PHUMELELE CAFU stunned four-weight world king Kosei Tanaka to become the fresh WBO super flyweight champion in Tokyo.

Cafu dropped Tanaka tough in the fifth, and at that point the victory was finally secured by the slimmest of margins, with the three judges returning a split decision.

Jesse Reyes led 114-113 against Tanaka, but when both Phil Austin and Waleska Roldan scored Cafu 114-113, a fresh world champion was crowned.

The victory came just days after Cafu’s compatriot Sivenathi Nontshinga lost his world title in Japan, but the Duncan Village fighter was not to be denied a performance at the Ariake Arena.

Cafu said, “I am speechless. This is everything I’ve ever wanted, my whole life, my whole career. Now I finally have it. Thank you to the Japanese fans for welcoming me.”

Tanaka made a keen start against the counter-paced Cafu, slipping in and out of range to score, leaving his opponent chasing shadows early on.

However, the challenger started to make some progress in the second and broke through with a mighty right hand just before the bell to end the round. Tanaka took it well.

This set the tone for an entertaining third installment, with both men having periods of success. Tanaka landed a double left hook jab to the body, but Cafu shot back. There was more high-level action in the fourth quarter and it was Tanaka who enjoyed it the most, but Cafu did great on the counterattack.

And that’s what happened midway through the fifth period, when Tanaka tried to land an uppercut and Cafu landed a tough right hook that knocked the champion down. He landed on his hands and knees, but managed to pull himself up in time to defeat the count. His legs were unsteady, but Cafu was unable to finish in the last 80 seconds of the round.

He improved even more in the sixth round, which was overall a good round for Tanaka, and continued his good form in the seventh round, which was like throwing practice for a champion who was investing heavily in Cafu’s body.

Despite this, Cafu still looked like a striker in the fight and seemed to hurt Tanaka every time he landed his signature counters. it seemed like everything was up for grabs in the championship rounds, but there wasn’t much to choose between the pair as they were both visibly tired by this point. However, Tanaka gained pressure in the final round and was still hesitant when the final bell rang.

However, it wasn’t enough for Tanaka to defend the belt in his first defense, and Cafu was close to making his next decision.

Previously, Anthony Olascuaga did not even make it past the first round in his fight against Gonzalez, three months after lifting weights against Tanaka, due to an unintentional headbutt from the former, which resulted in a no-contest.

The Orthodox champion, who was defending his WBO flyweight title for the first time, accidentally landed his head above Gonzalez’s left eye. And when Robert Hoyle asked if he could see, Gonzalez replied “no,” leaving the referee no choice but to immediately wave his hand. The stoppage time was 2:25 of the first.

Junior featherweight John Riel Casimero could return to the winner’s circle, although questions about his professionalism remain open.

After two unsuccessful attempts to make weight on Saturday, October 12, Casimero delivered a first-round technical knockout of former title challenger Saul Sanchez at the Yokohama Budokan in Yokohama, Japan.

Former three-division titleholder Casimero (34-4-1, 23 KO), 35, took a moment to see what the 27-year-old Sanchez (21-4, 12 KO) of Encino, California, had before unloading a barrage of punches. A right hook crushed Sanchez, who briefly touched the canvas with his gloves, prompting referee Yuji Fukuchi to count.

Sanchez defeated the Count and tried to retaliate, but this decision led to his downfall. Casimero landed a crushing left hook that knocked Sanchez to the ground. Although Sanchez managed to get back to his feet, Casimero overwhelmed him with a flurry of punches, forcing the referee to stop the fight at 2:41 of the opening round.

Casimero’s career has been turbulent in recent years. Since his victory over Guillermo Rigondeaux in August 2021, he has fought just four fights, all in Asia, including his last fight. His last fight was almost exactly a year ago, on October 12, 2023.

It will be Sanchez’s second defeat in 2024, following a narrow majority defeat to then-WBO bantamweight titleholder Jason Moloney in January. He bounced back with an eight-round unanimous decision over Arthur Villanueva, but the loss to Casimero was Sanchez’s first stoppage of his career.

Dmitry Bivol wants to operate more movement and counter-punching in his rematch with Artur Beterbiev, as he felt he didn’t operate enough last Saturday night following his 12-round majority decision loss.

Many fans believed that Bivol (23-1, 12 KO) used too much movement and ultimately lost the fight; he did not stop long enough to land punches from rounds 8 to 12. Bivol seemed tired of constantly moving, which made him effortless pickings for Beterbiev in the final five rounds.

Bivol under the influence of Sugar Ray

Dmitry Bivol says he watched some of Sugar Ray Leonard’s elderly fights before the Beterbiev fight. He recalls watching Leonard fight Marvin Hagler, and Ray fought the full 12 rounds. He would stop to throw combos before moving again.

What Bivol fails to note is that many boxing fans who watched the Leonard-Hagler fight felt that Hagler was robbed by the referees because he was taking bigger shots and Leonard was simply cleaning his shoes with quick, low-power combinations.

Using Leonard’s fight with Hagler as a role model for fighting Beterbiev in this era was a mistake. Bivol lacks Leonardo’s popularity to receive a gift decision against Beterbiev, as many thought would happen with Hagler.

“I want to improve my movement. I didn’t move enough. I need to move more and operate more counterattacks. I just need to add more,” said Dmitry Bivol Fighting Hub TV about what he needs to do to improve his game in the rematch with Artur Beterbiev. “The tactic was not just to stand in front of Beterbiev. Move like Ray Leonard.”

If Bivol is going to emulate Leonard’s approach to fighting, he should focus on some of the fights where he threw more punches and fought with more aggression. He’s not rapid enough to fight like Leonard did in his prime. Bivol would have been better off using early Oscar De La Hoya as someone he could emulate in his rematch with Beterbiev. De La Hoya started his career quickly. He was an offensive player, he scored many knockouts.

“He’s in good shape. He tried to beat the last rounds. This is what I don’t like. I didn’t do those three rounds perfectly,” Bivol said of how he didn’t put his hands down in rounds 10, 11 and 12.

“They told me, ‘You should move. You should throw the jab like you did before. Don’t stand in front of him. Don’t be a constant target,” Bivol said of what the corner told him before the 12th round.

In retrospect, Bivol went too far in the 12th round and gave it to Beterbiev. With the fight hanging in the balance, Bivol should have fought with more aggression.

“Sometimes I felt like I could do it, but I did [cautious]Bivol said. “My plan was to exercise a lot because I was watching a lot [Sugar] Ray Leonard’s fights before this fight. Leonard-Hagler. Leonard was on the move in all 12 rounds.

“He would stop, do combinations and then move again. He was not on Hagler’s side. If he got up and fought Hagler, it wouldn’t make sense. You can’t fight a guy who is stronger than you.

“We have to agree with Beterbiev that he is the strongest lightweight heavyweight fighter, but that doesn’t mean he is the best,” Bivol said.

Beterbiev beat Bivol, which should mean he’s the “best” in the league. Bivol saying that Beterbiev is not the best in the lightweight heavyweight division suggests that he either thinks he is even better or thinks someone else in the fighting category is. Bivol did a good job of remaining humble after the loss, but the above comment about Beterbiev being less than stellar suggests he hasn’t fully accepted his loss.