Mananquil wins vacant WBO AP 118lb belt; Heno keeps OPBF 108lb title
By Joe Koizumi
A couple of Filipino invaders defeated Japanese counterparts to win/defend regional belts by demonstrating their strength to the crowd.
On Sunday (February 10), Ben Mananquil (17-1-3. 4 KOs), 115.75, acquired the vacant WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight belt as he floored current WBC youth 122-pound champ Tenta Kiyose (15-3-1, 7 KOs), 117.75, a local favorite, with a southpaw right hook in round eight, and pounded out a unanimous decision (116-111, 116-113, 114-113) over hard-fought twelve heats in Himeji, Japan. Kiyose, with his latest winning streak of eight victories with six inside the distance, was a prefight favorite, but the Filipino lefty showed his cleverness in averting Kiyose’s combinations with his tight defense and good counterpunching. Kiyose may deserve a rematch.
On Monday (February 11), another Filipino Edward Heno (13-0-5, 5 KOs) kept his OPBF light-flyweight belt by defeating veteran campaigner Koji Itagaki (18-14-3, 8 KOs), 35, on a unanimous nod (119-106, 118-107, 117-108) over lopsided twelve rounds in Hiroshima, Japan. Itagaki, a local favorite, failed to win a belt in his third attempt for regional and Japanese national belts.