Takuma Inoue cuts down Ancajas with body shot, retains 118 title

Nakatani drills Santiago to win WBC bantamweight crown; Tanaka outpoints Bacasegua in solid scrap to claim belt in 4th division

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Takuma Inoue’s goal is to follow in the footsteps of his superstar older brother, pound-for-pound great Naoya Inoue, by becoming the undisputed bantamweight champion.

He could be on his way because after Naoya vacated all the belts to move up to junior featherweight, where he also became the undisputed champion last year, Takuma won the vacant WBA title.

He made a successful first defense by knocking out Jerwin Ancajas with a body shot in the ninth round in the main event of the Teiken Promotions world title tripleheader on Saturday at Ryogoku Sumo Arena in Tokyo on a card streamed on ESPN+ in the United States.

The victory was the best so far in Inoue’s career, even more impressive than when he won the vacant belt via unanimous decision over Liborio Solis last April.

Ancajas, a well-respected former IBF junior bantamweight titlist, was in his second fight at bantamweight after winning his debut in the division in June to set up the title shot and given a good chance by many to dethrone Inoue.

But while Ancajas was competitive and issued a stern test, Inoue used his quicker hands and a solid left hook, and he had the edge during most of the exchanges.

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