By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Japanese southpaw Masataka Taniguchi (15-3, 10 KOs), 105, impressively captured the WBO 105-pound belt as he dropped southpaw defending champ Wilfredo “Bimbito” Mendez (16-2, 6 KOs), 105, in the second round, pressed the action and finally caught up with him with a flurry of punches to prompt the referee’s intervention at 1:08 of the eleventh session on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan. It looked a competitive fight before the trick happened. The tallies prior to the stoppage were as follows: Kazunobu Asao and Michiaki Someya both 97-91, and Yuji Fukuchi 95-93—all for the challenger. Mendez, in round six, was penalized a point for holding by referee Nobuto Ikehara (former world challenger who failed to win the WBA bantam belt from Volodymyr Sydoreno on points in 2008).

Mendez, two years his junior at 25, wrested the WBO title by unanimously decisioning Filipino Vic Saludar in August 2019 and retained it twice against Axel Aragon Vega (Technical decision 7) and Gabriel Mendoza (TKO9). Since Taniguchi lost to Saludar in his first crack at the same belt in 2019, he had been regarded as an underdog against the more intelligent and skillful Mendez.

Anything can happen in the ring. From the outset Taniguchi, a little shorter southpaw, busily kept weaving and ducking to come close to the lanky champ and mix it up. The second session saw Mendez hit the deck, taking an overhand left to the face. Bewildered by Taniguchi’s opening attack, Mendez responded to exchanges in the close quarter in earlier rounds. But he should have utilized his footwork and shifty mobility to outbox the Japanese willing mixer.

The ref Ikehara, in the sixth, penalized a point from Mendez for holding to avert Taniguchi coming into the close range. The taller southpaw Mendez suffered a cut over the right eyebrow in the eighth, but won a point with his retaliation. The ninth was taken by Taniguchi, who turned loose with busier combinations to Bimbito, who, however, was in command with solid right hooks in round ten.

It was Taniguchi, in the fatal eleventh, that caught the fading champ with a vicious left, which had Mendez badly staggering to the ropes. The shorter Japanese swarmed over the damaged champ with incessant combinations to the face. Though withstanding his furious attacks with his back to the ropes, Mendez couldn’t fight back only to cover himself up with his high guard. The ref then declared a well-received halt to save the ex-champ from further punishment.

It was an unexpected result, as even our aficionados had believed in the defending champ Mendez’s victory. The crestfallen loser said, “His body attacks were effective. It wasn’t my night.” His 22-month hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic might have Bimbito a little ring rusty, which might cause his forfeiture of the belt.

The newly crowned champ Masataka jubilantly said, “I become stronger than two years ago when I lost to Saludar. I’m happy to win the belt by a TKO victory.”

Taniguchi was born in Kobe city in 1994, and began to learn how to box in the junior high school. He kept boxing in the amateur games, and became a captain of a boxing club in Ryukoku university. He compiled a rather mediocre amateur mark 55-19, 16 stoppages. After his graduation, he entered Watanabe Gym in Tokyo in 2016. The busy-punching lefty seized the WBO Asia Pacific 105-pound belt by defeating Filipino Joel Lino on points in Thailand in 2018. His intimate friend who became a stablemate in the Watanabe Gym was Hiroto Kyoguchi, WBA light flyweight titleholder. So intimate a friend, Kyoguchi worked the corner for Taniguchi in this title bout.

Watanabe Gym now handles three 105-pound contenders: newly crowned champ Taniguchi and twin brothers Ginjiro Shigeoka and Yudai Shigeoka, both unbeaten as professionals after excellent amateur marks.

We now have eight world champions as follows:

WBA 160 Ryota Murata
IBF 130 Kenichi Ogawa
WBA, IBF 118 Naoya Inoue
WBO 115 Kazuto Ioka
WBO 112 Junto Nakatani
WBA 108 Hiroto Kyoguchi
WBC 108 Masamichi Yabuki
WBO 105 Masataka Taniguchi

Promoter: Ohashi Promotions in association with Watanabe Promotions.

Attendance: 7,000 at the Ota-city General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.

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