Cebu-bred Ilongo power-hitter Rev “The Gentle Giant” Santillan takes another chance to reclaim lost glory as he is set for a grudge rematch with defending champion Kazuhiko Hidaka of Japan in a 12-round bout for the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) welterweight title on December 3 at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall. Hidaka, sporting a 22-4 win-loss record with 16KOs, dethroned the previously WBC ranked No.7 147-pounder Santillan by an impressive fourth round stoppage last March.
The 26-year-old Hidaka then scored a masterful seventh round TKO win over mandatory challenger and RP champion Dondon Sultan of SGG Stable last July for the first successful defense of his crown.
Noted Japanese boxingman Joe Koizumi anticipates a competitive rematch as Santillan was mentally unfit due to his sweetheart having suffered a cancer during his first encounter with Hidaka.
Santillan, fighting under the aegis of Cebu topnotch promoter Rex “Wakee” Salud, parades a 21-2-1 win-loss-draw ledger packed with 15KOs.
Before surrendering his belt to Hidaka, the 28-year-old Santillan racked up four straight victories in Japan, including a hard-earned, but well-deserved split decision triumph over his former tormentor Hiroshi Watanabe to regain his OPBF throne on April 25 last year in Komaki.
