By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

WBA top ranked featherweight, Japanese veteran Hiroshige Osawa (36-5-4, 21 KOs), 127.5, repeated his victory over Indonesian super feather ruler Jason Butar Butar (30-27-1, 19KOs), also 127.5, and defeated him by a unanimous decision (79-73, 78-74, 77-75) over an eight-round supporting bout to the WBA mandatory light-flyweight title bout between Kyoguchi and Hisada on Tuesday in Osaka, Japan.

Osawa previously scored a ninth round knockout victory over Butar to win the then vacant WBO Asia Pacific featherweight belt in Seoul, Korea, in 2012. Osawa diligently piled up points by utilizing jabs and straight rights despite Butar’s persistent retaliation. The 34-year-old campaigner is patiently gunning for a shot at the WBA 126-pound belt against Chinese champ Xu Can.

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