Melvin Jerusalem as soon as once more left Japan with a significant title round his waist.
Two knockdowns paved the way in which for an upset break up choice win over beforehand unbeaten titlist Yudai Shigeoka. Decide Malcolm Bulner (114-113) had Shigeoka forward after twelve rounds. His card was overruled by judges Jae Bong Kim (114-112) and Barry Lindenman (114-112) for Jerusalem because the WBC strawweight title modified palms Sunday in Nagoya, Japan.
The Easter Sunday headliner noticed Jerusalem (22-3, 12 knockouts) outmuscle Shigeoka (8-1, 5 KOs), No. 2 at 105. The visiting former WBO titlist from Manolo Fortich, Philippines was capable of untrack his offense early within the struggle. Shigeoka was dropped in rounds three and 6, each instances courtesy of counter proper palms.
A valiant second half surge by the defending titlist was not sufficient to beat the early scorecard deficit. In consequence, Shigeoka’s WBC title reign ends within six months. The 26-year-old southpaw claimed the belt in a twelve-round choice over Thailand’s Panya Pradabsri final October in Tokyo. The win got here on the identical evening that noticed youthful brother Ginjiro dethrone IBF titlist Daniel Valladares.
Jerusalem beforehand received the WBO title in a second-round knockout of Masataki Taniguchi final January in Osaka, Japan. His transient resulted in a seventh-round stoppage defeat to unbeaten Oscar Collazo (9-0, 7 KOs), No. 4 at 105, final Could 27 in Indio, California. Sunday’s street upset sees the 30-year-old turn out to be a two-time titlist and can enhance on his present No. 6 Ring strawweight score.
The evening was not misplaced for the Shigeoka household.
Ginjiro Shigeoka (11-0, 9 KOs) retained his IBF 105-pound title with a second-round knockout of the Philippines’ Jake Amparo.
The bout was put collectively on very quick discover. Amparo (14-6-1, 3 KOs) was a late alternative for countryman ArAr Andales, who withdrew as a consequence of an undisclosed medical situation.
Shigeoka, No. 3 at 105, made the many of the state of affairs and effortlessly defended his title for the primary time. The 24-year-old southpaw sprinted out to a fast begin and ended the struggle within the blink of an eye fixed. A left hook to the midsection put Amparo down for the total ten rely at 1:15 of spherical two.
The night’s developments together with the inactivity of The Ring No. 1-rated WBA titlist Thammanoon Niyomtrong (24-0, 9 KOs) will see a significant shakeup from this week’s rankings evaluation.
Additionally on the present, former WBO bantamweight titlist Tomoki Kameda returned to the win column. The possibility to avenge his most up-to-date defeat was derailed, nevertheless, as he as an alternative dismantled late substitute Kevin Villanueva after 5 rounds.
The present was initially designed for the youngest Kameda to rematch Lerato Dlamini, who scored an upset win final October 15 in Tokyo. Dlamini withdrew from the present, nevertheless, as a consequence of an exit clause within the contract. Occasion promoter Kameda Promotions was unable to safe the bout as a ultimate IBF 126-pound title eliminator.
As beforehand reported by The Ring, Dlamini was ordered by the IBF to enter talks with Arnold Khegai.
The event left Kameda (41-4, 23 KOs) to face Villanueva, who was by no means aggressive of their featherweight bout. Kameda received each spherical on all three scorecards by 5 rounds, after which level Villanueva’s nook knowledgeable referee Masahiro Noda that their cost was achieved for the evening.
All three bouts aired reside on ABEMA-TV in Japan.
Jake Donovan is a senior author for The Ring and vp of the Boxing Writers Affiliation of America.
Observe @JakeNDaBox
