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MATSUSHITA DETHRONES TUNACAO IN TOKYO!
By Salven L. Lagumbay
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 14 Jan 2007
Japan-based Filipino Rolly (Lunas) Matsushita tonight bucked all odds, as he dethroned heavy favorite Malcolm Tunacao as the OPBF bantamweight champion via a tenth-round technical decision in their scheduled 12-rounder at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
Matsushita scored the lone knockdown in the fight when he put Tunacao on the canvas in the second round.
Filipino referee Silvestre Abainza had to stop the fight in the tenth stanza following an accidental clash of heads that produced a big cut on Tunacao, and the fight had to go to the scorecard.
Matsushita prevailed after tallying the judges' scorecards, with two judges favoring Matsushita while the third judge had the fight even at the time of the stoppage.
"I am so happy for this win. My prayers and hard work paid off. Thanks for all the support," Matsushita told this writer in an interview yesterday, referring to those few people who had rooted for him to win.
Tunacao was making the third defense of the title he won via a lop-sided unanimous decision over Thai Kumarnthong Pluemkamol in late-2005.
Matsushita, who trained for this fight at the Kashimi Boxing Gym in Japan, said he thanked his sponsor the Matsushita group and his manager Kashimi and trainer Mack Kurihara for his successful challenge.
This is a major win for Matsushita, who had been written off by most pundits as an over-the-hill former prospect after briefly reigning as the PABA flyweight champion.
Meanwhile, RP bantam champ Michael Domingo lost in his bout to Japanese Kazuyuki Ichikawa, while highly-ranked Michael Farenas edged out Japanese Takuro Matsubara on the undercard of the Matsushita-Tunacao bout.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Salven L. Lagumbay.
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