By Joe Koizumi
It was an astounding shocker at Korakuen Hall on Saturday. Teiken Promotions’ bright prospect WBC#7, WBA#7 Subaru Murata (10-1, 10 KOs; amateur 68-12), 122, not only had his KO streak halted but also lost his WBO Asia Pacific junior feather belt to #11 challenger Gabriel Santisima (10-1-1, 7 KOs; amateur 18-2), 121.5, by an upset unanimous decision (96-93 twice, 97-92) over ten hard-fought rounds in Tokyo.
The unblemished knockout artist Subaru had an upper hand throughout five rounds as he was more aggressive in making his fight in an all-southpaw bout. Murata, in the dramatic sixth, fully opened his engine, battered the fading Filipino from all angles and had him on the verge of a knockdown. But Santisima, the younger brother of Alex (Murata’s previous victim), scored an eye-catching left counter to the chin of the champ, who hit the deck on the seats of trunks.
Having absorbed a bad punishment, Murata barely lasted the crisis but needed some rounds thereafter to regain his usual rhythm and sharpness until the final session, when he displayed an all-out last surge to overcome his deficits from the sixth on. But it wasn’t eventually enough to save his regional belt. The audience seemed eager to watch their rematch soon.
Promoter: Teiken Promotions.
https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/893147
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