sharper, quicker and more accurate, landing solid uppercuts and left hooks at will. One of those left hooks was a dynamite shot right on the chin, sending Otake down hard. The Japanese fighter, who had proven toughness, got to his feet at the count of 4 and went on to the front foot, trying to take the fight to Dogboe. It was a mistake and he was forced to touch down again only moments later. Otake continued to fight but was totally unable to avoid the left hooks from Dogboe and the bout was stopped as Dogboe unloaded a big flurry on to the Japanese fighter. This is likely to be Otake's final bout as a professional, and we're expecting him to announce his retirement very soon. As for Dogboe the future is very exciting and he openly called out the other world champions after his win, with potential show downs against Rey Vargas, Daniel Roman and TJ Doheny all interesting looking bouts for the young fighter from Ghana.
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Japan's Ryosuke Iwasa (25-3, 16) [岩佐 亮佑] has a reputation of coming up short against the best Southpaw's he's faced. That proved to be the case again today when he lost the IBS Super Bantamweight title to Australian based Irishman TJ Doheny (20-0, 14) via unanimous decision at the Korakuen Hall, with the loss following previous defeats to southpaws Shinsuke Yamanaka and Lee Haskins.
The champion, defending his belt for the second time, had a good start. Both men looked to feel the other out but it was a right by Iwasa that caught the eye as he wobbled the challenger, and left him with a nasty cut on his right cheek. It seemed an almost perfect start. He was however unable to capitalise and the following round a busier, quicker and sharper Doheny was about to out work a one paced Iwasa, who landed another good right hook but spent too much of the round stalking and not enough actually fighting. Rounds 3 and 4 were also good ones for Doheny who out landed Iwasa and landed some really eye catching head shots. Although Iwasa again had moments he refused to move through the gears, and the good shots he was landing were rarely followed up on, whilst Doheny actually let his hands fly in bursts. By the end of round 4 the challenger wasn't just cut but also swollen under the left eye, but showed little worry of Iwasa's power, often circling with his hands down. Iwasa managed to have more success in round 5, when he began to feint less and through more. Doheny seemed to feel the power more often, and it certainly seemed like Iwasa had more power than the supposedly heavy handed Doheny, but it against seemed like Iwasa was too concerned on single shots and not his combinations. The Japanese fighter has a really potent straight left hand, but he did little to set the shot up, and seemed to be willing to look for perfect shots as opposed to taking a risk or two. Round 6 was a stand out round as the two men went tit for tat. Doheny had the early success, and and had a big attack about a minute into the round. Iwasa fired back, and seemed to rock Doheny at one point before fighting back. It again seemed to show that Iwasa was the puncher in the fight and that Doheny's reputation as the puncher wasn't right, but it was Doheny who always seemed to engage the attacks and force the fight. In fact round 7 was another good one for Doheny, who landed a brilliant combination late in the round. The challenger was spoiling up close, but but knew what he had to do to get shots off and to smother Iwasa. Iwasa had a better round in round 8, as the two both let their shots go with more freedom than they had earlier on. It was clear that neither man was too confident that they were in the lead, but it was Iwasa who was beginning to land more, letting his shots go in bunches and landing some crunching body shots with Doheny's blood from the cut began to drip down his face. The good round from Iwasa was again neutralised by Doheny having a good bounce back round, as he once again out worked the Japanese fighter. Round 10 was one of the most competitive rounds of the fight. Doheny started really well, but Iwasa managed to come on strong, landing a fantastic right hand late in the round before a body shot seemed to hurt the challenger. The success there was finally built one by Iwasa who had an amazing round 11, his best round, as he finally moved through the gears, let his shots go and hurt Doheny, who looked to be running on fumes. The body shots looked like they had knocked the gas out of Doheny who clinched, spoiled and even wrestled Iwasa to the floor as he tried to see out the storm. It looked like Doheny was going to be there for the taking in round 12, but amazingly he had his second wind, just when he needed it, and he out worked Iwasa through the round. Iwasa, did little when he really needed to let it all go. Sadly for the Japanese fighter his failure to fight fire with fire in round 12, among other rounds, was the difference between the two men and Doheny was a worth decision winner, with the judges scoring the bout 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 in favour of Doheny. Sadly those watching on ESPN+ in the US had a narrative from Teddy Atlas of a robbery, it wasn't. The right guy win, though 117-112 is wide of the mark the other two scores are spot on, with the best Iwasa could have hoped for was a draw. He let Dohney have his way too much, and the destructive Iwasa who claimed the title in eye catching fashion against Yukinori Oguni was nowhere to be seen here. Last year we saw the IBF Super Bantamweight end up in the hands of Ryosuke Iwasa (25-2, 16) [岩佐 亮佑], following his sensational performance against Yukinori Oguni. Today he made his first defense of the title, taking on little known Filipino challenger Ernesto Saulong (21-3-1, 8), and taking a wide decision over the gutsy visitor.
Sadly for Iwasa the performance was far from the quality that he showed against Oguni, and was more of a disappointing outing, despite retaining his title with relative ease. The bout started with Iwasa seemingly fighting well within himself, he was controlling the distance and tempo of the bout at range, finding a home for his powerful left hand and looking very relaxed. A little bit too relaxed at times and it seemed like he really should have been looking to move through the gears, the fans something to remember and continue to show what he can do in the ring. After 3 rounds Iwasa looked in total control, though Saulong did manage to have some moments in round 4, as he began to utilise a tactic that Richard Pumicpic had also used against Iwasa. That was to cut the distance, swarm Iwasa and force him to fight up close, something Iwasa doesn't ever look comfortable doing. It was however a tactic that Saulong didn't manage to have much consistency with an Iwasa resumed total control the following round. It wasn't until round 9 that you could make any sort of a case for Saulong to have won another round, as he upped the pace, showed a real lack of respect to Iwasa at last and applied the pressure. The challenger built on that success in the following round and had his best round as he seemed to feel some new found confidence. That confidence was however crushed in round 11 as Saulong was staggered, hurt and rocked back into his shell with Iwasa coming close to scoring a knockdown. It was the only real time that Saulong was hurt and the only time that Iwasa ever looked like he was hunting a stoppage. To his credit Saulong saw out the storm and came back at Iwasa in the final round, but took some big shots to end the bout with Iwasa never looking in trouble. It was gutsy effort at times from the challenger, but he really wasn't competitive, and that was reflective on the score cards which read 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110 for Iwasa. The champion retained his title, but lost some of his shine with was a very forgettable win for the hard hitting southpaw, Last year we saw Daniel Roman (24-2-1, 9) claim the WBA Super Bantamweight title with a stoppage win over the previously unbeaten Shun Kubo in Kyoto. Today he returned to Japan to defend his title against the touted Ryo Matsumoto (21-2, 19) [松本亮], who was stepping up for his first world title bout. The fight started pretty competitively, with Roman bringing the pressure and Matsumoto needing to respond to it. The Japanese fighter landed some good body shots, but seemed to be out worked, out landed and in same ways out though by Roman, who used a good solid jab and clever footwork to cut the distance against the taller man. The success of Roman continued through the fight, with a lot of close rounds, but a lot of rounds where he simply did a bit more than Matsumoto, who looked to land single shots, namely the jab up top and the left hand to the body. Roman however had more variation to his work, the jab, the right hand over the top, and the body shots. Although Roman seemed to be doing the better work, there was a lot of competitive action and Matsumoto did more than hold his own in a number of rounds, including round 3, which was one of his best rounds. The problem for him is that Roman really didn't seem to feel his power, and kept coming forward, even the big shots of Matsumoto seemed to be taken with ease from Roman. In the middle rounds we saw some great trading sequences, as Matsumoto started to hold his ground more, and even when he was backed up he was letting his hands go a bit more often, as he did from the ropes in round 7. Though by being backed up so frequently he was making life a little bit too easy for the judges, who were always going to favour the aggression of the champion over the challenger's shots on the retreat. In round 8 Matsumoto had another of his stronger rounds, landing some big body shots, though Roman continued to take them well. The champion did seem to feel them more than once, but only needed a second or two before returning fire and putting Matsumoto under pressure again, likely stealing the round with a late assault. Matsumoto even tried to change his tactics late on, pressing Roman backwards, and whilst he had success at times he couldn't keep it up for long, with Roman turning the pressure around and forcing Matsumoto backwards. It was keeping the fight competitive on a round by round basis, but with Roman always just doing a touch more when he came forward, and seemingly always looking like the man who knew when, and how, to step up the pace. This certainly seemed to be the case in rounds 9, 10 and 11, with Matsumoto looking like he was having good rounds until Roman turned the pressure up and fought back. The final round was one where Roman really stepped back on the gas from the off. It was as if he was thinking “if all the close rounds go to the challenger, I really might need to make a statement here”. He went out hunting a KO and forced a real fight, with both men taking some huge shots ina thrilling back and forth round, despite being back and forth it was clear that Roman was getting a lot more to land than Matsumoto, who had to reset more often, and backed off during key exchanges. In there end there was no doubting the winner, and that was shown on the scores cards which read 119-109, twice and 118-108. The fight could have been scored closer, and Matsumoto certainly didn't disgrace himself, but he was the clear loser. Sadly though the score cards make the bout look like a near whitewash, which doesn't reflect the competitiveness of the bout, despite being pretty cards. (Image courtesy of Daily.co.jp) Earlier today fight fans had the chance to tune into an IBF Super Bantamweight title fight as defending champion Yukinori Oguni (19-2-1, 7) [小國 以載] took on mandatory challenger Ryosuke Iwasa (24-2, 16) [岩佐 亮佑], in what looked like a 50-50 match up on paper.
The fight had had some very friendly build up between two men who have known each other for years and had a genuine laugh in the various pre-fight events. In fact that fun seemed to run all the way to the first bell. When the bell rang it was Oguni who was fast out of the traps, using his speed, movement and boxing to get off to a hot start. Iwasa seemed slightly surprised but covered up, waited out the early storm and started to fight back, almost instantly finding a home for his thunderous left hand. Towards the end of the round one of those left hands did their job and dropped Oguni, securing a 10-8 round for the challenger, who was probably just losing the round prior to the knockdown. Round 2 saw Oguni regroup brilliantly and take the early moments, using his speed and more fluid natural boxing ability. Sadly though for Oguni he against had no answer for Iwasa's left hand, and brutal power, being dropped hard late in the round. Oguni's fighting heart helped him got back up and resume, but he was drown again soon afterwards, and facial damage was beginning to show on the champion. In round 3 it was Iwasa starting faster, and looking to go for a finish as he landed a number of folid left hands on the champion. Oguni to his credit gritted his teeth and had moments, but those moments were all sniffed out when Iwasa threw, with almost every left hand on target actually landing on the challenger. The one respite for Oguni was that the referee was on Iwasa's case for pushing on his head, and actually took a point in round 4 for it. Not only did Oguni get the “advantage” of his opponent losing a point but he also seemed to become rejuvenated in the 4th as he took the fight to Iwasa in a thrilling back and forth that saw Oguni being hurt several times but unloading on Iwasa and having one of his best rounds. Oguni's power never seemed to trouble Iwasa, but his work rate and aggression through the round gave Iwasa issues, and it was a very close rounds, potentially a 10-8 for Oguni or a 9-9. Another close round followed as Oguni seemed to begin to feel the momentum shift in his favour. Sadly that momentum was snuffed out later in the round as Iwasa landed a series of big left hands that arguably stole the round for the challenger. Having snuffed out the momentum of Oguni's at the end of 5 Iwasa went for the finish early in round 6 and really left his shots go early on. Oguni was rocked several times and his face had started to become a crimson mask. The shots of Iwasa's were leaving his gloves painted with Oguni's blood and it looked like a stoppage was imminent. Oguni however, had other thoughts and began to take the fight to Iwasa, cornering Iwasa and unloading. Following Oguni's success the referee finally seemed to notice Oguni's face, and took him over to the ringside doctor who wave the bout off after a quick inspection. During the inspection Oguni seemed to have some sort of facial fracture, a badly cut lip and serious damage around his eye. Almost forcing the doctors hand. For Iwasa the win sees him finally fulfilling his potential and claiming a world title in his second shot. Potentially this lines him up as a potential target for good friend Shingo Wake, young sensation Hinata Maruta, former title challenger Hidenori Otake or former champion Tomoki Kameda. As for Oguni it's time to spend a few weeks resting and recovering as that sort of facial damage will need some serious time away from the ring. After a great start to 2017 for Japanese boxing it seems like the seams are slowly coming apart with a number of high profile losses all coming one after the other in recent weeks, with losses for Shinsuke Yamanaka, to Luis Nery, Yoshihiro Kamegai, to Miguel Cotto, and today we saw Shun Kubo (12-1, 9) [久保隼] suffer his own high profile loss, and lose the WBA Super Bantamweight title in his first defense.
The Shinsei Gym fighter won the title earlier this year, beating veteran Nehormar Cermeno, and immediately planned for today's defense against American Daniel Roman (23-2-1, 9). That planning didn't really seem to help today against a fighter who seemed so much more determined and hungry than Kubo, and looked like a fighter who was much more naturally composed and relaxed in the ring, even under fire. The first round was a feeling out round, and it saw Kubo getting the upperhand as he used his reach and southpaw stance to control the distance and range behind his jab and stiff left hand. It was a round for the champion in terms of the scorecards, but gave the challenger a lot of details on how Kubo handled pressure, and what his power was like. In the second round Roman began to get more aggressive with his scouting, and apply more pressure. He was forced to eat some very solid left hands as a result, but never looked phased by them, as his engine moved up a gear. Round 3 and 4 both saw Roman begin to take over the fight. He was a lot less passive with his pressure than he had been and really fired off up close. Kubo did respond at times, and landed some eye catching shots to head and body, but could never discourage Roman and instead it was Kubo who looked to be the one backing off from an exchange. Whilst it was clear Kubo wanted range he never managed to back off and establish it, instead he backed off, and was quickly walked down, again and again. It wasn't until round 5 that Roman showed any signs of slowing, but that was a round where chinks in Kubo became even more glaring, as even when he looked settled he couldn't ever gather his composure in the way Roman did. The pressure seemed to wane in round 6 until towards the end of the round when Roman clearly hurt Kubo, rocking him hard before the bell seemed to save the now deflated champion. Kubo's body language at the end of the round seemed to be that of a beaten man. Despite looking mentally beaten he went out for round 7, and that was something special with Roman jumping on Kubo almost instantly and going to work on the champion, Kubo looked helpless before being dropped and in other countries that could have been the end. Roman then unloaded as Kubo tried to fire back, with the referee getting several chances to stop the contest. Amazingly after several waves of punishment from Roman Kubo looked alive, and started firing back, with bad intent, drawing loud applause from the crowd, who seemed to be won over by the local man's heart and desire. Round 8 again saw the crowd getting behind their man, as they tried to re-energise him and help him build some momentum. He tried hard to get things going but in the end Roman's pressure told and just before the bell he was down again. Now clearly ahead on the cards Roman could afford to take his foot off the gas, but chose not to, instead hunting the stoppage. That stoppage would come following a prolonged assault on Kubo who was out on his feet and unable to fire back, completely worn down and broken up by the pressure. With the 9th round TKO win under his belt Roman stayed in the ring and gave an interview for the fans, who showed their respect to the new champion, who himself came across as a classy, smart and talented fighter, giving Kubo and the local fans credit. Given the performance he will almost certainly be invited back to Japan to face some of the other Japanese fighters at Super Bantamweight, potentially Tomoki Kameda, Hinata Maruta or Yusaku Kuga. If he wants to fight in the US and defend his title at home we hope fans tune in as he's a really exciting and personable fighter as he showed in this win today, his biggest win so far. For Kubo it's back to the drawing board. At 27 he has time to bounce back, but needs to really work on his composure in the ring and keeping his confidence, which has been questioned in the past. He's a skilled fighter, but does seem to lack the mental belief and and doesn't have the defense or the power to reclaim a title unless he seriously tweaks his styles. Saying that his fight back in rounds 7 and 8 were great, and for that he deserves serious credit, there is a real gutsy fighter there, but one who perhaps needs more time to develop than he was given, as Shinsei seeked an immediate replacement at the top of their stable for Hozumi Hasegawa. Every fighter who goes on to major success has their coming of age bout, and today we saw Shun Kubo (12-0, 9) [久保隼] come of age as he claimed the WBA Super Bantamweight "regular" title and forced the retirement of Veneuelan veteran Nehomar Cermeno (26-6-1-1, 15), in what was a brilliant tactical bout between two highly skilled fighters at different stages of their careers.
In their ring walks Kubo looked like a nervous child, a man taking a massive step into the unknown and moving into world class for the first time. Cermeno on the other hand looked calm, calculated and relaxed. Like a man who had been here and done this before. Despite their ring walks it was Kubo who got off to a good start, boxing at his tempo and cautiously picking Cermeno apart with accurate left hands to the head and body of the defending champion. Cermeno looked old and slow during the round, but refused to just hand over his title, and in round 2 the visitor had some genuine moments. The challenger reasserted himself with a very good round 3, as he out sped, out boxed and out landed the champion, who took some meaty body shots from the patient and cautious challenger. It was the perfect round from Kubo but one that may have left him with a false sense of security with Cermeno upping his pressure in round 4 and giving Kubo a scare or two, despite the fact that Cermeno suffered a notable cut on his right cheek, a result of the straight left hands Kubo was landing. The round was a close one,and one that showed Cermeno was dangerous, despite being behind on the cards. Kubo took back total control in round 5, as he used his speed and size to land at range on Cermeno, who looked like an old man in there. Although Kubo was the boss Cermeno landed a right hand late in the round to remind Kubo that he was still there. Kubo'sclean accurate punching was again on show in round 6, as he landed some devastating body shots, seemingly hurting Cermeno at one point. Although Kubo landed the better shots through the round Cermeno managed to end the round with some success as he began to force a brawl on Kubo. Although well behind on the cards there was a sense that Cermeno was a dangerous fighter. That proved to be the case in round 7 when he gave everyone a serious scare. Part way through the round he seriously shook up Kubo with a right hand. The challenger tried to hold and spoil but was eventually dropped as Cermeno went for the challenger. Kubo got to his feet but was hurt again in the final seconds of the round and it suddenly seemed like Kubo's great work was going to come un-done. Thankfully for the challenger he managed to hear the bell to end the round, though he did come out for round 8 looking unsure of himself and it took much of the round before he managed to reassert himself on the fight. When he did finally refind his feet however Kubo looked just as confident as he had earlier in the fight,and was bouyed further by a loud "Kubo" chant. The chant helped Kubo re-energise but Cermeno still seemed to feel he had a chance and had s respectable round 9. Cermeno, surely aware that he was behind on the cards, came out for round 10 in an aggressive fashion and seemed to be sent out with a mission. It was a good round for the veteran, and one where he again seemed to hurt the challenger, but Kubo showed his mettle and came through the slight scare to have some success late in the round, possibly stealing the round. Going into the championship rounds it seemed like we still had a finely balanced fight. Kubo was surely well up on the score cards, but Cermeno had hurt him more than once and looked to be a veteran with the ability to turn it on late. Surprisingly however Cermeno stayed in his corner after the bell to start round 11, technically retiring 5 seconds into the round to hand Kubo the title! For Cermeno the retirement likely spells the end of his long career. For Kubo it puts him in the mix for major bouts down the line as the champion, and also sees him adding his name to the top Japanese fighters in a division packed with fighters from the Land of the Rising sun. A match up against IBF champion Yukinori Oguni may well be considered, but bouts against the likes of Ryosuke Iwasa, Tomoki Kameda, Shingo Wake and Yusaku Kuga will all be plausible all-Japanese bouts. Likewise a show down with the winner of the upcoming Guillermo Rigondeaux vs Moises Flores bout could also be an interesting assignment for Kubo. The win also sees Kubo moving one step further to becoming he Shinsei gym replacement for Hozumi Hasegawa, who retired late last year. Shocks in boxing happen, not always but they do happen. Today we saw one such shock as the little known Yukinori Oguni (19-1-1, 7) [小國 以載] surprisingly beaten the previously unbeaten Jonathan Guzman (22-1-0-1, 22) and claimed the IBF Super Bantamweight title. Not only was the bout a surprise on paper, but even more so when you consider Oguni's only loss came to Shingo Wake, who Guzman battered earlier this year to win the title in the first place.
Oguni got off to the perfect start surprising everyone, fans and Guzman, by dropping the champion in the 3rd round with a perfect shot to the mid-section. The knockdown was a surprise, especially given that Oguni isn't known for his power, but the placement was perfect. Guzman took the knockdown to heart and came back strong the following round but was unable to land regularly with his much vaunted power as Oguni used his defense see off the storm. Guzman's work slowed down slightly in the middle rounds and things became worse for him in round 7, when his nose began to bleed, before suffering a cut to right eye in round 8. By then things were becoming increasingly difficult for the defending champion who was struggling to force his will on the fight. In round 11 Guzman was down for a second time, again from a body shot, though the referee ruled it a low blow and gave Guzman time to recover. A decision that left the fans irate and some even threw plastic bottles in disgust at the decision. It however scarcely mattered as Oguni saw out the final round to earn a very well deserved decision win, with scores of 115-112 across the board. After the bout Oguni stated that the body work was a deliberate tactic, but even he didn't expect the knockdown. He will now be mandated to defend his title against fellow Japanese fighter Ryosuke Iwasa in 2017, a genuine friend of Oguini's. For Guzman the future is going to be strange. He's part of the “Who needs him club?” a huge puncher who has little financial backing and perhaps the need to link up with someone who will bank roll him towards another title fight, where he could be a danger again in the future. For those interested in knowing how much of an upset this was, one UK betting company had Oguni as a 10/1 under-dog with several others having Guzman at 1/19 to win! Earlier this year we saw Chinese hopeful Qiu Xiao Jun (21-4, 10) come up short in his first world title fight, suffering a 12th round TKO loss to veteran Nehomar Cermeno (26-5-1-1, 15) in a bout for the then vacant WBA Super Bantamweight title. Yesterday the two men met in a rematch, with Jun looking to claim the title at his second attempt and the talented, but often under-rated, Cermeno. From the off we saw an improved Jun, as if the local star has been working hard in training to correct some of the defensive errors that had cost him in the first bout with Cermeno. Despite those improvements he was struggling to cope with Cermeno's clean and quicker blows, with the champion often landing the better shots and the cleaner counters. Although Jun was applying pressure through much of the fight he never seemed to hurt Cermeno with any regularity, as he would if he was going to be able to defeat the Venezuelan. Jun refused to back down from the fight, and tried to come on strong in the later rounds but hadn't done enough to over-come the more naturally skilled and capable Cermeno. Although Jun had put up a good effort, and did have home advantage, and left Cermeno with a cash on his right cheek, he seemed to know he hadn't done enough to earn the win. That was shown on the score cards that favoured Cermeno with scores of 118-110 and 117-111, twice. For Cermeno the win ends a brilliant year which has seen him return with 3 wins in China after having had his career written off and although Jun was beaten again here the Chinese fighter showed enough improvement to suggest that he has a bright future ahead of him and will be able to bounce back, possibly winning a world title in the future. The second of 4 world title fights this evening in the US saw a new WBO Featherweight champion being crowned as Filipino legend Nonito Donaire (37-4, 24) was out pointed by unbeaten challenger Jessie Magdaleno (24-0, 17).
The fight started slowly and tactically with the first two rounds being very quiet and seemed to be won by Magdaleno's slightly fast work, with Donaire looking like the older and slower fighter. Despite Magdaleno looking quicker there was very little to pick between them in the early stages. In round 3 Donaire seemed to change tact, bringing more concentrated pressure to Magdaleno who was forced to respond. The round was a much more engaging one and although it was Donaire changing the game plan it was one that he didn't really land a lot in. The same tactic however did pay off in round 4, although it was a round where the key event was a clash of heads that left Magdaleno cut around the left eye. Despite the cut Magdaleno had a solid round 5, landing what was the best shot of the right up to that point, the success from that round seemed to fill the challenger with confidence and he he looked in control a lot more in the rounds that followed as Donaire looked to land a game change. In round 7 finally landed a major blow, a body shot, but he continued to struggle to land consistently and his blows, which had looked destructive in recent bouts, failed to budge Magdaleno. Although Donaire seemed to be behind going into the later stages of the fight he seemed determined to continue his game plan of trying to walk down Magdaleno. The right hands from Donaire were starting to land regularly during those stages but Magdaleno himself was having great success with body shots before unloading with Donaire on the ropes late in round 9. It seemed, during the final minute of the round, as if the whole fight changed with both men being hurt. Despite being hurt in round 9 Donaire came out for round 10 looking rejuvenated and pressed forth putting the challenger under pressure and landed some solid shots, but was countered numerous times by the younger man. Going into the championship rounds Donaire likely thought he was behind and came out looking for a KO, throwing big shots early and connecting with a number of them. Again it seemed like he couldn't turn things around with a single shot, but he was going to keep looking for a KO blow, and often got tagged with counters from a still energetic Magdaleno. Donaire continued looking for a big shot through out the final round and landed several that shook up Magdaleno, though never managed to drop his man, or score a fighting ending KO blow. Despite the effort from Donaire it seemed clear he had come up short, despite being on the front foot for the most part. He seemed too slow and was never able to maintain any major success to change the fight around. The cards, with scores of 116-112, twice, and 118-110 were all in Magdaleno's favour and despite there being some close rounds it did seem like a 116-112 type win for Magdaleno. With the loss Donaire is likely looking at retirement, or final run, whilst Magdaleno announces himself as a serious player at 122lbs. |
World Title Results
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