It was a night that core Japanese boxing fans couldn't take their eyes off the action for even a second. And they were fortunate that all the local stars left the ring as the winners.
WBC flyweight champion Akira Yaegashi retained his belt by unanimous decision (117-111, 117-111, 116-112) over Mexico's Edgar Sosa, while London Olympic middleweight gold medalist Ryota Murata scored his second straight professional win, beating Dave Peterson of the United States in a star-filled big show held at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan on Friday night.
Yaegashi, who seized the belt in April with a win over compatriot Toshiyuki Igarashi in April and defended it in August, masterly escaped the aggressive attacks by Sosa while he occasionally landed accurate hooks, getting himself ahead by points for the entire bout.