Dustin Cuizon of 'Ewa Beach defeated Brazil's Pedro Henrique today to claim the Association of Surfing Professionals World Qualifying Series 6-Star Yumeya Billabong Pro Tahara in 1- to 2-foot waves at Akabane Long Beach in Tahara, Japan.

Cuizon opened the final with a solid backhand wave to post an 8.83 out of a possible 10. Henrique fought back with a 5.50, but Cuizon locked in a second score of 7.33 to seal the final.

Cuizon's day started when he eliminated current ASP points leader Nathaniel Curran of California in the quarterfinals.

"I feel so honored to beat Nathaniel," Cuizon said. "He is one of the best surfers in California and lots of people say he is a favorite to win this event. I was lucky."

Cuizon then beat South Africa's Greg Emlie in the semifinals.

"The waves are pretty small today," Cuizon said. "So I moved a lot and looked for the wave to score big and I found it. This is my third time in Japan and the people are so nice and the food is so good. I love Japan. I try my best to keep the momentum and hope to win the event."

With the win, Cuizon moved up to No. 21 on the WQS. The top 16 at the end of the year move up to the World Championship Tour.

PATACCHIA, BRUCE IRONS REACH FINAL IN INDONESIA

Fred Patacchia Jr. of Hale'iwa and Bruce Irons of Kaua'i advanced to the final of the Rip Curl Pro Search contest "somewhere" off Indonesia.

Patacchia and Irons both won three heats yesterday before advancing to the final.

Irons had a near-perfect score of 9.97 (out of 10) in his semifinal victory over California's Chris Ward.

Patacchia had scores of 9.93 and 9.57 in his fourth-round win over Australia's Joel Parkinson. He later beat Portugal's Tiago Pires in the semifinals.

BOXING

CLOTTEY DECISIONS JUDAH FOR IBF WELTERWEIGHT

Joshua Clottey and Antonio Margarito certainly know what it's liked to be ducked and dodged by the best fighters in their division.

They also know that they'd better take advantage of their precious few opportunities.

A week after Margarito stopped Miguel Cotto for the WBA title in one of the best fights of the year, Clottey captured the vacant IBF welterweight championship last night with a ninth-round unanimous decision over Zab Judah in Las Vegas.

Clottey (35-2) connected with a right hand to Judah's left eye in the ninth round that immediately sent blood rushing down his face. Ringside physician Dr. James Game examined Judah, who claimed he couldn't see, and the fight was called at the 1:22 mark.

Clottey was ahead 86-85 on two of the judges' scorecards and 87-84 on the other.

"He really hit with a lot of uppercuts, but I never felt anything," Clottey said. "He never hurt me, trust me. In my boxing life, nobody has hurt me."

The decision left the roughly 1,800 fans in an uproar. The confident Judah (36-6), despite being dominated through parts of the earlier rounds, had landed several combinations in the seventh and eighth and seemed to have momentum on his side.

"This just hurts, man. Everyone here knows who won," said Judah, who has struggled to shake the perception that he's never lived up to his potential. "Zab Judah is the peoples' champion."

DARCHINYAN WINS IBF JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHT

Victor Darchinyan took the IBF junior bantamweight title from Dimitri Kirilov last night in Tacoma, Wash., with a fifth-round knockout in a fight that Darchinyan dominated from start to finish.

A left hand by the 32-year-old Darchinyan sent Kirilov to the mat for the second time in the fifth round, and Kirilov was unable to get back to his feet. The bout at the Emerald Queen Casino ended at the 1:05 of the fifth.

"I lost my title one year ago, and I've now returned to the championship," said Darchinyan, (30-1-1 with 24 knockouts), who took the fight to Kirilov (23-4-1, 9 knockouts) from the opening bell. "I never underestimate my opponents. I've learned a lot in my last several fights."

SOCCER

DAVIS, CHING PROPEL DYNAMO TO 2-0 VICTORY

Brad Davis scored in the 13th minute and Kamehameha Schools alum Brian Ching followed 30 minutes later to help host Houston extend its unbeaten streak to five games with a 2-0 win over Columbus in MLS play last night.

Davis gave the Dynamo a 1-0 lead when Brian Mullan delivered a pass from the upper right corner to the middle of the arc, where Davis fired a bullet into the upper left net.

In the 43rd, Nate Jaqua gained control of a ball in the middle of the box and passed it to Ching, who nailed a shot into the lower left corner. Columbus goalkeeper William Hesmer was badly fooled on Ching's shot, going to his left when the shot went right.

Houston climbed to 26 points, within one of first-place Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference.