Yuichi Ideta of Misako Boxing Gym retained his Japanese super welterweight title with a seventh-round technical decision following the swollen right eyelid of the top-ranked challenger Masaki Kobayashi of Kadoebi Boxing Gym on Feb. 13 in Tokyo.

  It was the 39-year-old Ideta’s second successful defense of the title he captured in November 2022.

  The referee stopped the scheduled 10-rounder at Korakuen Hall 1 minute and 47 seconds into the round because of Kobayashi’s severely swollen eyelid he suffered in the fifth round due to an accidental head butt. The decision then went to the judges’ scorecards.

  Two of the three judges scored the fight 68-66 and 67-66 for Ideta while the remaining judge had it 67-66 for the 24-year-old Kobayashi.

  While both fought almost even at close quarters early in the fight, it was Kobayashi who led the first five round as two judges had him slightly ahead after the fifth round.

  Aware he is behind on points, Ideta rebounded strongly in the sixth and seventh stanza, which was responsible for Ideta’s win.

  With the victory, Ideta, who once suffered 11 straight losses during his long career, improved his record to 18 wins, including nine knockouts, against 16 losses and a draw. Kobayashi sagged to a 9-3 win-loss tally with four KOs.

  In the chief supporting card, fifth-ranked Japanese super lightweight Mikyo Watarai of Misako Boxing Gym stopped the previously undefeated top-ranked Philippine super lightweight Ali Canega in the fourth round of a scheduled eight-rounder and extended his unbeaten streak to five, three by knockouts.

  The 25-year-old Watarai, who fought more than 90 bouts as an amateur, also scored a knockdown in the second round with a straight right. Canega fell to a 10-1-1 win-loss record with six KOs.