Barry Hugman's World Championship Boxing

At the WBC convention on 17 September 1964, it was stated that they would recognise the WBA title holder, Sandro Mazzinghi, as champion for a year, but would expect him to then fight either as a welter or middle as the 154lbs division which began in 1962 was defunct as far as they were concerned. At that moment in time, Mazzinghi had 33 (24 inside the distance) wins and one defeat on his record, having won the title when beating Ralph Dupas on 7 September 1963 and defending it against the same man. However, it appeared that they continued to recognise champions from thereon in even if they were not involved in promotions, which was probably due to the fact that some of their members recognised the weight class.

 

11 December 1964. Sandro Mazzinghi w pts 15 Fortunato Manca

Venue: Sports Palace, Rome, Italy. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Giorgio Tinelli.

Fight Summary: Evenly balanced during the first eight rounds, despite the champion displaying greater speed and agility he was unable to get on top of Manca (152¾) who was always fighting back. Unfortunately, from thereon in the contest developed into a punch-up as Manca began to use his right hand more, and in the last round he almost got to Mazzinghi (153½) with vicious right hooks. Following the referee’s decision in favour of Mazzinghi, who should have stuck to his boxing instead of getting too involved, Manca felt that he might have done considerably better had he not injured his right hand in the days leading up to the fight. With the WBA and WBC belts being unified, this contest also involved my version of the 'world' title.

 

Having turned pro after winning a gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games, Nino Benvenuti had run up 56 straight wins and was the obvious opponent for Mazzinghi in what would be a match between countrymen. A classy box-fighter, Benvenuti, who had beaten Isaac Logart, Jimmy Beecham (2), Victor Zalazar, Gaspar Ortega, Ted Wright, Denny Moyer, Juan Carlos Duran, Art Hernandez and Mick Leahy among others, was generally seen as the champion in waiting.

 

18 June 1965. Nino Benvenuti w co 6 (15) Sandro Mazzinghi

Venue: San Siro Stadium, Milan, Italy. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Salvatore Brambilla.

Fight Summary: This one started at a fair pace, with Mazzinghi (153½) going for the body while Benvenuti (153) held him at bay with his superb left hand in all rounds other than the third when he was hurt by blows to head and body. By the sixth it was felt that Mazzinghi had built up a small lead due to his pressing tactics, but at 2.40 of the session he was counted out after running into a terrific right uppercut to the jaw. Prior to the contest it was felt by the Mazzinghi camp that the best way to retain the title was to nullify Benvenuti’s left hand, but in doing so the champion ultimately paid the price when failing to spot the right coming.

 

17 December 1965. Nino Benvenuti w pts 15 Sandro Mazzinghi

Venue: Sports Palace, Rome, Italy. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Giacinto Aniello.

Fight Summary: Making a good start, the champion dropped Mazzinghi (153¾) in the second round with a sharp left, but unable to repeat the trick he ultimately had to be satisfied with a disputed points decision. The Ring Record Book gives the decision as being a unanimous one, whereas other reports indicate the sole arbiter as being the referee. Early on it appeared that Mazzinghi could not get past the Benvenuti (153¾) left hand, and by the sixth the latter had established a comfortable lead. In the seventh through to the ninth, however, Mazzinghi finally managed to find a way to break down his rival’s defence, working the head and body well with both hands before he was held up during the tenth and 11th. Although Mazzinghi had the best of the 12th and 13th sessions, Benvenuti was back in charge prior to the final bell. Despite the former champion being upset with the result most independents went with the winner.

 

Benvenutti’s next defence would be against Ki-Soo Kim, the OPBF middleweight champion, who was unbeaten in 24 contests with just two draws marring his record. A hard-working fighter, he was also a southpaw.

 

25 June 1966. Ki-Soo Kim w pts 15 Nino Benvenuti

Venue: Changchung Gym, Seoul, South Korea. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Nicholas Pope.

Scorecards: 74-68, 72-69, 68-72.

Fight Summary: Scoring with accurate southpaw left hooks to the body the challenger had the better of it early on when setting a pace that was difficult for Benvenuti (153) to work at his best, his solid right-hand punches often failing to hit the target. As the fight wore on, Kim (152¼) continued to work at a fast tempo as he bored in, and in the tenth Benvenuti was cut on his nose, being bothered by it from thereon in. The fight was held up for six minutes in the 13th when one of the ropes worked loose, but it brought no real respite to Benvenuti. Although the Italian tried to pull the fight out of the fire in the last two sessions, a badly-tiring Kim clutched and held on to the final bell.

 

17 December 1966. Ki-Soo Kim w pts 15 Stan Harrington

Venue: Changchung Gym, Seoul, South Korea. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Yung-Soo Chung.

Scorecards: 74-67, 73-69, 73-66.

Fight Summary: In front of his home crowd, Kim (153½) made a fair start to lead from the fourth round through to the eighth prior to tiring in the tenth. It was then that Harrington (154), who had showed great stamina and a strong right hand, had his best spell of the fight before he was cut over the left eye on being butted in the 13th. With Harrington still dangerous, Kim used a combination of hit-and-clinch tactics to get through the remaining two rounds, the unanimous decision in his favour being warmly greeted by the locals.

 

3 October 1967. Ki-Soo Kim w pts 15 Freddie Little

Venue: The Stadium, Seoul, South Korea. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Yung-Soo Chung.

Scorecards: 72-68, 71-69, 64-75.

Fight Summary: Cut on his forehead in the opening round was not the best of starts for the challenger, but banging away at Kim (153½) with solid, hurtful punches he often forced him to give ground. However, the southpaw Kim was soon back, bulldozing his way forward. Little (152), who had predicted a win inside four rounds, was finding Kim a tough nut to crack. Regardless of that, after hurting Kim in the tenth a long, jolting right to the head had him over in the 11th for the mandatory ‘eight’. Although Kim was groggy at the resumption he managed to remain upright before coming out strong for the 12th. Thereafter, there was a lot of clinching as both men tired. In the 15th Little again opened up with big punches to stun Kim, but it was not enough to influence two of the judges.

 

The next challenger for Kim would be the former champion, Sandro Mazzinghi. Since losing his titles to to Nino Benvenuti in June 1965, Mazzinghi had won 13 consecutive contests to take his record to 53 wins and three defeats.

 

26 May 1968. Sandro Mazzinghi w pts 15 Ki-Soo Kim

Venue: San Siro Stadium, Milan, Italy. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Harold Valan.

Scorecards: 71-67, 71-67, 68-73.

Fight Summary: With the champion starting in his normal roughhouse fashion, before the first round was over Mazzinghi (151½) was cut on the left eye by an unintentional butt which bled throughout. Having slipped over in the first Kim (151¾) was then dropped in the third following a barrage of blows to the head, but quickly recovered. Kim was soon back to using his head as an effective weapon, intentional or otherwise. Wading into Mazzinghi in the 11th, when Kim butted the Italian on the jaw he was again reprimanded. Having been on top from the seventh through to the 12th, Kim then ran out of steam, and Mazzinghi, fighting for all he was worth, came on strongly to take the decision.

 

25 October 1968. Sandro Mazzinghi nc 9 (15) Freddie Little

Venue: Sports Palace, Rome, Italy. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Herbert Tomser.

Fight Summary: Dealing out punishment for eight rounds, Little (151¼) worked the champion over with body shots, cutting him up around the eyes, nose and mouth, and dropping him in the fifth. As much as Mazzinghi (151¼) tried he could not stem the tide as a steady stream of jabs, hooks and straight punches came his way. It was no surprise when a tired and badly cut-up Mazzinghi did not come out for the ninth round, but when the referee declared a no contest on the grounds that he had acted under EBU rules there was uproar. Although EBU rules stated that a contest could be stopped before the halfway stage, the referee said that he considered the end of the eighth sufficient. This statement was debunked by the majority of officials in attendance on the grounds that EBU rules did not apply in this instance and that Mazzinghi had been beaten fairly and squarely.

 

A week or so later the WBC declared the title vacant and ruled that Mazzinghi and Little should meet again within 120 days. However, when Mazzinghi refused to meet Little on even-purse terms, on 20 January 1969 the WBC set up a fight between Little and Stanley Hayward to find a new champion. Meantime, the WBA vacated the title on 30 November when Mazzinghi failed to sign for the Little return by that date. When it was clear that Sandro Mazzinghi was going to move up to middleweight on a permanent basis, the WBA and the WBC gave their backing to a fight between Little and Stanley Hayward for the title. Due to it being a unification contest, my version of the 'world' title would also be at stake. Having already had two shots at the title, Little, a pro since 1957, was hoping that it would be third time lucky. With a record of 40 wins and four losses, among the men he had beaten were Charley Cotton, Charley Joseph and Denny Moyer. His opponent, Hayward, had 26 wins, three draws and three defeats on his slate and listed Percy Manning, Curtis Cokes, Tito Marshall, Benny Briscoe, Joe Shaw and Emile Griffith among his victims.

 

17 March 1969. Freddie Little w pts 15 Stanley Hayward

Venue: Convention Centre, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Harry Krause.

Scorecards: 73-63, 73-64, 74-62.

Fight Summary: Contesting the vacant title, Little (153½) carried the fight to Hayward (154) throughout, never giving him a moment's respite, while whacking in sharp left counters and solid combinations to head and body. Having been cut on the left eye in the third round and suffering from nasal damage in the 11th Hayward did his best to fight back, but was generally outpunched and well outscored. He had been badly staggered in the third, seventh and 11th, and his only real success had come when he caught Little with a cracking right to the jaw in the sixth. With this being a unification contest, my version of the 'world' title was also involved.

 

9 September 1969. Freddie Little w co 2 (15) Hisao Minami

Venue: Prefectural Gym, Osaka, Japan. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Nicholas Pope.

Fight Summary: Making a very fast start, Little (152¼) obviously intended to take his challenger out of the fight as quickly as possible as he chased him from the opening bell, jabbing out solid lefts. Still retreating into the second round, Minami (150), who had hardly landed a punch of note, was caught cold and dropped like a log to be counted out on the 1.26 mark.

 

20 March 1970. Freddie Little w pts 15 Gerhard Piaskowy

Venue: Sports Palace, Berlin, Germany. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: L. Sanchez Villard.

Fight Summary: Giving his challenger a boxing lesson, Little (152¾) sent out flicking lefts and solid rights without anyone realising that he had fractured his left hand as early as the second, least of all Piaskowy (153¼). The European champion had gameness but little else and failed to win a round according to one expert’s view, which was a bit strange when the sole arbiter, the referee, had Little winning by just one round at the finish. It seemed that Little was carrying Piaskowy, having him groggy on occasion and badly swollen on the left eye until the extent of his injury was known.

 

Little’s next defence would be against Carmelo Bossi, a man he had already beaten and one who was coming off a failed EBU welter challenge against Johann Orsolics. After reaching the Olympic Games final in 1960, Bossi had won the EBU welter title and had beaten Domenico Tiberia (2), Jean Josselin (2), Angel Robinson Garcia, Lennox Beckles and Fighting Mack. Coming into the Little fight his record stood at 38 wins, two draws and six losses from 46 contests.

 

9 July 1970. Carmelo Bossi w pts 15 Freddie Little

Venue: The Stadium, Monza, Italy. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Roland Dakin.

Scorecard: 73-69.

Fight Summary: Although the champion kept Bossi (153) well under control in the early rounds it was the latter who eventually made most of the running to build up a lead from the ninth onwards. Warned several times to keep his head up, Little (152) failed to raise his game when he needed to, relying on countering and clinching prior to being battered in the final session with solid right hooks to the jaw. Little, who was upset at the decision, claimed that the reason he had struggled through the latter stages was due to his left hand being injured yet again.

 

29 April 1971. Carmelo Bossi drew 15 Jose Hernandez

Venue: Sports Palace, Madrid, Spain. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Bernard Mascot.

Scorecards: 70-71, 70-70, 75-75.

Fight Summary: In a closely fought contest, the deaf-mute Hernandez (154), showing excellent movement as well as a fighting heart, went so close to becoming the new champion when taking Bossi (154) right down to the wire. Both men had opened slowly, testing each other out, and the taller Hernandez soon realised he would profit by using his longer reach when staying on the outside, while Bossi did his best work at close quarters. Bossi, who complained of hurting his right arm in the fifth, was the classier fighter and threw more punches, but with many of them missing the target the result was a fair one.

 

The next man up for Bossi would be Koichi Wajima, who had fought mainly in Japan and was an unknown quantity. As the reigning Japanese champion, he had 22 wins from 24 contests.

 

31 October 1971. Koichi Wajima w pts 15 Carmelo Bossi

Venue: Nihon University Auditorium, Tokyo, Japan. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Harold Valan.

Scorecards: 72-70, 68-67, 70-73.

Fight Summary: Carrying the fight to Bossi (153¼) from the start, Wajima (152¾) bobbed and weaved his way in to the attack in such a manner that belied the fact that he had only been boxing for three years. There was no doubt that Wajima’s unorthodox tactics completely took the wind out of the champion’s sails, perplexing him and bewildering him to the point that he was forced to hold at every opportunity. With Wajima getting stronger as the contest moved into the latter stages, Bossi was forced into all-out retreat, and at the final bell his face was reddened and swollen from the punches that he had endured.

 

7 May 1972. Koichi Wajima w rsc 1 (15) Domenico Tiberia

Venue: Fukuoka Sports Centre, Tokyo, Japan. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Yusaka Yoshida.

Fight Summary: Following a feeling-out period, with Wajima (153) soon pounding away at Tiberia (154) it was quickly seen that the latter had no immediate answer as to how to deal with the vicious blows coming his way. Having been backed to the ropes by the champion Tiberia was dropped by a right-left hook to the head, and on getting up at ‘nine’ he was under immense pressure before going down again. Although the referee had already counted to ‘three’, once the towel was thrown in by Tiberia’s corner he immediately called the fight off on the 1.49 mark to allow the Italian to receive treatment.

 

3 October 1972. Koichi Wajima w co 3 (15) Matt Donovan

Venue: Nihon University Auditorium, Tokyo, Japan. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Takeo Ugo.

Fight Summary: Wading in to Donovan (151¾) almost from the opening gong, throwing lefts and rights to the body, the champion took the first round by a wide margin. It was much of the same in the second round as Wajima (150½) continued to go for Donovan with hard punches to head and body, and apart from landing with a few straight lefts the latter was again very much on the run. With there being no respite in the third as Wajima kept his work-rate going, after 53 seconds of the session Donovan was counted out, having been dropped by a cracking left hook to the jaw following a flurry of heavy blows.

 

9 January 1973. Koichi Wajima drew 15 Miguel De Oliveira

Venue: Municipal Gym, Tokyo, Japan. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Hiroyuki Tezaki.

Scorecards: 73-71, 71-71, 71-71.

Fight Summary: While most of the cleaner punching came from De Oliveira (153½), the champion never stopped working despite being ineffectual in the early stages. However, Wajima (152), sending in blows from both hands, started to land more effectively from the tenth onwards as De Oliveira tired, and by sheer aggression he forced his way back into the contest. At the final bell neither man complained at the result.

 

19 April 1973. Koichi Wajima w pts 15 Ryu Sorimachi

Venue: Prefectural Gym, Osaka, Japan. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Nobumitsu Inukai.

Scorecards: 72-71, 72-71, 71-71.

Fight Summary: Crowding Sorimachi (151¼) from the start the aggressive champion, deciding as always that attack was the best form of defence, hammered away at his fellow countryman who was only too happy to fire back. With both men being known punchers the exchanges had the fans on the edge of their seats in anticipation, but it was the strength of Wajima (154) that eventually won the day by a slight margin. Although Sorimachi ripped through Wajima’s defences at times, especially with right crosses, it was the latter who finished the fresher.

 

14 August 1973. Koichi Wajima w rtd 12 (15) Silvano Bertini

Venue: Makomanai Ice Arena, Sapporo, Japan. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Takeo Ugo.

Fight Summary: Making his fifth defence, Wajima (153¾) once again proved too strong for a challenger when forcing Bertini (153) to retire at the end of the 12th round. Although Bertini had taken a fair amount of punishment the end came as a surprise as he had gone well in the earlier sessions, scoring with solid body shots, and had never looked to be in trouble. After six rounds it had seemed as though the title was going to change hands, but from there onwards it was Wajima who picked it up, crowding his opponent and ripping in solid uppercuts. Bertini later explained that he had retired because his right hand was badly swollen and that blisters on his feet were making life even more difficult.

 

5 February 1974. Koichi Wajima w pts 15 Miguel De Oliveira

Venue: Metropolitan Gym, Tokyo, Japan. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Seiji Ebine.

Scorecards: 73-70, 74-71, 73-73.

Fight Summary: In what was a return match after De Oliveira (153¾) had drawn with the champion previously, Wajima (153) crowded the Brazilian from the opening bell and smashed in punches relentlessly. Not to be deterred, De Oliveira still made life difficult for Wajima, who was wild at times, when coming back strongly to mix it up. Unfortunately for the taller De Oliveira, having been cut on the right eye early on the sheer aggression of the champion eventually forced him to defend for all he was worth, but he still proved a dangerous foe when ramming accurate blows home. With some of the rounds being extremely hard fought it was only in the last three or four sessions that Wajima made sure of the verdict.

 

With a record of 48 wins, one draw and six losses, Oscar Albarado would be next for Wajima. A pro since 1966, and a solid puncher, he had beaten L. C. Morgan (2), Pedro Adigue, Raul Soriano and Rodolfo Martinez.

 

4 June 1974. Oscar Albarado w co 15 (15) Koichi Wajima

Venue: Nihon University Auditorium, Tokyo, Japan. Recognition: WBA/WBC. Referee: Yusaku Yoshida.

Fight Summary: Lacking his normal drive, speed and power, the champion came unstuck against the hard-hitting Albarado (151¾) when caught early on by stinging left leads before being eventually knocked out at 1.54 of the final session. Starting well, the first three rounds were dominated by Albarado, with his best punch being a left uppercut to the body. However, by the seventh through to the 11th Wajima (153¾) was right back in the frame, especially when the American was deducted a point for going low. Although the next two rounds were hard fought, Wajima came on strongly in the 14th when nailing Albarado against the ropes, but faded badly in the 15th when he was dropped by a long right to the head for the compulsory ‘eight’. Back on his feet, Wajima was soon down again when hurt by a series of combination punches, and on getting up he was quickly floored again, this time for the full count.

 

With the weight division being recognised throughout the world of boxing for the first time in October, and Albarado holding both of the main titles, he should be recognised as being the world champion.

 

8 October 1974. Oscar Albarado w rsc 7 (15) Ryu Sorimachi

Venue: Nihon University Auditorium, Tokyo, Japan. Recognition: World. Referee: Dick Young.

Fight Summary: Albarado (154) soon made his presence felt when meeting up with Sorimachi (152¾), and after a hard-hitting opener Sorimachi was dropped in the second by a solid left for the statutory ‘eight’. By the fourth it looked all over for Sorimachi, who had been chased from pillar to post, but he remained upright before being smashed down by a heavy one-two in the fifth. Now bloody and battered, when Sorimachi tried to get on his bike he was soon hunted down, being decked by Albarado again in the seventh prior to the referee coming to his rescue at 2.17 of the session.

 

Having made short work of his first challenger, Albarado was next matched against Koichi Wajima, the man he had taken the WBA and WBC belts from. Coming into the contest with a record showing 29 wins, one draw and three defeats, Wajima was quietly confident.

 

21 January 1975. Koichi Wajima w pts 15 Oscar Albarado

Venue: Nihon University Auditorium, Tokyo, Japan. Recognition: World. Referee: Dick Young.

Scorecards: 69-67, 70-69, 74-68.

Fight Summary: A return contest saw Wajima (153), initially changing his style to completely confuse the champion, using evasive tactics to bob and weave away from trouble instead of mixing as previously. Making Albarado (154) miss badly on numerous occasions Wajima was well in front by the sixth before deciding to go toe-to-toe. Thereafter, both men fought on strongly and, although Albarado did better, Wajima maintained his lead to run out a good winner. There were no knockdowns this time round, Wajima stating the following day that his decision to hold back his punches until the last moment had come from watching Muhammad Ali beat George Foreman.

 

When Wajima decided against meeting Miguel De Oliveira, who had already been involved in two very close fights against him, the WBC declared the title vacant on 25 February. Wajima’s next challenger would be Jae-Doo Yuh, the current OPBF middleweight champion. Having never fought outside South Korea, although little was known of him he carried a record of 37 wins, one draw and one loss and was said to be more than useful.

 

7 June 1975. Jae-Doo Yuh w rsc 7 (15) Koichi Wajima

Venue: Municipal Gym, Kitakyushi, Japan. Recognition: WBA/Lineal. Referee: Yusaku Yoshida.

Fight Summary: Both men started fast, but it was the champion who was the most successful early on as he chased the taller Yuh (154) down when trying to get to close quarters where he could work him over. However, the tricky Yuh had other ideas, Wajima (154) being left bleeding from the left ear in round three. At the end of the fifth there was a sensation when Wajima was floored moments after the bell rang to end the session. Following that, it was felt Wajima was not fully recovered by the start of the sixth. When Yuh came on strong in that session, although Wajima survived the round he was being hit and wobbled by fast combinations. It was clear that Wajima was now on his last legs, and in the seventh after being battered and dropped three times the referee was forced to call a halt on the two-minute mark under the ‘three knockdowns in a round’ ruling.

 

11 November 1975. Jae-Doo Yuh w rsc 6 (15) Masahiro Misako

Venue: Sumpu Arena, Shizuoka, Japan. Recognition: WBA/Lineal. Referee: Takeo Ugo.

Fight Summary: Using hit-and-run tactics, Misako (153½) bewildered the champion with speedy punches in the opening two sessions before getting back on his bike and using every inch of the ring. By the third, however, with Yuh (154) beginning to find the range there were some good exchanges. Expecting to get to grips with Misako in the fourth, Yuh was badly wobbled by a big right to the head, and although it took him a while to find his bearings by the fifth he was finally firing on all cylinders, especially when smashing in solid body shots. After those punches weakened Misako, who for the first time was not moving so well, Yuh took advantage of the situation to batter the challenger to the canvas three times in the sixth to enforce the ‘three knockdowns in a round’ ruling on the 2.16 mark.

 

Looking to become a three-time champion at the weight, Koichi Wajima would be Yuh’s next challenger. Having come unstuck in their previous meeting, it was clear that Wajima had to control Yuh and not allow him to have a free rein on the inside.

 

17 February 1976. Koichi Wajima w rsc 15 (15) Jae-Doo Yuh

Venue: Nihon University Auditorium, Tokyo, Japan. Recognition: WBA/Lineal. Referee: Jae-Duk Kim.

Fight Summary: Surprisingly one-sided, Wajima (153) was always in the face of the champion, throwing punches from a crouching position and forcing him to back off almost throughout. From the second through to the fourth, Wajima threw combinations of lefts and rights at Yuh (153), and on stepping up the pace he continued to march forward for round after round, smashing in hard blows and often scoring at will. Way down on the cards, Yuh gamely stuck to the task, despite taking a pounding, before a thundering left sent him crashing in the 15th. Although Yuh managed to get to his feet the referee continued with the count while he was leaning over the ropes, the fight coming to an end at 1.47 of the session.

 

Having regained his title, Wajima’s next challenger would be Jose Manuel Duran, a clever all-round fighter who had 59 wins, nine draws and four defeats from 72 contests. A former EBU champion, Duran had beaten Angel Robinson Garcia, Jean Josselin, Domenico Tiberia, Giancarlo Garbelli, Eckhard Dagge and Johann Orsolics.

 

18 May 1976. Jose Manuel Duran w co 14 (15) Koichi Wajima

Venue: Nihon University Auditorium, Tokyo, Japan. Recognition: WBA/Lineal. Referee: Yusaku Yoshida.

Fight Summary: Having already had a crack at the WBC version of the title the challenger did better this time around when meeting up with Wajima (154). Although Wajima started the first round strongly, Duran (154) soon picked up the pace before opening up with combinations and solid rights to the head in the second prior to dropping the Japanese fighter for the mandatory ‘eight’ with a right to the jaw. From the third through to the 12th, Duran, not known as a puncher, continued to catch the advancing Wajima with shots to the head, while the latter concentrated on the body. In the 13th Duran made his move, sending Wajima down with blows to the head from both hands, and even though the champion made it to the end of the round he was through. Tearing out of his corner in the 14th, Duran threw punch after punch at Wajima, who was sent down to be counted out on the 50-second marker after taking a crashing right to the jaw.

 

Duran’s first defence would be against Miguel Castellini, a former undefeated Argentine champion who had 61 victories to his name, with ten draws and five loses, and had beaten Raul Soriano, Matt Donovan, Carlos Marks, Ramon La Cruz and Norberto Cabrera.

 

8 October 1976. Miguel Castellini w pts 15 Jose Manuel Duran

Venue: Sports Palace, Madrid, Spain. Recognition: WBA/Lineal. Referee: Stan Christodoulou.

Scorecards: 146-142, 147-144, 146-147.

Fight Summary: Boxing on the back foot, once Duran was knocked down in the third round following a right to the head, and realising the added power of Castellini (153¼), the champion stayed in the countering position for the rest of the contest. Duran (153) became even more negative after a clash of heads in the fifth left him cut on the forehead and Castellini suffering a two-inch gash over the left eye. Instead of picking it up at that point, Duran continued to land light, tapping blows to the head whilst on the run, while Castellini, always looking to make the fight, put in a fast finish over the last few sessions to make sure of the decision.

 

The unrated Eddie Gazo, the WBC Fecarbox champion, whose record showed 30 wins, two draws and four losses would be Duran’s first challenger. Little was known of him other than he had lost two of his first three contests and had five quick wins in his last five.

 

5 March 1977. Eddie Gazo w pts 15 Miguel Castellini

Venue: National Baseball Stadium, Managua, Nicaragua. Recognition: WBA/Lineal. Referee: Jay Edson.

Scorecards: 148-144, 148-143, 149-144.

Fight Summary: The aggressor throughout, Gazo (153) landed the hardest punches of the fight and totally confused the champion with his unorthodox style, keeping him off balance for much of the time. After Castellini (151) was cut over the left eye in the seventh he allowed Gazo to dominate continuously, while often throwing nothing back. For such an experienced fighter as Castellini it was a strange way to make his first defence, and following the contest he admitted that he could not get started and did not seem to have any real interest.

 

7 June 1977. Eddie Gazo w rsc 11 (15) Koichi Wajima

Venue: Martial Arts Hall, Tokyo, Japan. Recognition: WBA/Lineal. Referee: Jay Edson.

Fight Summary: Right from the start the challenger did not appear to be his normal self, despite confusing Gazo (152½) with his stance and sudden punching from a crouching position, and as the contest proceeded his power gradually diminished. Both men suffered cuts early on, Wajima (154) on the forehead in the second and Gazo over the left eye in the third. From the fourth through to the tenth, with Gazo piling up points as Wajima tired, the deficit became even greater. This was especially noticeable when Wajima was being belted against the ropes in the eighth and ninth sessions. Right on the bell to end the tenth Wajima was dropped by a right to the jaw, and although he came out for the 11th he was soon in further trouble. After being floored for the second time, by a cracking left hook, when Wajima was back on his feet the referee halted the contest after the latter’s corner threw the towel in on the 45-second mark to save their fighter from taking further punishment.

 

13 September 1977. Eddie Gazo w pts 15 Kenji Shibata

Venue: Martial Arts Hall, Tokyo, Japan. Recognition: WBA/Lineal. Referee: Carlos Berrocal.

Scorecards: 71-69, 72-71, 73-71.

Fight Summary: The southpaw challenger made a fair start when shooting jabs into the five-inch shorter Gazo (153¾), but although it took a round or so to sort himself out by the fourth the latter was beginning to work the body and having some success. At this point Shibata (153½) was lost when it came to infighting, preferring to keep Gazo at distance where he could connect with his longer punches. The fight had evened itself out in the latter stages, and although Shibata had a very good 13th he then faded from sight as Gazo moved up a gear to win a close decision.

 

18 December 1977. Eddie Gazo w pts 15 Jae-Keum Lim

Venue: Sunin Gym, Inchon, South Korea. Recognition: WBA/Lineal. Referee: Marty Denkin.

Scorecards: 147-146, 147-144, 148-150.

Fight Summary: In his third defence, Gazo (153¾), using his favoured hit-and-run tactics, just about got home against Lim (152½) on a split decision. There were no knockdowns in what was a dreary affair, and although Lim got through with some good punches he was more often than not tied up when getting set. That Lim got a crack at the title at all was surprising as he had been knocked out in the seventh round of his previous contest by Jae-Doo Yuh.

 

Gazo’s next challenger would be the unrated Masashi Kudo, the Japanese middleweight champion, who had never fought outside Japan and had 19 wins from 19 contests.

 

9 August 1978. Masashi Kudo w pts 15 Eddie Gazo

Venue: City Gym, Akita, Japan. Recognition: WBA/Lineal. Referee: Marty Denkin.

Scorecards: 146-143, 147-145, 145-146.

Fight Summary: Being cut over the left eye as early as the second did not do the champion many favours, but luckily for him many of the left jabs and one-twos tossed in by Kudo (153¼) throughout the opening four rounds missed the target. Boxing out of a crouch as normal, Gazo (152¼) seemed strangely lethargic before getting home in the fifth with some wide rights. Although working well inside with short hooks and uppercuts over the next round or so Gazo eventually allowed himself to be pegged back again. By the 11th Gazo was fading, being deducted a point in the 12th for holding and, although Kudo began to increase his lead in the eyes of two of the judges, the last three sessions saw more negative action as both men continually hit and grabbed.

 

13 December 1978. Masashi Kudo w pts 15 Ho Joo

Venue: Prefectural Gym, Osaka, Japan. Recognition: WBA/Lineal. Referee: Paul Field.

Scorecards: 148-144, 149-144, 145-148.

Fight Summary: Although expected to go forward from the opening bell, Kudo (153½) began cautiously and was happy to pick up points from distance while having a good look at his challenger. From the fourth onwards, Joo (154), a hard-hitting counter-puncher, perked up when sending in left hooks to Kudo’s face, and at the same time was looking to smash in heavy uppercuts. By the eighth it looked as though Kudo had finally worked Joo out, darting in to land fast one-twos until getting on the back foot again, with the latter lacking the mobility to catch him. While the ninth through to the 11th were slow rounds, Kudo piled up more points in the 12th with great combinations to Joo’s head before things became extremely messy with lots of clinching as the champion ran the fight down.

 

14 March 1979. Masashi Kudo w pts 15 Manuel Ricardo Gonzalez

Venue: Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan. Recognition: WBA/Lineal. Referee: Luis Sulbaran.

Scorecards: 148-147, 146-144, 146-146.

Fight Summary: Bouncing left jabs off the champion repeatedly to take most of the opening seven rounds, Gonzalez (153) showed the Japanese crowd just what a skilled operator he was despite his lack of a concussive punch. Gonzalez was also adept at defending when on the ropes while sending in countering blows from both hands at the same time. Unable to connect with Gonzalez solidly other than on the odd occasion, Kudo (154) often resorted to sending out batches of punches in the hope of catching his man, and even when he went flat out in the last two sessions he appeared not to make up much leeway. When the scores were announced there were gasps of amazement, and in order to save face the WBA fixed up a return almost immediately.

 

20 June 1979. Masashi Kudo w rsc 12 (15) Manuel Ricardo Gonzalez

Venue:  City Gym, Yokkaichi, Japan. Recognition: WBA/Lineal. Referee: Stan Christodoulou.

Fight Summary: Although he had controversially outpointed Gonzalez (152) three months earlier, the champion started better in the return match when sending in sharp one-twos to the head and not hanging around to trade. Gonzalez came back well in the fifth through to the ninth when countering with solid rights to the head as Kudo (153¾) missed with stinging left leads, and in the tenth he sent the latter staggering into the ropes with solid lefts and rights. Hammering away non-stop at Kudo it seemed as though Gonzalez was on the verge of winning, but having absorbed everything thrown at him the champion suddenly cut loose, a cracking left to the Argentine’s jaw just before the bell changing the course of the fight. Badly stunned, Gonzalez did not know where he was from that point on. After taking a beating in the 11th, when Gonzalez was staggering around the ring in the 12th the referee halted the contest after his corner threw in the towel nine seconds into the session to save him from taking further punishment.

 

As the outstanding challenger for over a year, Ayub Kalule would finally get his chance of a shot at Kudo. This followed a WBA demand on 25 July that the latter defend his title against the Ugandan within 90 days. Kudu had been reported to have signed up to meet Emiliano Villa which, if true, was stopped in its tracks. The Commonwealth middleweight champion was unbeaten in 30 (17 inside the distance) contests and had defeated Elisha Obed, Rudy Robles, Alvin Anderson, Miguel Castellini, Jose Hernandez, Milton Owens, Sugar Ray Seales, Kevin Finnegan, Ho Joo, Monty Betham and David Love, all top men. A southpaw who was feared for his ability with right hooks and uppercuts, Kalule was a big pre-fight favourite.

 

24 October 1979. Ayub Kalule w pts 15 Masashi Kudo

Venue: Prefectural Gym, Akita, Japan. Recognition: WBA/Lineal. Referee: Bobby Ferrara.

Scorecards: 149-139, 146-139, 149-145.

Fight Summary: With the upright champion adopting a defensive approach, Kalule (153¾) took charge from the opening bell. Cutting the ring down from the second through to the fourth Kalule began firing in some solid shots, the prime one being the southpaw straight left to the body. In the fifth, realising that he was in trouble, Kudo (154) started to let straight rights go, one of which had Kalule stumbling. Although Kudo began to punch it out later in the fight, invariably he was coming off worse when being caught by heavy counters. Despite his left eye beginning to close Kudo did reasonably well in the 12th and 13th, but when Kalule dropped him on the bell to end the 13th it seemed to be all over. Surprisingly, Kalule did not press his advantage in the 14th or the 15th, being happy to cruise to victory.

 

6 December 1979. Ayub Kalule w pts 15 Steve Gregory

Venue: Brondby Hall, Copenhagen, Denmark. Recognition: WBA/Lineal. Referee: Tony Perez.

Scorecards: 149-135, 150-135, 150-147.

Fight Summary: Having floored Gregory (152) in the opening round with a looping southpaw right, whenever the champion got the opportunity he would force his rival to the ropes in order to work him over with body shots. When Kalule (153) upped his work-rate in the third, pumping in blows to Gregory’s body before firing in uppercuts, the latter had no defence for the punches coming his way other than covering up or retreating if he could. Gregory, who was as game as they come, had some success in the 11th and 12th with good left hands, but before too long he was again taking punishment. The fight entered the final session with Kalule still trying to win inside the distance, Gregory being under attack from a barrage of uppercuts to the head before making it to the bell.