Japan's Jin Sasaki impressively stopped Uganda's David Ssemujju in the sixth round to unify three major regional welterweight titles Monday at the Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe in Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan.
Sasaki's victory unified the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) Japanese Welterweight title, the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) Welterweight Championship, and the WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight Championship.
The exciting main event rumble was promoted by Issei Nakaya of Hachioji Nakaya Promotions and staged under the supervision of the regional sanctioning bodies, with Leon Panoncillo serving as WBO Asia Pacific supervisor.
The result marked a significant achievement for the popular Jin Sasaki, getting him in solid wining mode a year after his tough setback against former champion Brian Norman Jr.
Entering the contest as the OPBF welterweight champion, he claimed two additional belts to take home in Hachioji.
The strong and brave Ugandan David Ssemujju (9-2-1, 5 KOs) entered the square ring with the Japanese (JBC) and the WBO Asia Pacific titles, leaving the ring with none.
Meanwhile, with his sixth-round KO win, Sasaki brought together national and regional championship honors under one roof — a remarkable and uncommon achievement in Japanese boxing.
The victory secures his status as the unified holder of all three welterweight crowns.
The referee in charge of the action was Tetsuya Iida, joined by judges Takeru Okaniwa, Surat Soikrachang, and Koji Tanaka.
At the time of the KO, all three official scorecards were identical at 48-46 in favor of Sasaki.
Sasaki's victory adds another important chapter to his professional career at 147 pounds, and will decidedly elevate his standing in the welterweight division, the hot weight-class where the champions are Haney, Paro, Teofimo and Ryan.
The hard-hitting Sasaki (22-2-1, 19 KOs) is currently ranked as # 14 by the WBC and the WBO. Let's see what his promoters plan for him next. We'll keep you informed!
The author Carlos Costa is a veteran boxing writer in Cebu 🇵🇭 Philippines.
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