Ricardo Sandoval (27-2, 18 KOs) stormed into title contention and left with two belts. He edged out Kenshiro Teraji (25-2, 16 KOs) via split decision in a fight nobody saw trending his way.
One judge gave it 114-113 to Teraji; the other two scored 117-110 and 115-112 for Sandoval. With those cards he now holds both the WBA and WBC flyweight straps—and this was his first crack at gold.
How Did Sandoval Flip the Script After a Knockdown?
In round five Sandoval hit the canvas from a clean one-two to the head. However, he refused to lie down. He spent the rest of the session scrambling along the ropes, then used a burst of uppercuts to shake off Teraji’s momentum. Therefore, when the action moved back to the centre, Sandoval pounded his jab and layered in quick hooks that slowed the former champ’s rhythm. In addition, his nonstop pressing kept Teraji guessing, turning what looked like a defensive round into the moment Sandoval seized control.
Teraji landed a stiff jab early and delivered brutal work on the inside. Yet his attempts to boss the action lost steam once Sandoval ramped up his activity. The judges rewarded volume and ring generalship—two areas where Sandoval led comfortably in the later rounds. When Teraji’s pace flagged, Sandoval poured it on, finishing each session with flurries that left no doubt in two scorekeepers’ minds. By fight’s end, those clusters of punches turned a close scrap into a clear win.
Sandoval did exactly what he needed to do: take a shot, recover, and outwork a seasoned pro. Now he owns two titles and the boxing world will be watching to see who bites next.
Takami Stops Rosa
Today in Japan, in what was the first of a trio of world title fights, a new Japanese star was born, this as Kyosuke Takami, in just his tenth pro fight, stopped fellow unbeaten warrior Erick Rosa in the 10th round to take the WBA 108-pound title. It was a good fight, if a mostly one-sided fight that was dominated, more than somewhat surprisingly, by 23-year-old Takami.
The end came in round 10, this after Takami had sent Rosa crashing down into a corner post. Rosa got back up, but he was hanging on for dear life and, after being bundled down a short time later in the round, referee Mark Nelson waved the fight off. Time was 2:48 of the session and Takami is now 10-0 (8). Rosa, who was making the first defence of his title, lost his belt and unbeaten record and he is now 8-1 (2).
How did Takami dismantle the champion so easily?
“Mini Pacman,” as Rosa is known, had a decent opening round, but after that it was pretty much all Takami. The young challenger, two years the younger man, really did belt Rosa with some hurtful shots throughout, his left hook to the head, his right hand, his uppercuts, and Takami’s draining, sickening body shots taking their toll on the game southpaw from the Dominican Republic who was boxing his Japanese debut.
Takami was a revelation today, and he could go on to become a real pound-for-pound star. It’s still early days, but to have won a world title in just 10 fights shows you something. Takami show-boated at times, he made Rosa get wild, and the challenger looked to be enjoying himself in there.
The hard, accurate shots of Takami finally broke Rosa down in the 10th, and a big right sent him tumbling to the mat. Rosa showed heart in trying to fight back, but he was a beaten man. Nelson’s stoppage was absolutely the right call.
The little men of the sport from Japan really are dominating right now, and Takami is the latest addition. Fans who saw Takami go to work today will be looking forward to his next fight, his first title defence.
