January 30, 2005
FUKUOKA, JAPAN-WBA #2/WBC #5 ranked OPBF feather champ Takashi Koshimoto (37-1-2, 17 KOs), 126, kept his regional belt as he steadily piled up points and finally caught Filipino champ Jeffrey Onate (29-19-7, 16 KOs), 124.5, with a countering southpaw left to flatten him at 2:58 of the ninth round on Sunday in Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Onate, a wild-swinging puncher, roughly came forward and attempted to land big shots, but Koshimoto kept his cool and scored with accurate combinations to have the challengerfs face swollen. The 5f10h elongated champ unleashed a well-timed short left to the face of Onate, who jumped forward onto the canvas to stay prone for some ten minutes. Referee Jaebong Kim, Korea, had promptly declared a KO win for the champ upon Onatefs bad visit to the deck. Koshimoto, 34, suffered his one and only defeat at the hand of Freddie Norwood via ninth round knockout in a bid for the WBA 126-pound throne in 2000. Since then, the stylish southpaw acquired the vacant OPBF belt and kept it seven times, scoring 14 victories straight.
Promoter: Fukuma Sports Promotions.
Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi.
(1-30-05)