Japanese super middleweight champion Koki Tyson of Ichiriki Boxing Gym stopped the World Boxing organization’s Asia-Pacific super middleweight kingpin Yun Deok No of South Korea in an exciting slugfest in the first round and wrested his title on June 25 in Tokyo.
The technical knockout of the scheduled 12-rounder at Korakuen Hall came 1 minute and 25 seconds into the round when the left-handed Tyson, ranked first in the division, connected with a counter left to the head near a corner, sending Yun down hard to the canvas. The referee immediately called off the fight as Yun was seized with foot cramps momentarily.
Earlier in the round, however, Yun dropped Tyson with a hard right to the head. But Tyson struggled to his feet to beat the referee’s count.
After the fight, the 31-year-old Tyson said, ‘’I want to show that even a Japanese boxer can compete at super middleweight.’’
With the victory, Tyson, who became the first Japanese super middleweight champion in history by decisioning Yuki Nonaka of Atsumi Boxing Gym a year ago, improved his record to 17 wins, including 14 KOs, against five losses and three draws. For his part, Yun, 28, fell to an 8-2 win-loss tally with six KOs.
The fight was held as the chief supporting card for the Japanese featherweight title fight.