Ex-Champ Sakamoto halted in farewell fight

Fightnews.com

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Former Japanese interim welter champ, 36-year-old Daisuke Sakamoto (14-10-3, 8 KOs), 154, engaged in a publicized farewell fight, but was badly battered by JBC#15 Koki Koshikawa (7-1, 5 KOs), 154, only to surrender on the stool after the fourth session in a scheduled eight on Monday in Tokyo, Japan.

It’s a unique confrontation of ex-amateur boxers at Narashino high school with Koshikawa, nine years his junior, against the more experienced senior. From the start Sakamoto, fatty and sluggish, kept swinging round-house blows to the air only to be fading quickly. The fourth witnessed the tight-guarded youngster lopsidedly batter the veteran senior upstairs and downstairs from pillar to post so that the ex-champ disappointingly called it quits. Regardless of the result, Sakamoto should have appeared in the ring in a better condition before his long adherents.

JBC#4 middleweight Shoma Fukumoto (12-3, 10 KOs), 159.75, Sakamoto’s stablemate, attempted to avenge his previous defeat at the hand of Filipino veteran Arnel Tinampay (25-21-1, 11 KOs), 157.75, in his third pro bout, but repeated the bad result as Fukumoto was floored with the shorter Filipino’s jolting left hooks and was halted because of his rubbery legs by the third man. He might probably like to eliminate the word of Tinampay in his own dictionary.

Another upset took place in a supporting eight-rounder prior to the semi-final bout, when former amateur titlist Kazuki Saito, 134.75, also Sakamoto’s stablemate with an unblemished mark of 5-0, all knockouts, was shockingly stopped by Thai lightweight champ Amphon Suriyo (reportedly 23-3, 19 KOs), 133.75, at 1:30 of the second session. Saito, highly expected as future champ based on his amateur mark (83-14), was lately already ranked #14 in the WBO Asia Pacific ratings thanks to his unbeaten mark. Saito was dominating the first round, but the second saw the Thailander abruptly turn loose and drop the prefight favorite with quick combinations. Though he resumed fighting, Saito hit the deck again with the towel fluttering in from his corner. It’s truly a shocker of the night.