{"id":65522,"date":"2017-01-04T23:53:03","date_gmt":"2017-01-05T04:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=65522"},"modified":"2017-01-04T23:54:47","modified_gmt":"2017-01-05T04:54:47","slug":"jezreel-corrales-wins-a-split-decision-over-takashi-uchiyama-to-defend-his-wba-superfeatherweight-title-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=65522","title":{"rendered":"Jezreel Corrales Wins a Split Decision Over Takashi Uchiyama to Defend His WBA Super Featherweight Title in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jezreel<\/a>By Jeffrey \u201cItalian Medallion\u201d Cellini<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last Saturday night, at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Toyko, Japan, Jezreel Corrales, 21-1, 8 KO\u2019s pulled out a split-decision victory over Takashi Uchiyama, 24-2-1,20 KO\u2019s to successfully defend his WBA World Super Featherweight title (117-110, 115-112, 113-114). Last April, the 23-year old Corrales pulled off a stunning upset by knocking out the 37-year old Uchiyama to take the crown.<\/p>\n

Uchiyama knocked Corrales down late in the fifth round, though it didn\u2019t seem to do a lot of damage to the champion. Not surprisingly, \u201cKnockout Dynamite\u201d had a hard time landing blows against the athletic, unorthodox fighter Corrales. In the later rounds, Uchiyama seemed to adjust to the Panamanian\u2019s speed and began landing some punches, but could not hit \u201cEl Invisible\u201d with any big shots before the bell in the final round.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m disappointed, but Corrales accepted this return match and it\u2019s all on me for coming up short,\u201d said the 37-year-old Uchiyama, who defended his WBA super featherweight title 11 times in a row before a stunning second-round technical knockout loss to Corrales on April 27, which was arguably dubbed \u201cthe upset of the year\u201d in the sport, at the same venue. \u201cHe was competitive today.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the fight, Corrales said he felt that his dedication in training for the fight paid off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was able to win because of all the training I did,\u201d Corrales said through an interpreter. \u201cI wasn\u2019t sure I\u2019d definitely win before the judgment paper was read. But I felt I did enough to win. \u201cUchiyama practiced well, but I think I practiced even more than he did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI never felt comfortable fighting against him and it bothered me,\u201d said Taguchi, who fought for the sixth straight time at the Ota City gym, reflecting on the match. \u201cThe way (Canizales) came at me was different from how we thought he would, so I was perplexed a little.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the WBA “Super” Super Featherweight Champion, Corrales ought to be facing regular champ Jason Sosa sometime next year.<\/p>\n