By Joe Koizumi

NOJIMA UPSETS NONAKA, WINS WBO AP 160LB BELT

The headliner of the month in Japan is newly crowned WBO Asia Pacific middleweight champion Hiroya Nojima (10-1, 5 KOs), 156.25, who upset WBO#15 defending titlist Yuki Nonaka(35-11-3, 10 KOs), 160, by a spectacular TKO victory at 1:01 of the sixth round in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture on July 24. The 44-year-old southpaw veteran Nonaka, making his third defense, absorbed Nojima’s opening attack and yielded an initiative in early rounds. Nojima caught up with the champ and floored with a stunning right in round six, when he furiously followed it up to prompt the referee’s intervention. What’s the new champ Nojima’s daytime job? He is a researcher at Chukyo University in Nagoya, and his dream is to acquire a Nobel Prize, isn’t it?

EX-WBO 130LB CHAMP MASAYUKI ITO RETIRES

Former WBO junior lightweight champ Masayuki Ito announced to hang up gloves for good on Thursday. Ito once acquired the vacant WBO belt by defeating Christopher Diaz on points in Florida in 2018 but lost it to Jamel Herring by a unanimous decision next year. But Ito recently lost to compatriot 135-pounders Hironori Mishiro (split decision) and Shuichiro Yoshino (technical decision) to prove he is no more a top notcher here.

TOMOKI KAMEDA RETURNS AGAINST ENCARNACION

Former WBA bantam champ Tomoki Kameda (38-3, 20 KOs), Japan, will take on former 2012 Olympian William Encarnacion (19-3, 15 KOs), from Dominican Republic, tomorrow (Saturday) in Kobe, Japan. Tomoki lost a unanimous nod to Rey Vargas in a WBC mandatory title bout in 2019, but was victorious twice thereafter, beating Hironori Miyake in Japan and Yonfrez Parejo in Mexico. We wish to see “El Mexicanito” Tomoki’s return to road toward winning back the belt.