December 8, 2003
December 8, 2003
TOKYO, JAPAN-Ex-WBA 105-pound champ Yutaka Niida (15-1-3, 8 KOs) (right photo), 104.75, surprisingly hit the deck in the first round, but fought back hard to finish a game Thailander named Phalangchai Soh Voraphin (15-8, 5 KOs), 104.25, with a vicious body shot at 2:55 of the fifth round on Monday night in Tokyo, Japan.
Niida, 25, once renounced his WBA belt without making a defense, but made a comeback after a two-year hiatus only to lose a hairline split verdict to Venezuelan Noel Arambulet in a quest for regaining the WBA 105-pound belt without any tune-up fight in Yokohama last July. The Japanese ex-champ fought toe-to-toe with the wild-punching Thailander, and finally sank him with a solid left hook to the side of the belly.
WBC #5 and WBA #9 ranked ex-OPBF 108-pound champ Tatsuyo Hayashida (17-2-1, 8 KOs), 107.75, proved too scrappy and aggressive for Junichi Ebisuoka (10-7-2, 3 KOs), 107.75, winning a unanimous nod (98-93, 98-94 and 97-96) over ten. Hayashida had beaten him by a highly controversial decision, so the victor’s manager and ex-WBA 108-pound champ Katsuo Tokashiki decided to produce a rematch to show his boy’s superiority. It was also a tough fight for Hayashida, but he cleverly connected with more accurate punches to the game but less skillful opponent.
Unbeaten Japanese top ranked lightweight Chikashi Inada (15-0, 11 KOs), 134.5, dropped #6 Kensuke Fumoto (13-4-1, 7 KOs), 134.5, with a furious combo in the third, and halted him with the loser bleeding too badly to go on at 1:33 of the eighth session in a scheduled ten. Inada will have a shot at the Japanese national belt against Takehiro Shimada in the forthcoming Carnival of Champions where all the national champs must defend their belts against top contenders.
Former Japanese light champ and JBC #2 ranked Norio Kimura (21-5-2, 9 KOs), 139.75, battered Thailander Chekpin Tamachard (6-4, 2 KOs), 139, with a barrage of punches to prompt the referee’s stoppage at 0:29 of the fourth canto in the first tenner.
Promoter: Yokohama Hikari Promotions.
(12-8-03)