By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Boxing Beat
WBC female 102-pound champ Momo Koseki (19-2-1, 6 KOs) kept her belt for the fourteenth time as she halted WBC#2 Denise Castle (2-1, 2 KOs) of UK at 2:09 of the eighth round on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. It was a very lopsided contest as all the officials had identically tallied 70-63 prior to a well-received stoppage by the referee Fukuchi, who saw the British girl unfit to go on due to her too much absorption of punishment by the Japanese southpaw champ. Koseki, reigning for six years, registered the most number of defenses as world titlist, surpassing ex-WBA 108-pound ruler Yoko Gushiken’s thirteen defenses, though they couldn’t be compared actually in terms of the quality of opposition.
IBF 105-pound titleholder Naoko Shibata (13-3, 4 KOs), Japan, also retained her title when she pummeled top contender Ana Arrazola (20-10-2, 13 KOs), from Mexico, into submission at 1:49 of the ninth session. Shibata, making her second defense, was aggressive from the outset and accelerated her body bombardment to prompt the referee’s intervention.
Promoter: World Sports Promotions.