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Philippines, 23 Jul 2026 |
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WBC #9 LUNAS FINISHES WBC #6 MITANI By Joe Koizumi PhilBoxing.com Mon, 13 Aug 2007  TAKASAGO, JAPAN -- WBC#9 ranked Rolly Matsushita Lunas (24-6-1, 13 KOs), 115.5, a Japan-based Filipino banger, kept his OPBF bantamweight belt as he finally exploded solid combinations to drop WBC#6 Japanese national champ and OPBF top contender Masayuki Mitani (20-2, 10 KOs), 117, twice en route to a spectacular stoppage at 2:09 of the twelfth and final round on Sunday in Takasago, Japan. Mitani, a Carlos Zarate stylist utilizing his height and reach, attempted to outjab and outpunch the shorter hard-puncher, and was leading on points in the first half. Lunas, however, accelerated his attack as Mitani began to bleed from the nostrils in the ninth. His bad nose-bleeding like a red cascade apparently disturbed the Japanese challenger?s rhythm, while the champ ocassionally connected with good shots to the face in the tenth and eleventh. Still close as it was, Lunas turned loose with a vicious left uppercut to the chin following a left-right combo and floored the fading Japanese for a mandatory eight count. The champ swarmed over the groggy challenger and caught him with vicious combinations to flatten him, when referee Severino Necesario called a halt without bothering to count. The tallies after the eleventh were: 105-104, 106-103 and 107-102, all for the defending champ. Undercard: Junichi Ebisuoka (15-10-3, 6 KOs), 110, was awarded a controversial majority decision (95-94, 98-95 and 95-95) over ex-WBC world 105-pound champ Jose Antonio Aguirre (38-7-1, 23 KOs), 109.5, a Mexican veteran, over ten. Aguirre looked to have passed his peak, and his punches were slow and less damaging though he connected with more shots to the younger Japanese, who was still fresher in later rounds. Aguirre deserved a draw at worst. Promoter: Takasago Promotions. Matchmaker: Joe Koizumi. (8-12-07) PS. The official tallies after the eleventh as for the OPBF bantam title bouts are as follows: scoring referee Severino Necesario (Philippines) 105-104, Sakamoto (Japan) 106-103 and Uratani (Japan) 107-102, all for the Japan-based Filipino Lunas. The Japanese two judges seemed too eager and nervous in scoring fair, funny enough, giving more points to Lunas than the Filipino ref Necesario. Top photo caption: Rolly Lunas (L) in a July 30, 2005 fight photo against Acerda in Barili, Cebu. Photo by Dong Secuya. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Joe Koizumi.  |
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