Tokuyama thought he lost

Believe it or not, World Boxing Council (WBC) superflyweight champion Masamori Tokuyama conceded defeat to challenger Gerry Peñalosa at the end of their 12-round title bout in Osaka last Friday.

When the final bell rang, Tokuyama walked up to Peñalosa and said, in halting English, "I lose, you win." But two of the three judges disagreed. Tom Kaczmarek scored it 114-113 and Richie Davies of England saw it 116-111, both for Tokuyama. Duane Ford had it 114-113 for Peñalosa.

"We couldn’t believe it," said Peñalosa’s wife Goody yesterday. "Nagulat kaming lahat, pati na si Tokuyama. Ginawa na ni Gerry ang lahat -- sagad na ang kanyang lakas. Maganda ang kanyang showing, better than the first fight. Si Tokuyama na nga ang nagsabi na nanalo si Gerry."

To be sure, it was a close fight but the decision should’ve gone the other way.

"I thought we had it," said lawyer Chito Salud who sat beside his father Rudy, Peñalosa’s manager, at ringside. "Of course, my dad is sad for Gerry because his future is not fully established and this had to happen again. Dad gave Gerry all the opportunities. It’s unfortunate that the results were not as we hoped."

Salud said the bout left both fighters exhausted. "Gerry was like a horse up against the frontrunner," he continued. "It went down to the wire. To win, Gerry had to be in the best physical condition because Tokuyama is such a skillful opponent. Before the fight, Tokuyama told the press he expected Gerry to give him a hard time but promised to win because he’s in tip-top shape. Tokuyama is a great fighter who’s still on the way up. He’s shifty and rangy. He fights with his left shoulder facing you, like a side view–which gives his opponent less of a target to work on."

WBC president Jose Sulaiman, the ringside fight supervisor, lauded the protagonists. He called Tokuyama "one of the best fighters today, regardless of division," and Peñalosa "one of the best superflyweights in recent years."

Salud disclosed that trainer Freddie Roach’s plan was for Peñalosa to attack the body in the first three rounds then target the head. But when Tokuyama chose to mix it up in the early going, Peñalosa abandoned the strategy and went straight for the head. Tokuyama, however, was not easy to hit and in the middle rounds, Peñalosa began to slow down.

"At the pace they set, Freddie figured they would both be tired by the sixth round," said Salud. "I heard Gerry complain halfway through the fight, that his arms started to numb but Freddie just told him to suck it up. Then, Tokuyama shifted his attack to the body. Gerry made his adjustments but maybe, he wasn’t able to establish a clear advantage to convince at least two of the judges he deserved to win. A challenger has to do a lot more than the champion to take the title away."

Davies’ lopsided scorecard indicated the Briton’s bias towards Tokuyama’s amateur style. Tokuyama likes to spear his opponent from long distance and unleashes combinations that show off his handspeed. The form is impressive but a lot of his punches land on the shoulders, gloves, and forearms. Davies, more known as a referee than as a judge, probably couldn’t tell the difference and awarded Tokuyama nine rounds to Peñalosa’s three in a highly-questionable scorecard.

Salud said in between rounds, the Castle Hall’s giant TV monitor replayed sequences where Peñalosa hit Tokuyama cleanly in slow motion. There were hardly any sequences showing Tokuyama connecting. So when the decision was announced, the Peñalosa camp was in total shock.

Tokuyama was slapped a point deduction by referee Eddie Cotton for a butt that opened a cut on Peñalosa’s forehead in the third round. But Cotton tolerated Tokuyama’s butting the rest of the way. In the end, Peñalosa showed three cuts, all inflicted by butts–one on the forehead, another on the bridge of his nose, and a third, on his cheekbone under the right eye. The cuts on the forehead and cheekbone took four stitches each to sew up.

Tokuyama was cut over the right eye but a punch did it.

Penalose’s wife said she isn’t sure what the future holds. Peñalosa will study his options with the Saluds after the holidays. His priority at the moment is to enjoy being with his wife and their two children, three-year-old JC Boy and one-year-old Julline.

There is talk that Japanese promoter Akihiko Honda is interested in taking over Peñalosa’s career. Salud will likely retire as Peñalosa’s manager even if his contract doesn’t expire until June. The former WBC secretary-general recently said if Peñalosa is not able to regain the title on his third attempt, he will step down. "Maybe, Gerry will be lucky with another manager," he once intimated.

As for Roach, he was just as disappointed. Roach would’ve wanted Peñalosa to stick to the fightplan–patiently work the body in the early rounds then shift to the head later. But it wasn’t meant to be.

Roach scratched a plan to accompany Peñalosa back to Manila after he was called to a meeting by Mike Tyson in the US. Tyson has offered Roach a contract to train him for his Feb. 22 fight against Clifford Etienne in Memphis. Roach said it’s 75 percent sure he’ll take the job.