By REYNALD MAGALLON
Alex Santisima Jr. pulled off a stunning upset of world rated Yukinori Oguni, winning via an eighth round stoppage in their 10-round junior featherweight bout at the Korakuen Hall on Sunday, Aug. 16.
Coming in as a heavy underdog against the former Japanese world champion, who, in his last fight, defeated former unified Filipino champion Marlon Tapales, Santisima shocked the fans and dominated Oguni before a crisp combination to the head put a halt to the fight in the eighth round.
Santisima engaged Oguni to a brawl through the first half of the bout with both fighters landing clean hits. By the fifth round, however, the Filipino began seizing control, first investing on the body before finally connecting on several hooks to Oguni’s head.
Santisima, smelling blood in the water against an already gassed out albeit still punching Oguni, landed a three-punch combination, one to the body and two to the head, before following it up with a right and left straight that left the 38-year-old fighter wobbling.
The referee then stepped in and stopped the fight to prevent Oguni from taking more damage, allowing Santisima to improve his record to 14-2 with seven knockouts.
Oguni, who stopped the title-bid of then No.1 contender Tapales in the junior featherweight division with a unanimous decision last April, dropped to a 24-53-3 slate with nine KOs.
