Monday, July 16, 2007 The Gentle Giant stamps Japanese
REV “The Gentle Giant” Santillan reclaimed the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) welterweight belt following a sixth round knockout win over Taisei Muramoto at the Archaic Hall in Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan last Saturday.
Santillan, who lost the WBC-affiliated regional belt three times since winning it back in 2001, regained the belt for the fourth time against the quicker Japanese champion.
Trailing from most of the first to the fifth round, Santillan unleashed the deadly left that floored Muramoto for good, as referee Brad Vocale did not bother to finish his count upon seeing the Japanese wobbling.
The win came at the 2:12 mark when all three judges had the dethroned champion ahead, 49-46.
But all Santillan needed was his deadly left-hook to nullify the score and regain the belt he last held before losing to Hiroshi Yamaguchi in April last year.
Muramoto defeated Yamaguchi by a seventh round TKO in September last year and made a successful defense by defeating Yoshinori Takenaka by TKO on the ninth round last February.
Santillan’s hard labor and early training in Japan helped him a lot in reclaiming the belt as his conditioning and quickness had improved a lot.
The Jaro, Iloilo native Santillan improved to a 24-3-1, 17 KOs record while Muramoto dropped 20-8-1, 9 KOs, two of his losses were handed by Santillan, who also defeated him by decision in August 2004. (RCM)
