February 13, 2005
NAGOYA, JAPAN-Japanese prospect Ryuhei Sugita (28-2-2, 22 KOs) will be most likely to have a shot at the WBC featherweight belt against Injin Chi in the last week of April in Korea. Sugita, WBC #20 ranked superfeather, 126.5, showed his success in having made a nearly feather limit and scored a fine KO win over Thai #3 ranked 126-pounder Chondan Sor Romayanon, 127.75, by dropping him three times at 2:46 of the sixth round on Sunday in Nagoya, Japan. Sugita, the very first pupil of ex-WBC 122-pound champ Kiyoshi Hatanaka (the first world champ ever produced in Nagoya) after his retirement, is willing to capture the prestigious WBC belt, following the footstep of his manager/promoter Hatanaka who had dethroned Pedro Decima by a come-from-behind eighth round stoppage there in 1991. The official announcement of the Chi vs. Sugita title bout will be made by Kusung Lee, the president of Poong San Promotion in Korea within this week.
WBC #17 ranked ex-OPBF fly champ Hiroshi Nakano (21-1, 12 KOs), 114, looked too sharp and speedy for Thai national 115-pound champ Petchklongphai Soh Dharnthip (8-8, 2 KOs), 115.25, battering from all angles and flooring him with a wicked southpaw left to the belly for the count at 2:13 of the seventh round in a scheduled ten. Unbeaten Hamed-stylist Kohei Ohba (11-0, 7 KOs), Japanese #8 ranked flyweight, 116, dominated OPBF #7 ranked 115-pounder Hosup Noh (6-6-1, 2 KOs), 117, and broke the jaw with his vicious uppercuts with the Korean retiring because of the ringside physician’s advice at 0:40 of the seventh round. Ohba, a lanky hard-hitting youngster, is the brightest prospect coming up in Nagoya.
Promoter: Hatanaka Promotions.
Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi.
(2-13-05)