April 15, 2005
TOKYO, JAPAN-The weigh-in ceremony was held on Friday at the Korakuen Exhibiton Hall in Tokyo, Japan. WBC bantam champ Veeraphol Nakhonluang-Promotion (47-1-2, 33 KOs), making his fifteenth defense, failed to make the weight by three quarter pound at his first trip to the scale, but barely tipped the beam at the 118-pound class limit in thirty minutes. Japanese challenger Hozumi Hasegawa (17-2, 5 KOs), 23, ex-OPBF champ winning his last 14 bouts, scaled in at 118 at his first attempt. The WBC officials are as follows: referee Guadalupe Garcia (Mexico); judges Duane Ford, Gale Van Hoy and Burt Clements (all US).
Also, WBA minimum champ Yutaka Niida (19-1-2, 6 KOs) and his Korean challenger Jaewon Kim (17-1-3, 8 KOs), both 26, weighed in at the 105-pound limit. The WBA officials: referee Mark Nelson (US); judges Francisco Martinez (New Zealand), Pinit Prayadsab and Arkom Wannasit (both Thailand). The world twinbill is promoted by Akihiko Hondafs Teiken Promotions at Nihon Budokan (Japanese Martial Arts Hall) in the center of Tokyo tomorrow.
(4-15-05)