June 7, 2008
OSAKA, JAPAN
Japanese #8 ranked bantam prospect Kenichi Yamaguchi (14-1-2, 4 KOs), 120, was awarded a hairline split verdict (96-95, 98-94, and 95-96) over OPBF ranked Thai national champ Kaonah Khlongphajon (23-16-2, 18 KOs), 119.5, over ten see-saw rounds on Sunday in Osaka, Japan.
It was a hard-fought affair as Yamaguchi kept throwing faster left-right combinations to take the initiative, while Kaonah occasionally connected with effective counters to the face and midsection. The last round saw each swap punches toe-to-toe without retreating to entertain the audience.
Unbeaten lightweight Tsukasa Takahashi (7-0, 4 KOs), 135, stunned the crowd with a quick demolition of more experienced Daisuke Hata (11-5-4, only 1 KO), a lanky jabber at 135, at 2:46 of the opening session in a scheduled ten. Akihiro Lee (4-1-1, 2 KOs), 112.5, earned a unanimous technical decision over Yuki Takahashi (7-2-1, 2 KOs), 112.5, at 2:27 of the sixth in a scheduled eight.
Promoter: Osaka Teiken Promotions.
Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi (as for the Yamaguchi-Kaonah bout).
(6-8-08)