Once again, Rev “Gentle Giant” Santillan proved that he is still the best welterweight puncher in the Orient and Pacific region as he regained the OPBF 147-pound division title with an eighth round knockout over Japanese champion Kazuhiko Hidaka Saturday evening at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
Meanwhile, ALA Boy Rollen del Castillo and SGG fighter Bert Batawang were defeated even as welterweight Dondon Sultan of SGG scored a stoppage also Saturday evening in Osaka, Japan.
Santillan dropped Hidaka with 59 seconds left in the eight round after a heated exchange.
“I just wanted to win. The first time he won but this is my time,” said Santillan in a long-distance interview with Sun.Star Cebu.
It was total mayhem from beginning until the end as both fighters gave and took power punches until the dramatic end that saw the Filipino champion regaining the belt he lost to the same fighter last March.
“In almost every round somebody’s legs were rubbery. Rev overcame a deep cut on his right eyebrow in the sixth and amazingly all judges scored it the same,” said trainer Brix Flores.
Last March, Santillan lost the title via fourth-round TKO. His mental and physical preparations were not there after he learned his girlfriend had cancer.
Santillan nearly floored the Japanese champion in the first round using one-two combinations as he gained control of the first three rounds.
Hidaka came back charging in the next three rounds to frustrate the Iloilo fighter of the Rex “Wakee” Salud stable as he opened a deep cut above the right eye of the challenger in the seventh.
The Japanese continued to charge early in the seventh but the cut seemed to pump new life into Santillan who suddenly found his rhythm and wobbled the champion in the closing seconds of the seventh round.
Using the momentum from the seventh round, Santillan went for the kill in the eight with a left uppercut and a right hook to take out Hidaka. Hidaka tried to get up but his shaky legs betrayed him as Thai referee Pinit Prayadsab reached the count of 10 just before the Japanese collapsed face first on the canvas.
