SHINSUKE YAMANAKA retained his WBC world bantamweight crown earlier today [September 22] with a narrow split decision over Anselmo Mareno in Tokyo, Japan.
The scores were all 115-113, twice for the champion and one for Moreno.
The challenger looked to be in control after nine rounds, but a late rally seemed to clinch the decision for Yamanaka.
The win takes Yamanaka’s successful defence tally to nine after the winning the vacant title in 2011, while Moreno has now lost his last two fights after dropping a technical decision to Juan Carlos Payano a year ago, losing his WBA Super world title in the process.
