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kenyan_cheena · 12-06-2007, 06:24 AM

ARIAKE COLISEUM HOSTS
IBL'S ANTICIPATED JAPAN DEBUT

Friday 30 August 2002

An event that Japanese boxing fans have long been waiting for finally arrived tonight as Tokyo's Ariake Coliseum hosted not only the nation's first International Boxing League fight card but also the first fight card (in either the IBL or HBF) to feature Japanese competitors. The Middleweight division's Asia/Oceania/Africa region has three Sydney Olympic medallists numbered amongst it's twelve combatants: Australian Light-Middleweight silver winner Les Darcy, Nigeria's bronze medallist Dick Tiger (also in the LMW division) and Japan's own Koichi Wajima, a bronze medallist in the Middleweight division who was scheduled to headline the card. Understandably, all three have been tipped to finish in the group's top four and book a spot in the World Championship tournament and tonight they took their first step towards that goal.

This card had really needed no promotion in the lead up as it was the main topic of conversation amongst Japan's sports-following public and, truth be told, amongst the general public also. The excitement over seeing Wajima and the other three Japanese fighters in the group - Tadashi Mihara, Shinji Takehara and Masashi Kudo (the latter two would be squaring off against each other) - was something that exceeded anything else that the sport had brought to the nation before now. Everyone knowns that outside of the USA, Japan has been the HBF and IBL's most ardent supporter. That's been the case without a single Japanese fighter stepping in the ring but tonight that drought was finally broken and the atmosphere in the Ariake Coliseum was beyond electric.

A number of Japan's other IBL representatives were in attendance in front row seats and each of them were introduced to the adoring crowd in the minutes before the evening's opener. These included local-born Lightweight Yamada Tsubasa and Olympians Mitsonuri Seki (Featherweight) and Jaguar Kakizawa (Lightweight), each dressed sharply in designer suits of various colours. The crowd was in a celebratory mood and all the anticipation and excitement exploded as the Australian fighter Dave Sands made his way to the ring for the night's first event, where he would clash with Tadashi Mihara...

(to be continued)

12-06-2007, 06:24 AM	#341 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 4,631	ARIAKE COLISEUM HOSTS IBL'S ANTICIPATED JAPAN DEBUT Friday 30 August 2002 An event that Japanese boxing fans have long been waiting for finally arrived tonight as Tokyo's Ariake Coliseum hosted not only the nation's first International Boxing League fight card but also the first fight card (in either the IBL or HBF) to feature Japanese competitors. The Middleweight division's Asia/Oceania/Africa region has three Sydney Olympic medallists numbered amongst it's twelve combatants: Australian Light-Middleweight silver winner Les Darcy, Nigeria's bronze medallist Dick Tiger (also in the LMW division) and Japan's own Koichi Wajima, a bronze medallist in the Middleweight division who was scheduled to headline the card. Understandably, all three have been tipped to finish in the group's top four and book a spot in the World Championship tournament and tonight they took their first step towards that goal. This card had really needed no promotion in the lead up as it was the main topic of conversation amongst Japan's sports-following public and, truth be told, amongst the general public also. The excitement over seeing Wajima and the other three Japanese fighters in the group - Tadashi Mihara, Shinji Takehara and Masashi Kudo (the latter two would be squaring off against each other) - was something that exceeded anything else that the sport had brought to the nation before now. Everyone knowns that outside of the USA, Japan has been the HBF and IBL's most ardent supporter. That's been the case without a single Japanese fighter stepping in the ring but tonight that drought was finally broken and the atmosphere in the Ariake Coliseum was beyond electric. A number of Japan's other IBL representatives were in attendance in front row seats and each of them were introduced to the adoring crowd in the minutes before the evening's opener. These included local-born Lightweight Yamada Tsubasa and Olympians Mitsonuri Seki (Featherweight) and Jaguar Kakizawa (Lightweight), each dressed sharply in designer suits of various colours. The crowd was in a celebratory mood and all the anticipation and excitement exploded as the Australian fighter Dave Sands made his way to the ring for the night's first event, where he would clash with Tadashi Mihara... (to be continued) __________________ MLB: 1958 and Beyond... The Greatest Prize in Sports Last edited by kenyan_cheena : 12-06-2007 at 09:03 AM.