By Ronnie Nathanielsz
The saga of Filipino boxers getting mauled in obviously terrible mismatches approved by the Games and Amusements Board continues.
Japanese matchmaker and journalist Joe Koizumi has informed Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today that Tata Polinar who fought Manabu Fukushima in Tokyo last June 4 was "floored in every round and finally demolished with a wicked body shot at 1:46 of the third round."
Polinar was the same fighter whose name was used by retired boxer Joel Avila in a May 27 fight in Thailand where he was knocked out by Medgoen Singsurat (3K Battery) in the fifth round. The Asian Boxing Council is conducting an investigation into the scandal.
The real Tata Polinar who was knocked out by Fukushima had a miserable record of 16 losses as against only 8 wins and 1 draw with 2 knockouts while his Japanese opponent had a record of 28 wins, 6 losses, 2 draws and 19 knockouts demonstrating the obvious disparity between the two.
In addition Fukushima is ranked No. 7 by the World Boxing Association and was originally scheduled to battle Wladimir Sidorenko for the world title. However, the champion suffered a fracture of the thumb forcing Fukushima to accept the postponement and to fight Polinar in a non-title bout.
