September 10, 2004
HIROSHIMA, JAPAN-Many upset results happened in Japan this month, but it was seen again on Saturday in Hiroshima, Japan. Unbeaten Japanese no ranker Daigo Nakahiro (11-0, 4 KOs), 114, scored a stunning upset as he dropped WBC #18 flyweight Koji Koyama (16-4-1, 10 KOs), 113.75, with a vicious left hook in the second and decked him again with a barrage of punches with a towel fluttering in from the loser’s corner at 1:44 of the third round in a scheduled ten.
Koyama, an upright stylist, had fought Hiroshi Nakano in a quest for the national fly crown only to lose a hairline split sixth-round technical decision this February, but he was highly regarded because of his hard-punching ability. But the local prospect Nakanobu, former winner of Novice King 4-round tournaments in 2002, thus registered an unexpected upset.
Ranger Iizuka (7-2, no KO), 142.5, came off the deck in the fifth, and barely kept his early lead on points en route to a unanimous nod (78-74, 77-74 and 77-75) over Kenshi Shibazaki (7-8, 3 KOs), over eight.
Promoter: Hiroshima Sanei Gym.
(9-10-04)
September 10, 2004
OSAKA, JAPAN-Another upset took place on Saturday in Osaka, Japan, as unranked local prospect Shinsuke Matsumoto (9-2, 1 KO), 153, survived his visit to the deck in the ninth and earned a split decision (97-95, 96-93 and 94-95) over Japanese #7 ranked 154-pounder Yukiharu Shinyashiki (12-9, 8 KOs), 155.5, over ten.
Matsumoto, a less powerful jabber, steadily piled up points by utilizing his left hand against the roundhouse swinger. He temporarily lost his balance, when he was caught by a left hook of Shinyashiki with the ref taking the count against Matsumoto. The nose-bleeding winner barely lasted the tenth and last session, withstanding Shinyashiki’s desperate last surge.
The promoter was ex-Orient 130-pound champ Apollo Yoshio Toki, who failed to win the WBC throne from Ricardo Arredondo via hairline 15-round decision in 1973 and the WBA belt from Ben Villaflor by a 15-round draw in 1974. The headliner of this card was his son, Japanese #6 ranked lightweight Takehiko Toki, who was supposed to meet Thailander Prinya Jockygym. Takehiko suddenly suffered a sickness before the fight, so his father/promoter abruptly pulled him out.
Promoter: Apollo Promotions.
(9-10-04)