June 4, 2004
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA-WBC #16 ranked OPBF 140-pound champ Masakazu Satake (20-3-4, 13 KOs), 141.5, Japan, made his successful US debut as he scored a southpaw left followed by a vicious right hook to the face of Mexican Ubaldo Hernandez (19-13-2, 10 KOs), 148, and sent him to the deck for the count at 1:01 of the sixth round in a scheduled ten on Thursday night at the Union Plaza, Las Vegas, NV.
Satake, who had kept his regional belt nine times, had his winning streak stopped at twelve by Colombian Carlos Mausa via controversial split decision loss despite dropping him with a well-timed left in the second round beneath Akihiko Hondafs triple world title event last March. This defeat cost his WBC #7 rating, dropping to #16. Satake, a clever footworker and good counterpuncher, looked nervous and less aggressive in the first three rounds, but began to start his engine with faster combos in the fourth. The sixth saw Satake catch the fading foe to sink him with a good combination with referee Victor Drakulich counting the fatal ten. Satake will make his tenth defense against OPBF top contender and Korean champ Joungbon Kim in Japan this September.
Mexican switch-hitter Miguel Angel Huerta (21-6-1, 14 KOs), 135, floored Rolando Reyes (21-3-2, 13 KOs), CA, in the first round and mixed it up to eke out a split but well-received decision over ten. Norberto Bravo (17-8-2, 11 KOs), 139, fought to a split draw with Omar Bernal (25-5-3, 18 KOs), 139, after exchanging knockdowns over eight.
Promoter: Top Rank, Inc.
(6-4-04)