Yessica Chavez Retains her WBC Title by Decision Over Naoko Fujioka

From WBC:

“KIKA” CHAVEZ RETAINS WBC CROWN

WBC female flyweight champion Yessica Chavez (28-4-3, 4 KOs) retained her world title against three-time world champion Naoko Fujioka (15-2, 6 KOs) with an intense ten round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the Centro Regional de Deportes de las Américas in Ecatepec, Estado de Mexico.

Scorecards were all for Kika with 95-93, 94-93 and 96-92. Kika secures her place in the semifinals of the tournament organized by the World Boxing Council with the Diamond Belt as the grand prize.

It was always going to be rough hewn contest of brawn Vs brains. Naoko had promised to KO Kiko and she constantly bored forward bulldozer style with sometimes crude swings. Kika with a guard held high, was not able to employ her trademark long left jab as often as she wanted, and was often entangled in brawling clinches.

While Naoko`s most effect punch tended to be the looping right hook to the head, Kika`s best was a shorter more measured left hook. Naoko`s frustration began to show in the fourth round. The pair had been separated by Referee Lupe Garcia. And Kika immediately launched back into the attack, tagging the Japanese fighter with a lighting straight right, which had her protesting. Referee Lupe Garcia urged them to get on with it!

The turning point came in the sixth. Kika sought and found some space for leverage, and landed a downward driving left hook on the side of Naoko`s face dropping her. Hurt, the Japanese amazon bravely got up and was tagged and re-staggered by a short hard right hook, just before the bell clanged.

Naoko was tiring, but was still dangerous and heavy handed. Behind after four rounds and eight rounds on the announced scores she went all out for a KO in the final two minutes. Referee Lupe Garcia deducted a point in that final round from Kika, for what appeared to be excessive holding. Throughout she appeared to be increasingly exasperated by the rough house tactics which frustrated her in establishing her normal smooth fine tuned rhythm.

Like a true competitor and sportswoman Naoko was the first to applaud after the unanimous decision was announced.