Hiroto Kyoguchi turns back determined Tetsuya Hisada to retain junior flyweight championship

Hiroto Kyoguchi. Photo by Naoki Fukuda

Oct

Hiroto Kyoguchi had to survive some tense moments, but still had enough class to turn back the challenge of Tetsuya Hisada Tuesday to retain the RING and WBA junior flyweight championships at EDION Arena in Osaka, Japan.

The scores were 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112, all to Kyoguchi (14-0, 9 knockouts), who won the championship last New Year’s Eve with a punishing tenth round stoppage of Hekkie Budler, and was defending it for the second time.

Kyoguchi was hurt in the second round by a right hand from his Japanese compatriot Hisada (34-10-2, 20 KOs), who holds the national title, as he was left unguarded while throwing a jab. Still, the 25-year-old fired right back to regain momentum in the round.

By the sixth, Kyoguchi was back in control, stunning Hisada with a right hand high on the head that sent him reeling to the ropes. He scored the only knockdown of the fight in round nine, when a right uppercut stunned Hisada, 34, and a right hand behind the head knocked him off balance, forcing Hisada’s gloves to touch the canvas.

The loss was the first for Hisada after 13 straight wins, and his last prior defeat had been in 2015, a year before Kyoguchi turned pro.

Kyoguchi, who previously held the IBF title at 105 pounds, has no dearth of opposition if he chooses to seek unification. Ken Shiro (16-0, 9 KOs) holds the WBC title in the division, and has made six defenses of the title. A New Year’s Eve showdown between the two Japanese stars would be a dream match at 108 pounds.