Former three-division world champion Kosei Tanaka of Soul Box Hatanaka Boxing Gym stopped Colombia’s Pablo Carrillo in the 10th and final round in a bantamweight nontitle fight on May 21 in Nagoya, central Japan.

The technical knockout at Paloma Mizuho Arena came 2 minutes and 43 seconds into the round when the 27-year-old Tanaka sent Carrillo, 34, severely tottering back with a strong right to the head, prompting the referee to step in to call off the fight.

Up until the stoppage, Tanaka controlled the fight throughout against his gusty opponent by landing various punches, including body shots.

Tanaka, who had captured World Boxing Organization minimumweight, light flyweight and flyweight crowns, lost to then WBO super flyweight champion Kazuto Ioka of Shisei Boxing Gym for the latter’s title on Dec. 31 2020, told reporters, ‘’I think I have advanced a lot. I hope to show that in a (super flyweight) world title fight within this year.’’

With the win, Tanaka improved his record to 19 wins, including 11 KOs, against a loss. Carrillo fell to a 28-9-2 win-loss-draw tally with 17 KOs.