TOKYO, Oct 13: Disgraced Japanese boxer Daiki Kameda could face a ban for violent behaviour during his defeat by Daisuke Naito in a world title fight earlier this week.
Naito retained his WBC flyweight belt on Thursday with a unanimous decision over the 18-year-old Kameda, who was docked three points after his patience snapped in the 12th round.
Kameda, sporting golden gloves to match his dyed hair, was docked a point for punching Naito while both men wrestled on the canvas.
He was then penalised a further two points for picking up Naito and slamming him down, triggering howls of derision from a Tokyo crowd squarely behind Naito.
Daiki, younger brother of bad boy Japanese fighter Koki, a former light flyweight world champion, could now face suspension, along with his father and coach Shiro.
“The last round was astonishing,” Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) general secretary Tsuyoshi Yasukochi told reporters. “We need to examine how this will impact on (Kameda’s) career.”
Shiro Kameda, who was already walking a tightrope with the JBC over past misdemeanours, could now have his license suspended for abusing the match referee.
To make matters worse for the controversial boxing family, television microphones picked up Koki, who was in Daiki’s corner, telling his younger brother to elbow Naito in the eye.
Naito suffered a cut above his right eye early in the fight and the 33-year-old champion was only allowed to continue after a doctor checked the wound in the seventh round.
Shiro Kameda rejected suggestions that there was any malice on the part of his son.
“There was no intention to break the rules,” he said in a statement issued by his Kyoei Gym.
“It was simply Daiki’s youth and lack of maturity. I should have done more to control him.”
Trouble has flared at past fights involving the Kameda brothers and security was beefed up for Thursday’s fight in Tokyo.
Daiki, who had dismissed Naito as a “cockroach” in the fight’s build-up, entered the ring dressed as an ancient Japanese warrior monk, glaring at jeering fans and spitting on the floor.
The crowd booed Kameda from the start and shouted abuse at him as he climbed out of the ring and trudged back to the changing rooms after losing the verdict by a wide margin.—Reuters
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.