January 27, 2002
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN-WBA top ranked 130-pounder Lakva Sim (16-2-1, 13 KOs), 130, Mongolia, overpowered Japanese Hidenobu Matsunobu (20-5-1, 11 KOs), 130, and swarmed over him with body bombardments to halt him at 1:58 of the 6th round at Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium.
Lakva, ex-WBA 130-pound champ who looked like a muscular bodybuilder, was befuddled by his opponentfs opening attack, but he completely controlled the fight from the second round on by persistently working the body. Doubling him up, the Mongolian accelerated his assault and the referee declared a halt to save the game but helpless loser.
Lakva, 29, is said to engage in an WBA elimination bout with #2 ranked Thai southpaw Yodsanang Nanthachai, PABA champ who had kept the regional title 17 times, in Thailand this March.
The Mongolian became a legend here when he captured the WBA 130-pound title in displaying his devastating power punching to finish Japanese hero Takanori Hatakeyama in September, 1999, but lost it on a very highly controversial decision to Jongkwon Baek in his first defense in Pusan, Korea. Baek yielded his WBA belt to Joel Casamayor, the then interim champ, in the US, and the Cuban recently lost his WBA crown to Brazilian bomber Acelino Freitas this January. Freitas will elevated to the status of gsuper championh and the WBA throne became vacant.
Japanese #7 bantam Yuji Nukaga (13-1, 9 KOs), 120.25, battered Korean #6 contender Taehee Choi (7-5-1, 5 KOs), 120.25, with busy combinations and dropped him with the towel being tossed in at 0:29 of the 5th session.
Promoter: Yokohama Sakura Promotions.
(1-27-02)