June 3, 2006
TOKYO, JAPAN
Unbeaten ex-national amateur champ Takahiro Ao (12-0, 7 KOs), 128, a fast-rising southpaw prospect ranked #2 by the Japanese commission, had a tough time but earned a unanimous nod (98-95, 98-94 and 99-92) over game Mexican Francisco Dianzo (20-7, 17 KOs), 125.75, over ten rough-and-tumble rounds on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Ao floored Dianzo in the opening session, but the referee Uratani didn’t count but called it a slip. Though winning the first three sessions, Ao had a critical moment in round four, when Dianzo almost caught him with his rough combinations and brought him to a standstill. Ao was often pushed down by the aggressive Mexican, and he seemed to waste considerable energy to pull himself up from frequent slip-downs. The 34-year-old Dianzo became visibly fading in later rounds rather than accelerated his rough attack, and Ao scored well with more accurate southpaw lefts to pile up points.
Up-and-coming lefty Akifumi Shimoda (13-1, 7 KOs), 123, scored four flash knockdowns by flooring WBC #15 bantam Gerardo Martinez each once in the first four rounds, opened nasty gashes over the right eyebrow and was awarded a fine TKO win at 2:10 of the seventh round in a scheduled ten. Martinez suffered such a deep cut that the referee declared a stoppage due to the ring physician’s advice.
Promoter: Teiken Promotions.
(6-3-06)