By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda
It’s a joy watching an appearance of a vastly talented simon pure. Fast-rising six-time amateur national gold medalist Raito Kataoka (3-0, 3 KOs; amateur 57-1, 31 stoppages), 107.75, very impressively acquired the vacant OPBF light flyweight belt as he lopsidedly battered IBF#7 Filipino ArAr Andales (19-3-3, 8 KOs), 106.75, and swept all rounds before he finally chalked up a TKO victory at 2:56 of the ninth round on Thursday in Tokyo, Japan. Averting ArAr’s all punches to demonstrate his remarkable reflexes, Raito, just 20, gave a lesson to the world-rated veteran in every round to deeply impress the audience. Interim score after the fifth on open scoring system: all 50-45 in Kataoka’s favor. The 5’4” Raito, who looked like a small version of Sugar Ray Leonard, finally caught up with Andales with a incessant rain of punches from all angles that prompted the referee’s intervention. His promoter Hideyuki Ohashi expressed his impression and said, “If possible, I’d like to have him fight for a world belt in his fourth pro bout to make a national record.” We’ll see.
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