The Junior Bantamweight (Super Flyweight) Division

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KSTAT124
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The Junior Bantamweight (Super Flyweight) Division

Post by KSTAT124 »

One of today's most exciting and deepest weight classes is the junior bantamweight division. This thread will provide the reader with a complete history of the division's champions and championship matches.

The division was one of six created by the Walker Law in 1920 bringing the number of divisions, at least on paper, to fourteen. However, like the junior flyweight and junior middleweight divisions, the inaugural title bout of the junior bantamweight division would not be held for many decades.

The World Boxing Council was the first to sanction a world title bout for division. On February 2, 1980, in Caracas, Venezuela, Rafael Orono won a split decision over Seung Hoon Lee after 15 rounds to become the division's first world champion.

Orono made three successful defenses of the title in 1980 (UD 15 over Ramon Balbino Soria on April 14 in Caracas; Draw 15 with Willie "Birdlegs" Jensen on July 29 also in Caracas, and TKO-3 over Jovito Rengifo on September 15 in Barquisimeto, Venezuela) but was dethroned by Chul-Ho Kim on January 24, 1981. Fighting in San Cristobal, Venezuela, Kim stopped Orono in the ninth round.

On April 22, 1981, Kim defended the title for the first time, unanimously outpointing Jiro Watanabe over 15 rounds in Seoul, South Korea. Three months later, on July 29, Kim, in his second title defense, TKOed Willie "Birdlegs" Jensen in the third round in Busan, South Korea.

The WBA's first sanctioned junior bantamweight/super flyweight title bout was held on September 12, 1981 in Buenos Aires, Distrito Federal, Argentina. Gustavio Ballas halted Sok-Chul Bae in the eighth round.

Before the year was over, Kim successfully defended the WBC title for the third time when he stopped Jackal Maruyama in the ninth round In Busan, South Korea on November 18 and Ballas lost the WBA belt via a 15-round, split decision to Rafael Pedroza in Panama City, Panama on December 5.

To Be Continued
KSTAT124
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Re: The Junior Bantamweight (Super Flyweight) Division

Post by KSTAT124 »

1982:

On February 10, in Daegu, South Korea, Chul-Ho Kim retained the WBC title by knocking out Koki Ishii in the eighth round.

Two months later, on April 8, defending WBA champ Rafael Pedroza was unanimously outpointed over 15 rounds by Jiro Watanabe in Osaka, Osaka, Japan.

On July 4, Kim again retained the WBC title by battling to a 15-round draw with Raul Valdez in Daejon, South Korea.

On July 29, Watanabe made his first defense of the WBA title a successful one by stopping Gustavo Ballas in Osaka. Ballas retired in his corner after the ninth round.

On November 11, in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan, Watanabe retained the WBA title by TKOing former lineal, Ring Magazine, and two-time WBC World flyweight champion Shoji Oguma in the second round.

Seventeen days later, in Seoul, South Korea, Rafael Orono regained the WBC title by stopping Kim in the sixth round.
KSTAT124
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Re: The Junior Bantamweight (Super Flyweight) Division

Post by KSTAT124 »

1983:

On January 31, Rafael Orono made the first defense of his second reign as WBC champion. He knocked out Pedro Romero in the fourth round in Caracas, Venezuela.

On February 24, in Tsu, Mie, Japan, Jiro Watanabe retained the WBA title by knocking out Luis Ibanez in the eighth round.

Orono held onto the WBC title by unanimously outpointed Raul Valdez over 12 rounds on May 9 in Caracas.

Watanabe made another two successful defenses of the WBA championship with a 15-round, majority decision over Roberto Ramirez in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan on June 23 and an eleven-round, technical decision over Soon Chun Kwon in Osaka on October 6.

On October 29, Orono stopped Orlando Maldonado in the fifth frame in Caracas to retain the WBC title. He (Orono) was dethroned on November 27 when he lost a 12-round, split decision to 1976 Olympic Bronze Medalist Payao Poontarat in Pattaya, Thailand.

On December 10, in Osaka, Jun-Do Chun won the inaugural IBF World junior bantamweight title bout by halting Ken Kasagai in the fifth round.

So, at the end of 1983, there were three title claimants at 115, Jiro Watanabe (WBA), Payao Poontarat (WBC), and Jun-Do Chun (IBF), but the lineal title remained vacant. That would change in 1984.
KSTAT124
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Re: The Junior Bantamweight (Super Flyweight) Division

Post by KSTAT124 »

1984:

Ju-Do Chun was the first of the division's champions to defend his title in 1984. On January 28, he TKOed Prayusak Muangsurin in Seoul to retain the IBF belt.

On March 15, Jiro Watanabe stopped Celso Chavez in the 15th round to retain the WBA title and two days later, Chun retained the IBF version by knocking out Diego De Villa in the first round in Gwangju City, South Korea.

On March 28, Poontarat retained the WBC title by stopping former WBA World flyweight champion Guty Espadas in the tenth round in Bangkok to set up a proposed title unification bout with Watanabe.

On May 26, Chun made his third defense of the IBF title, stopping Felix Marquez in the sixth round in Wonju City, South Korea.

Politics prevented the division from having two of its titles unified but could not stop a lineal champ from being crowned. The WBA refused the sanction a Watanabe-Poontarat bout and eventually stripped Watanabe for signing to fight Poontarat but the fight went on with the WBC title and lineal recognition on the line.

On July 5, in Osaka, the consensus top two junior bantamweights in the world met with Watanabe winning a split, 12-round decision over Poontarat to annex the WBC title and to become the division's first lineal champion.

On July 22, in Busan, South Korea, Chun retained the IBF title by knocking out William Develos in the seventh round.

On November 21, Khaosai Galaxy, who would go on to to establish himself as one of the greatest if not the greatest champion to reign at 115 pounds, won the vacant WBA title by knocking out Eusebio Espinal in the sixth round in Bangkok.

Eight days later, in Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan, Watanabe retained the lineal and WBC titles by stopping Poontarat in the eleventh round of their much anticipated rematch.

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