By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation minimum weight champion Rodel Mayol cannot seem to entice the top-rated Japanese in the latest OPBF ratings to fight him for the title in Manila on January 29 despite a good offer, forcing promoter Lope Sarreal Jr to scout for other worthy contenders.
Sarreal said " we want to get the best opponent for Mayol because the boy is a world title prospect and we don’t want to put him against weak opponents because he won’t benefit that way." However, he said that all three Japanese, No. 1 ranked Makoto Suzuki, No. 3 Katsunari Takayama and No. 10 Takayuki Kohrogi have declined to fight Mayor. In fact Japanese matchmaker and journalist Joe Koizumi told Viva Sports/Manila Standard " Suzuki, for whom I am the matchmaker will never go and fight Mayol" claiming that Suzuki’s target "is not the OPBF belt but the WBC or WBA belt."
Koizumi said that since Suzuki is world-rated, he "need not risk his possibility to get a world title shot" by fighting Mayol. He added that "no name Japanese boxers will go and fight Mayol in the Philippines since they, like Suzuki, aim at the world belt." The refusal of the Japanese to fight Mayol who is the champion and has an inherent right to defend his title in Manila and the public pronouncement that they are only interested in a world title, resulted in the issue being raised to OPBF president Frabk Quill by Viva Sports.
In an email to the OPBF president Viva Sports pointed out that the Japanese appeared to be using the OPBF only for ratings purposes and it was unfair to other deserving fighters who are prepared to fight for an OPB title. In the face of the refusal of the Japanese, Sarreal indicated he would contact the handlers of South Korea’s Kimoon Nah who is rated No. 9 or No. 2 ranked La Syukur of Indonesia and offer them a title crack at Mayol.
A devastating puncher, Mayol who won the OPBF title with a spectacular first round KO over champion Genki Ohnaka on December 7, 2003 after the Japanese promoters made him take a long route to Tokuyama where he spent hours waiting for connecting flights and didn’t even have a heater in his dressing room despite the cold weather. Mayol said that for all the hardships he underwent, he took it out on Ohnaka who failed to throw a single punch as Mayol hammered him mercilessly to end the fight in 2:49 of the first round.
