By Joe Koizumi

Unbeaten WBC light flyweight champ Shiro Ken (13-0, 7 KOs), 107.5, easily kept his belt when he sank former champ Ganigan Lopez (29-8, 18 KOs), 107.5, a Mexican old soldier at 36, with a single body shot for the count at 1:58 of the second session on Friday in Tokyo, Japan. Ken, making his third defense, had wrested the WBC belt by a majority nod over Lopez here a year ago.

In the first round, they probed each other with jabs and feints to see few mix-ups with the champ only once connecting with a left-right combination to the face. The second stanza witnessed Ken, ten years his junior at 26, catch the Mexican lefty with a solid right to the body, and Lopez fell on all fours in agony with the ref Vic Drakulich mercilessly tolling the fatal ten.

The victorious champ said, “Last night my father advised me to attack with a right shot to the midsection. That paid off. I thank him for his suggestion as I didn’t expect such a quick finish.”

Ken, respect your father (ex-OPBF light heavyweight champ Hisashi Teraji).