Yuni Takada of Lions Boxing Gym pounded out a unanimous decision over seventh-ranked challenger Yuri Kanaya of Kaneko Boxing Gym to retain his Japanese minimumweight title on July 12 in Tokyo.
After the 10-round fight at Korakuen Hall, two of the three judges scored the fight 96-94 and the third one had it 97-93, all in favor of the 26-year-old Takada. There were no knockdowns in the fight.
It was Takada’s fourth successful defense of the title he captured in April last year.
Takada slightly led the fight in the first round by working Kanaya’s body mostly with his right punches and maintained his pace for the remainder of the fight. Both exchanged fierce blows in the last two rounds.
After the fight, Takada said he intends to relinquish his Japanese title and aims at taking a crack at the World Boxing Organization’s Asia-Pacific minimumweight title held by Goki Kobayashi of Shinsei Boxing Gym.
With the win, Takada who is ranked second in the division by the World Boxing Association, improved his record to 15 wins, including six knockouts, against eights losses and three draws, while the 27-year-old Kanaya fell to a 5-3 win-loss tally with one KO.