By Joe Koizumi

Former WBA 122-pound champ Shun Kubo (15-2, 10 KOs), 128.75, impressively scored a fine TKO victory over Ruito Saeki (7-5, 1 KO), 129, at 2:59 of the third round in a scheduled eight on Sunday in Kobe, Japan.

Kubo had the upper hand with his persistent body shots from the outset, and floored Saeki, from Gifu, with a southpaw straight left in round three, when he so furiously followed it up that the ref declared a well-timed halt to save the helpless loser from further punishment.

The lanky southpaw Kubo once dethroned WBA super-bantam ruler Nehomar Cermeno via the champ’s abandonment after the tenth in April 2017, but yielded his belt to the mandatory challenger Daniel Roman by a ninth round stoppage five months later.

Having outgrown the 122-pound category, Kubo had an ambitious shot at the WBA feather belt against Can Xu in China only to be halted in round six in May 2019.

Now that Kubo has physically grown up to be a legitimate 126-pounder, his crack at the OPBF belt against Satoshi Shimizu, as he strongly wishes, will be an interesting matchup to have our aficionados pay their high attentions.

Promoter: Shinsei Promotions.