Gejon fumbles in WBA title bid

The presence of Filipino sports hero Manny Pacquiao did not weave magic nor produce miracle for Eriberto "Ioka" Gejon as the Cebuano boxer fumbled in his pursuit to snatch the WBA minimumweight crown, losing via 10th round technical split decision to defending Japanese champion Yutaka Niida last night at the 20,000-seater Yokohama Arena in Japan.

Referee Luis Pabon of Puerto Rico waved off the bout in the 10th round after a deep cut on Gejon's right eyelid inflicted by an accidental headbutt rendered the Mandaue City warrior unfit to continue fighting.

That left the three judges to decide the winner in accordance with the world boxing rules. Pinit Prayadsab of Thailand and Wansooh Yuh of Korea scored it 96-95 in favor of the the Japanese champion, while Medardo Villalobos of Panama counted it 97-93 for Gejon.

The were no knockdown in the abbreviated title bout.

In the first round, there were no clear shots from Niida and Gejon. Niida took round two, but Gejon started landing body punches and right hooks to the face of Niida to win rounds three and four.

The sixth round ended with still no power shots from both protagonists.

A close battle ensued until an unintentional clashing of heads opened a nasty cut on Gejon's right eyelid, forcing the third man on the ring to stop the match upon the advise of the ringside physician.

Some boxing pundits believed that Gejon deserved a rematch as the lanky Filipino fighter was able to put up a couregous stand, albeit for a losing cause, against the very game Niida. In fact, Gejon could have won the match had it lasted the full 12-round distance.

Niida improved his win-loss-draw record to 19-1-3 with 8KOs, while Gejon suffered his only first deteat in 23 professional fights that inclue one draw and 13 wins via stoppage.

It was Niida's third defence of the title he wrested from Noel Arambulet of Venezuela in July last year.

Niida, 26, also became the champion in August 2001, beating Chana Porpaoin of Thailand, but he abandoned his throne without defending it soon afterwards.

Niida defeated Juan Landaeta of Venezuela in his first defence of the title in October last year before beating Kim Jae-Won of South Korea in April. - EBV