May 22, 2007
TOKYO, JAPAN
WBA#9/WBC#11 lightweight Takehiro Shimada (21-3-1, 14 KOs), 138, proved too fast and skillful for OPBF#6 ranked Indonesian champ Ramona Purba (reportedly 17-3-1, 7 KOs), 136.25, and sank him with a right hook to the side of the belly in agony for the count at 2:03 of the fifth round on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan.
Shimada, a 35-year-old perennial contender, utilized his jabs and footwork to outwork the slower Indonesian, piling up points steadily. Purba turned loose with roundhouse punches in the fourth, when the Japanese veteran moved to and fro to avert his assault and kept peppering him from all angles. Shimada, coached by ex-world feather and superfeather champ Kuniaki Shibata, seemed technically improved fight after fight despite his age.
Unheralded Noriyuki Ueno (just 8-7-3, 2 KOs), 125.5, scored an upset decision over Japanese #6 feather Motokazu Abe (16-4-2, 10 KOs), 126, over ten. Abe, a crouching peek-a-boo stylist, wasn’t as persistent in the close quarter as usual only to absorb many effective uppercuts, continually bleeding from the nostrils.
Promoter: Yonekura Promotions.
(5-22-07)
May 21, 2007
TOKYO, JAPAN
Up-and-coming superbantam Mikihito Seto (23-6-1, 11 KOs), 121.5, made short work of southpaw Thailander Chaipongnoi Polkrahan (7-4, 2 KOs), 118.75, flattening him with a double right downstairs and upstairs at 1:49 of the opening session on Monday in Tokyo, Japan. Having scored 14 wins straight, Seto has been unbeaten in last four years though he fights in a tricky style with hanging both hands down.
Toru Suzuki (15-1, 3 KOs), 130, came off the canvas in the third and earned a close but unanimous nod (77-76, 78-76 and 77-75) over game but monotonous Japanese #12 feather Ryota Kajiki (7-3, 5 KOs), 130, in a companion eight.
Promoter: Kyoei Promotions.
(5-21-07)
May 20, 2007
Muscular welter Charles Bellamy (5-0, 3 KOs), 146.25, scored a one-punch knockout with a devastating right over Thai #3 welter Kaenkart Chuwatana, 147.5, at 2:45 of the first round in a scheduled eight. Bellamy, a US visitor living with his Japanese wife in Japan, started to learn how to box here, and showed a rapid progress in every fight. Should he gain more speed and skills, he may become a threat against Japanese top notchers because of his awesome power.
OPBF#9 ranked 122-pounder Yuya Miyagi (16-2-2, 5 KOs), 124, hit the deck with a vicious southpaw left of Thai veteran Vihok Jockygym, 123.25, in the second, but fought back hard with light but busy combinations to earn a unanimous verdict (78-74 twice and 78-75) over eight.
Promoter: 18 Koga Promotions.
Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi.
PS This promotion took place in commemoration of Black Ship Festival in Shimoda City. It was in 1853 that Matthew Perry, commander of US squadron, abruptly visited Japan under national isolation which closed the door to foreigners but the Netherlands. Perry forcibly asked for calling at Japanese ports to be regularly used by the US fleet in the future. The next year the Japanese Shogunate was forced to open two ports, Shimoda and Hakodate, when Perry’s squadron revisited here. Black ship means Perry’s squadron, and we saw a boxing promotion for celebrating the festival in Shimoda 153 years after his first call at the port. Why? The promoter Kiyoshi Nagashima, former feather contender and the father of Japanese light champ Kengo Nagashima, was born here in Shimoda.
(5-20-07)