UNDEFEATED YAMANAKA WINS WBC BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE

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By Dong Secuya

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Undefeated Japanese southpaw Shinsuke Yamanaka (15-0-2, 11 KOs) has won the WBC bantamweight title with an 11th round stoppage of Mexico?s Christian Esquivel (24-3, 18 KOs) on Sunday in Tokyo, Japan.

Well known boxing man Joe Koizumi reported that ?It was a very furious give-and-take affair, though Yamanaka continually had the upper hand on the game Mexican. The 29-year-old Japanese southpaw utilized his trademark left hand to take the initiative from the start, winning points steadily.?

However, in the fourth round the 26 year old suddenly turned aggressive and connected with solid left-right combinations . But Yamanaka himself turned the tide and became more aggressive beginning in the fifth round and nailed and dropped him with a solid blow in the sixth round.

Yamanaka went for the kill but was caught with a cracking counter and was himself dropped and took a compulsory eight-count. But it didn?t faze the Japanese who continued to be aggressive using his left to advantage.

With both eyes badly swollen Esquivel gamely tried to fight back in the ninth and tenth rounds when Koizumi reported that a strange thing happened as the light over the ring suddenly went out causing a delay of several minutes.

When the fight resumed Yamanaka went on the offensive and connected with a solid left and followed up with a right hook that floored Esquivel.

The Mexican was in trouble as Yamanaka swarmed all over him with solid combinations which dropped the Mexican one more time forcing referee John Lewis to call a halt to the bout .