August 01, 2000
TOKYO, JAPAN-Naotaka Hozumi, 160, avenged his previous KO defeat and captured the OPBF middle title as he disposed of WBC #5 ranked Kevin Palmer, 158, at 2:51 of the ninth round.
Hozumi, 18-2-1, 15 KOs, had the previously unbeaten champ on the deck with a vicious left hook in the 8th, and finally finished him by dropping him twice more in the fatal session.
For Palmer, a US military worker in Japan for 16 years, it was his final appearance here since he will move to a base camp in September in Sicily, Italy. Palmer, who had demolished Hozumi six years before, tasted his first defeat and fell to 24-1-1, 15 KOs. Palmer didnft look in perfect shape due to a sudden fever on the previous night.
Promoter: Yonekura Promotions.
(8-1-01)
NAGOYA, JAPAN-WBC #17 ranked southpaw Rev Santillan, 146.5, Philippines, kept his OPBF welter belt as he was held to a split draw with Hiroshi Watanabe, 146.5, over 12 heats.
The 6-foot lefty seemingly had the upper hand all the way, and floored the game Japanese with a southpaw left in the third. Watanabe took the 6th, and occasionally fought back hard with furious but less accurate combinations.
Scored: referee David Chung (Korea) 115-115, Alex Vidal (Philippines) 117-111 for Santillan, and Takaomi Ito (Japan) 117-115 for Watanabe, 13-2-2, 10 KOs. The champ is 13-0-1, 10 KOs.
WBA #7 super-bantam Kozo Ishii, 126, displayed a very fine form and overpowered ex-Indonesian champ Frangky Mamuaya en route to an impressive KO win at 0:57 of the 6th round.
Ishii, 25-3, 19 KOs, failed to win the WBA title twice, losing to Nestor Garza and Yober Ortega here. But the hard-hitting prospect certainly displayed his progress through his bitter experiences in dismantling Mamuaya with a beautiful one-punch KO to the midsection. Mamuaya dipped to 15-9-2, 6 KOs.
Promoter: Tenyu Maruki Promotions.
(8-1-01)