April 6, 2002
OSAKA, JAPAN-Gutsy Japanese Manabu Fukushima (22-4-1, 16 KOs), 124, dug a wicked right to the belly of WBC #9 122-pounder Arnel Barotillo (25-13-3, 17 KOs), 124, Australia, to down him on all fours with the towel thrown in by his cornerman Jeff Fenech at 2:31 of the 7th round in Tokyo, Japan.
WBC #17 Fukushima, then ranked #8, lost an upset split duke to Barotillo in their first encounter here last December. In this rematch Barotillo made a good start, landing big overhand rights and looping left hooks in the first three sessions.
Fukushima, however, kept moving well and caught him with a short countering right to effectively shake him up in the 4th. The tide turned then, as the Japanese began stalking the suddenly fading Australian who bled from the nostrils.
His chief second Jeff Fenech encouraged him, but Barotillo absorbed much punishment to slow down visibily in the 6th. Fukushima’s body shot impressively made the trick in the next canto.
It was registered by a KO, not a TKO, as our rules say that if the towel is thrown during the referee’s count, it shall be recorded as a knockout.
Japanese #2 light-fly Makoto Miyagi (10-2-1, 3 KOs), 108, dropped an upset split nod to Masato Hatakeyama (8-2, 2 KOs), 107.25, over 10.
Kenichi Hashiura (16-4-1, 3 KOs), 134, was awarded a technical decision over Makoto Saito (11-8-1, 2 KOs), 135, due to the latter’s bad cut at 0:46 of the 7th in a scheduled 10.
Promoter: JB Sports Promotions.
Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi.
(4-6-02)
April 5, 2002
TOKYO, JAPAN-Japanese #5 minimum Teruo Misawa (10-1-3, 5 KOs), 105, barely earned a majority duke over Hidekazu Miyagi (9-2, 4 KOs), 105, over 8. The battle of Miyagis (no relation for each other) was a close affair.
Promoter: Kaneko Promotions.
(4-5-02)
April 4, 2002
TOKYO, JAPAN-Ex-Japanese top bantam contender Eiichi Ogata, 117, was rendered a technical decision over Mongoose Susuki, 118, at 0:55 into the 5th round in a scheduled 8.
Ogata previously fought the current national bantam champ Nobuaki Naka in an elimination bout only to be demolished in the second session here in February, 2000.
(4-4-02)
April 3, 2002
TOKYO, JAPAN-Japanese #6 super-bantam Yoshikane Nakajima (11-5-3, 3 KOs), 122, sent Thailander Detchana Twins-Gym (5-3-1, 1 KO), 119.75, stumbling to the deck twice and for the count at 2:37 of second round.
Unbeaten Japanese #3 ranked feather Hiroyuki Enoki (14-0-1, 10 KOs), 126, had hard-hitting Yoshio Hattori (14-8, 11 KOs), bleeding so badly from a gash over the left optic that the ref awarded a TKO victory to Enoki at 2:48 of the 5th.
Enoki, who has a flaw in his defensive skill, drew with Korean champ Jaekwon Chung last November, absorbing much punishment in a give-and-take affair. But he aggressively attacked the compatriot to decisively beat him thanks to his superior power.
Yasuo Kijima (12-6-2, 4 KOs), 118, stopped Thailander San Sithnaruepol, 118, at 2:37 of the second round in the first tenner.
Promoter: Kadoebi Jewel Promotions.
(4-3-02)