Filipino promoter JC Mananquil swears the last time a Japanese fighter got defeated on home soil was during pre-pandemic times.
Late Sunday night, Mananquil’s smart phone was buzzing with messages and calls over a key win scored by one-time world title challenger Jeo Santisima at EDION Arena in Osaka.
Santisima had just beaten Hiroshige Osawa, also a former world title challenger, getting the job done with a perfectly-timed left hook.
As Osawa was throwing left jabs, Santisima explosed with that hook that landed on the Japanese’s jaw.
As soon as Osawa hit the floor, the referee came rushing in and immediately called a halt to the fight without even bothering to issue a count.
It was a huge win for Santisima, who was coming off a stoppage loss to
Mexican-American Joet Gonzalez last March.
Santisima boosted his record to 22-4 with 19 knockouts while Osawa, who also suffered a knockdown in the third from a left hook, dropped to 37-6-4 with 21 knockouts.
“Those who I have spoken to could not say or remember the last time a Filipino boxer posted a victory in Japan,” Mananquil said, adding that there may have been close to 30 others who have failed to emerge victorious the last few years.
It was Mananquil’s ever-busy Sanman Promotions that sent the Santisima to Japan.
The last high-profile Filipino puncher who fought in Japan was four-division champion Donnie Nietes, who, in July, absorbed a lopsided decision to Kazuto Ioka.
With the win, Mananquil is hoping to give Santisima another chance to make it big.
But in the meantime, Mananquil is enjoying every minute of Santisima’s conquest.