March 4, 2007
GIFU, JAPAN
OPBF#4 ranked Filipino super-bantam champ Alex Escaner (24-12-5, 13 KOs), 122.25, exploded vicious shots to flatten previously unbeaten WBC#32/OPBF#8 Akio Konishi (20-1, 17 KOs), 122.75, at 0:57 of the second round in a very problematic ten-round affair on Sunday in Gifu, Japan.
They furiously mixed it up from the outset with Konishi rocking the Filipino with a solid left hook and Escaner shaking up the Japanese with a strong right shot. The referee Uratani attempted to separate them at the bell to end the first, but they kept exchanging punches and an Escaner right, obviously after the bell, badly dropped Konishi to the deck.
The ref penalized two points from Escaner and gave Konishi additional 90 seconds for him to recover from the illegal shot. When the second started, Konishi apparently didn’t recuperate from the damage, mixed it up and finally sank with Escaner’s devastating left hook. He fell with a thud under the lowest rope, and the ref promptly declared Escaner’s TKO victory without bothering to take a count. Takashi Yokozeki, Konishi’s manager/promoter, repented of having claimed a disqualification win for Konishi after the first session.
Japanese #4 bantam Takuro Konishi (15-5-3, 10 KOs), 117.5, decked Satoshi Ohshika (7-5, 2 KOs), 116.75, twice and finally prompted the referee’s intervention at 2:04 of the fourth. Unranked Yasuhito Aritomi (11-1, 3 KOs), 115, surprisingly dropped Japanese #5 flyweight veteran Yusuke Morishima (18-9-5, 5 KOs), 115.75, with a well-timed right uppercut, had him groggy and halted him at 2:59 of the second round.
Promoter: Gifu Yokozeki Promotions.
Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi (as for the Escaner-Konishi bout).
(3-4-07)