By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda
Former OPBF champ IBF#14 junior feather Ryo Akaho (39-2-2, 26 KOs), 123.25, needed just 167 seconds of the opening session to dispatch Filipino Edrian Dapudong (35-8-1, 21 KOs), 121.5, in a scheduled ten on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Akaho’s single left hook was the haymaker with the loser hearing the fatal ten on knees.
OPBF middleweight ruler Kazuto Takesako (14-0-1, 13 KOs), 160, easily made short work of Thailander Niwat Kongkan (11-9-1NC), 158.75, at 1:57 of the third round in a scheduled ten. Despite a sixteen-month hiatus, Takesako proved too powerful for the Thailander, decking him twice in the second and once more in the fatal third. The OPBF champ Takesako, 31, strongly wishes to unify another regional WBO AP belt with Hiroya Nojima who recently dethroned Yuki Nonaka via upset sixth round stoppage this July.
Promoter: Yokohama Hikari Promotions.
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Akaho is a very tough, experienced fighter. I hope he is able to get some big fights in the next couple years. He deserves it. Even if he has to travel to do it.