Takuma Inoue retained his World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight world belt with a nine-round knockout win over Jerwin Ancajas on Saturday night. The Kokugikan arena in Tokyo, Japan, experienced an atmosphere like no other, and the home fighter shined against an experienced challenger to consolidate his position as champion of the pioneer organization.
Speed and intelligence were key for the champion, who made a perfect fight and was very patient to counter the attacks of an incisive and eager opponent, who pressed throughout the fight.
Inoue took advantage of his speed to fight on the counterattack, made the fight from long distance and also capitalized on the short exchanges thanks to his hand speed.
After dominating most of the fight, in the ninth round he landed a combination that surprised Ancajas. An upper to the stomach that sent him to the canvas with delayed effect and without a chance to recover to decree the victory in his favor.
Inoue made the first defense of his crown and now has a record of 19 wins, 1 loss and 5 knockouts. For his part, Ancajas left his record at 34 wins, 4 losses, 2 draws and 23 knockouts.
