May 19, 2003
TOKYO, JAPAN-Unheralded Shingo Eguchi (14-1, 11 KOs), 140, wrested the Japanese 140-pound belt when he caught OPBF top ranked prohibitive favorite Motoki Sasaki (19-5, 12 KOs), 140, with a solid left hook, badly dropped him with a left-right combination and furiously followed it up to prompt the refereefs intervention at 1:45 of the 5th round on Monday in Tokyo.
Sasaki had stunned our boxing fraternity by dethroning highly regarded Tadashi Yuba via upset 9th round TKO last February, which boosted his stock so highly that people expected his easy defense over the less experienced Eguchi. Sasaki might be so overconfident that he allowed the challenger to show an opening attack and take the initiative. Eguchi, handled by ex-WBA and WBC 105-pound champ Hideyuki Ohashi, looked impressive in defeating the champ with his aggressive rallies.
Unranked Daisuke Yamanaka (9-1, 6 KOs), 119.25, battered game but less skillful Mexican Tat Torres (13-8-4, 6 KOs), 119.25, so effectively that a towel was tossed in at 1:50 of the 8th session.
Promoter: Kyoei Promotions.
(5-19-03)
May 20, 2003
TOKYO, JAPAN-Unbeaten Japanese #5 feather Motokazu Abe (11-0-1, 8 KOs), 126, outscored Thai #6 super-bantam Chakkrishna Sakmuangklaeng (7-6-1, 2 KOs), 126, over 10 on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Unbeaten Japanese #7 welter Hiroshi Yamaguchi (7-0, 5 KOs), 142.5, decisioned Thai #10 lightweight Sriswasdi Sakmunagklaeng (4-3, 1 KO), 142.25, over 8.
Japanese #4 super-fly Yasutomo Yuki (12-3-3, 6 KOs), 115, drew with #5 fly Takeyuki Kojima (10-2-3, 5 KOs), 114, over 8.
Promoter: Yonekura Promotions.
(5-20-03)