March 19, 2005
TOKYO, JAPAN-Hard-hitting southpaw Japanese Kazuhiko Hidaka (21-4, 15 KOs), 146, impressively captured the OPBF welter belt as he decked WBC #7 ranked defending champ Rev Santillan (21-2-1, 15 KOs), 145.75, a lefty Filipino, with a countering left in the third and twice more with effective combinations in the next, scoring a fine stoppage at 2:41 of the fourth round on Saturday night in Tokyo, Japan. Hidaka made a good start with solid overhand lefts, almost toppling the champ in the first round. He floored Santillan in the third, but the champ, in the fourth, showed his retaliation with a southpaw left uppercut and had the Japanese rubbery-legged. Hidaka, however, fought back with solid combos, dropping him twice more to prompt referee Wansoo Yuh to declare a halt. The official tallies of three judges (scoring ref Yuh, Filipino Alex Vidal and Masakazu Uchida of Japan) were identical, 30-26, after the third.
WBC#5/WBA#7 Satoshi Kogumazaka (22-6-3, 9 KOs), 105, barely kept his national 105-pound title as he was trailing on points before the ninth, but dropped WBC#10/WBA#15 Teruo Misawa (14-2-3, 6 KOs), 104.75, in the ninth, and eked out a close but unanimous verdict (96-94 twice and 95-94) over ten fast rounds.
Promoter: Shin Nihon Kimura Promotions.
Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi (as for the Hidaka vs. Santillan title bout).
March 19, 2005
TOMISHIRO, OKINAWA, JAPAN-Unbeaten hard-punching Hiroshi Nakamori (14-0-1, 8 KOs), 135, overpowered Ryuji Nishihara (11-5, 6 KOs), 134, to win a unanimous nod (97-95 twice and 98-94) over ten frames on Saturday in Tomishiro City, Okinawa, Japan. Lefty flyweight Hideyoshi Iha (9-7-1, 5 KOs), 111.75, scored good counters and won a unanimous decision (78-75, 77-76 and 77-75) over eight.
Promoter: Hiranaka Promotions.
(3-19-05)