Unbeaten champion Takashi Uchiyama of Japan fended off a challenge from Israel Perez of Argentina on Wednesday to defend his WBA super featherweight title for the ninth time.
The veteran Japanese, 35, remained in control throughout the bout, sending a barrage of body punches towards his challenger, also 35, who kept his guard high. In the eighth and ninth rounds, Uchiyama showed off furious charges, putting Perez into a corner.
Perez was not able to return to the fight in the 10th round, awarding a technical knockout to the charismatic champion. The headline bout was a part of the WBA tripleheader at Ota Ward Gymnasium in Tokyo that also saw Ryoichi Taguchi of Japan rise to become the new light flyweight champion with a unanimous decision, dethroning Alberto Rossel of Peru.
Taguchi, making his first attempt at the world title, sent Rossel to the floor twice with a sizzling left body punch.
“It is truly incredible. I don’t have words to describe how I feel,” he told local media.
In the super flyweight category, Kohei Kono of Japan retained his belt by drawing with Norberto Jimenez of Dominican Republic.
“With my first defense of the title, I can continue boxing. I am so glad,” Kono told Japanese media.
In a western metropolis of Osaka, Katsunari Takayama of Japan beat compatriot Go Odaira with a seventh-round technical knockout to claim the minimumweight belts for both the IBF and the WBO at the Bodymaker Colosseum.
Also in Osaka, Cuban fighter Guillermo Rigondeaux survived two seventh-round knockdowns to retain his WBA-WBO super bantamweight belts with an 11th round technical knockout against Hisashi Amagasa of Japan, who was making his first attempt at the world title.
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