Micah Matsushima, recently celebrating his 12th birthday, may be the youngest state boxing champion to hail from Kaua‘i. Matsushima was an unopposed champion at 85 pounds in the state junior boxing championships held on Maui. Matsushima boxed in a Honolulu
Micah Matsushima, recently celebrating his 12th birthday, may be the youngest state boxing champion to hail from Kaua‘i. Matsushima was an unopposed champion at 85 pounds in the state junior boxing championships held on Maui.
Matsushima boxed in a Honolulu Police Department PAL match with another unopposed champion from the Kalakaua club of Honolulu.
A win by stoppage was Matsushima’s intent, and technically, he accomplished this in the third round following a left to the body that left his opponent cringing in pain.
The referee gave the victim a lengthy recovery period, but Matsushima’s coach had already decided to award the KO to the 12-year-old champion.
Darren Buyat of Kaumakani may be the smallest champion from Kaua‘i, tipping the scales at 70 pounds, but coaches claiming that Buyat may be delivering punches harder than Matsushima.
Buyat also claim an unopposed championship on Maui, boxing a PAL unopposed champion. However, a lot of Buyat’s rights fell short, and the lefts were ineffective.
Alex Kamala earned a silver medal as a runner up for the state title at 119 pounds.
Kamala decided to fight for his championship so he took on an opponent slightly bigger, but younger than himself.
Round one saw one of five judges’ cards in his favor, and round two was unanimous in favor of the Maui fighter leading Kamala’s coaches to advise the ‘Ele‘ele boxer to throw harder punches without missing.
The strategy worked with Kamala taking all five judges vote in the round, but the effort fell short of stopping his Maui opponent.
Following the match, Kamala admitted he needed one more round, or establishing his punching superiority earlier in the match.
