By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Philippine welterweight champion Dondon Sultan has suffered a seventh round knockout at the hands of hard-hitting champion Kazuhiko Hidaka of Japan in the seventh round of an Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation title fight at the famed Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Thursday.
The end came at 1:07 of the seventh round after Hidaka nailed Sultan with a series of solid blows and put him away for good with a roundhouse southpaw left, according to well-known Japanese boxing manager, matchmaker and journalist Joe Koizumi.
Referee Malcolm Bulner pf Australia signaled the end with Sultan down on all fours and obviously unable to continue. Koizumi reported that Hidaka had Sultan “against the ropes time and again” before eventually taking out the shorter challenger with a furious assault. The WBC No. 10 ranked Japanese improved to 22-4 with 16 KO’s while Sultan dropped to 11-5-2 with 5 KO’s. At the time of the stoppage all three judges including Filipino Salven Lagymbay had identical scorecards with Hidaka leading 59-55.
Hidaka who won the title with a stunning fourth round TKO win over another Filipino Rev Santillan is committed to a rematch with the lanky Santillan due to an option agreement when they fought for the title.
