By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Once-beaten ex-world challenger, WBC, WBO#1 Shokichi Iwata (12-1, 9 KOs), 107.75, proved too powerful and accurate in dropping former IBF world minimum champ Rene Mark Cuarto (21-5-2, 12 KOs), 108, Philippines, four times before the referee’s intervention at 2:21 of the sixth round in a scheduled eight on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Having failed to win the WBO 108-pound belt from Jonathan Gonzalez in 2022, Shokichi improved his physical power since and displayed it in decking Cuarto twice in the second, each once in the fourth and the fatal sixth. Curato, nicknamed Mighty Mouse, kept swinging roundhouse hooks but often missed the target only to be countered effectively by the hard-hitting Japanese.

Promoter: Teiken Promotions.

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