Apr. 10, 1999
OKAYAMA-Okayama Martial Arts Hall-The OPBF heavyweight champ TOAKIPA
"KIPA" TASEFA(right photo), 226, kept his regional title as he overcame the
sharpshooting of PETER ISHIMARU OKELLO(left photo), a Japanese-based Ugandan, 220
1/2, and had him at bay in later rounds to be awarded a unanimous
decision over 12 heats.
It was a very hard-fought battle with each displaying the best. The
fight entertained the well-packed crowd. It was a competitive
give-and-take affair until the 8th session. From the outset Kipa and
Peter exchanged sharp jabs and avert them with their quick reflexes.
They were so sharp and fast as if they were lightweight fighters. The
2nd saw Peter connect with straight rights to have the champ bewildered
for awhile. The 3rd followed the similar pattern as Peter tried to
catch the champ with direct rights to the face.
Kipa seemed to be dominant in the 4th and 5th rounds, as he turned aggressive with many jabs and right-left-right combos. Peter was in command in the 6th, when he landed a solid left hook and shook up Kipa effectively. The 6th was Peter's best round. The champ, however, displayed his fine retaliation to take the 7th canto. Peter won back the 8th with his aggressiveness. It was such a see-saw bout until the end of the 8th.
The 9th was a climax of this title bout. Peter almost stunned Kipa with
a solid left hook in the beginning of this round. Peter went forward
for a kill, but Kipa counterpunched him with a well-timed left hook and
a straight right. Peter became so rubbery-legged as if he was a
sleep-walker. Kipa furiously attacked him but hit him at the back of
the head. When Peter went down, the referee David Chung, Korea, could
have given a one-minute rest. But the fight went on, and Peter barely
lasted the critical moment by grabbing the aggressor.
Kipa, though expected, couldn't went out for a KO in the 10th, because he appeared a bit too tired with his all-out attack in the 9th. Peter seldom threw good punches due to his damage suffered in the previous round. The champ won the last two rounds with his busier hand, while Peter showed his determination in withstanding Kipa's desperate rallies.
Scored: referee David Chung (Korea) 116-115, Ichiro Uenaka (Japan) 118-116, and Carrick Belton (New Zealand) 119-109, all for Kipa who raised his mark to 23-2-2, 19 KOs. Peter sustained his first setback and dropped to 4-1, 4 KOs. Despite his defeat by the more experienced Kipa, Peter showed his talent and potential as a good prospect with his 6'4" height and muscular physiquie. Kipa deserved an admiration for showing such a tremendous gameness in later rounds.
DAVID CHUNG (KOREA)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | TOTAL |
| KIPA | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 116 |
| PETER | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 115 |
ICHIRO UENAKA (JAPAN)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | TOTAL |
| KIPA | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 116 |
| PETER | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 115 |
CARRICK BELTON (NEW ZEALAND)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | TOTAL |
| KIPA | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 119 |
| PETER | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 110 |
UNDERCARD
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Promoter: Chunichi Promotions in association with Midori Promotions.
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Ex-WBA light flyweight champ KEIJI YAMAGUCHI(right photo), a lefty Hamed stylist, 117 1/2, pounded out a lopsided decision over local favorite TAKAYUKI
AKAZAWA, 117, over 10. Yamaguchi outsped and outpunched the slower
opponent, but failed to stop him as expected owing to Akazawa's
admirable durability.
Scored: double 99-92 and 98-90, all for
Yamaguchi, 27-4, 10 KOs. Akazawa dipped to 17-4-1, 2 KOs.
Four 6-rounders: