October 27, 2000
OSAKA, JAPAN-WBA #2 ranked light fly HIDENOBU HONDA, 112 1/2, extended his good ledger to 22-1, 11 KOs as he bloodied the nose of Korean DOWOON RAH, 110 1/2, and made him helpless en route to a fine stoppage at 1:51 of the 5th session.
There were no knockdowns, but Honda completely controlled the contest from the outset. Rah fell to 4-5, a KO.
Honda, an elongated speedster, is gunning for an anticipated shot at the WBA throne, now held by Colombian Bebis Mendoza who had beat Rosendo Alvarez by disqualification in the last world title bout refereed by the late Mitch Halpern in Las Vegas.
Honda’s manager Tsuda sent his protest to the WBA through the JBC, saying that he was neglected to fight for the vacant 108-pound title as the WBA decided to strip Thailand’s Pichit Cho Siriwat of his belt because of his promoter Songchai Ratanasuban’s repeated postponement of staging his mandatory defense against the WBA #1 contender Alvarez in Thailand. The WBA sanctioned an elimination bout between Alvarez and #7 contender Mendoza under the condition that the winner should meet the former champ Pichit in his first defense. Tsuda says, “Honda is waiting too long as the No.2 contender, winning all bouts. Honda could participate in an elimination bout with Alavarez for the suddenly vacant 108-pound throne.”
Even if the mandatory bout between Mendoza and ex-champ Pichit takes place in about 90 days after the Colombian’s coronation, Honda will have to wait for 9 months before his mandatory shot at the winner materializes.
Unbeaten Hirokazu Takahashi, 107, outjabbed Korean Chunbok Park, 104 1/2, dropped him with a wicked left hook and chalked up a TKO win at 0:57 of the third round in a semi-final 8.
Takahashi, though unranked by the JBC, raised his unblemished mark to 9-0, 5 KOs. Park dipped to 4-4, no KO.
Promoter: Hiroaki Tsuda’s Green Tsuda Promotions.
Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi.
(10-27-00)
October 22, 2000
NAGOYA, JAPAN-Local prospect HIROSHI WATANABE, Japan’s #9 ranked welter, 146, connected with a flurry of punches, dropped ex-Filipino welter boss BERT BADO, 144, and had him counted out at 0:48 of the 6th round in a scheduled 10.
Watanabe, a stablemate of the WBA #3 ranked super-fly Kozo Ishii, bettered his mark to 10-2-1, 7 KOs. Bado reportedly impaired to 10-9-3, 5 KOs.
Unbeaten bright prospect Masanori Sugita, 121 3/4, finally caught and halted Filipino Ramil Sebuco, 121 1/4, at 2:30 of the 6th and last session to run his unblemished mark to 5-0, as many KOs.
Yoshinobu Nakamura, 112 1/2, floored Filipino Alvin Felicida, 111 3/4, with a countering left hook and earned a close but unanimous decision over 8.
Promoter: Takao Maruki’s Tenyu Maruki Promotions.
Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi.
(10-22-00)
October 28, 2000
TOKYO, JAPAN-It’s a shame Napa Kiatwanchai, a Thai southpaw, came out of his retirement due to his personal economy and has fought here as ex-WBC world minimum champ in Japan. It’s also a shame some Japanese promoters book him by utilizing his previous reputation. Napa is never what he used to be when he defeated Hiroki Ioka twice and failed to win the WBC 105-pound title from Hideyuki Ohashi by a close decision.
Japan’s No.6 ranked super-fly Yoshiaki Matsukura, 118, stopped Napa Kiatwanchai, 116 3/4, at 1:43 of the 6th canto in a scheduled 10. Matsukura, who had failed to win the national title twice via stoppages by Akihiko Nago and Kazuhiro Ryuko, is 22-4, 19 KOs. His defect is a lack of proper defense and his stiff mobility. Napa reportedly dropped to 16-8-1, 8 KOs.
Japan’s No.7 ranked fly Daisuke Naito, 111 1/2, was also a TKO victor over unheralded Thailander Sakmongkon Singmanasak, 113 3/4, at 1:11 of the third canto in the first ten. Naito is 15-0-1, 11 KOs. The Thailander is reportedly 8-4, 2 KOs.
Promoter: Hiroyuki Miyata’s Miyata Promotions.
(10-27-00)