By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Prefight underdog, Japanese super-lightweight ruler Valentine Hosokawa (23-6-3, 10 KOs), 139.5, impressively kept his national belt as he came off the canvas, dropped back ex-Olympian Destino Japan (AKA Vladimir Baez; 24-4-2, 22 KOs), 139.5, in the same fourth, and finally sank the challenger badly with a vicious counter to score a come-from-behind TKO at 1:21 of the seventh round in a scheduled ten on Monday in Tokyo, Japan.

Making his first defense, Valentine, a son of a Nigerian father and a Japanese mother, displayed his improved left hand and often bounced off the face of the challenger, dominating the first two sessions. But Destino was in command in round three with his aggressiveness. The fourth was truly Round of the Month, where Destino decked the champ with a looping left hook, but Valentine floored him back with a solid left hook. The seventh witnessed Valentine, 37, explode a vicious right at the face of Destino, 34, who fell unable to raise himself up with the bad punishment.