Undercard:
February 2, 2002
TOKYO, JAPAN-Ex-WBC 108-pound champ Saman Sorjaturong(right photo) (46-4-1, 35 KOs), 112, Thailand, returned to action and showed his strength in dropping ex-OPBF light fly boss Koki Tanaka (14-4-3, 7 KOs), 113, Japan, with a vicious right to stop him at 2:38 of the third round at the Korakuen Hall, Tokyo.
Saman, having defended his WBC belt 10 times before losing it to Korean Yosam Choi, had been inactive since his failure to win back the title from Choi in their rematch in Korea in January of the previous year.
But the stocky Thailander proved still powerful and pugnacious enough to overwhelm the lanky Japanese with his aggression.
Undercard:Japanese #7 super-light Feifong Kogure(left photo) (10-4-1, 5 KOs), 140, scored a one-punch KO of Thai #5 140-pounder Nanam Kietprasanchai (5-6, 2 KOs), 136.75, at 3:06 of the second session.
Lefty speedster Junji Murakami (6-2, 3 KOs), 126, scored a shutout decision over Charoemchat Kietprasanchai (4-5, 2 KOs), 123.5, over 6.
Promoter: Hachioji Nakaya Promotions.
Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi.
(2-2-02)