YAP SURVIVES 1ST ROUND KNOCKDOWN TO RETAIN OPBF TITLE VIA 4TH ROUND KO

JAPAN-BASED Mark John “The Journey Man” Yap of the Philippines survived three knockdowns in the first round to stop Japanese challenger Kentaro Masuda in the 4th round and retained his Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) bantamweight title last Sunday at the Sumiyoshi Ward Center in Osaka, Japan.
Yap, 28 admitted that he got complacent in the first round and was hit three times by the long reach of Masuda.
“Hindi ko makita kung saan galing ang kanyang mga suntok dahil sa haba ng kanyang reach. Pero I never gave up,” (I could not see where his punches were coming because of his longer reach. But I never gave up) said Yap, who managed to recover in the second and third rounds.
Yap (26-12-0, 12 KOs) came back strong in the fourth round for his first successful title-defense.
Yap was again hit twice by Masuda’s jabs but still kept on attacking with his jab-straights to first send down the challenger in the early fourth round.
Masuda immediately stood up but was again bombarded by Yap’s non-stop combinations as the Japanese was finally knocked out on the same round.
“Masaya ako kasi dala ko ang tagumpay ng ating bansa,” (I’m happy because I brought victory for our nation) said Yap, who trains at the Muto Boxing Gym.
Yap, a native of Cagayan de Oro City won the OPBF title by dethroning Takahiro Yamamoto via 5th round technical knockout last November 11 at the Central Gym in Kobe, Hyogo.
Yap has been fighting in Japan since 2012 and has won nine of his last 13 fights. He first fought on September 23 when he won by a UD against Akihiro Matsumoto in Ishikawa, Japan.
“Nothing can stop my destiny. I won the fight ‘coz I did not loss my mind. I will never give up on my dream,” said Yap, who is already a resident of Osaka.

Mark John Yap is knocked down in the first round.

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