May. 4, 1999
KURASHIKI, JAPAN-Sharp-shooting Thailander WANDEE SINGWANCHA(right photo), 104
3/4, impressively kept his WBC interim minimumweight title, as he
finally caught game Japanese footworker "WOLF" YASUO
TOKIMITSU(left photo), also 104 3/4, and stopped him with just 9 seconds
remaining in the 12th and final round.
Some 5,200 partisan fans were in attendance at Mizushima
Greenland Fukuda Park Gymnasium. It was a hard-fought battle
prior to the stoppage, though all the officials had the champ
leading widely on points. Scored after the 11th: Herbert Minn
(US) 110-100, Gerald Ritter (US) 109-100, and Armando Solis
(Mexico) 109-100, all for the Thailander.
The 19-year-old champ acquired the WBC interim title on a 12-round decision over the then top ranked Rocky Lin, a Japan-based Taiwanese, in Yokohama last Aug. Tokimitsu, 21, had captured the 105-pound throne of the OPBF (Oriental & Pacific Boxing Federation) by a hard-battled decision over Indonesian defending champ Nico Thomas in Kurashiki in Feb. of the previous year. The Japanese, 21, was dubbed "Wolf" because of his pugnacity and aggressiveness.
In the first session they traded fast jabs to probe each other. The taller champ started landing good jabs with precision from the second round on, though the Japanese remained an aggressor with his busy footwork. Despite his positive attack Wolf went to lose every round by a small margin-due to the difference of accuracy in punching. Wandee kept his cool and landed sharp shots to the persistent opponent.
Wolf's best was seen in the 8th, when he caught the champ with a big right twice, but the Thailander fought back with a few but more effective shots. From the 9th on, Wolf became visibly tired and slow with Wandee landing solid left-right combinations. The Japanese showed his heart, but he absorbed much punishment.
In the 12th round, Wolf was attacking the champ with his busy
combos. Wandee, however, caught him with a well-timed right that
bounced off Wolf's head. The champ connected with a follow-up
right uppercut and a right cross. The referee, Lou Filippo, US,
declared a halt to save the rubbery-legged Japanese from further
punishment. It was a perfectly-timed and well-received halt, as
Wolf was obvisouly hurt.
The impressive victory raised the baby-faced champ's mark to
24-3, 7 KOs. Wolf, a good loser, dropped to 13-3, 7 KOs. When
Ricardo Lopez renounces his WBC 105-pound crown after his shot at
the WBC 108-pound title against Saman Sorjaturong, Wandee will be
recognized as the legitimate champ in the minimum class by the
WBC. This 19-year-old Thailander is so vastly talented as to be a
good and long champion with his expected improvement.
HERBERT MINN (US)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | TOTAL |
| WANDEE | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 110 |
| WOLF | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 100 |
GERARD RITTER (US)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | TOTAL |
| WANDEE | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 109 |
| WOLF | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 100 |
ARMANDO SOLIS (MEXICO)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | TOTAL |
| WANDEE | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 109 |
| WOLF | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 100 |
Local prospect KAZUNORI FUJITA, 129 1/4, ran his unbeaten mark to 9-0, 6 KOs, with his quick demolition of a Filipino named BENJIE DURAN, 130, at just 0:17 into the opening session of a scheduled 10. Benjie, the younger brother of ex-OPBF feather champ Samuel Duran, didn't pay his effort to raise himself as he collapsed with a body shot. DRAGON HIDEKI, 129 3/4, scored a TKO win over Filipino JOJO ARNADO, 125, at 2:24 of the 9th round in a scheduled 10. Dragon is 12-5-1, 6 KOs.
Promoter: Kurashiki Moriyasu Promotions in association with
Teiken Promotions.
WBC supervisor: Antonio Martinez (Hong Kong).
(5-4-99)
May. 4
NAGOYA, JAPAN-WBC #7 ranked super-bantam KOZO ISHII, 124 1/2,
defeated Filipino TONY BERNALES, 123 1/2, by a onesidedly
decision over 10. Ishii raised his ledger to 20-1, 13 KOs. Ishii
had his hand hurt in the opening session to be unable to show an
anticipated KO win before his adherents.
HIROKI TOMI, JBC #4 super-welter, 154, decisioned KENJI YAHAGI, 153 3/4, over 10. Tomi was once scheduled to fight the OPBF super-welter champ Kukyul Song with the Korean' s regional title at stake, but his upset loss to another Korean Jaesoo Lee in Tokyo in a tune-up go had his ambitious crack cancelled abruptly. This was Tomi's comeback bout.
Promoter: Tenyu Maruki Promotions.
(5-4-99)