June 9, 2004
TOKYO, JAPAN-Ex-Japanese welter champ Toshiharu Kayama (21-4-1, 13 KOs), 154, dug a wicked body shot to sink ex-Korean 154-pound champ Hyunjung Lee (16-7-3, 15 KOs), 152.75, in agony for the count at 2:03 of the second round on Wednesday night in Tokyo, Japan. Kayama had forfeited his national belt to unheralded and unexpected Yoshiro Nakano after five defenses in 2000, and then moved up to the 154-pound division only to fail to win the national belt twice, losing to Joya Kawai in 2002 and to Toshiharu Kaneyama in the next year. Kayama tonight displayed his previous form in dismantling the hard-punching Korean with a good combination.
Koji Ozawa (10-1, 3 KOs), 137.75, kept peppering defenseless OPBF #5 ranked Korean Kioh Kil (11-13-2, 5 KOs), 137.5, with a towel fluttering from his corner at 0:50 of the fourth session in a supporting ten. Japanese #7 bantam Hideki Imanishi (6-1-1, 3 KOs), 118, outjabbed and outpunched energetically onrushing Mitsumasa Ikeda (11-7-2, 7 KOs), 118, to win a unanimous nod (78-76 twice and 79-75) over eight. Having dispatched ex-national feather champ Eugenio Yuji Gomez to his credit, up-and-coming Japanese #7 ranked 122-punder Rikiya Fukuhara (13-1-1, 10 KOs), 122, halted Korean #7 Jeungkon Woo (5-2, no KO), 121.25, at 1:14 of the sixth in a scheduled eight. The stylish and hard-hitting Fukuhara may become a real thing if he improves his left hand.
Promoter: Watanabe Promotions.
Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi.
(6-9-04)