Masamichi Yabuki of Midori Boxing Gym hammered out a lopsided 10-round decision over top-ranked Toshimasa Ouchi of Himeji-Kinoshita Boxing Gym to retain his Japanese light flyweight title on Dec. 26 in Kariya, Aichi Prefecture.

It was the 28-year-old Yabuki’s first successful defense of the title he captured in July by knocking out Tsuyoshi Sato of Kadoebi Boxing Gym.

Also, it was the first time that Yabuki went the distance. He had defeated all of his previous 11 opponents by knockout. He has 12 wins against three losses now.

Fighting at Aioi Hall in the central Japanese prefecture, Yabuki used his left jabs and controlled the fight throughout. Veteran Ouchi strengthened his defense as he stuck to a defensive fight all the way. The 35-year-old Ouchi fell to a 22-10-3 win-loss-draw record with eight KOs.

After the fight, Yabuki said, ‘’All of my fans out there wanted to see my KO victory. But my opponent today was a seasoned veteran, and I could not cleanly land my favorite right-hand punch. I don’t think I have my opponent in Japan anymore. I will aim at challenging a world title from now on.’’ Yabuki said, adding he has World Boxing Council light flyweight champion Kenshiro Tetraji of BMB Boxing Gym in mind.