Originally released on January 10, 2005 by Scott Shaffer

When Jose Navarro lost his January 3, 2005 challenge to WBC junior bantamweight champion Katsushige Kawashima by split decision, Navarro's promoter Lou DiBella immediately contacted Boxingtalk screaming that Navarro had been victimized by a horrible decision. Knowing that DiBella did not make the trip to Japan and is prone to emotional outbursts, this website was not content to take his word for it.  Boxingtalk obtained a videotape of the Japanese television broadcast and has carefully scored each round and compared it to the official scorecard.  Judge William Boodhoo of Canada gave eleven rounds to Navarro (120-109) while Gelasio Perez and Noparat Sricharoen scored the bout for Kawashima (115-114 and 115-113 respectively).  Boxingtalk's jury, comprised of Scott Shaffer and G. Leon disagreed with the majority, both scoring it 117-111, or nine rounds to three for Navarro.  Shaffer and Leon disagreed on only two rounds, and if Kawashima was given both of those rounds, he still lost Boxingtalk's scorecard by a 116-112 tally. 

Lost in the scoring controversy is the fact that it was an excellent bout between two 115 pounders who put forth absolutely everything they had. Kawashima

ROUND ONE
Both men stuck to jabs mixed with a few body shots and Navarro clearly landed more than Kawashima did.  There was a furious exchange for the last ten seconds and the champion landed a couple of good blows, but not enough to steal the round.
Shaffer: N 10-9;  Leon:: N 10-9;  Noparat: N 10-9; Perez: K 10-9; Boodho: N 10-9.

ROUND TWO
Kawashima landed some good shots but Navarro always answered back with combinations of his own. Navarro had a slight edge for the first two minutes and fifty seconds but sealed the round with several hard punches just before the bell. No dispute here: all three official judges scored it for Navarro.
Shaffer: N 10-9;  Leon:: N 10-9 Noparat: N 10-9; Perez: N 10-9; Boodho: N 10-9.

ROUND THREE
Navarro dictated the pace for the first two minutes. Kawashima landed a couple of power punches late, but Navarro landed some early. Kawashima's power punches looked a little harder, but the difference was not enough to overcome Navarro's much superior ring generalship. For the second straight round, all three official judges scored it for Navarro.
Shaffer: N 10-9;  Leon: 10-9:  Noparat: N 10-9; Perez: N 10-9; Boodho: N 10-9.

ROUND FOUR
Kawashima came out for the fourth more animated than the first three rounds, and to the delight of the Japanese crowd, he was able to walk through Navarro's jab and land several strong hooks. Navarro answered back, but his punches landed with lesser effect.
Shaffer: K 10-9;  Leon: K10-9:  Noparat: K 10-9; Perez: K 10-9; Boodho: N 10-9.

ROUND FIVE
Navarro was back in control, although he fought in a head-to-head style that favored Kawashima. Still, Navarro seemed to outland Kawashima and did enough to win a close round.
Shaffer: N 10-9;  Leon: N 10-9:  Noparat: N 10-9; Perez: Even 10-10; Boodho: N 10-9.

ROUND SIX
A doctor checked the cut over Kawashima's eye between rounds and maybe that convinced the champion to come out aggressively.  Navarro moved backwards in the face of Kawashima's charges, but he also stopped long enough to throw punches that shredded Kawashima's face. The champion landed some heavy punches that could have swayed the judges, but Navarro did plenty of good work too.
Shaffer: N 10-9;  Leon: N 10-9:  Noparat: K 10-9; Perez: N 10-9; Boodho: N 10-9.

ROUND SEVEN
Kawashima, now bleeding over both eyes, came forward throwing huge hooks. Navarro, still looking fresh, avoided most of them easily and landed quick but light counter combinations.  Kawashima had better luck going to Navarro's bodyu, which was more stationary than the American's head, but Navarro landed to Kawashima's body too.  The round seemed to be Navarro's, but curiously, this was the only round Boodhoo scored even.
Shaffer: N 10-9;  Leon: N 10-9:  Noparat: K 10-9; Perez: N 10-9; Boodho: Even, 10-10.

ROUND EIGHT
Navarro probably landed more total blows, but Kawashima landed enough hard clean shots that the round easily could have been scored for the champion.
Shaffer: K 10-9;  Leon: K 10-9:  Noparat: K 10-9; Perez: K 10-9; Boodho: N 10-9.

ROUND NINE
By now Kawashima was a bloody mess, but he bravely came forward and pressed the action. At times he missed badly, but at times he connected.  A close round that could have and did go either way.
Shaffer: K 10-9;  Leon: N 10-9:  Noparat: K 10-9; Perez: K 10-9; Boodho: N 10-9.

ROUND TEN
This is the round where the judges took the title away from Navarro.  Navarro put on a boxing exhibition this round, landing crisp jabs and making Kawashima look crude.  Kawashima was reduced to headhunting, throwing wild hooks that missed almost every time. The two or three that landed were cheered wildly by the crowd and the Japanese television announcers.  This was an easy round to score in Navarro's favor, yet judges Noparat and Perez turned in cards that favored Kawashima. If Noparat scored this round correctly, it would have been a draw. If Perez scored it correctly, Navarro would have claimed the title.
Shaffer: N 10-9;  Leon: N 10-9:  Noparat: K 10-9; Perez: K 10-9; Boodho: N 10-9.

ROUND ELEVEN
An exciting round as the pressure mounted. Kawashima was obviously in extraodinary condition to be able to press the action and absorb Navarro's punches. However, condition and heart should not win rounds when the opponent lands more clean punches.  Although Navarro isn't the division's hardest puncher, his blows were doing more damage than Kawahima's as evidenced by the number of times the champion's head snapped back. All three judges scored this round for Navarro.
Shaffer: N 10-9;  Leon: N 10-9:  Noparat: N 10-9; Perez: N 10-9; Boodho: N 10-9.

ROUND TWELVE
In the Japanese history books, the twelfth will be recorded as the round in which Kawashima heroically snatched victory away from Navarro to retain the world championship. In Boxingtalk's eyes, it was a thrilling three minutes encapsulating the very best action and drama boxing has to offer and also what is wrong with the sport. While there can be no doubt Kawashima fought with the courage, energy and passion of a man trying to carry his country on his back, the blood pouring down his face was an accurate indicator of how the round should have been scored.  With the champion aggressively headhunting, Navarro avoided his wild charges, remained calm in the face of the storm and accurately jabbed Kawashima until the blood flowed freely from cuts over both eyes and from his nose.  Judges Noparat and Perez, perhaps swayed by the crowd chanting Kawashima's name, overlooked the action in the ring and sided with the masses. Charitably speaking, they voted with their hearts over their brains. Cynically speaking, they may not have been interested in a just decision.  When the verdict was announced, fans danced in the aisles while an exhausted Kawashima broke down in tears.  Although Boxingtalk believes he is no longer entitled to wear the WBC title belt, his performance has earned the respect of any true fan of the sport .
Shaffer: N 10-9;  Leon: K 10-9:  Noparat: K 10-9; Perez: K 10-9; Boodho: N 10-9.

FINAL SCORES
Shaffer: Navarro, 117-111
Leon: Navarro, 117-111
Noparat: Kawashima, 115-113
Perez: Kawashima, 115-114
Boodhoo: Navarro, 120-109

[Editor's note: In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that Navarro's promoter, DiBella Entertainment, is a paid advertiser on this website. Rest assured however, that Boxingtalk informed Lou DiBella prior to reviewing the videotape that its writers would score the bout objectively and that he had no say in the content of the story. You will be able to judge the fight for yourself when it is aired to Boxingtalk.com's American viewership later this week.]

 

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