Jukiya Iimura of Kadoebi Boxing Gym stopped top-ranked Yuga Inoue of Shinsei Boxing Gym with a hard straight right to the head in the ninth round and retained the Japanese flyweight title on Apr. 6 in Tokyo.

  The technical knockout of the scheduled 10-rounder at Korakuen Hall came 1 minute and 28 seconds into the round when Iimura connected with a left hook to the body followed by a devastating straight right to the head, sending Inoue down hard on his back. The referee stopped the fight immediately after Inoue’s cornerman entered the ring.

  It was the 26-year-old Iimura’s second successful defense of the title he captured last July.

  Up until the stoppage, Iimura was slightly ahead on points, although the 24-year-old Inoue showed his mettle in the ninth round as he landed a left uppercut and a straight right to the head.

  With the victory, Iimura improved his record to six wins, including two KOs, against a loss. Inoue fell to a 15-4-1 win-loss-draw tally with three KOs.