March 29, 2024

Taguchi draws with Canizales to retain WBA 108lb belt

 

By Joe Koizumi-Boxing news 

Elongated Japanese champ Ryoichi Taguchi (25-2-2, 11 KOs), 107.75, kept his WBA light-flyweight belt as he was held to a split draw by unbeaten Venezuelan challenger Carlos Canizales (16-0-1, 13 KOs), 106.75, over twelve Tom-and-Jerry rounds on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.

Scored: Octavio Rodriguez (Panama) 116-112 for Taguchi, Derek Milham (Australia) 116-112 for Canizales, Philippe Verbeke (Belgium) 114-114. The referee was Pinit Prayadsab (Thailand).

From the outset, Canizalez kept riding a bicycle and maintained circling side-to-side to avert Taguchi’s attack. Taguchi kept stalking the moving Venezuelan and accelerated his attack as the contest progressed. The crowd believed in Taguchi’s victory thanks to his aggressiveness, but it might be true that he couldn’t catch the elusive target with precision. Canizales repeated clinches to stop the champ from hurting him with strong shots down the stretch.

Promoter: Watanabe Promotions

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