(NOV 12) Last night at the Shinjuku FACE, in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, Emiko Raika, of Japan won a 10-round majority decision over Ann Marie Saccurato, of the United States. The two were fighting for the Lightweight WIBA title. The final judges scores (all judges from Japan, according to Team Saccurato), was 93-99, 93-97, and 95-95.

Team Saccurato told WBAN that the above reported scores in favor of Raika did not accurately reflect the fight that actually occurred.

“We are very disappointed to see Ann-Marie winning so many rounds in a bout that never ended up on the judges score cards. Objectively, Ann landed more punches than Raika in every round but one and completely out boxed Emiko and we are sad to see the three Japanese judges did not see it that way” said Angel Bovee of Team Saccurato.

“But ever the Champion, Ann will continue to take these type of risks of fighting boxers in their own hometowns when necessary- to continue to put forth to the public excellent displays of women's boxing in her quest to elevate the respect, marketability, salaries, and talent of women boxers everywhere. Thanks to everyone for their continued love and support!” added Bovee.

Ryan Wissow of the WIBA reported the following: "in a fight that will be named the WIBA`s 2007 Fight of the Year, Emiko Raika won a 10-round majority decision over Ann Marie Sacurato to retain her WIBA Lightweight World Title.
Saccurato gave Raika serious fits in the first three rounds by moving and boxing, something nobody expected to see from Ann, who is well known for being a brawler. It took Raika a few rounds to adjust, but she was able to cut off the ring successfully and engage Saccurato in some fierce exchanges. Both fighters landed bombs on each other, but Raika was the aggressor throughout the bout and landed more big punches. The final scores were 99-93, 97-93, and
95-95. I had it scored 97-93 for Raika."

Wissow said, "On the undercard, Manami Tsunami Arima won a dominating 8-round unanimous decision over defending Japanese Flyweight Champion Kazumi Izaki to win the national title. Arima showed herself to be a very well rounded fighter as she used a variety of skills to shut out the 44-year old Izaki. Arima will probably fight for the WIBA Light Flyweight World Title in her next fight, tentatively set for February or March in Japan.  Marika Watanabe destroyed Satoko Kamimura in 2 rounds of a 6 round mini-flyweight bout. Kamimura was down in both rounds 1 and 2, and after being dropped a second time, her corner threw in the towel.

The card had SEVEN women's bouts on the card. We have all the results on Master Search on the WBAN Records site.

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