Koseki dethrones WBC 105lb champ Kuroki to win 2nd belt

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Sumio Yamada

WBC female 102-pound champ Momo Koseki (23-2-1, 9 KOs), 103.75, impressively captured the WBC 105-pound belt as she dethroned compatriot Yuko Kuroki (17-4-1, 8 KOs), 105, by a unanimous decision (97-93, 98-92, 96-94) over ten speedy rounds on Sunday in Fukuoka, Japan. It’s a contest of the southpaw titleholders with Koseki showcasing her superior volume of punches that overwhelmed the less experienced local favorite. After the seventh Koseki was leading on points of the open scoring system—68-65, 69-64, 67-66. Kuroki turned loose, but the more aggressive Koseki had a second wind to take the initiative down the stretch. Koseki had retained her WBC atomweight belt on seventeen occasions, and will have to decide which of the WBC belts she likes to keep and defend from now on after talking with her manager Masayuki Ariyoshi, who has cultivated Koseki into such an excellent fighting champion.