By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Former WBO AP feather champ Musashi Mori (14-1-1, 7 KOs), 129.75, participated in a grudge fight with Takuya Watanabe (39-12-2, 21 KOs), 130, defeated him this time by a unanimous decision (all 117-110) over twelve and seized the vacant OPBF 130-pound belt on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Having drawn with him by all 114-114 tallies last March, Mori, 23, a southpaw prospect and Kazuto Ioka’s stablemate, positively mixed it up from the outset, kept his lead on points with his aggressiveness despite Watanabe’s occasional retaliation and confirmed his victory with a significant knockdown in the final session. A southpaw left caught the 34-year-old veteran and sent him reeling to the canvas down the stretch.

Promoter: Shisei Promotions.

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