Ryuya Yamanaka Retains WBO Minimumweight Title, Carlos Canizales Wins WBA Light Flyweight Title
Ryuya Yamanaka's first fight as the WBO minimumweight world title was a complete success.
Yamanaka defeated former NABF minimuweight champion Moises Calleros in Kobe, Japan to retain his world title. The fight came to a halt in eight rounds after Calleros was unable to continue fighting, awarding Yamanaka the TKO win.
This was Yamanaka's first fight since winning the title last year against Tatsuya Fukuhara by unanimous decision at the Shiroyama Sky Dome in Japan. Yamanaka, a former OPBF champion, is 16-2 as a pro and has not lost a fight since 2014. The WBO champion isn't the only minimuweight champion to retain his title. WBA champion Knockout CP Freshmart also successfully defended his title when he defeated Toto Landero by unanimous decision earlier this month.
In the co-main event bout of that card taking place in Kobe, a new light flyweight champion was crowned. Carlos Canizales defeated Reiya Konishi by unanimous decision (114-113, 115-112, 116-111) to win the WBA "regular" title. A knockdown in the third round proved to be the difference maker for Canizales after Konishi made a late rally in the second half of the fight to try and win the fight on the scorecards. The loss snapped Konishi's unbeaten record and now sits at 15-1 as a pro boxer.
This was Canizales' second world title fight with his first one against current unified champion Ryoichi Taguchi ending in a split draw. Taguchi owns the WBA's "super" title, meaning a likely rematch between the two could happen later this year.