April 25, 2004
KOMAKI, JAPAN-Ex-OPBF champ Rev Santillan (20-1-1, 15 KOs), 145.75, a lefty Filipino, regained the OPBF welterweight belt as he constantly threw more punches than WBC #7 ranked defending champ Hiroshi Watanabe (19-3-2, 13 KOs), 146.75, and earned a split but well-received decision (115-113, 116-112 and 114-116) over twelve heats on Sunday afternoon in Komaki, Japan. It was their rubber battle, as the then regional champ Santillan drew with Watanabe in their first encounter, but the Japanese captured the belt by a split duke in a rematch last year. Santillan today maintained the pressure with busy combinations, while Watanabe, in later rounds, scored a heavier punch at a time. Santillanfs aggressiveness in earlier rounds paid off to win back the title.
Ex-WBC youth champ Masanori Sugita (15-1-1, 11 KOs), 122.75, fought to a unanimous draw (95-95, 96-96 and 97-97) with ex-OPBF bantam ruler Jess Maca (44-17-6, 17 KOs), 122.75, Philippines, over ten. Up-and-coming Yoshinobu Nakamura (19-2-2, 11 KOs), 116.5, scored a majority decision (97-96, 96-95 and 96-96) over former WBC international flyweight champ Randy Mangubat (31-20-12, 14 KOs), 117, over ten.
Promoter: Tenyu Maruki Promotions.
Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi.
(4-25-04)