July 5, 2009
OKINAWA, JAPAN
WBC#2/WBA#5 Japan-based Russian Sasha Bakhtine (23-0, 10 KOs), 117, successfully kept his OPBF bantamweight belt as he unusually displayed positive attacks and finally stopped OPBF#4 Indonesian champ Richard Samosir (18-2-3, 7 KOs), 117, at 2:23 of the eighth round on Sunday in Okinawa, Japan. Sasha, a tall and skinny jabber, decked the Indonesian twice in the fourth, once in the seventh and twice more in the eighth to halt the affair. The Russian registered his first defense since acquiring the vacant regional title on the last day of the previous year.
Unbeaten WBA#14 feather Francisco Cordero (20-0, 13 KOs), 128.75, Colombia, earned a close split verdict (77-76, 78-75 and 76-77) over the promoterfs son, JBC#9 130-pounder Koseki Nakama (14-2, 6 KOs), 129.25, over eight. Cordero kept hammering powerful punches to take the initiative, while Nakama occasionally retaliated with sharp shots. Cordero was in command in the second half thanks to his superior power punching in a hard-fought affair.
Promoter: Okinawa World Ring Promotions.
(7-5-09)