Andy Hiraoka has punched his way into title contention.
The unbeaten junior welterweight picked up an interim version of the WBA title with a ninth-round stoppage of Venezuela’s Ismael Barroso. The all-southpaw battle ended with Barroso’s corner waving the towel at 2:58 of round nine Tuesday at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Barroso, 41, looked for counterpunching opportunities all night. He had pockets of success, but his chances were few and far between. Hiraoka used his long reach, clever footwork and an educated jab to control the range and dictate the exchanges.
Consistency was the key for Hiraoka. He owned center ring, used smart feints and frustrated Barroso into over-committing. A clean counter right from Hiraoka rocked the head of Barroso in the third round.
The middle rounds of the bout followed a similar pattern. Hiraoka stayed long and challenged Barroso to close the distance. He made Barroso pay on both ends, with punishing combinations at close quarters and stiff jabs when he boxed from the outside.
Hiraoka rocked Barroso with a counter right hook in the fifth. The same punch produced a flash knockdown in the sixth, as Barroso seemed more frustrated than hurt.
At the end of the seventh, Hiraoka landed with a nice combination, with Barroso backed into the ropes. The boxing lesson from Hiraoka continued in the eighth behind his crisp jab. Barroso became increasingly frustrated, he exposed his defensive flaws. Hiraoka took advantage each and every time.
Hiraoka opened up in the ninth. He dropped Barroso with a volley of shots, starting with a bomb of an overhand left and culminating with a right rip to the body. Barroso beat the count, but barely. Hiraoka unleashed again, sending the tiring Barroso to the canvas for the third time in the bout.
With seconds left on the clock, Barroso’s corner called for an end to the contest. It may not have been a thrilling fight, but it was clinical from Hiraoka (24-0, 19 knockouts).
While the belt at stake was just a secondary title, it is now Hiraoka’s ticket to the big stage. He is now the mandatory challenger to full WBA 140-pound titleholder Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela (14-2, 9 KOs).
Barroso fell to 25-5-2 (23 KOs). He won the interim belt in a first-round knockout of Ismael Barroso on Jan. 6 in Las Vegas.
JIN SASAKI SHINES
Jin Sasaki (18-1-1, 17 KOs) once again proved why he is one of the most dangerous boxers in the division.
The Ring’s No. 9-rated welterweight topped a dogged and determined Qamil Balla in the seventh round of a scheduled 12-round bout.
Sasaki loaded up with every shot from the opening bell. The 23-year-old Japanese powerhouse lunged in with left hooks to the body and head. It made for an uncomfortable start to the fight for Balla and things only got worse early in the second when Sasaki again leapt forward, initiating an unintentional clash of heads.
The contact opened up a cut over the left eye of Balla, who switched southpaw to protect the cut and had some level of success from the lefthanded stance. As he returned to his corner, Balla was also bleeding from the nose.
In the third round Sasaki started fast again, landing explosive shots that Balla struggled to avoid. Bullying Balla backwards, Sasaki caught the 35-year-old Australian on the ropes with a chopping left hook to the ear that crumpled his opponent to the canvas. Sasaki went in for the kill, but Balla weathered the storm. Still, it just looked like a matter of time.
Against all odds, Balla settled in the fourth and had his best round of the fight in the fifth when he switched stance effectively to land sharp shots from angles. Sasaki appeared to be fatiguing, but it wouldn’t be for long.
The sixth round was all Sasaki as he loaded up with power shots. He hurt Balla to the body early in the round, but the visitor hung tough to hear the bell even as the hometown favorite unloaded on him.
It was a small victory. Sasaki, smelling blood in the water, went in for the kill to start the seventh, and he didn’t have to wait long. A volley of shots sent Balla reeling across the ring and as Sasaki followed him with power shots, referee Michiaki Someya wisely stepped in to stop the carnage at the 0:52 mark of the round.
Sasaki aims to become the first Japanese boxer to win a version of the world title.
“I want a title match,” said Sasaki, who is ranked in the top five by all four major sanctioning bodies.
SHIMOMACHI SURVIVES KNOCKDOWN TO DEFEAT TSUGAWA
In the 10-round opener, Toshiki Shimomachi (19-1-3, 12 KOs) had to climb off the canvas to retain his Japanese junior featherweight title by unanimous decision against a determined Ryuya Tsugawa (13-2, 9 KOs).
The fight was closely contested through the first seven rounds. Lanky southpaw Shimomachi, 27, used his long levers to good effect, sniping from the outside and punishing the 24-year-old Tsugawa when he lunged inside.
But as the rounds progressed, Tsugawa became more active, particularly at the start of each round. His increased aggression paid dividends midway through the eighth stanza when he connected with a left hook, right cross combination. Shimomachi was caught flush and sent him down to the canvas.
Unfortunately for Tsugawa, he couldn’t finish the job. After two more tight rounds, the bout went to the cards with Shimomachi a unanimous decision by scores of 96-93 twice and 97-92.
All three bouts took place on the Naoya Inoue-TJ Doheny undercard.
Australian-based boxing journalist Anthony Cocks has been covering the sport for over 20 years for various print and online publications. Follow him on X.
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