Champion Seigo ‘’Yuri’’ Akui of Kurashiki Moriyasu Gym, unleashing a left-right combinations to the head in the closing moment of the 10th and the final round, stopped the previously undefeated Taku Kuwahara of Ohashi Boxing Gym to retain his Japanese flyweight crown on July 21 in Tokyo.

The technical knockout at the Korakuen Hall came 2 minutes and 49 seconds into the round when Kuwahara fell flat on the canvas due to Akui’s punches, prompting the referee to call off the fight without bothering to count.

The damage of the 26-year-old Kuwahara was such that he was carried away from the ring on a stretcher. Akui, 25, also sent his sixth-ranked challenger on the seat of his trunks in the opening round with a right-hand counter for a mandatory eight count.

It was Akui’s second successful defense of the title he captured in October last year.

The gusty challenger visibly began to rally from the third round by putting his punches togethers while moving rapidly. Though this pattern continued until the last part of the 10th round, Akui reached down for something extra and landed a devastating right to end the fight once and for all.

With the victory, Akui improved his record to 16 wins, including 11 knockouts, against two losses and a draw. Kuwahara fell to an 8-1 win-loss record with four KOs.