November 24, 2001
NAGOYA, JAPAN-Japanese prospect Hiroshi Watanabe was supposed to have a title shot at the OPBF welter throne against unbeaten WBC #12 ranked Filipino Rev Santillan, 14-0-1, 11 KOs, in Nagoya tomorrow. But Watanabe, 13-2-2, 10 KOs, suffered an auto accident while he was jogging early in the morning yesterday. He still feels pain at the leg and hip, and will immediately take an MRI exam. Takao Maruki, the promoter, was going to present a doubleheader featuring an encounter of world rated hard-punchers Kozo Ishii and Saohin Sirithaicondo and this OPBF 147-pound title bout. The card will go on as scheduled. Maruki apologized for his boy’s accident and the abrupt cancellation, and told Santillan’s manager Rex Wakee Salud that he would stage the same card with the OPBF welter title at stake upon Watanabe’s complete recovery.
Santillan and Watanabe fought to a split draw in their first encounter this year, so it would have been a highly expected rematch, but it didn’t materialize this time.