Tokuyama defends WBC super flyweight
Tokuyama defends WBC super flyweight
Agence France-Presse, Osaka, Japan
Japanese-based North Korean champion Masamori Tokuyama pounded out a unanimous decision over Dimitri Kirilov of Russia to retain the World Boxing Council (WBC) super flyweight title on Saturday.
There was no knock down over the scheduled 12 rounds, but Tokuyama controlled the bout for most of the time and never allowed the Russian challenger to fight his own game.
After a cautious start, Tokuyama soon got into his rhythm by keeping his favorite distance against Kirilov, and started to connect his signature right straight to the face in the third round.
Tokuyama's left hooks also started hitting the target, while the Russian, ranked top in the WBC, fought back in the seventh round unleashing left hooks several times.
However, Tokuyama fired a sizzling right straight three times to send Kirilov out of balance in the eighth round and again his right straight tantalized the Russian in the 11th round.
Knowing a knockout was the only way for winning, Kirilov went for it in the final round and connected a right cross-counter twice, but it was not enough to turn the table round.
"It was exactly what I had expected before the match. I was able to hit many rights. My (left) jabs were the key to the victory. My style of boxing is not to allow my opponent to fight his game," said Tokuyama.
When he was asked about a WBA-WBC match against Alexander Munos of Venezuela, Tokuyama strongly said: "I'm ready to fight any time."
WBA champion Munos defeated Japan's Eiji Kojima with a technical knockout before Tokuyama's match here in his third defense of the title.
For the 29-year-old Tokuyama, whose real name is Hong Chang- soo, it was his eighth defense of the title he wrested from Cho In-joo of South Korea in August 2000.
Tokuyama stretched his record to 30 wins, including eight KOs, against two defeats and a draw.
The 24-year-old Kirilov, 1999 WBC super flyweight youth champion, saw his record reduced to 22 wins, including seven KOs, and two defeats.
"Tokuyama is a clever and excellent boxer. It was difficult to elude his right straight, I couldn't anticipate the angle it came from," said Kirilov.