Guillermo Rigondeaux (15-0, 10 KOs) scored an 11th round stoppage against Hisashi Amagasa (28-5-2, 19 KOs) to successfully defend his WBA and WBO Super Bantamweight titles at the Bodymaker Colosseum in Osaka, Japan.
The schedule 12-rounder was part of a card promoted by Ioka Promotions that also featured Katsunari Takayama knocking out Go Odaira to win the vacant IBF and WBO Minimumweight titles.
Rigondeaux, 34, of Cuba, spent much of the earlier rounds walking Amagasa down with light jabs that he followed with left hands to either the body or head.
The formula worked well for Rigondeaux, who seemed on the verge of stopping Amagasa in Round 5 after an assault of several left hands.
In Round 7, however, after spending most of the round on his back foot evading punches and picking his shots, Rigondeaux was floored with a right hand that, despite dropping him immediately, didn’t seem to hurt him.
Rigondeaux got up calmly and attempted to clinch Amagasa but was hit several times before a combination of punching and wrestling put him on the ground again–a fall that was ruled knockdown right before the round ended.
Rigondeax went back to business in the following rounds, eventually stopping Amagasi after Round 11 after a broken jaw left him unable to continue.
Rigondeaux still seeks a unification fight with WBC champion Leo Santa Cruz, but it seems unlikely at this point as Santa Cruz may be fighting Jesus Ruiz in January 17.
All photos by Ken Ishii/Getty Images
