May 20, 2011
OSAKA, JAPAN
Japanese speedster Hiroshige Osawa (20-3-3, 9 KOs), 126, acquired the OPBF featherweight belt as he came off the canvas in the second and fought back hard to win a split verdict over Filipino defending champ Jonel Alibio (16-10-2, 7 KOs), 124.75, over twelve rounds on Friday in Osaka, Japan.
Alibio had dethroned Japanfs Naoki Matsuda via upset sixth-round knockout in Tokyo last November, but failed to score a successful initial defense. The official tallies were as follows: scoring referee Wansoo Yuh (Korea) 115-113 and Jun Kawakami (Japan) 115-112, both for Osaka, and Edward Ligas (Philippines) 113-114 for Alibio.
Promoter: Apollo Promotions.
(5-20-11)