March 11, 2001
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN-Busy-punching Korean Pilkoo Kang, 108, wrested the OPBF light flyweight title when he disposed of WBC #6 ranked Japanese Koki Tanaka, 107 1/4, with strong combinations at 1:59 of the 11th round on the undercard of the WBA super-fly title bout.
Tanaka, a taller boxer-puncher with his good amateur experience, defeated Kang by a split verdict last November, and gave a return to the game Korean.
The champ was dominated the proceedings with his hit-and-run tactis in the first 5 rounds. But Tanaka became visibly slowing down probably due to his reportedly severe reduction of weight, since he was exceptionally tall and big as a 108-pounder.
Kang turned loose and dominated the 6th, flooring the champ with jolting blows in the 7th. Tanaka attempted to outleg and outpunch the persistent puncher, but Kang continually went forward to stalk the fading champ.
The fatal 11th saw Kang explode solid left hooks followed by a vicious right, which sent him sprawling to the deck with the head bouncing on the deck. Referee Ukrid Sarasas, Thailand, halted the affair with a towel fluttering from his corner.
Scored after the 10th: referee Ukrid Sarasas (Thailand) 97-97, Kazuo Abe (Japan) 97-96 for Tanaka, and Dongok Lee (Korea) 96-93 for Kang.
The new champ Kang bettered his mediocre mark to 7-5, 3 KOs. Tanaka, 14-2-3, 7 KOs, might outgrow the 108-pound division after this defeat.
Sensational KO artist Eugenio “Yuji” Gomez(right photo), 124 3/4, proved too powerful and pugnacious for WBC #28 ranked defending champ Toshikage Kimura, 126, as he captured the Japanese national feather belt on an impressive stoppage at 2:17 of the 8th round.
Gomez, a Japan-based Puerto Rican, ran his unblemished ledger to 13-0, 12 KOs, including 9 within the first round. He also registered 7 consecutive KOs in the opening canto.
Gomez swarmed over the Japanese upright stylist, who moved and covered himself up with his tight guard well in the first three rounds. Kimura, who had kept his national title twice, landed a stinging left to have him off-balanced, dropping him on the seat of trunks.
The flash knockdown didn’t keep Gomez from coming forward, as the Puerto Rican was in command in the 5th and 6th. The patient champ turned loose in the 7th, when he threw sharp left-right combos to be in command.
Gomez, in the 8th, landed a strong left jab and had the champ reeling backward. He followed with a wicked overhand right to the neck of the champ, who went down on all fours. Kimura barely regained his feet, but looked so rubbery-legged that his cornerman threw in a towel.
Kimura, 22-3-4, 11 KOs, showed his heart and patience, but was finally overwhelmed by Gomez’s superior power.
In four title bouts presented by Akihiko Honda, three champs forfeited the crowns, but only one that could retain his belt was Japanese middle ruler Satoru Suzuki.
Elongated Satoru Suzuki, 160, kept peppering the shorter and more experienced top contender Minoru Horiuchi, 160, and withstood his last surge to retain his national middleweight belt over 10.
Scored: 97-95, 96-94 and 97-94, all for Suzuki, 12-3, 7 KOs, who surprisingly wrested it from a highly favored but overconfident Naotaka Hozumi by an 8th round stoppage last August. Horiuchi, 32-year-old veteran, once became the interim welter champ, though losing his title in a rematch with Makoto Nakahara in 1997. Horiuchi, who thus failed to win the title on six occasions, dipped to 22-7, 19 KOs.
Except this lackluster performance of the last title go, all the other three bouts were so hot and furious as to entertain some 10,000 spectators.
Promoter: Akihiko Honda’s Teiken Promotions.
(3-11-01)
March 11, 2001
OKINAWA, JAPAN-Hard-hitting Shigeru Nakazato(right photo), 121 1/4, landed a vicious straight right, followed up with solid combinations and finished ex-Korean bantam champ and currently KBC’s #1 contender Palman Shin(left photo), also 121 1/4, at 1:38 of the 4th round in a scheduled 10.
The Japanese #6 ranked bantie raised his mark to 19-5, 14 KOs. Shin fell to 7-6, 6 KOs.
This card took place in commemoration of the late ex-Japanese feather champ Nobutoshi Hiranaka(below photo), who once had an unsuccessful crack at the WBC throne against Luisito Espinosa via 8th round TKO in 1996. Nobutoshi, the younger brother of ex-WBA junior welter champ Akinobu Hiranaka who dethroned Edwin Chap Rosario in Mexico in 1992, passed away due to a tragic auto accident in the previous year.
Promoter: Akinobu Hiranaka’s Hiranaka Boxing School Promotion.
(3-11-01)