KJ CATARAJA has vowed to bounce back and work his way back to the top after suffering his first career defeat.
Cataraja lost to Mexican Kenbun Torres on Saturday, August 24, 2024, by a close split decision at the Yamato Arena in Osaka, Japan.
“I will continue to aim high and, if there’s another opportunity, I’ll grab it. I’m much more confident now because I’m not afraid to lose anymore. Unlike when I was undefeated and it was set in my mind that I could not afford to lose, now my mind is open to the fact that losing is part of the game. This defeat taught me that I have to train harder and work on my game more,” Cataraja told SunStar Cebu.
Judge Nobuto Ikehara scored the fight 95-94 for Cataraja, while judges Kazunori Ishikawa and Jun Kawakami had identical 96-93 scores for Torres.
“I thought I won that fight. My punches were cleaner compared to his (Torres). But we can’t do anything about it because that was the decision,” said Cataraja.
Cataraja dropped Torres with a counter right straight just before the end of the fourth round.
However, referee Tomohiro Imamura didn’t call it a knockdown and insisted that Cataraja hit Torres after the bell. Cataraja was also deducted a crucial point because of that.
The 29-year-old Cataraja was ranked No. 1 in the super-flyweight division by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) coming into this fight. He was supposed to get his world title shot soon. But because of the loss, Cataraja is expected to drop in the rankings and will have to work his way back up.
Cataraja fell to 17-1 with 13 knockouts, while the 36-year-old Torres improved to 15-5 with 10 knockouts.
Meanwhile, Filipino warriors Samuel Salva and Danrick Sumabong also lost their respective bouts in the same boxing show.
Salva (20-2, 14 KOs) bowed down to former world champion Yudai Shigeoka (9-1, 5 KOs) by unanimous decision. All three judges scored it 97-93 in favor of Shigeoka.
Sumabong (13-5-1, 9 KOs) also lost by unanimous decision against undefeated Japanese prospect Sho Nogami (4-0, 2 KOs). Nogami dominated the fight and got the nod of all three judges with the same scores of 80-72. / EKA