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With World Boxing Federation
(WBF) championship fights
headlining big shows in Osaka,
Japan, Epernay, France and
Burgdorf, Switzerland on
Saturday April 23, it was
another action-packed and
successful weekend of world
class boxing for the WBF.
In Osaka, local favorite Kentaro
Kobayashi remained undefeated
but came up
short in an attempt to win the vacant WBF World
Super Bantamweight title when
a ninth round technical
decision with fellow Japanese
Kenichi Yamaguchi
was declared
a draw.
An accidental clash of heads saw
the fight being stopped somewhat
prematurely in round nine, after
the fighters had gone toe-to-toe
more or less from the first
round, and
the judges scored it 86-86,
88-85 for Yamaguchi and 86-85
for Kobayashi.
Fighting in the main event of a
show promoted by Golden Ball
Promotions,
Kobayashi´s record now stands at
8-0-2 (2). Yamagushi (35),
unsuccessful
in his second world
title-opportunity following a
defeat to Mexican WBO champion
Orlando Salido in 2011,
is now
19-3-3 (5).
At the Hall des Sports Pierre
Gaspard in Epernay, France,
Mexico´s Isabel Millan captured
the WBF Womens World Flyweight
title when she dethroned
reigning champion, and hometown
girl, Amira Hamzaoui after a
magnificent fight that turned
out to be wonderful
advertisement for female boxing.
In another non-stop battle, the
fight was mostly fought at close
quarters. Hamzaoui was on top of
her game, fighting in front of a
near sell-out crowd, but the
challenger was even better and
never stopped throwing hard
shorts to both body and head.
While the defending champion
managed to occasionally stun the
challenger, Millan hurt Hamzaoui
more than she was hurt herself,
and after ten pulsating rounds
there were no complaints from
anyone when the visitor was
awarded a unanimous decision and
the WBF world title.
Judges Jean-Marcel Nartz, Jacky
Vaillant and Robin Reid, himself
a former WBF World Champion,
scored the bout 97-93, 96-94 and
100-92 for Millan, who now
boasts a fine 16-2-1 (8) record.
Hamzaoui, making her second
title-defense, drops to 12-2
(5). Promoter was Jerome
Vilmain.
In Burgdorf, Switzerland,
locally-based Albanian Sefer
Seferi made quick work of
Hungarian co-challenger Laszlo
Hubert, winning the vacant WBF
Intercontinental Cruiserweight
title by second round stoppage
in front of an excited and loud
crowd at the Markthalle.
The
first round was relatively
close,
perhaps with a small
advantage for Hubert,
but
Seferi stepped on the gas in
round two and quickly floored
his opponent with a left hand.
Hubert beat the count of referee
Gerhard Sigl, but was soon send
to the canvas again, this time
by a left hook to the liver.
Once again the brave former WBF
International Heavyweight
titlist made it to his feet, but
it would not be long before
Seferi landed a straight right
to the chin for a third
knock-down, this one the hardest
of them all, prompting Sigl to
wave it off at 1:20 of round
two.
Also acting as the promoter of
the show, along with his brother
and fellow Cruiserweight
contender Nuri, Sefer “The Real
Deal” Seferi improved his
impressive undefeated ledger to
21-0 (19). Taking part in his
thirteenth championship fight
since turning pro in 2007,
Hubert travels back to Budapest
at 44-19-1 (29).
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