Japan’s Shinsuke Yamanaka floored Belgian challenger Stephane Jamoye four times with his killer left hand on Wednesday to retain his WBC bantamweight title with a fifth straight knockout win.
Panamanian referee Hector Afu stopped the fight 11 seconds into the ninth round, when southpaw Yamanaka’s straight left to the body sent Jamoye to the canvas.
It was Yamanaka’s sixth defense of the 53.5kg-class title, which he won by beating Mexico’s Christian Esquivel with a technical knockout in Tokyo in November 2011.
Photo: AFP
His unscathed professional record improved to 21 wins, 16 of them inside the distance, and two draws. He has triumphed in five title bouts in a row by a knockout or technical knockout.
It was the fifth loss for European bantamweight champion Jamoye, the No. 3 WBC contender, who has 25 wins to his name, 15 of them by knockout.
“It was great that I could finish the fight with a knockout,” said Yamanaka, 31. “I relied too much on my left hand to throw combinations. I want to fight abroad and fight in a bout to unify world titles.”
Right-handed Jamoye, 24, said Yamanaka’s punches were “very strong.”
“I knew it would be a tough fight. I am still young and I will think about [another world challenge] after developing my skills further,” the Belgian said.
Yamanaka dominated throughout against Jamoye, who was seeking to become the first Belgian world boxing champion in his first shot at a world title.
Yamanaka’s first knockdown of the night came in the second round, when his straight left caught the Belgian’s face.
In the eighth round, the champion floored Jamoye with a straight left to the body and again with a blow to the face. The Belgian managed to tough it out, but the end finally came only seconds into the ninth round, when Yamanaka’s left body blow sent Jamoye down for the fourth time at the Osaka Castle Hall in the western city.
On the undercard, Spain’s Kiko Martinez retained his IBF super-bantamweight title by beating Japanese challenger Hozumi Hasegawa on a technical knockout.
US referee Robert Byrd stopped the fight 1 minute, 20 seconds into the seventh round, when Hasegawa was floored for the third time by the Spanish champion, who remained the aggressor throughout with one-two combinations.
It was the 28-year-old’s second defense of the title he won by knocking out Jonathan “Momo” Romero of Colombia last August in the 55.3kg division.
The right-handed fighter now has 31 wins to his name, 23 of them inside the distance, against four losses.
Hasegawa, 33, who has previously held the WBC bantamweight and featherweight titles, failed to claim a championship belt in his first world title bout in three years.
His record slipped to 33 wins, 15 inside the distance, against five losses.
Martinez chased Hasegawa, the 13th IBF contender, and punished him with both hands at close range. His onslaught started from the first round at the Osaka Castle Hall.
The Japanese southpaw fought back with counter-punches led by right jabs.
“Hasegawa could withstand my punches and was a very tough boxer,” Martinez said. “I thought my power would prevail if I fought on at close range.”
The tattooed Spaniard forced Hasegawa against the ropes early in the second round and sent him to the canvas with a flurry of left and right blows for a count of eight.
In the fourth round, Hasegawa started bleeding from a cut on his right eyebrow and the fight was briefly stopped for first aid.
In the middle of the sixth round, the rampant Martinez was slapped with a one-point deduction for punching Hasegawa’s face when the referee tried to break them apart.
Hasegawa, his face swollen, slowed down in the seventh round and buckled after taking a left hook in a flurry of blows.
After a count of eight, another left hook knocked him down again and prompted the referee to stop the fight.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
RSS