By Ronnie Nathanielsz
 
Former WBC super flyweight champion Malcolm Tunacao continued his quest for another world title with an impressive seventh round TKO victory over Japan's Ryoichi Hidaka in a scheduled ten round bout at the Central Gym in Osaka, yesterday.
 
The Tunacao-Hidaka fight was on the undercard of the world title rematch between WBC super flyweight champion Katsushige Kawashima and former champion Masamori Tokuyama.
 
In a brief overseas telephone conversation with Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today, Gina Matsuoka, wife of respected Japanese businessman-sportsman Yasuo Matsuoka said the referee stopped the fight in the seventh round as Tunacao battered the Japanese whose one eye was almost closed and was bleeding profusely from a battered nose.
 
The 26 year old Filipino southpaw improved his record to 18-1-2 with 13 knockouts while Hidaka dropped to 9-6-2 with 4 KO's. Tunacao was coming off a ninth round TKO win over Takafumi Gimeno last February 14. Tunacao won the WBC super flyweight international title with a fifth round KO over Ringgo Jaguar of Indonesia on September 26, 2003 but relinquished the crown rather than defend the title in South Africa.