By Joe Koizumi
Photo by Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten Japanese southpaw prospect WBO#4 Musashi Mori (12-0, 7 KOs), 125.75, impressively kept his WBO Asia Pacific featherweight belt as he exchanged solid shots with hard-punching compatriot Tsuyoshi Tameda (21-6-2, 19 KOs), 126, took the initiative in the second half and finally halted the bloodied challenger at 1:39 of the eleventh round on Saturday (November 28) in Tokyo, Japan.

His Cuban trainer Ismael Salas unable to work his corner, Mori battled without a proper fight plan and took many strong punches from Tameda in swapping rallies in the close quarter in earlier rounds. But Mori, six years his junior at 21, regained his rhythm and footwork to control the contest from the seventh onward. Tameda obviously slowing down, Mori turned aggressive, opened a bad gash with legal blows and had the referee Fukuchi intervene to save the loser. The game youngster Mori will face OPBF champ and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Satoshi Shimizu in a regional unification bout here on May 13.

Promoter: Ohashi Promotions.

Attendance: 548 (because of the JBC’s regulation at the Korakuen Hall whose capacity is about 1,600).

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