November 4, 2006
TOKYO, JAPAN
WBA#2/WBC#7 super-feather Nobuhito Honmo (29-4-2, 5 KOs), 129.25, barely kept his OPBF 130-pound belt as he showed a shaky start but fought back hard with busier combinations to be awarded a unanimous technical decision (88-83 twice and 88-85) over lefty compatriot Junji Murakami (15-4-2, 7 KOs), 129.25, at 1:18 of the ninth round in a scheduled twelve on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.
It was a lousy fight. The taller southpaw Murakami had the champ staggering to the ropes with a solid left in the opening canto, but Honmo took back the initiative with sharper combos from the third onward. The light-punching contestants swapped soft shots with low precision, and the notorious bleeder Honmo, as expected, began streaming blood from a cut over the left optic caused by a butt in the seventh. Another bad head-collision in the fatal ninth opened such a nasty gash between the eyebrows of the champ that the ringside physician duly advised the ref to halt the proceedings.
WBC #13 Japanese 130-pound champ Yusuke Kobori (18-2-1, 9 KOs9, 129.75, also kept his national belt by a technical decision (98-94, 96-95 and 98-92) over top ranked southpaw Akio Mikami (18-2-1, 6 KOs), 129.5, because of the challengerfs bad gashes at 0:47 of the tenth and final session. Though it was stopped midway in the tenth, the scores in the final round were included in the tallies. It was a hot but less skillful combat.
Promoter: Kadoebi Jewel Promotions.
(11-4-06)