NOVEMBER 22, 1997
OSAKA, JAPAN--Unexpected underdog JOICHIRO TATSUYOSHI, 118, impressively battered previously unbeaten SIRIMONGKOL NAKORNTHORN-PARKVIEW, 118, Thailand, effectively with vicious body shots, badly dropped him twice, and chalked up a spectacular TKO win at 1:54 of the 7th session to regain the WBC bantam throne at Osaka Castle Hall. The 20-year-old champ Sirimongkol was a prohibitive favorite, and few had expected Tatsuyoshi's re-coronation. Some 11,000 spectators went into frenzy to witness the local favorite's upset triumph. The ex-WBC champ Tatsuyoshi had failed in 3 last attempts in a row to regain the WBC title in the bantam and super-bantam divisions, losing to Yasuei Yakushiji (L12) in 1994, to Daniel Zaragoza (TKO by 11) and to Zaragoza (L12) again in 1996 and 1997, respectively. Some cynic experts described Tatsuyoshi as a finished warrior and severly criticized his 4th crack to recapture the WBC crown. But Tatsuyoshi, the most popular Japanese boxer due to his flamboyance, arrogance and comic characteristics, made his prediction come true. People had loved his big mouth.
Tatsuyoshi, 27, made a very good start as he completely out jabbed theoverconfident-looking Thailander in the opening canto. The Japanese warrior kept jabbing in the 2nd, but the taller champ occasionally landed a few but heavier jabs and right crosses. Sirimongkol, a handsome Thai version of "Golden Boy" De La Hoya, appeared to wait for openings to land his vaunted right hand to finish the neglected challenger in the 3rd. Tatsuyoshi still kept jabbing and moving well in the 3rd, but Sirimongkol scored solid left-right combos to the face of the Japanese warrior to have him staggering. Tatsuyoshi turned loose in the 4th, as he doubled him up with his specialty, left uppercut to the side of belly, whipping him with a barrage of punches. Tatsuyoshi, in the 5th, sent the champ sprawling with a beautiful one-two combo after he punched Sirimongkol with persistent body bombardments. Though confused and exhausted by the Japanese's resistless body attacks, Sirimongkol desperately came out fighting, threw powerful punches furiously and made Tatsuyoshi groggy in the 6th. The tide, however, turned again. Obviously tired and fading, Sirimongkol recklessly attempted to demolish him with all what he had in the 7th. He had Tatsuyohsi at bay, but the Japanese landed a wicked left uppercut to the stomach, following a feiting right, as Sirimongkol ceased throwing strong punches. Down went the champ again. He fell on all fours, and very barely beat the count. Tatsuyoshi swarmed over the groggy champ and rained a fussilade of punches to have him almost turn his back. Referee Richard Steele intervened to save Sirimongkol from further punishment.
Tatsuyoshi, 15-4-1, 12 KOs, stopped our notirious record of 16 Japanese challengers' consecutive failures to win the world throne. Sirimongkol, the upset loser, had seized the WBC interim 118-pound title by displaying a one-punch 5th-round KO of Mexican Jose Luis Bueno in Thailand in Aug. of the previous year. The Thailander, coached by British trainer Charles Atkinson, showed a steady technical progress along with his potential physical power, and retained his title by beating Jesus Sarabia (W12), Javier Campanario (KO4) and top contender and ex-champ Victor Rabanales (W12) to his credit. Having defeated the highly regarded Rabanales (who had previously dispatched Tatsuyoshi in 1992), Sirimongkol had his stock raised greatly in Asia. He tasted his first setback, dropping to 16-1, 6 KOs. His reported severe reduction of weight and his own overconfidence might account for his unexpected defeat.
Tatsuyoshi's life had been fluctuating prior to this combat, which was obviously taken for his final appearance in the ring had he been beaten again in his 4th attempt to regain the WBC crown. He compiled a sensational 18-1, 18 KOs amateur mark, and turned professional in 1989. In his 4th pro fight, Tatsuyoshi gained the Japanese national title by finely polishing off Shigeru Okabe in 1990. In his 8th bout, the rapidly upcoming youngster seized the WBC bantam throne by halting Greg Richardson after the 9th in Sept., 1991. But he suffered a detached retina thereafter and was obliged to be inactive for a year. Tatsuyoshi lost his WBC title on a lopsided TKO by tricky and hard-hitting Mexican Victor Rabanales, who had become the WBC interim ruler during his layoff, in Sept., 1992. In Jul. of the next year, Tatsuyoshi captured the vacant WBC interim bantam diadem by revenging his previous defeat on a hard-battled decision . But Tatsuyoshi was found to have sustained a detached retina again after a Rabanales give-and-take battle to be forced to be inactive again for a year. Having returned to the ring warfare, Tatsuyoshi, as the WBC interim champ, faced the WBC titlist Yasuei Yakushiji, a taller compatriot, losing an upset majority decision in Dec. 1994. Tatsuyoshi, still very popular despite his defeat, had an ambitious shot at Daniel Zaragoza's 122-pound crown only to be onesidedly battered and stopped in the 9th in Mar. of the previous year. Last Apr., Tatsuyoshi attempted to dethrone the Mexican veteran Zaragoza again only to lose a unanimous verdict. As he lost in 3 previous title bouts, he was advised by many to hang up gloves for good. But his popularity, like Frank Bruno, made him continue his compaing to be rendered another title crack. Anything can happen in the ring. Tatsuyoshi regained the title in such a dramatic fashion to return to be a national hero. Before the stoppage, official tallies were as follows--Lou Filippo (US) 58-55, Tom Kaczmarek (US) 58-54, and Terry Smith (US) 57-56, all for the Japanese.
Promoter: Akihiko Honda's Teiken Promotions.
WBC supervisor: Mauricio Moreno (US).
(11-22-97)
LOU FILIPPO (US)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | TOTAL |
| SIRIMONGKOL | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 55 |
| TATSUYOSHI | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 58 |
TOM KACZMAREK (US)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | TOTAL |
| SIRIMONGKOL | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 54 |
| TATSUYOSHI | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 58 |
TERRY SMITH (US)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | TOTAL |
| SIRIMONGKOL | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 56 |
| TATSUYOSHI | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 57 |
PS. It was a double world title bout, featuring a WBA flyweight title bout, which is reported as follows:
November 22, 1997
OSAKA, JAPAN--Crafty veteran JOSE BONILLA 112, Venezuela, kept his WBA flyweight title, as he floored ex-WBA junior fly ruler KEIJI YAMAGUCHI, a Japanese lefty, 112, and scored an impressive TKO victory at 2:20 of the 6th session at Osaka Castle Hall. Yamaguchi, taller by 3 inches, was a prefight favorite, but he failed to follow his strategy to keep his distance by utilizing his footwork only to ridiculously mix up with the Venezuelan sharpshooter. The 23-year-old Yamaguchi, who had dethroned Panama's Carlos Murillo to become the WBA 108-pound titlist in May of the previous year, was formerly a Prince Naseem Hamed stylist, hanging his hands down and showboating his opponent. He lost his WBA junior fly throne on a 2nd-round TKO by Thai southpaw Pichit Chor Siriwat in Osaka last Dec.
Yamaguchi took the leadoff, throwing sharp southpaw rights to befuddle the 29-year-old champ in the first stanza. Bonilla, who had wrested the WBA crown by an upset nod over previously unbeaten Saen Sow Ploenchit in Thailand in Nov. of the previous year, was in command in the 2nd as he accurately landed right-left-right combos to almost stun the Japanese challenger. Bonilla maintained the pressure on the lanky lefty, who occasionally scored right jabs and counters to the willing mixer in the 3rd and 4th. But the champ looked a bit more accurate in shooting the target. Bonilla clearly dominated the 5th as he was circling to the right and repeatedly caught him with straight rights to the face. Yamaguchi forgot his fight plan to make good use of his faster foot and coped with the shorter champ in the close range. His mistake paid off. The 6th saw Bonilla explode a vicious left hook to the button of Yamaguchi, who sprawled flat and then managed to raise himself. Though the fight was resumed, Bonilla didn't hesitate to finish the affair with a barrage of punches, pinning him to the ropes. Referee Julio Cesar Alvarado, Panama, declared a well-received halt. Bonilla, 24-3, 11 KOs, registered his 3rd defense, following his valuable victory over #1 contender Evangelio Perez, a hard-punching Panamanian, after each hit the deck in Venezuela last Aug. Yamaguchi tried to avenge his stablemate and senior Hiroki Ioka's 7th-round TKO loss last Feb., but he was beaten a round earlier than Ioka. Yamaguchi, whose lack of proper defensive skill was castigated, fell to 22-3, 8 KOs. Scored prior to the stoppage: Duan Ford (US) 48-47, Oscar Perez (US) 49-46, and Samuel Conde (Puerto Rico) 49-46, all for Bonilla. Bonilla, formerly a notorious drinker, is not a formidable champ, but he has apparently showed his progress after he stopped drinking and concentrated on retaining his WBA crown.
DUAN FORD (US)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | TOTAL |
| BONILLA | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 48 |
| YAMAGUCHI | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 47 |
SMAUEL CONDE (PUERTO RICO)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | TOTAL |
| BONILLA | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 49 |
| YAMAGUCHI | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 46 |
OSCAR PEREZ (US)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | TOTAL |
| BONILLA | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 49 |
| YAMAGUCHI | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 46 |
WBC #3 ranked lightie HIROYUKI SAKAMOTO, 136 1/2, remained aggressive all the way, banged out ex-Korean champ JEUNGJIN NOH, 135 3/4, and pounded out a shutout decision over 10. Scored: double 100-91 and 100-90. Sakamoto had a crack at a very crafty lefty Steve Johnston, WBC light boss, losing a split verdict in Yokohama last Jul. Sakamoto, a pugnacious hard-hitter, was expected to finish Noh in their rematch, as he failed to score a KO triumph over the Korean in the first encounter despite his win on a unanimous nod in 1995. Sakamoto often had him at bay, but Noh refused to go down to show his tremendous durability. Sakamoto, who will meet Johnston again in Yokohama this coming Mar, upped his mark to 28-2, 19 KOs. Noh dropped to 11-9-2, 8 KOs.
Lefty HIDENOBU HONDA, 108, retained his Japanese national junior fly title by repeating his previous vicotry over RYUJI MURAMATSU, 107 1/4, on a unanimous decision over 10. Honda had acquired the vacant title by outscoring Muramatsu last Dec. Honda, this time, scored a clearer triumph, though he didn't look sharp enough to impress the crowd. Scored: 100-94, 99-94 and 98-96, all for Honda, 14-1, 8 KOs. He need more convincing power and more accurate punching. Muramatsu, who was too monotonous to catch the tricky champ, fell to 13-4, 7 KOs.
Upcoming lefty prospect TOSHIAKI NISHIOKA, 118, JBC #4 bantie, disposed of Korean DONGSOO KIM, 117 1/4, by flooring him twice with effective combinations at 3:01 of the 4th in the first 10-rounder. Nishioka, who previously beat a couple of Indonesian national champs in non-title affairs, is 12-2-1, 5 KOs.
Promoter: Akihiko Honda's Teiken Promotions.
WBA supervisor: Gonzalo Silvero Lopez (US).
(11-22-97)