Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation middleweight champion Kazuto Takesako of World Sports Boxing Gym failed to win the World Boxing Organization international middleweight title as he was stopped in the eighth round by undefeated champion Meiirim Nursultanov of Kazakhstan on Apr. 15 in South Korea.

The technical knockout of the scheduled 12-rounder at Paradise City in Incheon adjacent to Seoul, came 2 minutes and 33 seconds into the round when the previously undefeated Takesako was sent to the canvas with Nursultanov’s counter right to the head, which prompted the referee to call off the fight without bothering to count.

It was the fourth successful title defense of the 29-year-old Nursultanov, who is ranked fourth in the world middleweight division not only by the WBO but by the World Boxing Council. He is also ranked seventh by the International Boxing Federation.

While the 31-year-old Takesako got off to a good start by moving forward aggressively, Nursultanov came back strongly from the fourth round by landing strong lefts and counter rights, which led to the eighth-round stoppage.

It was the second time for Treasure Boxing Promotion led by Japan’s former WBO super featherweight champion Masayuki Ito to stage a boxing event following the one held at the same place last December. The title match was the main event of the day.

With the defeat, Takesako now has a record of 15 wins, including 14 KOs, against a loss and a draw. For his part, Nursultanov extended his unbeaten streak to 19, including 11 KOs.