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(continuation)
Co-Feature
The moment that Japanese fight fans had been waiting for finally arrived as Shinji Takehara and Masashi Kudo arrived in the ring. The crowd was pretty evenly split but there was only one thing that really mattered: barring a draw, a Japanese fighter would be victorious at the contest's conclusion. The applause from the audience was thunderous when each man made the walk into the arena, as if they all knew that, despite the country's fanatical support of the sport up to now, this was the moment when boxing would really, truly arrive in Japan.
When it was all over, Masashi Kudo was awarded a split decision victory (57-56, 56-57, 57-56), the bout coming very close to living up to the lofty expectations placed upon it. Kudo's triumph was an admirable one as he fought back from losing the opening two rounds on all three cards, Takehara coming out strong in the 1st and then dominating round two. Kudo turned the tide with an aggressive 3rd and then flooored his compatriot with a single left hook thirty seconds into the 4th, the knockdown proving crucial to the outcome. Takehara gave himself every chance with a convincing, explosive round five but Kudo did just enough in the final stanza, two of the judges awarding it to him. In the final outcome Kudo had been the much more aggressive, busy fighter, even though Takehara could claim ownership of the best individual rounds of the fight (the 2nd and 5th).
Both men exchanged compliments and admiration afterwards before being carried around on their trainer's shoulders, a spontaneous display of national pride and joy. Yes, it really mattered little who had won this fight, only that the winner was Japanese.
Punch totals
Kudo: 110/538 (20.4%)
Takehara: 121/353 (34.3%)
Main Event
Having just seen the first victory by a Japanese fighter in the IBL the audience did not have to wait long for the second one as bronze medallist Koichi Wajima took a majority decision verdict against the tough Australian Michael Dyson (58-56, 57-57, 58-56). Wajima made his way to the ring surrounded by a large entourage, bronze medal hanging around his neck. he was flanked by large Japanese flags and wore a silk robe of white with red trim, aswell as a white and red bandana. He was greeted like an all-conquering hero, the crowd launching into a chant of "Wa-ji-ma! Wa-ji-ma! Wa-ji-ma!"
The chant, aswell as the sight of his fellow countrymen electrifying the audience a half hour earlier clearly had an effect on the Olympian as he came out smoking, unleashing a ferocious assault in the opening round. To his great credit Dyson rallied, using a penetrating jab and precision combinations launched on the counter to sweep the next two rounds. His work succeeded in silencing the crowd and pulled a blanket of consternation over them. That was quite a feat, but Wajima didn't win that bronze medal by accident. He was able to dominate the bottom half of the contest, his efforts in round four on a par with those in the 1st. After a close 5th it was clear early in the final round that Dyson had little left and Wajima showed little mercy, punishing the Aussie.
The punch totals showed the extent of Wajima's domination in rounds one, four and six. He landed 175 of 553 shots (31.6%), Dyson 84 of 468 (17.9%). The victor wore a smile from ear-to-ear, waving, bowing and blowing kisses to the audience, pumping his fists in the air jubilantly.
"I knew he would be a very tough opponent," said Wajima. "He didn't disappoint me and I have a lot of respect for him. He worked really hard during the fight but I was able to succeed in either dodging or blocking a lot of his shots. Maybe he was a bit excited at times, maybe a bit too eager to land his punches."
Wajima was still in the ring when the matchups for the group's second series of bouts were announced. As has been the case with three of the other four regional qualifiers held this week, this one also featured a blockbuster showdown...
SHINJI TAKEHARA (0-1-0) vs CEFERINO GARCIA (0-1-0)
KOICHI WAJIMA (1-0-0) vs TROY WATERS (0-1-0)
CHARLIE WEIR (0-1-0) vs DAVE SANDS (1-0-0)
TADASHI MIHARA (0-1-0) vs MICHAEL DYSON (0-1-0)
GIOVANNI PRETORIUS (1-0-0) vs MASASHI KUDO (1-0-0)
LES DARCY (1-0-0) vs DICK TIGER (1-0-0)
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