February 29, 2004
TOKYO, JAPAN-WBC bantam champ Veeraphol Nakhornluang-Promotion (41-1-2, 29 KOs) arrived in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday morning for his fourth encounter with Japanese challenger Toshiaki Nishioka on March 6. The 35-year-old Thailander captured the WBC belt by flattening Japanese idol Joichiro Tatsuyoshi in December 1998. Since then, the crafty veteran kept it eleven times, beating Mauro Blanco (KO5), Tatsuyoshi (TKO7), Adan Vargas (W12), Nishioka (W12), Oscar Arciniega (TKO5), Ricardo Barajas (KO3), Serigio Perez (W12), Julio Colonel (W12) and Hugo Dianzo (W12) along with a couple of grueling draws with Nishioka to his credit. It is rare in modern boxing history that the same champ battles the same challenger on four occasions, of course, except the multi-confrontations of Jack Britton and Ted Kid Lewis. WBC top contender Nishioka (23-3-3, 14 KOs), 27, is a talented hard-punching southpaw, but it may be a close and competitive affair again with Veeraphol as the preflight favorite.
(2-29-04)