By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Southpaw Japanese Katsuya Yasuda (12-1, 7 KOs), 134.75, kept his WBO AP lightweight belt when he displayed improved counterpunching, battered Korean Min-Ho Jung (15-5-2, 4 KOs), 134.5, with counters and scored a nearly shutout decision (119-109 twice, 118-110) over twelve fast rounds on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan. Jung, in his previous bout, had upset then world-rated Japanese Hironori Mishiro in Korea this April, and ambitiously wished to wrest the regional belt from Yasuda, a less powerful speedster. But it was Yasuda that often countered him with vicious left uppercuts to the liver, effectively weakening the Korean down the stretch.

Promoter: Ohashi Promotions.

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