ANTHONY Olascuaga is still the WBO flyweight champion after beating Hiroto Kyoguchi by unanimous decision. Once again ESPN were left to reveal the cards.
The two scores of 117-111 and 118-110, respectively, were wide, with no recognition of a contentious 11th-round knockdown. A third total of 114-113 recognised the knockdown and was more representative of the action.
The warfare began in round two and barely let up. Kyoguchi hunched inside and let rip with some hooks upstairs and down. The aggressive Japanese slugger stepped off and let Olascuaga lead off.
Rudy Hernandez in Olascuaga’s corner was doing his best to motivate his man as things got hairy from the middle rounds to the championship stretch.
A potentially huge moment occurred in the 11th round as Kyoguchi shipped a left hook then hit the deck for a count, although a right hand could’ve swayed him off balance.
A ringside instant replay confirmed the referee’s call of a knockdown, likely resulting in a 10-8 round. Regardless, the champion was buoyed by this moment of joy and piled it on in the final session. It turned out that no such urgency was required. Kyoguchi fell to 19-3 (12 KOs) as the result was revealed.
“Sorry I couldn’t get a knockout today, this guy is very tough, a two-time world champion and it shows,” Olascuaga, 9-1 (6 KOs), said afterwards.
