June 19, 2004
TOKYO, JAPAN-WBC #3 ranked Yoshikane Nakajima (15-5-5, 3 KOs), 122, kept his Japanese national 122-pound belt as he was held to a technical draw with taller jabber Kyohei Tamakoshi (12-4-5, 5 KOs), 122, due to the challenger’s nasty and deep gash over the left eyebrow at 2:17 of the fourth session on Saturday night in Tokyo, Japan. Nakajima had dethroned then world-rated Junichi Watanabe last June and kept his belt by a 10th round come-from-behind TKO over Akihiro Kanai in November to zoom up in the ratings. Nakajima, making his third defense, kept stalking the lanky footworker so aggressively that he was leading on points. A head collision happened to badly open such a wide gash that Tamakoshi grotesquely bled too profusely to go on.
Japanese #8 feather Yoshinori Miyata (12-2-1, 8 KOs), 126, earned a close but unanimous nod (97-95 twice and 96-95) over Kota Suzuno (12-5-2, 3 KOs), 125, over ten. Despite ex-rugby player Miyata’s big shots Suzuno, an iron chin, shrugged them off and kept on retaliating with light but busy combos. Jun Kitagawa (12-5, 9 KOs), 147.75, was awarded a technical decision (69-66 twice and 69-67) over Yuya Kato (7-3-4, 3 KOs), 146.5, midway in the seventh. Shota Terabatake (8-3, 2 KOs), 117.5, unanimously decisioned Wataru Nishida (4-2, 2 KOs), 118, over eight. In an encounter of southpaws Takayuki Takeda (8-3, 5 KOs), 158.75, scored a TKO win over Hitoshi Saito (4-9-2, 2 KOs), at 2:02 of the fifth in a scheduled eight.
Promoter: Kadoebi Jewel Promotions in association with Teiken Promotions.
(6-19-04)