On the 20th, in the opening bout of the triple world title card at “U-NEXT BOXING 6” held at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo—a 12-round WBC World Light Flyweight title match—champion Shokichi Iwata (Teiken) defeated No. 1 contender Eric Budillo (Mexico) by TKO at 1 minute and 13 seconds of the 11th round, successfully defending his title for the first time.
バディージョに右を打ち込む岩田㊨
Moving back and forth and side to side while drawing Budillo in, Iwata landed a right hand as the southpaw challenger finished his left punch. He also landed a right straight to the body as Budillo closed in, establishing his rhythm.
However, as the third round began, the momentum shifted when Budillo switched to an offensive strategy heavy on right hooks. In the fourth round, Iwata was knocked down by a counter left from Badillo, but in the open scoring after the round, all three judges scored it 38–37 in Iwata’s favor.
In the fifth round, as Badillo gradually closed the distance and landed short uppercuts with both hands, Iwata remained calm, used his footwork, and returned powerful right hands to create a “breakthrough.” With the right body straight—which he had been landing at key moments since the early rounds—Iwata inflicted damage on Budillo, forcing him to retreat and allowing Iwata to take the offensive.
After somehow weathering Budillo’s right short uppercut in the 8th round, Iwata responded with a right body uppercut that clearly damaged his opponent.
At the end of the 8th round, the scores were 78–73, 78–73, and 77–74, all in Iwata’s favor. Applying steady pressure, Iwata landed a clean combination of a right overhand and a right body uppercut. In the 10th round, he used a right short straight as a lead punch and landed a flurry of consecutive blows. He also demonstrated his skill in switching from light to heavy punches, gradually cornering Budillo.
Then came the 11th round. After varying the pace of his fast right lead, he landed a thunderous right overhand. Budillo was clearly reeling; though he managed to avoid going down, Iwata landed another right that sent him reeling backward, prompting the referee to stop the fight.
“It was the first time in my life I’d been knocked down, but I wasn’t hurt, so I reset my mindset. I made sure to land punches to the head and then follow up with body shots. Some parts didn’t go according to plan, so I want to get back to training as soon as possible,” said Iwata. By stopping the tricky southpaw mandatory challenger as promised, he must have gained tremendous confidence.
Iwata (30) now stands at 17 wins (14 KOs) and 2 losses. Budillo (30), who showed tenacity but suffered his first loss, is now at 19 wins (8 KOs) and 1 loss.
On-Demand Viewing Period: July 20, 11:51 p.m. – September 7, 11:59 p.m.
