Unheralded Filipino pugilist Alex Santisima Jr. recorded the biggest win of his career thus far, stunning Japan’s Yukinori Oguni with an eighth-round stoppage on Sunday at the Korakuen Hall in the latter’s home country no less.
The 26-year-old Masbate native came in the heavy underdog against Oguni, who carried with him a record of 24-4-3 with 9 KOs and was fighting at home. But Santisima, one of the Santisima brothers in boxing, wasted no time in proving he belonged in the same ring as the Japanese, whom the Filipino engaged in an all-out slugfest right from the opening buzzer. It was an all-action fight, with both Santisima and Oguni landing clean shots in the first four rounds.
Santisima, however, began asserting control in the fifth as he targeted Oguni’s body relentlessly up until the finish, which came three rounds later. By the eighth round, the Filipino was coming on strong while the Japanese was starting to fade. Sensing a stoppage, Santisima caught Oguni with a well-placed three-punch combination—one to the body and two to the head—followed by a crisp right-and-left combo that wobbled the hometown fighter.
That sequence proved to be the proverbial nail in the coffin as the referee stepped in and stopped the fight, thus improving the Pinoy fighter’s record to 14-2 with 7 KOs.
“He was really caught by the combination. Then he got hit by a solid straight punch, and that’s when the referee stopped the fight because he kept getting hit,” Santisima Jr. said in the vernacular in an interview with CDN Digital. “I really tried to get the knockout because if the fight went to a decision, I would be at a disadvantage.”
Santisima Proves He Belongs, Avenges Compatriot
Santisima’s sensational stoppage victory accomplished two things all at once. First and foremost, it gave the son of Aroroy, Masbate the biggest win of his career, as Oguni was coming off his own stunner of a win that would’ve set him up for bigger fights.
That win, of course, was a decision victory over the Philippines’ very own Marlon Tapales, who was a former unified champ at junior featherweight and was ranked in the top 10 in all sanctioning bodies coming into his showdown with the veteran from Japan.
Tapales has since moved up to featherweight, leaving a path for Santisima to pursue as he looks to build on his upset win and elevate his status at 122. And it appears that’s exactly the plan.
“I want my next fight to be against someone in the world rankings so I can improve my ranking as well. Hopefully, I can become a world champion someday,” added the Japan-based fighter.
For now, though, Alex Santisima Jr. can enjoy the biggest win of his career.
Soon, bigger challenges await him.
