By Joe Koizumi
Photos By Naoki Fukuda
“Filipino Flash” Nonito Donaire, 43, now attempts to follow a footstep of the great Sugar Ray Robinson regaining the world championship in the twilight of his long career. WBA#1 Donaire will headline Teiken Promotions’ star-studded show in Yokohama, Japan, on this coming Sunday in coping with WBA#4 Riku Masuda (9-1, 8 KOs) in a WBA eliminator to decide the mandatory challenger to WBA full champ Seiya Tsutsumi.
Masuda, a devastating one-punch finisher under Teiken, had suffered a sole setback at the hand of compatriot Seiya Tsutsumi, a gutsy and gallant Gene Fullmer stylist, in 2023. Since then, Masuda displayed his vaunted power punching in a string of victories afterward to be a prefight favorite against Donaire.
All of sudden, however, the situation and odds have changed with a single report of cancellation this week. WBA bantam ruler Seiya Tsutsumi was supposed to fight a WBA unification bout with Antonio Vargas, WBA champ in recess, in the next Teiken show on April 11. The unbeaten Japanese Tsutsumi was forced to cancel his encounter with Vargas because of his prolonged facial damage by Donaire, whom he barely defeated by a split verdict last December. This information had Donaire’s power punching re-evaluated and has the Japanese audience’s preview quite even between Donaire and Masuda. Nonito, 43-9, 28 KOs, is reportedly in a great shape prior to his important participation in the WBA eliminator for #1.
On the same bill, WBC light flyweight titlist Knockout CP Freshmart (29-1, 11 KOs), from Thailand, will risk his belt against former WBO ruler Shokichi Iwata in the semi-windup. The Thailander (AKA Thammanoon Niyomtrong) recently acquired the vacant WBC belt by defeating Junior Leandro Zarate on points in his home turf Bangkok last December. Having been badly knocked out by Oscar Colazzo in Riyadh in November 2024, Knockout isn’t what he used to be and is reportedly declining and deteriorating. Iwata (15-2, 12 KOs), an aggressive hard-puncher, may have a good chance to regain the belt.
WBO flyweight ruler Anthony Olascuaga, US, is a fighting champion under Teiken Promotions, and will make his seventh appearance here. Making his fifth defense, Olascuaga, 11-1 (8), will have his belt on the line against former OPBF (Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation) titlist Jukiya Iimura, an excellent Japanese footworker. It is well-known that Jukiya (9-1, 2 KOs; amateur 68-13), is accompanied by his corner-woman and wife Manami. He was once scheduled to have a crack at Olascuaga’s belt last December, but his rib injury eventually prevented him from challenging the Californian. This time Iimura will have an ambitious shot against Olascuaga, who will be a prohibitive favorite thanks to his superior power and skills.
The first title go will be a rematch of grudge rivals—WBA minimumweight champ Ryusei Matsumoto and WBA#4 Yuni Takada. Last September their first encounter witnessed Takada flattened with an accidental bad head collision midway in round five. It was ruled that a technical decision should be taken, and Matsumoto was given a unanimous decision victory (50-45 twice, 50-46) to become the new WBA 105-pound titlist. But all the witnesses felt an indigestion and their rematch was greatly anticipated thereafter. Matsumoto (7-0, 4 KOs; amateur 77-15, 6 KOs), is an excellent southpaw boxer-fighter with his tight defense and sharp combination punching.
Meanwhile, Takada, a son of a Filipino mother and a Japanese father, is a late bloomer with a rather inferior mark 16-9-3, 6 KOs. Having changed his style into an aggressive puncher four years ago, Takada became a crowd pleaser with a string of victories, winning a Japanese national and WBO Asia Pacific 105-pound belts to his credit. Takada has been managed by Lion Tetsuo Furuyama, now 78, who had three unsuccessful 140-pound shots at Antonio Cervantes, Perico Fernandez and Saensak Muangsurin in 1970’s. Matumoto is favored to defend his belt successfully thanks to his better skills and defensive ability, though Takada strongly wishes to dedicate his world belt to old manager Furuyama. If so, he will become the very first world champion produced by the legendary world challenger Lion Furuyama.
It is amazing that Teiken Promotions keeps staging multiple world title shows so regularly that the impresario Akihiko Honda thus gets high international attention. Only in Japan.
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