Wins vacant WBO AP 130lb belt

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Former OPBF champ Yoshimitsu Kimura (14-2-1, 9 KOs), 130, acquired the vacant WBO Asia Pacific junior lightweight belt when he dropped compatriot Kanehiro Nakagawa (11-7, 5 KOs), 130, three times and impressively halted him at 2:29 of the twelfth and final session on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan. It was Kimura that connected with a same well-timed right to game but limited Nakagawa, flooring him in the fifth, ninth and last rounds. Kimura was once scheduled to face Samir Ziani in quest of his IBF inter-continental belt in his home turf France on May 7, but it was abruptly cancelled just some days before his departure. Kimura had already renounced his OPBF title before his cancelled Ziani fight, and this time gained his second regional belt.

Promoter: Shisei Promotions.

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