Suico loses OPBF Crown

CEBU - Cebuano Randy "Kumong Bato" Suico was dethroned of his Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) lightweight title after dropping a split decision loss over 12 rounds to Japanese champion Ichitaro Ishii the other night at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

In his report posted on fightnews.com, noted Japanese boxingman Joe Koizumi said Ishii kept moving out to avoid Suico's power shots and banked on his excellent counter-punching skills to scrape through a split decision victory.

The official score with 115-113 and 117-110 for Ishii and 114-113 for Suico.

"Ishii cleverly moved side-to-side to refuse mixing up with the prefight favorite Sucio, and scored points with right crosses and left hooks," said Koizumi on the same internet report.

Suico rocked Ishii in round six with solid uppercuts that bloodied the Japanese's nose but couldn't deliver the kill.

 "Though Suico dominated the last two sessions, he couldn’t offset his earlier deficit on points. Suico claimed his win, but it was Ishii’s night. He fully utilized his brain and feet as well," said Koizumi.

Ishii improved his record to 21-2-1 spiked with 16KOs, while Suico slipped to 28-4-1 dotted with 24KOs.

With the win, Ishii is expected to skyrocket into the top 10 of the world rankings having slayed the WBC No.7 and WBA No.11 ranked 135-pounder Suico.

The loss, on the other hand, jeopardizes the planned Suico fight against former WBC lightweight champion David Diaz underneath the Nonito Donaire-Fernando Montiel rumble on March 15 next year at the Araneta Coliseum. – EBV (THE FREEMAN)