Santisima to fight Japanese boxer for OPBF featherweight belt
Jeo Santisima | Top Rank Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Former world title challenger Jeo “Santino” Santisima wants to reignite his once blossoming boxing career by taking on Japanese up-and-comer Hayato Tsutsumi for the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) featherweight title on May 31, 2023 at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
The 26-year-old Santisima of ZIP Sanman Boxing Gym said that it would only be him who could tell if he still got what it would take to continue fighting after losing his most previous bout against another Japanese Toshiki Shimomachi last year in Osaka, Japan.
READ: Jeo Santisima’s next mission: Defeat Japanese fighter Hayato Tsutsumi
Lessons learned from losses
“Ang kapildihan di gyud na malikayan. Agdon ra ni sa atong lawas ug sa panahon,” said Santisima in an earlier interview with CDN Digital.
(We cannot escape from losing. We will just depend on our body and time.)
“Pero sa atong kapildihan daghan ta og leksyon nakat-unan, labi na kung makaduwa ta og mga top contender. Naa gyud ta experience makuha nila,” he said.
(But in our loss, we learned so many things, especially if our opponent is a top contender. We really can get the experience that we need.)
READ: ‘Santino’ Santisima looks to bounce back in fight against Japanese foe this August
Santisima has lost of his six bouts since 2020, including his first world title shot against Emanuel Navarrete lasst 2020 for the WBO World super bantamweight title via an 11th round technical knockout in Last Vegas.
He bounced back, beating two fellow Filipinos Marjon Piencenaves and Alan Alberca, but lost to Joet Gonzales in 2022 for the WBO International featherweight title via a 9th round TKO in the United States.
Santisima, then bounced back, knocked out Hiroshige Osawa in the fifth round in his first fight in Japan last year. The very same year, Santisima lost to Toshiki Shimomachi by unanimous decision.
Santisima has the advantage over Tsutsumi in terms of experience. Santisima has a record of 22 wins with 19 knockouts and five defeats.
Tsutumi’s record
Meanwhile, Tsutsumi has an unblemished 2-0 (win-loss) record. However, Tsutsumi, a former AIBA Youth World champion and two-time ASBC Asian Youth champion already defeated two other promising Filipino boxers.
Tsutsumi debuted in 2022 as a pro by defeating Jhon Gemino via unanimous decision and went on defeating Pete Apolinar of Omega Boxing Gym in the same year.
READ: Jerusalem wraps up training at Wild Card Gym as fight date nears
“Gipaningkamotan nako makafight ta balik sa world title. Any opportunity moabot paningkamotan modaog ug mosaka ta makaduwa ta balik sa world title,” said Santisima who is one of of ALA Boxing Gym’s former stalwarts.
(I am working hard that I can fight for another world title. Any opportunity that will come my way I will try hard to win and to rise so that we can fight again for a world title.)
“Paningkamotan modaug ang kanang knockout, bonus ra gyud na. Kada duwa maningkamot ta modaog. Motrain ta ug maayo sa atong kadaugan. Pero dili ni basta-basta atong kontra, kay Olympian sad ni siya. Nindot sad ug background,” he said.
(We will try to win and a knockout is just a bonus. Every game, I will always work hard to win. I will train hard for my victory. But my opponent is not also a patsy because he is an Olympian. He also has a good background.)
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