September 1, 2001
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN-WBC bantam champ Veerapol Nakornluang-Promotion (33-1-1, 24 KOs), 118, barely kept his throne as he was held to a split draw by Japanese lefty Toshiaki Nishioka (22-3-1, 13 KOs), 118, over 12.
Scored: Tom Kaczmarek (US) 115-113 for Nishioka, Terry Smith (US) 116-113 for Veerapol, and Lou Filipo (US) 114-114.
The taller Japanese made a good start, utilizing his southpaw jabs in their rematch to dominate the first three rounds. But the tide busily turned from the 4th round on as the champ found his range despite his cut over the right optic. Nishioka almost stunned the champ with a smashing left in the 7th, when he suffered a nasty gash over the right eye.
Veerapol, making his 7th defense, kept battering the lefty footworker’s midsection, which paid off in later rounds. Nishioka, 7 years his junior at 25, desperately attacked the fading champ in the final session to win a point, but it wasn’t enough to win the verdict after the closest affair. It’s a very good fight.
WBA super-fly champ Celes Kobayashi (24-4-3, 14 KOs), 115, Japan, also barely kept his belt on a controversial split decision over Venezuelan veteran Jesus “Kiki” Rojas (35-9-3-1NC, 19 KOs), 114.5, over 12.
Scored: Ove Ovessen (Denmark) 116-114 and Pinit Prayadsab (Thailand) 115-113, both for Kobayashi, and Madaldo Villalobos (Panama) 116-113 for Rojas.
The lefty crouching stylist Kobayashi kept going forward all the way, but Rojas cleverly countered him while retreating. There were some difficult rounds to score, as Kobayashi forced him to the ropes with solid body shots, while Rojas, with his back to the ropes, countered the champ with less but more accurate combos.
Top contender Eiichi Sugama (21-2, 18 KOs), 126, impressively seized the Japanese feather title when he dropped the defending champ and Japan-based Puerto Rican Eugenio “Yuji” Gomez (13-2, 12 KOs), 126, four times en route to a fine KO at 1:10 of the 6th. It’s a free-swinging brawl that fully entertained the crowd.
Japanese 160-pound champ Satoru Suzuki (14-3, 9 KOs), 160, retained his belt by scoring a one-punch KO of Naoki Kawahara (6-2, 1 KO), 160, at 3:02 of the second round.
Promoter: Akihiko Honda’s Teiken Promotions.
(9-1-01)