By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Fast-moving southpaw, WBO female atomweight champ Yuko Kuroki (21-7-2, 9 KOs) successfully kept her belt as she scored a unanimous decision (96-94 twice, 97-93) over ex-titlist Nanae Suzuki (11-6-1, 1 KO) over ten speedy rounds on Thursday in Tokyo, Japan. It was an all-Japanese rematch since Kuroki dethroned Suzuki last September. Yuko, a police officer’s daughter, coped with Suzuki’s non-stop aggression by utilizing her faster footwork and southpaw counterpunches and made her initial defense.

In a semi-final of female ex-world champions, Chaoz Minowa (8-4, 6 KOs) eked out a hairline majority decision (77-75 twice, 76-76) over Tomoko Okuda (7-5-2, 1 KO) over eight.

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