IN a clash between two young, undefeated light-flyweights, it was Kyosuke Takami who dominated proceedings and emerged as the victor, looking a level above visiting champion Erick Rosa en route to a 10th round knockout victory.
Rosa, 8-1 (3 KOs), claimed the vacant WBA strap last time out, trumping Neider Valdez on home soil in a unanimous-decision win. Yet, his first attempted defence of the belt came away from home, venturing outside of the Dominican Republic for the first time as a professional.
Today in Tokyo, Japan, Rosa was tasked with Kyosuke Takami, 10-0 (8 KOs), who won the JBC light-flyweight strap against Toshiki Kawamitsu last time out and was being made to navigate a first career southpaw in his maiden world title bid.
However, Takami had little issue dealing with the Dominican lefty and was able to find the target with ease land the cleaner shots against the champion.
Scoring at will with an eye-catching straight-right, Takami rocked Rosa on numerous occasions by continuously connecting with the champion’s chin and walking through the fire in the early stages.
By round four, the superior punch power of 23-year-old Takami was clear to see and visibly had more effect than Rosa’s best blows, with the Japanese youngster seemingly unbothered by what was coming back from ‘Mini PacMan’.
In round 10, the tough Rosa finally fell, as Takami followed up a vicious body shot with a right-hook that sent the fatigued, drained champion slowly collapsing into the corner.
Rosa bravely returned to his feet but had not made a full recovery and was on unsteady legs, as referee Mark Nelson stepped in to award Takami the stoppage win after briefly allowing the contest to continue.
The late knockout perfectly capped off Takami’s almost punch-perfect performance and based off today’s authoritative beatdown, it may only be the 108lb weight limit that can eventually take the title away from the new champ.
