Apr. 19, 1999
TOKYO-Korakuen Hall-Fleet-footed powder-puff puncher MASAMORI TOKUYAMA(left photo),
115 1/2, took the leadoff with his superior speed, opened a gash under
the left eyebrow of TAKUYA KITA(right photo), a prefight favorite, 115 3/4, in the
2nd and withstood the latter's retaliation to earn a majority decision
over 10 gory rounds.
Scored: Ukrid Sarasas and Hiroyuki Tezaki 97-95 and 97-96 respectively,
both for Tokuyama, and Kodai Kumazaki 96-96.
The speedster Tokuyama, from Osaka, had scored an upset 5th-round TKO over ex-two time world champ Hiroki Ioka and drove him into a retirement last Dec. Thanks to his upset victory over Ioka, Tokuyama got ranked #3 in the 115-pound division by the JBC.
The JBC #5 ranked Kiya, however, was favored to win, as he had registered 14 wins straight and convincingly won over WBA-ranked Randy Mangubat by a lopsided decision in his previous bout last Feb.
From the start, Tokuyama displayed his superior speed, if not power, to bring Kiya to the standstill, winning the first 3 rounds with ease. Kiya sustained a gash caused by his opponent's punches in the 2nd, and kept bleeding from then on.
The more powerful Kiya abandoned his strategy, and decided to recklessly go forward to catch the feather-fisted Fancy Dan from the 5th. Kiya was more aggressive in the 5th through 7th, but he couldn't land his solid shots to the fast footworker.
As Kiya also became tired and slowed down, Tokuyama connected with soft but sharp jabs and straight rights to be in command in the 8th. Kiya seemingly dominated the 10th and final stanza with his aggressiveness, but it wasn't enough to overcome the previous deficits on points.
Tokuyama raised his mark to 17-2-1, 4 KOs. Kiya fell to 14-2-1, 9 KOs. The currently vacant Japanese super-fly title will be disputed by #1 ranked Yoshiaki Matsukura and #2 ranked Kazuhiro Ryuko here on June 14. The winner will be obliged to meet the #3 contender, Tokuyama. The object of this matchmaking by Kaneko Promotion must be for Kiya to beat Tokuyama and obtain the qualification to fight for the national title, but it failed.
The OPBF middleweight champ KEVIN PALMER(right photo), WBC #5 ranked contender, 162,
engaged in a non-title bout, and chalked up a fine TKO win over JBC #3
ranked middleweight KENJI TAMAOKI, 162, at 2:09 of the 9th round in a
scheduled 10.
Palmer, a US military worker staying in Yokosuka, proved too sharp and accurate for Tamaoki, who had previously dropped him despite his points defeat last Oct. But Palmer kept his distance and tossed his trade-mark jabs to the slower Japanese in this rematch.
As the contest progressed, it became quite lopsided with Tamaoki streaming blood from cuts over both eyebrows. Palmer made him a bloody mess and battered him nearly at win in the 8th. It seemed a bit too late for the third man to declare a halt to save the bloodied loser.
Palmer extended his unbeaten mark to 20-0-1, 12 KOs. Tamaoki dipped to 8-5, 6 KOs.
The first 10-rounder saw JBC #2 ranked lightie MASAAKI MOROOKA, 139, put on a give-and-take brawl with YUJI NAKAHASHI, 139 3/4, JBC #6 welter, en route to a majority decision.
Scored: 98-96 and 99-94 for the more experienced warrior, and 97-97(questionable).
Morooka bettered his ledger to 18-4-4, 7 KOs. Nakahashi, handled by ex-WBA fly champ Yoko Gushiken, fell to 8-2, one KO.
Kyoei Promotions in association with Kaneko Promotions.
(4-19-99)