June 27, 2006
TOKYO, JAPAN
Awkward and tricky hard-puncher Daisuke Naito (29-2-2, 20 KOs), 112, WBC#6/WBA#7 ranked Japanese champ, captured the OPBF flyweight belt as he often caught WBC#13 defending champ Noriyuki Komatsu (21-3-5, 9 KOs), 111.75, with roundhouse overhand rights to effectively hurt him and badly dropped him with a countering right en route to a fine TKO win at 1:38 of the sixth round on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan. The contestants, both previously annihilated by WBC kingpin Pongsaklek Kratingdaeng-gym, battled with both belts at stake, so Naito now holds the OPBF and national thrones.
Naito took the leadoff with big rights from the start and swept the first three rounds by a comfortable margin. Komatsu started busily using his vaunted footwork from the fourth, but couldn’t turn the tide with Naito being still the aggressor. A vicious right, in round six, floored the champ face first, and he barely beat the count to resume fighting. Naito, however, turned loose and battered the fading champ to have the ref Asao call a halt. Though people expected a highly competitive affair, it surprisingly became a lopsided affair in favor of the unorthodox puncher.
WBA#4 bantam Manabu Fukushima (29-6-3, 19 KOs), 118, had a tough time coping with Thai national 118-pound ruler Kaonah Khlongphajon (16-11-1, 12 KOs), but was held to a technical draw because of the former’s bad laceration over the right eyebrow caused by an accidental butt at 1:30 of the third session in a scheduled ten. For Fukushima, it should have been his tune-up go prior to his ambitious shot at the winner of the WBA champ Wladimir Sidorenko and the interim titlist Poongsawat Kratingdaeng-gym in Humburg, Germany on July 15. Now that Fukushima showed such a lackluster performance, he will need at least another tune-up bout to show his qualification to fight in a quest for the world throne.
Promoter: Eddie Taunsend Promotions.
Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi (as for the Fukushima-Kaonah bout).
(6-27-06)