By Joe Koizumi
Photo by Boxing Beat

Fightnews.com

With a streak of eight straight knockouts, top national contender Kosuke Saka (16-3, 13 KOs), 126, impressively dethroned Japanese feather boss Shota Hayashi (29-6-1, 17 KOs), 125.75, as he quickly landed his trademark right, dropped the champ and halted him at the loser’s second visit to the deck at 2:50 of the third round in a scheduled ten on Sunday in Tokyo, Japan. Hayashi had successfully defended his belt by flooring former WBA champ Akifumi Shimoda (retired after this defeat) en route to a unanimous decision last December to raise his stock, but Saka displayed his exceptional power-punching in dispatching the champ in the early stage of the title bout.
Promoter: Hatanaka Promotions.