Challenger Masaki Kawabata, unleashing a barrage of left-right combinations, knocked out Kohei "Prosper" Matsuura in the second round to wrest the Japan super flyweight title on Saturday in Tokyo.
The knockout came 2 minutes, 53 seconds into the second round of a scheduled 10-rounder at Korakuen Hall when Kawabata floored Matsuura three times. With the victory, Kawabata, 31, improved his record to 21 wins, including 12 KOs, against five losses and two draws.