Photos: Scott Foster

In a slugfest for the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) jr lightweight title formerly held by Vasyl Lomachenko, Masayuki Ito (24-1-1, 12 KOs) defeated previously unbeaten crowd favorite Christopher “Pitufo” Diaz (23-1, 15 KOs) on Saturday night at the Kissimmee Civic Center in Kissimmee, Florida.

Ito outworked Diaz from the start, dropping him with a right hand to the head in round four. Diaz was very game, but he was continually caught by Ito’s combinations and his left eye was closed by round eleven. Scores were 116-111, 117-110, 118-109.