The undefeated Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation middleweight champion Kazuto Takesako of World Sports Boxing Gym stopped South Korea’s Yuh Gyung Mo in the third round to retain his title for the first time on Nov. 5 in Tokyo.

The technical knockout of the scheduled 12-rounder at Korakuen Hall came 2 minutes and 51 seconds into the round when the 31-year-old Takesako landed a count right to the head, sending his 35-year-old opponent to the canvas, which prompted the referee to call off the fight without bothering to count.

Up until the stoppage, Yuh sometimes connected with left hooks to Takesako, momentarily wobbling the champion. But Takesako’s punch power made the difference in the end.

After the fight, Takesako, who last fought in September by stopping former OPBF super welterweight kingpin Niwat Kongkan of Thailand in the third round in a nontitle fight, said, ‘’I knew my opponent had strong fighting spirit and toughness. I am happy that I was able to drop that kind of opponent. My next aim is to unify the Asian titles, refereeing to the title unification fight with World Boxing Organization Asia-Pacific middleweight champion Hiroya Nojima of Yakushiji Boxing and Fitness Gym.

With the win, Takesako extended his unbreaten streak to 15 wins, including 14 KOs, with one draw. Yuh fell to an 8-8-3 win-loss-draw tally with one KO.