April 14, 2007
TOKYO, JAPAN
WBC#12/WBA#15 Norio Kimura (31-5-2, 15 KOs), 140, kept his Japanese super-light belt for the ninth time as he displayed his trademark tricky southpaw style in dropping mandatory challenger Seishu Iida (15-2-2, 7 KOs), 140, three times, each once in the first three rounds, and halted him because of the loserfs bad lacerations caused by the champfs onslaught at 0:40 of the fourth session on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.
Kimura quickly caught the taller challenger with a southpaw left uppercut to floor him on the seat of his trunks in the first, decked him again with a right hook in the second, and dropped him with a Hamed-like right uppercut to the chin in the third. Iida sustained nasty gashes around both optics, and the ring physician advised the referee Shimakawa to halt the proceedings midway in the fourth. Kimura, two years his junior at 29, just proved too much for the nervous and stiff opponent.
Unbeaten prospect Koji Kawamura (12-0-1, 5 KOs), 126, outhustled sharp but less powerful Hiroki Kubota (6-3-1, 2 KOs), 125.5, winning a unanimous nod (78-76 twice and 78-75) over eight. Kawamura may be promising should he improve his defensive skills though he showed give-and-take exchanges of punches in his last two fights, absorbing considerable punishment. Unbeaten Japanese top ranked 130-pounder Takashi Miura (12-0-1, 10 KOs), 132, easily floored Thailander Mongkolchai Saendeegym (13-9), 131.25, three times and finished him at 1:05 of the second round in a scheduled eight. Steadily-rising Kinishiro Usui (14-1, 6 KOs), 118, Japanese #2 bantam, needed just 98 second of the opening session to dispatch Thailander Saifa Sithgokongkarngym (5-4), 117.25, in a scheduled eight.
Promoter: Yokohama Hikari Promotions.
(4-14-07)